Responsibility: Peak Performance

Just last weekend, I got a new phone. I didn't need a new one until the sales person convinced me that I did! I was dazzled by all the incredible features that would be at my fingertips, with download speed far superior to what I had on my existing phone. My connectivity would be enhanced, and I would experience far fewer dropped calls. I'll be the first to admit - I didn't know how handicapped I was! Frankly, my "old" phone could pretty much do what the new one does. I don't notice that things download faster, and since I wasn't really experiencing dropped calls, I guess I don't see much improvement! What hooked me was the possibilities of what I could do if I utilized this piece of technological wizardry to its full potential. Like my old phone, this new one has functions that are truly amazing, but unless I take the time to learn how to use them and perfect my use of them, my phone will simply remain a very powerful, but under-utilized tool.

Those of us who call ourselves Christians are too often not unlike these very powerful pocket-sized computers we carry around - we are designed for "greater works" (John 14:12), but we aren't fulfilling our potential. We know that we have access to connectivity that will empower us to carry out our mission (John 14:13,15-17, 26; John 15:5,7), but we don't always take the time to learn how to access that source to put it to use. 

As our kids at church wind down their focus on responsibility, they are asked to consider, "What in the world am I doing to show others God's goodness." That's a question most of us should ask ourselves, and I have certainly been giving it lots of thought. In fact, God has been making sure I have been reflecting on my own response to the responsibility he's given us as Christians.

In Matthew 5, Jesus doesn't hold back. He tells us what our attitudes should be - the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) - and then follows those by placing on our shoulders the responsibility to be "salt and light" to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). I like his illustration - people don't buy lamps just to hide the light they provide. In other words, we want to get the full potential and peak performance from the lamp. 

Even though I have heard and read these verses many times in my life, I was drawn to the phrasing of the verse about salt - "...but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned..." (Matthew 5:13). What caught my attention was the "it" in the phrase "how shall it be seasoned." I wondered could the "it" refer to the "earth," meaning those who don't know the Lord. Supposing that relationship in wording exists, I was convicted of the responsibility I am shirking when I fail to be "salt and light." If we as Christians fail in tapping into and utilizing the resources we've been given so that we operate to our fullest potential, we are not accomplishing our commission. We may function on a basic level, but we are far from the dynamic power-tool God designed us to be.

I have been reflecting lately on the notion that as Christians we have one priority - to serve God by serving others, thus making disciples. When we allow the Holy Spirit to activate that service through us, we bring honor and glory to Him. Others will "...see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). 

God must have known that we really aren't very good at multitasking. He asked one thing of us, and he promised to take care of the rest. Jesus knew the people hearing his "Sermon on the Mount," and all that followed, must have been a bit skeptical. Just as we are, they were most concerned with the day-to-day realities, not with learning how to be "salt and light." But here's what he promises: "...your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:32-33). 

For me, putting first things first is going to be a discipline, an act of faith, but if I believe that God is who he claims to be, then I must trust that if I allow him to use me in service to others, he will make sure that I have whatever he knows I need. I have a responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to activate fully the functions I've been given to do the work to which I've been called. I want to be working at peak performance! 

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much...." Luke 16:10

Heavenly Father, on paper, the responsibility seems so simple. Putting it into action isn't when I take on jobs you haven't given me to do! Please help me to keep my priorities straight and trust you to take care of everything! Help me to be "salt and light." I want to be counted faithful. In your name, amen.

Responsibility: Encouraging Words

My grandmother used to tell a joke: "Why did the buffalo run off the cliff?" Answer: "He heard a discouraging word." For those of you who are still wondering what a buffalo and discouraging words have to do with each other, think lyrics to "Home on the Range." Jay Leno she wasn't, but you get the point. Words have the power to influence people! We can encourage them or we can destroy them with what we say.

We are responsible for how we use our words. As our children at church wind up this segment of the study of responsibility, they are being asked, "What in the world are you doing to encourage others with your words." The Bible is pretty clear in any number of places about what we are and are not to do with our ability to string sounds together to make words that communicate ideas. Ephesians 4:29 says this: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

I am particularly concerned with what we say to and about children and young people. Whether we care to believe it or not, a word that we say in carelessness, anger, frustration, impatience, or thoughtlessness can and does leave a deep imprint on a child. As parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and Christians, we have a spiritual imperative to encourage them (Matthew 18:6). My prayer is that we seek the direction of the Holy Spirit to determine the right words to say that will influence the children and young people in our care to become who God has created each of them to be. We have the responsibility to speak hope and truth into their lives. It is from us that they learn who God is. 

How we speak to each other is critical to our Christian example. It isn't a matter of how we are feeling at the moment. We are explicitly reminded throughout the New Testament to encourage and comfort one another. Hebrews 3:13 says we are to "...exhort (encourage) one another..." daily so we aren't hardened by sin's deceit. Later in Hebrews 10:24-25, we are instructed, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

I don't always feel like being nice to people. My human nature isn't always tuned into using the power of my words to help others. Far too often, I'm focused on me, myself, and I; encouraging others is the last thing on my mind. Yet, I do not want to be the one who utters the discouraging word that may contribute more to someone's burden or lifetime of "mistaken identity." I don't want to just be too lazy and self-absorbed to miss an opportunity to lift someone up. My prayer is that I will daily realize that the Holy Spirit is living in me, and if he is in me, then I should be showing the fruit of his presence (Galatians 5:22-23). That fruit should then be in use, edifying and lifting up those around me.

The verses that follow Ephesians 4:29 admonish us to not grieve the Holy Spirit (v. 30) but to "...be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (v. 32). We can use our words responsibly to encourage if we seek to be filled with the Spirit- "...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19). Jesus said, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34, 35). 

Let's fill our hearts to "abundance" with God's word, for our responsibility to others is clear - we are to use our words to encourage others.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much...." Luke 16:10a

Heavenly Father, I pray that "the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart" will be acceptable to you, and that I will use those words to encourage others and point them to you. In your name, amen.

 

Responsibility: Using What You're Given

This notion that responsibility is showing I can be trusted with what is expected of me is challenging me to take a very close look at whether or not I am as responsible as I believe myself to be. I think I am a responsible person; give me a task to do and I will get it done. On the other hand, I find myself not seeking out opportunities to be "responsible." At this point in my life, I have learned that when I consent to do something, that means I have to put time and effort into it that will take away from time and effort I want to put into doing what I want to do! So, when I took a look at the question confronting our kids at church this week - What in the world are you doing to use what God gave you - and read the story from the Bible that they will study - Matthew 25:14-29 - I had no choice but to try to answer that question for myself in light of what God says!

God's given each of us "talents" to use for his purposes. Some people are off the charts gifted, by this world's estimation, and the rest of us are just "normal." Whether we think we have what it takes to serve God like those Christians who serve as our icons of greatness or not is irrelevant to us being responsible to use what God has given us to fulfill his charge to follow him and make disciples (John 21:19, 22; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:47-49; John 20:21-22).

None of us can claim insignificance. God has equipped us to fulfill his Great Commission in exactly the way he sees fit. He knew when he created us precisely how, when, where, and with whom we would be used by him. He designed us specifically for the job. He didn't put us on earth to use talents belonging to someone else or not use our own because we believe them to be inadequate. He gives us what we need to complete our responsibilities as a disciple with success. The only sameness among us is the "what" to which we are called - we are to be servants, carrying the Gospel to the lost.

Here's what I know to be true - God will never ask us to do anything that he will not equip us to do. He may stretch us, pull us out of our comfort zone, and push us to take a risk, but he will NOT leave us hanging. When he called us to follow him and make disciples, he promised that we would be given the power to do the work (Mark 16:15-18; John 14:12,26; Acts 1:8).

When I stand before God, I want to hear him say he's pleased with how I used the talents he gave me. I want him to see, in the meantime, that he can trust me with more responsibility (Matthew 25:23). 

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much...."

Lord, we know that we don't have any excuses for not fulfilling the responsibility you have given us with the talents you have provided. Please cause us to become uncomfortable with our willingness to bury our talents and avoid our responsibility to follow you. Move us to seek the power and anointing of your Holy Spirit so that we will be faithful to serve. In your name, amen.

Responsibility: Taking Care of God's Creation

Our children at church will be asked some tough questions over the next two months as they learn about responsibility. During the month of June, all the questions begin like this: "What in the world are you doing to ...." First, I like this because already I know each individual is to be held accountable for something. The tendency to put responsibility onto someone else is removed from the equation. Second, the suggestion that there must be an action of some sort lets me know that no one will be able to simply know the truth; the expectation of taking action is explicit. Finally, establishing the world as the context for our "doing" makes a clear statement - we aren't called to ignore what's going on around us. Taking care of God's creation and his gifts - the World and all that's in it - is a responsibility we have been given to fulfill.

Genesis 1:26-29 explains that God decided to create man in his image and give man responsibility for the earth - all the animals, fish, birds, and plant life. He gave us meaningful work to accomplish. It's easy to see how we haven't always been as responsible as we should have been. Each generation has its own version of environmental awareness. The slogans that branded my generation were "Give a Hoot; Don't Pollute" and "Don't be a Litterbug." Today, we are rightfully concerned with catastrophic oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and waste management. People may go to the extremes of responsibility either way, from those who scoff at global warming and its ramifications, to those who radically protest the death of animals for any reason or purpose. I suggest that God created us in his image; therefore, he gave us the ability to exercise common sense and to genuinely care for what's been put into our keeping.

We can take our cues from Jesus on how best to care for God's creation, which does include our fellow human beings. In John 17, as Jesus was preparing for his crucifixion and ascension to Heaven, he prayed for those whom the Father had given him, the disciples and all who would come to claim Christ as their personal savior (John 17:6, 20). God had made Jesus responsible for all flesh (John 17:2) so we might know eternal life. Jesus gave to us all that the Father asked him to give, and he prayed that the Father would keep us from evil and make us one with them (John 17:8, 15, 21). At this particular moment in his life, Jesus could have chosen to shirk his responsibility, but instead, he sought the safekeeping of those for whom he was responsible, and then he fulfilled what he was sent to do by dying on the cross that we might have life everlasting. 

Maybe John 17 is an unusual example of what it means to "take care of God's creation," but I suspect we can gain insight into what it means when God makes us responsible. God gave us an incredible gift when he put us in the position of caretaker for his creation. We can choose to be reckless with the trust, or we can step up, be responsible, and treat God's creation with the care and respect it deserves. Someday, he will hold us accountable for how we answer the question, "What in the world are you doing to take care of what God made."

"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much...." Luke 16:10a

Heavenly Father, thank you for sharing your creation with us. Please help us to remember our responsibility to all you have created and to care for it as you would expect. Thank you for giving us the wisdom and the strength to do what you have asked us to do. Amen.

"Circuit Training" in God's Devoted Follower's Boot Camp

Have you ever stopped to think how lucrative the exercise equipment business is? Buff guys on television "paid programming" make the latest, greatest, "get rock hard abs like mine" machine look so effortless. It's easy to morph into a fit body with sculpted muscles in just a few minutes a day - more like a quick look at the machine - if we can believe the advertising pitch! And it's crazy how many people do believe! We hope that if we have that miracle-working piece of equipment, we will somehow develop the self-discipline it will take to actually use it consistently so that we become fit, like the guy in the ad, without breaking a sweat, and in just a few short sessions. 

So we fork over 4 easy payments of $99.99 plus shipping and handling. When it arrives, we unpack the box with determination, place the "thing" in front of the television, put on our newly purchased work-out gear (it is, after all, all about the look), and begin to exercise, only to discover that the guy on the ad lied. The machine is NOT easy and the effort required to make it work is HUGE! It doesn't take long for our resolve to dissolve and for the equipment to end up in the storage room along with all the other exercise stuff we've accumulated and rejected. 

I wonder if we sometimes assume that becoming a mature Christian is supposed to come without extreme effort, personal sacrifice, and self-discipline. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, the training begins, and it doesn't end until we stand before the Lord, face to face. What is absolutely encouraging is that we have all we need (Phil. 4:19) to develop into "buff Christians." God has given us faith, and he's promised to provide the strength we need to grow in him and to become who he created us to be (Phil. 4:13). He's given us a complete training manual, the Bible, an example to follow, Jesus, and a personal trainer, the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:1-5 is an interesting explanation of the kind of "circuit training" we can expect once we sign on for God's "Devoted Follower's Boot Camp." We discover that first we have entered into relationship with him through faith (Romans 5:1-2). It's this faith that allows us to believe and receive the grace of God and the gift of salvation. It's small faith (maybe the size of a mustard seed - Matthew 17:20), but like muscle and cardio-vascular capacity, it has growth potential! 

Along with this faith, we have hope that, as a result of our salvation, we will know God's glory. Hope goes hand-in-hand with faith (Hebrews 11:1); therefore, hope has room to grow too. But just as muscles and lung capacity don't increase and strengthen by just wishing it so, faith and hope have to be pushed, stretched, and exercised to build endurance. 

God's "training routine" requires that we know "tribulation" (Romans 5:3). But, it's the tribulation that develops patience in us. If we exercise our faith and hope during the tough times, if we stay focused and committed and draw our strength to endure from God, we come out stronger. That strength translates into a "chiseled, Christlike physique," which produces in us the will to keep on following after Christ, doing whatever it takes to become like him. 

The "circuit training" God designs for us follows this pattern - faith to accept salvation, hope for a glorious future with him, tribulation to develop patience, patience to produce experience, and experience that results in more hope (Romans 5:3-5)! 

Romans 8:25 says, "But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." We don't begin our training looking like the physically fit pitch-men in the advertisements, but we do hope that if we are patient (and patience doesn't always mean inactivity) and keep our eyes on the goal, we can develop the fitness God desires for us. 

As we gain endurance, we have the experience to encourage us on to the next level. God wants us to graduate from his "boot camp" fully developed so that on the day that we stand before him, he can say, "Well done! You've run a good race" (I Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1)!


Lord, you know that we need to be pushed to develop into who you intend for us to be. You start our "training" gently, but you know for us to run the race to the finish, we will need more rigor! Thank you for providing all we need to be successful as we mature in our walk with you.

Waiting for Walls to Fall: An Exercise of Patience

Exercising patience means waiting. Generally, we have two ways in which we can wait - with fear and anxiety or with great anticipation and excitement. The condition in which we wait often coincides directly with the way in which we are related to God. If we are out of sync, we are going to be truly worried about the outcome and will attempt to take matters into our own hands. Conversely, if we are "right with God," we can wait and watch for how he is going to work in the situations we face. We can anticipate his plan with the same difficult-to-contain  excitement of a child awaiting Christmas morning, or we can agonize with the "wait 'til your father gets home" fear and dread!

God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to prepare to take Jericho. This involved becoming "purified" before God, honoring and revering his presence among them, and following some rather unconventional tactics of warfare. A key to learning to wait with patient anticipation to "...see the salvation of the Lord..." (Exodus 14:13; II Chronicles 20:17) is to sanctify or purify ourselves (to have a right heart) before him. Joshua told the children of Israel, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). God does great and wondrous things in our lives when we are obedient to him; when we aren't, we prevent him from blessing our lives (see Joshua 7). 

With God present among the Israelites, they were ready to pass into the Land of Canaan that he had promised them. He commanded Joshua to have the Levite priests carry the Ark of the Covenant, God's symbol of his holy presence, into the Jordan River. As long as the priests stood in the Jordan with the Ark, the people were able to cross on dry land (Joshua 3:11-17). When the people prepared to take Jericho, God was there, as the priests led the procession around the walls of the city (Joshua 6:11). God, present in any situation of our lives, leading the charge, results in victory. In the words of David, "For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall" (II Samuel 22:30, Psalm 18:29). Nothing is too great for God; we just have to let him lead!

Marching around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days, with trumpets blowing, and then repeating the same pattern on the seventh day for seven circuits with a shout added the last time around doesn't seem like a plan for successfully taking the city and routing the people (Joshua 6:1-21). But, it was God's plan, and Joshua insisted that the people follow it as ordered. Sure enough, on the seventh time around when the trumpets sounded, the children of Israel gave up a shout of victory, and the walls of Jericho fell. The people were victorious because they did as God commanded. 

God doesn't always act in ways that make sense to us. In Isaiah 55:8, God says, "I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." Sometimes he wants us to do things that run counter to what we believe is a rational course of action. It's in these times that our patience is truly tested. We can become anxious and step out in our own wisdom trying to fix the situation, or we can wait excitedly, anticipating what God will do. Walls fall when we wait on God!

Lord, I don't like waiting! But, thank you for giving me plenty of "opportunities" to develop patience and a desire to wait for your leading and to follow it. You have a plan, it's perfect, and I want to be in obedience to you. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you for making right the messes I've made by rushing ahead of you. Thank you, Lord, because in all things you are amazing!

Parenting - Golden Calves and Other Objects of Our Affection

This week my attention was drawn to the account in Exodus 32 of the children of Israel growing impatient with the absence of their leader Moses. He had gone to Mount Sinai to hear from God and was taking way too long, as far as the people were concerned. They gave up waiting on, "That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt..." (Exodus 32:1, The Message). In reality, they gave up waiting on God - the same God they had sworn to obey (Exodus 19:2-8). Instead of drawing from their most recent memory of God's delivering them miraculously from Egyptian bondage, they grew impatient and demanded that Aaron, the God-ordained priest, make them "...gods who will lead us" (Exodus 32:1, The Message). Aaron gave into their demands and crafted a golden calf from their gold earrings and built an altar before it. He led the people in sacrificing offerings on that altar, and then they began to party! The party didn't last long; God was not amused! He commanded Moses to get down the mountain and back to the people. Moses had to intercede for them because God threatened to incinerate them! Moses destroyed the golden calf and carried out punishment on the people leading the revelry, and God sent a plague on all of them!

Far too often we too grow impatient, waiting for God to send an answer or give us what we believe we need. We want the "gods we can see" to lead us. The "god" may be the job we believe will bring us fulfillment or recognition. We may want so badly to be married that we settle for someone we know isn't Mr. or Ms. Right. Other times, we just put pencil to paper and figure out a way to have what we want - a car, a house, a vacation - even though something is tugging at us, telling us the timing isn't right. Whatever it is, we forget the God who has promised to be our provider and supply all our need according to his riches (Philippians 4:19). We get ahead of his plan and purposes for our lives and become his "helper." Usually, we "help" ourselves right into a big mess. We offer our worship to and place our faith in what we can see and manufacture.

God knows this about us. He knows we are prone to "playing god" and rushing headlong into trouble. He knows that sometimes getting what we want when we want it isn't in our best interest. Yet, God allows us to take matters into our own hands when we persist. I believe he knows that we eventually will learn that waiting on him to lead us and to provide for us is the wisest course of action! I believe he knows that the "plagues" that generally follow our own "golden calf" experiences end up being pretty good lessons for us.

Learning to be patient doesn't mean we sit around doing nothing. Waiting on God requires action (I Timothy 6:11). While we wait, we pray for God's strength to wait patiently. We read his word for guidance and are actively obedient to his word. We seek his direction. We listen for his voice. We worship him and believe that he is working all things for our good (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Like the children of Israel and Aaron, we can grow tired of waiting on God to lead us and rely on golden calves of our own making. We can worship at their altars, and we can be disappointed. Or, we can believe in what we cannot see and stand firm in God's promises and experience the rewards of our faithfulness (Hebrews 11:6).

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness and your patience with us. Teach us to hear your voice as you lead us. Give us the desire to wait on you with courage! In your name we ask. Amen!