Acts of God, Revisited

I am more certain than ever that God's power overwhelms Satan's aim at evil. 

EF-5 tornado, 8th on the recorded severity list, over a hundred twenty-five dead. Tragedy beyond comprehension. 

A night I'll never forget: Hauling people in the back of my pickup in wheelchairs bleeding and shivering to the hospital. Adam and I cutting the streets open to pass. Hauling a man to his children. Searching cars for victims. I did all that. Why? Because I'm a good guy like that. A "good ole boy" as it were. NO! FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, NO! 

I, if left to my own means, would have stayed at the house and watched on TV. So, why then? Why did I load up my chainsaw, go get big Adam and head into what looked and smelled like the depths of hell? Because Matt died some time back. He died and God took a selfish bulldozer and created something new. His power through the Holy Spirit enables me to work hard (16+ hours a day for the last 4 days). It's the prayers of righteous people who love the Lord and love me that fuel me on. 

Jesus loves people and wants me to do the same. I love CCC's purpose: Love God, Love Others, Serve The World because that is what Jesus did while He was here and continues to do through His church. 

I used to be willing to work hard and long so that I could enjoy the gain. I have a new focus, a gain that will last eternally. Now, I work hard and long because the bottom line is:

My life is an Act of God.

Acts of God

"Acts of God" is the term that insurance companies use to describe catastrophes such as those our recent mission team to Alabama witnessed. I have done disaster response to 3 of these "acts". Hurricanes in Florida, flood is nashville and now tornadoes in Alabama. The power that created these indescribable messes amazes me. 
I'm inclined to look at all of these through the lens of the spiritual. Some ask, "Why would God do this?" I've been through this thought process and here's where I ended up:
God created nature, the force behind the tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. Much the same, He created people (Adam and Eve). He created it all perfect. But for perfect love to exist it requires choice. Choice on the part of we as people. If He "made" us love Him, it wouldn't be love. It would be instinct or mechanical.  
Love requires a conscious effort on our part to choose to be in a relationship with God, or not. 
So, there it is. A perfect world. One rule from the Creator, "Don't eat this fruit or you'll die." All is well until Adam and Eve ate the fruit, tainting the relationship. They did indeed die. First spiritually and then physically. 
That spiritual death introduced something to the world, sin. Sin brought some bedfellows along: death, destruction, suffering and the like. 
Sin introduced a war amongst God's creation. A war culminating in everything becoming flawed, people and nature alike. 
Does God "act" through these things? Absolutely. But not in the way some might think. He doesn't act in the cause but rather the effect. It's God that causes unconcerned people to load up and go help those whom they've never met. It's God that causes people to give money to help those who are without homes. It's the force of God that causes the positive effects, the materialization of His love in places that might not otherwise have experienced it. 
The bottom line is... God is the peace after the storm.    

Incomprensible love

John 3:16 says, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
I've watched The Passion of the Christ several times and my limited cerebral capacity doesn't get it, I just don't understand why. Why would He do it? Love of that magnitude escapes me.
I love my wife, I love my kids and I would like to think that I'd be willing to die for them but would I undergo the type of pain suffering and torture that Jesus did, on their behalf? Man, I don't know. Seriously, I doubt it. and I REALLY love them. It just doesn't compare. Compare, that's funny that I would even try to compare my love to the love of the Creator of the universe. 
That kind of love brings another passage in the Gospel of John into focus where Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John14:6) He bought and paid for us on Good Friday.
Good Friday, what a crazy name for the day that Jesus showed His love for us. 
The bottom line is: It was Good alright, good for me and you.

True or False?

The Resurrection of Jesus brings about some assorted feelings. Living here in the Bible belt, lots of folks readily accept it as truth. Well, at least on the surface. 
It's easy to give lip-service to that around these parts. But, really, if a person truly believed that Jesus has resurrected from the dead, wouldn't that make it pretty easy to follow his teaching? I mean, if I believe that a semi truck is heavy, truly believe it, wouldn't I yield to it? 
The New Testament states over and over again that if we are in relationship with Jesus, obeying His teaching will be the result. In fact, He says that if we love Him that obedience assures us of eternal life but if we are disobedient, we are liars and are bound for Hell.
Truth, Obedience, Submission are equal bedfellows. 
Maybe we need to gauge our "faith" based on our obedience...


The bottom line is: 
Obeying the truth is pretty serious business. 

Lead!

I have been studying the book of Nehemiah. It's an account of Nehemiah's leadership role as the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. 

Nehemiah was met with opposition from foreigners. They lied about him and tried to lure him away from the task that God had given him. His workers had to be refocused half-way through as they were threatened by the same issues. The walls were completed in just 52 days and then they worshiped together.

In reading about Nehemiah, it makes me pray for my own leadership abilities. Nehemiah worked alongside his workers, unafraid of the dirty tasks. He was focused on what God had called him to. Nothing could stop him. I question my motives and work ethic, "Where and how do I lead?"

We all lead in some fashion. There are those who look to us for guidance, who follow our example. 

As a church leader, I want to be able to repeat the Apostle Paul's words to his followers, "Imitate me, as I imitate Christ." (1 Cor 11:1)

The bottom line is: lead those whom follow you, to Christ.

Taboo or not?

Today, I had a conversation about giving.

Some folks love to give. Others are stingy. It's got nothing to do with the person's location in the demographic cross section. There are affluent people who are stingy and miserable,  while some in poverty are filled with joy. The heart is the key. Self-ish or self-less

Within the church, it is one of those touchy subjects. I'm not sure why. The Bible talks a lot about money. That said, at a minimum it's ok to preach about and the reality is, it should probably come up more often.

Through the years, I have heard scores of testimonies about God's provision. How a person gave and God provided. That's just how He rolls. But the heart is still the key. Some give out of duty, others love to share their blessings. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 completely explains it. Give cheerfully and God will give all you need PLUS enough to HELP OTHERS. 

Man, I'm trying so hard to do that and the bottom line is: 

God is faithful so I GET  to help others.  

Challenges

Challenges in life come in many different forms. 
Sometimes we are challenged by circumstances that are beyond our control. Other challenges come as a result of decisions made. But the scope of challenges that I am currently facing are a direct result of God's presence at a recent conference.
This conference was directed at church leaders. There were 5000 of us there. It was exciting, almost electric. Then, it happened. A man began to say things that, to me, were as though God himself were speaking directly to me. I was challenged.
At first I began to make mental excuses as to why I should back down from the challenge. But the longer he spoke, the more I realized the need to accept this imposition. 
The challenge? Be a leader! Not a leader by title, a leader by example.  A leader willing to step out in faith to uncharted places. A leader willing to sacrifice. A leader willing to take criticism. A leader, a true leader. A leader like Jesus. Am I willing to go that far?
Because, the bottom line is:
the world crucified Jesus.