Some of the things that we think of as strengths in this life may be weaknesses in the after, and some of those that we consider weaknesses or disabilities might be revealed as the favor of God.
I have met beautiful people who many would look at as “disabled”, or “broken”, or “less than whole” in this life (as if anyone were actually whole/able) — who I can see clearly are ABLE, and MORE, and FULLER in the areas that truly matter.
Rob Campbell Was recently talking about the old vinyl records and how there was an A side with the good song, and a B side with the song you didn’t want. It seems that with everything that makes us unique, there is an A side and a B side. Knowing our strengths and our corresponding weaknesses is so valuable. I feel very much the same about many things that we call “disabilities” — that there are really recognized challenges, pains and limitations physically — but that may be a part of not so easily discerned strengths, comforts, and freedoms.
There are areas of my life that are shortcomings, that are broken, that are imperfect — it seems quite foolish for me to think of anyone else to be “disabled” in comparison. What if heaven is more about us retaining our uniqueness and appreciating the A side of each unique difference rather than focusing on, measuring and comparing the B side? Isn’t this visible throughout the gospel story — isn’t this thread of true community and equality in the midst of unique and diverse persons a cornerstone of Jesus Christ’s example?
I love where this video and conversation takes our hearts towards common understanding and appreciation of these things.
I’m realizing there are such different personalities and gifts and talents — that even in a group of people trying to do right, only certain ones have the right talents and abilities to handle certain issues. So for any given situation, there is maybe 20% of the people who are really capable of handling that particular situation/circumstance well.
If we throw the whole 100% away because 80% of them weren’t helpful in a particular situation or didn’t meet our expectations” — we will miss out on the 20% who could actually be helpful. Instead of looking for and expecting a house full of perfect people — we need to see the bride as a house full of imperfect people — but when working together as a whole supporting, forgiving, encouraging and preparing each other — what we need can be found.
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT
Yes, I’m not blind to the horrors and atrocities committed by organized religion throughout history — so I’m not advocating that. In fact, those types of injustice and oppression are the very things that I stand most firmly against! But there is something more, something greater below the plastic, outwardly visible costume of “religion” that actually is authentic, genuine and real.
As they might say in the music of my day, “Real recognizes real”. So if we are going to be prepared to accept “their” failures and shortcomings even while recognizing “their” value — we truly must be able to humbly and honestly look at ourselves and admit the same things.
Everyday I’m in conversation with God. I start in the morning. I spend 10-15 minutes reading his word. And then, he’s with me everyday, every hour. I talk to him like a friend… All. Day.
Anyone else? I feel like it’s a continuous prayer. But it’s not structured. It’s really a conversation. And maybe I’m crazy… But I believe. And that’s how I feel/see it. I am active in my evangelical, bible based Christian church. I feel like understanding my faith will help those offering assistance. What I’m concerned about is I don’t take enough time to pray! Targeted, “I sat down and said a prayer”, kinda praying. Is this something I should work on? If I’m having that conversation all day, should I also still be setting aside a time for structured prayer? I’m beating myself up about it. Suggestions?
I will first point out that even Christ at times got away from everything else to intentionally pray, so I believe that is a great example to consider.
But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 5:16 NLT
Do you feel there are certain people, needs, topics, etc that you are missing out on discussing with God?
Structure is there to help us not miss remembering important things that we might forget otherwise. It is there so that we don’t miss heartfelt and genuine reflection, and intimate conversation with God about these important things.
We don’t want our prayer life to be so shallow/narcicistic that it is only about bringing God into the minutes of our own day — nor do we want It to be so structured that it is all the right words and topics, but nothing that delves deep into our heart to bring reflection, conviction, and change.
I like to remember that the example Jesus gave His disciples is a lot less about “me and my day” than about Him, others, and my role alongside Him:
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” Luke 11:1-4 NLT
Practically speaking, if you need a little help remembering things — I suggest that you check out the prayermate app on your phone. You can set up essentially flash cards for different high level topics/areas or specific needs/requests that you want to be intentional about — then whenever you have time to pray intentionally during the day, you can swipe through those cards to kick off each topic. Think of it as going into a meeting with a basic 5 point agenda so that you are intentional and purposeful about topics and direction – rather than following rote repetition.
My Prayermate
Also, going deeper in the Word with a Bible Study that has you digging, pulling roots, seeking understanding, and strengthening your knowledge of the Word of God for several focused hours each week will build you up in ways that a morning devotional just cannot. That’s the practical/pragmatic advice that I can offer.
Spiritually speaking, if it is an area of conviction, decide to receive the discipline/correction from the Holy Spirit, and change your direction in order to bring you closer into intimacy with God and more in line with His will and purpose for your life.
If it is measuring yourself in comparison to others and comes from guilt or envy, still make changes — but make sure that it isn’t just a lure into dead religious activity/tradition/repition and away from alive heartfelt intimacy.
Either way, don’t waste time beating yourself up — just choose today to take one small step closer to God, and keep doing that. And when (not if, but when) you make another mistake (and you will) praise God all the more for the Blood of the Lamb and the redeemer we have in Christ Jesus, and take another step.
This narrow way is narrow not because there is such an exact checklist to live up to, but because the heart it takes to surrender newly, die daily, and humbly rely on Christ alone to see us through to the end. Amen.
Yesterday, my phone was lost at Carowinds, along with my ID, credit cards, etc. We checked with guest services, and no phone had been turned in. We retraced our steps and there was no phone anywhere we had been. The last time that we saw it was when Mia and I had met a Hispanic couple who didn’t speak much English with their young daughter who was clearly enjoying the new experience of walking. But it took us a while to figure out that last moment with the phone when we discovered it missing at least an hour later. I had work to do in Charlotte last night that would require me to have my ID in order to get into the data center. I also had work to do last night that I wouldn’t be able to do without my phone which has my MFA authenticator set up. I was calm throughout the ordeal, because we can cancel cards and file an insurance claim with Verizon for a lost/stolen phone — but the emotion of it all was too much for Mia (my 10 year old daughter). She was afraid, she was hurt, she was disappointed, and she broke down crying right there in the middle of Carowinds. So I just held her and told her that everything was going to be okay. She is a lot like her mommy, and doesn’t like it when things don’t go to plan. I’m “the spontaneous one”. I reassured her that we were okay. And let her know that we still had the gift card that I had received from my employer for getting vaccinated that I had promised her she could use to buy herself something. I had promised her that in trade for going to the data center with me after Carowinds to get my work done. She didn’t want to use it to buy the stuffed animal that she had been excited about all afternoon because she knew that it was all the money that we had right then. But I reassured her and then finally insisted to help her break through her fear of the circumstances. As we left the park to drive 2 hours home, I told her that I was confident there was a reason this happened and it wouldn’t be a bad thing — but sometimes we figure out the why and sometimes we might have to wait until “the after” to find out the why. As we were driving home, Mandee was able to get my card canceled and confirm it hadn’t been used. As soon as I got home, I was able to use Samsung to track my phone, put it in battery saving mode, and turn on the ringer. We called it again this time, and since the ringer was now turned on, we heard a voice answer in broken English. He said “Hi, you remember my daughter?” in his best English. It was the kind Hispanic man we had met. We immediately arranged a meet up at his home in Gastonia and he gave me the address and his phone number as best we could communicate with each other, since the park was closing at this point. As he drove home from Carowinds, I drove back from Campobello, SC to his home in Gastonia, NC to meet him there. He wanted to be sure to let us know that everything is there, and almost had some of the same fear I saw in my daughter earlier as he didn’t want to take the reward that I was offering him. But I said, “You have blessed me today. Please use this for your daughter and let me bless you in return.” I could understand how his broken English and being in a “foreign land” could probably leave him fearful and untrusting of a white man, or of authority, or of situations that might be misunderstood and put him and his family at risk. But after much insistence on my part, he accepted and I told him that I hope the Lord blessed him greatly for blessing me today. I could have looked at the situation and thought the worst of this man. I could have reacted in anger and judgement and accused him of stealing since he didn’t turn the phone in. I could have used the tracking information as evidence and involved the police, and there may have been enough evidence to cause this man a lot of trouble and pain. I don’t know the true intentions of his heart, but I chose to use this as an opportunity to see a good neighbor and be a good neighbor. Someone will call this naive — but I’ve met too many inside the cell block to want to see someone go there without giving them the full benefit of the doubt and an opportunity to see love, grace and mercy in action. And I returned to Charlotte by myself to complete my planned work, and my daughter didn’t even have to sit through it with me. Since I worked quite late, I stayed in a hotel here in Charlotte, and I got to sleep in this morning at the hotel instead of having to get up and take the dogs out early in the morning. And we will get to repay Mia for her generosity yesterday (letting us use that gift card to cover necessities until we had access to our bank account again). Plenty of things yesterday “went wrong” if I’m measuring them by what I expected to happen — but I am grateful that my daughter saw several examples of peace and faith today. I probably still fell short of how she would envision a perfect daddy behaving yesterday, but she’s learning through all of this to show me grace too. It just really touched my heart, so I wanted to share. God bless!
I learned about Mark Wahlberg’s daily schedule last night and began rethinking my own, so I read my chapters for today before bed and “slept on it” instead of reading it first thing. I took an intentional step last night to better prepare me for the day ahead — just like establishing and implementing a plan for exercise (both physical and spiritual) will better prepare me for the days ahead.
Associated Reading:
Genesis 6
Psalm 6
Joshua 6
As I read Genesis 6, Psalm 6, and Joshua 6 last night, I found Noah finding safety from the world in his task of building the Ark, and David finding mercy in a time of trouble through prayer, and Rahab finding safety when Jericho fell because of her choosing to help the people of Israel — and this was a stark contrast to the depravity of mankind to be destroyed in the flood, the enemies who will turn back ashamed and horrified at what they have done to David, and the city of Jericho and everything in it utterly destroyed as a tribute to the Lord.
There was a clear contrast in each reading between what led these intentionally into safety, while others continued on unmodified towards their own destruction. And there is the same for us today.
Benjamin Franklin put this wisdom into easily accessible and non- religious words when he said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” And we also have some great quotable that we can pull from scripture about planning, about being intentional, and for aligning our purpose with God’s will:
Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
We are choosing today to intentionally receive this word into our minds to be written upon our hearts. We ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who prays on our behalf at the right hand of God the Father, that our purpose and plan would established one step at a time in His will and His purpose. In that, we find safety not damger, and mercy not shame, and deliverance not destruction. We are no better than Noah the drunk, David the adulterous murderer, or Rahab the prostitute in our own sinfulness, so we rely upon the mercies, grace and blessings of the Lord just as they have. And just as they are no longer called drunk, murderer, and whore neither are we. By His blood and through the faith we have been granted, we are children of God. Safe in our Heavenly Father’s arms. Amen.
Yesterday, while driving back from a morning shopping and setting up the LEGO Bonsai Tree at my office in Greenville with my 10 year old daughter, we talked about bullies. I explained that I can remember people in my life that have acted like that — bossy, mean, aggressive and hurtful, and asked her if she had too. Her initial, sweet and soft hearted answer was no. She didn’t want to label or call anyone such a thing because she hopes the best for everyone around her. But I knew of a few examples that even she would be aware of — and I explained that acknowledging and discussing “bully behavior” doesn’t mean that we’ve written them off as “that is who they are”, and we were able to discuss and laugh about several examples.
Bullies are “people acting like enemies”, short and simple. And if we are honest with ourselves, we have all done these types of things in our lives and hurt and opposed others and not been perfectly patient, kind, gentle and loving. But the Bible tells us that our enemies are not flesh and blood, but that our battle is spiritual. This does not mean that we are innocent of any and all wrongdoing, but that there truly is an enemy of and a bully of mankind.
Genesis 3 introduces this enemy into the narrative, and we can see that his bullying isn’t just knocking books out of people’s hands, sticking signs on their backs, calling them names, and acting physically aggressive like we might see bullies portrayed in TV shows and movies about school life. No, this enemy is slick and smooth in how he opposes mankind, misleading, manipulating, lying, and confusing. And in Psalm 3, David acknowledges how it feels as a man facing his own son seeking to kill him and the enemies that have been gathered against him.
And Joshua 3 has a wholly different type of enemy revealed. In verse 4, it is revealed that the people need a guide since they have never traveled this way before, and verses 4 and 5 reveal the need to “[keep] a systems” and “purify yourselves” as they could put themselves in danger coming too close to the Ark. The Ark is not an enemy, but staying too far away or straying too close both were a danger. A hard hearted person who hates God may think of God’s striking people dead for accidentally touching the Ark, or leveling whole cities for their sinfulness, or flooding the whole Earth and its inhabitants as a bully and an enemy — but this is how the true enemy twists and manipulates the whole truth to hurt mankind.
We can’t just think of enemies and bullies in the obvious and stereotypical way that we see them portrayed in the movies. Just like my daughter initially dismissed acknowledging any darkness in those around her in her life, when we really get down to examining the topic — we can see that there really is an enemy.
So what do we do about it?
The enemy uses us against each other. The enemy even twists God’s words against people who try to listen to the words God has spoken and follow them like rules, but don’t understand or trust the heart and reason behind those words — like with Eve. If we get too wrapped up in religion without a strong, close personal relationship with God, we will be a devil ourselves, knowing just enough “about what God said” to be used by the enemy to mislead others like Eve. But if we humbly cry out to the Lord God like David, and if we “prepare ourselves” like Joshua urged the people, we can face any enemy.
Christian, it is encouraging to not see enemies/ bullies everywhere, or “find the devil under every rock”, because God is with us and is our shield and our faithful protector. But just like it is good for me to prepare my daughter with discussions about what bully behavior looks like, it is good for us to prepare ourselves with what our Good Father has to tell us and to guide us.
The greatest thing we can do about bullying/enemies?
Know the Lord close, recognize and trust His voice and guidance, and not be filled by the enemy into hurting others.
The second thing?
Acknowledge and admit that we haven’t always gotten this right ourselves, repent, confess to each other our failures, call out to the Lord for help, do our best to not make those same mistakes, and humbly do our best to repair what damage has been done.
When we are truly a friend and a servant to even our bullies/enemies, and when we are humble about what we can do ourselves to clearly show them the love of Christ – walls can come crumbling down and God can do the fighting for us. And He can even change both our hearts and theirs to a place of reconciliation.
Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32 NLT
You never know when doing right that “one small thing that matters” can leave a bigger impact than you’d ever imagine.
Little Seed, Big Potential
Listening to Mia tell me about the moments that mean the most to her, and reflecting to my dad the things that he has done for me that mattered deeply, and realizing how much I appreciate my wife for things like another full pitcher of tea magically showing up in the refrigerator — reminds me how important “little things” are in the “grand scheme” of life.
I also think about Paul writing good, loving pastoral advice in a personal letter to his friend Timothy (by way of the Holy Spirit) — versus Paul trying to write a book to live alongside the Pentateuch for all of eternity in a book bound up and marked as holy by the largest and most wide spread of religious institutions of the future.
Don’t fret or be anxious about whether or not your life has made a sufficient impact “so far” — just realize the opportunity that you are going to have with “every little moment” to come. Our passion is the fuel that lights lasting flames, not our striving.
What are you passionate about?
What “little thing” could I do today to encourage, honor or appreciate someone else?
Put that passion to work in one extra “little thing” today!
Commit your actions to the Lord , and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 NLT
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10 NLT
I realize that someone might think it quite very proud of anyone to proclaim that “God knows me by name” — almost as if they were implying “God knows me but He doesn’t know you, so I’m better.” I can assure you, that is not the attitude of this song, my worship, or the attitude of anyone who truly knows God and is known by God. This is not a song of proud exclusion or self glorification — but one of utter awe and wonder that the creator or all cares about “even me” and “even you”. It is a declaration that the God of all the universe and all of creation is not a deadbeat, absentee father.
I’m not a professional artist like Tasha Combs who brought us “You Know My Name”, but these are the best ashes I can bring to the altar:
And you can hear this amazing performance by Tasha here:
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord , your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth. Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’” Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. Gather the nations together! Assemble the peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth? “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord . “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the Lord , and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord . “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
This past year has been a challenge for me, but I’m so encouraged that He knows me not just by name, but intimately and personally. And I know this assurance is available for everyone who seeks Him humbly and earnestly.
Curious about what the New Testament specifically has to say about false teachers?
Here’s my bulleted list with scripture references of the lies:
Lie #1: God’s grace allows us to live immoral lives (Jude 1:4)
Lie #2: Godliness is a way of making a profit/becoming wealthy (1 Timothy 6:5)
Lie #3: Forbidding marriage (1 Timothy 4:3)
Lie #4: Forbidding certain foods (1 Timothy 4:3)
Lie #5: Jesus Christ isn’t God come in the flesh as a real man (1 John 4:2)
Lie #6: The Bible is full of errors and can’t be trusted (Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16)
A list of some of their types of corrupt character and bad fruit:
Claim authority from their dreams (Jude 1:8)
Live immortal lives (Jude 1:8)
Defy authority (Jude 1:8)
Scoff at supernatural beings (Jude 1:8)
Deceive people for money (Jude 1:11)
Grumblers and complainers (Jude 1:16)
Live only to satisfy their desires (Jude 1:16)
Brag loudly about themselves (Jude 1:16)
Flatter others to get what they want (Jude 1:16)
Arrogant/conceited and understands nothing (1 Timothy 6:4)
Has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes (1 Timothy 6:4)
They give rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions, and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth (1 Timothy 6:4)
Suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit/ becoming wealthy (1 Timothy 6:5)
Harold J. Ballinger 