"There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 (NIV)
This morning at church, the congregation had the privilege of hearing the testimony of David Ring*, a nationally recognized Christian speaker in whose life God's power is marvelously displayed! Born with cerebral palsy and orphaned at age 14, it didn't seem as though this man had it in him to do great things for God. But he has, and he does, everyday.
Listening to David set my mind working. Every Christian faces challenges in their walk with God. If you haven't faced them yet, you will. Trust me. But there is something about an underdog that appeals to the human spirit. When someone who doesn't seem to have a chance beats the odds, something within us soars. That's because, deep down, we recognize the fact that we were all made for something glorious. God destined us for glory, but we were born into a world ruled by darkness and overcome by evil. Each one of us begins our existence with the deck stacked against us.
Like David, some of us have physical handicaps. Others have mental or emotional handicaps. We all have our quirks and hang-ups that can sometimes seem like immovable mountains... but we're no the only children of God who've been dealt a lousy hand.
Adam was a coward; Eve was naive; Cain was a murderer; Noah was a drunk; Abraham was a liar; Jacob was a thief; Joseph was a slave; Moses had a speech impediment; Rahab was a prostitute; Gideon was timid; Jephthah was an illegitimate child; Samson was a womanizer; Ruth was a widow; David was an adulterer; Solomon worshiped idols; Elijah was the only prophet left in Israel; Esther lived under a genocidal prime minister; Job... well, let's not even get into that... Jeremiah was depressed; Daniel was an exile; Hosea was married to a wayward woman; Jonah was judgmental; John the Baptist was a weirdo; Mary was an unwed mother; James and John had anger issues; Peter was impulsive; Thomas doubted; Judas was a backstabber; and Lazarus was DEAD, for crying out loud! What's your excuse?
Instead of using our issues as cop-outs, we should use them as a platforms for sharing our story. Yeah, it takes guts to admit to all the faults of your old nature, but pretending to be perfect isn't what showcases Christ's power. It's our admission of our hurts, habits and hangups--the things about ourselves that we would most like to hide--that reveals the greatness of what God has done! We have no excuse for not sharing our testimony with anyone we meet. There's no challenge we face that has not already been overcome by Christ's power.
"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
-Jeremiah 32:27
"For nothing is impossible with God."
-Luke 1:37
*For more about David Ring, visit http://www.davidring.org/about.html
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Cuts Both Ways
"Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers... and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters."
-1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NCV)
I've noticed, during the past few months, that there seems to be this invisible line between FUSION* and WIRED** that no one wants to cross. FUSION grumbles and complains about having to do things together with WIRED over the summer, when both groups are low on attendance. I think FUSION needs a major attitude adjustment. Bussey seems to agree with me, saying that we need to set a good example for WIRED over the summer. But I think we can do so much more than simply minding our manners. I think we need to go above and beyond just setting a good example. I think it's time we got our hands dirty.
Over the past year, the small groups have been working through the book, Do Hard Things. In my group, a topic that was often discussed was the low expectations of most of the adults in our lives. When adults think that we are immature, irresponsible, incapable and incorrigible, we tend to act that way. It is so hard to offer our best when people are expecting our worst. But this blade is double-edged. We want people to raise their expectations and think better of us... but we are unwilling to think better of our young brothers and sisters in WIRED. We prefer to think of them as inferior beings of limited intelligence who have a lot of evolving to do before they can join the civilized world.
This is a wrong way of thinking. This is what Christ has to say to that brand of arrogance:
"At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, 'Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?' For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, 'I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time!'"
Matthew 18:1-6 (The Message)
This summer, God has placed FUSION in a unique position of influence. The students of FUSION and WIRED will be taught together on a weekly basis. We'll be traveling to Atlanta, GA together for the mission trip. We'll be working and learning side by side. And whether they realize it or not, they'll be looking to us to set the standard. We can either treat this as an unpleasant duty or as an incredible opportunity. It's not enough for us to do our own hard things; we're supposed to show the ones who will come after us how to do hard things too.
We're the adults of tomorrow; do we really want to be shaking our heads ten years from now, bemoaning the failings of our teenagers? Or would we rather begin to impact the next generation of teenagers now, so that we can rejoice with them in their triumphs?
The power of expectations cuts both ways. By expecting little of the WIRED students, we don't just rob them of the opportunity to learn from us. We also cripple ourselves, throwing away the opportunity to grow through the sharing of our experiences. FUSION and WIRED have a lot to learn from each other. Their questions will sharpen our knowledge and strengthen our convictions; our answers will increase their wisdom and build their faith. But we have to invest before we earn interest; we have to plow and plant before we harvest.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the older, stronger, more mature Christians to mentor and disciple the younger, weaker and less mature.
"We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith."
-Romans 15:1-2 (NCV)
We need to change the way we've been thinking about this summer, FUSION students. This is our chance to share ourselves with the WIRED kids, and help to build them up in Christ. Take advantage of this opportunity; the days are evil.
*High School Youth Group
**Middle School Youth Group
-1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NCV)
I've noticed, during the past few months, that there seems to be this invisible line between FUSION* and WIRED** that no one wants to cross. FUSION grumbles and complains about having to do things together with WIRED over the summer, when both groups are low on attendance. I think FUSION needs a major attitude adjustment. Bussey seems to agree with me, saying that we need to set a good example for WIRED over the summer. But I think we can do so much more than simply minding our manners. I think we need to go above and beyond just setting a good example. I think it's time we got our hands dirty.
Over the past year, the small groups have been working through the book, Do Hard Things. In my group, a topic that was often discussed was the low expectations of most of the adults in our lives. When adults think that we are immature, irresponsible, incapable and incorrigible, we tend to act that way. It is so hard to offer our best when people are expecting our worst. But this blade is double-edged. We want people to raise their expectations and think better of us... but we are unwilling to think better of our young brothers and sisters in WIRED. We prefer to think of them as inferior beings of limited intelligence who have a lot of evolving to do before they can join the civilized world.
This is a wrong way of thinking. This is what Christ has to say to that brand of arrogance:
"At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, 'Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?' For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, 'I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time!'"
Matthew 18:1-6 (The Message)
This summer, God has placed FUSION in a unique position of influence. The students of FUSION and WIRED will be taught together on a weekly basis. We'll be traveling to Atlanta, GA together for the mission trip. We'll be working and learning side by side. And whether they realize it or not, they'll be looking to us to set the standard. We can either treat this as an unpleasant duty or as an incredible opportunity. It's not enough for us to do our own hard things; we're supposed to show the ones who will come after us how to do hard things too.
We're the adults of tomorrow; do we really want to be shaking our heads ten years from now, bemoaning the failings of our teenagers? Or would we rather begin to impact the next generation of teenagers now, so that we can rejoice with them in their triumphs?
The power of expectations cuts both ways. By expecting little of the WIRED students, we don't just rob them of the opportunity to learn from us. We also cripple ourselves, throwing away the opportunity to grow through the sharing of our experiences. FUSION and WIRED have a lot to learn from each other. Their questions will sharpen our knowledge and strengthen our convictions; our answers will increase their wisdom and build their faith. But we have to invest before we earn interest; we have to plow and plant before we harvest.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the older, stronger, more mature Christians to mentor and disciple the younger, weaker and less mature.
"We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith."
-Romans 15:1-2 (NCV)
We need to change the way we've been thinking about this summer, FUSION students. This is our chance to share ourselves with the WIRED kids, and help to build them up in Christ. Take advantage of this opportunity; the days are evil.
*High School Youth Group
**Middle School Youth Group
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Will It Be Enough?
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy
(Legacy, by Nichole Nordeman)
August seemed a lot farther away in January. Now, in June, August is looming on the horizon. It is literally just around the corner. And in August, I'll be heading off to college at Mid-Atlantic Christian University (formerly Roanoke Bible College). I'll be majoring in Cross-Cultural Ministries and minoring in Counseling. I should be excited. I am. But every time I think about August, I think about all the days that have slipped away.
I could have gone away to school last year, and about this time last year, that's exactly what I wanted to do. God, however, frustrated my plans with a plan of His own.
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
-Proverbs 19:21
God asked me to wait a year before I went away to college. However, he ordered that I be productive during the season of waiting. God's plan, of course, was much better than mine. I've learned some valuable life lessons this year--lessons I would not have learned otherwise. God has stressed to me that even the smallest things are of great importance, and He has taught me to do ordinary things extraordinarily well, in order to develop my character.
I know that the past year has served the Lord's purpose, but all I can see right now is that the year is over already. It's been like writing a timed essay--trying to get it all down on paper, making it understandable and legible, and now time's up, and I'm left scribbling in the last few letters and plunking a period at the end of it. Then all I can do is hope that what I've written is enough to get my point across. I'm praying that what I've done with this year will be enough.
God, I pray that what I've done in my family will be enough. This year I have worked really hard to build my relationship with my siblings. I won't be here to watch over Madison and Kalis and make sure they're on the right track. I'm going to have to trust that the life I've tried to live and the wisdom I've tried to impart will stay with them and influence their decisions.
God, I pray that what I've done in my church will be enough. It has always been a goal of mine to impact the people of my church, especially the young people. With the clock running down, though, I jumped on it this past year. I've tried to invest in people--encouraging, edifying, identifying their potential and drawing it out. I've tried to get them to think bigger, to remember that they are children of the King, made for so much more than mediocrity. I've tried to convince them that they were made to do great things for Christ. I've talked about it, written about it, and lived it to the best of my ability. But will it be enough?
Have I created a big enough splash in this pond that the ripples will outlast my presence? Will my brother continue to look at dating and marriage in a godly way when I'm no longer around to daily reinforce the lesson? Will the kids in my small group continue to "Do Hard Things" when my constant harping is coming from farther away? Will someone step into my shoes and continue pushing the ones I've tried to mentor, spurring them on to love and good deeds? I hope so. I want it to be so.
I know that I will do my best to serve God's purpose wherever He places me. However, I sometimes think that if I just had a little more time here, I could see the fruits of my work, and then it would be easier to move on. But part of being a leader is planting trees under whose shade we will never sit.
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. "
-1 Corinthians 3:10
So that is my challenge to you all. To my brother and sister. To my small group. To my friends. To my youth minister. To my church. I've run my leg of the race; I can't carry the baton any farther than this. God's called me to be somewhere else, doing something else for His glory. So I have to pass it. I pass it to you.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy
(Legacy, by Nichole Nordeman)
August seemed a lot farther away in January. Now, in June, August is looming on the horizon. It is literally just around the corner. And in August, I'll be heading off to college at Mid-Atlantic Christian University (formerly Roanoke Bible College). I'll be majoring in Cross-Cultural Ministries and minoring in Counseling. I should be excited. I am. But every time I think about August, I think about all the days that have slipped away.
I could have gone away to school last year, and about this time last year, that's exactly what I wanted to do. God, however, frustrated my plans with a plan of His own.
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
-Proverbs 19:21
God asked me to wait a year before I went away to college. However, he ordered that I be productive during the season of waiting. God's plan, of course, was much better than mine. I've learned some valuable life lessons this year--lessons I would not have learned otherwise. God has stressed to me that even the smallest things are of great importance, and He has taught me to do ordinary things extraordinarily well, in order to develop my character.
I know that the past year has served the Lord's purpose, but all I can see right now is that the year is over already. It's been like writing a timed essay--trying to get it all down on paper, making it understandable and legible, and now time's up, and I'm left scribbling in the last few letters and plunking a period at the end of it. Then all I can do is hope that what I've written is enough to get my point across. I'm praying that what I've done with this year will be enough.
God, I pray that what I've done in my family will be enough. This year I have worked really hard to build my relationship with my siblings. I won't be here to watch over Madison and Kalis and make sure they're on the right track. I'm going to have to trust that the life I've tried to live and the wisdom I've tried to impart will stay with them and influence their decisions.
God, I pray that what I've done in my church will be enough. It has always been a goal of mine to impact the people of my church, especially the young people. With the clock running down, though, I jumped on it this past year. I've tried to invest in people--encouraging, edifying, identifying their potential and drawing it out. I've tried to get them to think bigger, to remember that they are children of the King, made for so much more than mediocrity. I've tried to convince them that they were made to do great things for Christ. I've talked about it, written about it, and lived it to the best of my ability. But will it be enough?
Have I created a big enough splash in this pond that the ripples will outlast my presence? Will my brother continue to look at dating and marriage in a godly way when I'm no longer around to daily reinforce the lesson? Will the kids in my small group continue to "Do Hard Things" when my constant harping is coming from farther away? Will someone step into my shoes and continue pushing the ones I've tried to mentor, spurring them on to love and good deeds? I hope so. I want it to be so.
I know that I will do my best to serve God's purpose wherever He places me. However, I sometimes think that if I just had a little more time here, I could see the fruits of my work, and then it would be easier to move on. But part of being a leader is planting trees under whose shade we will never sit.
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. "
-1 Corinthians 3:10
So that is my challenge to you all. To my brother and sister. To my small group. To my friends. To my youth minister. To my church. I've run my leg of the race; I can't carry the baton any farther than this. God's called me to be somewhere else, doing something else for His glory. So I have to pass it. I pass it to you.
Monday, June 1, 2009
How to Kill a Leech
A leech. A mooch. A freeloader. We all know at least one. Mine happens to live with me. They do as little work as possible, but they demand more than anyone else. No matter how much attention is lavished on them, they still claim to feel neglected. No matter how many privileges are granted them, they complain about the few that are denied. No matter how you bend over backwards to please them, they are never satisfied. They take and take and take, and never give anything back. Like a leech, they suck the life out of you... until it feels like you have nothing left.
So... what do we do with these people who drive us up the wall? These people who, when we see them coming, make us want to run in the opposite direction? These people we'd sometimes like to strangle? (In my case, anyway...) Well (insert sigh here), this is what the Bible says:
"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."
Matthew 5:38-48 (The Message)
Oh boy. Talk about hard hitting. But Jesus was always direct and to-the-point that way. My favorite part is: "If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?" Nobody should get Brownie points for fulfilling the minimum requirements; that's my opinion. Doing only what you ought to be doing anyway isn't anything special, and it's certainly not praiseworthy. Going above and beyond the bare minimum... now, that's something.
It takes real guts to love someone who hates you. And I don't mean the mushy-gushy kind of love, or the philosophy that says Christians ought to be doormats. I mean powerful, courageous, coal-heaping love.*
My brother and I had a fight last week about our resident leech, my younger sister. Now I'll admit that I get on her case as much as anybody else in my family, but that night I'd had enough. They'd been fighting, and she went to bed upset. So I told my brother, at risk of my life, that he ought to go and apologize for his part in the screaming match.
He exploded, "She won't even care if I apologize! She'll still be mad, and she won't change even a little bit! Nothing I do is going to change her!"
So many thoughts ran through my head, little bits of wisdom that were all cliche, and therefore inappropriate. So instead I said this:
"You have to be a man of character whether it changes her or not."
After thinking it over a good long while, he went up and apologized, and as I expected, she threw it in his face, and he came tearing down the stairs in a rage.
"See, I told you!" He snapped.
And I just shook my head. That wasn't the point at all. Some people, my sister included, are hard to love. But that doesn't mean that we just ought to give up on them, or behave towards them as they behave towards us. I don't expect my relationships with difficult people to change in a day... but I do think that I can begin to model a more Christ-like kind of love towards them; the kind of love that says, "I love you as you are, but I don't intend to leave you that way."
Kill 'em with kindness. I don't care if that one is cliche, so there!
*Proverbs 25:21-22
So... what do we do with these people who drive us up the wall? These people who, when we see them coming, make us want to run in the opposite direction? These people we'd sometimes like to strangle? (In my case, anyway...) Well (insert sigh here), this is what the Bible says:
"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."
Matthew 5:38-48 (The Message)
Oh boy. Talk about hard hitting. But Jesus was always direct and to-the-point that way. My favorite part is: "If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?" Nobody should get Brownie points for fulfilling the minimum requirements; that's my opinion. Doing only what you ought to be doing anyway isn't anything special, and it's certainly not praiseworthy. Going above and beyond the bare minimum... now, that's something.
It takes real guts to love someone who hates you. And I don't mean the mushy-gushy kind of love, or the philosophy that says Christians ought to be doormats. I mean powerful, courageous, coal-heaping love.*
My brother and I had a fight last week about our resident leech, my younger sister. Now I'll admit that I get on her case as much as anybody else in my family, but that night I'd had enough. They'd been fighting, and she went to bed upset. So I told my brother, at risk of my life, that he ought to go and apologize for his part in the screaming match.
He exploded, "She won't even care if I apologize! She'll still be mad, and she won't change even a little bit! Nothing I do is going to change her!"
So many thoughts ran through my head, little bits of wisdom that were all cliche, and therefore inappropriate. So instead I said this:
"You have to be a man of character whether it changes her or not."
After thinking it over a good long while, he went up and apologized, and as I expected, she threw it in his face, and he came tearing down the stairs in a rage.
"See, I told you!" He snapped.
And I just shook my head. That wasn't the point at all. Some people, my sister included, are hard to love. But that doesn't mean that we just ought to give up on them, or behave towards them as they behave towards us. I don't expect my relationships with difficult people to change in a day... but I do think that I can begin to model a more Christ-like kind of love towards them; the kind of love that says, "I love you as you are, but I don't intend to leave you that way."
Kill 'em with kindness. I don't care if that one is cliche, so there!
*Proverbs 25:21-22
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