New and Improved

I don't consider myself a big “techno-geek”. Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to technology. I just don’t have an insatiable appetite for the newest and latest technological advances to come along.

Take cell phones, for example. For a long time, I wasn’t all that interested in cell phones that muti-tasked. My attitude was, I don’t need a camera that makes phone calls or a cell phone that takes pictures. In fact, considering some of the poor reception and dropped calls I’ve endured over the years, I’d happily settle for a cell phone that could just make phone calls.

But as they enhanced the features on cell phones, I began to see the wisdom in being able to text, take pictures or video and access the web from my phone. After getting Kacie an iPhone for Christmas, I’m intrigued by the variety and usefulness for over 100,000 apps, at least of few of which would undoubtedly enable me to be a more effective shepherd of the flock (I can just see Moses descending from Mt. Sinai, iPhone in hand, declaring to the Israelites upon seeing the golden calf—“I have an app for that!”). Since I’m due for an upgrade soon (Valentines Day, in case you care, Kim!), maybe an iPhone is in my future.

Of course, if I do get an iPhone soon, then you must realize that means that we are on the verge of some great new technological advance that will leave the iPhone in the dust. Because the moment I purchase some new technology, it automatically becomes obsolete. My purchase of new technology is the death knell for that technology.

Like HD TVs. I really was pretty happy with our old TV. It was a six year old RCA. It worked fine. It was the size of a small mountain, and you needed a frontloader to move it, but other than that, it was great. But then football season started, and Kim & I began wondering whether the Chiefs would look better if we could watch them in High Definition (answer: they didn’t). We decided we’d look for a good deal and buy that as our family Christmas present.

We bought a nice 46 inch Toshiba HDTV, and the picture looks great. But no sooner had we brought it home than I began reading that HDTVs are so yesterday. The wave of the future is in 3D television, glasses and all. You haven’t lived, they say, until you’ve seen Matt Cassel throw an interception in 3D. Alas, I’m late again.

The same thing happened when Kim surprised me at Christmas with a Kindle. This is an electronic book reader. It’s about the size of a paperback, and you download electronic books from Amazon. It will hold about 1500 books. Now for a book-junkie like me, that’s heaven. I can have hundreds of books available at the flip of a switch and take them all with me wherever I go. I love it.

Then last week Steve Jobs announced that Apple was coming out with the iPad (some described it as an iPhone that doesn’t make calls), and I’ve read several articles that say that this revolutionary new device will make the Kindle (you guessed it) obsolete.

Oh well, that’s the story of my life. A day late and a dollar short.

But all of this gives me a new appreciation for the Word of God. Despite the passage of nearly 2000 years since it was completed, it is still as fresh, vibrant and relevant as it was when penned. It is still sharp and powerful. It remains a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

So rest assured, that whatever gadgets, apps or devices come along, God’s Word will never go out of style.

I Don't Love Jesus

I don’t love Jesus.

I’m sure you’re shocked to read that statement from a conservative, evangelical pastor. Honestly, I’m shocked to have written it. But it must be true, because in the past week, I have repeatedly failed the single most important test of my love for Jesus. I haven’t forwarded several religious emails that I’ve received from others, emails which clearly state that if I love Jesus—if I really love Him—then I need to forward them on to 5, 10 or 20 people.

I know I’m no Bible scholar, but I do consider myself somewhat well versed in Scripture. All week long I’ve been looking for that verse that says, And by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you forward on those catchy emails to others. Someone, please tell me where to find it!

It must be there because these emails are coming in at an ever increasing pace. And according to these emails, not only do I not love Jesus, but evidently, I don’t love the lost either. One email said, If you truly care that your friends don’t burn in hell, send this to them NOW.

If I believed for one second that such an email would cause a lost person to consider their eternal destiny and place their faith in Christ, I’d send the email out to everyone I know. But something tells me if I’m offended by the tone of such emails, the unsaved people I know would be much more offended.

Here’s an idea. Rather than spam our friends and family members, let’s try loving them. Rather than fill their inboxes, let’s fill their hearts. Rather than add to their burdens by giving them one more thing to read and delete, let’s encourage them with a phone call or an act of kindness.

I know that there are a lot of well meaning people who forward those emails, thinking they’re doing something important for the Kingdom of God. But what we say and how we live provides much better evidence of our love for God than what we do with emails.

Well, that’s enough about that. I’ve got to go now. I have a rich Nigerian uncle who died and all I have to do to collect my inheritance is to email them my bank account number…

A Very Special Gift

Years before Kacie graduated from high school, Kim began planning a very special gift to give to her—a quilt comprised of t-shirts that symbolized various aspects of Kacie’s life over the years: her pre-school dance and gymnastics classes; her grade school softball and soccer teams; special vacations to Disney World and the Grand Canyon; her high school band years; and teen mission trips to Monterrey, Mexico. Kim had been collecting these shirts Kacie’s whole life. Those shirts survived 5 moves in 18 years, but Kim was so excited about this special gift. She selected just the right mix of shirts that she thought would be most meaningful to Kacie.

Early in Kacie’s senior year, Kim took the shirts she had so carefully chosen to the lady who was going to do the quilt. We got the quilt back shortly before Kacie’s graduation party, and we were both so pleased with the way it turned out. Kim could hardly wait to give it to Kacie.

On the day of Kacie’s graduation party, we carefully draped the quilt over the railing in the entryway so that when Kacie came in, it would be the first thing she’d see. Kim was beside herself waiting for Kacie’s reaction.

I’ll never forget it. Kacie came in the door, looked up and saw this quilt made up of all these shirts representing special times in her life over the years. It took several seconds for it to register with her, but as she identified these special images from her childhood, tears welled up in Kacie’s eyes and she cried, “Oh no, what did you do to my shirts?!”

Not quite the Hallmark moment we expected.

Now in all fairness to Kacie, she very quickly came to appreciate and cherish that gift, but her initial reaction made me resent all the time, effort and love that Kim had put into it.

When you think about it, Kacie’s first reaction to her gift is not unlike the reaction of many people to the gift that God has given to us--a gift that He has given out of the overflowing love of His heart. The most special, most precious gift He could give. Yet many people resist it, mock it, ignore it and even reject it.

Yet God doesn’t resent His gift. He doesn’t withdraw it. He doesn’t restrict it. He continues to make it available. Not just at Christmas, but every day of the year.

Putting "Christmas" Back in Christmas

There are a lot of people upset over various retailers who are using generic phrases like “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” in their stores. Whereas we used to encourage people to “put Christ back in Christmas”, now it seems that we need to encourage people to “put Christmas back in Christmas”.

I understand the angst of those who feel that every year we lose a little ground in the battle to keep the focus on Christ throughout the Christmas season. A lot of schools won’t let their kids have “Christmas programs”, even going so far as to preclude them from playing Christmas music.

However, I must say that I’m not nearly as concerned about how Wal-Mart or The Gap treat Christmas as I am in the way that professing Christians treat it. I really don’t expect the unbelieving, secular world to treat Christmas with respect or reverence. They’re in it for just one thing—the money. If they can improve the bottom line by diminishing the “Christ-aspect” of Christmas, then I’m not surprised that they do it. If they can increase profits by lumping Christmas in with Hanukah, Kwanza and Groundhog Day, then I’m not shocked.

But what about those who say they are Christ-followers? Does saying, “Merry Christmas” while ignoring Jesus make us superior to those we condemn? Does refusing to shop at a store that says “Happy Holidays” really improve our testimony while continuing to pursue all of the materialistic aspects of the Christmas season at other retailers?

I’m sorry, but I think a lot of the protests are just ways of trying to make Christians feel better about ourselves without having to change our ways. We are as responsible for making Christmas a secular day as the unbelieving world. Until we are willing to restore the “Christ-nature” of Christmas—with the emphasis back on Christ instead of Santa, Frosty or Rudolph—we don’t have any legitimate complaints. Until we insist that the birth of Christ will be celebrated in a way that honors and glorifies Him, then let’s not puff out our chests and breathe fire on those who denigrate the Holy Day.

When it comes to putting “Christmas back in Christmas”, let it begin with us.

Getting Rid of Sin Stains

The look on Greg’s face was priceless. He had been recording our responses to his question on the marker board. He went to erase the writing, but nothing happened. He looked at the eraser, as though perhaps it was defective, but it looked fine. He rubbed a little harder, but the words that he had written minutes earlier were still there. Then his eyes fell upon the marker. In taking a closer look at it, he realized that he had been writing on the board with a permanent marker, not a “dry erase” marker.

He found a bottle of "dry erase board cleaner" and sprayed it on. While some of the ink ran a little, it didn’t make it go away. A few minutes later, Tim approached the board and began writing over the letters that were already there. Then he took the eraser and successfully erased the writing.

Did you know that if you write over permanent marker with a dry erase marker, you can erase it? I sure didn’t know it. Leave it to the guy who takes care of the marker boards in the Spring Hill schools to know it. I’m glad he did. Greg’s glad he did, too!

Tim tried to explain the science to us, but I didn’t really understand. It doesn’t matter—I don’t have to. I just know now how to erase permanent marker from a dry erase board the next time it needs to be done.

As I reflected on this, I couldn’t help but think about how this is kind of like our sins. Our sins leave marks. No amount of scrubbing or scouring or polishing will make them go away. No matter how many good works I do, my sins are still there. No matter how much money I give to the church or how much time I volunteer in the community, the marks of my sin won’t go away.

Then Jesus says, “Let me cover your sins for you.” He knows what to do. He’s covered lots of sins before. And He’s the only One who can do it. When you apply His blood to your sins, it’s like applying dry erase marker ink over permanent ink. It’s the only thing that will wash your sins away.

I don’t understand exactly how He does it. I’ve had people try to explain the theology behind it, but I still don’t quite get it. But I know He does it. He did it for me. In fact, He’ll do it for anyone. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13).

You don’t have to understand it or be able to explain it. But you do have to allow Jesus to do it. He won’t force Himself on you. But if you ask Him to do it, He’ll gladly say yes. This is what David had in mind when he said, Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)

Whiter than snow. Even whiter than a marker board.

Pastor Appreciation Month

October is Pastor Appreciation Month.

Now, I'm sure it seems self serving for me to mention this, given that I'm a pastor, but I don't mean it to be. Don't get me wrong. I like the cards, emails and tokens of love and encouragement from the Life Spring congregation. It's always nice to receive a pat on the back or a kind word. But at Life Spring, they don't limit their expressions of appreciation to one month of the year. Week in and week out, month after month our folks are faithful to show their love and support to me as their pastor.

But it isn't just the kind words and sweet cards or even the gift certificates to my favorite restaurants that most reveal their appreciation for my service as their pastor (though, in case you wonder, those restaurants include K&M, Chili's and Mi Ranchito). It's in their response to the needs of a young couple bringing home their baby after spending his first five months in the hospital. It's the way they have reached out to the family that lost their home and most of their worldly belongings in a Friday night fire. It's their heartfelt prayers offered on behalf of a dear saint who had symptoms of cancer, and their exuberant joy when the diagnosis came back that all was well.

As a preacher, I love to proclaim the unsearchable riches of God's Holy Word. However, if such preaching is lauded on Sunday morning but ignored during the week, such preaching is in vain. If the fellowship is declared "sweet" in God's House but a fallacy in our homes, then it is meaningless.

So I am grateful that at Life Spring, the appreciation for their pastor is demonstrated in real and concrete ways through the manner in which we do life together. And the occasional card or gift certificate isn't bad, either.

It's Gonna Get Bad...

Terrible things are about to happen.

I just heard on the news that very soon, all the trees will lose their lush green vegetation and become barren of leaves and fruit. It will get so bad that grass will stop growing and become brown and dull. Even with adequate amounts of sunshine and rain, few crops will survive.

Temperatures will drop precipitously. In fact, things will be so terrible that we are likely to experience days in which travel is difficult, if not impossible. Streets will be effectively closed down. Those who have failed to adequately prepare will find grocery store shelves empty of the most basic supplies of life.

Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Of course, you already have figured out that I’m describing the normal change of the seasons. But if you use the right language, you can make it sound pretty awful. Certain words paint pictures of despair, even horror.

And while some of us may not be excited about the change in seasons (personally, I love fall and winter), few of us would say we “fear” this change. In fact, we expect it. The truth is that we in this part of the country would be far more concerned if we experienced 90 degree days in December or a sudden resurgence of lawn growth in January, because we know that isn’t normal. Whether we like the change in seasons, we know what to expect.

In a similar way, we shouldn’t allow the events of life to unnerve us as much as they do. The truth is, we’re going to experience various “seasons” of life. They change, like the weather. We may not be able to predict what to expect in the next season of life, but neither should we dread it.

As we begin our church-wide Life Group study based on John Ortberg’s book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat, we need to remind ourselves that we are all going to experience events of life that call for courage and faith. And just as we don’t fear the changes from summer to fall or from winter to spring, we should approach the changes in our lives with a resolve to trust God to see us through.