Step Up or Step Aside

"What about young Absalom?" the king demanded. "Is he alright?" Ahimaaz replied, "When Joab told me to come, there was a lot of commotion. But I didn't know what was happening." "Wait here," the king told him. So Ahimaaz stepped aside. - 2 Samuel 18:29-30

King David was eagerly awaiting the news of what had occurred in the battle. Joab sent a runner to deliver the news. Ahimaaz, a skilled and able runner wanted to be the one to bring the message. Joab told him that this was not his day. Ahimmaz pushed until Joab finally relented. Ahimmaz quickly left and ran as fast as possible over a better route. He overtook and outran the other runner. When King David saw Ahimaaz approaching he began to expect good news. Ahimaaz was known for his good character and David expected the same of the news he was bringing.

When Ahimaaz approached, King David presented him with the question above.

Ahimaaz wanted so badly to make a difference, to make his mark, to be used, to make his life count. He left the battlefield and ran with skill and ability to the place where a message was needed. Expectations were high, but he had nothing to offer. He was skilled, able, in the right place, in an urgent situation, and had no substance. His impatience led to his insignificance and he was marginalized and told to step aside.

We are where we are for a reason. To leave the battle early is to arrive at the next opportunity unable to meet the need. We are so easily misled by our passion. We lack the patience to gain all that we need. One day we will arrive in a place where a message is needed, expectations will be high for us, we will be skilled and eager to give it. May it not be true of us that we have left our present battles early and are unprepared to deliver the message.

Step up and deliver.

How Much More?

"So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him." Matthew 7:11

No question mark. Look. There is no question mark. The writer here isn't asking. He's telling.

I have this fear that if I ask God for something, that He will give me exactly what I ask for. If I ask wrong, I will screw it all up. So I don't ask. I don't want to be responsible for messing up my own or anyone else's life. Shouldn't I just leave that all up to God? So I just throw out a blanket prayer that covers it all: "Jesus, just do Your will here...whatever that is."

But then I run into a verse like this, "Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for." But I don't want to for the aforementioned reasons. I get the whole analogy of a parent thing...if my son asks me for candy, I know he's hungry. Sometimes I give him candy, other times I'll give him some fruit. Because I know what he is asking and what he needs. He trusts me to give him good stuff. So he asks me because he trusts me.

So, if I don't ask God, whatever my reasoning, it follows that I don't trust Him. "He might give me exactly what I ask for and it will hurt me," I think to myself. What kind of God is that? With God's strength I am capable of producing good things. God is only capable of producing good things. If I can give my son good stuff, how much more will God give me good things. No question mark. Statement.

So What? What's the payoff? Ask. Simple as that. Because even if you ask for the wrong thing, as long as our motivation is right, God will give what is good. But only if you ask.

Get up Rock, Get up!!

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."
- Hebrews 12:12-13

A few thoughts on this great passage from Hebrews. The beginning of this chapter encourages the reader to consider the example of Christ, who pressed on and finished the task of laying down His life, even though it was hard. He endured all the pain and suffering that it encompassed and completed His journey.

This verse encourages us to take a firm grip with tired, sore, blistered, aching hands. To strengthen or stand up on our weak, hurting, swollen, spent knees. To pull ourselves up and "soldier on." Nothing changes about our physical condition, yet everything changes about our resolve. In the midst of the hard things we experience in life, the challenging areas, the difficult places, the overwhelming seasons of life, we hear the voice coming from the corner, "Get up...get up...keep going...keep going!!" Never quit. Never give up. Never give in.

And as we do that, we need to set a course, to mark out a straight path, to walk in the right way.

Why?

Because we need to lead the charge. Though we are tired and beaten, we cannot stop leading. Others are coming behind us. And they will experience fatigue and failure. When they do, they will be able to look to you and see you pressing on. As we follow Christ's example, others will follow ours. So, when we set a straight path for our own life, those who come behind us who are weak and lame will not fall, but will themselves take a new grip and get up on those tired knees and finish their journey.

Are you tired? Do you feel weak? Get up...I know you can do it. Keep on. It matters.

How is your heart?

This past week I had the opportunity to share some thoughts with our church. The theme was purity and specifically purity of heart. The thoughts came from a passage in Titus. As the story goes, this one was more for me than for everyone else. So here is just a simple recap of the thoughts.

“Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.”
Titus 1:15-16

Paul talks like he's from Jersey. Straight and to the point. Our usefulness to God is tied to the condition of our hearts. A corrupt heart is worthless for doing anything good. Ouch. Not worthless to God, just worthless for doing anything good. Our hearts are the key to making our lives count.

I'm sure you are familiar with computer files. They carry data. Occasionally, this data has unintended information introduced to it, which corrupts or damages the file. The result is an error message that indicates the condition of the file as "Corrupted." There are two things you can do with a corrupted file, you can try a system restore, and go back to a previously backed up file. Or, you delete it. Electronic pruning. Because that file is only taking up space and is no longer useful.

Our hearts are the key to our usefulness. When anger, bitterness, sin, doubt, pain, and other symptoms of brokenness are introduced into our hearts, they begin to corrupt us. We have two options: We can try to repair the broken things or we can prune and start new. Both of these are only accomplished by the Master Fixer and the Master Cleaner. I once heard someone ask, "How do you stay pure in an impure world?" The answer? "You don't. You just wash often." In order to keep our hearts pure and worthwhile for accomplishing good, we need to maintain pure hearts. Not perfect, just cleaned regularly.

So, how is your heart? Is it clean? Or is corruption beginning to affect who you are? Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 to be reminded of the role our hearts play in our usefulness to God. It all boils down to God's presence. In order to maintain a clean heart, you have to stay close to the Master Cleaner. Then, you'll be able to hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

"Well Done..."

In his newest book, "Wild Goose Chase", author and pastor Mark Batterson makes this statement: "God didn't say 'Well thought good and faithful servant', or 'Well said good and faithful servant', but 'Well done good and faithful servant.'" And in one of those light bulb moments, I thought I needed another minute or two on that one. As I thought about it, I asked myself the question, "Am I doing what I am supposed to be?" This is the proverbial question of whether we are walking the talk. And I know I talk. I'm a preacher. I talk a lot.

Batterson goes on to make the point that we need to get off our duff and start living out what we say we believe. In Peter's second letter he makes the statement that he feels the need to remind everyone of things they already know. Samuel Johnson famously said, "People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed." That definitely rings true for me.

It is so easy to slip into the routine of our days that we don't have time to attend to the right course of action. It is convicting. And it needs to be different.

So, today, I was not feeling too good. My wife wasn't feeling so great. My son wanted to play out in the new slush (a mix of snow and rain) that had fallen. And as I was shoveling my driveway our neighbor, who is a 50 something widow was out shoveling her driveway. And it hit me. "Well DONE..." So, whether with right motives or not, I walked over and helped shovel her drive and walkways.

Nothing glamorous. Nothing rewarded. But definitely action.

This is not a new thought. This was simply a reminder for me. And maybe for you. In the simple words of Nike marketing, "Just Do It."

The Light

"The light shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
- John 1:5

Light shines. It glows. It projects it's character. It reveals itself. Whatever it has, it gives off. In darkness, light still shines. Darkness has no power over light. It cannot and will not ever hide the light. Light always wins.

What we are is what we give off. We might think we give off one thing, but what is really being seen is who we are. It's simple, I know. I just want to start by explaining the title of this blog.

Two things are most evident to me here:
1. Truth. What we are will be revealed. No hiding.
2. Power. Nothing can stop us from being seen.

So, I'll let my light shine for all it's worth. And I'll let the light do it's damage on the darkness.