The 30 Hardest Days of Your Life

The youth service was awesome Sunday. I was taken back about 35 years to the on-fire youth group my sisters and I participated in as teenagers. There was a youth choir then, too, and honest, powerful testimonies, and extra prayer times springing up and a little revival that touched Youngsville High School and reached unchurched kids… I can understand what our youth are feeling and sense what a powerful impact these years will have on the rest of their lives.

I don’t know about you, but I was intrigued by the study book they were talking about – The 30 Hardest Days of Your Life. I’d not heard of it so I got online and looked it up. It got very positive reader reviews, although one gal wrote that it was great for newer Christians but contributed almost nothing to her spiritual life because she’d already experienced everything it was talking about.

She must be an exceptional person. I think most of us who listened Sunday felt that these kids had been challenged in ways that would benefit us, too – and also in ways that would likely be very difficult for us to handle. How many of us blanched inwardly at the thought of a 21-day media fast?

I can say from experience, though, that God’s appointed fasts are more than worth the “deprivation” we suffer. Especially when He tailors them to our individual needs (sort of like a personal trainer). For instance, I’m an avid reader. And I read really good stuff – biographies of exceptional Christians, spiritual classics… we’re talking Fenelon and Tozer and Oswald Chambers - no trash novels there! Yet God temporarily took me off all books but the Bible some months ago (all those library books are for my mom, Barb :)and I have been driven to pray, “Lord, I need a new love for the Word if this is going to work. Please give me a passion to read it and an ability to enjoy it”… and He has. It probably was His intention all along!

I guess I’m saying that what our youth testified to Sunday morning is something each of us might well benefit from. We can’t prescribe it to ourselves, but we can approach our Personal Trainer and express a willingness to fast from the good He sees is stuffing our lives, leaving little room for the best (even really good Christian books!). It’s a gutsy kind of prayer, but aren’t some of us ready for the kind of renewal we heard about Sunday morning?

The Power of One

I add a British “Hurrah!” to John Guest’s sermon on “The Power of One.” The Bible testifies from Genesis to Revelation that one individual – often an insignificant person – can be used mightily by God for His purposes and glory.

Do you think, though, that those individuals always realized their significance in God’s plan? Could Peter have predicted, when he stood to refute the accusation of drunkenness, that three thousand souls would be added to the fledgling church that Pentecost day? Was Stephen aware, as he sank under the volley of stones and cried “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” that he was giving a long and noble line of Christian martyrs a pattern to die by? Did Paul realize, as he penned letters to the churches at Philippi and Colosse and Ephesus from a lonely jail cell, that the Spirit was inspiring words that would richly nourish believers as long as time endured?

I think they each were just doing what they, solitary individuals, understood needed done in those moments, without calculating the outcome or having to see the larger picture. Certainly they were led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, but I don’t think they had any idea how much their contribution mattered.

We don’t either… and that’s something Satan tries to use to his advantage. He wants to use our shortsightedness to convince us our contribution doesn’t matter, our influence is minimal, and our efforts are worthless in the larger scheme of things. Like a predator stalking his prey, the enemy singles us out and tries to cut us away from the encouragement of the flock and the safety of the Shepherd. And then he begins tearing away at our souls:

*Do you really think you’re making any headway with that Sunday School class?
*You’ve been praying for that guy a long, long time. Nothing’s gonna happen!
*Have you compared your results with --? Shouldn’t you just sit down?
*Why do you dabble in little things? When will you do something that matters?

It’s a good thing Paul wasn’t cowed by the enemy into laying aside his pen and sinking into a gloomy silence in his jail cell. That Satan failed to force Stephen to recant in the face of a murderous crowd. That he couldn’t curb a Spirit-filled Peter from addressing the mockers that day at Pentecost.

Let’s not let the enemy cow us, either. If we’ve got a job to do, however small, let’s do it, believing that God can use the smallest and the most seemingly insignificant thing for eternal purposes. One brief prayer. One note of encouragement. One small act of obedience to His leading. It all matters.

And we’ll fully realize it, one Day, when He reveals to each of us the power of one.

The Return of the Prodigal

While thinking about the prodigal and the pigs and the pods this morning, I was reminded of the spiritual journey of a friend who attended Youngsville Free Methodist church with Dave and I many years ago.

Like the prodigal of Sunday’s sermon, Sue had once been distanced from her Father. But unlike that prodigal, she’d been living “high on the hog.” No pods for her. She’d acquired the husband she wanted, the children she wanted, the lifestyle she desired, the success she’d worked for… her life was complete, or should have been.

And yet, it wasn’t enough. There was an emptiness, an “Is this all there is?” And that inner emptiness, like the physical emptiness of the prodigal’s stomach, drove her to seek her heavenly Father. I remember how Sue stressed to us, “Don’t think everyone has to be brought to unbearable circumstances before they’ll come to Christ. Sometimes it’s the most perfect of situations that show the sinner that they’ll never find satisfaction outside of Christ. Trust God to use whatever way He chooses, and never count Him out of the picture.”

I’ve never forgotten what she said, because our tendency is, I think, to pray for a particular set of circumstances, and watch down one particular road for the return of our prodigal. Yet while Jesus is the only way to the Father, a creative God has many ways to beckon and woo and work. When you think about the gazillion options God has for drawing our prodigals to Himself, the one we have our hearts and prayers set on is probably just not the way it’s gonna happen!

So we who are waiting and watching the road can mourn in sackcloth and ashes because we aren’t seeing what we’re looking for – and become frustrated with God and prayer… or we can trust His methods, because we trust Him. We can reaffirm to God that we believe He’s at work, that we want His plan and not ours, and that we pledge ourselves to cooperate with Him by His grace.

I’m not saying that we don’t need to intercede diligently for our prodigals. We just need to be sure that our intercession is freeing, not tying, God’s hands. Then, whether they come home down the high road or the low road, our prodigals will find us waiting with open arms and joyful celebration.

The Disease of Disrespect

Powerful sermon Sunday. I was unable to attend, so I just finished listening to it online. Great words from the Lord through Pastor Rick. One point especially stood out to me, and that was the admonition to respect your spouse.

Disrespect can be classified, I believe, as a degenerative disease. I’ve seen it in couples; you have, too – maybe closer than you care to admit.

The onset is insidious… poking fun at a trait and laughing together about it, until one partner stops laughing and the other keeps poking. Getting a laugh at a gathering of friends, by telling a story that puts the other in a bad light. Complaining to the girls about one of his idiosyncrasies, or to the guys about hers. Forgetting to say “please” or “thank you” to your spouse when you wouldn’t dream of omitting them with strangers. Mentally comparing your spouse unfavorably with another.

None of these things seem like the symptoms of a serious disease, but they are warning signs, as surely as high triglycerides point toward diabetes or shortness of breath warns of heart trouble. Unaddressed, marriage health declines. The bond of trust weakens. The joy of mutual regard ebbs away. Oh, there is no deadly pallor, no plummeting of blood pressure, no spiking of fever. Just a gradual buildup of insensitivity, a growing apart, without really realizing how or why.

Counselors and psychologists and pastors have many good things to prescribe for couples diagnosed with disrespect, but I would mention one place to start: tame the tongue. If disrespect is a disease, the mouth is a trigger for flare-ups! So no more complaints. No more unwelcome jokes. And no more unfavorable comparisons. Instead, liberally apply common courtesies and compliments. Build loyalty. Defend each other.

Make your about-face intentional. You might need to talk together about where you each went wrong and how together you can get back on the road to health. Or you might just begin a quiet campaign for wholeness on your own.

But you’ll not likely be alone for long… respect isn't degenerative - but it is contagious!

The Motherhood of God

Yep, you read that title right, and, no, I’m not campaigning to change the pronouns in my NIV Bible. Actually, I’m quoting a chapter title from When the Comforter Came, a book by the Christian & Missionary founder, A. B. Simpson. Again in The Gentle Love of the Holy Spirit, this conservative, evangelical statesman refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Comfort and Consolation and says that especially in the hour of distress and trial, this person of the Godhead is “the very Mother of the Soul”: “As a mother comforts a child, so I will comfort you” (Is. 66:13).

Think about it. God created man-and-woman in his image, so as the Divine Parent He possesses not only the authoritative and protective qualities of a Father but also the nurturing and comforting qualities of a Mother. Mothers throughout the ages have simply mirrored the Spirit’s role when they give their children 24/7 access and open arms and instruction and nurture and sympathy and empathy and attention.

This seems important to emphasize on Mother’s Day, when so many never had a godly, compassionate mother, or their mother has passed away, or they just never realized that the wonderful qualities of compassion and patient guidance actually come from God Himself. Yet anyone who finds him or herself “motherless” in any sense, thirsting for a tender and tending touch, can still wander upstream to the Source and Supply of what is needed – the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, who will not leave us as orphans, who will guide us into all truth, and whose attributes are love, gentleness, and patience. This God, this “Mother of the Soul,” comes to us by His Spirit to live in us, continually guiding, teaching, comforting, counseling, and just “being there” with us.

Read more about the Holy Spirit in John chapters 14-16, Romans 8, and 1 Cor. 2. And consider that maybe, just maybe, there’s a dimension to God that can’t be expressed solely by a father – and that’s why He made mothers.

In a BlackBerry World

I was going to write about trading BlackBerrys (BlackBerries?) with Jesus. About giving up ours and taking His. And about how His would surely be programmed perfectly – allotting lots of time for prayer and proper priorities. And then I realized –

That’s not the trade Jesus wants to make. He’s holding out for more. He’s not just after obedient servants, who agree to spend more time in prayer and pay more attention to the wife and kids. He’s after disciples. Wholehearted followers. And what do disciples do?
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Lk. 9:23-24 NIV).

In this BlackBerry world, it’s our whole life He wants. Or rather, our lives… for haven’t we splintered ourselves into many persons? As Richard Foster writes in The Freedom of Simplicity, “Within all of us is a whole conglomerate of selves.” He speaks of the business self, the parental self, the religious self, and others. Each, he says, are rugged individualists, and each self holds out for his vested interests, until we are torn many ways: the parental self scolds that we are neglecting the family when we tend to business interests, and the business self protests when we take time to volunteer at the church, etc. We live lives of “frantic faithfulness” to each one, yet some part of us is always dissatisfied!

But when we bring our many “selves” to Jesus and make Him the Source and the Goal of everything, then all of those inner “selves” begin walking the same direction in inward harmony as we follow Him - because we have One Person to please and one will to follow. As we do that, He takes all our responsibilities into account and leads us to fulfill them in the best way; we only need give ourselves to the task He puts before us at that moment. When we have laid down our life, BlackBerry and all, we have committed ourselves to one task and one alone, and it’s a simple one: following Him.

When the schedule screams for frantic action and the parental side of us feels guilty and the practical side warns of imminent disaster and yet another worthy cause pleads for our involvement, it is good to be able to adjust the blinders, focus on One Person, watch what direction he is leading, and step out after Him.

In this splintered, distracting, hyperactive BlackBerry world, Jesus still offers one simple yoke: give Me your life; take Mine. He whispers one simple call: Learn from me. And He promises one simple result: rest.

For Such a Time as This

Is there a more dramatic Old Testament story than the book of Esther? All the elements are there: romance (of a sort), intrigue, suspense, hidden identity, death and destruction, payback - and even a few lessons on how to handle a somewhat unapproachable monarch. But if you’ve been going to church awhile and heard even a few sermons from that book, you’re probably most familiar with the pointed question that cousin Mordecai sent to queen Esther. He was urging her to lay her life on the line and go, unsummoned, to the king and plead for the lives of fellow Jews throughout the realm:

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14 NIV).

I dare say FAC is also featured in our own saga of suspense, spiritual warfare, and imminent death and destruction, with eternal lives on the line and evil forces bent on silencing God’s chosen people. We were reminded Sunday that we have become a sort of “flagship church” in the area, a place to which individuals and churches look for guidance and resources and vital aid. God has allowed us to be, for some, a sort of “Esther.” That’s not a cause for pride or self-congratulations; in fact, Mordecai speaks to us, too:

“Do not think that because you are large and well-resourced that you will avoid struggles and hostility and the schemes of the enemy. Do not rest on your laurels and expect respect and easy treatment. There is an evil plot continually unfolding, for Satan and his forces are at work in the community and the world you are trying to impact for Christ. If you remain silent, if you rest on your laurels, if you are reluctant to use your resources for the sake of others, if you refuse to lay your life on the line for them, God will come to their aid – but you will die a slow death because you selfishly protected your life… and who knows but that God has prospered FAC for such a time as this?

You might want to read the little book of Esther this week, and consider a couple things:

1. It’s exciting to pull into a packed parking lot every week, and to choose from a number of inviting options for discipleship training and outreach and fellowship (it’s like sitting at the king’s table!). But do we FAC pewsitters think about the reason God has allowed us such privilege? Do we assume it’s a reward for our obedience, given for our personal comfort? Or do we hear any desperate voices calling us to lay down our lives and take up their cause through the resources and opportunities we’ve been given here? (See Luke 12:47-48).

2. It’s easy to sink back into the crowd in a church the size of FAC, and think, There are so many dedicated, hard-working people here. I see a crying need, but surely somebody will get on that - the pastors…the lay counselors… the Benevolence Team… But what if we have come to the kingdom for just such a need? What if we will step up with the Spirit-given courage of Esther, and offer ourselves for such a time as this? What if we do it now? (see 1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 5:15-17; 1 Jn. 3:17-18)