Why Am I Still Awake?

As you read this posting, you may wonder why I’m rambling and writing in fragments… Well, I am writing this blog at 2:11 am (EST) as I wait on my clothes to finish washing. Yeah, yeah, I know some of you are probably amazed that I even know how to wash clothes… Well, surprise, surprise, surprise (with Gomer Pyle accent)! Actually I am washing my hunting clothes as I get ready to leave for San Angelo, Texas to hunt the illusive South Texas deer! Every time I pull another pair of camouflage pants or a shirt out of the dryer, I get a little more excited… In my mind’s eye, I can already see the hunting stand, sitting on the edge of a sendero (a small road). I can hear the rooster crowing in the distance as the sun peeks up over the horizon. I can almost make out the faint silhouette of a monster buck ambling over the hill, headed straight to my stand! Oh my! I probably won’t get to sleep at all tonight! Fortunately I don’t have to drive the 20 hours it takes to get down to the hunting camp. A couple of the other guys have volunteered to drive, so I’ll sleep in the truck…
Can you imagine how profoundly our spiritual lives would be affected if we were just as excited about our walk with the Lord as I am about this hunting trip? How would our lives be changed if we were to get so fired up about our faith that we couldn’t sleep at night? What if we were to get so excited about digging thru the Bible that we couldn’t stop reading – absorbing every page like it was the new “Harry Potter” book that was just published… can you imagine the impact on our lives? What if we were so excited about worshipping with our brothers and sisters in the family of faith that we literally lined up outside the doors of the church before the service, waiting in line like we wait for a sold out concert or huge sporting event… The impact would be profound my friends. People would come to faith in Christ by the thousands. Factories, stores, local businesses, and schools would close their doors and leave signs that directed their customers to the church… The talk about what you’ll do on Friday, Saturday & Sunday wouldn’t be about going to the lake or going out to party with friends, it would be about where you’re going to worship with your friends. You say, “May! That’s crazy! Thankfully my life isn’t that boring!” But what if your walk with the Lord was that exciting?
I think it should be… I think it should be our first thought in the morning, our lingering thoughts during every part of our day, and the last thoughts that put us to sleep at night… Unfortunately that’s not the way it is with most folks…
Why has out faith become a part-time endeavor? Why do we treat our relationship with Christ like it’s a religious accessory, not the critical part of our life? Our attitude is, “Hey, I can live with it or I can live without it.” Where did we go wrong?
I used to get as excited about hunting in the mountains of Western North Carolina as I get now about hunting in South Texas. What happened to change my way of thinking? I got stuck in a rut. One man said, “A rut is a grave with both ends kicked out.” I got in a rut about hunting locally because it lost its excitement. When you get up 2 hours before day light, climb a tree in the middle of the woods in the dark and freeze your ears off without seeing as much as a scampering squirrel, you have a tendency to lose heart. You can read about all the experiences of other people, but that does little to keep you motivated when things are so dull in your own faith life.
And hasn’t that happened in a lot of our churches today? We go thru the motions… we climb up the trees of theology… we hang on the side of denominational doctrine… we read the Bible with an eye towards the future and we miss out on what God wants to do in and thru us today! As a result, we don’t get excited anymore because we’re stuck in a boring routine… And that’s a shame! That’s not what Christ intends! He is all about abundant life… I believe He is a passionate lover of your soul and His desire is that you’d have the same desire, passion, hunger, insatiable thirst for Him… The question is… Do you? Are you up at night sometimes thinking and praying about all the people you know that don’t have a relationship with Jesus? Are you so excited about gathering with your faith family that you come early, stay late, and leave charged up with an invigorated vision to change your world? If not… Why not? What happened to you passion? What is the desire and cry of your heart? Can you truly sing,
“It is the cry of my heart to follow You.
It is the cry of my heart to be close to You.
It is the cry of my heart to follow, all of the days of my life.
Teach me in Your holy ways, So I can walk in Your truth.
Teach me in Your holy ways, to be wholly devoted to You.
Open my eyes so I can see,
The wonderful things that You do.
Open my heart up more and more;
And make it wholly devoted to You.”
Is there anything we can do to change things? Yes! But it will only happen when we regain the excitement of following Christ actively. We must turn our passion around 180 degrees, focusing on what God has called us to do instead of what God has come to do for us… We’ve got to start dreaming again, about all the wonderful things Christ has invited us to join Him in doing… And then passionately pursue His heart, his calling, His holy ways. As we do, He’ll open our hearts up more and more and we’ll be changed by the power of His love for us. Are you ready for that? Pack your stuff… let’s go!

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The Game Ain't Over Yet!

I may be a bit biased, but I think my son is a great football player. Unfortunately, his team has had a rough year. Not only are they in a rebuilding year, to make matters worse, several of the players who began the season with the team are no longer playing. Some have been injured, some have been kicked off the team, and others have simply quit – walked out on the rest of the team. I was taught many years ago that a team sport is just that – a sport that involves a team. And when you commit to play as part of the team, as long as there are still games on the schedule, you play. You don’t quit. You don’t walk off the field in disgust blaming the rest of the players for your losses. Everyone shares in the victories as well as the defeats. And as long as the season is still going, there is time left to play, opportunities to outscore your opponents, and chances to win. You can cry and moan about the season later, but for now, you've got to play with all your heart and never, ever give up. If the whole season depended on you alone, there might be reason to give up. But there are more players than you… you are not alone.
I remember the day I learned that lesson. Our wrestling team had lost to our conference rivals. When we returned to the school, the football coach asked me how we did. I replied, “Well, I won, but the rest of the team lost.” He quickly put me in my place. He said, “So I guess you’re not part of the stinking team are you? What about when the team doesn’t stink? Are you a part of it then?” I got it & I felt like a complete idiot. I never wrote the team off or separated myself from them again. I became the loudest cheerleader on the team. I tried my best to get everyone to see the possibilities that lay ahead instead of the losses we left behind. We moaned and groaned at the end of the season, but as long as we had matches left to wrestle, we believed we had a chance to succeed. And none of us quit… we hung in there together. And together we completed the year with a winning record.
There’s a good life lesson in that story. Sometimes we may feel as though we’ve been beaten up for so long we can never make a come back. Maybe every thing you’ve attempted to do has turned out to be a failure. You may even feel like there is a cosmic ogre following you around waiting for a chance to knock you down. So why bother staying in the game? Why try to make a difference in the world? Why dream anymore if your dreams are always dashed… Man! That sounds gloomy... Get out the violins! You've got to keep this in mind: You are not traveling thru this life alone. You have a team if you’re a member of the faith family. There are others around you cheering you on and pulling for you to succeed. And as long as this game of life is going, you still have time to turn things around… As long as we have breath, we have opportunities ahead to trust that God will help us finish the season well. We can cry when it’s all over if we need to, but it’s not over yet. So when the problems and trials of life knock you down, get back up, dust yourself off, surround yourself with the team and stay in the game. Even if every bone in your body is screaming for you to drop out and quit, hang in there. God isn’t thru with you yet. He has a plan and purpose for your life that is not yet completed. If He were done with you, you’d already be in the heavenly locker room. But you're not there yet so the game ain't over! Whether you realize it or not, Christ is our Team Coach. And whether you realize it or not, He is actively involved in every circumstance and problem in your life, working it all together for your good and for His glory. And as long as He is involved, there is plenty of reason to hope and to stay in the game. If we could live with that philosophy, the only tears we would shed when the season of life is over would be tears of joy when we receive the victor’s crown.
Paul had that philosophy. That’s why he encouraged us all, "Therefore, dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)
I think I’ll quit crying now and get back out there on the field… The game isn’t over yet. There is still time left on the clock and a lot of plays yet to run. Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” Brothers and sisters, the game ain’t over yet. So dry your eyes and get in the game! “Put me in Coach; I’m ready to play!” Let’s go team! Let’s kick some of Satan’s teeth out! He might be a roaring lion, but after we’re thru with him, he’ll be a toothless roaring lion!

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Thoughts From The Back Of The Truck

I have just spend the last week in one of my favorite places - Nicaragua - visiting a lot of friends in the villages of Trojillo and Bethel. What an incredible time! As I sit here in the bed of a 2 1/2 ton truck with a bunch of folks who wanted to make the 3+ hour journey to Managua just to say goodbye, I am reflecting about all the wonderful blessings I have experienced this week. God has enabled Daren Pinkerton and I to get a lot of work done here this week. We conducted the first seminary classes for Montana Vista Bible Institute. Eight pastors began their education in the first class entitled, “The Pastor as a Counselor”. One of these pastors was Porfiero Gonzales, who has just planted a church - Vista de la Montana Iglesia (Mountain View Church). We had a wonderful time together during the dedication of this new church building in Trojillo. What a great experience! At least 150 men, women, youth and children gathered for a great time of praise, worship, dancing, and preaching. The service lasted 3 hours! And no one wanted to leave when it was over. They didn’t even sneak out the door when the pastor prayed the benediction at the end. The people were so excited to be together and to have their own church building in which to assemble. Before they had this building, these folks had met in each other's homes. Later they put up a “make shift” shelter which was made out of poles lashed together with grass rope and covered with palm branches. Just about ever week this shelter had to be rebuilt. Every time a strong wind blew, it would collapse. But now, they have a concrete and steel church building – the only one in the village – and they are thrilled! The construction isn’t totally completed yet, but very little has to be accomplished. In fact, all that remains to be finished is:
a. A concrete floor (currently the floor is dirt).
b. Seats or benches for seating.
c. A pulpit.
d. 2 Bathroom facilities (outhouses).

All they care about right now, however, is that they have a place big enough for everyone to gather together for corporate worship. And every time the door is open, people flood in… To them, the things left to be finished are very minor. I wonder how many of us would see them that way? Would we still come to church if the building had dirt floors? Would we line up in the rain, waiting to get into the worship center? How many of us would come if we didn’t have bathrooms or if the only facilities we had were outhouses?
We see things quite differently than the Nicaraguans. It’s amazing how spoiled we’ve become - how spoiled I've become. As I sit here, I wonder if it would take us experiencing difficulty like these people in order to really appreciate the privilege we have been given to worship and come together corporately. It’s amazing how a few trials and tribulations can change our attitudes. These people are doing okay today, but just a few years ago, they lost literally everything in Hurricane Mitch. Thru hardship and sacrifice, many of them have come to realize that the only thing in life that is sure is our faith in God and the love we have for one another. Daily they still face trials and struggles that are almost incomprehensible. A man works from daylight to dark, six days a week, for $4.00 a day, only to realize after a few years that he has contracted a terrible kidney disease and will probably die before the age of 30 years. They have no retirement, no remuneration, no insurance, no disability plan. When the disease is discovered, they are simply sent home to die. They're basically fired with no compensation. Last year when we were in Nicaragua, we met a man who had been diagnosed with the deadly kidney disease. His illness came from the chemicals he used to spray in the cane fields. One day he got rather intoxicated and threatened to kill his wife and then take his own life. He didn’t see any way out of his demise. He took a machete and tried to chop down the door of his own house to get to his family. Fortunately he didn’t hurt anyone that evening. A lot of folks there as well as many of us in North Carolina started praying his heart would be changed by thoe power of God. Well, God is still in the prayer answering business... This past week, when we celebrated the church dedication in Trojillo, who should walk out on the stage to lead worship but this man! He finally realized that what was missing was a connection with Jesus. And even though he may not be able to do anything about his sickness, he can choose how he reacts to his struggles. He found hope in Christ even though things looked hopelessness. He chose to worship God regardless of his situation.
Man! I think about the petty little things I face in life. None of my struggles are anywhere close to what this man is going thru! And yet many times I confess that I whine and respond in doubt and self-pity to the trials I face. Do you ever do that as well? We all do sometimes. But we don’t have to respond that way. We may not be able to choose the situations we face but we can choose how we respond. Look at David - He went thru a lot of tough times in life. Yet, time and time again we see him responding with praise and offerings of worship to God. He didn’t ignore his problems. He faced them and acknowledged his own feelings. But he still chose to worship God in the midst of everything. He wrote in Psalm 43:5, “Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
Maybe you're facing a difficult time today. It could be that your struggles are just as dire as this man in Nicaragua. But no matter what you’re going thru, just remember: you may not be able to do anything about your troubles, but you can choose how you react to them. Don’t allow your trials to control your life and steal your joy. Choose instead to face your struggles, acknowledge your weaknesses, and turn your focus and worship towards the Lord. You might not know what your tomorrow holds, but you can trust in the One who holds your tomorrows. The trials of this world may seem to never end; but the Bible says they will only last for a little while. It also says that the faithfulness of the Lord will endure forever.

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