Hide-and-Seek

Yesterday I was reading about Zacchaeus in the Gospel of Luke.  At the end of the story Jesus tells the little man, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (ESV Luke 19:10)  As I looked at that verse a thought ran across my mind.  Why does God need to seek anyone?  After all, doesn’t He know all?

I have to seek for my keys each morning because I don’t always remember where I put them.  They are typically in one of four or five places, but most mornings I don’t remember which one of those places hold my keys and therefore I have to seek them out.  Yesterday my family and I went to the baseball fields to watch a friends’ son play t-ball.  We knew their team wore black uniforms and that is all we knew.  There were eight fields, ready, set, go!  We had to seek them out.  It was easy to narrow them down by the color of uniforms on the field, but it was still a hunt.

But, God doesn’t need to seek us.  Seriously, where could we go that we are out of His sight, and what can we do that is outside of His knowledge?  So, the question for me yesterday as I pictured Zacchaeus climbing down out of the tree and looking up into Jesus’ eyes and hearing him say, “I have come to seek the lost,” seems odd to me.  Then it occurred to me.  God doesn’t seek us out for His benefit.  He knows where we are, both physically and spiritually.  He doesn’t need to ever “seek” us out.

He seeks us out for our benefit.  It is our reminder that no matter what you do, where you go, what you say, or what situation you find yourself in, God is seeking you.  He wants to be with you.  But, it is more than that; he is not just interested in being with you, I would say He is motivated by it.  Remember when He was in the Garden and Adam and Eve had just sinned and He was calling out to them?  Remember all those times when Israel turned from God and followed whatever new thing their heart wanted and God sent His prophets calling out to them?  As a father, He wants his family to be with Him, and when they are not… he seeks them!  But not for his benefit, for ours!

He seeks you because He wants you to remember, it’s not about your failures… it’s about His successes.  It’s not about your sin… it’s about His forgiveness.  It’s not about your inconsistencies… It’s about His faithfulness.  It’s not about your lostness… it’s about His seeking!

Maybe you needed to be reminded that if you haven’t spent time with God today, He is seeking you.  If you haven’t spent time with Him this week, He is seeking you.  If you haven’t spent time with him this year, He is seeking you.  If you can’t rememeber the last time you spent time with him, guess what… He is still SEEKING YOU!

Be blessed,

Craig

In over my head!

Father, this morning I want to just write you my prayer. Lord, too many times I have prayed for your safety and your protection in my life. It’s not that I don’t want to be safe or protected by you anymore. In fact, I want even more to be safe and protected by you. But I don’t want to pray for it anymore. Instead, I want to ask you to call me out where the water is over my head. I want you to call me out where the waves are tossed by the wind. Lord, I am not seeking adventure or an adrenaline high. I just want to be in your will. I know that there will be some days that you will keep me safe wrapped tightly in your arms. But I want to give you permission to call me out where the waves are so big I can’t see the horizon. I want to be beautifully in over my head. When I am beautifully in over my head I know that you are still in control of the waves. I know that you are guiding my life in the currents. I know that you are leading me toward your glory. I want to apologize because of all the times I missed your will for my life because I preferred the safety of the shore.
Father, I love your shores, but I will trust your plan. So, the next time I find myself in over my head. I will know that this is right where you have called me. Lord, I cannot promise you that I will not be afraid, but I also will try to trust that you have called me to the waves for a reason. And I will trust that I am beautifully in over my head.

And the Word of God Will Not Return Void

This morning I was reading in Acts 22 and I was doing what I normally do while reading the Bible.  I was looking for phrases that jump out at me and looking for a truth that might encourage me or prepare me for my day.  Many times I hear God speak through His Word and it prepares me for what my day holds.  Now, this would be a really great “Max Lucado-Moment” if I were to tell you how something I read this morning really made an impact on my life and I shared it with you and it helped you in some way as well.  Most of the time when God shares something with me during these times it doesn’t have much to do with anyone else.  I have shared things God told me during “our time” with others and what I have learned is that God designed it specifically for me, therefore others don’t always get excited about it as I do.

Ok, back to this morning.  This morning I was reading about Paul as he shared his testimony to the people of Jerusalem while being bound by the Centurion.  And you know what I learned this morning?  I really love the Word of God.  I didn’t learn anything new today.  God didn’t provide a new revelation to me about His promises or His vision.  He didn’t speak a hidden truth to me from the scriptures.  As I was reading this morning, I just paused.  And it that pause I learned that I love God’s Word.  I don’t love it because it guides me, or because it is God’s Words of love spoken to my heart.  (Those things are true.)  I just love it!  Not always because I get something out of it.  Sometimes the Word of God doesn’t speak a new truth on my heart.  Sometimes it doesn’t even speak to me at all.  But I still love it.  And I’m sorry but for some reason that makes me smile a stupid grin and brings a peace to my heart.  Just felt like I was supposed to share that with you this morning.  I pray that you too can be taken in by His Word today.

Contrary to the law

In Acts 18:13 it says that the Jews brought Paul up on charges. What were those charges? “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law?” The phrase, “contrary to the law” stands out to me and makes me wonder. If you read scholars they will ask the question what law? Was it the Roman law forbade anyone from trying to convert Roman citizens to anything deemed “a cult?” Or maybe it was the Jewish law (Torah), which Paul was definitely not preaching against but was in stead preaching of its fulfillment? We know Paul was teaching the doctrine of Christianity, which was protected politically for at least another 10-12 years until Nero became Emperor.
So my concern this morning was, “what was contrary?”
Always trying to find the modern day application for the text I am convinced that many people today are persecuted because they are still persuading people to worship contrary to the law. The problem is that much of our “law” is not a law that is based on truth of scripture or even of the leading of the Holy Spirit, but most of the “laws” that exist in our churches today are traditions of men. Therefore if I can be permitted to make an alteration on the text, I pray that I am a man that persuades others to worship God contrary to tradition.
Traditions are not evil. The problem they present is that we sometimes become so willing to accept traditions that we never learn their foundation or premise. The further away we get from their foundation the further we get from their truth! I want to be as close to the truth of God as I can possibly get! Therefore I pray that God would remove every tradition from my heart and fill it with his truth. I want to worship You, Lord, contrary to my own traditions!

Goal Setting

I’m not an administrative person.  One thing you need to know about guys like me who are not administrative; we don’t like lists.  My wife on the other hand; she’s a list person.  She has a list for almost every area of her life and I would not be surprised if she had a list of her lists somewhere.  She’s is administrative.  It’s a gift she has learned how to use very well.  Me, I’ve learned to trust her lists.

On the other side however, I have found the need for lists.  As someone that doesn’t come by this gift naturally, I have to make myself think administratively.  I have to make myself begin each day with a list of things to do, then I go back over that list and prioritize them.  For me the going back over them is important because if I didn’t then my day would start off with (1.) Go to lunch, (2.) Read, (3.) Get afternoon snack and drink, (4.) Go get candy out of Scott’s office.

It doesn’t seem wise to me to start my day with lunch, so I have to prioritize.  (I know many of you are asking, “He puts lunch and snacks on his to do list each day?”  Yes!  I do!)  Prioritizing my day allows me to be effective.  If I don’t, things get out of sync and I am not as productive as I could have been.  As a result, I go home feeling like I failed or didn’t get anything accomplished.  While I don’t always like lists, I have learned the benefits of them.

The other type of list I have found a great benefit for is in goal setting.  I routinely set six month goals in two categories, work and personal.  While there are great benefits in setting work goals, I really want to challenge you today to set personal goals.  Not just any type of random personal though, I want you to begin thinking about personal goals that will strengthen your relationship with God.  If you are not in the habit of working toward goals, I would not advise you to set six month goals.  Instead start with a 30-day or 60-day goal.

One of the first things you need to do in setting this goal is to ask yourself, “What’s my purpose of setting this goal?”  Are you wanting to strengthen your knowledge of the Bible?  Do you want to strengthen your faith?  Do you want to become more bold in your faith?  It’s important to set the purpose because then you have built in motivation.  And goals are important because if you don’t have a plan to strengthen your faith, how do expect it to grow?  You must be intentional about your process of growth.

For example, if your goal is to strengthen your knowledge of the Bible; pick a chapter and spend the summer studying that passage.  Read it at least once a week in entirety.  Read several verses or sections of it every day.  Try to memorize the chapter.  Break it into different categories you set up.  Use commentaries from to learn more about.  Find a good resource and look at the original language.  (A good online resource with commentaries and helpful in understanding original language is www.blueletterbible.org.)

It is important to have a goal.  Here is the one thing I am positive of; if you don’t have a plan; you have a real good possibility of being in the exact same place with your relationship in 60 days as you are now.  As a believer, you can’t be satisfied with that!

Be blessed,

craig

The Lord Will Provide

In the past few weeks we have examined the life of Abraham.  As you have figured out it is difficult to talk about Abraham without talking about his faith. Several times I have reminded you of the passages that praise his faith in Hebrews 11.  If you have not read them yet, check this out.

⁸ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

This Sunday we are going to examine the passage of scripture that inspired the author of Hebrews 11 to write this passage about Abraham’s faith:

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Abraham was tested by God.  He was commanded to take his only son and offer him to God as a sacrifice on the top of Mount Moriah (This was the same mountain that God would appear to David in 2 Sam 24:16 and the temple of Solomon was built, 2 Chron. 3:1).   Abraham, “the father of a multitude,” was now asked to give up his greatest treasure and only hope to fulfill God’s promise. But remember, this was a test.  After God saved Isaac we are told that Abraham took the ram caught in the bushes and placed him on the altar he had built for his son (Imagine that!  Abraham built another altar.)  Upon sacrificing the ram on the altar we are told that Abraham named the place, hwhy hary or Yahweh Yireh.  Today we know it best by Jehovah Jireh and it means, The Lord will provide.  This was the setting that God revealed Himself to Abraham as The Great Provider.  This is the foundational setting that we as believers base our faith that God will provide for all of our needs.  God provides!

Abraham completely trusted in God to provide even though he had no idea how God was going to do it.  He simply trusted God.  If that would have been me, I don’t think I could have taken my son to the top of that mountain knowing God demanded a sacrifice.  Even if I found enough faith; I probably would have taken a sheep or some other animal in case God changed His mind at the last minute.  That is what we do to God.  We say we trust Him but we take our backup plan in case things get to difficult.  Abraham’s faith had no backup plan.  His plan was, God will provide.  That is what he said to Isaac when his son asked him where the offering was.  He said, “God will provide.”  God has a unique and special plan for your life.  Your Father wants you to trust Him.  Trust Him enough to leave room in your life for Him to work.  Give God the room He needs to provide for you.

Be blessed,

Bro. Craig

Fallen Faith

This week we are looking at how Abram dealt with trials in his life. No one in Hebrews 11 is hailed for their faith as much as Abraham. Hebrews praises him for his faith. Abraham “obeyed going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out not knowing where he was going,” (Heb 11:8). He “lived as an alien in the land of promise,” (Heb. 11:9). In verse 10 we have that great proclamation that he “was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” In verse 16 it says that Abraham’s faith was not a waste because “God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

After Abram got to Canaan Genesis 12:7 tells us that Yahweh came to Abram. In Ur Yahweh called Abram to a place that He would show him. Now in the story, The Lord shows up and presents himself to Abram. Abram’s display of faith is an example of the faith all believes should have and should strive to exemplify.

Then famine hit Canaan!

Abram may have thought God would take him to the Promised Land and roll the red carpet out for him. He may have thought once he got to the Promised Land all his worries would go away. He may reasoned in his own heart that since he showed such great faith in leaving, maybe, just maybe God owed him.

Do you ever get to a place where you feel like God owes you? “God I did this for you, where is my blessing?” It is easy to think our relationship with God is give and take. Most of our relationships are. So, when we do something for God and He doesn’t respond with the appropriate blessing; we feel cheated and we begin to question God’s love for us.

Abram left everything and walked into a land that was experiencing a famine. So he did the obvious, he went to where there was food – Egypt! The problem was he didn’t ask God what he needed to do. He just assumed God “had his back” and did the reasonable thing. He didn’t deny God, he just chose to forget about Him.

God will always test our faith with trials. It is a guarantee. Even Jesus was tested, why should we different? Abram was tested and this great man of faith; showed none! He did not trust God and he missed out on what God had for him. We will never know how God wanted to deliver Abram from the famine because Abram did not show enough faith in God to simply call out to Him.

How about you? How many blessings are you missing because you have not trusted God for His deliverance? Prior to this Abram’s life was defined by the altars he built for God and faithful calling on the name of Yahweh.

Trials are going to come, when they do… learn from Abram’s mistake and remember your call. Build altars and worship the only Savior who has the power to save. Faith only happens when it is lived!

Be blessed,

Craig

How do we respond?

Since the events of Sunday Night, May 1, there have been many discussions about the appropriate response as a believer in the death of a man like Osama Bin Laden.  I have read the twitter feeds, the Facebook posts and several blogs indicating everything from the The New York Daily News’ headlines to the Facebook postings criticizing anyone for finding any joy in this act.

My sermon yesterday was over the call of Abram from Genesis 12.  In verse 3 God says to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”  This promise to Abram became a covenant promise to all believers.  God’s covenant to us as believers is the same (2 Thess. 1:5-11).  Osama Bin Laden was an evil man.  He was evil because of his actions and decisions but also because he chose not to accept Jesus Christ as his savior.  He chose at some point in his life to make enemies of everyone who opposed him and his views.  Bin Laden was evil and his death is justified.  But this is not about justifying his death.  It is about celebrating his death?  Do we have to feel sad because he will spend eternity in hell?  I read a blog today that drew this conclusion, “If heaven celebrates when one soul is saved from eternal separation from God, doesn’t it also weep at one soul is lost to hell?”  The purpose for this blog today is to let you know what the Bible teaches.

For many of us we want God to judge evildoers quickly and righteously.  Until we remember that all of us fall into that category and then we rejoice over the promises of Exodus 34:6-7 that the Lord is “slow to anger” and “abounding in love and faithfulness.”  We know that in Ezekiel 18 God declares that He has no joy in the death of the wicked but would prefer they turn from their sin and live.  At the same time we know James 5:1-6 tells us that as believers we can find comfort in hell, knowing that God’s righteous wrath will be poured out on those who oppose God.  I believe we forget that Bin Laden sinned against mankind and he has paid for those sins with his life.  It is not wrong to rejoice in this type of punishment.  The punishment of the wicked is the theme of the Psalmist in Psalm 58.  However, that is all Bin Laden can offer us.  From this point on he can only repay God for the sins he has committed against Him.  It is this righteous judgment that will send Bin Laden to hell.  It is God’s righteous wrath that will prove God’s ultimate victory over evil.  In this we can rejoice!  We can rejoice that God has won the day and evil will be thrown down.  We can rejoice that God’s justice will prevail for all mankind.  Does this mean we can rejoice because someone will spend in eternity in hell?  NO!  We don’t rejoice because Osama Bin Laden is in hell, we rejoice because of God’s justice.  His justice is righteous and holy and on those grounds we can rejoice.  Let us be careful to not make a martyr out of Bin Laden by guilting believers into thinking it is wrong to rejoice in justice or it is wrong to rejoice in the promises of God.

(As a side note:  I found myself somewhat embarrassed by those in the streets last night that chose to make this into a party for the celebration of death.  Life, all life, is sacred

Utter Amen!

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  2 Corinthians 1:20

Have you stopped to think about the promises of God?  The promises of God are the covenants of God.  Covenant is not a word we use much in today’s language.  However, for Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and the disciples, it was a word they clung to with their whole heart and soul.  God’s covenants (or as we like to refer to them today, his promises), will endure until they are fulfilled.  How do we know that?  Because the promises of God find their answer in Christ!

Christ’s life, death and resurrection provides the faith we need to trust God for His promises.  His promise in general is to give us life in abundance.  Abundance just means more.  Life in Christ is not going to keep you from heartbreak or confusion, but rest assured that His promises find their Yes in HIM!

“That is why through Him we utter our Amen.”  The church knows the word Amen today as the word that is added at the end of our prayers to signify we are done.  Mostly we just listen for the Amen because that is how we know someone is finished praying.  However, the word actually means “verily.”  (Kind of a let down for you?)  It is used in the Psalms at the end of prayers and songs to mean “so be it.” (Is that a more dramatic definition for you?)  While the literal definition here may not provide much insight, let me try to explain the intention behind “Amen.”

Jesus used it in His prayers and His teaching.  You may have read it this way in your KJV, “Verily, verily I say to you…”  Jesus was saying, “Amen, amen I say to you…”  In other words, Jesus was saying, this is the truthfulness of which you can trust.  My words are true and everlasting.  They do not change and they will not lose their power.  The “Amen” of God is trustworthy in ways we may never understand.  They will not fail, they will not fall, they will not quit and they will not weaken!  God’s promises unlike the promises we hear today are true and are verified with the Amen of God.  Now look at 2 Cor. 1:20 again, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”  It is a double promise of God’s faithfulness.  Paul was emphasizing to the church in Corinth the complete promise of God to be their God and to hold their salvation as sure as Christ.  He ends this chapter with these words, “for by faith you stand.”  Not your faith, but the faith that God’s promises are true.  We don’t have the ability to stand on our own faith.  Too many times we fail in our faith, but God’s promises are “Yes.”  His faith is strong, His desire for you is great and His promise to you is “AMEN!”

Be blessed,

Craig

True Leadership

I have been reading almost everything I could find about what makes a good leader. I have read books, blogs, subscribed to tweets, and am continuing to question people in leadership on their style, approach, model, and success. I want to be a good leader. I don’t want to be a good leader for me, I want to be a good leader because as a pastor, I want to lead people well. Right now my biggest fear is that I will mislead or just miss altogether. I don’t want to be that guy.

God has placed some great men in my life who exhibited leadership to me. They are men who are tremendous at what they do and how they do it. They are men who understand their gifts and talents and don’t try to be something other than what God has called them to be. I have been blessed by these men.

One of these men, Wayman Swopes, was born in New Mexico on a dairy farm in 1947. Wayman pastored churches in Michigan, Kentucky, New Mexico and Texas. I met Wayman in 2000 when he was pastor at Greenwood Baptist Church. He was their pastor for 23 years and retired in April 2010. I had the privilege of serving with Wayman for six years. In those six years he became a pastor, friend and mentor. He taught me how to be a pastor to people. How to love people unconditionally but most of all he showed me how to lead.

Many times you don’t know the impact of something or someone until you are able to step back and analyze things. Wayman went home eternally on a Friday night, October 19th. I miss my friend and there have been several occasions I would have loved to pick up the phone and ask him his advice on an issue or to tell him about something amazing God had done.

Another of these men was Jeff Robinson. I met Jeff when he was youth minister at First Baptist Diboll. I was a part-time youth minister at Lakeview in Diboll. Jeff left Diboll to go be the pastor of Southside Baptist Church; where he still is today! I had the privilege and pain of working with Jeff for almost 3 years as his part-time youth minister. Jeff taught me how to compose a ministry and how to do ministry with a bigger picture view ministry. I have never been an administrator but the lessons Jeff taught me have been crucial in understanding, formulating and carrying out a successful ministry. He was hard on me and continued to demand a lot from me. He never demanded more than I could give, but he never accepted less. He is a great friend a another man that I consider to be a mentor. He has an incredible gift for speaking truth. He rarely tells me what I want to hear, but God has used him on so many occasions to tell me what I need to hear.

Another is Keith Nash. Keith was my youth pastor…correction… is my youth pastor! You don’t invest 6 years in someone’s life and then go away. I have always joked about this next part and usually said something like, “and don’t tell anyone…” or “try to keep this a secret…” But the truth is I have always been proud to say that he is also my uncle. Yeah, we are family. He’s my mom’s brother. He taught me a lot of great life lessons like, you can survive on a street corner for an hour in downtown Dallas in the middle of the night without getting raped, mugged or beaten. I also learned that you can’t put more than 14 people in the Double Tree Hotel elevator in Dallas, but if you do it takes about 90 minutes to get them out. I will never forget the time he taught me that if you put people in a small closet in Pineywood Encampment with a propane heater for more than 30 minutes, someone is going to vomit! The thing I remember the most about Keith is, church is fun! With Keith, I had as much learning about God as I did doing anything else. He has that rare gift of taking people and showing them how to surrender their life and allow God to mold them. It was Keith who told me, “Craig, if God is calling you to serve Him, you won’t be happy doing anything else.” He was the one who discipled me when I came back from camp in 1986. He was the one that I talked to when God called me to ministry in 1988. He was the one that looked at me in 1990 and said, “Craig, God called you to ministry, what are you doing about it?” He has continued to be an encourager and leader for me. Even if he is my uncle!

And then there is my dad! I hope you don’t expect me to tell you everything my dad taught me in this blog. My dad has always been my biggest cheerleader and supporter. He was the one who always stood over my shoulder telling me I could do it, and many times it is his voice I still hear today. My dad has not always been perfect, but he has been an incredible example of what a man humbled by God and humbled to God should be. He is tough, but compassionate. He was my father first, before he was ever my friend. Because a young boy needs a father more than he needs a friend. A father teaches him about life and how to be a man. I hope to be as good a man as he is one day.

There are many other men. It was John Crow who taught me how to be passionate about my faith. It was Terry Clutter who taught me that friendship is worth more than mere words. It was Hails Taylor that taught me doing the right thing for the right reasons is more valuable than just the results of your actions. Jim Taylor taught me the value of living for Christ. Troy Nash taught me how to praise God in every situation.

But my greatest teacher has always been Jesus. He taught these men mentioned in this post how to love Him. He taught them how to be mentors and how to lead others. He taught them because He lead them. And He leads me as well. My prayer is now not just to be a good leader, but to be an even better follower of Jesus Christ. Because, someone might just want to follow me one day. And well, I have a legacy of leadership to uphold. I would not want to let these men down, nor Him!

Thank you Jesus, for leading me when I was not even looking. Thank you for using these men to bring about Your glory!

Be Blessed,

Craig