Don't Forget Compassion!

Have you noticed that the worst part of this coronavirus thing is the mental game. That's where the most agony lies, because let’s be honest…aside from not being able to find toilet paper on the shelves, for most of us, technically our lives haven’t actually been changed a whole lot.  Sure, our routines are changing daily from what we would “normally” do.  Normally, we wouldn’t be glued to a 24-hour news cycle while wringing our hands in anxious dread and hoping and praying that we don’t get the Covid-19 virus.

Normally, we don’t give a second thought to jumping in the car and heading to a place where hundreds or even thousands of people are gathered; a movie theater, a ball game, or the mall.  Now we have fewer options to choose from, amid the growing cry of social distancing.  And the more isolated we become, the more we are glued to our devices for news and more news—all bad—as we simply “wait it out.”

But in reality…most of us are still healthy.  Still have homes.  Still have family that love us.  Still have jobs.  That hasn’t changed for most of us…yet we are already living as if it had.  We are already acting like animals with a survival of the fittest mentality, making sure that we are the ones with the most stock-piled to last the longest.

Am I saying that we should act as if everything is fine?  No.  We should be cautious and do our due diligence.  But we have to guard the very epicenter of our souls if we are to come through this thing with our humanity intact, as well as our own mental health.

The wisest man who ever lived said this back in the day.  

NIV Prov. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 

The New Living Translation even says it better.

Prov. 4:23    Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Great, Pastor Don…so what exactly does that mean?  It means that, as a human being, your life and actions will always be determined by what you harbor in your heart.

If you allow your heart to grow fearful, and you harbor anxiety and worry as a full-time companion, your ability to be totally human will begin to diminish, and acting towards others with graciousness and love will become extremely difficult.  

In fact, if you allow fear to dwell, you will succumb to a survival of the fittest mentality and you will do things that you currently despise in others.  When selfishness rules the day,  the heart shrivels to a hard callous, as the lives of others grow cheaper in comparison to the big “I”.  Without saying it, our lives broadcast the message, “You are not nearly so important as I, and I will do everything I can to make sure that I survive, even if you don’t!”

If you are a Christian, then recognize that this is the very mindset that Christ calls you away from…not just when times are easy and because you have compassion to spare, but precisely when times get difficult and the rest of the world has swept the shelves bare of everything to give them the best chance of survival.  Recognize that Christ is calling you to demonstrate the difference, not because it’s easy, but because it is hard and in fact, is counter-intuitive to what the world is doing. I believe it was for times like the ones we find ourselves living in that he said, in John 13:35 “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”

There are some who would call that insane.  There are others who will sit up and take notice of the difference.  Christians through the ages have always waded into the mire to be difference makers.  To rescue others.  To lift up the discouraged.  To be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world that is dying without Him.  Not because it was easy, but because it was a hard thing, yet the right thing, to do.  It is the hard thing…but it is always the thing that makes us more human, more in the image of the God we claimed to be created by.

Again, I’m not saying be stupid. Be cautious, take precautions…but don’t lose your compassion.  Don’t allow fear to shrivel your heart.  Instead recognize that we can live this way because we have a different focus.  A different perspective.  We understand that this world is not all there is.  We know that we are just traveling through and that one day, sooner or later, we will all die here.  It all ends the same here, no matter the cause.  We die.  Car accidents, plane crashes, homicide, suicide, war casualty, heart attack, stroke, cancer or corona virus.  We can’t outrun death forever.  But even as we face death, we recognize that death simply doesn’t have the final word.  It’s only a temporary stop on the way to eternity.  

Our hope is not in this world and in the mess we have here.  Our hope is in a person, Jesus, and He is of another world and because of this fact, we recognize that it is far more important to be eternally safe than it is to be physically safe here.  So instead, we set our sights on a better world.  A better kingdom free of the junk we deal with down here.  

The book of Revelation describes it for us: Rev. 21:1   Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. ² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Rev. 21:3   I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.^a 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Rev. 21:5   And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

That’s what makes a difference in how I can live through the uncertainty of the next few weeks.  I’m not looking to just survive…but to thrive…for eternity.  I write this, not as a young, healthy, not-much-to-worry-about-from-this-virus person, but as one who has been identified as a high-risk, potential casualty should I contract it.  And yes, I’m taking the prescribed precautions, but I will not let a virus rob me of my humanity.  I will seek to reach out, even if it is from my keyboard to your screen.  I will seek to encourage you.  I will continue to pray for you. And I will seek to remind you that this world is not our home.  And I hope you do the same for me.

Heb. 12:1,2    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.^a Because of the joy^b awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Called to be Faithful...not Successful!

I know it's been a minute since I've posted on this blog, but lately the stirrings to write have started welling up once again.  Mostly because in the spring I start to ponder life all over again.

Every few years, I buy a new version of the Bible and take 2 or 3 years to read through it carefully.  This last time, I chose, instead of an actual translation, Jack Blanco’s paraphrase, The Clear Word Bible.  I’ve gathered some great devotional insight into some passages by considering his take on things.  As I read, I will often compare the current version I’m reading to the KJV, the NIV, the NASB and the NLT, just to get a fuller understanding of the passage...and sometimes, if a passage seems to hinge on a word, I’ll go back to the Hebrew or Greek Dictionaries.

Image source: Biblical Authorship

So I’ve been studying in the book of Zechariah lately.  I know...not one that we usually read, but since I’m going straight through it, that’s where I find myself, and in Zechariah 4, we find a passage that many of us have quoted as a memory verse for years.  It is in the context of God asking Zerubbabel, who was governor of Judah right after the first of the Babylonian exiles had been freed to go home, to rebuild the Temple.  There were all sorts of challenges.  The task was enormous, since all of the old Temple rubble had to be cleared first.  The giant stones that Solomon had placed centuries before were still lying about, as well as all the stuff the Babylonians didn’t take when they conquered.  

And no one had money to pay for the rebuilding.  They were freshly returned slaves trying to start life over again.  They were busy rebuilding their lives as they contracted their own houses.  They hadn’t even planted or harvested any crops yet and the Lord is now asking them to rebuild the Temple.  How was this going to happen?   And the Lord sends Zechariah a series of visions to encourage them.  In the 5th vision, recorded in the 4th chapter of Zechariah, we come to our famous passage that answers the questions.  First, from the New Living Translation. Note especially verses 6 and 7.

And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” 4 Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”

Zech. 4:5    “Don’t you know?” the angel asked. 

“No, my lord,” I replied.

Zech. 4:6    Then he said to me, “This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 7 Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”  NLT

Now from The Clear Word.

Zach 4:6. Then he explained, “These are the symbols of the work and power of the Holy Spirit.  So this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit will the work be done.’

4:7 What is this great mountain standing in Zerubbabel’s way?  It’s nothing!  It will melt at the presence of the Lord and flatten out and become a plain.  All the things that Zerubbabel and his people are worried about will disappear as they push ahead with the work.  They will rebuild the temple and at the laying of the last stone they will shout, ‘Praise the Lord! Blessings on His temple!’  

“Ok nice, Pastor, but what does that have to do with me?”  Thanks for asking.

First - when the Lord asks something of us, He isn’t asking that we accomplish it.  He’s only asking that we be faithful and obedient to the task He's calling us to.  It isn’t by my strength that it will be accomplished.  It isn’t by gathering a large amount of people and more “lifting power” that things happen.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anything gets accomplished.  

So recognize that God isn’t asking you to be successful...only faithful to the task He has assigned.  

And secondly,  that mountain standing in your way?  “It’s nothing!  It will melt at the presence of the Lord and flatten out and become a plain.”  But it won’t flatten at the presence of you or me.  It will stay a mountain.  It isn’t by might, or power...but by His Spirit that it flattens.

And if we are working with His Spirit, all the things we worry about will disappear as we push ahead with what God has asked us to do.  And when all is said and done...we can’t/won't be able to take the credit.  We can only be thankful that we had a small part to play as we participated with the Lord and with that realization we can shout “Praise the Lord! He has done great things!"

Now...about that mountain you are facing...

Cut it Out God!!!

Has the thought ever occurred to you that perhaps the trials you are experiencing can be used by Him to help you fulfill your best  and highest work?  Ever stopped to think that God prefers to wrest beauty out of ashes?  It's easy to think such things when we are at the bottom looking up.  But what about when we are fired up and ready to work for God?

Ever had a vision?  Not necessarily like the prophets of old.  But a vision of what you could do for God.  Perhaps it is even now burning within your heart and you are anxious to lay plans to go after it. Happens to me all the time.  But I tend to forget that God is more interested in who we are rather than what we can do for Him.

In his book, An Unhurried Leader, pg 68, Alan Fadling writes: "We assume the next step after receiving a vision is to get moving and get working.  But I've found that often God wants first to make the vision real in our actual lives so that we can live the vision and then see it realized through out work."

Oswald Chambers, in his book, My Utmost for His Highest (July 6 reading) sheds more light:
"Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience.  Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has!  He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry.  While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us.  God has to take us into the valley ands puts us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision.  Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work.  He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has set for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor's hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal."

I might not like the language of "battering", but it is part of sculpting.  And if I have asked God to use me, I need to submit to His shaping hand, so that He can fashion me into the tool of His best use.

Photo by JAFAR AHMED on Unsplash

And so there are parts of me that He needs to cut away.  My temper, perhaps.  Or my sharp tongue.  My judgmental attitude or my air of superiority.  My need for attention or maybe even my reticence to be speak out and be noticed.  Whatever it is, there are parts of each of us that must go if we are not to inhibit God's plan for us, nor have our lives stand in the way of someone else seeing and seeking God.

If I am to reach my best use and potential for God, I must first allow Him to make me ready for the job He is calling me to.  So whatever it is, Lord...cut it out.  Whatever needs to go...and my humanity would cry against this...but cut it out.  Prepare me for the vision that you have already implanted in my heart...and all that stuff within me that gets in the way...well...cut it out Lord!

Church- No Thanks!

Yea, it's been awhile.  But I was awakened early this morning with a burden to write some thoughts that God has been stirring in me for awhile.

In my work as a young adult ministry director, tasked with helping to solve the issue of a young adult migration from church, I’ve stumbled on something I find somewhat disturbing.  The conversations start out well enough, but invariably lead to a statement made by my conversant that, though they take many forms, typically have one origin.

“Well Pastor, I like going to church, I really do, but Sabbath mornings, I am so tired that I like to sleep in.”  Or “I get so much more out of just sitting in nature and allowing God to talk to me from His second book than I do sitting in church.”  Or “I have to be honest with you, there are things the church is doing that I just don’t agree with and I can’t get anything whenever I go.”  Or “There are so many great preachers on the internet, I get my spiritual blessing there.  I mean, sometimes I watch 4 or 5 sermons in a row!”  Or “I get so much more spending the morning alone with my prayer journal and my Bible reading plan, I’d rather not go and bother with all of the people at my church.  Besides, most of them are hypocrites anyway.” Or “Sabbath School?  Just an opinion fest!  Church? Just a show…and it’s always the same.” And I could go on, but I think you’ve heard enough variations on the theme that you get my drift.

These aren’t new, but what is disturbing is that I’m hearing them more from people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s than I am from young adults. To be sure, young adults are using some of the same statements and even adding new variations, but they all have a common origin.   Self. What’s in it for ME?  Or what isn’t there for me?  Or what I get more from.  Or what I like better.  Or how I’m spiritually more advanced than the average pew sitter so shouldn’t have to be bothered on a Sabbath morning to go and sit next to them.  And if church really is all about me, then why shouldn’t I be able to decide how I spend my Sabbath mornings?  And the same being that started the selfishness thing is behind those thoughts, because he knows that if he can’t hit the church head on, then he will divide and conquer.  

But then I come to this passage in Hebrews 10:19-25 NLT  

Heb. 10:19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.


Heb. 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Verses 19-23 most certainly would encourage us in our personal pursuit of God, but suddenly verse 24 turns us outwardly. Now we move from thinking about “me and God” to “we and God”. Notice the words “Let us” and then the commands that follow… “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” “Let us NOT NEGLECT our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another,especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”

Perhaps here, we get a clue as to why many of us have given up on church. Perhaps it’s because we have missed our role. And perhaps church, in the way it is currently happening, isn’t conducive to helping us with our role.

If I were to make a case for your role at church just looking at these passages, unassisted by the many others in scripture that are saying the same thing, I would say that first and foremost, you are called to be a worshipper as you remember the sacrifice Christ made, and the fact that He made it possible to approach the throne of grace. Worship because your guilt has been taken away. Christ has made you clean. Hold tightly to that belief and worship Christ because of it.

“But I can do that at home, or in nature!” you might be saying. And you would be right. You can worship anywhere. But now we come to another role of every Christian in the church. That of using your gifts to add to the sum total of the church.


A believer, singular, is just that. A believer. But to have a church, you have to have a group of believers. And it is into that group that the Holy Spirit disperses His gifts for the good of all believers. No one has ALL of the gifts. YOURS are important to the Body of Christ as well. So… “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” “Encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”


This means that even if you aren’t on the program, you have a role to play. The Holy Spirit could have brought someone to church that needs your love and encouragement. And if you aren’t there to distribute it according to your giftedness, that person will leave just as empty and discouraged as when they came. And enough times of experiencing nothing at church ends up causing another to drop out.

Now before you accuse me of laying all the blame on you and seek to self-justify, let me just say, “I get it.” YOU aren’t the church’s salvation, and therefore you shouldn’t have to carry the responsibility of being there for other people. And to a point…you’re right. Jesus is the only Savior of anyone, the church people included.

But what I am saying is that He has called you to be His hands and feet, not just to address the noble causes of starving children and abused women and homeless people. But He is calling you to also serve those who sit in the pew with you. Those who come and are starving spiritually. Those who have suffered the abuse of a bad workplace all week and just long for some spiritual balm to give them courage to go back into it. Those who find themselves without a home church, but who keep looking. YOU have what they need, and God can use YOU!


So before you skip church again this week, think about the blessing of service that you are missing if you do. Think about who won’t be welcomed or encouraged if you aren’t there. Think about the contribution to the Body of Christ that you can make instead of the blessing you want for yourself. And you will invariably find that the blessing you were looking for is waiting for you in the foyer before church, or in the fellowship hall after church, or in Sabbath School class where someone pours out their heart and gives you a chance to respond with a private note of encouragement. As the old Nike ad pointed out: “You won’t know unless you go.”

And after you have engaged for a while, take a Sabbath off to recoup. Spend some time in nature, or with your Bible, or watching sermons on the internet. Just don’t make that your weekly go-to. Because someone at the church was put there to encourage YOU. And they can’t use their gift if you aren’t there.

Heb. 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Merry Christmas! GOD CHOSE YOU!!!!

I had an epiphany in Wal-Mart the other day.  It occurred to me, standing in the Wal-Mart line as I watched the flurry of frantic Christmas activity, that we, as a society,  are celebrating the wrong thing or things at Christmas.  While there is certainly nothing wrong with letting people know how much you care about them through the love language of giving, especially in light of all that a loving God has given us, it occurred to me that our focus, as a society, has turned to a celebration of materialism and capitalism.  This certainly wasn’t the first time that thought has hit me—as I imagine some of you with the “well, duh” expressions on your faces.  But I began to see it in stark contrast to what we should be celebrating and how what we celebrate affects who we are, and our energy levels and even how fulfilled and excited we are about life.  Let me explain.

To most people in our society, Christmas has become all about the perfect material gift for the significant people on your list, and for the stores themselves, it has become a marketing bright spot in a year of otherwise soft sales.  And the game becomes one of seeking the perfect price point.  If the goods are marked too high, people will tend to walk away.  But if they are priced too low it cuts into the profit margins.  And prices are constantly being adjusted to try and regulate a good flow of merchandise.  And so the two have merged as a celebration in their own right.  For the consumer, it is buying the perfect gift at the right price and for the merchant, it comes in keeping the flow of merchandise moving to maximize profits and the bottom line, so that the fourth quarter earnings can be posted much higher thereby driving your stock prices up. And the more Christmas becomes about the gifts and the profit-margins, the more tired and disgruntled we feel, and the less joy and energy we feel.  That focus on Christmas actually sucks the life out of us.  It reduces us to a mentality of quantifying how important we are by how much stuff we get. 

If we get something exotic or expensive given to us, then we assume we have great worth because much was spent.  Likewise, if we don’t get much, we assume we aren’t worth much.  And for those with little to spend, the uneven financial ground, that we are so keenly aware of all throughout the year, is merely exacerbated and seen in starker contrast because those with little, see those with much, purchasing expensive gifts and they wish THEY could buy more for their loved ones.  And instead of leaving Wal-Mart excited about what they have been able to purchase, they leave disappointed and discouraged and drained—the life sucked out of them, and the wealthy leave Wal-Mart with an air of superiority because they are able to afford more—well actually, many of the wealthy wouldn’t be caught dead shopping Wal-Mart—but you get my point.  But here’s the rub.  

Many of the poor are actually grateful for what they receive for Christmas, while many of the rich only pretend to be.  Or they may be excited at first, but because they get so much, it quickly loses it’s appeal and special-ness and fades into the landscape of all the other stuff they have and within just a few weeks, many forget that they ever received it.  I know...it gets really confusing...and sometimes even maddening.

May I suggest a different focus?   What we really celebrate, or should celebrate at Christmas, is that God chooses us. He comes tenderly as one of us and makes the gigantic step of choosing to love us, choosing to take all of what he has, all of what he holds, and offers it to us in a relationship.   Now that’s energizing isn’t it?  That’s exciting.  And no matter what your socio-economic background, that is still more than any of us will ever have in the material world. 

Think of that—God chose YOU!  He made the gigantic step of choosing to love YOU, choosing to take all of what He has, all of what He holds, and he offers it to YOU in a relationship.  Is that worth celebrating?  That doesn’t leave the drained or disappointed feelings that materialism subjects us to.  That can be energized every single day for the rest of your life!  And that’s the point.  God chose YOU to be in relationship with Him so that He could impart LIFE and ENERGY to YOU.  

For all of the junk that we have to wade through down here—for all of things that can turn life sour, or disappointing or discouraging, or even hopeless, you need to know that Jesus, the Word, capital W, is the right answer.  In a mixed-up world with a mixed-up society celebrating Christmas in a mixed-up way, Jesus continues to be the right answer.  I would submit that it is only through understanding the Word, incarnate,  that is, Jesus in the flesh, that we can begin to see where we fit into the whole scheme of things and then, finding our rightful place, we can begin to live life with a  purpose and an aliveness that has eluded us while we spend our time in the Wal-Mart line.

Thomas A Kempis wrote: A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.    

Merry Christmas!  GOD CHOSE YOU!

God Has a Question...

In 1 Kings 18 we find a story within a story. It is the story of the showdown between the prophets of Baal and Elijah up on Mt. Carmel. But there is an issue at stake that Elijah wanted to point out to the people. Look at verse 21, "Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing."

That’s a great question. Here are people who are supposed to be the chosen ones of God. They have a history with Him. But they’ve forgotten who He is and they have been distracted by idols. Sound like anyone else you know? Some things never change.

Many of us have grown up in the church. We have a history with God. We’ve been taught about Him since we were in Cradle Roll and Kindergarten. But as we go through our days now, we are distracted by other gods in our lives. The gods of money, fame or things. The gods of girlfriends or boyfriends. The god of lust. Or perhaps the gods of bitterness and un-forgiveness at an injustice done to us. Or maybe it is just your own intellect. Whatever it is that continually comes between you and God has become an idol. That pet sin. That secret desire. The continual craving for whatever it is. And God has a question for you.

“How long will you waver between two opinions?” There it is. You and I both have to answer that question. It’s showdown time. And we may answer “yes” to God with our mouth…and even our inner desire, but we keep a corner of our heart unyielded and locked tight, harboring our idol.

And as life gets busy and our quiet time with God gets pushed aside, our other idol suddenly gets the attention. We treasure it, coddle it, admire it, sometimes even loathe it, yet always we worship it.

Somehow these things that we’ve made to be our gods, get in the way of us worshipping the true God. We get so into our false god, our sin, that we end up worshipping the very things that will destroy us. We go back to what makes us comfortable, at least for a little while, and we forget that God has called us to be His people. We forget that we at one point in our lives promised that we would follow Him with our whole heart. And so the question comes from Mt. Carmel into our lives this today.

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

Your choice. Your move.