Untapped Potential

It seems that technology changes daily. As I look around the local coffee shop, I find myself becoming envious of all the new “techno-gadgets” that surround me. I see iPads and the latest Microsoft tablet computers, and don’t even get me started on the phones. Smart phones, iPhones, Droids, 3G, 4G….the list goes on and on! The truth is even if I had the newest and greatest gadgets (and believe me not a day goes by that I’m not trying to convince my wife of the absolute need in our life of an iPad and all things Mac!) I probably would never have a clue of how to fully use them. Now I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, I’m not tech-illiterate—I’m just not as versed in the ways of technology as this new generation is…you know, like my 7 year old daughter!

The truth be told, I’m probably not utilizing my own BlackBerry to the fullest of its potential, and I know that my laptop yawns in boredom every time I log on. There is untapped potential in the technology that I already have—untapped potential right at my fingertips, I just don’t know how to make it a reality.

Sometimes I think our lives are the same way. We slink around going from one humdrum day to the next, never fully recognizing the power that God has given us. As a follower of Christ, you have access to the Creator of the universe—in fact, I believe (and the bible teaches) that the Spirit of God actually dwells in you. Think about that, you have the Spirit of God in you! The Apostle Paul reminded his young apprentice Timothy that indeed God has not given us a Spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). I believe, just like young Timothy, we need to be reminded of how awesome the power of God that is working through us really is.

Think about this for a moment, we quote verses like Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me”, but do we truly live a life that reflects the power that we claim to have? We move around this world with our heads down and looking defeated, searching out the newest and greatest thing that might bring us happiness and joy. We’ve lost sight of the power that is already in our lives, through Jesus Christ himself. This “power” was best demonstrated in Jesus’ own resurrection. As the bible describes it—God wants us to understand the “incomparably great power that is available for us who believe…a power that is the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19-20a). As we celebrate the Easter season may we never lose sight of the sacrifice that was paid at Calvary—and may we be reminded on Easter Sunday that the same power that was employed in raising Christ from the dead, is in us—waiting to be tapped to make a difference in our life and those we will touch.

The question then is, how do we tap into this power that is in every believer? The answer is as simple as the old Nike ad--"Just Do It." The power of God is exerted in our faith and actions. A person who moves in the power of God, moves out with only the simplest commands from God—“come” and “go”. When we move out in faith, we know that no matter what our enemies place in our way, we will overcome--not through our own strength or might, but through the power of God. 

The true power of God will never be realized if you continue to play it safe. If you never venture beyond your own circle of Christian friends and co-workers that you have used to insulate yourself from the worries of this world, how will you ever understand the power of God? The true power of God in a believer’s life is not realized until you make the conscious decision to “go” and “to tell”. Then despite what the world sees as overwhelming opposition, you see opportunities for the power of God to be revealed in your life and to others around you. Go out today—live out your faith and fully experience the power of God in your life. Utilize the untapped power of God and live the life that He has destined for you.

What price for love?

What would you give up for someone you loved? Everyday people all over the world are giving up something for those that they love. Some people give up their dreams so that a child can realize theirs, others give up a hobby, or a way of life so that they can meet the needs of someone that they love. The truth is, when it comes to love there’s not much we wouldn’t do.

Now let’s re-examine that question with a new twist, what would you give up for someone who didn’t love you? How far would you go to show someone who doesn’t even love you, or even know you exist, the love that you have for them? Would you be willing to risk it all? Would you give up everything that you were—leave your family, friends, everything that you are and have ever known for someone who could possibly never even return the love you have showed them, and never appreciate the sacrifices that you made?

Although the majority of us would be willing to sacrifice whatever we could for our loved ones, I bet not too many of us would be willing to make those same sacrifices for people who may or may not ever love us, or show us the same love we have showed them. I must admit that I find myself in that majority more often than I would care to admit. I would give anything for my wife and my children, they need only ask and anything within my power to accomplish is at their command. Heck, for the most part I like to think of myself as a caring person—I like to think that I do make sacrifices for others, but my sacrifices for others are truly “peanuts” compared to what I would for friends and family.

Did it ever occur to you all of the things that Jesus left to come to earth, what about the things that He “gained”—sorrow, pain, heartache, temptation, and stress. The bible explains it this way:

 though Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross(Phil 2:6-8NIV)!

Think about it, Jesus left everything that he was to come to earth, take on our humanity and live, suffer and even die—all because he loved us. The creator of the heavens and the earth put aside his glory to dwell among his creation. He did not come to be worshiped, but to serve and to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin. One of my favorite verses in the bible describes the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation (the taking on of humanity):

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is the devil (Hebrews 2:14NIV)

I love that he calls us “children”. Think back to my earlier question, “What would you give up for someone you love?” Jesus loves us and he made himself “nothing” so that he could come and be the person that we could never be; that pure sacrifice for our sins. Why? Because we are his children…and a parent would do anything for his children.

Reclaiming that Loving Feeling

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to pick out newlyweds? They walk around completely oblivious to anything or anyone else around them. They are in their own little world, lost in each other—completely enamored with one another. Ah, love! The misanthropic among us will look at these newlywed couples and scoff that they are still in the “honeymoon” phase of the marriage—wait until things get hard, wait until the bills are piling up, the kids are in trouble and the dog is in the trashcan, just wait until “life” happens then we will see how they act. The sad truth is that many of our marriages and relationships move through a sort of downward spiral never recapturing the devotion and intensity of their earliest days. It’s not that we don’t love our significant other—it’s just that the “awe” is gone. We still do all of the same things, we may even do a little more than we ever did before, but the enthusiasm that was there at the beginning is missing.

Unfortunately this type of “love apathy” is not relegated to our relationships with other people—it also finds its way into our spiritual lives and our relationship with God. Jesus, in the book of Revelation, addresses just such a situation. In His “message” to the church in Ephesus Jesus begins by acknowledging all of the good works of the church, He then admonishes them for their failure to remain true to their “first love” (Rev. 2:1-7). Even though they were busy doing great things, they had lost the true focus of why they were doing those things. They had moved out of the “honeymoon” stage of their relationship with Jesus. The awe was gone. They had forgotten what it was really like to be in love.

Too many of us find ourselves, like the church in Ephesus, forsaking our first love. We have lost the intensity and enthusiasm for Christ that we once had. The works are still there, but the focus is not. Fortunately Jesus provides us with a formula for reclaiming that “loving feeling” (with apologies to the Righteous Brothers): Remember, Repent and Do. First we need to remember and reflect on the early days of our relationship with God, the “honeymoon” days, and compare that to our present situation—how does it match up? Next we are to humble ourselves and admit that the intimacy that we once had is no longer there. We need to seek Him like we did in those first days, with an all-consuming desire. Finally, we are to continue in our good works, not motivated by conscience or tradition, but by an intense, awe inspiring love, for a Savior who loves us with a never wavering love.

True Compassion: Love for an Enemy

Have you ever prayed for a terrorist? How about one of the numerous felons, murderers, rapist, or one of the other horrendous offenders that call our nations prisons their home? How about taking the question a step farther—have you ever purposefully spent time with a terrorist or any of the many malcontents who would wish you or your family harm? Maybe that’s an extreme example, let me ask you this, did you pray for that person who cut you off in traffic? How about that busy body at work that stays in everyone’s business? Better yet did you pray for that ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend who completely “did you wrong”? What about the deadbeat ex-husband or your adulteress ex-wife? In short, did you pray for your enemy this week?

It’s easy to pray for those we care about, those people who we see as important to our lives. Heck, it’s even easy to pray for the unknown faceless missionaries across the globe, people who we only know through a mass email, or even those people who we know only by a bumper sticker or roadside sign that says, “Pray for (you fill in the blank)”. What about the others, those people who are not faceless, nor nameless? In fact they are almost infamous, their names and faces burned deep into our psyche—truth be known we couldn’t forget them if we tried...your enemies. Maybe enemy is too harsh a word for you, how about adversaries, foes, opposition, or how about just those people that it’s easy to hate? 

As I was closing out my thoughts on the book of Jonah I began to really think about my own personal ministry to those who I would consider an “enemy”. Those people near and far who in some way have wronged me or my family, or even those countless individuals who would wish my family (or my country) harm for the sake of some misguided ideology. Jonah was commanded by God to take a message to the tyrants of his day, a people that history records as some of the most violent and cruel to have ever ruled. Eventually (after a small detour to the bottom of the ocean via a God created sea creature), Jonah makes his way to this great city and preaches the Word that God had given him, not so much out of compassion for his enemy, but out of obligation to his God. As it turns out, even the vilest of people can be touched by the Word of God and the entire city repents and humbles themselves before the God of Israel. What an awesome story of repentance and God’s mercy—unfortunately the story didn’t end there. We find Jonah on a mountain top, his preaching done, looking down waiting on God to destroy Nineveh. Jonah had missed one of the greatest examples of the mercy of God, a city of over 600,000 wailing and humbling themselves before God, in hopes that He would with-hold His righteous judgment, which He does. Jonah is furious with God—why hadn’t He punished such a horrible group of people? Now that He had spared them would they not just rise up again and destroy the people of Israel? Jonah figured he was better off dead than for God to forgive such a horrible people.

Before you are quick to judge Jonah, think about your own life. Are you quick to pray for those who hate you, those who have hurt you, or someone else that you love? Do you pray for God’s blessings in their lives, that He would reveal Himself to them in such a way that they would come to have a relationship with Him? Are you actively seeking them out, telling them of the love of God and His Son, what He has done in your life and what He wants to do in theirs? It’s easy to love those who treat us the way we want to be treated—loving your enemy…that’s a different story. Take time and earnestly pray for an enemy today.

“I’ll Take a Mulligan”

I am probably in the minority, but I am one of the very few pastors you will ever meet who does not play golf. It’s not that I don’t like the game; I’m just not very good. I first discovered golf when I was in college, a young Tiger Woods was just beginning to capture the imagination of America, and it seemed everyone was starting to play golf. I had almost unlimited access to the resources one needs to play the game. On our college campus we had a free (although you had to retrieve your own shots, but really wasn’t that what pledges were for?) driving range, and the resort I worked for while in college had one of the premiere golf courses in the area…which I could play for free! My step-dad was also an avid golfer and provided me with the clubs I would need to start my endeavor…I mean really who gets to start off with Ping irons? No, I’ve had every opportunity to play the game, just not the physical and mental gifts to do it even average. So although I “played” at least once a week with my friends, I never developed the overwhelming love for the game that seems to have hypnotized so many of my peers…probably because, stop me if you’ve heard this already, I wasn’t very good.

To say that I wasn’t good may very well be the understatement of the century. Every golfer has that great hole, or round they played. That perfect shot that no matter how long ago it was taken, is remembered like it was yesterday. My greatest golf memory, a twenty foot putt to save par on a par 3 island shot at Sapphire Valley Golf Club…par, my greatest memory is a shot for par! It is safe to say that my greatest friend on the golf course was a “mulligan”. Without getting to deep into the etymology of the word (there are several different theories on where the term came from, each involving some dude named Mulligan) let me put it as simple as possible—a mulligan is simply a “do-over”, a second chance. Most people (and courses) allow one mulligan per round, maybe as much as two—one on the front nine and one on the back. My friends, the gracious men that they were, allowed me as many as I needed. You may think this would slow the match down, but not as much as me hiking all over the course and foraging in every water hole for a lost ball (remember I had access to resources for golf…but not unlimited ones, golf balls can get expensive!) So my golf game was one of continual “second chances”.

As many a writer has noted sports can be a great analogy for life. So it is with my life and my golf game. My life has been full of second chances. I have had so many that I don’t believe it’s really accurate to call them “second” chances anymore…let’s just call them “mulligans”. The biggest difference is that my second…I mean my mulligans in life have not necessarily come from the benevolence of some good friends, but from the loving and forgiving heart of a merciful God. Too many times in my life I have found myself in situations, of my own doing, that were less than ideal, and too many times in my life God has brought me through the consequences of my poor decisions. The Bible tells us that God is long suffering and patient  with us—wanting that none of us should suffer (2 Peter 3:9b). That He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). No matter how many times I “hook” a ball into the Rough of Life, or “shank” a drive into the Woods of Poor Choices, God is there beside me. He puts His hand on my shoulder and says, “Take a mulligan on that one…try it again.” 

So here I am today. There is nothing that I have accomplished on my own because of my worthiness or my own righteousness. Everything I am today is because God had mercy on me and gave me a “mulligan”.

Rock Bottom

Have you ever been to “rock bottom”? It’s not a bar or a city (although it might be a cool name for either); you’ll never find it on a map or locate it on the GPS. Rock bottom is not a specific location, but more a state of mind. The idea of “rock bottom” is can be difficult, although other people can recognize that you are on your way, no one can tell you when you’ve arrived. The only person who truly knows when you arrive is you—and that can, on occasion, take some time.

As I was putting the finishing touches on this week’s sermon, “A Prayer in the Darkness”, I thought about Jonah and his journey that found him in the belly of a sea creature at the bottom of the sea. As I stated earlier, one of the biggest problems about rock bottom is that you don’t know you are there until you get there—I got to think that if you find yourself in the belly of anything at the bottom of the sea, you have pretty much hit “rock bottom”.

I believe, as I read through Jonah’s own account of his time in the belly of the “fish” (see Jonah 2), that he recognized his situation as being, pretty much the worst case scenario. I don’t think that Jonah ever planned on ending up in his precarious situation when he elected to ignore (or rather run in the complete opposite direction) God’s instruction. No doubt if anyone would have told him this would be the end result of his decision he would have thought long and hard (after realizing of course that they were serious) about his choices and their consequences.  

I think a lot of us find ourselves at rock bottom, not all at once (although it can happen that way—just ask Jonah), but in a gradual, slowly progressing decline. We wake up one morning in the town of “Rock Bottom”, population: you. What then? If we are like most people our normal reaction is shock and dismay. We ask, “How did this happen?” “What went wrong?” The truth is we had been heading down the path to rock bottom for a long time, and although we thought the path was unmarked when we view our journey from the bottom back up we recognize the warning signs that were plastered along the way. We think back to that conversation with a concerned loved one or friend. We were positive that they were wrong. That they simply didn’t understand our particular situation—or they were simply busy bodies medalling in your business. Whatever excuse we came up with, we chose to ignore the signs…and here we are.

What now? What is our reaction when we hit rock bottom? Hopefully it will be like that of Jonah, who realizing his own faults and helplessness, cried out to God. Sometimes it takes going to “rock bottom” before we realize how much God truly cares for us and more importantly how much we truly need Him. Salvation is near, even for those of us who are at rock bottom. You see God is always near—no situation or circumstance is too far out of His reach, and salvation as Jonah reminds us is from the Lord!