Better Than Amway

The first time it happened to me, I was working at Subway in Atlanta.  I don't know if we necessarily needed the money or not, I just always worked two jobs.  The only time I didn't is when I was in school, but, then, that could be considered the "second job".  Come to think of it, I've pretty much always worked 50 to 80 hours a week.  But, I digress ...
So this guy comes into Subway and orders his sandwich and we chit chat about this and that while I pile on the veggies and squirt the sauce.  As I am making his change, he says, "What are you doing working at Subway, you could be making $3000 a month?" (I know we say, "$5000 a month, part-time" now, but in 1988 or 89, that was some big bucks!)  He hands me a tri-fold brochure, a cassette tape (for you younger folks, that's like an mp3 download that you could pass along to anyone you wanted to as long as they had the right kind of player (which everyone did)), and sets an appointment to meet with me after I get off work the next night.
So, I read his brochure and listen to his tape which tell me how I am undervalued by my current employers and I could be making a lot of money by helping other people make a lot of money.  All I have to do is help some people help some more people help some other people sell some fantastic products and in no time I'll be a millionaire!  We met.  He talked.  I listened.  He asked not less than 7 times, "What is to prevent you from signing up and getting started right now?", and each time I offered an objection, he dispatched it with such ease, it seemed like there could not be any reason in the world why anyone would not drop everything and enthusiastically join the Amway crusade.  He was very, very disappointed when I wouldn't join him.
There are a lot of people with a lot of need.  And, even though they usually think that need is to make more money so they can have more stuff, the real need is to have vital, healthy relationships.  A few of us have managed to find the peace that comes from being okay in our own skin, of knowing our true identity in Christ and our purpose in this world.  Love, peace and joy are ours.  There is no greater treasure.  And yet we hoard this wealth as if sharing it would somehow diminish our portion.  But, then that's the paradox.
The more we work to give it away, the more of it we receive.  We express our love - love increases.  We practice peacemaking - our peace increases.  We bring joy to others - our joy increases.  What a deal!
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control - What incredible gifts!
I know what I'm getting everybody for Christmas this year!

At Least We Got That One Down Pat

A long lost schoolmate, whom I recently found (within the last two weeks actually) on fb posted the following:

Be Yourself ~ Truthfully         Accept Yourself ~ Gracefully          Value Yourself ~ Joyfully          Forgive Yourself ~ Completely          Treat Yourself ~ Generously          Balance Yourself ~ Harmoniously          Bless Yourself ~ Abundantly          Trust Yourself ~ Confidently          Love Yourself ~ Wholeheartedly          Empower Yourself ~ Prayerfully          Give Of Yourself ~ Enthusiastically          Express Yourself ~ Radiantly

 My immediate reaction was, "Wow, that's a tad bit narcissistic!"  But then my wife said something in an unrelated conversation that helped me see that my reaction was way off base.
We were in the midst of a discussion about my last message when she made a statement that to me seemed totally unrelated to the subject at hand (or any other subject we had discussed that day).  She said:

Of all the things we are told to do in the Bible, the one we seem to have down pat is "Love your neighbor as yourself."  The reason everything is so messed up is that people can't love themselves.

I'm supposed to be the brilliant communicator, where does she get off making the profound statements!

It's the Journey, Stupid!

I was walking along the riverfront with a recently graduated student.  We often met to walk and talk about all sorts of life, relationship, spiritual, moral, deep issues.  We also worked together ... alot ... I miss that ... but, that's not the story ...
As we walked along, we saw a boy up ahead, fishing.  He had a cheap Shakespeare pole with a cheaper Ebco reel.  His "bait bucket" was a coffee can and he had a 5 gallon bucket to throw his catch into.  The bucket had what looked like an old leash tied to it so he could lower it over the seawall to get water.  As we got close, I asked the obligatory, "Catch anything?"
We talked for awhile about his love of fishing.  He fished every day after school and most weekends.  Usually he caught something, sometimes he didn't.  He ate what was edible and threw back what wasn't.  Rain, shine, hot or cold - it didn't matter.  He just liked to fish.
Last weekend, my 3 sons took part in a fishing tournament.  The oldest caught 2 fish.  The middle son caught 1 fish and the youngest didn't catch any.  There were some prizes handed out for the most catches and a really nice "goodie" bag full of lures, hooks, bobbers and other tackle.  But, it wasn't about the stuff; it was about fishing!
I think we waste the best part of the experience anticipating the outcome.  It's like the whole thing is wasted if we don't achieve the desired result.  The goal is the only thing that matters.  It's success or failure based on the performance matrix of desired outcomes.
What about our life with Christ?  Is it all about the desired outcomes of Salvation, Worry Free Life, Help in Times of Trouble, Material Comfort, Success?  If it is all about the end result, then there can be no joy in the journey.  What about, "Consider it all joy when you encounter troubles ..."?  What about knowing "the fellowship of His sufferings"?  Sounds fun doesn't it.
And yet that is the very place you will find the best parts of God - in the journey every day as he demonstrates time and time again that His strength really is sufficient.  It is not in the places that everything is going according to plan that we encounter the awe, wonder and amazement that is God.
To borrow from the Clinton campaign in '92, "It's the journey, stupid!"
It's in the journey, not the destination.  Success is measured in continuing growth, not in singular achievement. Don't waste it!

F*-Up

I don't know if you are familiar with the story behind To Write Love On Her Arms.  Some folks wanted to help a drug addict, Renee, regain her life.  When she finally responded to their pursuit of her, she had cut the words "F* Up" on her arms with a razor blade.  TWLOHA's mission is to bring hope to the hopeless.  Their very name is the spirit of their mission, to replace "F* Up" with "love".
We can all identify with Renee.  There are times in our life when all we can see is an unending string of mistakes, failures and brokenness.  They can seem to define us as if our failures are all we are or all we can be.
In our church, we are reading through the Bible in a year.  Unfortunately, I'm not real good at following a plan, so, I found myself reading straight through Genesis in one sitting (or at least Genesis chapter 12 to 39).  That encompasses the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - the fathers of God's covenant people.  Men that God loved, blessed and promised to make into a nation of millions of people.  Men through whom all the world would be blessed.  But then, you look at their lives ...
These guys messed up about as often as they got it right.  Sometimes even messing up the same thing over and over.  Yet they were still loved, deeply loved, by the God of all creation.  Read their stories.  Be inspired by the fact that you can be messed up and not be "a mess up".  Our failures do not define us!
God is a God of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 129th chances.  Let Him heal you and set you on a new path.  "After all, tomorrow is another day."

10th Avenue North, "You Are More"

But That's a Different Sermon

How do we lose sight of how awesome God is?  How is it possible to be totally blown away with wonder and amazement at the incredible love of God in one moment and then retreat into our own selfish world the next?

The first time I saw Brother Lawrence was on the 3rd of August, 1666. He told me that God had done him a singular favor in his conversion at the age of eighteen. During that winter, upon seeing a tree stripped of its leaves and considering that, within a little time, the leaves would be renewed and, after that, the flowers and fruit appear; Brother Lawrence received a high view of the providence and power of God which has never since been effaced from his soul. This view had perfectly set him free from the world and kindled in him such a love for God, that he could not tell whether it had increased in the forty years that he had lived since.   The Practice of the Presence of God

Where is our "high view of the providence and power of God?"  As David writes in Psalm 8:

LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!     You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.  Because of Your adversaries, You have established a stronghold from the mouths of children and nursing infants, to silence the enemy and the avenger.   When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?  You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.  You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as animals in the wild, birds of the sky, and fish of the sea passing through the currents of the seas.  LORD, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!

 Who am I that the God of all creation would even think of me, let alone be intensely interested in my meager existence.?  Yet He comes when I call.  He hears when I cry.  He laughs with me, listens to me, provides for me, protects me, comforts me; in short, HE loves me.  As petty and insignificant as I am, He loves even me!!!
In the end, isn't that the only sermon that matters?
I like the way Casting Crowns puts it:

The Dependent Life

"I just get tired of Him taking me to that place where I have to depend on Him.  I get it already!"
That was the quote of an old friend who has struggled with many hurts, habits and hangups over the last 25+ years.
What he was referring to was his latest battle against depression and addiction.  Clean now for over 4 months after nearly 3 decades of addiction, he still battles depression, severe health issues, and longterm relational damage.  He credits God with rescuing him from himself on numerous occasions and His divine intervention when he "slipped" off the wagon and tried to acquire some "pharmaceutical" relief.  He gives all glory to God for his very existence as he acknowledges that he should have died many times over.  But he still has this nagging feeling that God could accomplish all this without dragging him through the pit of despair to demonstrate his utter and total dependence on Him.
The problem is that we all live an a "Matrix" of our own creation.  Our view of reality is so warped by our own selfish interests and self absorption.  We all cling to an illusion of control.  The reality is that we control nothing.  We are the slightest wisp of vapor that appears for just a moment and then vanishes completely.  We are completely dependent on the God of all creation Who holds everything together by the force of His own will (no it is not the midi-chlorians).  It is not a matter of taking the red pill and waking up to truth and reality or the blue pill and remaining in illusion.  It is simply acknowledging that we are not in control and submitting to the One who is.
The truth is that we are all desperately dependent on God, we just don't want to give up control.  Every now and then, we encounter a situation that demonstrates that we really don't control anything and we are forced to fall back on Deity in whatever form we choose, but as soon as we find stability we immediately rewrite history and tell everyone how we survived by our skill, endurance, intelligence, social connections or just plain good luck.
Truth ... Freedom ... Reality ... these are all found in recognizing our dependence.
Maybe we would avoid some of the pits of despair if we lived in our dependence rather than pretending to be in control.