Go Tell It On The Mountain

The Shoney’s in West Memphis just underwent a renovation.  New paint, and all that.  And the sign in the front has the red neon, “SHONEY’S” way up high on a pole for interstate travelers to see for quite a ways off.  But for the longest time, the O and the N have been out.  And I’ve chuckled to myself a hundred times “Their on is off!”  Hyuck, Hyuck. Aren’t I clever?  And actually it does make me chuckle, and, personally, I think it’s a very clever observation.  And up until typing this out, I’ve only ever shared that (by my own admission) clever observation with my wife.  It’s so clever, that I’m going to share it with one whole person.  Although, by the time I’ve typed this, there are several letters that have gone out, so at this point, it’s more like maybe a bear took their HONEY more than “their on is off”. 

Spin that over into Bible study.  I love to read and cross-reference and go look up the greek and everything that goes into study.  I’m a nerd. I know this.  I’m the guy that read the Almanac in high school just because it was there to read.  Literally, every three or four years for Christmas my parents would get me a new one.  Because there were more facts now than there were 3 or 4 years ago.  And some of that Almanac reading has really paid off.  I mean this one time I actually won a game of Trivial Pursuit because I knew the significance of West Quoddy Head, Maine and Cape Alava, Washington.  (Those, of course, are the Easternmost and Westernmost points of the continental United States)  But except Trivial Pursuit, that almanac reading was useless until it came up as a question.  So now I’m reading my Study Bible and cross-referencing these concepts and Bible verses, and until this devotional series started roughly a year ago, was largely sharing it with nobody.

If ever there was a great purpose to Social Media, it’s the passing on things you might have learned doing your own Bible Study.  I’ve seen lots of people posting reflections and things they’ve realized in the reading they’ve been doing.  And if ever there was a higher purpose to Social Media, that would be it.  Not calls for boycotts, or accusations of racism or hate-mongering, or political/religious ideological arguments (or getting drug into one sideways like I had happen to me once), or any of the other “reasons to argue” that gets spread through Facebook and Twitter and the like these days.  Of course, the other thing is the proliferation of the funny pictures…with obscene language typed all over in huge font so that when Cameron walks up to tell me something while I’m looking at Facebook, I have to either stop him where he’s at or minimize the screen.  Facebook and iPads…teaching kids profanity one dirty word at a time.

But what if, instead, there were post after post of people discussing things they’d read.  Not arguing over it, but genuinely sharing enlightenments they’d had.  Sports talk radio has spent the entire summer discussing what MIGHT happen with this steroid case.  What wasted breath.  I mean, I know they’re paid to talk about something, but I meant it just as a general illustration.  If you read something, and it makes a lightbulb go off, share it with someone.  Ask yourself this:  If you can sit down and talk for hours about baseball, or football, or Harry Potter movies, or scrapbooking, or some murder trial that’s 12 states away from you, why can’t you spend 15 minutes discussing the Bible with someone?  Or worse yet, do you not spend 15 minutes discussing Bible with someone because you rarely spend 15 minutes alone reading a Bible?  Or sadly, maybe you don’t know enough Bible to carry on a 15 minute conversation about it?  If so, then ask questions for 15 minutes.

Listen for the Whisper that tells you that really need to study your Bible.  Don’t take someone else’s word for the Word says.  Read it yourself.  The next time you hear yourself lament, “there’s NOTHING on tv tonight,” do yourself a favor and open your Bible and read it a bit.  Instead of falling back on what you THINK the Bible says, actually read it and SEE what it actually says.  Because let’s just put it out there, most of the people that I hear talking about how they think they’re saved because they think that Jesus would be ok with whatever it is…haven’t got a clue what Jesus would think.  Because they’ve never read the Bible for 15 minutes in their lives.  Don’t mean to step on toes, but I’m not backing away from the statement, either.  These are usually the same people that can rattle off the tops of their heads all of the worst of television, because to them that’s more important than God’s Word.  But they’ll throw out the “I Believe in Jesus” phrase that pays every so often.  Mixed up priorities.  Put God first.  And if God’s first, then you’ll want to get to know Him.  You wouldn’t say “Man, I LOVE those Duck Dynasty guys!”  Really?  What’s your favorite episode?  “Oh, I don’t actually watch it or know any of the people in the show, but I hear this one guy at work talk about Duck Dynasty all the time, so I figure I love it, too!”  Because that just sounds crazy.  But it’s the same way with Bible.  “I LOVE Jesus.  I believe Jesus can SAVE me from my sins!”  Really?  What’s your favorite story?  “Oh, I don’t actually read the Bible or know any of Jesus’ specific lessons, but I hear this one guy at church talk about Jesus all the time, so I figure I love Him, too!”

This is one of those that when I texted the “your on is off” reminder to myself, I had no idea it would be so preachy by the end.  But when I look at the world today and wonder why there’s not more Jesus in it, my next look is at the people who are supposed to BE Jesus in this world.  And it bothers me that few of them actually KNOW Jesus, rather than simply knowing OF Jesus.  He took the time to die on a cross for you.  If you claim that salvation, and you try to sound like it’s important to you, then you need to take the time to actually get to know Him.  Read His words.  Read the words that tell what God has done for his people.  Read the Word that He’s given to us to use as a guide to live by.  Then share what you learn with someone.  Like Yoda told Luke in Return of the Jedi just before the little froggy dude croaked, “You must pass on what you have learned.”  But before you can pass on what you have learned, you have to learn it yourself.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net
http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

Go Back Jack and Do It Again

Let’s start today’s devotional like a preacher – that is to say open with an old joke.

A farmer's in the middle of a flood. The river is overflowing, with water surrounding his house up to his front porch. He's standing there watching the water rising, and a guy rows up in a boat.  The guy says "Jump in! I'll take you to safety."  The farmer crosses his arms and says stubbornly, "Nope, I put my trust in God."

So the boat goes away.

The water rises so high that the farmer's climbing up on his roof when another boat comes by.  The man says to the farmer, "Jump in! I'll row you to safety.  "The farmer struggles up on the roof but again says, "Nope, I put my trust in God."

So the boat goes away.

The water rises so high that the farmer is standing on the very top of his chimney with barely enough room for both feet with water completely surrounding him and still rising…when a helicopter flies over and drops a rope ladder. The pilot yells down to the farmer "I'll save you!  Climb up the ladder."  The farmer says as he’s falling into the water, "Nope, I put my trust in God." 

So the helicopter flies away.

 The water keeps rising, and the farmer drowns.  He gets to heaven, and God sees him and says "What are you doing here?"  The farmer says "I’m wondering the same thing!  I put my trust in You, and You let me down."  God says, "What do you mean, I let you down? I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you want me to do?!"

What more did you want me to do?  In Joshua 6, God tells them to walk around the walls of Jericho.  Do it once a day for 6 days, then on the seventh day, do it seven times.  Then have priests blow the rams’ horns.  When you hear the rams’ horns, pretend you’ve heard the secret word and “scream real loud”.  And all of Israel said, “Really?  Walk some laps, toot a horn and yell at the wall?  That’s your plan, God?  Have you seen that wall?  It’s a big wall, God.  Not quite sure that walking around the wall is going to do much except reiterate to us how big it is.  And we’re also pretty sure that a horn concert for the wall and some Braveheart-type yelling at the wall isn’t going to do much either, but whatever you say, God.”  They did, the wall collapsed, and Israel defeats Jericho.   

2 Kings 5…Naaman…Commander of the Syrian Army gets leprosy.  He goes to his king, who sends an email over to Israel’s king and tells him that they’ve heard that maybe Israel’s God can help.  Israel’s king thinks it’s a trap.  But good old Elisha, who asked for and then got double the spirit that Elijah had, says to them, “God’s got this.”  So Elisha tells his servant to go tell Naaman, “Go wash in the river seven times, and the leprosy will wash away.”  And Naaman gets mad.  “Who are you, and where’s Elisha?  And what do you mean just go wash it away?  It’s leprosy, mon frère!  It isn’t going to wash away.  Seven times or a hundred and seven times isn’t going to matter much.  It’s LEP-PRO-SEE!  You can’t scrape leprosy off even with Lava Soap, and that stuff could take the fish stink off of Jonah!  And it’s not even like it’s even some grand quest to go find some miracle cure – just go wash in the river!  Bah!  What kind of stupid cure is that?  But fine, whatever, I’ll play your silly little game!”  And Naaman goes and washes seven times.  And what happens?  2 Kings 5:14 says that his skin became as smooth as a young child’s.  Had it happened today, I have no doubt Naaman would have bottled it and sold it on a late night infomercial.

Meanwhile, on the Numbers 21 channel, they had just gone to commercial at verse 7 with the Israelites being bitten by snakes.  They were dying left and right and begging for help.  Coming out of commercial, God is telling Moses to put a snake on a stick and have the people look at it to heal the snake bites.  So Moses builds a bronze snake and puts it on a pole and tells the people, “God says he will heal you of your snake bites and all you have to do to get this miracle is look at the snake.  You don’t have to call now.  You don’t have to send $19.99.  You don’t need to send 5 UPC symbols to Battle Creek, Michigan.  Just look at the snake.” And Israel (I feel sure) said, “Really?  Folks dead all over and you expect us to believe that just LOOKING at some snake-stick is going to heal us?  I think I’m delirious and losing consciousness, Moses, because I’m just hearing things now.  I mean, I really think I just heard you tell me that looking at a snake on a stick would heal me. Riiiight.”  But what happened to those that looked at the snake?  They lived.

Then there’s the Thanksgiving sermon over in Luke 17.  Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem…He’s somewhere between Samaria and Galilee, and there’s ten lepers.  They see Jesus coming and start yelling to Him, “Have mercy on us! Heal us!”  And what does He tell them?  Does Jesus say, “Presto Chango No Mo’ Lepro”?  Nope.  He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests.  The Bible says they go, but it doesn’t record conversation.  I’m sure it was more of the same for the first little bit.  “Oh sure, Jesus, we’ll walk over there and show ourselves to the priests.  Why not?  They’ve not told us before that we have leprosy.  They’re not the ones that ran us out here and called us unclean.  I’m sure they’re gonna LOVE us just walking up in the middle of everything just to show them our leprosy…AGAIN.”  And then one notices that as they’ve walked on, they’ve been slowly getting better.

And what does Jesus tell the one of the ten that came back to thank Him?  “Your faith has made you well.”  And therein lies the point of the whole devotional with all of its silly made-up conversations.  We shouldn’t just sit back, doing nothing and wait for God to fix things for us.  Listen for the Whisper that tells you to not just “Humpf” up with our arms crossed, sit on the couch, and refuse to budge until God fixes our situation.  Maybe He’s given you several windows to jump through.  Maybe He’s sent 2 boats and then a helicopter of opportunity for you to use.  But you didn’t want to walk around the wall for a week because it seemed unproductive for crumbling your wall (but it will).  Or didn’t want to try and bathe away leprosy because the problem you have isn’t something you think can wash away so easily (but it will).  Or you refuse to look at a snake pole to be healed because something as bad as your snakebite won’t be healed by looking at some stupid pole (but it will).  Or maybe you refuse to go show your problems to anyone, and there’s no point in going and showing them again because simply doing what Jesus tells you won’t fix your problems (but it will).  Instead you wanted to just sit there and wait for God to miracle you out of whatever predicament you’re in.  Maybe like Salvation, God wants to see if you’re serious about believing Him.  Sure He could just snap His fingers and fix your problem.  And sometimes He does.  And sometimes He asks you do something that seems insanely ineffectual simply to make sure that when it’s all over, there’s NO doubt who it was that solved your problem.  Because then you’ll say, “You’ll never believe this, but…” and then you’ll give God the glory when you tell someone how you were rescued.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

With A Little Help From My Friends

What would do if I typed out of tune?  Would you stand up and walk out on me?  Well, if you call yourself my friend, that is?  What about if I ran onto hard times?  Would you come over and help me out?  Would you offer me money – either by offering it directly to me or just quietly, behind-the-scenes taking care of some bills for me?  If I needed help after an injury or a surgery, would you offer to come mow my yard?  Would you even pick up the phone to check on me?

No, I’m not making a checklist of those that have or haven’t ever done that for me in the past.  I’m talking about Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.  Who are they, and what do they have to do with anything?  They’re Job’s three friends.  As a whole, if you’ve been to church or read the Bible much at all, you’re more than familiar with Job and his struggles.  But what about his “friends”?  Have you ever given them much consideration?  We will today.  And you can decide if you’d want friends like Job’s.

We pretty much all know this one, so we’ll fast-forward a bit.  Job’s covered in sores.  His wife is telling him to “curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).  His friends come and see him, but they see that he’s suffering and want to “give him space”.  So they wait a week, just sitting with him, before they say anything.  And when Job finally feels like talking, he opens up in Chapter 3 and wishes he was never born or died at birth, or would just die in general like his wife suggested (without the “curse God” part).  And sitting with him for a week and hearing his wailing and wishes for death, Chapter 4 begins as Eliphaz offers one of those “could be encouragement, could be a little shot at Job” statements.  We like to do that with our friends, don’t we?  But it’s a “hey, Job…all this time you’ve talked about God and encouraged others, and now it happens to you and where’s your faith?”  But just in case Job missed that Eliphaz was doing it, Eliphaz takes the chance to encourage and starts pointing fingers.  “Hey, Job!”  (and to interrupt at this point, is anybody else hearing Paul McCartney in their heads right now singing “Hey! Job…don’t be afraid”  ok, never mind.)  But yeah, “Hey, Job!  Don’t you know that we’re just pottery, and God is in control of it all?  I mean, even by whining about it, you’re acting like you’re smarter than God when he chooses one vessel for noble purposes and whatnot.”  Because THAT’S what Job really needed.  No encouragement.  No lifting up.  No “we’ll get through this.”  Just a “well, you DO realize that in the grand scheme of things, none of this matters to the flow of the world, right?  Because God is still God, you’re just Job.”  Thanks, Eliphaz…by the way, nice name.  Not quite what Job said in Chapter 6, but he still calls them out for not standing beside him when he needed them.  Good ol’ Eliphaz.  A friend is sick and needing help, and his first friend dumps some cosmic, theologic, relevancy on him.  Thanks a bunch, Eliphaz…isn’t your mom calling?

Then there’s Bildad.  Surely after hearing the first one beat Job while he’s down and hearing Job’s “gee, thanks, guys” reply, Bildad will step up and take up for his friend.  Nah.  Bildad wants to gets judgmental.  “now, Job, you DO realize that all of this is happening because of something you did wrong, right?  I mean, God’s infinite wisdom like Eliphaz mentioned aside, bad things only happen to people that deserve it.  You DO know that, right?  I mean, you’re Job, and you’re a really good guy…but surely you’ve got something in the closet to deserve all of this!  Some alcoholism…something…you beat your wife, right?! That’s it!  I mean, you’re in a bad way and all…but I have to reserve my pity, because God’s punishing you for something!”  Gee, thanks for the sermon, Bildad.  That’s makes me feel a ton better now that I know you think I’m hiding some sin from my friends.  A week ago, I was a great guy…charities, helping people, offering wise advice…now I’m deserving all of this stuff.  Thanks.  Oh, and for the record, I’m not hiding anything.  “Sure you are, Job!  This doesn’t happen to good people!!  I mean, c’mon…haven’t you read John 9 that will be written in a thousand years or so?!  Even these disciple people asked Jesus about a blind guy which of his parents sinned…so you HAVE to have done SOMETHING!”  That’s really helping a bunch, Bildad.  I’m feeling better already.  Isn’t Eliphaz’ mom calling you two knuckleheads?

Then Zophar – who maybe might have learned something from watching Eliphaz and Bildad – steps in and pulls the classic “man, it would be SO much easier to understand why this is happening to you if God would just tell us why it was happening…but maybe you better just be safe and repent for something.”  And Job says, “what?”

And they pretty much repeat that pattern a couple of times until God sorta pulls the Eliphaz card Himself and asks Job who he thinks he is to demand answer and explanations from God.  But through the whole of the book…not once do Job’s friends offer to carry his burden. Not once do they offer to help him.  They’re there with him, and quick to offer advice that doesn’t help anything.  But where in the entire book of Job did they actually help him with anything?  They must have been pretty close to Job – I mean, they sat with him for a week in silence with him, after all.  But where was the actual help?  Probably wouldn’t appreciate it if our friends did that to us, but do we do that to do them?  I asked earlier if you’d want friends like Job’s, and I’m not sure that I would.  Would you want a friend that tells you that it doesn’t really matter because we’re just a blip on the universe’s radar?  Would you want a friend to keep arguing with you that the bad stuff happening to you is your fault?  Would you want a friend that just sits with you and whines about God?  I don’t really need any of those three to be perfectly honest.  And I hope that I’ve not been that kind of friend to somebody.  And yes, I know I just wrote a “We Don’t Need Another Hero” devotional  making Eliphaz’s point exactly, but the fact that it’s biblically accurate doesn’t mean that’s what a friend needs to hear when they’ve had the blocks knocked out from under them, and they’re hanging by a very thin thread.  A story about the 2 sparrows sold for a penny or the hairs on their head being numbered might serve a little better as a biblical truth.

But to look a little closer – why did Job’s friends act that way?  Proverbs 19:4 says, wealth adds many friends, but a poor person is separated from his friends.  So was that possibly part of the problem with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar?  Is it that they used to be friends of the guy everyone in the whole countryside loved and respected…but now…now he’s that homeless guy with the sores?  Is there a little finger pointing and whispering down at the Uz-Mart (Job was from Uz) because they’re associated with him?  Is it the fact that now everyone is gossiping about Job these days, and there’s a negative stigma attached to being his friends?  Are they being harassed to get the “real story”, and so now there’s some animosity toward Job for dragging THEM into HIS problems?  Are they a little upset because Job losing his own status means that they’ve lost their status – a status that maybe had nothing to do with them in the first place?  I don’t know.  We’re not given their statuses in the Bible.  But maybe their actions toward Job are what they are because their hearts weren’t where they should have been as “friends”.

Listen for the Whisper that tells you to not be like Job’s friends.  When you have a friend that needs help, don’t show up blabbering at the mouth griping about God or the ex-girlfriend/boyfriend or pointing fingers at them.  What they need is help getting through the rough patch they’re going through…not Dr. Phil analyzing the “why” of their issues.  Be the friend that Jesus describes in John 15 willing to lay down his life for his friends.  Sometimes when we try to use our mouths to say something helpful, we mess up and say something stupid.  I think Job’s friends would have better friends if they would have just continued to sit quietly with him.  Not once did they offer to pray with him…which would have been more helpful than any accusations they continued to make.  So remember the kind of friend you’re supposed to be as a Christian.  Being a Christian is what we’re to be no matter what we do…including being a friend.  Be a Christian friend that knows how to help.  Let your friendship speak with actions.  Don’t wait for them to ask, but volunteer “what do you need me to do for you this afternoon, so that you can go handle (whatever it is you’ve been forced to deal with)?”  Give a hug, let them be reassured that you’re there for them…then just shut up if there’s nothing good to say.  Don’t help them run down their ex-girlfriend because “we always thought she was a this and whatever, and we always knew she’d run off with what’-his-name.”  Don’t blame them for their husband leaving.  Don’t tell them that it’s their own dumb fault that they’re sitting there with a broken leg for trying to clean the ceiling fan by standing on the foosball table, so they can figure out all on their own how to mow the yard while they’re sitting in the wheelchair. 

None of that is Christian.  Lift them up by lifting them up in prayer.  Help them out of the mud they’re stuck in.  Don’t grab handfuls of it and throw it at them or anyone else.  Colossians 3:17 offers the best advice on how to be a Christian…whether that be a Christian dad, a Christian co-worker, a mad Christian in traffic…or a Christian friend:  “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”  If your method of helping a friend doesn’t fit that mold, maybe you just sit with them quietly.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

Forest For The Trees

Anybody who’s ever done any hunting or fishing has their own personal, quirky “you won’t believe it” hunting or fishing story.  My dad’s hunting story happened while he was muzzleloader hunting years ago.  He was sitting up in his stand all deer-hunter-like.  A deer came out into the open and stood there broadside for the perfect shot.  Dad took aim – and he was a great shot – and pulled the trigger.  The gun roared thunder, fire and smoke (the best part of muzzleloader hunting, if you ask me).  And the deer?  Oh, he ran away…White tail flagging its warning as he ran away unscathed.  Dad was thinking “surely I hit it”.  SO he climbed down from his stand and started looking around where he had seen (and shot) the miracle deer standing in the clearing.  Blood?  Blood?  My kingdom for some blood!  But, no, there was no blood.  It was apparently truly a miracle deer…or a zombie!!  It was a perfect shot, so it must be dead – and yet it ran away without a single drop of blood.  So as he was standing where the deer was, he turned and looked back toward his tree stand.  And right in a direct line between his stand and the “deer used to be here” spot, there was a small sapling tree.  “No way!” And sure enough as he walked around to his deer stand side of that little tree, there was his lead muzzleloader ball imbedded cleanly in the tree.  The only thing that stood between his deer stand and the deer was one little tree that he hadn’t even noticed as he had taken aim at the deer.  And that little tree stopped the bullet, and saved the deer’s life.  (Unless it was a zombie!!)

On a somewhat related but totally different note, there’s Jim Croce.  The American Folk singer who sang “Time In A Bottle”, “Alabama Rain”, and “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” and had the thick, bushy Super Mario Brothers mustache before Super Mario Brothers mustaches were cool – THAT Jim Croce.  Who was not, by the way, a zombie.  He died in a plane crash five days after I was born.  He was in Louisiana and had just finished a concert at Northwestern State University an hour before the plane crash that took his life.  The crash was ultimately blamed on pilot error by the NTSB.  The plane had apparently clipped a lone pine tree near the end of the runway and crashed killing all four people on board.  The report stated that the pilot failed to see and avoid objects, and that the plane failed to achieve an altitude sufficient to clear the tree.  And the most sad and tragic part of the whole crash?  The investigators reported that the tree that the plane clipped was the only tree for hundreds of yards.

And a tale of two trees – like the devotional on the Tree of Life way back when – is what we have here.  One tree saved the life of a deer.  Another tree killed four people.  Both trees were alone in their surroundings.  Both were completely overlooked.  Two people with their eyes on what was lying beyond didn’t see the tree that was right in front of them.  Listen for the Whisper that sings in a George of the Jungle sorta way telling you to “watch out for that tree.”  Don’t be so focused on the “what lies beyond” and miss the tree.  Don’t miss the tree that causes you to stumble and miss your target.  The temptation that starts you down a road to addiction.  The person needing help that you overlook as you look way off into the distance.  Don’t miss the tree that creates an unchangeable outcome.  The tree of brash behavior.  The tree of unchristian living – of non-sacrifice that you don’t see in your own life.  Paul had a thorn and prayed for it to be removed.  God told him no, but Paul was aware the thorn was there.  Like the tree that stopped dad’s bullet, they don’t have to be big trees.  And like the solitary pine tree that killed Jim Croce, there doesn’t need to be lot of trees to cause you problems.  You can’t always remove the trees…but you need to be on the lookout for them just the same.  Avoid them if you can.  Ask for help climbing them if you can’t.  But watch out for the tree.  Heaven is our goal, but the devil is trying for all he’s worth to trip us up.  A tree to block the Gospel message…a tree to turn you from God.  Lots of different trees out there, but all it takes is one to change something forever.  Watch out for that tree.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

I Need a "Do Over"

I’ve read that ADHD folks like me are accident prone.  As a class of people on the whole, we’re just clumsy.  I guess because we can’t pay enough attention to walking to be able to do it without complications.  And as for me, although I don’t like to admit it, I just make a ton of mistakes.  Writing these devotionals has been enormously taxing on me, since I have a bad habit of thinking MUCH faster than I type.  And so I type things – or write them out long-hand – and end up leaving out half a dozen randomly-scattered words (you’ve probably seen some go out that way).  So I type these, let them sit and ferment for a bit, then go back and fix all the words that I’ve left out.  Because, like I said, I don’t like to admit it – but I do make mistakes.  And as if to prove my own point, in proof-reading this first, short paragraph, I’ve fixed four “left out” words.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” But I look at some of the bad things that I’ve seen happen lately.  Either by bad personal choices, or accidents that couldn’t be changed or avoided.  And families are devastated.  Sometimes people die.  Innocent people driving on their way to a family vacation get caught up in an accident that they couldn’t avoid or foresee.  And I find myself scratching my head and wondering how God is working for good in a tragedy like this.  But I’m not alone.  And I suppose our ability to find a “good” depends a great deal on our perspective (and our relation to the tragedy).  But I was reading lately, and of course it was good, old Peter.  Brash, quick-acting, think-it-through-later Peter that made me realize exactly what God means that all things work for good.  And the scene dissolves movie-style and the film becomes sepia-toned as we fade back to that night…

Jesus on trial (I know you know this one, so I’ll be brief) and three times Peter denies knowing Jesus at all.  “no, I’m not one of his disciples, I don’t even KNOW this guy!  Cursing, cursing!” (Mark 14:71)  And that’s the example I always think of when my faith falls short.  Peter walked with Jesus for a LONG time, and when push came to shove Peter denied knowing Him at all.  And, boy, that sounds pretty bad.  But what might have happened had Peter stood strong?  It might have been Peter hanging on one of those three crosses that day.  Jesus in the middle, and instead of two thieves, it was Peter and the mocking thief.  And how does that change things?  Well, there’s at least one thief that Jesus told would be with Him in Paradise that wouldn’t have.  One thief mocks Jesus, the other sees Jesus for who He is.  If Peter is on that cross, then maybe that redeemed thief never finds his salvation.  So there’s a “good” that happened.  The sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2 followed that.  Then Peter raised Dorcus from the dead, and Acts 9 says that people all throughout Joppa heard of this and believed in the Lord.  Then Peter has a vision of clean and unclean animals telling him that the gospel of Jesus Christ was for everyone – not just the Jewish Nation.   So when Cornelius the Centurion sends for Peter, he goes.  And baptizes Gentiles into Jesus Christ’s body.  I would certainly call that a “good”.  Somewhere between 64 and 68 AD (we assume), he wrote 1 and 2 Peter – which include some of my favorite Bible reading.  Including one of my favorites for those that doubt my beliefs – 2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ; no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur.”  I just love Peter.  I’m not alone, I know…but man, when I look at where I’ve been, and where I’ve changed from there…man, I just love Peter.

So Listen for the Whisper that tells you that all things work for the good of those that love God.  That doesn’t mean that only good things will happen, but that God can take anything and make something good come out of it.  My dad died of pancreatic cancer – but not before he found Life.  Saul persecuted a young church – and then died in Rome feeding that very church.  Peter stood there watching Jesus on trial and denied even knowing who he was…and then took off like a man possessed.  Bad things happen, and people make bad choices.  But don’t sell God short in His ability to use those circumstances to His glory…because in the end, it’s about His glory…it’s not about you.  My mistakes may not make me look good, but if will just get out of the way when they happen, God can use them to do great things!

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Most everybody knows of the Rocky movies.  Sylvester Stallone plays an unheralded boxer that finally gets his shot at the champion.  By the fourth movie, they’ve become somewhat of a self-parody.  Somewhere between winning the Oscar and becoming an unintentional cliché, it lost something…with only some witty Mr. T trash talking to make Rocky 3 worth watching – yeah, Hulk Hogan was in that one.  The whole cold war parallel in Rocky 4 wasn’t even really believable.  I mean, c’mon, Ivan Drago?  But I digress.  My point is that at the end of the fourth movie, Rocky has beaten the big, bad Russian boxer…avenged the death of his good friend Apollo Creed…and the Russians are even chanting his name.  Rocky grabs the microphone and instead of “Yo, Adrienne, I did it!” we get a cheesy message of change.  “I guess what I’m trying to say is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!”  You almost expect him to yell, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”  Except that it’s not even that inspiring…personally, I blame it on poor writing.  Sorry, I’m digressing again (speaking of poor writing).  I’m not doing movie reviews here, I’m doing devotionals.

But there’s a truth in that corny speech.  If Rocky can change, and the Russian audience can change, then everybody can change.  I mean the Grinch changed when his heart grew however many sizes that day, and even Donkey Kong went from being the meanie that chucked barrels at Mario (back when he was just “Jumpman”) to being a pop-culture icon and beloved Nintendo character.  So why is it that in our minds, other people can never change?  I’m a better person than I was in high school.  I like to think that I’m a better person than I was just a year ago.  So why is it that when I see some people, that “something I have against them” is the first thing I think of?  Why is it that I’m the only one allowed to change?  Why is it that I assume that a person that made a comment 10 years ago is still the same rude person?  Why is it that I assume that a person that has made one mistake that nearly cost them everything won’t change because of that mistake?  I mean, I’m not talking about X-Men mutation-type changes with wings or mind-powers here…just a simple little change in behavior.  So why is it that I think that I can change and become a better person, but those other people will always be the sorry so-and-so people that they always were?  Granted, some always will be, but everybody can change….even if we think they can’t.   

That’s was Jonah’s thinking, by the way.  You ask most people what they remember about Jonah, and they’ll tell you about some sailors and a boat and a fish and the millionaire and his wife…the movie star – oh wait, wrong story.  But, seriously, the story of Jonah isn’t about a fish and running away.  Well, it IS but the larger point of Jonah is his selfish thinking that God should only love him and HIS people.  Those Ninevites? Those Ninevians?  Let’s just call them “those folks in Nineveh” could never change according to Jonah’s thinking.  And when they did, he got mad because God dared to share His love with them. 

And there’s the parallel in Jonah and me.  Jonah tried to run.  Jonah thought that he shouldn’t have to go and didn’t want to go.  Then Jonah learned that God’s Will would be done…and Jonah changed, and submitted his will to God’s Will.  You know, like we do when we work towards growing the seven fruits of the spirit in our lives.  And we’re trying to be Holy, and live righteous lives.  But deep in our hearts (just like Jonah), we think those other people can’t change…they just can’t!  Or simply WON’T…Because they’re just bad people.  And they’ve done this and this and this and that and this other, so they can’t change!  And while saying that I’m changing myself, I’m still judging others as incapable of change…or incapable of being changed by God.  Wow – there’s a statement!  Because when we shortchange others of their ability to become better people, we’re insulting the power and the love of God to work in their lives (like I say He’s working in mine) to make them better people (like I say He’s making me). 

Listen for the Whisper that sounds like Rocky shouting into a microphone in a Russian arena.  If Peter can change after denying Jesus three times, and Paul can change after persecuting and killing Christians, and you can change from whatever you were when Jesus blinded you on your own personal road to Damascus…then everybody can change.  Jonah’s not about a fish.  Jonah’s about arrogant and prideful Christians.  You know how you were when God changed you, and I know how I was when God changed me, so why do we act like God can’t change other people that same way? 

Or even worse still, have we not shared the Gospel with certain people, because we’ve decided that they’d never change?  I have – and I was wrong to do it.  But then again, that was back before I’d really changed…and I wonder how many of those opportunities are lost to never be found again?  And will I be held accountable for those lost chances?  Will there be a timeline at the Pearly Gates showing my “born on date” when I was baptized and assumed the responsibility of living for Christ – but didn’t really?  Will St. Peter being standing next to one of those “mall maps” with a pointer pointing to a mark on a timeline saying “you were here”?  But, see, I was still holding onto that part of the world that I didn’t want to let go of…and so when those certain people merged into my life for that brief time before going their separate paths in life, I was in no position to share anything with them except a couple of dirty jokes.  And then will there be a point years down the timeline…a “you finally got it, you lunk head” spot on the timeline with a long list of names of lost people as arrows point to certain times along the timeline between those two points?  I certainly hope not, and by grace a multitude of sins will be covered.  And I hope that those people were able to find Jesus themselves…found a way to a door that I should have opened but never did.  “oh, they won’t be interested in what’s back there behind this door…so why bother even showing it to them, much less opening the door?” 

So yeah, Listen for the Whisper that says Everybody can change.  It’ll be the whisper that’s also telling you to quit judging people as being worth the gospel or not…and then telling you to quit wasting your chances to share it with them.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

I Ain't Got Time To Feed

Predator. Just the mention of the name of that Arnold Schwarzenegger 1980’s classic Action movie brings up images of over-sized (and over-oiled) muscles and brings to mind extremely cheesy one-liners. One of the most memorable, of course, being the former-wrestler-but-yet-to-be-governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura’s character’s response when "Poncho" tells him "you’re bleeding, man. You’re hit!" Blain drops the deadpan "I ain’t got time to bleed" line on him because he’s the toughest, coolest man on the planet. And at the time, most of us thought he was…been shot, and his response is "I ain’t got time to bleed." Well, up until he died, but then we found out that Arnie’s character was the toughest thing on the planet when he finally beat the predator.

Man, that was a long way to go to work in a "I ain’t got time to bleed" set up into a devotional, but there it is. So keep that reference and jump back in time to John 21 where Jesus and Peter are on the seashore after the resurrection. Jesus says to Peter "If you love me, feed my sheep." But what if Peter said, "I ain’t got time to feed"? Yeah I know, that was an even longer way to go for a cheesy pay-off, but work with me here. What if Peter had decided that there were plenty of other guys that had followed Jesus around…and they were all capable of spreading the Gospel to the world. I mean, after all, who was Peter to go around telling anyone about Jesus anyway? This is the guy that’s just on the heels of denying that he even knew Jesus. What kind of credibility would he have? "Hey, everyone! Jesus is God’s Son, and forgives sins, and offers grace and love to the world! Accept Him as your savior today! Come and be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and you shall have forgiveness of sins!" Ummm, aren’t you the dude that just denied that you knew Him three times that night at the trial? "errr, yeah, that was me." So why is it that Jesus is so great again…so great and powerful that you denied even knowing Him? "Well, it’s a little tricky, you see…" Because after following Jesus around for three years – EVEN WALKING ON WATER – Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was on the night of the trial. That might give him some critics when he goes out preaching.

So given that all that had happened, and that conversation I just made up was a real possibility, what if Peter had said, "look, Jesus, I appreciate the vote of confidence and all, but really…I have these other plans, and that guy over there – your boy, John – he’s a good guy, and he can tell everyone about you just like you want me to. And I have these other plans now…And I plan to help in my local church and be real involved there, and I’ll be a really good Christian example, but I don’t want to encroach on other people and their time to teach them about you…I just ain’t got time to feed."

"If you love me, feed my sheep." It’s not a suggestion. It wasn’t a suggestion when Jesus said it to Peter…it wasn’t a "Peter, if it’s not too much trouble, would you mind mentioning my name a couple of times in conversation? Maybe mention ‘I was talking to a guy at church…’ so people know you go to church, and maybe act like a Christian sometimes?" Nope – none of that at all. Not even a "Peter, don’t get in the way while those other guys spread the gospel." Nope. It was plain and simple: "If you love me, feed my sheep." You. Not someone else. Not a billboard pointing them to some verses or some church who can feed them. You. Feed my sheep. So why are we so timid? Why are we so insistent that someone else is better suited to share Jesus with other people? Why is it that when we’re the only believer in a circle of 5 or 6 friends, that we waste the chance to share Jesus with them? You’re there! Don’t let them wander off! Feed the Sheep! If you call yourself a Christian, your FIRST responsibility is what? Love Jesus. And what will do if you love Jesus? "If you love me, feed my sheep." So feed the Sheep! Don’t pass the buck to someone else or just ignore the fact that you’re supposed to do it.

When Jesus most needed a friend, and even after He called Peter’s denial shot before it happened, Peter denied Him anyway. But when all was said and done, what did Jesus tell Peter? "If you love me, feed my sheep." And what did Peter do? He fed the sheep. We see several instances in Acts of the apostles being told to shut up and quit feeding the sheep the bread of life. In Acts 4 Peter and John are threatened by the Sanhedrin that if they don’t stop, they going to get it. Then again in Acts 5 "if you don’t quit, you’re going to get it!" Acts 7? They stoned Stephen. Oh, and in Chapter 12? They killed James (the brother of John). I think they were getting serious about the whole "quit telling people about Jesus" threat. And so the apostles quit, right? Nope. Spread out and preached the gospel to even more people. And when it was all said and done, the threats of "shut up or you’ll get it" turned out to be very true. In 2 Corinthians, Paul says that he received 39 lashes 5 times – we don’t know the final tally before he was finally killed in Rome.

Jesus said, "If you love me, feed my sheep." The Pharisees and Sadducees said "shut up or else". Church tradition says that Matthew was killed as a martyr by the sword in Ethiopia. And that they hanged Luke in Greece. Bartholomew was whipped to death. Paul’s missionary buddy, Barnabus? Stoned to death. Matthias that replaced Judas Iscariot? Stoned and beheaded. Mark was dragged to death by horses in Egypt. Peter was crucified upside down. The only one that died a natural death it seems, was John. Turns out that the "or else" was a VERY real threat. "If you love me, feed my sheep." The apostles said, "Go ahead and kill me if you want. I love Him, so I’m going to feed the sheep."

Listen for the Whisper that tells you that if you have Jesus and you have a Bible, you have all you need. We’re lucky in America. Nobody is holding a sword or a stone telling us "shut up or else". There’s certainly a segment that’s telling Christians to shut up, and in some circles, you might be a social outcast if people start thinking you’re a "Jesus Freak" – but somewhere I can hear Peter saying, "I wish people talking about me was the only thing I had to worry about." So if you have a chance to feed the sheep, why are propping your feet up and waiting on someone else to do it? Or expecting Jesus to just rain down on them like manna just by accident? John 3:16 says God loved you so much that Jesus was sent to die for you. And what did Jesus say after being beaten and then hung on a cross and crucified for you? "If you love me, feed my sheep."

So why aren’t you feeding the sheep?

~Dwayne
ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net
http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

Catch You On The Flip Side!

The band Creed in their song “Higher” describe a recurring dream where everything is perfect…blind men see,  golden streets…sounds a lot like Heaven.  The struggle is to stay in the dream because life is so much worse than the dream, but then again, the problems of the world make it possible to appreciate those dreams that much more.  “But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights if I could make the Earth and my dreams the same.  The only difference is to let love replace all our hate.”

Then the country duo Big & Rich said in their song “Eternity” “Just can’t let this old world get us down.  There's too much beauty in this life.  It should be so perfect we shouldn't know we've made it to the other side…When we make it to the other side.”

In Matthew 6 Jesus is giving instructions on prayer.  Don’t be all self-righteous and hoity-toity about it.  If you’re going on and on just to impress the people hearing you – well guess what…they’ve heard you, and you just got your reward.  That’s what you were seeking, and congratulations, you found it – people heard you and your fancy words.  But when you pray, do it so that it’s between you and God and know that He knows what you want before you ask.  And then He gives the example prayer commonly referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13.  And in verse 10 He says, “Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”  Man!  What a goal!  And of all the things that we ask for, why shouldn’t that be request number 1?

“if I could make the Earth and my dreams the same” “It should be so perfect, we shouldn’t know we’ve made to the other side…when we make it to the other side.”

Call this one an Attention Deficit devotional – because it doesn’t take a long time to get to the point.  And there’s only one question to answer on the review quiz.

Listen for the Whisper that’s asking you, “What are you doing to make this world more like Heaven?”  And a bonus question for those that like extra credit: “If the answer is ‘nothing’, then why aren’t you doing anything?”

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me!

“You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”  It’s one of those universal truisms that everyone knows.  Everyone knows the line, and everyone knows what it means.  It’s actually an idiom (your $3 word for the day), and like most recipes, some people substitute sugar for the honey, but the point is the same.  It’s the same concept as in the old Aesop fable about the bet between the North Wind and the Sun.  The quick version of the story is this:

The North Wind and the Sun are talking about strength.  The Sun says that gentleness is more powerful than shear strength.  So the Sun proposes a contest.  There’s a man walking below on a winding mountain road.  The Sun says, “see that man there, whichever of us can get his coat off of him is the winner.”  So the North Wind says, “I can blow his coat off of him!” So the cold North Wind blew and blew.  He blew the leaves off of the trees, birds off of their nests, and blew up so much dust that the man could hardly see where he was walking.  But the harder the North Wind blew, the tighter the man drew his coat around him.  And so the Sun took his turn.  He slowly came out from behind a cloud, and began warming the afternoon air.  The man let go of the tight grip he’d had on his coat.  The sun started shining a little brighter and soon the afternoon became very warm, and the man sat down under a tree to rest and took off his coat and sat it on the ground beside him.

So now you’re thinking “yeah, that’s great, but what does this have to do with a church devotional?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.  When Jesus called people to Him, how did He do it?  Did he stand there wagging his finger in their faces listing sin after sin after sin that they were committing, and then telling them that the only way to get right it through Him?  Nope.  He showed the love and forgiveness that only He had to offer and people ran to Him in flocks.  He didn’t beat them over the head with their mistakes and insult them for just not getting it.  He didn’t yell and accuse and blow the leaves off the trees and the birds off of the branches expecting them to give up sin and turn to holiness.  He showed them what holiness looked like.  He showed them what Godly love looked like, and they willingly walked away from their sin and chose to walk to Him.

Listen for the Whisper that asks you that if Jesus handled it that way, why shouldn’t we?  Because there was one group of people that Jesus got sideways with.  There was certainly one group of people that He had no trouble at all calling hypocrites, and vipers, and ohh…what was that phrase…oh yeah!  “Sons of Hell” (Matthew 23:15).  And who was that?  Oh, just the self-righteous Pharisees and Jewish teachers that thought that they had it allll figured out.  And ran around pointing fingers, accusing and patting themselves on the back for knowing God and all about what He wanted.  They acted like they were better than everyone else and instead of offering the sweetness of Jesus and the love He had for them, they offered condemnation and a “holier than thou” attitude to anyone to anyone close enough to hear.

Which group are you in?  Are one of the ones that shows how great Jesus is if you get to know Him.  Let the “Son shine” so they take off their own coats.  Or are you a North Wind “blow hard” that points out all of the sin in someone else’s life, telling them just how wrong they are in everything they do, and then expect them to simply look at you and say, “wow, you’re right!”  As for me, I’m pretty sure I’m no position to act like I’m holier than anyone…”for all have sinned and fallen short” – and like The Animals said in “House of the Rising Sun” – “and, God, I know I’m one!”  Show them Jesus, and they’ll come running to Him all on their own.  They always have.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

What Does This Button Do?

We went to Red Lobster a while back…for the seafood lover in me, I guess.  As usual, there was a wait to be seated.  This wait wasn’t as bad as the usual wait, though.  It was only “25-30 minutes” according to the lady at the desk.  And as a quick side note, I’m thoroughly convinced that smartphones were created by people standing there staring at a lobster tank for an hour while they waited on a table.  But we were handed our buzzer, pager, your-table-is-ready-inator, whatever you want to call it and began our wait.  First we stood by the lobster tank, then talked about the different colored rubber bands – if there was a significance, then told Cameron to NOT stick his nose in the water (“I wasn’t, I just looking down in the water to see better”) but since he’s MY kid I thought it better to throw out the “don’t do it” first, and ask questions later.  And finally a bench opened over by the hostess station.  So we scurried over to sit out the rest of our wait while we “people watched”. 

After a bit, this one family walked in and had a couple of little girls with them.  Looked like a normal family that likely would have been to this restaurant (or others like it) before.  But after the hostess handed the woman the “your-table-is-ready-inator”, the kids became fascinated!  “Mom, what is THAT thing?!”  “Why is it blinking?”  “What is it for?”  “Will it blink and buzz when our table is ready?”  And I thought those were some of the most absurd questions.  I mean these kids were probably 8 and 10 years old, and MY kid is 10 years old and he knows what the thing is, so how could they not?  I mean we had played with it like it was a taser and everything else…we just took it from the hostess matter-of-factly and started the waiting procedure.  But then here came this regular family and the kids acted like it was some amazing new thing.  I thought the questions they asked were almost unbelievable.

And I do the same thing with fellow Christians.  I’ve been doing a lot of reading and studying lately, and in doing my studying I’ve googled a lot of questions looking for answers to some really tough Bible questions.  But search engines hit on key words, and when I search for answer to some pretty hefty questions (for devotional purposes, you don’t really need to know my questions) I get some strange search results.  And some of the questions make me shake my head and wonder how just how stupid some of these people are.  But they’re not necessarily stupid.  Just ignorant.  And smart enough to know that they don’t know.  And unashamed enough of their questions to ask it.  I mean literally, here are some examples of the questions that I read people asking: “Is the parable of the talents just a parable showing that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?”  “Why is God going to judge us and hold us accountable for Adam’s sin?”  “Does the Bible say the Earth is flat?”

And while these questions made me chuckle when I read them, I have to understand that I’m reading them as someone who is pushing 40 and has read the Bible (or had it read to me) since I was VERY young.  And there was a time that I’m sure I asked questions that some viewed equally as ridiculous.  And to include one specifically:  “Has Satan actually been thrown out of Heaven yet?”  Seems like an insane question, but it’s one that as I read a few verses, I began to wonder.  Of course, when you put it all together, it’s a little laughable to look back and think that I even wondered the question.  But when Revelation 12:10 says that Satan accuses us before God day and night has been hurled down – and you look at Revelation as future – then certain questions come up.  But I read some more, did some asking around for opinion and, like I said, looking back it seems more than laughable.

But studying leads to questions.  And it doesn’t matter how far along the path we are, we need to be studying and searching for answers.  When we hear a brother or sister in Christ asking questions, then we need to be willing to answer them.  And even more so if we’re talking to a non-believer.  If they’re asking if this-and-such is a sin, then we need to answer the question.  No laughing.  No ridicule.  Just a simple answer.  And with references…don’t just answer them “yes, the Bible says so”.  The Bible doesn’t actually say a lot of the things that people think it says or want it to say.

But I was laughing at a lot more of these questions than I realized I was.  “Can you BELIEVE that these people are asking these ridiculous questions?!”  “Have you even READ the Bible?!”  Right up until I saw that family at Red Lobster, and it dawned on me that what is blatantly obvious to me might not be to someone else.  And yeah, they might very well have read the Bible.  But it’s a big book.  And it’s a DEEP book.  And if you’re a new Christian trying to get to know who God is and what it means to be Holy and all you have is a small, green Gideon’s Bible that was given to you at a college campus – well then, they might not be able to find the answers to some of these questions so easily.  And like everything else in Christianity, it’s about treating others with the love that Jesus had for them.

You want an example of the right way to handle something you think is a question too stupid to have been asked, let’s take a look at how Jesus handled it.  Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8 are all parables where the disciples came to Jesus scratching their heads and asking “uhhhh…whaaat”.  But not once did Jesus laugh at them, or slap his forehead “what a bunch of maroons” (to borrow a Bugs Bunny line)…not once.  What he did was take the time to explain it to them.  He spoke in parables – according to His own words – so that the ones hearing would not understand.  How did the disciples understand?  They went to Him and asked.  And He likely would have explained it to the members of His audience had they just asked.

Why didn’t they?  I don’t know.  Why didn’t I?  Thought it was a dumb question, maybe.  Scared that I’d look stupid for asking the question, maybe.  Embarrassed that the answer might be so simple that I’d look even more stupid for asking it.  Or maybe it’s something I thought I should already know if I’d been paying attention, and I don’t want to look like I wasn’t.  There a millions answers for why a single question goes unasked.

But Listen for the Whisper that tells you to embrace the opportunity to answer a question from someone searching for Biblical Truth.  And if you have to tell them, “I’m not sure, let me get back to you” then tell them that, and then get back to them.  But always be ready to answer Bible questions.  And like Andrea always tells me when I’m yelling “Come on!  That’s an EASY question!” at the TV, “It’s only easy if you know the answer.”  So the Bible question that you laugh at may only be easy because you know the answer.  And in that case, you should share it gladly…and with compassion and joy because some Christian cared enough to ask it.  Because in the asking, they are showing a willingness to learn.  And we’re all supposed to be teachers anyway, so take the chance to teach every chance you get.  And remember to watch for the clues that God is giving you.  I literally had laughed out loud when I read some of the questions that I saw people asking.  And then I saw that little girl with the Red Lobster buzzer asking “what does this do”, and just like that I realized that instead of laughing at questions that I thought were dumb and moving on to find answers to my own questions, that maybe I need to take the time to answer a question or two.  And answer it with kindness.  The same way Jesus answered the questions of His disciples when they asked the questions to Him.

~Dwayne

ListenForTheWhisper@comcast.net

http://listenforthewhisper.blogspot.com

What's It To Ya, Buddy?

Back in the “We Were Soldiers” series (the fourth one to be specific), I was making the point that at some point we have to deal with things and move on.  As an example, I mentioned a guy in my office.  Here, let me go get it and stick right in here for reference…I’ll be sure to note it in my bibliography so that I’ve given myself full credit and won’t sue myself later for plagiarizing myself.  I’m the sort of guy that would do that, by the way, if I added bibliographies…reference myself.  And probably think it was funny.  But anyway, the referenced paragraph is:

But how long do we stand there complaining about what got us here instead of just dealing with it and moving forward?  To point some generic fingers, there’s a guy in my office that will call me over to see something quirky with how our program is behaving.  “See, when I do this, it does this…and when I do that, it does that.  Have you ever seen it do that?”  Well, no – but apparently this one is doing it, so I suggest not doing that.  “Well that’s just weird!  When I do this, it does this…and when I do that, it does that.”  And instead of just grabbing the bull by his proverbial horns and just avoiding the “when I do that it does that” scenario, he’ll go back and forth between the two probably a dozen times just griping that it happens every time it happens.

And I recently had a moment of self-reflection and confession.  I’m not that guy…but I’m that guy.  When I originally wrote that paragraph, I was talking about someone else using our computer program.  But as I recently went on yet another “this guy is so lazy” rant about another particular guy in my department, I realized that I am that guy.  Glass houses, throwing stones.  Pots and Kettles.  Irony.  Hypocrisy.  Whatever you want to call it.  I had that out-of-body experience where I looked back at myself realized that as I was sitting there typing devotionals about a guy using a program and NOT getting over it and moving on with it, I’m doing the same thing about a lazy coworker.  He’s lazy, Dwayne!  Deal with it and move on!

And that’s not to say that he doesn’t still aggravate me.  It’s that quintessential, stereotypical “lazy coworker” that we all know…unless you ARE the “lazy coworker”.  You poke, you prod, you flat-out call him out, and yet he still stands there like a cow slowly chewing his cud with no intention of ever picking up the pace regardless of all you’ve tried.  And I sat right here at the office one day and wrote that paragraph above without ever realizing that I’m doing the exact same thing.  And it’s really easy to say “Get over it!  Move on!” like I said about the guy and the program, but that doesn’t make it easy to do.  Because without fail whenever he’s sitting back with his feet kicked up letting us others drag him along, I go into my same old rant.  But for whatever reason (I lean toward the Holy Spirit) one day I had that realization.  Then I had a couple of verses come to mind.

First was Colossions 3,  ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  And along those same lines, Philippians 2, ¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life.  And while it may seem like a stretch to look at a lazy coworker through the eyes of “working for the Lord” and “Do everything without grumbling”, it’s not such a stretch when I realize that most of my failings of the tongue…the UN-Christian words from my mouth…lack of ”gum control”, if you will, happen to come when I’m the middle of one of those tired, old rants. 

Am I one of the laborers that got there early?  “Hey, C’Mon, Jesus!  I’ve been doing alllll of this work, and this guy just worked one hour!”  And, yeah, I know that’s about salvation and people that are saved first and later and whatnot – but doesn’t the Bible have truths that can be applied on multiple levels?  And if I’m working as though I’m working for God, and not necessarily working for my company, might I be a little more patient when things come up that normally ruffle my feathers.  And to be honest, they ruffle a lot more easily these days than they used to.  And if instead of showing up at the office and doing my job for “THE MAN”, I acted like Colossians 3 tells me to and worked at it with all my heart, as working for the Lord, perhaps, just perhaps, I wouldn’t be so quick-tempered.

And the skeptics among you…and those with “lazy coworkers” of your own to deal with are saying, “well, yeah, that’s all fine and good…but why isn’t THAT guy acting like he’s working for the Lord?!  Huh, Smart Guy?  Riddle me THAT, Batman!”  And to those of you that think that way and to myself because that’s how I’ve looked at it for a long time, I’d ask you to pause a minute and listen to the other verse that came to mind.

Listen for the Whisper of John 21.  The Whisper of John 21:21 when Peter asks a resurrected Jesus, “What about HIM?” and then the Whisper of John 21:22 when Jesus essentially asks Peter right back, “what about him?”…His exact words, “What is that to you?”  And there’s the reference for the devotional title.  What Jesus has asked of you, He has asked personally of you.  Paul had a thorn in his side and prayed for it to be removed.  God said, “no, my Grace is sufficient”.  My thorn is my temper.  My thorn is my lack of patience.  And when it comes to lazy people not pulling their fair share of the weight, I lose both very quickly.  Who am I to say that God hasn’t directly planted these trials in my path.  “Here’s this.  How do you handle it?”  Not like the Christian I’m supposed to be should handle it, that’s how…more like Buford T. Justice.

Is that to say that we should just accept lazy people and let them ride coattails while others do all the work?  Absolutely not.  The Bible says much about laziness, but that’s not where I’m pointing the accusatory finger today…today I’m pointing it at me.  Because it also says much about how I’m supposed to treat other people.  And instead of firing off hot-headed emails, or calling them on the phone and jumping down their throats, perhaps we should take a deep breath and approach them Christian to Christian and bring the Word to help you.  And ask the Spirit to guide your tongue, instead of letting it waggle freely to say whatever it wants.  And if they don’t respond to that?  “What is that to you?”  Do I have a license to be hateful?  No.  Do I have the right to treat him as though I never knew Jesus?  No.  My issues are my temper, my patience, and my tongue.  And I struggle and fail those tests regularly.  So who am I to judge someone who regularly fails the tests of sloth and laziness?  Are their short-comings worse than mine?  No.  And lastly is it fair that they get away with doing so little?  Again, it’s an obvious and resounding NO.  But was Daniel treated fairly?  Was Paul being beaten repeatedly fair?  Was Samson’s death fair?  Was Peter supposedly crucified upside-down fair?  Was Stephen’s stoning fair?  Was Isaac on Abraham’s altar fair?  Was Uzzah’s death after catching the Ark fair?  Was John the Baptist’s beheading fair?  Was the death of every first-born in Egypt – and that includes the Egyptian families that had NOTHING to do with Pharaoh’s hard heart – was the death of their children fair?  Was Saul’s hatred of David fair?  Was Jesus’ crucifixion fair?  No.  None of those were what we’d call “fair”.

So why do we treat “unfair” as permission to forget we’re Christians.  Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  Nothing there about “except when we think things aren’t fair.”

~Dwayne

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