The Mess We Make

After years of being in denial, I have come to terms with an ugly truth about myself. I have a problem that I have had for most of my adult life, that I cannot seem to shake. It affects my job, my leisure time, my family, and some of my friendships. I feel a bit hopeless in this issue, because as of yet, I have found no remedy or way out. What's this terrible problem that I battle? Here's my confession. I am...a messy person.

There, I've admitted it! Isn't that the first step to recovery? Perhaps. If my wife wasn't around to "inspire" me to pick things up and put them where they belong, I could go for a long time without picking up.

I'm not as bad as I once was. These days, I can't stand to see dirty dishes in the sink and clothes lying around bothers me. However, I still have this problem.

My truck is the place where I have the worst problem. When I wash it, clean out the interior, and vacuum it out, I vow to never let it get in that shape again. It stays that way for about a week. In a very short amount of time, I'm right back in the bad habits again.

Do you ever feel like your life is like that? You work hard to get things organized into neat compartments. You know when all of the bills are coming due, you're ahead at work or school, you have written everything down on your calendar, and you're pretty proud. Life seems nice and orderly.

However, life doesn't play fair. Maybe you forgot to pay a bill, or some expense arises that you didn't plan on. You have a few interruptions at work or school and suddenly you're behind. Your schedule has some overlap that you didn't notice before, and you have to be three places at the same time. What do you do?

Some people roll their sleeves up and start trying to work at organizing better. Some people panic and become a flurry of activity. Some people shut down and feel hopeless, and as a result, give up and do nothing.

I have found an interesting correlation that has eerily proven true over and over again for me. I would venture to say that it is true for you also. Here it is. The more chaotic and messy my life seems to be, the further I am from my walk with God.

When things seem to be crashing down on you and you feel hopeless, take some time to consider your spiritual health. Instead of working yourself into a frenzy trying to keep up, spend some time with your Maker. Ask Him to help you prioritize, and make Him the top priority. Our Creator is not a God of chaos. He is very orderly.

I am teaching a 4-week class on Genesis, at the Edgefield Baptist Association. On Monday, we discussed the creation. If you study the accoutrements, you will find that God created everything in the order needed. He created day and night and began the spin of the Earth. Then He created the atmosphere to hold in the oxygen and material that living things would need to survive. After that, He created plant life. Plants need the sun to live, so He created it next. Since the plants were in place to give the animals something to eat, He created them last. This is a wonderful example of how orderly God is!

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. They were very confused and chaotic in their worship. Some said that one way of doing things was right, and others held on to the opposite belief. As a result, not much was getting done for the Kingdom, because their whole church was "messy." Paul tells them in verse 33, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints."

The only times in the Bible where God allows confusion is to either confuse the enemy so that His people could be victorious, or to teach His children a lesson. By allowing confusion and chaos, He is hopeful that they will turn to Him and give their confused lives completely over to Him.

Maybe that is the case with you today. Perhaps your life is a bit out of control and you're not sure how to begin calming it down. Start by going to the One who made you, and asking Him to take over. After all, you're not doing such a good job, are you? Slow down a bit. Trying to work harder at it, only brings further disappointment. Ignore the chaos for a while and sit down beside your Father, bring Him your brokenness, and ask forgiveness for forsaking Him. He'll help you put the pieces back together and bless you with a "sound mind."

 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.  Selah 

(Psalm 46:10-11)

Mistakes

Mistakes are made by most everything on earth. Humans are especially susceptible to mistakes, since we probably reason better than most animals. Mistakes are going to happen and we all should be ready to admit when we have made one.

I make mistakes all the time. Sometimes I forget things, do them incorrectly, or hurt others feelings. If you were in the worship service Sunday, you know I made a huge mistake. As I was preparing everyone for the time of response at the end of the message, I intended to call Matt, our interim Minister of Music, to the platform to lead us in the hymn of response. However, instead of calling "Matt," I called him by the name of our former Associate Pastor. Not only did I make a mistake, but I made it publicly and did it with something that was so obvious!

I don't embarrass easily. There's not much that rattles me. I have made mistakes from the pulpit before and was able to salvage them. This time, it took me a minute to get myself together and I was thoroughly embarrassed.

The unfortunate thing about our mistakes is that we usually leave behind an impression. The impression might be good or it might be bad, but we always make an impression. The impression that I may have left is that I wasn't paying attention or was being careless. Maybe you simply regarded it for what it was, an innocent error. Regardless of your position, I left behind an impression.

I read an article, some time ago, about an owl that accidentally flew into a window in Leicestershire, England. During the night, Nancy and Ray Pearce were sleeping soundly. When they awoke, there was a perfect imprint of an owl on their patio door. It seems that the owl had flown into the glass door during the night. When he slammed into the glass, there was an explosion of “powder down” which is produced by an owl's feathers. This produced a perfect picture of the owl in mid-flight right down to the beak, eyes, and ears.  "It's incredible," said Mr. Pearce. "The imprint really captured what the owl looks like.”

The owl obviously lived since there was no dead owl on the Pearce's patio. He probably shook his head after he crashed into the door and took a long look around to see who was watching. After making sure that none of his owl friends saw the fiasco, he flew off confident that nobody would be making fun of him down at the owl lodge later. Little did he know that he left behind a perfect image of his error.

Sometimes the mistakes that we make in our walk with God are public for everyone to see. Those are easy to atone for. We know that everyone knows of our error, we ask forgiveness and move on. But what about the mistakes we make when there's no one around? What do we do then? Do we simply look around to see if anyone saw us and then fly off confident in our self-centered thought that we hurt nobody but ourselves?

Our mistakes leave an impression on others whether we know it or not. Even if we do seem to be able to get away from our wrongdoing in private, God still sees and knows. Cain literally thought he got away with murder when he wiped out a fourth of the population one afternoon. However, God knew that Cain had killed his brother. “His eyes are on the ways of men; He sees their every step. There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide.” (Job 34:21-22)

The good news to all of this is that what God sees and knows, he also forgives. This is not just a lip service kind of forgiveness like our human variety. It is an all encompassing, thorough, completely liberating, forgiveness. Psalm 103:12 reads “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us”.

Perhaps you think you have made mistakes that nobody else knew about. Maybe you have carried that guilt around like a wet blanket because you feel that you cannot tell anyone about your secret mistake. You can be free from that guilt, because God has seen your every step and still loves you. He will forgive, if you will only ask.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Walk This Way

As a pastor, I am in the hospitals and nursing homes a great deal. I have visited church members and family of church members in Edgefield, Columbia, Augusta, Charleston, Greenwood, Aiken, and Greenville. In most of these, I don't even need directions to the rooms anymore. Some of these institutions are very esay to navigate, while others are like a maze.

University Hospital in Augusta is one of the easiest to find places in. The sections are color coded and clearly marked. Even the rooms on each floor are arranged so that the higher numbered ones are to the right of the nurses station and the lower ones are to the left.

I remember visiting one family whose three-year-old was having survery at MUSC in Charleston. I left very early to get there before the child's appointed surgery time. I arrived at the hospital in time. I went to the information desk and gave the attendant the name of the patient. She told me where he was, and gave what seemed like clear directions to the waiting area.

I thought I had followed the directions to the letter, but wound up at a dead end. I turned around, wound around another corridor, and found a nurses station. I asked for more directions. They told me I was in a completely different area, and told me how to get to the correct place. I walked a long way, but found a place that looked right. Of course, it was the wrong place. By this time, I was feeling rather silly and frustrated. A nurse at an information desk told me that I was close, and told me how to get to the correct area. Again, I could not find it.

Finally, I asked once more and a kind nurse sensed my frustration. She got up from her desk and said, "Come with me. I'll take you there." I was relieved until SHE got lost too! However, by this time, we both had a good laugh and found the family together.

In John 14, Jesus is telling His disciples that His time in this world is coming to a close. He tries to comfort them by telling about this wonderful place where He is going. Not only is He going there, but He said, "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

That sounded wonderful to all of them, except Thomas. Thomas gets a bad reputation sometimes, and is even called "doubting Thomas." However, I like Thomas. He usually asks the questions I, and many of you, would ask. Thomas pipes up and says, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

How many of us could find our wy to Heaven yourselves? No one can. In fact, Adam and Eve were in Paradise and still lost their way! When we try to find Paradise alone, we are no better off than I was at MUSC in Charleston. We get directions from the world like, "look out for number one," "think positively," and "you can do anything if you set your mind to it and work hard enough." We set out with that kind of thinking and believe we're on the right path, only to find a dead end or end up where we started.

Jesus' reply back to Thomas is wonderful. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That statement is the heart of the Gospel. We couldn't find our way to God, so He sent Jesus to SHOW us the way! Like the nurse that helped me, God got up from His throne and became one of us to show us the way to Him.

Remember that you cannot navigate this world on your own. You will mess things up and get yourself turned around and lost. Asking Christ to lead you and following Him exclusively is the only way to God and Heaven. Give your life wholly to Him, and follow where He leads!

I'd rather see a sermon, than hear one any day;

I'd rather one should walk with me, than merely tell the way.

The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;

And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds,

For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;

I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,

But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;

For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,

But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

Edgar A Guest

Road Trip

I've been locked up in this crazy world. How far is Heaven? I'll just keep on praying, Lord and just keep on living. How far is Heaven? Lord can you tell me?(Henry, Jojo, and Ringo Garza. 2004)

With kids back in school and most summer vacations over, we are mostly left with souvenirs, pictures, stories and memories from the last few months. It seems that my family has been away more than we've been home this summer. I have been to Camp McCall, the beach, the mountains, the lake, and visiting family and friends.

Living in Edgefield for six years, I have realized that our town isn't really close to anything! Most of the places we have been, take anywhere from two to four hours. That's a lot of driving time. When you factor in my travels to Augusta, Aiken, Columbia, and Greenville for visits and meetings, I sometimes feel like I live in a vehicle.

Most people do things during a longer drive to pass the time. Some listen to music or talk radio, many listen to CDs, (I still have some great cassettes I listen to!) audio books, and still others like to chat on their cell phones. Kids who are riding will read, color, draw, play video games, or watch DVDs.

The age-old question from kids, and sometimes parents, is "Are we there yet?" Fortunately, there are ways to tell how much longer the trip will take. If you are on the interstate, there are mile markers. On more familiar rural roads, there are landmarks that help you estimate time and distance to the destination. If you have a GPS, it can be programmed to actually tell you what time you will arrive at your destination.

If you are traveling a long distance and do not have anything to guide you, it's easy to get discouraged and frustrated. It will seem that you will never get where you are going and you might even get lost or think you are. The reason is that when we are driving, we are only focused on the destination. The journey is simply a way to get there.

One of the problems we have in our Christian journey is that we apply the same logic to it. For the Christian, we know the destination is Heaven. That is our true home and final destination. However, we have no idea when we will get there, nor do we have any landmarks, mile markers, or GPS units to tell us our arrival time. Since we have no idea how far away from Heaven we really are, we get frustrated and weary from the journey. When this happens, we begin to do things to pass the time. We seek distractions and diversions from the grind of our travels, with entertainment and fun. Sometimes the distractions are not necessarily bad. There are certainly ways to have fun that are Godly. However, sometimes the distractions are not. These are poison and can cause us to not only get lost on our journey, but also make us lose the focus of our destination.

What should we deduce from this? Yes, God wants us to focus on our final destination, but He also intends for us to make the most of the journey. Our Christian walk, in this world, should be filled with working for Him. We should spend our time here growing closer to Jesus Christ, learning how to live a more Godly life, and showing others, who are lost, the way to Heaven.

While we cannot know how much longer our journey on Earth will take, we can have some guidance while we travel. God has given us His Word as a road-map, the Holy Spirit as a guide, and fellow Christians as encouragers. Therefore, make the most of your travels on this earth, and enjoy the trip!

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)

Junk Food For The Soul

Suppose you have decided to get a pet fish. You go down to the pet store or fish store, and browse through all the varieties of fish. You could go with the standard goldfish, but you decide you want something a little different. You consider some of the others, but finally stop at one that is the size of a goldfish, but has more color to it.

You ask the shopkeeper about it. She informs you that the fish is called a Gourami. She describes it as a tropical fish that lives only in fresh water. You like the fish and decide to buy it.

The shopkeeper sets you up with the proper aquarium, filters, and all the other necessary equipment. You leave the store with the fish, and your new aquarium, excited about the new member of the family. You drive very carefully home, so as not to damage the plastic bag your new pet is traveling in.

When you get home, you set up the aquarium and other equipment as you were instructed. After some temperature adjustments, you carefully put your new fish into his new home. He begins to swim around and explore his new environment.

After watching him for a bit, you decide to get a snack. You go to the pantry, and find a Kit-Kat candy bar, and grab a soda. As you head back to check on the fish, you realize that you forgot to buy fish food. The store is closed now, so there is no chance of buying any tonight. What will you do? Of course! You would give the fish some of your Kit-Kat bar right?

Don't be too quick to laugh at such an idea. Currently, workers at an aquarium in London are working hard to break a Gourami of its Kit-Kat habit. The fish's previous owners exclusively fed the fish Kit-Kat bars its entire life. The fish now weighs a whopping 8.8 pounds. Gourami fish usually eat fruit, so they are slowly adding grapes and taking away the chocolate.

The aquarium veterinarian says there seems to be no real damage to the fish's system. However, Kit-Kat candy bars are not what this fish was designed to eat. While the fish seems to be normal right now, there may be some long-term effects that may not appear for years.

As humans, we might be able to exist on chocolate, pizza, and cheeseburgers. However, if that's all we get, our quality of life will be less than what we were designed for. It takes proper nutrition and exercise for us to be at our maximum capability. We might handle junk in our system for a while, but it eventually catches up with us.

The same is true in our spiritual walk as well. God designed us to have a healthy dose of His Word and time with Him each day. We may be able to go for a while and seem fine. However, soon we will begin to show the outward signs of being deprived of His guidance in our lives. We begin to care more about ourselves than others. We start to miss gathering with God's people. We become more critical of those who try to do what is right. We drift a little farther away, each day we go without Him.

Don't try to live your life on the spiritual equivalent of Kit-Kat bars. Feast on the Word of God and spend time talking to God in prayer. It is indeed food for your soul.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

That's Just Wrong

[Jesus said to Peter] I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” (John 21:15-21)

Last week, I was driving back to Edgefield from Aiken on Highway 19. I was almost to the overpass near the prison, when I spotted a car in my rear-view mirror coming up quickly. I was in a no-passing zone, but the young lady paid that no attention as she raced around me like I was sitting still.

She continued speeding up the incline of the overpass, but when she reached the top, I saw her brake lights come on. I knew what that meant! I wasn't far behind her by that point, and was able to see a South Carolina Highway Patrol car meet us both at the bottom of the hill.

Although I know it was wrong, I have to confess that I was secretly delighted when I saw the patrol car. I almost smiled thinking about the knot that must have risen in the young lady's stomach as she topped the hill and saw the police. The truth is that it probably had less to do with the fact that she had broken several traffic laws, and more to do with me feeling that she had wronged me in some way or put me in danger. I felt a touch of vindication.

First, she passed the patrol car, then I did. I checked my mirror, waiting to see his brake lights. Imagine my shock when the trooper simply drove calmly over the hill and away from us. As I watched him drive away, I also watched the young lady speed up and pass another driver just past Billy's Truck Stop. I had the same thought most of you would have had. "If that had been me, I would be in custody now!"

My thoughts then turned to how unfair the whole situation was. I actually asked God why people get away with things like that, but I seem to get caught all the time. To my surprise, I knew God was speaking to me, in my heart, and He led me to the passage in John I have quoted at the beginning and end of this column.

In the passage from John 21, Jesus had risen from the dead, and had appeared to the disciples. They had just finished eating breakfast, and Jesus, it seems, pulled Peter aside to talk to him. After all, Peter was the one who probably felt the most guilt after denying three times that he even knew Jesus.

Jesus wanted to do two things in this conversation. First, He wanted to assure Peter that he was forgiven for his denial. Second, Jesus wanted to forewarn Peter about the type of death he would suffer for Christ. Jesus’ prophecy did come to pass. Most historians agree that Peter was sentenced to crucifixion, but requested to be hung upside down, because he felt unworthy to be executed in the same way as Jesus.

After Jesus told Peter that he would be executed for his faith, his immediate reaction was to look over at John. John never calls himself by name in his gospel, but he makes it very plain that Peter is referring to him. The disciples always had a strong rivalry and it reared its head again.

To paraphrase, Peter is saying to Jesus, “Ok, I understand that I will have to die for you, but what about John? Will he suffer and be executed also?” Peter wanted to make sure everything was fair. However, Jesus’ answer must have shocked Peter. Jesus told him that it was not any of his business if John lived or died.

We all want fairness. If I get caught speeding, I want everyone else to get tickets when they speed also. If I obey the rules, I want everyone else to obey them or be punished. As Christians, we are called to live as sons and daughters of God. We are not to live for Him as long as everyone else does. We are called to live for Him regardless of what others do.

Do you worry that evil is not always punished in this world? Rest assured that God sees and knows about it and that He will deal with it in His way, in His time. You cannot make others live life the way you want them to live, any more than they can force their lives on yours. Give all of your sense of fairness to God and let Him lead you in the life He has chosen for you!

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.” (John 21:22)

What's Cooking?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)

We have a lot of cookbooks in our house. Sometimes I enjoy cooking, and my wife loves to try new recipes. However, we both tend to stick to certain cookbooks more than others. I guess we have found that some are easier to follow and are more practical for feeding our family.

We also have several cookbooks that are pretty humorous. One of my favorites is written by Ted and Shemane Nugent. (Yes, this is Ted Nugent, the rock guitarist). The name of his cookbook is "Kill it and Grill it." We also have, "Eat Like a Wild Man," "Vegetarian Grilling," (I'm not sure where that one came from!) and "Fix it and Forget it."

Suppose I decided to cook something from one of these books. I would look over the list of ingredients to make sure I had the items needed for the recipe. Once I determined that I had what I needed, I would then follow the directions for cooking the dish. Following the recipe, as it is written, is very important if you want the dish to turn out right.

Sometimes, however, you can follow the directions perfectly and still have problems. This reminds me of a joke I read recently. It read, "According to the Knight-Ridder News Service, the inscription on the metal bands used by the U.S. Department of the Interior to tag migratory birds has been changed. The bands used to bear the address of the Washington Biological Survey, abbreviated 'Wash. Biol. Surv.' until the agency received the following letter from a camper: Dear Sirs: While camping last week, I shot one of your birds. I think it was a crow. I followed the cooking instructions on the leg tag and I want to tell you it was horrible. The bands are now marked 'Fish and Wildlife Service.'"

Most people in our community own a Bible. In fact, recent studies have shown that approximately 92% of American households have at least one Bible. That study also revealed that the 92% included atheists and people who profess other religions. We also know that 60 Bibles were sold every second in 2009. None of the surveys take into consideration the number of Bibles placed around the world by the Gideons.

All of this begs the question, "If there are so many Bibles around, why is there so much sin and hate in the world?" The answer is simple. People may own Bibles, but they don't read them. Also, out of those who read them, many do not understand what they read. Worse than this, many who read God's Word and understand what it says, do not believe, obey or do what it says.

I may not agree with some of the ingredients shown in the recipes in our cookbooks, but if I don't use them, the dish will not be prepared as it was created by the originator. Likewise, if we pick and choose what we will believe, obey and do from the scriptures, we will never fulfil what our Creator intended us to be. We must study God's Word to know what He says about our lives. There is no subject we can encounter in life that God did not address in some way in His Word.

So, open your Bible, and as James put it in the passage above, "Do what it says."

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:23-25)