Stillness at Pepperdine

I find myself in the beautiful Malibu, California at Pepperdine University for the Pepperdine lectures.  I speak on Friday on one of my favorite axioms or Spencerisms, “the Church is the Hospital for soul sick people”…at least it should be.  Church isn’t, nor was it ever supposed to be a country club or place we come to pretend we have it all together.  “Church” was always intended to be the place for messed up folk who need Jesus to change them from the inside out.

For me personally, I am not here to listen to other lectures.  I am excited to present, but I am far more interested in what God has to say…to me.  Psalm 46:10 says to Be still, and know that I (He) is God.  I am practicing being still.  That may seem strange to some of you, but “stillness” is not something I am good at; and probably some of you as well.  As a new friend from Australia so aptly pointed out yesterday, we Americans are so busy…so interested in accomplishing the next thing…making something happen.  I think he’s right…Guilty as charged…we are so busy I think some of us (being nice in not making an over-generalization) are so busy, we just miss God coming and going.  So, I am here to listen.  To be still.  To read, and pray, and seek, and wait on God.  More later.

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You Might Have An Inheritance Coming

In my own personal reading and study time today, I read part of Ephesians.  I stopped at Ephesians 3:6 which says  that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body…”.  It made me think, if you were an heir of some rich or famous person that you knew had left you an inheritance, wouldn’t you want to know what it was?  If you got the call from the attorney who said, “you are the heir of so and so…and we want you to come to a reading of the will”, would you go?  Would you make time for it?  Would you ignore it?  Would you put it off?  Most of us would be on our way two hours early, excitedly waiting to hear what so and so had given us.  Here’s the real question:  If the Bible is true, and we actually are heirs as it says in Ephesians, don’t you want to know what you have inherited?  Don’t you want to see what is coming to you?  Would you make time for it?  Would you ignore it?  Would you put it off?

Spend some time today reading the Word…seeing what God has left you as an inheritance.

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His Name was Rob

It is interesting to spend a day on a labor and delivery wing. Very few places allow you to observe both extreme joy and extreme sorrow at the same moment in time, and in virtually the same place. In one room, someone was delivering a healthy baby girl surrounded by happy and smiling family members. In the next room, a mother and baby struggled through the birth process with complications, surrounded by fearful and tearful family members. As I stood at the end of the hall as people passed by, I asked one gentleman, whose face told nothing but a story of pain, if I could pray for whatever was going on. He explained that his daughter-in-law and grandbaby were going to be fine, but the doctors were about to perform a C-section. He went on to say, that he was the one in need of prayer. His wife, who was only 40 years old died in her sleep last month, he has M.S. which has exacerbated since his wife’s death, and because of his health he is unable to do his job and is consequently unemployed. We stepped to the side of the hall and prayed together. We talked about his challenges and his need for God. A stranger who was in the hall heard us praying and joined us…awesome. I have no doubt God placed that stranger and I there that day to lift up Rob. God worked through me using the gifts he has given me to fulfill his purposes that day. We all have different gifts, and God can use each of us differently for Ministry. How can you use your God-given gifts this week to join God in what he is doing? Your opportunity may just be around the corner.

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Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a legacy is a topic I have been thinking about, studying about, preaching about, and now writing about lately.  Leaving a legacy behind when we are gone, of course, includes our children, but it goes far beyond that. Leaving a legacy touches those who watch us, and learn from us, and look up to us in some way.

This week, this topic of Leaving a Legacy has taken on new shape for me in “real life” examples. I have looked at my beautiful wife who, as you know, has been facing some real and scary health concerns. She has handled them with such grace and beauty and peace. As I have watched her, I think of the legacy that kind of attitude, in the face of a storm, will leave behind to my children and others watching. That doesn’t mean there won’t be hard days full of fear, doubt, and tears…all of that is normal in a crisis, but watching her I see a Christlike Spirit that will influence generations to come…some of which may never know her directly, but will know others who influence them, who were influenced by her. Connected to Jennifer, but separate from her example, Jennifer’s neurologist, after examining her, laid his hands on her and prayed in Jesus’ name for wisdom to know how to treat her, and for healing for Jen. Praying for the healing of your patients is not good fiscally, but what a legacy that kind of attitude and spirit will leave behind to people who in many cases are seeing him at their worst moment in life.

On the other hand, I have seen Christians do and say things this week that will leave the opposite legacy behind. Face book, as an example, is an amazing tool that I have learned to enjoy on many levels, especially for ministry purposes. But, as with any tool that can be used for good, tools can be used for evil as well. I have read comments and messages from Christians who shared examples of filthy, sexually explicit language and examples of overt worldliness that has made my heart hurt. I wonder how those (hopefully) momentary lapses in judgment will affect the lives of those who are impressionable and watching. I pray against those bad examples.

Now this isn’t a soap-box of good Jennifer, bad everyone else. It’s just an example of what has been so obvious as I have lived through this week and been aware of those around me in the context of leaving a legacy. We all will leave a legacy behind. I just can’t stress that enough. At our funerals, people will always say good things – that’s our cultural norm. But what will the real story be in the lives of those we influence? Will they learn more about how Jesus loved, and touched, and interacted or will they learn something else? I am more aware than ever, that how I live among my family and others who are watching means something. I am also more aware than ever that even a momentary indiscretion can have a lasting and dramatic impact. On the other hand, even in our greatest indiscretions, God offers forgiveness when we humbly come before him with a broken heart and desire to change. What a legacy it would leave behind if a Christian, who has said and done terrible things, sought forgiveness from God and owned up to the failure with those it could have impacted. Leaving a legacy of acceptance, not excuses, for failure and then seeking forgiveness would be amazing, and so out of character for our culture.

What legacy are you leaving behind? Is there something you can work on, change, or fix that will ensure a legacy of God’s love will be passed on?

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The Blog is Finally On The Way

I am thrilled to begin this blogging adventure with you. I will be working at getting this site up and running exciting and relevant content that is challenging and thought provoking for skeptics, cynics, sciolistics, and Christians. I look forward to blogging with you soon.

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