God's Bulldogs

I am always amazed at how people who claim to be believers can be filled with hate and be so critical and mean-spirited. When we become Christians, we are to be characterized by our love. Sure, we can correct one another and reprove one another. Sure, we are to be careful and discerning. But we can do these things in a loving way.

I have seen believers harshly criticize others and their actions, and meanwhile, they are doing nothing at all for the kingdom of God. They are quick to criticize everyone else's efforts, but they are doing nothing themselves other than critiquing. I like to call these the “Bulldogs” of the faith but realized that they are neither animals nor are they practicing our faith and attempt to be like the Christ we claim to serve. In fact I have found that most criticism of others comes from a deep seated need to build ourselves up. It is almost always self-serving and seldom redemptive.

(I also realize that I could be seen as guilty of doing and being exactly what I am writing about now.)

As Warren Wiersbe has said, "Impatience with God often leads to impatience with God's people. . . . If we start using the sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest." I have seen Christians divide over minor issues rather than pull together for the sake of the gospel.

The difference in attitude can be seen in the Jewish zealot Saul and the Apostle Paul. Both are the same man, at least in the skin they wore. However, Saul full felt he was doing the Will of God by eradicating the misfit followers of Jesus. He was so sure that God wanted this done that he went out of his way, put in extra effort and got permission to go all the way to Damascus to round up these wrong-doers.

On his way though he met Jesus and soon his whole attitude changed. Not just in the fact that as Paul we was no longer persecuting the “Christians”, but that He now saw the positive and strove to concentrate on that.

Saul was a religious man, but he was a godless man. He was running from God. He was attacking Christians. He was thinking he would successfully destroy the Christian faith. But he had a surprise in store on the Damascus Road. How can we hear Paul speak these words “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phil. 4:8 NIV) and think that is our God given responsibility to be God’s Bulldogs?

Give me wings and a beak. I would rather be a dove!

Being Many, We are all Important

"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." (Romans 12:4-5)

All too frequently in today's Christian circles, we place certain individuals and certain gifts on a pedestal, and all too often the resulting pride is devastating. Pride may be the favorite tool of Satan. Pride was the reason Satan rebelled and lost his exalted position. He appealed to Eve's pride in the garden, similarly tempted Christ in the wilderness, and uses it on us today. James reminds us that it's common knowledge that "God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."(James 4:6 Message) " Some of the best advice I ever received was from a deacon in the church that licensed me to “Preach the Gospel”. He told me that if I go into the pulpit like a proud rooster someday I would exit it like a “whuupped dog”. It was not long after that I felt the sting of his wisdom.

Paul, through the Holy Spirit, chose to introduce his teaching on the use of spiritual gifts and unity of the entire body with a warning against pride, admonishing “for by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you”. (Romans 12:3 NIV). His discussion on the many-membered body which follows leaves no room for pride. Nor does the parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

The apostle points out that each Christian forms an equally essential part of the whole. Since we are all equal in God's eyes, and all mutually dependent upon one another, what room is there for pride? Likewise, Paul points out that each Christian possesses an equally vital connection with Christ. Who are we to tell Christ a part of His body is less valuable than the rest? Can the body exist without a leg; Yes. Can the body function without eyes? Could I have continued on without the new hip? The answer is of course. We see it everyday. People conquering the challenges of having less than a “perfect body” but when the body is whole and working as it is supposed to it is a much easier task to do day to day functions. He is concerned for each one equally and has given each part of the body and the church its/their specific mission and function.

I also wonder if sometimes we have the opposite attitude. We do not feel that we are more important because we have a certain function and in our own eyes the body would not function without us. I wonder if sometimes we feel our job, our function is not as important as others. Therefore we do not take it as seriously. What if I don’t give my gift all the attention I need to? Who will notice that my part is missing?

Either attitude, and over-indulged pride or a lack of importance are both as equally devastating to our growth in the spirit.

Whose Plans are Your Plans?

When we “fail to plan then we plan to fail” and “make a plan and then work the plan” are sayings I have heard and tried to live by from my youth. I like plans but sometimes plans are not to be set in concrete, they often are not made of steel and words written in rocks can be eroded by nature. Plans are best seen as guidelines or roadmaps that keep us going North when we want to go northish. There are times when the plan has to be altered or something happens that causes a detour but if the plan is a guideline then we understand the plan is more about the place we want to end than the roads we take to get there.

Proverbs 19:21 tells us that “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (NIV) This does not discourage us from planning but reminds us that our plans need to be bathed in prayer and direction from God’s Spirit needs to be sought. We may have the best plans we could possibly come up with and find that at some point in the venture the plan has to be changed because we are being carried off in the wrong direction. God’s plans or purpose as the Proverb says is going to win out in the long run. God will not let our human and earthly ambitions derail or even sidetrack His ultimate purpose.

Spend time in prayer and talk with God about what His plan is for you today, tomorrow, a week , month or year from now. Then you can start planning with the surety that God is in it with you…then how can you fail!

Our Daily Walk

What great opportunities we have today to worship. There are so many “devotional” sites that one with the internet has no excuse not to take a few moments each day worship. I can remember when I was a young preacher it was much more difficult to find sources that helped with a “quiet” time. Books were expensive and when finances were tight essentially unavailable.

We always had God’s Word and there is no better material than the teaching of Scripture but so often it simply became an exercise in reading. In the last few years I have been so blessed by the resources that have helped my devotional times.
Almost all “big” churches have a very good presence on the internet. You can find pastors sermons just a click away. I have three that I listen to all the time. Some are simply audio while others are available in video. Just search for a particular church and go to their website and look for the sermons. Bookmark the ones you like and you are just a couple clicks away from a good sermon on Tuesday morning.

Search for devotionals and you will be amazed at the sites that offer free daily devotionals. Many of them are able to send a daily devotional or thought to your email. Wake up in the morning grab your coffee and you Bible and check your email. How easy can that be?

Sites like Tangle.com and YouTube.com have great short video resources for worship. If you facebook then do everyone a great favor when you find a great short worship video. Simply copy the URL or the Embedded code and share it with your friends. Hey, I think that is called being a witness!

With the power of the internet in the present day we have no excuse to skip a daily walk with God’s Spirit and I wonder why we can send jokes and political pokes but have failed to see the power of sending a positive redemptive message of God’s love to all the friends on our forward list. Hmmm… I think I just thought of something to do on a daily basis.
I hope you enjoy this….

Just be Obedient

I have preached this idea for thirty plus years. I have taught it in various ways but I received an email story today that may be the most clear I have heard it explained. I hope you get out of this what I get.

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to Push against the rock with all his might.....

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!

'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

'Lord,' he said, 'I have labored Lon g and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?'

The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.
Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed..

But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be Obedient and to push and to exercise your Faith and trust in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.'

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the Mountains.

Recently I got one of the emails that so many of us get all the time. You know what it is, “I am a friend of the president of some country and we have to move some funds….” Yeah sure! Open that bank account, give them your number and they take your money.

Today I received a new angle on the scam. GOD!, and Christian charity. Let me say that at first thought I wondered who would really fall for such a thing. Doesn’t everyone realize that if I had access to $62,000,000 dollars I have access to lawyers, financial handlers surely I have friends and the list could go on and on. I would not need to be calling for help!

I have posted part of the email here:

Dear Beloved ,

It is by the grace of God that I received Christ, knowing the truth and the truth have set me free.

Having known the truth I had no choice than to do what is lawful and right in the sight of God for eternal life and in the sight of man for witness of God mercy and glory upon my life.
I am Alty Susan Jane. I am married to Dr. Alty Michael , who worked with Chevron/Texaco for TWENTY years before he died in the year 2005.We were married for Fifteen years without a child, He died during one of the riots in IRAN. He was held hostage and slain to death by protesting youths before his death we were both born again Christians.

Since his death I decided not to re-marry. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of ($62,000,000.00.( Sixty Million US. Dollars)with ( Security Company in Dublin Ireland .) and now the management of the bank have just wrote me to come forward to receive the money or rather issue a letter of authorization to somebody to receive it on my behalf if I can not come over. I am presently with my laptop in a hospital where I have been undergoing treatment for cancer of the lungs, I have since lost my ability to talk and my doctors have told me that I have only a few months to live. It is my last wish to see that this money is invested and at the end of every year distributed among charity organization.

For your compensation, as soon as the money enters your account or delivered you take 30% of the total money, 5% for any expenses while 65% will be for the work of GOD. I took this decision because i know that there are a lot of poor people suffering from different kind of disease and nobody to come to their aid. With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of (Security Company in Dublin Ireland) were the money is been deposited. . .

I could not believe at first that someone would use the charitable hearts of some un-suspecting Christian brother or sister to work this scam. Then I thought about all the Gospel of Wealth preachers who preach their versions of God’s blessing and material wealth; all the while asking that the listeners support them as a true sign of their faith.

The problem is that both of these scams will have good hearted Christians falling for the idea of making some easy money, or getting God’s blessing through those new houses, cars or whatever and that makes me wonder who will be judged the hardest. The Christian who seems to want more than the peace of Christ or the scammer who takes advantage of “the least of these”.

First Wrong Impressions

I hate going to the dentist! Not that I am afraid, nor have I ever been hurt by one but I just do not have great teeth. Going to the dentist is about like taking our old 1985 Toyota Tercell into the shop for a minor fix and the mechanic spending thirty minutes telling me what needed to be done. But not long ago I had to buckle down and take the trip.

After making the hour and half drive from Cotulla to San Antonio I arrived at the dental office and found a place to park my truck. As I was waling across the parking lot I crossed a man that was rather ragged and rough looking. He had shaggy hair, un-kept beard and was wearing greasy jeans with a dirty T-shirt and leather vest. He was standing on the sidewalk smoking a cigarette and drinking a coke.

We made casual eye contact and the polite nod as I passed him. I am somewhat ashamed to say that this person and I would probably not be having lunch together and would be a much rougher and tougher person than I would normally hang around.

As I checked in I was informed that I needed to up-date my personal information and was given a clip board with four sheets of questions. This was my second visit to this dentist and we had just completed all of these papers in our first. However, I was told that the date on those papers were 2008 and they needed a new year update.

I found a seat in the crowded waiting room next to an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair. He was obviously unable to care for himself and just sit and stared into space. I spoke as I sat down and he did not respond.

I started filling out the papers with my name, address, phone numbers, email, and other vital information that they would need and out of the corner of my eye I noticed the man from outside was walking toward me. With blanket in hand he addressed the old man and wrapped him gently in the blanket with the words, “are you warmer now daddy.” I do not believe I have ever heard such compassion in a voice as when this man spoke to his father.

We never know. Forgive me for my judgment!

Pop-Ups, Who Needs'em

I have the “pop-up” blocker set on my web browser. I have the “pop-up” blocker set in my Google tool bar and still sometimes one of those blasted, hated pop-ups will just simply “pop-up” and I have to deal with it, seldom read it almost always delete it.

I had actually started this blog with a certain direction in mind. However, just about the time I got to “simply ‘pop-up’” a distraction came into the room. This one was appreciated though because it was one of my nurses coming in to wrap my hip in cellophane so I could take a most wanted shower. But that reminded me that all day long we can have our personal “pop-up” blockers set to protect our time and keep us safe from distractions but somehow we will deal with “pop-ups” throughout our day. Many times it is our attitudes that will determine if we successfully deal with these distractions. Accept them; try to understand them and most of all work with them positively.

There is another pop-up in our daily lives that is most beneficial and we often try to set up the blockers so we will not have to deal with it. I am talking about those times when God’s Holy Spirit pops into our lives and convicts us of a wrong action, selfish motive or destructive attitude. That is what the Holy Spirit does; convicts as well as encourages. When we try to ignore His working we are denying one of the greatest gifts God has to give us; a love so great that not only would He give Himself on a cross to become our sin, but a love that is great enough to continue to work with us so we might become the kind of people He wants us to be.

In short you can attempt to block web site pop-ups with good reason, you can try to protect your time when things need to get done but never, never, never attempt to block the wonderful work of the Spirit even when It pops-up at what seems to be the most inconvenient time.

Recovery, Recovery, Recovery

Today is day two of a new life with a new hip. To be honest with you I have lived in a lot of pain for the last two years as the “injury related arthritis” just kept getting worse. I was able to hand the day to day activities with little distraction because of the pain meds I was on but knew that I could not do that from now on.
Now I do not want to whine because I know there are many people in the world who are dealing with physical issues much greater than my hurting hip, but it was my hip and it was hurting and now we are dealing with its remedy.

One thing I have learned is that the better you are to the nurses they better they are to you. That has pretty much proven true again here at this hospital too. Whatever we have needed they have provided with a smile and kind heart. I can just imagine what it must be like working with people everyday who are not at their best. Sick, hurting or just not feeling good they will have a tendency to just be meaner than usual. Nurses have to have the ability to overlook that. Many do and some don’t but so far the ones I have had have been just great.

I joked with the radiologist yesterday that they must have to go through sadomasochist classes because they seem to enjoy bending and hurting parts of the body and causing more pain. He just laughed because he knew that I knew he had to get me in just the right position to get a good picture.

Physical Therapist must make you stretch and move parts of the body that are already in pain so that they will be easier to move tomorrow. In-so-doing many people do not like them, but I do. They are going to help me get up and out of here and hopefully soon riding my bike and swinging a golf club again.