I've Got this Rebuke. What Do I Do With It?

I read on Chip MacGregor's blog recently about a saying that the Scottish have.  "Learn to unpack a rebuke."

What a beautifully simple way to express a complex thought!  (To read more of this post, click here)

When to Trust in Riches

I was reading Max Lucado's, Fearless, the other day when a practical thought of his brought clarity to a scripture with which we are all most familiar...

Who Is Talking About You?

Joseph needed someone to speak on his behalf as his jealous brothers conspired to kill him, an act which would rob him (and, eventually, a starving generation) of his God-favored destiny.

Reuben was that someone...

The Path of the Just

To think that I could have said to my sons (assuming they were old enough to understand my voice and I was wise enough to know), "You are going to be such-and-such when you grow up. That's all for now," is an outlandish thought.

The daily walk with them as we uncover, together, their talents and passions, likes and dislikes, failures and successes is, up to this point, one of the most rewarding parts of my life.

Secrets 2 - repost

I'm not sure when or from whom we learned this exercise, and it has become so much a part of our lives that it doesn't seem to be so intentional anymore as automatic.

That's ironic because the whole intent is to avoid the automatic, the status quo, the ordinary, and the mundane.

We call it "STOP. NOTICE. AND DECIDE."

We invoke this occasionally to make sure that our lives haven't found a rut. That we are actively and in a meaningful way pursuing the plan of God for our lives. I love the quote, "A rut is just a grave with both ends kicked out of it." It speaks for itself. We don't want to be "the walking dead".

So first, we STOP.
In the busy-ness, crowds, and noise of our culture we can forget to just take a break. A day or two, or maybe an afternoon or an hour together when we purposely unplug and clear out the cobwebs. We position ourselves to hear each other and to hear the voice of God through each other.

And then NOTICE.
We turn that break into something more than an escape. We turn it into an intentional and fearless review of what we are doing. Are we in God's plan? Is there eternal significance to what we are putting our hands to? Is it good for God? For people? For our family? For our community?

And then DECIDE.
This is where the rubber meets the road. What will we do with what we have just heard and noticed? This is the gutsy, full-on, step-up-to-the-plate part of living that makes it really living.

We've closed businesses, fed the homeless, started new ministry tracks, opened businesses, bought airline tickets, fostered the abused, enrolled in universities, sold houses, had children, retired, re-hired, bought houses, changed careers and a whole lot more out of these "STOP. NOTICE. AND DECIDE." moments.

I don't have specific scripture for this, but I can tell you that the fruit has been lasting. And the adventures with God have been thrilling, fostering a relationship with Him that is alive, relevant, and head-over-heels full of love.

Has God indeed said...?

My sense is that we, in the church, are educated beyond our obedience. And that restraint, though necessary, is not the missing ingredient.

What we need is guts.

The electronic PC culture has turned us into tame sycophants, observers, courtiers and attendants, rather than pioneers, pathfinders and persuaders.

From the beginning the God-given mandate was to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion..." (Genesis 1:28). Brute language that, in today’s culture, seems threatening and presumptive. We are however, for the most part, really nice folks who live decent lives, rather than bold victors with a mission to reclaim the Earth and its inhabitants under orders from our Creator-King.

In eating from the tree, we submitted to another entity who had no interest in seeing us fulfill that mandate. The serpent’s lie in the garden, in the form of a question, is the same lie today... “Has God indeed said…?" (Genesis 3:1).

The subsequent shame and disorientation caused us to cover ourselves, inhibiting our ability to be fruitful and to multiply. It rendered us useless in fulfilling the mandate established for us. Although we had been created in the very image of God, we submitted to a low-life being that lacked the reproductive power and potential of Our Creator. Spiritual vertigo set in and we spun until Jesus came into our lives.

It took the shameless, sinless Son of God and man to redeem us, restoring our glory and re-establishing our mandate, setting our feet upon the Solid Rock. “It is finished” (John 19:30) from the cross and “It is done” (Revelation 21:6) from the throne re-declared the intent of God and countered the question the enemy posed.

"Yes!", we may boldly declare, "God has indeed said".

Oxen are Messy. Get one anyway.

Around my house we like to say, "you gotta' break a few eggs to make an omelette".

Solomon says it much better in Proverbs 14, verse 4...

"Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox."

The point is this: You can keep things nice and tidy if you want. You can lead a simple life and not make any waves. You can stay home, watch TV and eat bon-bons all day and probably not make any trouble for yourself. But the increase will not be of the desirable type.

Or, you can get an ox. Things are gonna' get a little messy, but you'll get some real work done.

I believe this speaks to our partnership with God in advancing the work of the Kingdom. The only commission we receive in all of scripture is to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). You need to leave the sofa to do that.

That gets a little messy, but do it anyway.

The Value of Trust

God trusted Adam and Eve with His plan for taking back the Earth from an enemy that was here before they were.

Genesis tells us of a five-fold mandate and confirms that man has the Divine Nature of the Almighty (the DNA, if you will) to carry it out. He is, after all, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28).

Adam and Eve's trust in God would be evidenced by their obedience to Him in carrying out the mandate.

satan attacked that trust ("Has God indeed said...?") and they chose disobedience. It's a tragic situation when a human being, created in the very image of God, submits to a low-life serpent.

It's the same today.

When we elevate the lie of our common enemy above the trust and obedience to Our Loving Creator, we forgo the privilege of walking in our Divine Nature, and the opportunity to fulfill our mandate.

Let's be people who trust His Word, His Son. He won back our right to submit to God and to resist the enemy (James 4:7). He bought us back - redeemed us - for His higher purpose.