perseverance
In this journey with Jesus, some things come by faith alone, some by adding covenant relationships to that faith, some by long perseverance in those relationships, and still some things are not for us but for another generation.
I’ve had quick victories that take only days or months by standing in faith on a promise. I’ve also experienced deliverance or blessing because I was faithful to covenant relationships and depended on other people instead of trying to go it alone. In this season of life, faith and faithfulness to covenant relationships have not brought the breakthrough. Sometimes God says wait. No explanation, just relax and let the thing bake all the way through. Getting up earlier, charging up our confession, giving more or praying harder isn’t going to speed up the process.
Beyond this, I can see other promises that we may never experience. These things are for our kids and the generations after them. We’re called to believe these promises just as much, nurture them just as much and persevere for them just as much, even though we’ll never taste them for ourselves. That’s the example I see in the Bible from Abraham to Jesus to Paul. All of them became broken bread and poured out wine, layed out for the service of others, spent for the building up of those who would carry the baton after them. Abraham left his home and everything he knew so that generations after him could have a home and experience God’s blessing. Paul went hungry so that others could eat, was weak so that others could become strong. Jesus gave up his life so that we could have eternal life.
This goes against everything we’ve been taught to expect out of life. Against our hard-wired wants, needs and deep desires. Against what makes us feel safe and respected. Somehow I don’t think Jesus would have used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as part of his PowerPoint presentation for the mature follower!
I wonder what was going through Mary’s mind as she laid the Savior of the world in a feed trough in the middle of a dirty barn. It’s odd, isn’t it? Why didn’t the Father give them more provision to take proper care of his own Son, the Messiah that had been prophesied about for thousands of years? Or at least there should have been room for them in the inn.
camping adventure 2
When you’re 32 and up to your ears in grown-up stuff, nothing beats Chuck E. Cheese for dinner followed by a backyard campout with a 4 year old. Honestly, as a parent I still have those what-the-heck-were-we-thinking moments, but eating hot, gooey s’mores under millions of stars, playing softball in the dark and listening to your kid talk about his day and philosophize about boogers…completely worth it! And yes, that’s Jack’s sippy cup in my cup holder. Not the cold Killians that would have been there 5 years ago, but I’ll take a sippy cup any day.
After having finished Young’s The Shack, I’m thinking about that bird on the window sill that chooses not to fly. I didn’t have a deep conversation with Jack Friday night, but we had a good time exploring the backyard for crickets, making shadow puppets on the ceiling of the tent and talking about his friends at school.
Jesus
Driving home from out of state several weeks ago, God showed up in my car. I know that sounds weird…and dangerous, but I promise both hands stayed on the wheel. I was singing along with a song about the Father’s love, and I began to get a very real and overwhelming sense of his love for me, personally. Maybe you’ve experienced this, so you know why I wept. I could see the Father like a burly sea captain at the wheel of a ship. The storm was raging, water crashing over the sides and winds howling fiercely, but there he was, laughing, holding the wheel in his massive hands. Instead of fear there was peace, and a tremendous sense of strength and experience that made the winds and the waves look like they really were: passing, temporary, small. His big, booming voice carried across the deck and washed over me. For a moment I thought, ”How can he possibly be this way when the reality of life is so painful?”
And then I began to see what he sees and feel what he feels: today in the perspective of eternity. Pain that is so temporary, and life that is so lasting and solid. I was overwhelmed by his hope. Hope for me, for the lost, for his bride, for the earth. He sees the end.
I could feel a presence behind me, so I turned my head and, out of the corner of my eye, caught a glimpse of someone who I knew was Jesus. I have to be honest, I turned my head back around and the first words out of my mouth were, “God, I don’t even know him. He’s a mystery. Would you please introduce me to him.” I’ve believed in him since I was 3 years old, and I’ve spent the majority of my life serving and obeying him; but I’m telling you the truth as plain as I saw it that day on I-75. Compared to who he is, my knowledge and experience with Jesus is so small, it’s as if I don’t know him at all. What he has done for me that I’ll never know or realize in this lifetime. What he’s been through, giving up his glory in heaven like he did and becoming a servant…for me, for the undeserving, for the lost! I was speechless, and all I wanted was an introduction.
These days that’s what I’m asking for. It’s pretty much all I want. Just to have an introduction to Jesus. Apart from this man, I don’t have anything. Everything else is unstable. But this man, he’s solid and true.
I have to be honest. I’ve gotten a little glimpse of Jesus out of the corner of my eye and I’m struck. And the more I do life with other people and read what they have to say, the more I realize I’m not alone. I’m just one struck person in a much larger body of people who are completely caught up in Jesus.
sunny florida…sort of
Just got back in the office after being in Orlando for a week on business. I think it rained every day, which, I’ve learned, is totally normal for FL. We’d step out of the Orange County Convention Center around 5:15 PM to huge thunderheads, darkening skies and pretty strong winds. Took this snapshot with my phone. Personally, I love thunderstorms, so this was a great way to end a long day on my feet talking to hundreds of people.
On other fronts, Jack just got his 4 year old shots today…3 to be exact. He didn’t cry or panic. I was really proud of him. At breakfast he said he wasn’t scared because he had power in him, and he also knew he was going to get 3 shots. I said maybe just 1 and Katy said she didn’t know, to which he replied matter of factly, “I’m going to get just 3 shots–just 3″ with 3 fingers held up. I was doubtful, but when the nurse said 3 shots, he wasn’t surprised at all. It was as if God prepared him by letting him know ahead of time. Praise God he’s getting it! It ended up being a positive experience
Give Love, Give Bikes was awesome. I wasn’t able to be there physically, but I heard it rained cats and dogs right up to 11 AM and then just quit. God’s love was tangible. 100 bikes and helmets were given away, along with food and face painting for the kids, and the gospel of Jesus was declared openly to the poor, the homeless and the discouraged. A number of ministries and pastors worked together in the park, displaying the unity of the body and God’s love for the city. I can’t explain how excited I am to be a part of what’s going on in Pensacola and at the Harbor, even if it is from a distance. Their victories are our victories because it’s all about the Father’s Kingdom and Jesus’ glory, no 
matter where it’s happening! Joe Miller with Pray for Pensacola also commented on the event here.
I want to wish Josh and Laura Beth a belated Happy Anniversary and a big Happy Birthday to Josh…old man! They’ve been a big encouragement to us and an important part of our lives over the past number of months, and our kids think they’re amazing. In fact, Jack was inspired to create a birthday “cake” for Josh, made from bread, Quaker Oat Squares, cookies, and lots of yummy maple syrup inside. Josh was a good sport and took a bite before passing it along to everyone else :)
give love, give bikes
Our Pensacola family goes to the park tomorrow to join Jesus as he casts a really big net over thousands of hearts. Gang members, prostitutes, homeless, at-risk teens, children, city officials, police, firemen, business owners, church goers. The park will be full of people who are going to hear the Gospel of Jesus and feel the love of God in a new way. Join us in prayer over the next two days. God is doing the work, and we can cooperate with him as we declare his love over the city, pray for people’s hearts to be softened, and take authority over the strategies of Satan to keep people from coming, to keep them from hearing while they’re there, and to steal the seed of the truth after they leave.
I can’t tell you how hard it is to be here in Tulsa and not there. I miss my Pensacola family so much that most days it physically hurts. There’s Kingdom work going on there, destruction to the kingdom of darkness, and we’re all a part of it through our encouragement, prayer and support. I can’t wait to hear the reports from Saturday. And I can’t wait to see what God is bringing to pass in the city of Pensacola, in the church as a whole there and in the lives of tens of thousands of people who are lost.
salvation (pt. 2)
She was new to the group and struggling with depression, feelings of not being good enough. She knew in her head that God loved her, but she was fearful about the future. She was supposed to be baptized in a few weeks, but she was unsure if she should go through with it. She needed clarity, answers, a sense of peace and assurance in her heart. Finally, she asked us, “What’s going on? Why am I struggling with all of this stuff?”
I felt led to ask her about her salvation experience, so I said something to the effect of, “Describe the moment you encountered God personally and felt the presence of Jesus in your life.” She blinked twice and just sat there for a second. “Well,” she started, “I’ve always known God loves me, and I’ve tried to be a good person. I believe in God and I pray.”
“Tell me about your relationship with Jesus. Give me some specifics about how you’ve experienced him.”
She couldn’t. I realized she was confused about her own salvation. You see, God is a God of specificity and detail. Just look at nature or the Bible. Everything God does is full of exquisite detail. He’s no different in his relationship with us. When he reveals himself, it’s not vague or general.
I didn’t tell her she wasn’t saved. Honestly, I didn’t know where she was at, except that she needed to hear the gospel again. So we started in Romans 6-8 and I shared a very basic gospel message. What it means to know Christ, to be baptized with him in his death and united with him in his resurrection. About sin and grace and the cross. When I finished 10 minutes later, she sat back and said, “I’ve never heard that before. It’s so clear.”
The group prayed for her at that point and God began to melt away fear and insecurity in her heart. She cried and cried as different group members prayed and encouraged her. Months later this woman left town and moved back home. But before she moved, she was filled with joy. She was a completely different person.
I’ve seen this over and over, and I truly believe the church needs to hear the gospel as much as the world does. If we don’t know what we have in Christ, how will the world have a clue? If there’s not a clear sound on the trumpet, how will the army know it’s time to line up for battle?
Katy and I are walking through this foundational truth with a small group in our home. Last week I wrote them a letter to encourage them in their salvation. I’ve posted a link to this letter below. Perhaps it will encourage you or be helpful to someone you know who is struggling in their faith.
the lake
K
aty and I took the boys to Lake Eufala Thursday to join up with Katy’s family and then on to Richland Chambers in Texas for a weekend with the Watts clan. We had a great time by the water with my siblings and their families. Man, Texas is so hot right now. I couldn’t find a better photo that so aptly captured blissful relief from the heat. Yes, that’s my oldest brother Steve with two ice cold cans of beer. What else can I say?
There’s nothing quite like sunset on the lake. It’s worshipful, peaceful, rejuvenating. I was able to capture a shot of Jack’s silhouette over Lake Eufala.
Right after this we noticed a little creature in the water about 30 yards out. Looked like a beaver to me, but Katy thought it was an alligator, so we were quickly herded back into the golf cart so Uncle Jason could drive us safely home.
I’m so thankful for my family. With all of the changes in life, everyone still travels to be together. We’re different in some ways, but there’s still a sense that God is in the middle of it all. Before my Grandpa passed away a number of years ago, he used to say that he didn’t talk much about his family at work or around his friends. He’d get teary eyed as he explained how so many of his friends’ families were broken and full of strife. He didn’t want to make them uncomfortable by talking about how healthy and full of life his family was. He’d go on to remind us of what we had and to remember not to take it for granted.
Maybe you come from a broken family. Maybe there’s divorce and strife in your past, or simply unhealthy relationships. If that’s the case, I want to encourage you. See these people in the ladder? They’re my natural family, and I’m so thankful for them. I see them a few times each year, but in the meantime, I’m surrounded by so many brothers and sisters and spiritual moms and dads. Especially over this past year, Katy and I have found ourselves surrounded by more “family” than we could ever imagine. One way or another, God can restore what you’ve lost, and he will as you continue to lean on him.
If your natural family is broken and dysfunctional, there are moms and dads and grandparents and brothers and sisters in Jesus’ body all around you. They won’t be perfect, but ask God to show you family, to surround you with people who can help you. Get plugged in and be faithful. God can restore relationships you’ve lost. Don’t let the hurt of the past steal healthy relationships God is offering you today.
And if you need a miracle in your natural family, don’t give up. Lean on the Holy Spirit, pay attention to the boundaries he gives you, follow his directions and pray. God can work such forgiveness and love in you through Jesus that many relationships can be restored. Maybe not to the place they were before, but they can definitely enter a new season of life and health. Don’t give up!
praying for America
A couple mornings ago I was up early praying for the nation and the realization hit me that, like individuals, cities and nations have root to fruit connections. What I mean by root to fruit connection is that there is an undeniable link between the symptoms we display and the deeper roots that nourish those symptoms. Jesus said “you’ll know them (the root falseness of self-proclaimed prophets) by their fruit (outward symptoms of speech and behavior). I began to learn about the personal significance of the root to fruit connection from Bethesda, Dominic Herbst’s relational healing model that I blogged about a while back.
It really clicked as I started praying about some of the policies and bills being considered right now in Washington D.C. I suddenly realized that these issues are just the fruit of so many roots we have as a nation: epidemic fatherlessness, rejection and hatred against minority races, and millions of mothers of aborted babies who are filled with guilt, fear, and the pain of abandonment. Millions of our neighbors and friends and countrymen have nurtured deep rejection and bitterness in their hearts. As people hold on to these wounds, they fester and lead to rage, abuse, suicide, rebellion and even mental and physical diseases.
I’m sure there are more root issues, but these are the major ones I thought about as I prayed for the people in our country. Could it be that this is why the socialistic philosophy gaining ground in our government doesn’t alarm many of the public in our nation? It makes me wonder. I mean, what abandoned child doesn’t want someone big and strong to take care of them and fill that void? But where does the healing come from? What is our responsibility as the church to the lost and hurting people in our nation?
As I began to think about all of this, I remembered being told one time that this is exactly why Hitler’s regime was so overwhelmingly accepted. He rose to influence at a time when so many of Germany’s young men (and women) were fatherless due to WWI. His charisma, power and strong vision met a deep need, in a way, that everyone had. I can see the same thing happening in our nation, but in a much more subtle way. Not because so many Dads are dying in war, but because they’re gone, checked out, distracted. I bet at this point fatherlessness is one of the deepest, if not the deepest, root issue in our nation. (Go to http://fatherandson.org for one ministry that is addressing this problem head on). Afterall, how can we as a nation come to the Father if our idea of a father has been so beat up and twisted?
Needless to say, my prayers are changing from surface issues to deeper issues. It seems like this is valuable information for intercessors. What do you think? What are you sensing and hearing from the Holy Spirit as you pray for America? What needs to change in the way we’re doing ministry in order to address these deeper issues? One thing I’m thinking a lot about is Malachi 4:5-6. Reconciliation to the father’s heart seems key to ministry in the Last Days, and I believe it’s happening.
living rocks!
The other day I was walking by a new housing development and noticed a builder laying stone for the exterior of a house. It was really cool stonework, so I took the sidewalk that ran along the site. As I got closer, I was surprised and shocked by what I saw.
Actually, it was what I heard that first caught my attention. It looked like the builder was talking to someone, so I assumed there was another worker behind the wall that I couldn’t see. But then I began to hear several other voices. As I listened, I realized there were a number of conversations going on, but the only person I could see was the guy laying stone. Out of curiosity, I managed to take a few steps closer and get a better angle.
Then I saw it. There were no other workers around, just the builder. And he was definitely talking…to the stones in the wall! And they were talking back to him. More precisely, they were carrying on conversations, with him, with each other. I couldn’t believe it! I looked everywhere for a hidden camera or a van with tinted windows to make sure I wasn’t the object of some elaborate practical joke. OK, no mysterious van nearby. What’s going on?
Looking back towards the house, I was transfixed. Within seconds I began to notice that it wasn’t just the stones. It was the entire job site. Boards, nails, stacks of re-bar, tools, piles of hardware…all talking and interacting. I began to feel like I was in some kind of sci-fi-twilight-zone.
The job site was typical, kind of messy but with a general sense of order and process. And here was this man by himself just working away, carrying on conversations with all of the stuff around him. He was sweaty, smiling, obviously enjoying his work. I could hear a dozen different conversations going on as stones and timbers were laughing, encouraging each other, making sure they were lined up and staying connected.
Every now and then a couple stones would get into an argument about which of them should be above the other, and then that would set off similar arguments among other stones and even some of the tools. I saw one stone actually throw itself off the wall onto the foundation. There was a loud crash and dust went billowing as the builder went over to inspect what had happened. The little rock was badly chipped on one corner and groaning quite loudly as the builder bent down to pick it up. I couldn’t hear everything it said, but it sounded like it was complaining about where it had been placed on the wall. Something about it wanting to be on the front wall next to the main doorway rather than the side wall. The builder just listened and nodded his head while the little rock talked, quietly dusting it off and holding up the piece that had been broken off. He set the stone off to the side, said something inaudible, and then went back to work.
I stood there for a long time, watching the builder and listening to all the conversations going on. As the sun began to set I knew I had to get home, but it was hard to tear myself away. The one thing that impressed me the most was how all of these materials had minds of their own, free to do as they pleased and go wherever they wanted, yet they were content, for the most part, and even happy, to be where the builder placed them. Many of the older tools were encouraging the newer tools and giving them tips. The bigger, more visible pieces were congratulating and honoring parts that were hidden or less noticeable. And, for the most part, everything stayed where it was placed. I began to wonder if certain sections of the wall had ever agreed to split off and do their own thing, or if any of the tools ever went on strike. I mean, how could a builder work with tools and materials that had a mind and will of their own? It was a wonder that this work was even standing, yet there it was!
Finally, I watched a perfectly good piece of lumber get covered up with a stone and some mortar. I can still hear its muffled little voice laughing and carrying on about how great the house was looking from his perspective. As I walked away, his voice trailed off. I think he was telling the builder how excited he was about everything getting finished so the owner could move in. I didn’t see the builder’s response, but I’m sure he was smiling as he wiped the sweat from his face.
1 Peter 2:5 “…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
salvation
The apostle Peter said “Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus is revealed” (1 Peter 1:13). Set your hope fully. I’ve been chewing on this for a while now, letting it go deep. I keep coming back to this basic question of hope. Have I really put my hope completely in the salvation that I will receive through Jesus in eternity, or am I putting my hope in other things, like my job, the economy, stable people in my life, the fulfillment of a temporal promise, a healing, my understanding of God in the season I’m in? Where does my hope truly rest? I know I’m saved and I’m thankful, but my “hope” is a living, active, daily thing. Is my salvation something I’m living daily, or is it something that happen-ed? How does the song go?
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Tiger Woods hits hundreds and even thousands of practice balls each day. He spends hours practicing little movements, just fractions of his swing, over and over to build muscle memory. He makes millions each year, has unprecedented success and still works on the fundamentals of his game. Why? Because he knows that he can never get away from those basic principles. Just because he mastered them at one time doesn’t mean he can quit working on them. The fundamentals of golf are a way of life, a daily thing that he can’t get away from without compromising his effectiveness and skill.
I love the movie Pistol Pete. It’s one of my wife’s favorites, especially because she grew up with a passion for the game of basketball. One of the main impressions I got from the movie was Peter Maravich’s constant focus on the fundamentals of the game of basketball: dribbling, shooting, passing. Everywhere he went as a boy, he was constantly dribbling a basketball. He slept with his ball, ate with his ball. When people saw Pete, they saw him dribbling or shooting his ball. Pete and the ball were synonymous in people’s minds. And did Pete mind? Nope. Where did he learn all of this? From his Dad. Press Maravich was a former pro player who taught his son the basics starting at the age of 7. The result? According to Wikipedia and Dale Brown’s calculations, a career average of 57 points per game.
Most of my life the promise of salvation has been a “foundational” element more than a fundamental, daily necessity. You know the foundation under your house is there, but you don’t have to look at it or think about it much because it’s hidden and it just works. You enjoy its benefits, but you don’t really talk about it or draw attention to it because it’s…well, foundational. It’s a good analogy for salvation, but incomplete (as all analogies are). But something that’s fundamental is daily, constant, something you think about, build from, interact with and always come back to. Like Tiger Woods and range balls or Pistol Pete and dribbling.
Maybe it looks like I’m getting hung up on semantics, but personally it’s a pretty big shift in the way I think and how I begin my relationship with the Father every day. Any day that I don’t get up and thank the Father for what Jesus did on Calvary is a day I’m already off track. There’s no way you could hang around with Pistol Pete or Tiger Woods and not know about their passion for basketball and golf. It would be all around them, even if they didn’t say anything about it. In the same way, can the people around me easily pick up on my passion for Jesus by my life?
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. These (trials) have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. …for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (taken from 1 Peter 1:3-13)
