Take that Step: Healthier, stronger, and moving forward

Jimmy recently downloaded a fitness app on his phone. Among its many “smart” capabilities, it tracks the number of steps he takes each day. I guess we can add pedometer to the list of many gadgets now replaced by smartphones. The health and fitness app guided him through setting up a series of health goals, including how far he’d like to walk each day. He set the goal at 10,000 steps/day.

Health and fitness aren’t going to just happen in our lives. We won’t wake up some morning and find we’ve arrived at a certain weight, cholesterol level, or body mass index unless we take regular, active steps to make them reality.

We all know walking is a good, safe option to help us achieve our desired health and fitness goals. As we walk, we become stronger, healthier, and reach our destination.

I started thinking about these three outcomes that walking has on our lives after I posted last week’s article, Don’t Stand Still. The American church is familiar with a phenomenon we call pew sitters. They are people who come to church, sit in the pew for the sermon, and leave again with no real impact on their lives. Well, last week I classified another group of us – the standers. We’re involved in a few activities, have some Christian influence outside the church building, and try to live a fairly good life.

Maybe you read that article. Maybe you thought, “Isn’t that what we call the Christian walk? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” Maybe you’re right.

But I think there’s more.

Think about that app Jimmy downloaded on his phone. After several weeks of use, yesterday he finally reached his goal of 10,000 steps in one day. It didn’t happen because he sat at his desk all day nor did it happen because he stood around talking. He reached that goal because he was up, moving, getting things done, and being active.

When we walk, we become healthier, stronger, and we move forward. That’s why I see a difference between those who are spiritually standing still and those who are spiritually walking. I see lots of us doing a lot of Christian things each day but we’re not becoming healthier, stronger, or moving forward.

Healthier

We all deal with stuff; you know, the baggage we carry around due to bad experiences in our past. We have those experiences because we live in a messed up world that does everything it can to fight God’s design.

God’s Word doesn’t lay out a twelve-step program for overcoming drug addiction. It doesn’t give us three steps to recovering from divorce. You can’t turn to a certain page and find out exactly how to deal with various forms of child abuse, depression, or negative self-image.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to become mentally and spiritually healthier as we learn to let go of the baggage that weighs us down. We’re going to be in an active, growing relationship with the one who can bring health through prayer and an understanding of various Scriptures. We’re going to see truth in His Word come to life in a way we never would have believed possible.

Stronger

We’re all unsure; we all have doubts. We all look at the path that lies before us and feel inadequate to the job. Our weakness overwhelms us.

The Bible doesn’t give us a mathematical formula to incorporate faith into our life. It doesn’t promise trust will come to those who say a certain prayer. The Bible doesn’t give power to those who at most skim through its topics.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to become mentally and spiritually stronger. We’ll see God work in our circumstances even in the midst of our hard times; our faith will grow as we realize His strength will be sufficient for us in future trials. We will face impossible situations with the recognition that our only option is to trust Him. It will make us almost sick to our stomachs as we empty the situation of our own ability and trust completely in Him. And yet, we’ll look back and know that is when the trust in our relationship grew stronger. We will face insurmountable odds; rather than become weak and overwhelmed, we will remember a Bible verse we studied and claim its power and authority for that moment. We will see the power of God work mightily in our lives to conquer and destroy that which would hold us back from all God desires.

Move Forward

We all want to stay where we are because everything is safe, secure, and familiar. We know what to expect and how everything works in our current location. It’s easy to stand still because it doesn’t require us to stretch ourselves or step out into the unknown.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to move forward. We’re going to look back 5 or 10 years and realize we’re closer to God now than we were then. Our spiritual illnesses and weaknesses will be fewer and farther behind us than they once were. We’re going to look forward with excitement, trust, and faith at where God might lead us. We’ll look forward and see that God didn’t seem as far away as He once did.

Take that Step

God gave us everything we need to start a revolution of love… an overflow of hope… an explosion of faith. But we’re not going to see any of it until we change some things in our own lives. God gave us a message of faith, hope, and love with which to transform the world, starting with ourselves. We won’t have the privilege of seeing that message go anywhere until we stop standing still and start walking – to become healthier, stronger, and closer to Him who gave His life to deliver us.

Good & Evil: What to do in a world of evil

The horrors of evil elicit many different responses when they fall upon our ears. When you read my article of Boko Haram butchering Christians in Nigeria last week, I’m sure your thought responses were as varied as is our reading population. I’m sure it was the same when you heard of ISIS beheading a second American journalist, Steven Sotloff. Or when you heard of any act of evil carried out on the innocent in recent days.

Some people stop listening / reading as the pain and suffering are more than they can bear.

A need to fight for justice overcomes other people in the face of evil.

Others bury their heads in the sand as they deny such evil could possibly exist.

For some, frustration mounts as a lack of resources or opportunities squelches the desire to help in any way possible.

Hopefully at least a few whisper prayers for those who hurt in the hands of evil.

Psalm 37 – Good & Evil

Last week we began a study on Psalm 37. We considered some characteristics we should have as we live as children of God in a world of evil. Ok, “considered” is such a gentle word – it’s more like those characteristics plunged into our soul. They reminded us we aren’t of this world; we’re made to live different. This week we’ll pull out some parts of Psalm 37 that help us know what to do before we read next week what God promises to do. Then, we’ll wrap it up comparing the outcome that awaits both the good and the evil.

What to do in a world of evil

37:3 – Trust in the Lord and do what is good. Trusting God empowers us to do what is good. Our excuses become weak in the presence of His truth. I came across a verse a few weeks ago when Jimmy was in Africa. I’ll admit it; I was stressing a little over some stuff. I had to write it out and post it where I’d see it often, “God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

We can trust Him in the face of evil; we can even step out and do good in the face of evil. We can trust and do good because God has the situation under control. We will always have everything we need to excel in every good work.

37:4 – Take delight in the Lord. You can be happy in His presence; you can smile when you think about Him. Excitement can come over you at the thought of talking to Him. You can find a true relationship.

King David, who wrote Psalm 37, knew how to delight in the Lord. For example, he also wrote “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD’” (Psalm 122:1). The ancient Israelites rejoiced to ascend to the Temple in Jerusalem because the Spirit of God dwelt there. For us, the Spirit of God dwells within each of us as followers of Christ. We can rejoice in a relationship with God even in the midst of an evil world.

37:5 – Commit your way to the Lord. Commit means “to roll” (Hebrew: galal) which may seem odd but is highly significant. It’s more than I can get into here. In short, let’s think of it this way… Go full circle with God. Allow Him to mark you as His child, hold fast to His truth, totally believe Him, and not just in Him.

“The LORD then said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away (Hebrew: galal) the disgrace of Egypt from you.’ Therefore, that place is called Gilgal to this day” (Joshua 5:9). Friend, God has rolled away the disgrace from your life. An adequate response is to roll away your own plans for your life. Commit your way to Him instead and allow Him to act even as evil abounds.

37:7 – Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him. God doesn’t need us to tell Him what to do or how to solve a problem. He needs us to be a willing vessel through which He can work to accomplish His plan. He needs us to wait on His plan; not make a mess even messier by jumping in with our own plan. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).

37:9, 34 – Put your hope in the Lord. That’s the HCSB version but almost all others translate this as “those who wait for the Lord.” It’s a figurative term that loses something in our English translations. The Hebrew word, qavah, literally means to collect or bind together. It’s the same idea as strands of string bound together to make a rope. In a world of evil, we can bind ourselves to God. We can tightly intertwine our lives with Him and His Word. “Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land” (Psalm 37:34).

37:27 – Turn away from evil and do what is good. We can’t do all these things if we haven’t turned away from the evil in our own lives. We’re not perfect; no one expects us to be. But, we can make a conscious effort to remove the evil in our own lives while also making an effort to do what is good. "Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God" (3 John 1:11).

So,

As it turns out, we can do something in a world overrun by evil. We can trust God who is in control. We can do good to those around us in our own corners of the world. We can delight in God; after all, He loved us enough to give Himself for us even though we were part of that prevalent evil. We can roll away our own plans for our life and commit our plans to Him because we know He will act in our lives. We can wait for Him to speak rather than try and tell Him what He should do. We can intertwine our lives with Him so that all we do and say is for Him and His glory. We can do our best to not live like those who spread the evil upon our land.

We can make a difference. We can live the difference.

Click here to read the previous article in this series.

Click here to read the next article in this series.

Good & Evil: Who we are in a world of evil

Boko Haram, a Muslim extremist group in Nigeria, butchers Christians. “Butchers” isn’t too strong of a word; it’s morbidly accurate as the group slices and hacks at the bodies of the non-Muslims. They stop only long enough to determine if the sufferer is ready to renounce Christ and pledge allegiance to Allah. You can read more at VOM’s article, “You can’t kill my soul,” but I warn you that it might make you feel something – a churning of the stomach, a shudder of the spine, an inexplicable urge to fall to your knees and pray for someone in a far off land.

Evil is nothing new; persecution began when God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s resulting in Cain’s murderous assault on Abel (Genesis 4:1-12). Nevertheless, it is part of our current world. How do we face it? How do we respond to bloody stories that don’t fit with our comfortable church-pew Christianity?

I found some help – even some encouragement – in Psalm 37. I hope you’ll take a minute to read it now; all you have to do is click on the link. (Can I be honest here for a second and point out that a lot of people in this world would weep tears of joy for such easy access to the word of God?)

We’re going to take a look at Psalm 37 over the next four weeks. This article will consider who we are, the next two weeks we’ll look at what we do and what God does, and then the fourth week we’ll discuss the outcome.

Who are we? Characteristics of the righteous

I pulled this list of characteristics out of the text of the chapter. Let me start by saying that I dealt with some serious conviction while I did so. You know what I mean – those “Ouch” moments when you read God’s Word and the Spirit points out somewhere deep inside that you aren’t quite living up to what God is asking of you. Yeah, those. But here we go –

When confronted with evil, a child of God is…

37:1, 7, 8 – Not agitated. A confrontation with evil shouldn’t make us burn with anger. That’s hard, isn’t it? When I read the above article from VOM about the beheading of a little boy, anger burned within me. By all accounts, evil is spreading and prospering. Earthly armies can’t stop it but eventually Christ will. Trust me, evil doesn’t prosper and find victory in the end.

37:1 – Not envious. At first thought, why would we be envious of evildoers? But, let me admit, envy flickered in my mind when I found out the ISIS army has $2,000,000 a day in income just from the oil fields they’ve conquered. But again, their success is temporary.

37:6 – Righteousness that shines like the dawn. This isn’t me showing off all my good works to make sure everyone sees them. My righteousness is in Christ; if it shines like the dawn then that is Him in me shining out to the world. That’s a good thing.

37:8 – Not angry nor enraged, in addition to not agitated. Keep the breathing under control; don’t spew words of poison. Stay steady. If you believe God is in control then you should be under control.

37:11 – Humble. Remember, Christ’s righteousness shines through us, not our own goodness. Honestly, we don’t have any goodness on our own anyway. He’s in control. As a child of God, we lay aside our own pride and positions to advance His kingdom.

37:18 – Blameless. We’re not perfect; we’re not sinless. The idea behind being blameless is to be complete or whole. Christ in us – His joy and love manifested in us – completes us.

37:21, 26 – Gracious and giving. We can’t hold tight to what God has given us. When we see evil, our response is to help, reach out, give, and extend grace to those who hurt as a result.

37:22 – Blessed by God. God chose to look on us in favor. He chose to come before us with the greatest gift possible – the life of His Son. He chose to restore us through the sacrifice of that Son. We are blessed.

37:30, 31 – Wise, just, and know God’s instruction. This is another one we can only claim because Christ works in us and through us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

37:37 – Man of peace. Evil – characterized by pride, anger, rage, greed, and foolishness – leads to restlessness, destruction, and death. But a child of God knows peace even in the midst of evil.

I don’t know about you, but this list will stay with me this week as I see evil become more prevalent in our world. All of these characteristics are contrary to how the world says we should live. If we can implement them in our lives, we can make a difference. We can live the difference. We can shine the righteousness of Christ in a world of darkness.

Please click here for the next article in the series.

Finding Good Things in Bad Times

It’s been a rough week. Jimmy is in Africa which leaves me as a single parent of four (make it five) active girls.

A beloved grandparent is suffering through some hard medical times. The whole extended family hurts along with him.

Celebrity status doesn’t affect me; people are people, regardless. But Robin Williams’ suicide hit me kind of hard. It’s rough to see such a beloved entertainer reach that level of despair.

Ferguson, Missouri, is a mess right now. 

The Middle East has been a simmering cauldron for too long. It appears it may be about to boil over. The terror of ISIS, combined with the war between Israel and Hamas has also weighed heavy on me. That’s not to mention the Syrian conflict, Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, and Putin’s actions in the Ukraine. All of it may play a role in the onset of very dire times.

Every afternoon I have a cup of coffee. During these hot summer months, I usually drink it iced, flavored with sugar and half & half. Stay with me…this is connected to the first part of my article.

This week that afternoon coffee has tugged at my heart. For some reason, I found myself being conscientiously thankful for that coffee each day. Perhaps it was the Spirit’s prompting. I held that cup each afternoon and was acutely aware that God blesses even in hard times.

This may sound silly. Imagine how I felt, however, when this series of text messages came in from Jimmy regarding their current project in Africa…

God is good. We are completely finished with the electrical work. Big Daddy R will now get some quality time with his grandchildren. It’s fun, fun as I sit here and watch him be a jungle gym for their young birthday girl. Doc’s birthday is today, also. Sitting in an air cooled, 78° house while the temperatures soar outside is an awesome birthday present.

It was great to see the joy on Posey’s face when she got to make iced coffee for the first time. Then, I saw the joy on Doc’s face when he got to taste it. These are the simple things we in America take for granted – things we think we have to have to survive.

Lights, cooling fans, and refrigeration will make Doc and Posey’s work in the desert so much easier as they bring living water to this dry land. 

We have seen and heard good things. 

Be Flexible: God has a plan

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… (Ephesians 1:3).

This was the main point of my pastor's sermon. His sub-points came from the continuing verses but those points aren't my point so I'll stay quiet on those for today. 

At the end of the service he asked us to share why we will bless the Lord. “I will bless the Lord because...”

I answered, “I bless Him because He is sovereign. He is absolutely in control of every detail.” At the time, Jimmy was flying somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea.

I received a text from him a few hours later, “Just landed. No bags. Did not make the flight in. Tuesday maybe.”

Neither his nor Big Daddy R’s luggage had made it onto their plane. Many of us have had this happen; we all know it’s an annoyance more than a catastrophe.

But here’s the deal…

Jimmy and Big Daddy R had to leave their city of arrival in less than 24 hours – a small plane waited to fly them to their remote work site. The bags wouldn’t arrive for a minimum of two days. They couldn’t stay in the city until the bags arrived; the bags wouldn’t have a way to get to them when they did arrive.

Here’s the other deal…

The two men came to do a job – a job they only have a few days to accomplish. Their tools and supplies are in those bags. They can’t complete the job until they have those items.

To be continued…

Remember, nothing random happens in God’s kingdom. If you wonder, read God’s declarations in Job 38-41 to which Job replies, “I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2). Experience has taught us that He has a plan in all that He does. I’m reminded of when I led a group to do a project in Haiti and our luggage also didn’t arrive. By the end of the week God had blessed us to see His mighty work through our divine inconvenience.

So this article will have to be continued. As of right now, we don’t know why Jimmy and Big Daddy R are in Africa to do a job while their tools and supplies sit in Europe somewhere. But we know God has a plan in it – a reason for the annoyance.

As Jimmy stated in a later text, “Be flexible.” The plan was to go, work, and get the job done. God apparently has a different plan. So Jimmy and Big Daddy R will flex with the situation as they seek to accomplish God’s plan – not their own.

Fly Like an Eagle: Exchanging our strength for God's

But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

I posted this verse on Facebook and Twitter; it received a lot of attention. This popular verse is a favorite for many of us who follow Christ. After all, it makes us feel good. But what does it mean – below the surface – in the heart of the passage?

It’s in the middle of a long prophecy by Isaiah. A little context will help us here. Isaiah 40 alternates back and forth between descriptions of God and descriptions of humanity. Here they are in summary –

This is Him. He is…

• The glory of the revealed King (40:3-5).
• The eternal Word (40:8).
• The God of power and reward (40:9-10).
• The Good Shepherd (40:11).
• The Creator of the earth (40:12).
• The Source of wisdom and knowledge (40:13-14).
• Superior to man-made idols (40:18-20).
• Enthroned high above the earth (40:21-22).
• The Creator of the starry universe (40:25-26).

This is us. We are…

• Deserving punishment for sin (40:1-2).
• Withered grass and fallen flowers (40:6-8).
• Nothing – even our greatest nations and rulers are nothing (40:15-17, 23-24).
• Grasshoppers (40:22).

And yet we say…

Despite the awesomeness of who He is and despite the temporal, disobedient mess that we are, we have the nerve and the audacity to say, “God doesn’t know and He wouldn’t care if He did” (40:27 paraphrase).

But here’s the point…

He alone is the eternal Creator. He’ll never grow tired or weary. Even kids eventually get tired and wear out but God doesn’t. He won’t. He can’t (40:28-31).

We may be as weak as a withered piece of grass. We may deserve punishment for our sin. We may appear as a grasshopper. But God is willing to renew us. That little word renew – don’t skim by it! Take a moment to think about it. It means to substitute, to change for the better, to make new. That’s a pretty amazing offer for the eternal Creator to be willing to take our tired, worn out, weak selves and give us His strength instead. We can exchange our strength – or lack thereof – for His incredible strength that never does wear out! Only then can we “run and not grow weary;” only then can we “walk and not faint” (40:31)

How is that possible?

He offers this exchange to those who trust Him – to those who put their hope in Him (40:31). It’s that simple. Recognize who God is and Jesus the Messiah as His Son. Recognize He is eternal Creator and you’re a sinner in need of rescue from coming punishment. Click here to read more about a relationship with God.

In case that’s not enough…

Those who trust in the Lord will exchange their strength for God’s strength but there’s more. They will also soar on wings like eagles. This is some pretty cool symbolism. I say symbolism because Christ’s followers don’t really fly on the wings of some giant, magical eagle. Just thought I’d make sure you knew that.

Three other times in God’s Word He used the symbolism of His people being carried on eagle’s wings. They are all pretty significant.

In Exodus 19:3-6, Moses wrote that God carried the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt on the wings of an eagle. He even went further and promised that if they obeyed His Word and kept covenant then they would be His treasured possession.

In Deuteronomy 32:8-12, Moses wrote of Jacob. God found Jacob alone in the desert; at that time, He gave Jacob the Promised Land as an inheritance. From then on, God shielded Jacob and cared for him as an eagle does her young – just as she carries them on her wings. Jacob trusted God alone – no foreign God – and God alone led Him.

In Revelation 12:14, John prophetically wrote of a still unfulfilled time period. At that time, God will once again give Israel the wings of an eagle to carry her to safety during the time of the Antichrist.

These three Scriptural examples tell us a lot about the freedom to soar on wings like eagles. Just as God did the Israelites in Egypt, God frees those who trust Him from the oppression of slavery and makes us His treasured possession. Just as He did for Jacob, He leads those who trust Him until they reach the Promised Land of eternity. Just like He’ll do for Israel in the future, He’ll protect those who trust Him as He brings defeat to our enemies.

Like I said, it’s a pretty cool exchange. I’m ready to fly like an eagle.

Build your Walls with Water - not Rock

I prayed for someone the other day.

For my story, it doesn’t matter who it was or what the issue was. But I prayed that their walls would come down – that God would continue to chip away at them until He brought them crumbling down around my loved one.

Guess what Bible story came into my mind as the words came out of my mouth…

Yep, Jericho and her infamous crumbling walls.

And then I remembered a study I did once upon a time based on a question a friend asked me…

Why did the walls fall in Jericho? Why did God use that method to conquer Jericho?

When I studied out the answer, I loved what I found. But then I forgot about it until God brought it back to mind the other day. I think He must have saved it for now.

The first use of the word wall (Hebrew: chowmah) is when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. God built walls of water on either side of the people as they crossed through on dry ground (Exodus 14:22). Many people today – even non-religious types – have heard the story of this famous miracle.

It was the same way in Joshua’s day. Forty years had passed by the time Joshua and the Israelites were ready to conquer the city but the people of Jericho knew the story of what had happened with the walls of water. Rahab – a prostitute enlisted by two Israelite spies to help them – told the two spies that fear fell (Hebrew: naphal) on the people of Jericho when they heard of the walls of water (Joshua 2:9-11). They encountered the power of God through this miracle yet they let terror rule rather than humble themselves before God. They trusted in their rock walls (Hebrew: chowmah).

Fast forward to after the scouting mission but before the conquest.

Joshua also encountered the power of God when pre-incarnate Jesus appeared before him. Jesus came as “commander of the Lord’s army” with exact instructions on how to conquer the city of Jericho. Joshua's response was to fall (Hebrew: naphal) prostrate before the Lord. He humbled himself and asked God what He would have him to do (Joshua 5:13-6:5).

You probably know how the story of Jericho ends. It’s almost as popular as the parting of the Red Sea. In case you don’t though, the Israelites march around the city of Jericho for seven days. At the end of their march, they blew their shofars (trumpets) and the people shouted. God brought the walls crumbling down.

What God can do

God’s power isn’t confined to what we think is normal. He can do what He wants to do. He can build a wall out of water; He can make a wall of rock crumble into pieces. The real question is what we are going to do about it.

What we do

When the people of Jericho encountered the power of God, debilitating fear and terror fell on them. They panicked.

When Joshua encountered the power of God, he fell humbly before Him. He offered himself in service to do whatever God asked him to do. He conquered.

When you encounter God, are you going to put your trust in the works you have done – in the walls you have built? Or, are you going to humble yourself before Almighty God and trust Him? Are you going to panic or conquer? 

God's got you Covered

Remember last week when I wrote about the importance of protecting our children just as the geese on our pond protect their goslings? Here’s a story from my day of goose-watching that I didn’t share in my previous article.

The geese were on the far side of the pond – Alice sat still, the babies played, and George stood on alert. From the side, another goose started to walk in closer… closer… a little too close for George’s comfort. He lowered his head, spread his wings, and honked.

George’s defensive maneuvers, however, didn’t deter the predatory goose. He honked back and continued coming in closer to the babies.

Mama Alice may have looked as if she was relaxing as she sat by the side of the water. But I quickly realized her position was every bit as defensive as George’s. As the predatory goose moved closer, Alice made a single noise and the babies came running to her. Within seconds every single baby had crawled under the safety of her wings.

The baby goslings now secure, George’s focused remained entirely on the predatory goose. After some honks of reproach and some fierce wing flapping, George successfully fought off the predator.

As the brief battle played out, Alice continued to sit still. She looked quite wide as the protected babies hid safely in her care under each wing. The family was safe.

These images came back to my mind this week when I came across the following verse in the Bible.

Last week I talked about how we as parents need to protect our children just as George and Alice do their little goslings. As a parent, it’s an easy analogy to make and understand. Most of us would protect our children until our dying breath!

But the title for Psalm 91 in my Bible says “The Protection of the Most High.” God extends more protection to us – His children – than we ever could our own children.

The question for us then is this…

Are we willing to run under His wings when He calls us? Or do we think we’re strong enough to fight off the predators on our own?

Remember what I said about we would be willing to protect our children until our dying breath? You know what – God did protect us until His dying breath. Or actually, not until His dying breath but with His dying breath.

With Jesus’ death, our protection from sin, death, and an eternity separated from God became a reality. Again, though, are we willing to run under that protection? Or when the moment of judgment comes, do we think we can fight that battle on our own?

I Do Believe; Help Me!

A friend of mine, Sheri Kaetzel, recently returned from her first mission trip to Africa. In case you’re wondering, this wasn’t a Grow Barefoot trip. Not that it matters because, after all, we’re all working for the kingdom of God. We’re all trying to fulfill the same great commission. We’re all trying to spread a message of hope and light to a dark world. But I just wanted you to know.

I loved reading her trip stories at her blog, The Leaking Window. This particular one, however, I knew I had to pass along so I asked her to share here on Grow Barefoot. I wanted to share it because she reveals her fears, sense of inadequacy, and lack of belief in undertaking a short term trip to a difficult region. But she went anyway. She stepped out in faith, trusted God, prayed for help, and in so doing, accomplished what God asked of her.

That’s what He asks of each of us – a little faith and trust, some prayer, and some action. Even if we never leave American soil, He calls each of us to serve Him somewhere…with someone…in some way…everyday.

So, thank you, Sheri, for being faithful. And thank you for sharing your story with us!

For this thinker-type personality my thoughts are hard to formulate about our recent trip to Africa. There are so many words and thoughts, but making them land on my keyboard seems a bit difficult. But I will force them out because if I don't I fear they might be lost. And that would be tragic.

At the beginning of the trip Pastor Ray Noah tackled the questions that were plaguing almost all of us throughout the trip: Lord, why am I here? What do I have to offer? He admitted he still wondered himself. But he felt God had given him a word to embrace: BELIEVE.

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24

• BELIEVE... you are here in God's will. No matter how you got here.
• BELIEVE... you are here for a divine purpose.
• BELIEVE... you are walking in God's provision.
• BELIEVE... God will use you to bless those you come in contact with.
• BELIEVE... God will use those you come in contact with to bless you.
• BELIEVE... this trip will change your life-trajectory.

And know that whatever lies before us we should... 

• BELIEVE that God has already gone before us.

It makes me think of Beth Moore's study Believing God when she shares, "As forcefully as God has ever spoken to my heart, He said, 'you believe in Me, Beth. Now I want you to believe Me.’”

Believe Me.

And that's what I had to do. Believe God. Believe He would use this suburban house-wife and mother for a divine purpose in Africa…

…whose only assignment was to teach widows how to knit a hat.

…who felt insignificant for the mission. 

…but believing that He would use this willing vessel.

And now that I have returned home I wonder what God would have me do with all He has shown me. And I guess I need to believe that He can use me as much at home as He did there. And that I will pass that message on to those who are willing to hear it.

And that I will encourage those I come in contact with to...

Believe God.

Grace...The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

I wrote about the first seven kingdom parables in the book “Everything We Need: God's Path to Know Him Better.” I enjoyed studying them so much that I decided to write about the remaining five here on the blog. Last week we considered the parable of the unmerciful servant from Matthew 18:21-35. The next one in Matthew’s gospel is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. It’s found in Matthew 20:1-16.

The Story

Jesus began, “the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.” Similar to last week and several of the parables I discuss in the book, this parable begins with a key male character performing an action. These key male characters represent God in all of the kingdom parables. God is looking for workers for His vineyard – His kingdom within the world.

He found some workers at the beginning of the day. He added to His workforce four more times throughout the day – 9:00am, noon, 3:00pm, and 5:00pm. By the end of the day, He had five different groups of workers who had all performed different amounts of work.

The workday wrapped up at 6:00pm. The landowner told his manager to give each man their wages. He had agreed to pay a denarius to each of the workers from the beginning of the day. The other four groups had only agreed to work; they hadn’t made a financial agreement at the time the landowner called them. The manager paid the latest workers first and worked his way backwards through the day until he paid the earliest workers last. Imagine the disdain the earliest workers felt as the manager paid each man the same amount regardless of the time of day they began working.

The earliest workers began complaining, “These men who were hired last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” (Matthew 20:12).

The landowner points out to the grumbling workers that he is free to pay any worker any amount he chooses. Should they really complain that he chooses to be generous?

In a biblical parable, each detail of the story is significant. Each element symbolizes an aspect of the greater message Christ was teaching. For example, as I began, the landowner represents God and the vineyard represents His kingdom within the world.

What’s a Wage?

In the parable, the landowner and workers agree to a wage of one denarius for a day’s work. This was a fair, normal amount. Here’s the significant part…the word for wages isn’t only a paycheck. Throughout Scripture, it also includes the idea of a reward. A reward awaits those whom God calls to work in His kingdom. Its first use in the Old Testament even tells us exactly what our reward is – and it’s not streets of gold, a mansion, or even eternal life. “The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” Fellow worker in God’s kingdom, God is our reward - our very great reward.

What Work?

Required work may seem out of place for entry into the kingdom. After all, the gift of salvation is free. Nothing we can do earns us a spot in the kingdom; it is only by God’s grace. So, why did the men work?

I could say something about the intrinsic value of a job well done. Or, the landowner found the men being idle while Scripture contains a lot of verses about working hard. Something else is the greater point here, though.

All men received the same reward regardless of the amount of work they did. In essence, they received the reward for answering the call when the landowner came to them. They were willing to follow Him; He granted them the agreed upon wage. Jesus said in another place, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29). That’s all God requires – our belief in Jesus as His Son whom He sent to pay our sin debt through His death.

What’s a Day?

The landowner called workers to the vineyard at five different times throughout the day. Some people see this as symbolic of people who come to Christ at different ages. Some accept Him as young children, some in their teens, some as adults, and some even in the last few moments of their life. Regardless of the age you accept Christ as your Savior, your reward is the same – eternity in His presence. This could be; it’s true and it’s consistent with the rest of Scripture. I have another idea, though.

The day may be symbolic of the whole age of humanity – from the time of Adam until the end of Christ’s future millennial reign. If so, each time the landowner called more workers would have to represent a different period of time in which God reached out to us. As it turns out, five different time periods happen to exist.

1. Adam and Eve in the garden, prior to their initial sin. They walked in open relationship with God as sin didn’t yet separate them from His presence. (Adam and Eve are the only examples.)
2. From Adam and Eve’s fall until the time of Moses. Immediately after the first sin, God made the first promise to send a Savior. (Examples – Seth, Noah, Abraham, Jacob)
3. From Moses until the time of Christ. God gave us the Law to reveal sin and our inadequacy in living a sinless life on our own. (Examples – David, Isaiah, Solomon)
4. From Christ’s first coming until His second coming. God revealed Himself through the Son who was the Word made flesh. (Examples – disciples, Paul, Martin Luther, you, me)
5. From Christ’s second coming until the end of His millennial reign. Jesus will dwell on earth with us as He rules over His kingdom for 1,000 years. (Examples – people yet to be born during that time period)

One common thing saves believers during each time period. Salvation comes by believing God and what He has revealed as of that point in time. For Adam, Abraham, David, Paul, you, me, and believers still yet to be born, the reward is eternity in the presence of God. That’s not something to grumble about!

Overall point

Whereas last week’s parable focused on forgiveness, this parable is all about grace. Grace given at five times during the day as men are given opportunity to work; grace given during five time periods as we are given opportunity to enter relationship with Him.

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). God doesn’t reward as man might expect. In His grace, He gives generously to all who follow Him. “This is the essence of God’s grace, when He rewards and blesses man according to His will and pleasure, not necessarily according to what men deserve. … God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are” (Guzik).

Click here for a free, downloadable study on more parables of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Choose Not to Stress

A friend asked, “Why aren’t you stressed out all the time? You do so much but you’re not stressed. So-and-so is always over the top, stressed out with stuff going on.”

My answer came quickly, “I choose not to be.”

My life isn't stressed because I choose not to stress. I choose to enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong – don’t think I’ve never had a stressful, this-has-got-to-be-done-now, I-can’t-handle-everything-that’s-going-on, I’m-going-to-explode kind of moment. I’ve had plenty of them. I used to have a lot of them.

Over the years, I’ve developed a few habits that help me avoid the I’m-going-to-kill-someone moments. I don’t know if the order that I learned them is significant but that’s how I’m going to present them to you —

Be flexible.

This has nothing to do with yoga, although that can be helpful, too. It has to do with a mindset.

I’m a natural plan-maker; I married a man who likes to fly by the seat of his pants. Fortunately, this worked out well in our marriage. Trust me; it could have gone the other way at times. By a few years into our marriage, he had learned life could have some advantages with a little pre-planning. I had learned every detail doesn’t have to be planned out ahead of time. Impromptu can be an adventure.

Sometimes plans are a good thing; plans get you cheaper tickets to a concert, insure you have a hotel to stay in while traveling, and provide a well-stocked pantry when staying home.

Sometimes, though, things don’t go as planned. Sometimes things come up for which we haven’t planned. Accept those things as part of life and deal with them as they do.

I have a friend who calls herself Gumby. She abandoned Plan A and Plan B long ago and now operates according to Plan Q. Years of raising a family as missionaries in a remote location taught her quickly that life doesn’t always go according to plan. We can’t possibly plan for every situation. However, life’s experiences taught her that God’s provision was always ahead of the game. He was there in every moment, waiting with exactly what she needed.

I’m not in control.

I don’t want to start a comment war about the good and bad of Rick Warren but years ago he wrote a phenomenally successful book called “The Purpose Driven Life.” I still remember the opening line – “It’s not about you.” The line changed my way of thinking; I’ve even used it many times in raising my children as the years have passed.

Not only do I not have to plan everything but I also don’t have to be in control of everything. Other people can do it sometimes. They might mess up. They might not do it like I would do it. All of that is OK.

Get away from the lists

This is my most recent step. I admit that sometimes I still crave a to-do list. Just a little one. Just to make sure everything gets done. Just to make sure I don’t forget anything. Just to see what I’ve accomplished today.

The prayer struggle that transpired as I let go of the lists was physically painful. I felt like the kid by the side of the pool whose dad was coaxing him to jump in. The kid wants to trust his dad but the fear etched on his face and flowing through his tears keeps him pinned to the side, unable to make the jump.

Here’s the deal, though. If I can’t plan for or be in control of every situation, then I can’t possibly make a list of what I intend to do each day. But God knows. He knows exactly what my day holds – He knows exactly what He wants me to do each day. Good grief, He knew He wanted me to type this article today before He created the Garden of Eden.

I start most days with prayer for God to show me what He’d like me to do that day. I’d like to tell you I pray every day but that wouldn’t be true. It’s a big trust thing for me. I also choose to view my day – however it goes – as how God intended. Good, bad, ugly, rewarding, messy, it doesn’t matter.

I could write about this one forever but I’ve already done so a few other times. You can read more at Trusting God For... and Getting the Work Done.

I heard K-Love DJ Amanda Carroll say on the radio one time, “A relationship with God isn’t like following an impossible to-do list. It’s like falling in love.” This obviously caught my attention because she not only mentioned life’s impossible to-do list but she connected it to one of my favorite songs, “More like Falling in Love” by Jason Gray. I love this song so much I had to write about it too when this blog first started.

And that’s the point… the whole God-thing isn’t about plans, control, and to-do lists. Those things lead to stress. Those things will never set us free.

The whole God-thing is about relationship – a relationship of faith, trust, and love.

Are you ready to make the choice not to stress? Which of these steps could you take to help you make that choice? Can you think of other steps? I'll be looking for your thoughts in the comment section.

This is the third in a series of articles on busy-ness, excuses, and choices. You can read the first two in the series at —

The Glorification of Busy - Part One
Make Choices, Not Excuses - Part Two

And continue on with the series at—

Choose to Enjoy Life
Choose to Serve God
Choose to Glorify God