True Steps to Treasure

I recently took another look at the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. My walk with Christ began in the midst of weekly AA meetings. I could not have identified it at the time but I had a lot of extra baggage I was carrying around. I am confident that the program helped me to overcome my past and deal honestly with my present. I learned a lot and grew quickly during the year I utilized the Twelve Steps as a guide to recovery.

The reason I looked back was because I was preaching from a passage that was asking for surrender. Surrender in our society almost always brings with it images of defeat, shame and weakness. But in some circles (AA, church) surrender is a good thing, it is the goal of life, it is desired.

The connection piece between the passage and the Twelve Steps was easy to make. The first of the Twelve Steps is to admit that we are powerless…that we are weak, deficient…like clay. Admit that there is no intrinsic quality that can enable us to free ourselves from the shackles that have us bound. It is a moment of total humility, surrender.

The starting place of Paul's strength was based upon this belief. His ability to be "pressed but not crushed, confused but not in despair, or struck down but not destroyed" was not natural, it was supernatural (2 Cor 4:8-9). Paul wanted the world to see God's mighty power working in the midst of his weakness.

Paul tells us that God chose to keep his incredible treasure in jars of clay. Vessels so common they could be discarded; like paper cups in our modern world. Nothing in these vessels was supposed to standout, be noticed or admired. Any value associated with these vessels stemmed from what was inside.

As he talks about this unnatural power to overcome obstacles Paul paints a contrast between the common clay and the special contents it was created for.

That is where the second of the Twelve Steps came into play. It states, "we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us…keep us, make us overcomers." We need to be filled with a power greater than ourselves.

This "all-surpassing power" (vs 7) that we need is described in terms of light (vs 6). Jesus describes himself as the "Light of the World" (Jn 8:12).

Have you surrendered your life to the Light? Do you contain this light?

When do you refuse to let your weak, common, clay be exposed? Have you been fortifying your appearance? Have you fallen into the trap of decorating and making your vessel appear strong, valuable or worthy?

Are you able to let your light shine?

If not, Why not?

UNASHAMED

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed

The decision has been made, the die has been cast

My names in that book, I'm a disciple of His

 

My past has been washed clean, my present makes sense, my future is secure

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, stinted dreams, and small talking

 

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, or power

I don't have to be first, right, recognized, or rewarded

The life I now live I live by faith, leaning on his presence, while laboring in his love.

 

My face is set, my mission clear, my goal is heaven,

My road is narrow, the way is tough, my companions few

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, or delayed

I must not look back, let up, slow down, step away, or be still

 

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,

hesitate in the presence of the adversary,

or negotiate at the table of the enemy.

 

I won't give up, I won't shut up, I won't let up

Until I've stored up, stayed up, and paid up for the cause of Christ

 

I'm a disciple of His,

I will go till he comes, give till I drop, and work till he says stop,

And when he comes for his own he will have no problem recognizing me

 

Cause I'm an unashamed soldier, in God's Army

WASHED IN THE WATER

God has been using water to record the milestones in our relationship with him since the beginning.

In the Book of Genesis we read that a fabulous river flowed from the Garden of Eden, our birthplace. Most scientists would agree that you and I are fighting to restore peace in a land that helped create our earliest memories of walking with God.

When God's people were enslaved in Egypt He used water to facilitate their release. As Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land God drowned the enemy that threatened. Now they were free to follow Him.

A little more than 40 years later God exhorts his people to mark their crossing the Jordan River by building and altar of rocks. He wanted them to remember that they entered into the Promised Land supernaturally. He wanted them to remember passing through the waters and stepping into their new life.

Jesus was not above obeying the command and marking his journey with his own unique obedience to the call to the river. From this point on Jesus talks about life altering new water, a living water, that continually fills and quenches those who posses it.

Very soon I will assist a couple soldiers to mark their entrance into the new life, into the Promised Land, by passing through the waters. When they do they will join the ranks of millions of people throughout history who have declared their faith in Christ by obedience to the command to believe and be baptized.

Is your journey marked by water? Where? When?

Can you point to specific crossing in your life when you left the old life and stepped into the new?

His Rock

Sometimes reading the Bible is made more difficult because we were born and raised in the west. Take for instance the ancient laws directing God's people to stone someone to death for certain infractions of the law. I don't know about you, but that always seemed a little unnecessarily barbaric to me.

Then I thought about it a little more and compared it to some of the things we have utilized for capital punishment. We hang people by their necks, burn them at the stake and impale them on crosses (Romans). All of these utilize wood. We used what was common and available. These people don't have trees! They have rocks; lots and lots of rocks.

I posted some pictures of my "neighborhood."

My wife left me a note saying I should start a garden outside my room because it looks a little drab.

She is right. Drab is the primary color in this land.

She is also right, that a little life, a little color, a little display of God's beauty would brighten things.

So today I thought what would a spiritual leader use to inspire his flock in a drab and dreary land?

Flowers just won't do. Even if they lasted longer than an hour outside I am not about to plant any pansies around here.

Then it hit me…use what you have. Make a rock garden.

Since then I have been finding cool looking stones all over the place.

There are so many colorful and cool looking rocks it is hard to choose.

I just never noticed how unique and special they were all created until I stopped to look closer.

Even the broken ones that are less attractive on the outside are beautiful on the inside.

It started to remind me of the human story…created beautiful but covered in muck.

Mixed in with the rest of humanity and a little dirt and we are all pretty hard to tell apart.

When is the last time that you pondered the question, "why Me?"

Have you ever asked God why he Choose you?

The Psalmist does it beautifully in Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

Why he dusted you off and stuck you on display in his garden?

Here are a few things I was reminded of since starting this project…

Remember, when life is a little drab and dreary look a little harder, God's print is everywhere, every bush is aflame.

Remember, you are in God's garden, He knows right where he planted you.

Remember, most people can only see what is wrong. Live your life so they witness what is right.

Remember, if you were a rock, you'd be God's favorite rock; He'd carry you around in his pocket.

Hope To Carry On

The 32^nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) was alerted and given 12 months to prepare for this deployment. We had lots of time to consider our lives and even the potential of our deaths. I think many of us prepared ourselves for the reality that soldiers who go to war sometimes die. Combat deaths are expected and anticipated when preparing for this kind of thing.

What caught so many people off guard with the death of one of our soldiers was his joy and zeal for life and living. It was really hard for the guys who knew him to accept the news of his suicide. No one was prepared for that kind of loss. The shock, confusion and anger that soldiers felt were freely expressed among the men as we put out the news.

Why would a squared away soldier, a loving husband, a caring father, or a respected leader take their own life? When I heard the questions the men were asking as to "why" there friend committed suicide my heart ached also.

Thinking about this dilemma brought me back to my days in seminary when I was training for ministry. I remembered one psychology class when I learned that no one really knew; science could not really explain "why" people suffered things like depression and anxiety. There was this big debate among professionals whether it was biological or environmental; was it an issue of the person's nature or their nurturing. Its root and cause still escaped us.

Working in the mental health field during seminary introduced me to the complexities of the issue of depression first hand. I used to deliver people to the hospital for evaluation and admittance into the behavioral health unit. I worked with them when released back into the community. I saw people transformed by the introduction of medication into their lives. I know that some depression and anxiety are greatly helped as the medicine brings a balance back into their lives.

Sometimes part of the answer or treatment is biological. But sometimes, many times the clients I worked with received little or no help from the medications prescribed. It was as if something else was missing in their lives.

I have come to believe that medical science is not the best answer for every case of depression. Sometimes we need to take a step back and reevaluate before passing out care and counsel from one text book or another.

Our soldiers death exposes an old, ancient and crafty enemy named despair. We live in an age when despair seems to be a constant and unwelcomed companion. Everywhere we turn we see signs of this intruder. The papers, television, and internet are full of stories that reflect despair. At times it seems unstoppable. How do we wage war against an enemy we cannot see? What can we say? What can we do to address it?

Even if we should turn to medical science for answers we would have little consolation. Science doesn't know how to deal with it. Drugs can't help it; often times the counsel and concern of friends doesn't ease it. It is a cold dark mystery to many of us.

To combat an ancient foe perhaps we should consider an ancient friend. There is a passage of scripture that relates a story of one man who knew despair. It is found in the Book of Job. Lets listen to Job's cry: "Sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. ²⁵ What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. ²⁶ I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."

Many ancient passages affirm the reality and universality of despair but those same texts also give us the assurance of hope. The antidote for despair.

These ancient texts tell us the story of God and his interaction with mankind. In these pages we read that life was and once again will be good. We read that I am created in his image, that I am destined for glory. He cares for his kids; He has a plan for my life. He will never leave me nor forsake me. All of these beliefs are organized into what we call faith. And that faith brings hope and that hope conquers despair.

For human beings hope is like a luminary round fired over our heads in the darkest of nights. It gives us light by which to fight, to navigate and to carry on. It was this kind of hope that the Psalmist must have had in mind when he wrote, "Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Hebrews 6:19
¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for our souls, and it is firm and secure.

My challenge to you today is to ensure that your anchor will hold when the storm comes. Find out what the writers of scripture knew. Do not leave your future to chance. You have an adversary who goes around as a lion seeking whom he may destroy. Your enemy comes to steal and to kill and destroy.

Get hope…

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (NIV).

 

 

 

The Tortoise and the Hare #2

I was blessed last Sunday morning to have been able to participate in my first 10K run here in Iraq. And I discovered an extra blessing that day at the finish line.
The email describing the race and registration procedures was complicated. The fact that they had T-shirts did not escape my eye though. It stated that only the top hundred runners would get a shirt at the finish line. I did not hold out much hope, but I hadn't closed the door on a shirt either. The morning of the race we discovered that there were several hundred runners registered. These folks did not look like the remedial group.
I reeled in my last bit of hope and took it off the hook and packed that all away. My attention that morning quickly shifted to completing the race to the best of my abilities.
Around the the first half mile checkpoint the lead pack of runners (20-30) all took a wrong turn. When I saw them I told Sgt Sward, "today is my day...all the rabbits have run off." We laughed good and hard.
When I ended the race the official at the finish line handed me a numbered tag and said, "last one; no more shirts left." I couldn't believe it.
I thought back in my mind at how the Lord had split off exactly the number of people in the front of the pack to enable me to get a shirt. That is simply amazing.
The majority of the front runners completed the 5K loop and joined us on the 10K loop. In essence the majority of those elite runners ran that morning because they love to run. I didn't here "too" much complaining, I heard more laughter and joy.
It is the classic tale of the tortoise and the hare but this time it is not either of the creatures who get the glory. It is instead the creator. Thank God that he still listens, positions and messes in the affairs of men. Thank him that he still loves to see us smile. Thank him that he still gives old turtles new painted shells (shirts).