How Could I Say “NO”?

Have you ever been accused of being a negative person?  Do you sometimes feel like you need to start saying “YES” to things instead of always responding with a quick, “NO”?  That’s me much of the time, and certainly for any request that might require me to be socially interactive.  But the huge exception to my “NO” mentality comes in response to requests to do “good” things for people.  Many of you are just like me!  Someone needs a favor and you just can’t deny them or the church needs someone to work in the nursery and you just can’t say “No”.  Instead, you say, “Yes”, even when your plate is full and you can’t afford the time!  Often when you feel ill-equipped to meet the need, you still respond with, “I’d love to help.”  It’s a good thing those you help can’t read your actual thoughts at that moment, isn’t it??

If you’ve read many of my posts, you understand that at this point, I’m probably going to invoke some story from Jesus’ life that will make you feel worse for WANTING to say “NO”, even if you can’t force yourself to do it.  Well, hold on to your hat, because Jesus taught us alright – but He taught us to say “NO” when necessary:

 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons….  ³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. ³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”  ³⁸ But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”     (Mark 1:32-38)

“Jesus, everyone is lined up again for You to take care of them!  C’mon, let’s go!”  To which Jesus responds, “NO.”  My words, not His, but you get the idea from what He said to the disciples.  People who had serious needs that could ONLY be met by Jesus, yet He walked away from them.  How could He do that?  Because He knew these truths:

A.    The purpose for which He came was bigger than just healing people – He came to save them!

B.    There will ALWAYS be needs that exist in the lives of others in this life.  It’s not possible to solve all the problems created by sin and neglect.

C.    He couldn’t do everything for everyone and still accomplish that for which He was born.

So what can I apply to myself from Jesus’ example? 

1.    I, too, have a spiritual purpose for which I was created and I need figure out what that is (if I don’t know) so I can be effective in living out God’s plan for me.

2.    No matter how much I do, I can’t fix everything that’s wrong with the people in my life or my church or my community.  Jesus couldn’t, so where do I get off thinking I can?

3.    Everything I say “YES” to that isn’t meant for me distracts me from doing something I AM supposed to do AND it keeps the person who would have done it if I hadn’t from getting to meet the need.

So here it comes: “Who will help if you don’t?”  Uh…whoever God has put in your life for that purpose?  I know it’s not me, so I have to say, “NO”.  How dare me!

Jacob

No Sissies Allowed!

If you listen carefully in many churches that “preach the Gospel”, the appeal to repentance and faith sounds more like a sales pitch to join a local 24/7 gym.  “You can have it all on terms that are convenient for you and God will be available to you any time, day or night.  All you need to do is sign on the dotted line….”

Contrast that approach to that penned by the saint who authored The Cost of Discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him ‘Come and die’.”  This simple sentence written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer before his death at age 39 speaks volumes to those who will listen.  Bonhoeffer gave his life in 1945, a victim of Nazi hate.  Believers are always more happy to hear the Bible passage that declares “Whosoever will, come…” But the full text is found in Mark 8:34:

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

There it is in plain English (King James Version, no less!)  Everyone is welcome to come.  But being a disciple involves:

1.    Self-denial

2.    Assumption of personal risk, possibly even death

3.    Following in the footsteps of Jesus – who already has shown us what #1 and #2 look like

None other than the great theologian, Johnny Cash, said, “Being a Christian isn’t for sissies!”  I’m sure that last word has long since passed from the politically-correct lexicon, but he said it, I didn’t.  But I certainly agree. 

21^st Century faith in America seems but a faint shadow of what it must have been to our Christian forebears who plowed new ground in the 1^st Century.  Yet even in this age, followers of Christ in other parts of our world are waging war against the powers of darkness by enduring suffering and even death.  But they are winning! God is being exalted, the lost are being rescued from sin and death, and Christ is being proclaimed even with the last breath of believers. 

It’s been estimated that one million Christians have been killed in just the first 10 years of our century. I know it sounds unbelievable, but here’s the link to check it out:

http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/csgc_Christian_martyrs.pdf

That’s 100,000 of your fellow believers who give their lives every year just because they are Christians.  Do you think “…take up his cross and follow…” means something different to them than it does to you?  Why is that??

It’s because we’ve bought into the idea that we can do #3 in the list above without doing #1 and #2.  WRONG!  Jesus said we need to love Him more than anything or we can’t be His disciple.  He said if we’re not willing to handle #2, following Him just isn’t going to work for us.  (Go back and read Luke 14:26-27).  There are some serious challenges to walking with Jesus!

I don’t know about you, but I need to wake up to the fact that getting up to go to the early service and sitting in an air-conditioned building isn’t “suffering for Jesus.”  Even if it’s raining and the sermon runs long….

There’s more expected than what I’m giving,

Jacob

What Are You Worried About?

As a young teenager, I became intimately acquainted with Alfred E. Neuman.  Not sure who that is?  He is the face of MAD Magazine (do they still publish that?) and as such, he became the face of satire in an otherwise crazy world.  A world filled with war, disease, drugs, a poor economy, and general uncertainty.  Sound familiar??  Alfred’s motto was, “What, me worry?”  But his words gave voice to an absence of worry apparently due to ignorance, rather than an honest conviction that everything would really be OK. While the magazine pointed out the hypocrisy and failings during a tumultuous time, fear and worry still remained once the laughter wore off, no matter what Alfred suggested.

People of faith still aren’t immune to the issues and struggles of life.  That’s why one of the very first teachings of Jesus was about worry:

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the sky: …Aren’t you worth more than they? ²⁷ Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread…³⁰ If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? ³¹ So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’…³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. ³⁴ Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  Matthew 6:25-34

How can we understand worry?  We all feel like we know what it is, but do we?  Think about the things you CARE most about in life.  CARE implies thought, investment, concern, and even love.  CARE is a positive thing.  WORRY is the exact opposite.  Worry seems to derail the CARE train; it saps away our productive thoughts and replaces them with fear.  In the text above, the real point Jesus is trying to make is that worry can’t reside in us at the same time as faith and trust. We must choose whether we want God to care for us (v.33) or worry about caring for ourselves. 

But the issue isn’t just about our psychological well-being.  It’s about spiritual productivity!  In the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about how worry defeats our desire to be fruitful for the kingdom:

Other (seeds) are sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of this age…and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ But the ones sown on good ground are those who hear the word, welcome it, and produce a crop: 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.”  Mark 4:18-20

I had always assumed that Jesus’ admonition NOT to worry was to free us from an emotional burden we need not bear.  But His rebuke was intended to free us from worry so that we could focus our energies on the productive opportunities we encounter each day.  But you can’t CARE about those if you’re worrying about yourself, now can you? 

No worries,

Jacob

Let the Games Begin!

With the advent of college football for this year, I must admit I am a fan(atic).  It just so happens that I graduated from THE best university, which also has THE best football team, and THE best band in the land.  While I understand you may feel the same way about your university, your judgement is obviously clouded by your allegiance!  But no matter what colors you choose to wear on football Saturdays, it is your passion that makes each game important.  Whether you travel to the stadium to cheer in person or just stay at home and yell at your 60-inch HDTV, you are committed. 

I find it interesting that we can be SO committed to a sport that 99.9% of us never played at the highest levels.  Yet every disciple of Jesus is a “starter” on His team.  Why then do we seem to lack a similar level of commitment to that high calling?  Perhaps we should start to encourage tailgating in our church parking lots for a few hours leading up to the Sunday services?  That would also solve the Baptist vs Methodist race to the restaurants after church dismisses!  Maybe offer snacks and drinks in the foyer (like at the ballgame) so worshipers can make it through the services.  Oh wait, we already do that!  Cheerleaders to get us excited?  Praise team usually has that covered.  So what will make a difference for us?

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…”  1 Peter 2:9

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind…”  Luke 10:27

Forgive the continuing analogy, but when Jesus was picking teams, He picked YOU!  No, I don’t know why either, He just did.  But when many of us were passed over for lesser teams, the Creator of the universe thought enough of each of us to say, “Hey, you!  I want you to be a part of my special people; my holy nation.  You are royalty, whether you feel like it or not.  Get suited up!  You’re in the game!”

We may ask, “What’s the game plan?”  Well, Jesus already spelled that out.  “Leave it all on the field”, as they say.  “Give 110% all the time.”  (I don’t know why that mathematically-impossible expression has become so popular, but it makes the point.)  Jesus expects we will give it all – everything our hearts, minds, souls, and strength can yield. 

My favorite team spends all week getting ready, and then when game day comes, they leave it all out there between the lines – those markers and sidelines that define the playing field.  For followers of Christ, it’s important to realize that Sunday worship IS NOT the game!  Sunday is just practice.  What we do inside the walls of the church is to get us ready for game time!  And THAT happens Monday-Saturday when we interact with a world that badly needs to know the love of Jesus.  They will see it in us, the players who carry out the plan.  If you decide you’d rather sit the bench than get in the game, someone else will get to carry the ball.  But remember that you can’t be a part of the victory if you don’t fulfill your role on the team.  So say it with me, “Put me in, Coach!”

Jacob

All Work and No Play?

Growing up I was blessed to have wonderful friends, as were most of us.  Not long ago, my childhood best friend posted a picture on Facebook of his father taken decades ago.  I was immediately transported back to his living room and filled with the memories of days too quickly gone.  Those days were simplistic and carefree, filled with fun and laughter.  But not all the days were perfect.  You see, the kind, loving father in the picture died in his 30’s just a few years after the picture was taken.  Life is certainly filled with ups and downs, and all those memories remain to shape us.

Each of us lives our lives according to a fashion that is as unique as our fingerprints.  We might be wonderfully carefree; maybe a bit reckless; or perhaps stoically boring.  That last one is more like me than the other two.  You know the old adage, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”?  I make Jack look exciting!     

So when I read passages like this one spoken by Jesus, I have to consider if I’m on the right track:

“…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10

Oh, I get the “life” part.  Jesus is speaking about life in Him – our spiritual life – both in this present world and in the eternal existence to come.  It would seem we are intended to enjoy THIS life completely, in part at least by knowing the fullness of our lives to come once this temporal period is over.  But I surmise it is His intention that we also get the most out of every day in this TEMPORAL life, too.  I think that’s what the “more abundantly” is about.  After all, how could life in the new heaven and new earth (see Revelation 21:1) in the presence of God Himself get any better?!  So “more abundantly” can’t be in reference to that.

Is it just possible that by knowing God personally now, by being sure of our futures, and believing that His providence and provision reign over our lives until we join Him in eternity, that we can live life differently than we have been?  What if we throw worry to the winds and live a more carefree existence?  What if the wisdom that comes from knowing Christ and His Word allows us to avoid the pitfalls about which we waste hours worrying?  Is your life filled with joy?  What about happiness (you DO know that’s different, right)?  I’m betting Jesus meant all of that when He said He wanted us to have a life that overflows.  And knowing Jesus, I’m thinking he’d want us to have fun, too.

Those days when we were lucky enough to have fathers and mothers who cared for our every need, who protected us, and who made sure we were pointed in the right direction allowed us to be carefree and fun and even a bit crazy!  Now I just need to remember that I still have a Father like that.  I need to loosen up quite a bit if I’m going to fulfill the mission Jesus has for me in life.  I WANT to live “more abundantly”.  And I want to let Jack back on the “dull boy” throne.  He can have it.  I’m going to go have some fun!  Want to join me?

Jacob