Caprice Classic

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

 (Matthew 13:44 NIV)

There is an old saying, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” That old adage is certainly true. What is valuable to me may not hold any worth to you at all.

My home is filled with items that I would never throw away or sell. However, my wife simply cannot understand why I keep some of those things around. In fact, many others would find no value in them either. However, they are things that I treasure.

Last week, I visited a church member who was in the hospital in Augusta. When I returned to my truck, I noticed the vehicle parked directly in front of me. This car was a late 1970’s model 4-door Caprice Classic. It was faded brown in color and had many rust spots. There were dents in the passenger door and the spoke rims were rusty and rough looking. The headliner in the interior was hanging down from the top. As if these things didn’t make the car look rough enough, the hood was ill-fitting and white in color, as if it was awaiting a coat of paint.

However, it was not the rough condition of the car that got my attention. In fact, I didn’t notice the condition until I saw the steering wheel. There, clamped onto the steering wheel of the car, was The Club.

Remember The Club? The Club is a device that is locked onto the steering wheel of a car to prevent it from being stolen. A thief may break into the car, but they will be unable to drive it with The Club attached to the steering wheel.

Of course, my first thought was, “Who would want to steal that car?” I sat in the seat of my truck for a moment and stared at the Caprice. Then I thought, “That car belongs to someone who values it a great deal. They value it so much; they wanted to protect it from others.”

I have met with numerous people who think because they are not great public speakers, can’t sing, or are quiet, they aren’t valuable. You may be one of those people. You may think you are of no value to anyone. You may truly believe that no one cares about you. I have great news for you. There is one who values you above all creation.

When the world looks at us, they may only see what I saw in that Caprice Classic. They may see the rust, the dings, the mismatched parts, and an interior that isn’t holding up. However, God sees His creation that He values more than anything else He made. He sees such value in you, that He became man and died on the cross for you. He rose from the dead to defeat sin and death so that you would be His forever.

Just as the person who drove the Caprice saw such value in his car that he wanted to protect it with The Club, Jesus wanted to protect you. When He called you to be His child, He set His seal upon you so that nothing could ever take you away from Him. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (John 10:28-29 KJV)

God created you and loves you more than you could know. He wants you to know today that you are valuable and loved by Him. Rejoice in the warmth of His love today!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

(Matthew 6:26 NIV)

He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

(Matthew 12:11-12 NIV)

Good to great sermons

I just read a great blog on writing great sermons. Anyone who preaches needs to read this one!! Click here  How to Make a Good Sermon Great

Baseball Bailer

Bo and Sarah go to a Houston Astros game last Monday night. They’re sitting in a very logical place at Minute Maid Park to possibly get some foul balls hit their way. Even Sarah said, “As soon as we got here and I saw where we were sitting, I said 'Baby, I'm going to get hit." Her boyfriend replied, “No, you won't. I'll catch it if you do.”

In a few minutes, Bo got his big opportunity. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Houston’s third baseman, Chris Johnson is at the plate with a 2-2 count. Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Minor zings an 80 mph ball in to Johnson which he fouls into the stands. Yes, you guessed it correctly. It headed right to Bo and Sarah.

Most guys would love to catch a foul ball at a major league baseball game. Some guys want to catch one so badly, they bring a glove to catch it with. Bo, however, saw the ball coming, instantly got up and moved out of the way. He turned back to where Sarah was sitting just in time to see the ball hit her in the forearm.

As if he didn’t feel bad enough, the cameras were rolling, caught the whole thing on film, and the network even sent a reporter over to their seats to interview them. He said his reason for moving away is that he couldn’t see the ball well due to the glare of the lights. All of Houston is calling Bo “The Bailer,” since he bailed out on his girlfriend.

Most of the time, we have the best intentions. There aren’t many who wake up in the morning and decide to harm others before the day is over. However, it isn’t long for most of us before we fall to the pressure of doing what we intended to do or not do.

How many times have you vowed to eat better, exercise more, watch less TV, control your temper, be more romantic, meet an old friend for lunch, go to bed earlier, read your Bible more or establish a quiet time with God? Perhaps you could add many more things to the list of well intended goals. The fact is, we want to do and be better, but we just fail at times making it happen.

Henry Ford once said, “You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.” The same sentiment exists in the saying, “It's always easy the night before to get up early the next morning.” Saying what we are going to do is easy. Making it happen is harder.

Jesus illustrated this in one of His parables. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. (Matthew 21:28-31a NIV)

Jesus was talking to the religious leaders in Jerusalem. His point was that doing was more important than saying. While He was speaking to the Pharisees and priests that day, He says the same thing to us today.

Whether we are promising to catch a foul ball to keep someone from getting hit, or vowing to do a better job at something, actions do indeed speak louder than words.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25 NIV)

Is That My Job?

In the book, Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, the authors tell the story of an experiment that Mr. Geiger and some friends did. They placed a fake ad on Churchstaffing.com (which is a real church staffing website) for a “Pastor of Extreme Worship Arts,” for a fictitious church in Florida. The ad read as follows.

This postmodern, gen-x church with an unknown denominational affiliation, averaging from 1001-1500 persons is seeking an exceptional leader to be our Pastor of Extreme Worship Arts. We believe the right person will be a unique fit for such a time as this. This person serves under the Senior Pastor, and will oversee all areas of worship. Candidates must embrace the Senior Pastor’s vision of aligning all people of all denominations under the same vision.

The person must also meet these requirements: Ability to infuse the TULIP [5 Point Calvinism]doctrine in all worship sets. Postmodern, Visionary, Missional leader capable of creating an ethos and apostolitic movement. Willing to find some songs written from a premillenial dispensationalist theological tradition. Desires to develop an emerging handbell choir.

Some snake handling may be appropriate (for our believers service only). Agree that the Lord is to be worshiped through magnificent attire and appropriate versions of the Bible. Demonstrate proof of a second blessing... Tongue speaking in various accents is a major plus as we are a multicultural church. Exegetically establish a movement of fluidity in the Extreme Worship Ministry. We realize that many of these requirements are personal preferences and not biblical mandates. Therefore, each candidate must be aligned with roughly 3/4 of all our requirements. (171-172)

If you are confused by the ad, you’re in good company. It was written to contradict itself. Most of the ideas “required” cannot exist with the others. The sad thing is that some people actually applied for the job with real resumes, cover letters and some even sent in DVDs of them leading worship. It is sad, according to Simple Church, because, “To apply for the position, a person would have to: (1) have no basic theological belief system that guides his/her ministry or (2) be willing to compromise his/her beliefs in order to get a ministry job.” (173)

Imagine you had to hire someone to fill your role as a Christian exactly as you currently fill it. What would the job description look like? It might go something like this. “Wanted: Person to fill role as Christian. Must be able to go to worship services no more than once per month, must never take on any leadership role in the church, Pray only when in trouble, read the Bible only as needed in church. Must be available as a Christian for 1-2 hours on the Sundays that are required, and for 1 hour every third Wednesday night. Hours may vary during Easter and Christmas.”

Recently in Seattle, a parking meter officer marked a car tire at 9:30 a.m. The driver was in the car, but did not acknowledge the officer. The car was in a two-hour parking zone, so when the officer returned just after noon, a ticket was in order. However, the driver, a 36 year-old man was still in the vehicle. The officer tapped on the window but got no response. Assuming the man to be asleep, she wrote the ticket for $42.

About 12:30, the police received a call from the man’s girlfriend. Apparently he had been missing. You guessed it. The 36 year-old was dead. The report stated that the car’s sunroof was open and all the doors were unlocked. The officer could have opened the door or called for help when the man didn’t respond, but instead she simply did her job as meter reader, and moved on.

Are you living up to the job description God has given you or are you trying to just get by with the minimum? Jesus made it very simple for us. He told us to become as little children. He said to love God and love others as ourselves. Don’t simply “get by” in your faith. Work for Him daily!

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. (Luke 10:1-2)

(Rainer, Thom S. and Geiger Eric. Simple Church. Nashville, TN. B&H Publishing. 2006)

Superfood!

Last week, in Clearwater, Florida, an older man got up and made his weekly visit to the Religious Community Services Food Bank. This was a regular trip for Frank Viscido, since his Social Security check doesn’t seem to cover all of his expenses. Any little bit he can save helps.

This time, however, he asked the worker at the food bank for something a little healthier than his usual fare. The worker looked over the items on the shelves, and spotted what seemed to be the perfect can of food. The label read, “Senior Holistic Superfood.” The worker commented that since Frank was a senior adult, that this was made just for him. He even commented, “You’re a senior, this ought to be good for you.”

Mr. Viscido looked over the can and commented on the rest of the label. It went on to indicate that it contained glucosamine, beta carotene, vitamins and anti-oxidants for "sharp vision, strong immune system and joint health." Frank said it looked good to him, so he was about to take the can when he turned it around and got a look at the front of the label for the first time.

Dog food website

When Mr. Viscido read it there was a bit of a shock. It read, “Healthy skin...and coat." "Superfoods every dog needs." The food bank had handed out dog food. Had Mr. Viscido not been so astute, he might have been dining on Fido fare that evening.

Of course, the food bank was very apologetic about the incident. They attributed the oversight to a well meaning food donor, who probably just swept out a pantry and made the donation without noticing the dog food. Mr. Viscido took the whole thing in stride, even to the point of making jokes about it.

I saw a funny Christian video recently, where a man comes out from behind a tree wearing a karate gi. He has a Bible in his hand and is about to fight two ninja. The voice over says “The Bible is a sword…” Then the two ninja cut off both arms of the man. (This was all comical, so there was no blood or anything.) The voice over continues, “…of the spirit.” The man is now standing there with no arms and says, “I guess I should have kept reading after the word sword.”

How many times do we simply halfway read our Bibles? We like to stick to certain stories or verses that we like, but ignore the rest. The Bible is an exciting, wonderful book. It is both entertaining reading and a guide for our life. The great director and producer, Cecil B. DeMille, who was known for his religious epic movies, once said, “Give me a couple of pages of the Bible and I’ll give you a picture [movie].”

However, if you only take a few pages or a few lines from the Bible, you can become misguided very easily. When you read the scripture, read the passage as a whole. You cannot take the parts you like and ignore the parts you do not. God gave us the wonderful gift of His word. Let’s honor Him by using it daily.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. (Psalm 119:9-16 NIV)

The Lesson of Cynthia Ann Parker

I recently heard an interview with author, S. C. Gwynne, on National Public Radio. Gwynne has a new book titled, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. It is a historical account of the struggle between the Comanche and white settlers.

The book’s main focus is Quanah Parker, who was the last and greatest chief of the Comanche tribe. Quanah never lost any battle that he fought. He was a fierce warrior and an imposing presence. Later in life, he decided to “walk the white man’s way” by surrendering and assimilating himself into society.

Quanah was the son of chief Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Parker. Cynthia Ann Parker was part of the large Parker family that settled in Texas in the 1830’s. She was captured by the Comanche tribe in a raid in 1836. Cynthia Ann was nine at the time.

Due to her young age, she completely forgot her former life, and became one of the Comanche tribe. She stayed with them for 25 years, and actually married their chief. With him, they had three children, of which Quanah was one. She was perfectly content with her life as a Native American.

In December of 1860, she and her two year-old daughter were captured by Texas Rangers in a battle that took the life of her husband, Chief Nocona. When the Rangers began to question her, they noticed that she had blue eyes. It was then that they realized who she was. The story of Cynthia Ann Parker had been in all of the newspapers years before, so she was something of a celebrity. She could not speak English, but recounted what she could remember of her capture. They knew they had finally rescued Cynthia Ann Parker. She was returned to some of her family, the government gave her over 4,000 acres, and she was given a pension of $100 per year for the next five years. She was finally home.

There was one problem. She did not want to be there. She tried, for the final ten years of her life, to escape back to the Comanche tribe. She wanted nothing of the land, family or pension. She only wanted to be with the people who raised her. She died in 1870, never seeing her sons or the Comanche people again.

We tend to be very innocent in our young lives. However, at some point, we are captured by the temptations of the enemy. For some, the temptations to sin come very early, for some they come later, but they always come. At first, we may resist and fight the sin that tears us away from the God who created us and loves us. Unfortunately, many times we become like Cynthia Ann Parker. We simply assimilate ourselves into the enemy camp.

When God, through His grace, pulls us back into fellowship with Him, by the shed blood of Jesus, many times we surrender. Many times we resist. However, when we do finally surrender, we tend to fondly view our time spent in sin. We long for the days when we did certain things, or we crave the company of the people who were enablers to our temptations. You can hear it sometimes, in the testimony of a Christian, as they recount the “bad things” they did when they were without Christ. Sometimes, you can almost hear a longing for those times in their voice before they catch themselves and talk about how much “happier” they are now.

When Moses was leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, they were eating manna and drinking water. They began to get disgusted with the same things over and over, so they complained. Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:4-6 NKJV)

The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt. It is very likely that they never had such luxurious things to eat while in slavery. In fact, Egyptian records from the era have been found and no such items were listed as slave rations. They were remembering their past bondage more fondly than their present experience.

If Cynthia Ann Parker had given herself over to her true family, she might have been reunited with her sons, and perhaps Quanah may not have taken so long to surrender to the “white man’s ways.” Give up your past and your present to God. Thinking we were having more fun in sin, is simply a lie of the enemy. God gives us a life full of joy that is not dependant on our circumstances. He created us and simply wants the best for us.

You have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry… If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:3,11)

Lemonade

This past Saturday, I was driving from Edgefield to my parents home near Easley, SC. I was going there for their annual July 4th celebration. This has been a tradition in our family since I was a very young kid. There’s a lot of family, friends, food and fireworks and we always have a great time. My wife and kids were driving in from the beach to meet me there, so I was trying to arrive near the time they would.

I left my house, turned onto Buncombe Street and headed toward Greenwood. Before I could get out of town, I noticed several little girls holding signs in front of a table. Can you guess what was written on the signs? If you guessed “Lemonade,” you are correct.

The signs were very well done. The letters were large and readable, the cost for a cup of lemonade was displayed prominently, and the girls were really holding them high. They were situated right along the sidewalk so access was easy. The whole thing was a great lesson in marketing.

I drove by and thought, “How cute. I really should stop and buy some lemonade. No, I can’t. I have a two-hour drive ahead of me, and I need to get there as soon as I can.” I made it all the way to the DOT office before I turned around to go back. I realized if I’m too busy to stop and buy lemonade from a kid on the side of the road, then I really am “too busy!”

I went back to the lemonade stand. As I drove up, I noticed another sign that read, “Ice Cold Lemonade.” I thought, “Yeah, right! On a day like today, I’ll be lucky to get lukewarm lemonade.” I walked up to the girls, one already had a cup in her hand and asked, “How many?” I replied that I only wanted one. She went right to work, filling the cup, while another told me the price was 25 cents. I gave her 50 cents and told her to keep the other quarter.

When I got my cup, I was impressed. It was filled to the top, had lots of ice in it, and was garnished with a lemon slice. I thanked them as I walked back to the truck and took a drink. Wow! The lemonade was wonderful! It was ice cold, just as they had advertised. However, I got so much more than I expected. I received great service, happy smiles and a warm feeling that the world may not be so bad after all.

I took two things away from this encounter that I want to share with you. First of all, sometimes we simply need to slow down. How much of the things around us do we miss because we are in a hurry to get somewhere or do something? I arrived at my parent’s house in plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. In fact, I was there before my wife and kids were.

Secondly, be sure that whatever you are advertising is what you are actually producing. Those girls advertised, “Ice Cold Lemonade” and that is exactly what I was served. Make sure that if you are going to wave the banner of being a Christian over your life, that you are showing the fruits of the spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Life on this earth is too short to miss opportunities to buy lemonade from some kids, look for shapes and pictures in the clouds, catch lightning bugs and count stars. Life is also too short to live in contrast to the person we claim to be. It is stressful and very difficult to live a dual life, yet many of us are doing it daily. Give it all to God and allow Him to make the advertisement of your life match your actions.

I want to thank those girls on Buncombe Street for the lemonade, the smile and the lessons that I learned from you. May God richly bless you!

Tell me to slow down, If you think that the road that I'm on is going nowhere. Tell me to slow down, If you know that I'm going too fast for my own good. Tell me to slow down, If the way is leading to a dead end. Tell me to slow down, Turn around, let me change the way I'm going. Oh, I don't want to let go, Of all the things that I know, Are keeping me away from my life. Oh, I don't want to slow down. No, I don't want to look around. But I can't seem to work it out. So help me, God (Slow Down by Third Day. Essential Records. 2008)

We know that we have come to know Him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.  (1 John 2:3-6 NIV)