My friend

“It is my "friend". I wake up to it every day. Actually, I've dealt with its presence everyday for the past 15 years. Sometimes it is more and sometimes it is less severe, but it is always there.

When it first started showing more "debilitating" symptoms I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. No matter how well I was doing or what I did it didn't go away. No amount of prayer or bible reading made it go away or even seemed to affect it at all. Actually, it seemed the more I fought it, even through spiritual means, the worse it got.

After fighting it for a few years with seemingly no progress I truly wished I could just die. I sympathized with people who committed suicide. The one thing that kept me from entertaining suicidal thoughts myself is the fact that God "works all things together for good".......... I tenaciously held onto that belief.

In time I have come to view it as one of, if not perhaps the greatest dilemma facing myself and others in the church today; How to view and or help myself and others, especially Christians, affected by it.  I also think that it is, perhaps, one of our greatest opportunities.

One of the things that have helped me with it is to begin to quit "fighting" it and trying to make it just go away and to accept that it is a part of my life. Perhaps for the rest of my life. I also am learning to accept Gods grace and all of His promises in spite of it.

Perhaps the most potent scripture for me in relation to it has been where Paul wrote that he Gloried in needs and "distresses" for when he was weak then he was strong. He wrote that Gods power is "made perfect in weakness.

Probably the greatest practical thing I have learned to do in relation to it is to thank God for it as an opportunity to suffer in this life for his glory, since glorifying God is the ultimate good and end of all things. This helps me with it tremendously.

I have wondered if those that suffer from it have a greater opportunity to glorify God since God is greatly glorified when we thank him in the midst of suffering. It is depression and I can honestly say that I have made friends with the pain.

Written by Bruce Stuart

In the Light

In the Light

 God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5.  Darkness has no substance, in fact it really doesn’t exist, it is simply the absence of light.  It’s no wonder that God describes evil as darkness or simply something that doesn’t exist without the absence of light (God).  When you sin, you are ushering in the absence of God, and the longer you hide that sin the longer you are God-less.  It’s easy to measure darkness or sin when you look around and see morals declining, marriage being obliterated, lives being taken in the name of choice, and murder, molestation, and rape on a daily basis.  But where there is any darkness or sin, it is simply the absence of God in that person’s life.  So when you told that little white lie that “didn’t hurt anyone”, or when you spread that piece of gossip, or when you lashed out in anger at your children, or when you harbored bitter thoughts towards a person who hurt you, or when you had lustful thoughts towards someone who is not your spouse, you embraced the darkness and the absence of God in your life.

Jesus said, This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:19-21.  It’s easy to use labels for people who struggle with things on an ongoing basis like alcohol or drug use or pornography, but how often does one have to lie to be called a liar, or gossip to be called a gossipaholic, or lash out in anger to be called an anger addict? 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  1John 1:7.  The blood of Jesus purifies us from sin while we are walking in the light.  It’s not that we don’t sin; it’s that we are willing to recognize it and do something about it.  This is what allows us to be in the light rather than stumbling around in the darkness all the while pretending that we are in the light.  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world”, not you should try to be the light of the world, but you are.  Is that true in your life, are you in the light and showing that light to others or are you hiding in the darkness (absence of God) and pretending to be light?

A young Marine and his commanding officer board a train headed through the mountains of Switzerland.  They can find no place to sit except for two seats right across the aisle from a young woman and her grandmother. After a while, it is obvious that the young woman and the young soldier are interested in each because they are giving each other “looks.”  Soon the train passes into a tunnel and it is pitch black. There is a sound of the smack of a kiss followed by the sound of the smack of a slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, the four sit there without saying a word.
The grandmother is thinking to herself: “It was very brash for that young soldier to kiss my granddaughter, but I’m glad she slapped him.”
The commanding officer is setting there thinking:  “I didn’t think the young Marine was brave enough to kiss the girl, but I sure wish she hadn’t missed him when she slapped and hit me!”
The young woman was sitting and thinking:  “I’m glad the soldier kissed me, but I wish my grandmother had not slapped him!”
The young Marine sat there with a satisfied smile on his face.  He thought to himself:  “Life is good.  When does a fellow have the chance to kiss a beautiful girl and slap his commanding officer all at the same time!”  (Illustration borrowed from Alan Smith www.abiblecommentary.com)

It’s difficult to know what is happening in the darkness. (as shown by three of the four characters above) There is no light to gain proper perspective.  Without God intentionally in your life on a daily basis you may be blind to your own darkness.  I pray that your walk today may be in the light of God’s love.

In Christ, Lance

Why I hate Legalism

First of all I hate legalism because Jesus does, and I want to be like Him.  I know I’m not and I’m sure that one of the ways that I’m not like Jesus is my own form of legalism.  But Jesus hated the legalism of the Pharisee’s.  Any time a law or an interpretation of a law got in the way of salvation, grace or mercy, Jesus threw a fit. 

Second I hate legalism because of how it has cast a pall on my own relationship with God.  For so long my faith was centered in a culture of legalism that I couldn’t even see and because of this I have a very difficult time accepting the grace, mercy, forgiveness and love of God.  It instilled within me a sense that I was never going to be good enough for God, and even now as I try to accept Him in all His Nature, the foreboding sense of an angry God is never far away.

Third I hate legalism because of how it has destroyed lives.  When Christianity is replaced with rules based legalism there are many casualties.  I’m not going to elaborate on this much because it brings a lot of memories and pain.  Even now there are many brothers and sisters in Christ that I love and pray for, that I’m afraid would be hesitant to call me brother because of the nastiness of a judgmental spirit that is often a bi-product of legalism.

Lastly I hate legalism because it in a word is sin, and is divisive.  Jesus was very clear how He felt about legalism, He called them sons of hell, and so was Paul.  Scriptures like 1 Timothy 4:1-5 describe this type of behavior as demonic and hypocritical.  I’ve often heard the word “worldliness” thrown around in very loose ways, basically representing everything that is not weird or out of style as “worldly clothing” just for an example. 

Let’s be clear; being like Jesus is difficult, it requires a constant examination of your mind, emotions, thoughts, words, and actions.  Replacing that with a cheap version of holiness that is based on your interpretation of rules and regulations does not promote Godliness; in fact it promotes and is worldliness.  Read Colossians 2:20-23 with me as I close out this article. Colossians 2:20-23 NIV - Since you died with Christ to the - Bible Gateway

Listen to how the CEV describes verse 23 - Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.

Free in Christ and loving it, Lance

Did you see God today?

Did you see God today?

I did; I saw Him at 6:30 when Carter’s crying or should I say wailing woke me up; I saw Him in the shower while I was praying; I saw Him in the mirror (after all I am created in His image); I saw Him in my anxiety over things I can’t control; I saw Him during prayer time as Stewart and I prayed for the people at TSCC; I saw Him during a counseling session with someone who is almost as broken as I am J; I saw Him in the flowers that I bought my wife for “Happy Tax Returns are here Day”.

I saw Him in the man sitting on the side of the road with his car broken down; I saw Him as my wife and I dealt with disciplinary issues for one of our children; I saw Him as I talked to a young lady about being baptized, and her very nervous dad who is doing the baptizing; I saw Him as I poured my heart out to a friend who very patiently put up with my weaknesses; and I see Him in you.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”.  I do not believe that this is a futuristic promise of; somehow if we are pure enough we will see God someday.  I believe that He is saying that when you and I have pure hearts we will see God every day, in every circumstance, and in every person we meet. 

Sometimes we have to look very hard to see Him and if we allow our physical self to take control we will not be able to see God, but again isn’t that what purity is all about?  Not about you and I being perfect but about us being washed again and again by the purity of a relationship with God.

I see God every day, sometimes I recognize Him right away; sometimes I flat out ignore Him; sometimes He tests me; sometimes He affirms me; sometimes He blesses me with things; and sometimes He blesses me with trials that strengthen me in the long run.

I saw God today, did you?

Lance

Why I love to be criticized

Why I love to be criticized

Now I know you saw the title of this article and it hooked you, or you know me and know the exact opposite to be true.  I hate criticism, of course we all do, but for me I’d rather be punched over and over in the face, then be criticized.  You take my personality and pair it with my experiences, throw in my extreme desire to be liked by everyone and my childhood and you have someone who runs kicking and screaming from criticism.

To give you an example, if someone were to come up to me and say, “Lance your sermon on Sunday was a bit dry and boring”, I hear, “Lance I really can’t stand your preaching or anything else about you”.  Okay so that may be a bit of an exaggeration but unfortunately I tend to take everything personally and whether it’s about me as a preacher or a minister or a father or husband or anything else, it’s a devastating blow to my psyche and just one more hit to my low self-esteem and self worth.

So what’s my point?  On my own I can’t handle criticism but I learned something recently that has made a huge impact in my life.  Criticism when paired with one key word is vital to my growth as a person, a Christian, a leader, a father, husband and so on.  The word is evaluation.  When I am able to evaluate the criticism, myself, even the person offering the criticism (without judging them) everything changes.

A Holy Spirit driven evaluation takes the sizzle out of the criticism.  It softens the blow so that I can allow God to control me, the situation, and my reaction to the situation.  I can observe the criticism to find any truth that is in it to make me a better person.  I can observe myself to see whether this is a sign of a character flaw or a sin that needs to be repented of.  And I can observe the one doing the criticism.  Rather than immediately being defensive and angry, what if I took the time to evaluate where they are coming from.  It’s possible that not only could I get some insight into why they are offering the criticism but it might even help me to help them in the future in some way.

But here is the number one reason that criticism combined with evaluation is so effective.  It draws me closer to Jesus.  He was criticized, He was abused, mocked, spit on, and attacked both physically and verbally.  His response is shocking to someone like me.  His evaluation led Him to forgive those who hurled abuse at Him, to feel compassion for the bystanders, to be silent when falsely criticized and accused, and to ultimately die on a cross for them, for me, and for you. 

Why did He respond like this? How did He manage to react this way?  Simple; His eyes were on the big picture.  This is why I love to be criticized.  Because when I combine it with evaluation it leads me to Jesus, fix my eyes on Him (Heb. 12:2), to be more like Him, and to have a stronger relationship with Him.  And that is what it’s all about.

How is your relationship with God?

His name is Snobberish, Broderick Snobberish to be precise and he is precise.  He is a snob, a rich snob, but morally perfect, never steps out on his wife, never drinks anything stronger than a diet coke,(at least in public anyway), he sits on many boards including school boards, council meetings, and he is a deacon at the first assembly of the rich and famous.  But tonight he is angry, because he gave in to his fellow deacons and invited the new minister (radical minister at that) to his annual Christmas party.

The house is full and the mayor is there, along with lots of rich contemporaries who he hopes to get support from in the upcoming election.  Everything is perfect except for him, yep him, the new minister, Benjamin Doogood.  This guy has turned Snobberish's nice quiet church around.  He preaches on equality through the cross, and feeding the poor, and reaching out to the hurting, but that’s not the worst part.  Mr. DooGood is actively involved in all of these ministries and is encouraging the church members to do the same.  That means hanging out at the downtown disgusting soup mission, and allowing alcoholics and drug addicts to use the building for their “recovery” meetings.

Now this; among the exquisite delicacies, and his best fine china; among all the who’s who in society is this radical, unstylish, ordinary guy who wants to tell everyone about Jesus.  I mean, that’s fine in church, but not here.  It’s like he didn’t get the hint from the cold shoulder, the lack of greeting, the last minute invite, that he really isn’t wanted here.  Wait a minute, what’s that commotion, and why is everyone gathered around someone in the living room? 

Who let her in? She looks like, well like what she is, a street hooker, prostitute, lady of the night, whatever you want to call her.  She showed up looking for Doogood, some sort of emergency and now she is studying the Bible in front of his distinguished guests in his living room, on Christmas Eve of all nights.  Why doesn’t the “good minister” just fill up the bathtub and baptize her right now in her low cut, tight, indecent dress that makes her look like the whore she is.  Wait a minute, is that water running, seriously? 

That’s why Mr. Snobberish is angry.  He’s lost sight of what Christianity is, and instead he is steeped in religion and tradition.  Yes this is a modern day version of what happened to Jesus Himself in Luke 7:36-50.  Jesus said something to Simon (or Broderick Snobberish) that still rings true today, Luke 7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."  Any relationship that isn’t first based on love is weak at best. The Apostle John put it this way, “we love because he first loved us”.  When examining your relationship with God, make sure that you aren’t basing your evaluation on what you do, but rather who you love, which is exactly what this woman did, and the exact opposite of what Simon did.  So I'll ask again, How is your relationship with God?

Lance

"Moe, Moe, Moe"!!!!!!!!

No, I’m not delirious and yes I know that the word moe, is not actually a word.  Let me explain; tonight I was sitting at my back patio reading “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan (good read, by the way) while watching my children playing.  They were on the trampoline and then graduated to our $20 Wal-Mart pool.

Mind you they weren’t in the pool, but rather Carter had found the joys in filling up a cup with water and then dumping it out on my bare feet, giggling all the way.  I wasn’t paying that much attention until I heard Carter yelling “moe, moe, moe, moe”; Which in year old language means more.  I looked up to find that the water had gotten low enough that he could no longer reach the water to fill up his cup, so he was shouting at his brother to fill his cup with water.

As Cade filled it up Carter would delightedly dump it out, all while yelling….. Yeah you guessed it, “moe”!  This experience combined with the book I was reading led me to the idea that every day God fills us up; with His goodness, His holiness, His compassion, His love, His peace, His joy, etc., and we tend to take it for granted, while it leaks out a hole in the bottom of our cup of life.  In some cases, it’s not a hole so much as a cavern, or even like Carter was doing, we dump it out all the while yelling to God, “moe, moe, moe, moe”!!!!!

My prayer tonight as I write this, is that I will recognize all of the things God fills me with, and be more aware of them so as not to dump them out while demanding more. May I be filled not only with more of His Spirit, Eph. 5:18, but also with a greater awareness of His Spirit.  I want to be filled not only with a joy that I can’t even put into words, 1 Peter 1:8, but also with a calm delight that overshadows my fears, worries, and the circumstances and stress of everyday life.  But most of all I want the love of Christ to fill me up so much that I am overflowing to everyone around me, and filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:16-19

Here it is in everyday terms; God, help me to stop wasting my opportunities to love my family because it’s inconvenient, or they are trying my patience, or interrupting my (selfish) time to do my things.  Help me to see people’s needs all around me, instead of being consumed with life, ministry duties, and other things that distract me from the two most important things in life – Loving God, and loving my neighbor as myself. 

Thank you God, for giving me this reminder tonight in the form of my little Carter, and help me to be full with you, in you, and of you.

Lance,