Respect

The exchange was brusque. Words were said that will eventually need to be taken back although that is both improbable and difficult.


It happens all the time.


I have seen it again and again, and every time I see it, it is heartbreaking. It is prevalent among Christ followers who often impose their opinions on others who are seeking to find their way along the path. 


It often sounds like..."Yeah, but God has a standard and he wants us to live up to it." I agree, but there are ways to communicate that doesn't alienate people and minimize their desire to follow God.


Over the years I have seen people who have been around the church for a long time make careless broad sweeping statements to "strugglers" about what they ought to do and how they ought to do it.I have witnessed the carnage of those who have felt like giving up because of the demanding demeanor.

Francois Fenelon says it best...."Uphold a Godly standard, but admit when you uphold it in an ungodly way."

I want to be extremely careful when I attempt to uphold a Godly standard that I don't do it in an ungodly way. I want to be "quick to listen and slow to speak" in my journey as a Christ-follower. I don't want to impose my understanding of what God is doing in my life on the life of others. I want to be able to reflect His glory and allow others along the journey to hear His voice.


I have been guilty of "upholding a Godly standard in an ungodly way" at times in my journey. It has usually been at times of frustration and at other times it has been when I wasn't sure what to say and so I reverted to cliches and familiar jargon tinged with judgment.


I have also been on the receiving end of people who have attempted to etch their faith understandings on mine. It was not attractive or appealing, rather it caused a distance between myself, them and God.


So today I am choosing to live my life according to His standards as I understand them. I plan to give people plenty of room to "work out their salvation with fear and trembling." My prayer is that I will resist the temptation to behave in "ungodly ways" when it comes to "upholding a Godly standard."


Come people call this civility...I call it living authentically....


I am heading out to face the day...God, please guide my words today....

Living

"Don't live on the porch and think you in the house."


It is easy to go through life deceiving ourselves. Fenelon says it this way, "As you fool others, you fool yourself. You begin to believe the illusion you create."

Is there a difference between "porch living" and "house living?"

Today you are going to meet people who give you the impression that they are enjoying life, but just below the surface there is fear and anxiety. These are "porch dwellers." Somewhere along the line, they have become satisfied with living in the illusion they create. There is no longer a desire for authenticity, rather they have settled for a life of mediocrity.


Today you are going to meet people who are living out of the abundance of "the house." They have walked through the door and are enjoying what it means to live an abundant life.They are authentic pilgrims on the journey with a deep senses of who they are. In other words, they see themselves as God sees them.


As a child I can remember driving to my grandmothers house and pulling into the tree lined driveway. Jumping out of the car, I would run up the steps to the front door. She had a small enclosed porch and a door that opened into the kitchen and eating area. I still can smell the aromas, hear the sounds and remember her welcoming voice.


I just stayed on the porch and didn't go in. 

Are you kidding me? I threw open the door, ran in the house, tasted her cooking, laughed around the table, listened to the tall tales of those older than myself and gladly sat at the kids end of the table at meal time.


Why? Because "house living" living is a lot better than "porch living." 


Sadly, there are to many people who "live on the porch and think they are in the house."  Don't be one of those people today. Come on in the house! 

The psalmist understood the difference between "porch living" and "house living" when he penned these words, "Better is one day in your house, than a thousand elsewhere." Psalms 84:10

Quiet

I am an early riser. I have not always been that way, but I am finding it easier to get up early and enjoy the quiet and stillness of the early morning. It is amazing to sit in the quiet and enjoy the peaceful moments before the day is unleashed.


Several years ago, a friend recommended a book to me. His description was, "this is the best devotional book I have ever read." (special thanks to Dr. Richard Wilson for your recommendation.) Now that is a heady recommendation with all of the books published to encourage spiritual growth.


The title of the book is, "The Seeking Heart" by Francois Fenelon. His writings reflect his work as a French Roman Catholic Archbishop, Missionary, Poet, and Spiritual Guide. 


I have read it several times and each time I pick it up in the quiet early morning hours something happens to me. I am reminded that although his writings are 300 years old, they still speak with a timely relevance to my life.


This week I will be sharing some of the insights Fenelon has given to me and how they have searched the crevasses of my soul.


Fenelon says, "An active personality, accustomed to lots of activity, will faint in solitude. Only when you are completely exhausted will you seek a quieter life." 


In an age of busy-ness and frenzied activity, solitude and quietness are foreign commodities. That is one of the reasons that I rise early. I have found a bonanza of blessings in the quietness of the morning. A quieter life throughout the day begins in solitude.


I agree with my friend, The Seeking Heart is the best devotional book I have ever read. I hope that my thoughts this week will whet your appetite to be "fully present in this moment." I hope you will rise a little earlier than you normally would and savor the quietness.

Keep your eyes open for Fenelon's thoughts early each day this week...

Forward

I have several friends who generously forward all kinds of email to me. Usually it is in the form of pictures, funny videos, or some health saving idea. Generally, I don't mind getting forwards, but it has caused me to think about how easy it is to get an email and think, "wow, everybody I know needs to see this!" Immediately I go to the forward button on my email, load up my address book and hit send. In seconds I have forwarded the email to others.

Now before you judge me, I do not stoop to this practice. Why? Because I am the recipient of forwards requiring me to scroll through a plethora of email addresses before I get to the bottom only to discover it is something that I have no interest in.

10 years ago a movie entitled, Pay it Forward was based on a novel by the same title. Both the book and movie highlighted the obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment for one good deed that one has experienced. The purpose is to do something for another person which they do not expect or could not do on their own. The movie shows what happens as "paying it forward" becomes normative. The end result?" A society that becomes generous and ultimately a better place for people to live.

Which is easier? Pushing a button and forwarding an email to your entire address book, or forwarding a good deed? Sadly, in a world where it is easier to push a button, many good deeds go undone.

Recently, I was waiting in line at McDonalds. A disheveled guy walked in and ordered breakfast. Fumbling in his pocket he finally retrieved enough money to pay for his meal. While he was searching, I thought to myself, "pay for his meal, pay for his meal." All of a sudden a well dressed elderly couple got in line and ordered their breakfast in front of me. The gentleman reached for his wallet. 

My disheveled friend quietly held up his hand and motioned to the girl behind the counter. What happened next floored me. I heard the guy say to the elderly couple, "breakfast is on me, I have parents that are about your age that I seldom ever get to see. I never get to buy their breakfast, so breakfast is on me this morning."

Time stood still. I was breathless. The elderly couple stood their in shock. The counter girl didn't know what to do. The disheveled guy reached in his greasy pants pocket and took out a large bill and said to the couple, "enjoy your breakfast" and turned and walked away.


Pay it forward.


Interestingly enough, I can't imagine either the payer or the payee hitting "forward" on their email, but they certainly understand what "forward" means in real life.


Keep your eyes open today, you may have an opportunity to "pay it forward." And by the way, if you forward emails to me, I will still scroll through the sea of email addresses and read them. Maybe....

Tightrope

As a kid I was amazed by my first trip to the circus. There were animals, jugglers, acrobats, trapeze artists and clowns under the big top. But perhaps the most entertaining were the high wire walkers. Even though they had safety nets below them, my eyes were riveted to their tentative steps high above the floor of the tent.


I could only imagine the danger of walking on the thin wire above the breathless crowd. My imagination ran wild as I considered the fearless high wire artist and his trek across the spotlight bathed expanse. 


Walking the tightrope is something we do everyday. We walk a narrow path between right and wrong, between integrity and expediency, between different shades of gray, yet we still are on the tightrope. There are moments when we fear we will lose our balance and fall off of the tightrope because of making wrong decisions. 


Sometimes the fear of falling is enough to cause us to fall. Tightrope walkers often talk about the width of the rope rather than the air on either side. They are so focused on the destination they don't look down at the thin wire.


All of this has caused me to wonder about the "tightrope" that we walk on. I have met Christ followers who were so paralyzed by fear of failure that they are unable to walk. They were petrified at the thought they might fall off of the tightrope. Every step was so carefully measured out, that they took few steps.

Recently I read that "being a Christ follower is less about cautiously avoiding sin than courageously and actively doing God's will."

St. Augustine, an influential Christ follower of the fourth century understood the "tightrope" when he said, "Love God and do as you please." In an age when we like to hear "do as you please" Augustine was able to frame it by saying, "Love God" is the starting point.

Today I commit to walking on the "tightrope" because of my intense love for God and the desire to pursue His will.  Am I worried about falling? Not so much. Augustine says, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."  The tightope is calling....

Strength

Have you ever met people who were strong? I am not talking about a physical strength derived from long hours in the gym. I am thinking about people who have strength of character, people who are strong in their ability to do what they say they are going to do. I am even thinking about people who possess an inner strength which sees them through difficult times.

I have always felt like a strong person. I have felt like I came from "strong stock"and a heritage of strength derived from the generations who have gone before me.


Until recently.

Recently I have experienced moments of weakness causing me to rely on others and God.During this time I received a card from a friend with words that were a great encouragement to me. In recognizable writing, my friend wrote...

I am praying that God will use these redirected

moments to draw you closer to Him and help

you see the future clearer than every before.

With stunning precision his words pierced my heart and reminded me of familiar words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9


I like the words of my friend...."redirected moments." 


Have you ever had any of those?  What did you do when the path led somewhere other than where you planned?  What did you do when your moments were redirected?

I have done a lot of reading over the last two weeks. I have drunk from the wells of authors who have satisfied the thirst of my soul. My mind, heart and soul have been nourished in ways that would not have been possible unless my "paths had been re-oriented."


Several weeks ago I purchased Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. The Third Reich by Eric Metaxas. Because I direct most of the moments of my life, I have not had the time to read this book about one of my favorite characters from Christendom. Bonhoeffer's life was a series of "re-directed moments" eventually leading to his death in a concentration camp in Flossenburg.


Metaxas describes Bonhoeffer in a powerful way, he says..."(Bonhoeffer's) strength was borrowed from God and lent to others." p.463.


My prayer is, that in the words of my friend, I will "see the future clearer than ever before" because my "strength is borrowed from God and lent to others."

God, give me your strength and I will lend it to others...

Stories

I cannot wait. After not being able to be with fellow pilgrims and journeyers for the last two weeks, I am excited about returning this Sunday. The absence is a result of pneumonia, a fall I suffered which required four days in the hospital and a two week time of rest at home.

There are some imposed limitations to what I can and cannot do on Sunday, but I am able to return to what I love doing more than anything else...telling stories based on The Story.

Leonard Sweet says, "The church’s failure to tell stories in a culture that talks in stories is a story in its own right." With that in mind, I am already thinking about all of the stories that have unfolded in the last two weeks in my life. Through all of them I have seen and heard the words of the Master Storyteller reminding me that there are still more narratives to unpack.

I guess the reason that I love stories so much is best captured in the words of Eugene Peterson..."We live in narrative, we live in story. Existence has a story shape to it. We have a beginning and an end, we have a plot, we have characters."

The thought occurred to me recently...What would happen if we cared for each others stories?  What would it look like for us to honor the stories in people's lives? What would happen if we did more listening to people's stories and less trying to get their story to look like ours?

So, I return this Sunday. Words are not adequate to describe my excitement and anticipation for Sunday morning at 10:45.

Here is the prayer that I am praying as I prepare for the gathering of pilgirms...

Oh, God, don't let my story get in the way of yours.

Amen.

Not a bad prayer to pray daily...