If MY People

Some days, the spiritual forecast where I live looks pretty stormy. Our culture seems to be headed to down a moral sewer. But when things often look the darkest, there is a light coming through.

Lots of folks seem to think that "light" is electing the right person or persons. If we do, then everything in this country will get fixed. Not gonna happen. Sorry.

God has another idea. He is waiting for those of us who know Him to get lives, priorities, and perspectives right. People that don't know God act like it. They make choices that go against the wisdom of the One who created everything and holds it all together. But God isn't calling the people who don't follow him to get things right. He calls us.

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked way, then from heaven will I hear, forgive them of their sin, and heal their land.”

God says "if MY people..." not "those people." He calls us to humble ourselves. That means admitting that we need Him because we think, choose, and act wrongly on our best day. We're needy! And by the way, it is way better to humble yourself than to wait for God to do it. He can, but we really don't want Him to do that. If we humble ourselves before Him, evidenced by our prayers, and our repentance, that is enough. When enough believers do that, then from heaven will He hear, and heal [our] land. If our nation is not "healed" the blame will not go on the heads of politicians, musicians or movie makers. It will be ours: the God followers.

Call it renewal, revival, making things right, whatever. It means getting rid of any and every thing that messes up our relationship with God, and start focusing on what matters to Him.

I need that in my life.
You probably do too.

Take some time out and spend some time with Him. Get the healing started.

Stainless Steel Store

I have corresponded a number of times this week with a friend in India. So tonight, as I was thinking about a picture to post, India was on my mind. Last year I was with a Medical-Dental team preparing to head out to a "remote area" (that is what the Indians call it, and they are not kidding!). My friend had us stop at what we call "The Stainless Steel Store." I have never seen so much stainless steel in one place in my life. The entire first floor of this store was filled with stainless steel. If you use it in a kitchen, they had it in stainless steel! There were pots and pans of course, and buckets, plates, cups, bowls, platters, trays and utensils.

I wish I'd had the money (stuff was very reasonable) and the luggage weight allowance to buy a pile of it. Maybe next time!

No heavy thoughts in this post. Just fun! Click on the pic to get a bigger view.

An Intermediate Day

This has been one of those days where I feel like I got a lot of things done, but not much accomplished — probably because most of what I did today was intermediate steps to things. I had a great walk this morning, and listened to a podcast or two while walking. But I still have to walk tomorrow. Office work—sitting in front of a computer screen (or screens) and doing a few things in process. Still, when I back up, I realize that what I did may have huge implications for a group of people in India. Other tasks were brought to bear that may lead to great help of a group of people in Eastern Europe. Also fiddled with a few technical doohickeys. After leading a meeting for a few adults, I sat in on choir and orchestra practice, helping with sound and making notes for how the music will run for the guys who'll be running the sound and video stuff come Sunday. Very little today with a "mission accomplished" feel to it, but very important intermediate steps.

I did hear from a few God Travelers today, and that was good. These young guys and gals bless me!

Character or Talent

I was walking and listening to my iPod yesterday to a several year old interview with Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic in Pasadena, CA. He said some good stuff, but this comment arrested my thinking... “We need to run as fast as our character is deepening, and not as fast as our talents are expanding.”

It is so easy with our technology, educational opportunities, etc., to expand our talents and abilities, as well as gain new skills. However, it is our character that we need to focus on. Am I guarding my heart? (Proverbs 4:23) Am I seeking Him with all my heart? (Matthew 6:33). If I run ahead of my character, my footing becomes dangerous and unreliable. I am setting myself up for a fall.

Lord, keep me from being confident in myself, my abilities, my talents, my strengths. Help me to continue to grow up in you, and for my character to grow deep roots in your character.

God Travelers

This summer, as every summer, I have seen the departure of several of our young college students to go serve the "One who loves them the most" overseas. Some go for a couple of weeks, some for the bulk of the summer. It is hard to watch them leave, especially those that I have had opportunity to know well. Moms and dads watch them leave with many emotions – excited because their child is serving Father, but grieving because this one they love so much is heading off to places where they (mom and dad) do not know and cannot be. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends feel a degree of the same emotions for many of the same reasons.

Others, even fellow Father and Son followers wonder “why on earth they’d want to do that!” It is simple, really. It starts out of a heart of obedience to the Son’s commands in Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:46-48, John 20:21-22 and Acts 1:8. It grows as they hear others speak of what Father is doing in far away places, and what He is teaching them as they go. Father opens doors of relationship and opportunity to get these young men and women on the field—and they go.

Many of them return with incredible stories of what they saw Father, Son and Spirit do while there were wherever they were. It is a bit like the report of the Seventy followers that Jesus sent out in Luke 10:17. Many of their hearers back home are amazed. They have never seen God do what these God travelers have seen. The travelers, whether they ever go across the border again, will never be the same. They will have a perspective on God, and a perspective on the world that too few of us have. Some will go again, long-term.

Still, it is a bit tough to watch them leave. Yet this is what we have brought them up to do, what we have taught them that the Book says: to obey Father no matter what—no matter where.
Are these God travelers perfect practitioners of the faith? No. Haven’t met anyone who is. They are like you and me, struggling in some areas, victoriously living in others, but they are stepping out (way out, in some cases) of their comfort zones to do what is obviously a clear call in scripture.

The ones that I know who are gone this summer, some in places too sensitive to mention, are in my prayers. So are their parents. (I am fifty-eight and my mom still worries when I head overseas. It is in a parent’s job description.) If you know of some, be sure they are on your prayer list, too.

These God travelers, though young, challenge me to never forget that Jesus said, “Go.”