Perfection is overrated

We have perfected the banana.

Now it is facing extinction.

Big Mike was the preferred banana until the early 1960s when it was all but wiped out by a fungus called Panama disease, a relative of the Dutch Elm disease.

In lue of going without bananas, the industry switched to the Cavendish banana.

Wherever you go in the world, the Cavendish banana looks the same.  It has been perfected.  But a new version of the Panama disease is now threatening the Cavendish crops.  Soon, we may have to face eating our average of 26.2 pounds of bananas per year from a different species of banana.

Perfection is overrated.  We thought we’d fixed the banana problem, and here it goes again.  Life seems to be that way as well.

Every time we find that we have managed to determine that:

• We are not in control
• God is in control
• We ask Him to fix things instead of trying to do it ourselves

Every time we find we are able to forgive ourselves and accept forgiveness, forgive others, and forgive God,  life changes.  A new situation, a new blight hits us in the face.

So if we aren’t trying to be perfect, what is it all about?

It’s about the Journey.

Paul, talked about this journey to the Philippians:  (I am) confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Have you ever felt like there was “rot” in your life, things that you just couldn’t overcome?

Some days it seems that just as you get one Panama Disease destroyed another one crops up.

You have a Creator who loves you.  He knows you down to your molecules, and He loves you.

More than that, He has a purpose for you.  Not a purpose like a cog in a wheel, but a purpose that will fit exactly with your personality, limitations and abilities.  Nothing about you surprises God, yet He has a purpose for your life.

Your purpose isn’t to be perfect.  He is the one who does the perfecting.  We just let Him do it.

We are powerless, God is Powerful, We let Him do it.

Desperately in need of structure

Today I wrote an article about the free wifi spots in Seattle.

It got me to thinking about my own journey through these months of unemployment.

I am bad at adding structure to my own life.

In years past, I was careful to add the just-right-structure for each of my children.  I’m even pretty good at helping others create structure for themselves.

However, when I found myself without a daily to-do list, I discovered whole days that disappeared without accomplishment.   One of my biggest obstacles has been that I don’t have a list of ‘expectations’.  Some people are internally driven.  I always thought I was.  Apparently, I’m not…or at least I have to work at it.

How can you get help when you feel completely isolated?

I think Solomon was contemplating just this reality when he was writing Eccelsiastes 4.  Read verses 9-12:

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

¹⁰ If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken

I am so grateful to be in relationship with some fantastic people.

Finally, I admitted my incredible lack to one of my more accomplished friends.  I asked her if she would help me add some structure to my life.  She gave me a task.  It was a small task, but it was what I needed to be off and running.  God used her to open up my “structure” brain pathways for this new part of my life.  Now, I have daily and weekly goals.  I work until I meet them.  A cord of three indeed.

Pastoral Leadership

So we’ve all heard of the five-fold ministry of the church via Rick Warren.  Lately I’ve been considering five-fold leadership, as in Ephesians 4:11-13:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Today I read this article that added to my conversation:

Are we asking our leaders to be and do too much? by Sam Radford.

The other day, I also read this article by Alan Hirsch:  http://is.gd/q1XN

I’ve known several churches who have changed their ministry style to coorelate to the five-fold ministry to the church.  Did God give us less evangelists and apostles?  Or do we just not use them well, so they have funneled themselves into being pastors?

I’m not actually calling for change.  I know I’ve kind of shied away from people who called themselves apostles, prophets and evangelists.  Quite frankly, it meant to me that they didn’t fit in my paradigm very well, and weren’t interested in fitting.  They were usually kind of scary, and often didn’t really seem to hear from God as much as they liked to hear their own voice. (Wow that sounds harsh when you put it that way, but that is blunt honesty for you.)

I’ve known a few great evangelists though.  These you can tell from the signs following.  I think that God has given us real prophets, apostles and evangelists, but they don’t have good mentors, they don’t know how to develop their giftings, and there is no viable place given for them in the church – we don’t know what to do with them – therefore they don’t know what to do with themselves; and they become pastors…or maybe deacons.

So, I’m working on our paradigm.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our paradigm isn’t working so well.  We are not teaching people to hear God’s voice, we are teaching them to conform to a standard of society – our society.  I want to figure out what paradigm I need to help people actually hear God’s voice and respond to it.  Hearing God’s voice will transform their lives.  More than teaching them how to live, I want to teach them how to hear.

If you talk to the older saints, they will tell you that you learn to hear God by “tarrying at the altar.”

Robert Jeffress has the same cry on his heart.  He doesn’t come from my theological background, but his heart cry is the same – he seeks to see people’s lives transformed not through changed structure, but changed hearts.  To this form, he wrote the book Clutter Free Christianity.  I’ve been reading it this week.  I have a free copy to give away – just email me at the link in “about me” on my blog, or you can buy it here: at the publisher’s site.

I learned to hear God’s voice first by listening and stepping out in faith on what I heard.  Later, after I was baptised in the Holy Spirit, it became easier, but the basics were still the same: listen, walk in faith (or obey), wait for confirmation.

In a world that is screaming with words, we have silenced those in the church that can most help us change our paradigm and, at the same time, we need to teach people how to truly listen and hear God’s voice.

Balance

I taught the other night at NU on balance of home and ministry.  Here’s the bottom line:

Our natural tendency when thinking about balance is to think that we need to find time to ‘balance’ our spiritual life along with everything else.  The truth of the matter is that as long as we are doing the balancing, our life is out of balance.  We need our relationship with God to be so tight that He is doing the balancing for us.

Since then, I’ve had a followup thought:

For many years I’ve seen women who have perfect lives – well, maybe not perfect lives, but their homes are orderly and beautiful, their kids are polite and well dressed…you get the picture.  No matter how great my life was, to me, their lives were better.  Especially when my kids were the ones jumping off the stage in the middle of the performances -  and my kitchen…well let’s not go there (okay, it’s not that bad, it reaches clean once a day or so.)

My point is, their lives aren’t mine.  My life is bold and messy – and every time I focus on their lives instead of mine, I get out of balance. Why?  Because I try to balance my life to look like theirs.  My life isn’t supposed to look like theirs. It is supposed to look like mine.  (Although I have to tell you that I’ve learned quite a few things from my more orderly friends.)

Audacious leaders do audacious things and live audacious lives – my kids live in a bold and messy world – that is balanced by God so that it works.  When it isn’t working, we go to Him and ask for His fix.  I’ve discovered that when I try to fix it myself, I mess things up…again.

God uses every personality, every gifting – together in a concert of praise.  To our ears, I think it sounds like a cacophony of noise, but God hears the overtones.  He uses the bold and the timid together.  He uses the fastidious and the perpetually messy together.  This is why we don’t try to balance our lives on our own.  We need the Balancer of the Universe to do it for us.  We may put the tools in our belt, but when it comes right down to it, He controls time, our health, our energy, and the interruptions are His ministry opportunities.

I need God fixes for this God-inspired life I’m living. Don’t you?

More Wisdom from Tots

So, working with 2 year olds has caused me to remember my early childhood mantras that I developed with my own children.

This week, I heard pop out of my mouth, without thinking “we need to change our wanter (pronounced “want-er”), don’t we.”  Wow.

I hadn’t thought about my “wanter” in a long time.  What happens when our wanter is out of control?  I know we get real unhappy.  Usually we also gain

• unhealthy activities,
• unhealthy attitudes,
• and unhealthy appendages (pounds for example)

What do we do to unload ourselves of a wanter that has the upper hand?

2 Corinthians 10:5-6 is helpful in many circumstances, and this is one:

“We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.” (The Message)

In other words, it is back to the basics – know Christ, know his Word.

Midnight

I read an article in the Wall Street Journal today that listed everything wrong in the world today, well, not all of it.

Before that, I read that a huge group of gas stations in Nevada that has gaming devices in each station was being foreclosed on.  The federal government was a bit concerned about going into the gaming business, so they decided to sell the loan.  The family that owned the gas station company bought the loan for 50% of it’s original value, thereby cutting their debt in half.

Someone in Florida is naming a ball park after Alex Rodriguez.  Grrr.

In Acts 16, we find Paul and Silas in Philippi.  They are doing their best to teach and build the church.  A young girl starts following them around shouting “These men are servants from the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

• They were getting acclaim in the local “press”.
• Someone, finally, was listening to them.
• It all felt wrong.
• Her words were very similar to that of a demonized man who spoke to Jesus in Mark 5:7
• Getting acclaim for serving God isn’t usually the norm.
• Having God called the Most High God by non-Christians is highly suspect.

Finally, Paul just turned to her and cast the demon out.

Now, things were back to normal, and before long, they found themselves beaten and thrown in jail.  Have you ever noticed that when things are going great, when we are getting acclaim, our temptation is to ‘lean on our own understanding’? We look to ourselves, our own resources, our thinking – the physical – for answers.  When the chips are against us, we are back to the only resource that really has power – Jesus.

I don’t know what midnight feels like to you.  Sometimes to me it is from emotional pressure, sometimes it comes from physical circumstances.  Sometimes it just comes from an insurmountable amount of negative news.

Paul and Silas experienced a midnight miracle that was not only personal, but it was transformational for those around them.  How?

They practiced praise.  Imagine with me:

“Paul, you awake?”

“Yeah… umph.” Paul groaned and he switched positions. “Boy they did me good this time.  How about you?”

“I’ll make it.  I was just thinking about the night sky and all those stars.  How many of them there are.  When they were beating me, I felt so…”

“Little?  Yeah – there might only be five of them, but there seems to be 10 or more standing around jeering – then the crowd.  You feel like you are an ant by the time they are done.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.”  Silas shifted, pushing himself up against the wall the held him captive.  “What I was thinking about was that if God can hold all those stars in place, then He is bigger than anything I can imagine.”

There was silence for a moment as both men took in the image.  The slowly, Paul’s old craggly voice began “My God is so great, so strong and so mighty…”

“There’s Nothing That My God Can’t Do” Silas joined in with gusto.  The stone walls seemed to lean in a bit at first to hear the song, then as the duo increased in strength, their song began to reverberate and the walls seemed to pulse.  When they’d sung that song through a couple times, their spirits were gaining strength.

“When I get to heaven gunna walk all around…” pretty soon the other prisoners could not only hear their songs, but if you could see their faces, you would see tears streaming down their faces.  The Spirit of God inhabits the praises of His people, and in that jail, that night, the presence of God’s Spirit was palpable.  First they were warmed, then their hearts shook.  In fact, when the earth started shaking, they didn’t notice at first, because they were being shaken from the inside as well.

As the earthquake strengthened, the jail doors fell open, shackles fell off. Prisoners were set free, but they had already been freed in their hearts.  They had experienced the true presence of God.  All anyone could do was sit in awe.

Does it really bug you that the rich seem to get richer while the poor get poorer?  I challenge you to read Malachi 3:6-4:3.

Do you need a midnight miracle?  Join me in a chorus.  “My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing that my God can’t do.”

Consumer Confidence

My RSS feed says that consumer confidence has tanked – every place we turn, we hear about layoffs, rising prices, rough times.  This isn’t the first time in history that this has happened.  In fact, it happened in 2 Chronicles 32 (among many other times).

Hezekiah was king, and the king of Assyria invaded Judah.  There is a whole sermon here, but I’ll jump to the end.  The king of Assyria wanted to know “On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?” (vs. 10)

When you are under siege, no trade goes in or out.  Supplies are very limited, so there is rationing.  The end is in sight.  On top of that, the enemy stands at the walls every day, with his vast army, and yells at you about how you are doomed.  The Assyrians would take people from the area and post them on stakes to die hideous deaths in full view of those inside the walls.  The mental torture of being under siege was more than oppressive.

Yet, the people in Jerusalem were confident.  How come they were confident?

How can we be confident in our current economic circumstances?

Listen to Hezekiah’s words to the people:

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.  With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”  And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.” (32:7-8 )

Their confidence wasn’t in winning, or stockpiles, or their ability to outsmart the Assyrians or in their weapons.  Their confidence was in God’s ability to pull them through.

God has a different perspective, and He will continue to give us purpose and perspective even in the most difficult of times.   Our confidence isn’t in the markets, the economy, our savings, our jobs, our abilities or ingenuity.  Our confidence is in God Himself.  Listen to Paul:

“Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:4-5)

Giants in the Land

Are there giants in the land for you?

Tonight it occurred to me that to the 10 spies and the Israelites that followed them, the giants were very obvious obstacles.  In fact, common sense said that they needed to ‘count the cost’ of this venture, and avoid these real obstacles.  From their point of view, fortified cities and very powerful people were insurmountable problems compared to people on foot without any of the modern ‘tools’ (chariots, for one).

They wanted to run for the hills!  (Okay, they wanted to go back to Egypt, but you get the picture.)

Here’s the kicker.  Listen to what God said in response:

“The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” (Numbers 14:11-12)

God was seriously offended that they didn’t trust Him.

Are you facing obstacles?  Finances, relationships, even personal growth – sometimes we just reach that wall where we say “there are giants in the land.  I can’t go forward.  I have to find a way out.”

Has God led you? He will bring you victory.

Let’s draw a line in the sand, and choose to listen to those with faith instead:

“We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 13:30)

“The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.  If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:7-9)

We can move forward.  We can find the view of faith.  There is always a view of faith and a view of the practical.  Let’s do what Joshua and Caleb did – find the view of faith by

• looking backwards to God’s record
• looking forward to the possible
• choosing to believe

Faith trumps practical because God is working.

When the Children of Israel did go into the land, finally, they found that God gave them so many miracles and new lessons.  Going forward in faith is a walk in the miraculous.  Going back to the familiar is to live in the mundane, walking around the same mountain again and again.

I choose to look for the miraculous.  What about you?

How, Then, do we Change?

How do we change something about ourselves that needs changing?

If I have something on my face, I can wipe it off, but only if I know that it is there. I either need a mirror with which to see it, or good friends that will point it out to me. Sometimes, I can feel it myself, as it starts to dry and my face gets that dried cement feeling on it.  In all these cases, all I need to do is get a napkin or wash cloth and wipe it off.

When I have a mannerism, habit, way of thinking or approach to life that needs changing, God often uses the same process. He will either show me through some sort of ‘mirror’; He will tell me through good friends and new insights; or the thing that needs to change becomes a problem and I become aware of it.

Here in lies the problem: Mannerisms, habits, ways of thinking and approaches to life don’t wipe off as easily as jam. Paul talked about his attempt to follow the law this way:

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. (Romans 7:18-20, The Message)

How, then, do we, as broken people perfectly incapable of getting it right, fix the things that God brings to our attention?

Where we are powerless, God is powerful.  Jesus healed the blind man, the paralytic.  God raised the dead – not only through Jesus, but through Elisha, Peter, Paul, and (I’m sure) others.  If that isn’t enough, then take a look at the lives of Peter and Paul – men who were changed very quickly by the power of the Holy Spirit to be the people God needed them to be for the jobs He had for them to do.  God worked mightily in all these instances – He can do the same for whatever issue you might be facing today.  Just ask Him – stop ‘trying’ yourself, and give the Creator of the Universe the authority to do the work in you.  Rerouting brain pathways isn’t such a big thing for the One who held back waters, put the stars in place and created man from dust.

Where we are powerless, He is Powerful – let’s ask Him to do it.

Even In Our Weakness

Paul said of a conversation he had with God about his thorn in the flesh:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor. 12:9-10

Why do we delight in our weakness, hardships, difficulties?

James put it this way:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4

At this time of year, our weaknesses seem so big.  We want to make resolutions, but we see our list of failures from last year. We made a resolution five days ago, and we’ve already broken it.

I wanted to make it through the Bible last year, but only made it 3/4 of the way through.  Rather than making a huge issue over it, I’ve just changed my plan a bit.   Over Thanksgiving I gained 5 pounds then lost them.  Over Christmas I gained three.  I’ll lose them, and hopefully a lot more.

Joy is an important part of adversity, because keeping a positive attitude is the first step in overcoming obstacles.  Obstacles will either be your opportunities or they will sink you – and it starts with your attitude.  Can we trust God in all the things this new year has to offer – from world changes to our own frail humanity?

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  (Heb. 4:15-16)

Jesus is waiting to walk each step of the new year.  No matter the challenges, we will find Christ is more than able to help us, and He has sent the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us.  God is our help.  That is the secret of Paul’s words.  In our weakness, He is strong.