What Gap Are You Standing In?

Text from a friend a few nights ago, when the day had been particularly difficult for a variety of reasons: "Hey man you were on my mind. I thought I would ask how I can pray for you."

My response, after wide eyes, dropped jaw, and a little contemplation: "Wow. My heart is heavy. [My deep concern went here.]. Wow again. :) Thanks."

His response: "I am in the gap brother."

You have no idea what a profound lift (hmm...oxymoronic?) that was for me. This is not the first time a brother in Christ has told me that his heart was moved to pray for me. I believe the Holy Spirit will prompt us on behalf of our fellow believers if we're paying attention, and that it's not only appropriate to pray, but to tell them we are doing so. The encouragement that accompanies that is unbelievable. What it tells me is that God has not cast me and my problems aside, but is actually enlisting others to wrestle on my behalf.

So let's all pay attention today, shall we?

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

A Thought On Adoption From Packer

"What is a Christian?" asks J.I. Packer. "the question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father."

Why is this the "richest answer?" Because of how it comes about: through Divine adoption (I am not ignoring the work of Christ's redemption, merely taking time to focus on one facet of that whole glorious process).

An adopted child is chosen, and they are chosen when they're still too young to understand what's happening, and certainly far too young to begin to comprehend the intentional, directional love that motivated their adoption. Children aren't adopted on the basis of their abilities or desirableness, but on the basis of the love of the parent, in spite of the child's background or difficulties. It's a rescue - with permanent implications.

"Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever." John 8:35

Just Like Moammar

By now you've likely seen photos of a deceased Moammar Gadhafi. You may have even viewed the videos of the men who captured him cheering and chanting hysterically while parading around his broken and soon to be lifeless body. People hated Gadhafi because he was the stereotypical evil dictator. They wanted him dead and they finally got him. This is what we (human race) do with brutal tyrants and evil men: we call for their execution and rejoice at their demise.

Interesting how we did that to Christ.

Paraded in purple, wearing thorns, wounded grievously, ridiculed, dazed and utterly shamed, Christ was led to his execution by us (humans). And thus we showed ourselves to be evil, tyrannical and brutal.

Christ was innocent. Gadhafi was most certainly not. Nor am I. I'm not as bad as Gadhafi, but I'm bad through and through. There's not a part of me that I can offer up to God and say, "See, this part is still innocent!"

They had to make up charges against Christ. The charges against Gadhafi were piled high over his head, and the wheels of justice ran right over him - chewed him up and spit him out. I'm in an even worse spot apart from Christ...

Now imagine if that was Christ in those photographs and videos: bloodied, reviled and ridiculed (It's all so uncomfortable to watch). The shame, contempt and awful spectacle Christ endured was . . . yours and mine.

What a thing my Savior did. Christ stood in the crosshairs of justice so that we could boldly approach the throne of grace. But it doesn't end there...Jesus is alive!

Grudges And Scaffolding

"Bear with each other, and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

I've been harboring a grudge. Or at least a bad feeling. Well, I'm not sure I've been "harboring" it, or just trying to figure out what to do with it. Here's the story:

Well over a year ago, when I was yet a member of our local school board, we had to make some really tough decisions regarding budget cuts for our school distirct. One of these decisions involved the closing of one our district's buildings and consolidating students and offices into the remaining buildings. Subsequently, we searched for an occupant who could make use of our empty space and provide us with a little bit of cash flow. There were a few options for prospective lessees, but only one really made sense. As it happened, there was a bit of controversy involving this entity, albeit completely unfounded.

At one point in our decision making process, I had a brief and unexpected run-in with a brother from a neighboring church. What I thought would be a conversation between two believers turned out to be a veiled threat from a City Council member to a School Board member. Sorry, I won't give you the details...

Let it suffice for me to say that from that moment forward, my attitude toward this man changed. I was...baffled, confused, disappointed and stumped. Did he really say that to me? How could he? He's a sensible Christian man! Months after the incident, I still found myself avoiding this man when I saw him in our little town. All I could do was ask the Lord for help. It wasn't right, this thing going on in my heart.

Fast forward to the present. Along with my work in ministry, I work off and on for a friend as a roofer. Guess whose home I replaced the roof on last week? Uh-huh. There was no way around it. There was face time with the man I really didn't want to ever face again. However, there wasn't any discussion about what had been said so long ago. That had been a hit and run, and he might not even remember it. But God had arranged another meeting for the two of us. This fella was going to install new fascia and guttering on his home after we finished with his roof, and happened to wonder out loud where he was going to find some scaffolding to do the high parts. Well, I have access to some scaffolding and found myself offering to arrange for its procurement. I even volunteered to help him put it up.

So, somewhere between him pulling into his driveway with a pickup bed full of scaffolding and the two of us installing the final cross piece 20 feet in the air, we chatted, and the Lord did something in me. And for me. I learned that my brother wasn't a mean-spirited pharisee after all. I learned he was a normal guy - a thankful guy, a humble guy, a good father. He's a guy saved by grace who still does stupid things now and then, a whole lot like the guy I see in the mirror every morning. I still can't explain the uncomfortable conversation the two of us had in the past, but I don't care to. That grudge has sailed away and sunk.

NOT From Yourselves

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8

Antecedents are important. They make all the difference in the world, like in this classic church bulletin blunder: “The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind, and they can be seen in the church basement Friday afternoon” Yikes.

The "they" in that sentence is obviously meant to refer to the used clothing the ladies have donated. The humor here makes the proper antecedent clear.

However, in a sentence like Ephesians 2:8, I've observed folks connecting the pronoun "this" with "grace" instead of the proper antecedent, "faith." First of all, it doesn't make any sense that "grace" would be something "from ourselves" or would be something we could conjure up on our own behalf. Second, Greek grammar clearly indicates that Paul's intent was to show that "faith" is the gift (this I understand from men smarter than myself).

This makes an important soteriological point. If this is true (and it is!), then from the very beginning salvation is from God, acting monergistically (without our help) and giving us the very faith that is required in order to be saved. That just floors me. Praise be to God for His indescribable gift!

Everyone Who Calls

We must not confuse paradox with contradiction...

Too many people have convinced themselves that the doctrine of election and the urgency of evangelism are incompatible and can do nothing other than butt heads. There are those who skirt around the clear Scriptural teaching of election and try to redefine it because, in their minds, an incomplete (or twisted) understanding of this powerful truth has confused the issue for them.

Some contend that the doctrine of election seems to do away with the love of God, making Him out to be cold and calculating. However, I read in Romans that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Others say that the doctrine of election keeps people out of heaven! Untrue. God's saving purpose in election has actually opened heaven's doors for any and all who would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Without God's sovereign initiative we would all be utterly and justly lost, for none would choose him on their own.

It is not intellectually dishonest to believe that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and at the same time believe that all who are appointed to eternal life will believe. Scriptures that affirm these two simple and separate truths are myriad.

The doctrine of election and the mandate to evangelize are not mutually exclusive. They are merely two different aspects, or facets, of God's redemptive plan. As Spurgeon said, "Look to Jesus and believe on Him, and you will prove your election instantly, for as surely as you believe, you are elect. "

Who can adequately explain this mystery? Not me. All I know is that when I take time to consider it, I'm filled with wonder and awe and worship and gratitude.

Slow Down Jesse!

Never had I seen a more perfect example of poor leadership. This past weekend a ministry group in our church comprised of 30 teenagers was gathered at our weekly meeting, and between extended periods of sitting, I thought it might be a good idea to burn off some pent-up energy and I enthusiastically organized a round of Extreme Follow The Leader. I chose Jesse as the leader (whose name has not been changed, since he's not innocent....) because I knew he'd have the proper vim and vinegar to be at the front.

When I sent these 30 young people out into the wild blue that surrounds our church, I quickly realized my mistake, and instantly learned a handful of valuable lessons about leadership.

Jesse hit the gravel running. He's a 15 year old boy - what else would he do? Despite my pleas for him to slow down for the sake of the rest of the group, he was off at warp speed. What I imagined would be 30 teens enjoying a fun five minutes of jumping, climbing and animated silliness, turned into about six boys racing around the parking lot and the surrounding fields while everyone gave up the pursuit.

Hm. OK, we were just playing a game and it was really all kind of funny how it went down, but there were some obvious conclusions to be drawn:

Lesson #1. Leadership should not be entrusted to those who do not comprehend the purpose of the mission.

Lesson #2. Leaders should not lead as if those following them are exactly like themselves.

Lesson #3. Leaders should look back once in a while to see if anyone is still following.

Lesson #4: Leaders are allowed to make course changes, but not until everybody is up to speed.

That's not a comprehensive list by any means and there's plenty of room for changes due to special circumstances, but I think these basic rules have a wide application. Next week, we'll parse out the particular lessons to be learned from "Duck, Duck, Goose!" (Just kidding...)

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

All Of Your Promises Tell Me It's True

Just enough time today to share a sweet song that deftly describes one of God's sweetest promises. Scott and Christine Dente put out a handful of albums in the 90s that were full of fresh and creative music and super solid, intelligent lyrics. To me, their music still sounds brand new. Scott's guitar playing is fantastic and Christine's voice is ... NICE.

"Nothing's Gonna Keep Me From You" is an encouraging song about God's faithfulness and the assurance believers have in His secure hold on us. (Think John 10, Romans 8, et al.)

Nothing's Gonna Keep Me From You

Sometimes life makes me crazy
Can't make sense of what my eyes see
All that I can hold on to
Is Your hold on me

And the only hope I know
Is the love that won't let go

Nothing's gonna keep me from You
All of Your promises tell me it's true
Nothing's gonna keep me from You
No matter what I'm going through
I won't be afraid
I know I'm on my way

Some things are worth waiting for
Many times I have heard it said
All the trials of a lifetime
Can't compare to what lies ahead

And the only hope I know
Is the love that won't let go

Nothing's gonna keep me from You
All of Your promises tell me it's true
Nothing's gonna keep me from You
No matter what I'm going through
I won't be afraid
I know I'm on my way