Caring in Whole Not in Part

Matthew 25:40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

          So there is this wonderful little parable that Jesus tells to His disciples at the tail end of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25.  In it He depicts two types of people:  #1 those that feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in a stranger, cloth the naked, comfort the sick and visit those in prison, #2 those who don’t.  Jesus says, on the day of judgment, that #1 will get the ticket to ride on the J-Train (permission not given by Toby Mac to say that but he doesn’t read my blog, YET) and #2 will get thrown into eternal punishment; presumably the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Not sure exactly what that means but whatever it is, it is scary and sounds about as peaceful as being tumble dried with a family of porcupines. 

          If you are like me, you have probably excluded yourself from among those at the porcupine laundromat because we are decent people.  We would certainly not pass over someone who wanted a drink or tell a sick person they should just go find a hospital and stop bothering you.  That being the case, we are good, right?  Well… not so fast.  I am of the opinion, and I think the theology bears out, that there is a much deeper layer that Christ is showing us.  And like me also, we may have neglected a few things.  You see, if this is all about physical things we do for people then doesn’t that mean that Christ and His sacrifice are unnecessary to my salvation?  He says it right in the red letters!! As long as you take care of these people you will be welcomed into the Kingdom with open arms.  Or so it seems.  But to believe that would mean we have to throw out almost the entire New Testament (and Old for that matter) to hold on to our faulty conclusion; including the most known verse from Tim Tebow 3:16….errr… John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  So if Tim Tebow is right, and we get into the Kingdom by repentance and believing on the sacrifice of Christ to pay the penalty of our sins, what the heck is Jesus talking about here?  And what do hungry people have to do with anything?  That is why I believe there is another layer.

          Go back and read Matthew 25:34-46 for a minute……  Seriously……  Dude, go read it!!  I will wait….  You didn’t do it did you?  Sigh.  Ok, now then, as I mentioned, Jesus points out six different categories of people we are to help.  And He addresses the physical need of what should be done to help them.  But in every parable there is always a spiritual meaning underneath; something the disciples generally ask about and Jesus will explain but in this case He did not and we are on our own.  That explains why for so many years I thought I was doing just fine.  I get the physical needs: food and water, place to stay, warm clothes, comfort to the sick, visitation to the prisoners.  But what are the spiritual needs and am I meeting those needs?

          Let’s just roll through them one by one.  First, the hungry.  They need food.  But they need to be fed spiritually.  Jesus is the Bread of Life, Jesus is the Word, therefore meet their spiritual needs by administering the Word of God in their lives.  See how easy that is?  Well they get harder.

          Number two, those who are thirsty.  They need water.  Jesus gives living water and in John 4 says that if you take of His cup you will have a well of water springing up to eternal life.  So what am I supposed to do Jesus?  Dig wells?  No.  I mean you can, but they won’t save anyone.  Well, yes but not spiritually.  Ugh.  I should have thought this through before I typed.  Digging wells and giving people water is awesome, do that.  But it will only have eternal value if it is combined with the giving of living water.  In John 4:37-39 Jesus clarifies that the living water is the Holy Spirit.  But that doesn’t really help me a lot because I can’t tell the Holy Spirit where to go or what to do.  John 3:8 says He goes where He wants to go.  So how do I spiritually give someone something to drink?  How about by offering them eternal life?  Telling others about the sacrifice of Christ, the water of repentance, the washing of the sins, the bathing of the Holy Spirit and receiving of the “sloppy wet” kisses of the Father (don’t worry Matt Redmond also not a fan).  Dig a well, yes.  As deep as the soul and fill the need by inviting the Holy Spirit to take up residence.  Have you ever done that?  A little more than just handing out water bottles after a hurricane, huh?

          Then there is the stranger.  He needs a place to stay; a home.  We may not invite strangers into our home much anymore but certainly you would be available to take someone if given the right circumstances and safety assurances.  But what about spiritually?  What could a stranger need?  Well, pretty much the same thing.  They need a home, some place to belong; a family.  We can accomplish this by inviting someone to be a part of the Church eternally.  That can start by inviting someone to YOUR church, to be a part of YOUR family and to belong as a part of a body of believers where YOU worship.  And if that is too much how about just introducing yourself to someone that seems to have a spiritual need.  It worked well enough for Forest Gump!  Momma said not to be taking rides from strangers but Forest introduced himself to bus driver Dorothy Harris and then said, “Well now we ain’t strangers any more.”  If it was in the movies, then God surely approves of this tactic.  Rolling eyes.  I think however you do it, the emphasis is on being spiritually welcoming and eternally minded.

          As for the naked, this could get interesting.  Not so sure I would recommend welcoming a naked stranger into your home but luckily Jesus separates the two so we don’t get into trouble.  First you have to clothe them.  And spiritually?  Well this is up for interpretation but God not only clothes us in Christ but He clothed us another time too, remember it’s parallel in Scripture?  It was in the garden of Eden and He did so because Adam and his wife were naked and ashamed.  Contrary to a sometimes popular opinion, church is not the place for fancy dressed parishioners.  It is the place for those who need to be clothed in Christ and a place where the shamed should be able to come in naked and find refuge.  Not a place for judgmental stares but a place for warm blankets of love and compassion for those in need of spiritual balm.  Back to the answer we have to give the King, you may drop off used clothes at the Goodwill but do you sit next to the new visitor who wore shorts because he doesn’t usually go to church and wasn’t aware of your dress code?  Do you pray with him?  Did you invite him to lunch?  Me either.

          As for the sick and those in prison, I want to address them together.  Physically they both need comfort and visitors, but why did Jesus separate them out into two groups?  Well, once again it is open for opinion but as always I have one.  These are the people who can’t leave and we have to go to them.  In both cases they are people who we don’t just come across in daily life but we have to be intentional about going out to them.  Maybe this is just your neighbor or maybe this is foreign missions, but either way they need you to go to them and bring them comfort and healing.  Who is the Healer?  Who is the Comforter?  Okay, so you know what they need spiritually but again, why did Jesus separate them?  You see I think there are two types of people who need us to go to them.  There are the sick:  those who are ignorant of their sin and ignorant of the love of Christ.  Then there are those in prison: those who are shackled in sin, desperate for a Deliverer but set against Him.  We are called to both.  It is a little easier to go to those who are unaware than it is to go to those who are belligerently against the message of Christ.  It sure would be nice if I could just tell Jesus to send someone else who has the particular gift go to all the annoying and arrogant but He called all His disciples to go to them.  Even to the difficult ones.  Do you approach them with the message of salvation or do you turn your eyes to the left and act like you don’t see them?  Me too.

          Upon further review.  I don’t have it all together.  Maybe you are feeling the same.  Good.  I don’t want to be alone with the porcupines.  No, that isn’t what would happen.  This does not mean, Christian, that you would lose your salvation for pinching your nose rather than giving a Bible to a homeless man.  But what it does mean is that if I am not meeting the spiritual needs of those in the world than I am not yet arrived in my relationship with Christ and need to go deeper.  Don’t rest on your laurels in your relationship with Christ.  Go on foreign missions, visit the darkest penitentiary, hand out encouraging letters in the hospital….but don’t forget WHY you are there.  To expose them to the Bread of Life, pour out to them living water, give them a home of belonging, cover their guilt and shame, disciple their ignorance and undo their shackles in the name of Christ.  Yes the porcupines await some but the love of God awaits you and that is your inspiration to go.  So go!

Seeking Safety

When a brook finds a home in halting

Its upstream is sure to pool.

With last corona of waning sun

The earth, it is known, must cool.

And so when wind blows great trees to

They always return by fro,

And since clouds whose changing azure shapes

Are relentless in their flow.

Our lives too have certain certainties

Although some seem all but safe.

Nature’s Master scribes our destiny,

And protection comes from faith.

Still the occasional sparrow falls,

The abstruse is in His plans,

But if that sparrow flails in Heaven

It’s brought rest in gentle hands.

Our Lord is our hope, lacking languish.

He so gives without receive.

Since peace and rest and joy He does will,

We have only to believe.

Choosing Between Religion and Grace

Matthew 15: 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Matthew 15:6 “And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”

            So what exactly is going on that Jesus is being so particular about?  Well let me get into a little history for a second and then bring us all back to earth by describing how we are still guilty of doing this same thing today.  Fair enough?

            Many, many years ago in a land far, far away, God gave unto Moses what has been calculated at about 613 Laws contained in the first five books of the Bible.  Now not to be too presumptuous but one of the purposes, so says the New Testament, of giving all of these laws was to be a tutor which would lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).  In other words, the Law is so extensive and our human nature is so flawed, our inability to successfully complete such a monumental task as perfectly observing all the Law was to bring us to utter dependence on Christ; i.e. faith.  The Law was to lead us to repentance and the dependence on the grace of God and His strength to perfectly fulfill this Law on our behalf. 

            In comes the problem.  Problems such as basic humanism and pride began to beset those Jewish adherents to the Law and they developed the arrogant opinion that 613 was too easy.  As a result they began to write down oral traditions that were accessories to, or additions to, the current 613.  Because God’s requirements were so easily met among the truly righteous, so they reasoned, they could begin to add more weight to the Law and separate the super righteous from those who are only modestly righteous.  In comes the Mishnah.  The Mishnah was a written record of these additions which accounted for somewhere near 4200 new “laws” that the super righteous were to implement into their daily lives.  Now these were not inherently bad things.  They were intended to be reverent and help people focus on God and His holiness, etc.  The problem is that God didn’t write them.  They were entirely man made and therefore many of them actually contradicted the ACTUAL word of God in lieu of trying to honor Him.  That accounts for why Jesus, in this exchange, snapped at the Pharisees quoting Isaiah and exclaiming, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matthew 15:9)  You see they did not see through to the true heart of the message contained within the Law and so thought they were adhering to it when in fact they were failing in most every respect.

            One of these Mishnah laws was detailing the very specific procedures necessary to wash before you ate anything.  Now this is not to speak poorly of our Purel generation, but quite frankly, Jesus is letting them know that washing your hands before you eat is not going to somehow make you super righteous; sorry moms.  And not washing your hands before you eat is not going to somehow disqualify you from church membership.  You would think that was pretty straightforward, however, because the Mishnah laws had become so ingrained within this society post-Babylonian exile, they believed that Jesus was breaking the Law of God.  As a result they pressed on Him and wanted to tear down any clout Jesus may have been building among the Jewish cohort of disciples.  Primarily because Jesus didn’t do things the way they did things.  Jesus made them feel uncomfortable because His devotion did not look or feel like theirs did.  His ways were not their ways.  And furthermore, He was not educated or formally trained, so how would He know anyway?!

            Not moved by the Pharisee’s and their interpretation of piety, Jesus helped them to understand that not only could they not meet the 4200 laws, they also could not meet the 613, they couldn't meet even the great 10 and so teaches them to follow only the 2 (to love God with your all and to love your neighbor as yourself).  So this is where we jump ship from the history lesson and start looking for practical application today.  I am sure it is quite easy to look at their Pharisees and scribes and think, “They were so stupid.  How could they miss something so obvious?”  But do you realize that in saying that you have become one of them?  Here is the deal, we do the same thing all the time and do so MOSTLY within the church!  Not sure what I mean?  Let’s think about it for a second.

            How many Christians do you know that in arrogance state they will never see an R-rated movie because they want to be sure to keep anything impure from before their eyes?  Noble, yet are not The Passion of the Christ and Hacksaw Ridge two of the most spiritually exhilarating movies ever made?  Mishnah.  How many Christians do you know that say they don’t listen to anything but praise and worship music?  Disciplined, yet do not Jonny Lang and Lifehouse sing some of the most powerful worship music available even though in the secular market?  Mishnah.  Don’t invalidate the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

            Greater still, should a good Christian condemn another Christian for missing church?  What if that church missing sinner was absent due to the fact that they had recently discovered their mother had contracted cancer and couldn’t face people that day?  Mishnah.  When a teen girl becomes pregnant due to making a poorly thought through decision, should a good Christian be sure she understands that she needs to be repentant for her sins?  What if she is already self-condemning and really just needs a friend?  Is it not more important that among the children of God she recognizes that she is special and truly loved?  Mishnah.  Don’t invalidate the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

            What if a pastor does not deliver an alter call at the end of every service?  What if there is not a particular scripture reading at your men’s Bible study and instead you just fellowship?  What if your devoted prayers are spoken with your eyes open and while driving your car instead of kneeling in your prayer closest?  What if your unbelieving neighbor asks you to come over for a beer because he has some life questions to ask you?  What if you have to mow your yard on Sunday to avoid a HOA violation ticket that would inhibit your ability to get groceries for your kids this week?  On and on and on.  Don’t invalidate the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

            God’s word is clear and succinct.  He doesn’t beat around the bush and makes His commandments pretty clear.  But there is always a reason that He says the things He says.  And the reason always defaults to one thing:  He loves you.  Or better said, He loves His children.  Do you first and foremost respond to situations with this in mind?  Or do you first and foremost respond based on what you have interpreted from a passage of Scripture that may or may not be speaking into the context with which you are currently presented?  Do not take wrong what I am trying to say.  Should the Sabbath be observed?  Of course.  Is it good to protect your eyes from viewing unclean things?  Beyond the shadow of a doubt.  Should a pregnant teen be aware of God’s will for her life?  You bet she should.  But do we default to condemnation and judgment or do we love.  Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 that His burden is light.  The church and its people should not then be going around and adding burden in response but rather directing people to Him to let Him take the burden for Himself. 

            Have a beer with your neighbor and talk to Him about why you love the Lord.  Hug the neck of the pregnant teen and tell her that you will always be available to her if she needs to talk.  Mow your yard and feed the little blessings that God has put under your care.  Watch Hacksaw Ridge and take the whole family.  Listen to Jonny Lang's “That Great Day” even if you have to go to the House of Blues to hear it.  Matthew 22:38 “This is the foremost and greatest commandment.”  Throw down the Mishnah in your heart and love the Lord and His people.  Extend a little grace on the front end and see what happens to the sin on the backside.  There is always time for judgment but the Holy Spirit does a pretty good job of that on His timing and in His great ways; not mine.

            

Does God Honor My Free Will?

                

                I never hear this question:  “Does God honor my free will?”  I always hear it phrased as a definitive statement such as:  “God would never force someone in anything because He is a gentleman and honors/respects our free will.”  But then the people that say this never back it up with any biblical proof.  This assumption that God honors/respects (does not encroach upon) our free will just does not hold much water with me so I wanted to do the following study to see what the Bible says. 

                First of all let me make a few points about this “assumption statement” to simply voice some things I find irritating about the statement in general.  For one, why would someone define God as a gentleman?  I love God, but “gentle” is a pretty strange way to describe Him because it is such a small part of who God is.  Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit so I have no problem with saying that God is gentle, but describing Him as a gentleman would be much like referring to George Washington as Episcopalian.  Okay so he was an Episcopalian but he was much more to the history of this country than that right?  In the same way, God is truly gentle but He gets done what needs to be done even if it requires His commands, His rebuke, His discipline, or even His wrath.  It doesn’t feel gentle when I am being rebuked; how about you?  At the very least I think we could agree that God has other attributes as well and He does not always operate in ways that are gentlemanlike.  In addition to that, let’s not forget that many “gentlemen” in the south owned slaves who were of course held to work against their free will so being a gentleman does not preclude someone from imposing their own will.   Sorry, the idea of confining God within the simple guidelines of a gentleman limits His abilities to within human institutions and I serve a limitless God who surprisingly (tongue-in-cheek) exists outside of our regard for Him.  Exodus 22:20, 22-24 “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be utterly destroyed.  You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.  If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”  Gentle, huh?  And just so you know it is not just an Old Testament thing:  Matthew 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.’”  In both of these examples God is speaking to believers not unbelievers.  Of course God turns His wrath on those who dishonor and deny Him, but the thought that He is beyond treating believers with anything but gentleness and courtesy is asinine. 

                Second, the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9 KJV).  God does what He does with some regard to me only because He loves me (John 3:16) but He does not wait for my approval before He acts.  That would imply that I am god not Him.  This thought is, in fact, entirely prideful and humanistic and reveals the self-centered arrogance Satan has convinced us is true justice.  Can’t you just hear Satan whispering in the ears of the immature “God would not surely make you do something outside of your own will, would He?”  Doesn’t that sound eerily like the conversation with the woman in the garden, “You will not surely die…for God knows in that day…you will be like God.”  Let’s not assume what God says, but instead look and see what God’s word ACTUALLY says.  Romans 9:15-18 “For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’  So then is does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.’  So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”  Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble but these verses clearly spell out that God is not altering His will just because you will something else.  It is, in fact, only when we align our will with God’s will that we will receive what we desire (Psalm 37:4).  He is not changing for anyone just because they “free will” something different.  Job 23:13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him?  And what His soul desires, that He does.”  Hello?   

                I am not going to take the time to go through each verse of the Bible that speaks to God’s sovereignty, His predestination of events or His all-powerful nature, etc.  Instead I figured I would just compile some of the stories littered throughout the Bible and see if we can identify any times where God enacted one plan while the subject “free willed” something different.  Maybe the weight of the evidence will point to whether or not God honors our will or His own….just sounds funny even saying it, doesn’t it?  Is this seriously even an argument?

1)      Jonah:  The prophet Jonah was commanded by the Lord (not asked) to go to the people of Nineveh and warn them that they were wicked and the Lord had taken notice and was about to destroy them.  Jonah, in his free will, fled.  He got on a ship headed to the ends of the known world.  Despite Jonah’s obvious desire to flee from God and the task God had commanded him to complete, God sent a storm in the path of Jonah’s flight.  The storm forced Jonah into the sea and he was swallowed by a great fish.  While in the belly of the fish, Jonah’s will to flee broke and he then willed to live.  The fish vomited him out on the shore and God again commanded him to go to Nineveh which he did. 

Thoughts-  I suppose God “gently” encouraged Jonah to change his mind?  Then He was patient and loving to Jonah in order to win Jonah’s heart?  I suppose God didn’t want to impose His will on Jonah so He drowned him (water-boarding) until he repented?  If I could be permitted to use my own words, I would say that God broke Jonah’s will like a glass vase in a cement mixer.  This hardly lines up with our original “assumption statement.” 

2)      Philip:  One of the original deacons in the Acts church, Philip in Acts chapter 8 comes across an Ethiopian reading out of the book of Isaiah.  After describing how this story spoke of the Christ, the Ethiopian was saved and Philip baptized him in a body of water along the road that connects Jerusalem to Gaza.  Then in Acts 8:39 the Bible tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.”  Philip was miraculously transported to the city of Azotus where he continued to preach the gospel.

Thoughts-  “Snatched away?”  But what if he didn’t want to leave yet?  He was not compelled to leave.  He was not asked to go to Azotus.  He was “snatched.”  This is only further proof that God is not as concerned with our opinion as He is His own will.   

3)      Simon of Cyrene:  Simon was a Jew from North Africa who was in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion of Christ celebrating the Passover with his sons Rufus and Alexander.  We do not necessarily know that Simon became a believer but his sons undoubtedly did since they were known by the readers of Mark’s gospel as is evident in the language used in Mark 15:21 (see also Romans 16:13).  Mark tells us that Simon was “pressed” into the service of carrying Jesus’ cross while Luke tells us Simon was “seized” and they placed the cross on him.

Thoughts-  Now words like “pressed” and “seized” do not sound much like free will.  In fact, it sounds as if God was accomplishing His goals of crucifying His Son regardless of if Simon wanted to help out or not.  God was going to use Simon to accomplish His goals even if Simon was late for dinner or even if Simon was allergic to wood.

4)      Judas:  And on that note, how could we forget Judas.  He was the disciple who was hand selected by Christ to assure that He fulfilled God’s will to sacrifice His own Son so that He could bring Him back to life and redeem His Church.

Thoughts-  No doubt, Judas shows his free will when he sells Jesus to the Jews/Romans for 30 pieces of silver, but upon closer examination, it appears that Judas changes his mind and returns the money (Matthew 27).  So was he perhaps “forced” to do something outside of his will?  At the very least we can say that he was not allowed to change his mind no matter how desperately he wanted to.  I don’t think it was Judas’ will to have his guts spilled out in the Field of Blood, but that is what God did to him anyway.  What a gentleman!

5)      Joseph:  The favorite son of Jacob, Joseph was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery.  As he faithfully persisted to honor God no matter the circumstances, he eventually elevated to 2^nd in command of Egypt and saved a continent from starvation. 

Thoughts-  Not only was it the will of the brothers that Joseph died, it was the will of Ruben (the brother that saved him and sold him into slavery) that Joseph go away forever.  Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”  Do you see the contradiction between wills in that text?   Joseph did not expressly admit to having a different will than God’s but common sense would tell us that he was not asked if he would be willing to be sold to a foreign country.

6)       Nebuchadnezzar:  The king of Babylon the great who, because of his arrogance and pride, was made by God to go crazy and live out in the fields with the cattle for seven years.  God’s emphasis in this was that Nebuchadnezzar turn from his pride by being humbled, recognizing that “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.” (Daniel 4:17 & 4:32).  When Nebuchadnezzar was broken from this pride, his kingdom was reestablished by God.  He then concludes:  Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

Thoughts-  Again we see the example of God not being a gentleman, or respecter of persons, but outright asserting His authority which He has every right to do.  He does not hesitate to break us until we do as He commands.  That doesn’t sound like free will to me.  That sounds like sovereignty.  If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.

Did He ask Mary if she wanted to be the mother of Christ?  Did the Israelites want to be exiled into Babylon for 70 years?  Did the Hebrews impose a 40 year desert wondering on themselves?  Did they not even criticize Moses and say that he should have left them in Egypt because he took them out against their will?  Did He ask Mary and Martha if it would be okay if Lazarus died so Jesus could raise him? Did He ask the disciples if they wanted to follow Him or did He command them saying, “Follow me.”  So many stories where God uses us to accomplish His will whether we want Him to or not.  So where in the world do we get making claims like our assumption statement?  These are just a few examples off the top of my head but I am sure there are dozens more.  I think I have made the point adequately but if not just don’t make this statement around me.  We are often so concerned with retaining our self-worth and self-independence that we forget who it is that gives us worth and makes us free.  Many people will come back to say, “Well we are not just puppets or robots to God.”  To this statement I would agree that we are not “just” puppets but we are at least partly puppets.  That is kind of what I meant by surrendering my life over to His will.  Here are my strings.   You pull where you want me to go because I have made a wreck of things.  Not that He can now use me if He wants to because I give Him permission, but that He was using me all along and I am just going to stop resisting Him.  I don’t want my will to have to be broken like Jonah’s anymore.  If you are not His “puppet” then you need to take a look at your strings and see whose puppet you are.  The Bible says we are slaves; either slaves to righteousness or slaves to sin (Romans 6).  Slaves, I think most would admit, do not have the freedom to choose the way of life they desire.  They are tied to their masters and whatever they will.  So why is that so hard for us to swallow?  Because we want to be like God just as the woman in the garden did thousands of years ago.  Satan’s doesn’t have to get new tricks when they have worked all along.

Awestruck

“Awestruck”

It’s more from within and the living without

The heart, mind and eye locked in spectacle’s bout

Entrapped by this struggle all else is forgot

A plunging chin separates lips from their blot

Sparkling serenity warms the obsession

As covetous crave to grasp this possession

And yet it’s eluding and so is sought more

As breeze whisks the scent of this previous lore

Radiant beauty was happened me by luck

And I become one of the many awestruck.

You Can't Judge Me!

          

          

              The day had come when all the nations were to be judged.  One by one, God heard the testimony of all those on the earth, the living and the dead,  and one by one He began to separate them onto His right and onto His left.  At the sight of this many who had suffered much began to take exception to the fact that anyone could judge them having not experienced the same hardships from which they were cast.  They shouted out to each other “How can a God who lives outside the presence of sin even begin to judge we who are encircled by evildoers day and night?” and “Living in such a place of privilege without pain and without tears, how can He presume to sit as a magistrate condemning those with circumstances He cannot even pretend to understand?”  Having sufficiently rallied themselves against God, they requested that the act of separation cease and that the Almighty lend them an ear to make their case against Him.  Gracefully and without fear of any judgment, our Father granted His accusers a moment to let themselves be heard.  One by one they came from the ends of the earth accusing the Lord and saying, “How do you know that You would not have acted in the same way as we have if faced with the same intolerance and injustices, and how do You know that we SHOULD be without sin when you are not weak like we are?” 

An African American man, having been buried since the 1960’s came before Him with rope marks still imprinted on his neck saying, “I was killed for no other reason than that I was hated due to ignorance.  I did nothing wrong and yet I was convicted in front of a prejudiced jury who wanted nothing more than the blood of someone who made them uncomfortable and they did not understand.  How then can You judge me since You know nothing of such things?”  

A victim of the Nazi holocaust next approached the throne with the tattooed reminders of her previous life.  She looked towards God’s patient eyes and said, “Look at these scars.  Have I not already been judged?  My suffering and death were given to me solely because a country and its leaders were afraid of my beliefs.  How then can You judge me since You know nothing of this kind of persecution?”

Each person approaching the throne had a new accusation for the Lord.  Each doubted God’s ability to understand since He had never had to endure suffering, pain, persecution or sorrow while sitting upon His throne enjoying the praises of the angels.  God waited compassionately for each person and each charge to be completely exhausted.  Upon there completion God asked the nations, “What then would be your judgment upon Me?”  The many nations and each of the nation’s many accusers deliberated for some time so that they could return an answer to the Lord that would relegate Him to tears and humble Him to the point that He might have no grounds for unjustly passing judgment on the children of the earth who had already been through so much.  Finally, they had reached a conclusion and were ready to bring their judgment against the Almighty.  As a delegation they decided that He should be made to endure all that they had endured so that He would understand.  They decided He should be made a man like them and placed on the earth to suffer that He might be qualified before being permitted to indict anyone of any charges.  Each accuser would be given the opportunity to place their own sorrows upon Him to make sure that he would have the opportunity to understand their point of view.

The hanged African American man said, “Let Him be convicted before a prejudiced jury who wants nothing more than the blood of a man who makes them uncomfortable and let Him be killed for no other reason than that he was hated due to the ignorance of others.”

The holocaust victim said, “Let Him show the scars of this judgment as permanent as tattoos and let Him be persecuted by a country who was afraid of what He believes.”

A man in a business suit said, “Let Him feel the pressures of having so many mouths to feed and yet have such limited resources.  He will surely not have time for His family or time for spiritual things when faced with such a challenge.  Only then let Him judge me.”

An Ethiopian woman said, “Let Him suffer hunger so that you can count His bones and let his thirst be so great that his tongue sticks to His jaw.”

Next, a man in prison clothes said, “Because I was executed of a crime I did not commit, let the iniquities of another be placed upon His head and let Him pay the price for their sins even though He has done no wrong.”

A pregnant teenager said, “Let Him know what it feels like to be pierced by the hypocritical glances of many accusers who judge Him to be a sinner but don’t understand the whole story.”

A leprous man came giving judgment saying, “Let Him suffer the rejection of men, being despised as one from whom men hide their faces.”

A woman who had long suffered from depression said, “Let Him know what it feels like to be all alone with no one left to show you compassion.” 

His next litigant was a frail creature suffering from anorexia and bulimia.  She said to the jury, “Let Him know what it is like to have no desirable form or beauty.” 

Then a figure in funeral clothes approached the throne saying, “Because I have been widowed, let Him know what it feels like to be abandoned by His bride and left to suffer the biggest challenge of His life with no one to support Him.”

His next tear-filled challenger was a young man with fresh wounds who came saying, “Let Him know what it feels like to be betrayed by the closest of His friends.”

A long-suffering mother came and said, “Let Him be filled with tears over the insubordination and defiance of the children whom He loves so much He would be willing to die for.  Let Him see their wayward direction, plead with them to listen to wisdom, and then stand by watching them continue in their hard-heartedness.”

Approaching next was a fatherless child who said, “Let Him suffer with the absence of the support of His father.”

A heartbroken lover said in His presence, “Let Him feel the devastation of love lost so great that His heart is like wax melted within His chest.”

An overworked mother said, “Let Him feel the stress of everyone wanting something from you all the time and never bothering to ask ‘How are you doing?’”

A homeless man came forward and hurled out, “Let Him know what it is like to spend the night in the freezing cold because you have no place else to lay your head.”

On and on the prosecution littered a barrage of indictments against Him; each rendering their own form of justice making sure that every possible form of suffering would be dished out so that He might more clearly understand what it is we suffer in the deficiency of this cruel kingdom.  Surely He would not even be able to stand against the measure of His own judgment, and in so realizing this He might then render a favorable judgment on them due to the extenuating circumstances that led them to never be able to surrender to Him.  When the judgment of the nations had been completed, the Lord then opened His mouth to answer the accusers:

To African American man He replied, “Was I not convicted before a prejudiced jury and killed for no other reason than that I was hated?”

To victim of the holocaust He said, “And do I not also have the permanent scars of the judgment of my countymen?”

Answering each in turn, He said to the businessman:   “Did I not feed thousands with a few loaves, and find time for prayer despite being pressed on all sides?”

To the Ethiopian, “Did I not suffer on the cross such that one could even count my bones?  Did I not also thirst but then was only given sour wine?” 

To the prisoner, “Was I not also a prisoner executed of a crime I did not commit?  Were not the iniquities of the entire world placed upon Me even though I did no wrong?”

To the pregnant teen, “Have I not also been pierced and have I not also been counted among sinners being made to endure unspoken judgments?”

To the leper, “Was I not the rejected cornerstone?”

To the depressed, “Was I not alone when my sheep were scattered?” 

To the anorexic bulimic, “Was I not voluntarily made common and without majesty?”

To the widow, “Have I not been abandoned continuously and unceremoniously by the bride I came to serve?”

To the betrayed, “Do you not believe I understand what it is like to have a close friend do the unthinkable against me?”

To the long-suffering,  “Have I not also spoken ‘O Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing?’”

To the fatherless, “I too cried out to My Father, ’why have You forsaken Me?’”

To the heartbroken, “Do I not also know the pain of a broken heart?  While yours suffers and will be healed, Mine has even exploded inside my chest.”

To the overworked, “I have only known service and when have others ever asked Me how I am doing?”

To the homeless, “Do you not remember that ‘the Son of Man has no place to lay His head?’”

To each He answered in like manner, giving a sympathetic but challenging response for every accusation.  Finally, with one fell swoop He stated to all, “You have accused Me of these things because you have not known My Son who is in Me and I in Him.  If you would have known Him, you would have known that I have suffered not only these things but so much more.  You would understand that though I would have been justified to judge you without doing so, I also suffered so that I would be blameless before any accusation.  It is because you have chosen to be blinded by your own sufferings instead of acknowledging the saving power of the death, burial, and resurrection of my Son, Jesus Christ, that you have now been condemned.  For had you been able to see past yourselves you would have found sanctuary in knowing there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Go now and find your home in the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Putting their heads down they knew that He was right.  They had heard the stories and were now reminded of the messages they had rejected from their parents, friends, pastors, and co-workers. He had endured these things and He had in fact endured even greater.  Laying down their scepters at the feet of the Savior, they exchanged them for shackles and began to march.  As they walked in file away from the Light, they realized how they had used their circumstances to try to justify their lives.  They remembered how they felt somehow prepared with the armory of these accusations if in fact there was a God that they would have to stand before.  How silly those arguments now seemed in response to an Almighty, All-knowing, Star-breathing Creator whose judgment comes out of the heavens, not from the perspective of the throne but from the cross.   

In Refusal of Choice

Nature bleeds in radiant glory

Deposits of gleaming tint.

It’s found in the lily’s hiding spot

Down where the river grows bent.

It’s seen across the evening sky

Bookmarking the day’s at end.

Fear not when blending richness departs

In morning it comes again.

It lies, as well, in tendering heart

Of beauty’s perfecting eyes,

As she longs that she may never leave,

Yet must for winged time flies.

It stands in nuance of mountain’s pools;

Its innocence safe from sound.

So undisturbed is its purity

Touching to comfort dry ground.

It last with strength of comradery,

The forest, its view, shows cast.

The power of the aspen or pine,

A few that provide the vast.

Colors serve as God’s divine polish.

We relish their every hue.

How quite demeaning to choose the best?

The question I bring to you.

The Blank in ____Moses' Name

Exodus 2:10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.  And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

                There is some misunderstanding within the Christian community (and potentially other faiths) with regard to how or why Moses got his name.  I know this sounds like a really boring reason to blog but please stay with me because I think you will see that the truth behind it reveals something really incredible and Marvel comic awesome about God and His intentions for Moses.  Give me at least a few paragraphs before you move on…  Of course now that you are committed, I have decided to do the rest of the blog in one solid paragraph.

                Most of the confusion comes from the verse in Exodus itself.  Not that the verse causes confusion but it was originally written in Hebrew and we miss some of the subtlety now that Moses' name has been transliterated through Latin and then to English.  I won’t go into all the details (because that part is pretty boring) but suffice it to say that the name “Moses” does not mean “to draw out of the water” like the verse seems to say, but the Egyptian name “Mosheh” (Moses) sounds like the Hebrew word “mashah” which means “to draw out.”  It would be like if I named my son “Juan” because he was my first child… get it?  My first Juan?  As in, my second child would be named “Tu?”  Nevermind.  Anyway, Moses’ name sounds like a Hebrew word that means “to draw out” but it does not actually mean "to draw out" because his name is not a Hebrew name.  His name is an Egyptian name.  So what does “Moses” mean in Egyptian?  I am glad you asked. 

                In the Egyptian language, “Moses” means “is born.”  As simple as that.  Moses= is born.  So why is that significant?  Wow, you are asking great questions today.  That is significant because among the pharaohs they would often name themselves and their children using “moses” as a suffix.  Perhaps you have heard of Rameses?  Knowing what you know now about the Egyptian language can you figure out what his name means?  Rameses means “Ra” (Egyptians god of the sun) “is born.”  “Thutmose” means “Thoth” (Egyptian god of wisdom) “is born.”  “Ahmoses” means “Iah” (Egyptian moon god) “is born.”  So Moses is just the suffix of a name.  Poor Moses, he never got the rest of his name.  Can you imagine your name just being "is born?"  It would be like someone's favorite color being manila.  He was only ever half named; that must be why he had such temper.  But God loves naming things, so it would seem very fit that He Himself would give Moses a name or at the very least change Moses’ name so that he didn’t have to go all over the desert with this sorry Egyptian label.  Kids would probably pick on him and stuff.  Well maybe God did give him a new name and we just missed it.  As promised, this is where it gets interesting.

                In Exodus 3:13-14 God is speaking to Moses at the burning bush and discussing all that this mission entails.  Moses, ever questioning, says he is worried because as he goes to the sons of Israel and tells them that the God of their fathers sent him, they are likely to ask, “What is His name?”  God never flinches and tells Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  It is from these words “I AM” that the Hebrew people constructed the name of God now pronounced Yahweh.  Did you see what just happened there?  God just gave Moses a new name.  He filled in the blank for Moses and gave a prefix to his suffix.  Did you miss it?  And it is important that God changed it just as He was commissioning Moses to go and set His people free from the Egyptian pharaohs and all of their gods.  Let me help you out with it if you are still not able to see it.

                From now on, whenever Moses was asked his name he would reply, “I AM Moses.”  God filled in his little blank and put His own covenant making name in there.  He is not “Ra”moses, or “Thut”moses, but rather he is “Yahweh”moses and more powerful than any Egyptian pharaoh or their made up gods.   Kids won’t be making fun of him now!  All of this and he is only a type of the Messiah to come.  The Messiah will be the true Moses because in Him the full meaning of “I AM Moses” becomes “Yahweh is born.”  Read that last line one more time just in case you missed it.  I told you it would be worth it if you hung on for a minute!  So whenever you go out there and no matter what opposing force you stand before, when they say “Who are you?”  You put your hands on your hips, puff out your chest and belt out “I AM Franklin!”  Or “I AM Lucy!” and watch the cohorts draw back and fall to the ground just as they did when Jesus invoked the same name before He allowed them to put Him on the cross (John 18:4-6).  Even if your name is Ruchibard you have a fabulous banner if only you say boldly, “I AM Ruchibard!”  Go get’em today Ruchibard, you serve an awesome God, and He gave you a name.

Explain Yourself

As I look over the lives of the faithful followers of God it becomes apparent that there are certain characteristics that stand out as fundamental.  One in particular seems to be at the core: they live lives that demand an explanation.  Whether it was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego quizzed by the disbelief of the Babylonian king who asked, “What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). Whether it be Esther who braved political incorrectness and even a death sentence to save her people which shocked Ahasuerus into asking, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther?  And what is your request?” (Esther 5:3) or whether it be Paul who, even though he faced impending death, refused prophetic advice and the petitions of confused locals travelling to Jerusalem in spite of good reason to stay (Acts 21:10-14).  These men and women of faith were constantly in the throes of danger, yet they persisted in living lives that left people stunned in their wake.

                A shepherd boy defeated a giant warrior, a murderer overcame the Egyptian army, a stubborn fisherman refused to stop speaking in the name of his teacher.  Over and over again the Biblical greats did the impossible because they had one binding character trait: faith.  There is one other common feature I forgot to mention, however: these were common folks like you and me.  Yes, David was a king but he was born a shepherd.  Yes, Esther was a queen but that was due to her favorable looks and by no means her lineage.  Yes, Moses was raised a prince but he was an outcast in the desert when faith appeared.  The principle is this: it doesn’t matter if you are royal or common.  The overriding evidence points to the fact that God is looking towards our hearts and not our bloodlines.  He is looking towards our potential and not our titles.  He is looking at our opportunities and not our religious clout.

                Sometimes I feel like we fail to have faith because people will say to us, “Why are you doing that?”  “Don’t you know that is just a pipe dream?” “Don’t you realize that what you believe is impossible?” “Why now?” “Why her?” “Why not?”  So what?  That is a good thing.  It sets you apart and forces you to have to answer a few of their questions.  Where there are questions, we as Christians have an awesome opportunity to give answers.  Very rarely is evangelism so easy.   Seldom would someone want you to walk up to them cold and start telling them about your “Lord and Savior” but when they ask, they are opening a door.  To their surprise they have walked right in to your testimony.  But how will they ask if you are not doing the ask-worthy?  Why would they ask if you behave just like them?  Why would they notice if you were swimming downstream with the rest?

                Do something today that makes people ask you “Why?”  Then be prepared to let them know you are standing on the shoulders of giants as you walk in the faith that God makes available to all of His children; royal and common.  If you are not living a life that others question, are you really living on faith at all?  And if you are not living on faith, are you really so different from the rest of the world? 

                You are unique and awesome and wonderful and incredible.  Go be that today and see if others don’t ask how you do it.  If that doesn’t get anybody to enquire… I guess you could just get a neck tattoo or something.

Perceptions

A hunted find;

A fevered cold;

An evil kind;

The secret told;

How odd the mind which couples the two,

My perceptions say these are far and few.

A door that’s locked;

A snake that’s coiled;

A pistol cocked;

And water boiled;

How odd the mind to feel them a tease,

My perceptions say not to fool with these.

The winter dead;

The desert bare;

The young one’s head;

And stagnant air;

How odd the mind where not essential,

My perceptions say these have potential.

Color of skin;

Fam’ly of birth;

Past numbered sins;

Dollars you’re worth;

How odd the mind upholding such clatter,

My perceptions say these shouldn’t matter. 

Other Religions Honor Jesus Too, Right?

John 5:23 “so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”  In John 5:23 we are called to honor the Son just as we honor the Father.  Don’t the Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, and Mormon communities also honor Jesus?

No.  Do we not honor the Father in a more privileged way than we would honor anyone else?  In 1 Peter 3:7 God calls us to honor our wives but don’t we honor the Father with more privilege than our wives?  Despite Exodus 20:12 would it not be blasphemous for us to honor the Father equally or on the same plain as our mother?  Does God not speak out against honoring anything as equivalent to Him in multiple places?  So why is it not permissible to honor our wives or anything else “even as…the Father” but it is just fine to honor the Son “even as…the Father.”  Isn’t the point that we honor no one “even as” we honor God?  To do so would be a violation of even the foundational 10 commandments which mandate we have no other gods, nor worship or serve them.  If I honor someone “even as” I honor God like John 5:23 makes imperative, then I would have to honor them with worship and service because that is a critical part of how I honor God.  Now I am being called in John 5:23 to the honor the Son “even as” the Father which means I must worship Him, serve Him, praise Him, pray to Him, be obedient to Him, know Him, etc.  To do anything less would mean I am not honoring Him “even as” the Father. 

Muslim’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormon’s (among others) do not honor the Son “even as” the Father but only give to Him a special note in the appendix by comparison.  It is certainly not my attempt to slander any other religion but it is my obligation to be sure we, as Christians, understand that those faiths are not the same and do not worship the same God/god.  It is also my privilege to keep them from a blindness that would permit them to see their handling of Christ as honorable.  As an example let me use the following analogy: Barack Obama was formerly a senator from the state of Illinois.  He was subsequently elected as the President of the United States of America for two terms.  If I were to approach him now, with proper Homeland Security clearance of course, and greet him saying, “Good morning Senator Obama” I would be attempting to honor him, but not giving him due credit and appreciation of his real value.  In fact my omission of his full achievement and status would indicate about myself that I did not know him at all and could even be disrespectful due to the fact that I did not acknowledge his presidency.  In much the same way, and don’t take the analogy too far, recognizing Jesus as a prophet, the Messiah, or possibly even as the Son of God (although I would argue this statement is a concession of His deity) still falls short of His divine nature.  In fact God says calling Him by any name at all falls short of His true value because He has been given the name above all names.  Chairperson Obama, Dr. Obama, Mayor Obama and Mr. Obama sir might all be noble titles but there is none as noble as President Obama; save for maybe “daddy.” 

This is an excerpt from my book entitled “Logikos: A Comprehensive Reference to The Biblical Evidence of the Trinity and the Deity of Christ.”  If you enjoyed what you read and would like to contribute to my self-publishing efforts please feel free to follow the link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/book-on-trinity-deity-of-christ

What is Your Ministry Area?

Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

                As a Christian you are probably enamored by the idea of working for the Lord, serving Him daily, and maybe even surrendering your whole life to His desires.  There is an entrancing and romantic ideal around the whole concept.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that is awesome!  In fact, I think that is a core desire that God Himself has placed inside of each one of His children.  It motivates you to honor Him with your service and to share the love, forgiveness, hope, grace, fulfillment that God has so graciously given to you.  It causes you not to forget His sacrifice and to long for being a living vessel of the Gospel message.  The problem with this is, you probably already are but are diminishing the work God has carved out for you while revering only the work God has assigned to others.  Let me explain.

                If I were to ask you, “What is your ministry area?” you would likely give me a list of churchy duties and religious aspirations.  Or conversely, you might shy away from the question completely and say, “I am not a preacher and I don’t really feel called to be a missionary.”  In an effort to keep this short, let me cut to the chase and say, in either answer you would not have answered my question at all.  Those things comprise about 0.01% of the ministry areas to which God has called His people.  Don’t let me offend any pastors but I think you would all agree that there is an average of 1 pastor to 100 members of the congregation.  Surely that does not mean that 99% of the church is not in ministry.  I believe we are missing the mark on this.

                So what is a ministry area?  A ministry area is simply finding the place where you can best honor God by serving in areas which combine the things you are passionate about with the people for which God has given you great compassion.  Put another way, it is the intersection where your gifts, talents and abilities collide with the population for which God has uniquely created your heart to bleed.  And yes, a pastor has the gift for preaching and his heart bleeds to shepherd flocks of God’s children, but that is not the only ministry area God has made available.  Yes, a missionary is gifted with empathy and dedication while having a fearless passion to spread the Gospel to those who have never heard, but aren’t there more options?  Is God not a “manifold” God? 

                I would like to propose that many (if not most) of you are currently serving in your ministry area as we speak.  Unfortunately, you may not be honoring God with it because you think it less than honorable, mundane or ordinary.  You don’t have the starched collar, you haven’t warn a robe since your graduation, no colorful linens, and the only special hat you have has a fish hook on the bill and smells like catfish bait.  But Paul warned us against these demeaning thoughts.  1 Corinthians 12:17-18 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?  If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.  He even goes on in this passage to exclaim that on those members which we have deemed to have less honor, we are instead to bestow a more abundant honor.  In other words, Paul understood that a church filled with 100 pastors and no flock was worthless, but rather a church should be filled with 100 ministers while only 1 pastor.

                An elementary school teacher has gifts, talents and abilities geared towards teaching, educating and motivating.  Likewise she also has a passion to shape young, beautiful, clean slated minds.  She does so for the glory of God by ensuring her motives are not just to get through the day but rather to invest her resources in being loving and patient while instructing our youth in such core values as treating each other with respect, discipline, self-worth and a desire for growth.  She is serving God valiantly within her ministry area!  Although she may not have the title of a vocational minister, she is thriving right where God has planted her.

                A business man has gifts, talents and abilities such as leadership and administration.  He also feels compassion for young business owners who are struggling in many of the areas where he found himself lost and hopeless in previous years.  He works diligently within this ministry area to honor God by mentoring other professionals and training business men and women how to treat their customers with respect, honor their employees, run their business according to a high level of integrity and ethics, and even by showing grace where sometimes wrath seems the just solution.  God is well honored in his ministry and this man doesn’t even wear a cross necklace.

                A cashier at the local “buy-it-all-in-one-place” store struggles to figure out how she is going to afford $10,000 a semester to go to seminary.  But she must find a way because she wants desperately to be able to serve the Lord as a profession so she can do it 40+ hours a week instead of just being a greeter at church on Sunday mornings.  Meanwhile she patiently assists the elderly man who insists on writing a check for his groceries.  With 7 scorned shoppers glaring at him, our dutiful cashier calls for a manager to come by and assist with the transaction.  (Aside: Come on, it is 2017 people!!! You are still writing checks?)  While they wait, the man converses with the young cashier and she is able to brighten his day by asking to see pictures of his grandchildren.  Later she tells a little girl how beautiful she looks in her new dress, she smiles at someone who hasn’t been noticed since he can remember, she works a little over so that a co-worker can take a longer break, and she prays as each man, women and child goes through her lane.  But at the end of the day she takes of her smock, kicks up her feet and sighs, “When oh Lord are you going to put me into service for Your glory?”  Can’t you see that she has missed it?  He has already commissioned her yet she is seeking to abandon her post so that she can go to school and “finally serve the Lord in ministry.”  Wait!  

                Let me encourage you, bloom where you are planted.  If God calls you somewhere else, then go.  But don’t abandon your post because you think you are not serving Him there.  What are your gifts?  Who are you passionate for?   How can you do that to glorify your Savior? 

                Do you make people feel good about themselves and work in retail?  How can you use both of these pieces to honor the Lord?  Do you make people laugh and enjoy being around students?  How can you use those two things together to glorify God?  Do you love snow skiing and have compassion for the underprivileged?  How can you use that to glorify God?  Do you love to read and enjoy spending time with the elderly?  Do you not see your ministry area there?  Do you not see that God has uniquely cut you to reach these people with your talents and that a missionary might not be the adequate choice?

                Perhaps your ministry area may is not even about people but rather places and/or things.  If your passion is animals, honor God by using your gifts to defend and care for the rest of His creation.  If your passion is your home town, glorify the Lord by restoring historic buildings or pouring yourself into the politics that make a town great.  If you have a great nostalgia for your local YMCA and gifts of organization, make your YMCA the crown of the neighborhood with programs benefitting the five block radius surrounding your home.  These are tremendous ministries but require men and women who identify themselves as ministers and take up the responsibility of a beating heart longing to honor the Lord and dedicated to being a part of something bigger than just existing. 

                Do you know your ministry area?  Are you content with serving God where you are planted or do you think you just happened there by chance?  God is, in fact, manifold and has given all His children great gifts; world-changing gifts such as a great smile, patience, eyes of wonder, mechanical prowess, fixing clogged sinks or even growing tomatoes.  Use those gifts to serve someone who needs them.  The faithful servant of God does not long to be a hand when God’s people need a toe, but also refuses to be a toe if God has created him/her to be a heart.  Pray, seek and then go serve.  Whatever you do, do it with excellence and you will bring a smile to the face of God.