Jacket On...Jacket off

If you have seen the newer Karate Kid movie you know that a jacket on and off enough can teach a kid kung fu.  Much like waxing cars, painting fences, and sanding decks.  Depends on which era you grew up in.

Well I read a Scripture about armor on and armor off that I wanted to share.

The king of Israel answered, "Tell him: 'One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.'" 1Kings 20:11

This quote hit me.  Why?  It is great advice.

Our words before a battle is fought should sound very different than our words after a battle is won.

One of my biggest pet peeves in life is trash talk.  I cannot stand it.  I have always believed if you are really that good you should not need to tell anyone.  Plus it is the epitome of poor sportsmanship.  But this truth is much larger than sports and war.
 
You should guard your words before you go out.  You never know what lies ahead.  Often the humility necessary for success was lost before the endeavor ever began.

Sunday Recap 6.4.12

Acts 10-11 is an interesting story.  Peter sees a vision of unclean animals (meaning animals that God had instructed his people not to eat in the Law).  Peter was told by the Lord to get up, kill, and eat.  He refused because he had always obeyed these laws.  After the vision Peter finds out that some folks just showed up looking for him because God told them to come find him.  He goes with them to a house of a Gentile and brings the Gospel to those outside of the Jewish nation.  God is doing strange things in this portion of the book of Acts.

God breaks wide open the grace, love, and hope found in Jesus.  Much of the prejudice and issue that Peter had to deal with were man made addition to the Laws of God while other sentiments were the misunderstanding of the Law.  The Law was intended to set aside a holy people to God, but they became a way for the People of God to feel like they deserved that place with God...which they did not.  The chosen people of God had always been intended to be a blessing to every nation...to all peoples.  Yet they had chosen to simply be a blessing to themselves.

Unfortunately we still struggle to breakdown similar traditions in our lives today.  We can get so caught up in what God has told us to do that we totally fail to be who God has called us to be.  Faith becomes routine and meaningless.

So here are the main points from Sunday...
Lives that honor God are truth-focused not tradition-filled.
One of the saddest issues in Christianity today is that the world sees it through the lives of many people who simply honor the traditions of the faith but do not honor the truth it is based on.  That is why they have such a low opinion and terrible understanding of the Gospel and Jesus.  Please note that this is not a truth against having some traditions.  We have some in our family like me cooking muffins every Sunday.  It is church day and my kids know it is special because I make it so.  But don't just have a Sunday church attendance tradition in your life.  Live a truth filled life that includes a Sunday tradition. 

When we practice tradition without presenting the truth we set a trap.
We trap ourselves and those who come behind us.  Statistically it is more likely that a child that does not hear about Jesus in their home will grow up to be a faithful follower of Christ than a child that grows up in a home of a lukewarm person professing a false version of Christianity. 
Remember the practices of your life will always speak louder than the proclomations of your mouth.

Tradition breaking is typically seen as truth abandoning, initially.
When I began a church that was more modern in its strategy and music, I found out that some heard that I was liberal.  Which, if you are around me long, you will know is pretty ridiculous.  But people confused tradition with theology.  An old song sung does not make for a conservative message preached.

So those are some lessons from this part of the narrative of the early church.  It is a great story found in the book of Acts.  I encourage you to read it all in one sitting.  The story comes together but the reading takes some time.

Sunday's Coming

Sunday I will be preaching from Acts 10-11. 

The narrative of the early church continues as the Gospel spreads to the Gentiles.  Basically the faith had not moved beyond the Jews and the Samaritans yet.  God forces Peter out to the uttermost parts of the Earth through a vision and some visitors.

This Sunday we will be talking about Tradition and Truth and the fine line between them.

Here are some questions to ponder...

1.  Is my faith more about tradition or more about truth?
2.  Why do what I do before God?  Tradition or truth?
3.  Do the traditions in my life help or hinder my faith?
4.  Do I even know the truth behind the traditions I observe?  Are there any?

Tradition is good.  Truth is great.

See you Sunday!

Latitude of Gratitude

"Was no one found to return and give praise to God...?"  This quote is from a telling story about human nature found in Luke 17:11-19.

In this story Jesus heals 10 men of leprosy by telling them to go and show themselves to the priest.  As they go they are cleansed of the disease.  Only one man returns to thank Jesus.

How common is that today?  I am not talking about miraculous healing of leprosy.  I am speaking about ingratitude.  We live in a culture in which people rarely take the time and put forth the effort to be grateful.
I wonder it is ingratitude, laziness, or business.  But whatever it is, it is not good. 

Here is the reality about being thankful and grateful...

Gratitude requires latitude.

What does that mean?  You are going to have to cover some ground to say, "Thank you."  It is going to require some effort on your part.  In reality what we do to say "Thank you" is not a repayment.  It would never be enough.  It is simply a gesture of respect and appreciation, but it requires effort and time.

Take the time to cover the ground and go back and say thanks.  Put forth the effort to look people in the eyes and appreciate what they have done for you.  Take the time to write a thank you card (not a thanks email).

Cover the latitude required to give gratitude.

below is a little story of recent gratitude in my life and for Fellowship Church if you would like to read on.

This past Sunday, I went to Istrouma Baptist Church to say thank you.  Never will a slide show and a 5 minute presentation repay what Istrouma has done for Fellowship through they years.  From the fact that they hired me 11 years ago this week and set me on this journey start Fellowship.  It could be for the baby shower they threw for Daniel when we knew less than 20 people in this city.  Or the times they helped us pull off events in the early days.  Maybe it was when they bought land on our behalf.  Or perhaps when they put some money down on our building loan.

This time it was because they forgave our church a debt.  We still owed Istrouma for the property behind our building.  This debt was big.  ($300,000).  It was in the way of us moving forward and expanding as is needed.  (Fellowship is going to 3 services this fall to keep up with growth and starting a second campus with hopefully a 100 people in January).  And still the land was needed but the needs to build and pay back were more than we had.  Istrouma approached us with the offer...and we are grateful...very grateful.

So take the time to tell people thank you.

Istrouma, "thank you...for everything!"

Yes…was and still is the answer

This past Monday (May 21) marked 15 years to the day that I asked Wendy to marry me. (Our anniversary is January 3.) I am going to use our date for a little marriage insight.

For that date I took her to a prayer garden. I read some Scriptures about marriage. Got down on one knee. And asked her to marry me. I had gotten both of our parents and my sisters to write us a letter to read. We read those. We wrote one to ourselves and God. And we went out to the Monroe Steak House to eat.

This past Sunday, I tried to recreate the date a little. We went out to a beautiful garden in Baton Rouge that I had never been to in 11 years living here. It is the Windrush Gardens at the LSU Rural Life Museum. A friend came out took some pictures of us. I even used the same Bible to read a passage and make Wendy a promise. Then we went out to eat at Outback Steakhouse.

It was a good night. A great way to remember. And a good way to take some pictures that make me look better because my wife is so stunning in them everyone forgets to look at me. (I have included a few.)

If yes is and will always be the answer…it is because you choose to say yes when no one is looking and the stakes seem to not count.

Marriage is not an easy deal…the passage I read Sunday calls it a profound mystery. But it is a great mystery. It is fun to figure out. It is at times difficult to work out. But it is always worth it. But you have to remember the answer is yes not when you are posing for some pictures or planning that special occasion. You have to remember the answer is yes when the laundry needs to be folded and the kitchen needs to be cleaned. You have to remember the answer is yes when you disagree about money…or at least the use of it. You have to remember the answer is yes when you are tired but your spouse could use some attention and some time.

The answer is still yes because you say yes not only when all is still but when life is crazy and wild.

Wendy, thanks for the yes. Thanks for the years. And thanks for the many yeses that have filled them. You might be a profound mystery, but your still my favorite read.