Today isw Labor Day in the United States, a day where we as a country celebrate the lightening of the worker's load. The idea of a 40 hour work, weekends off, holidays off, etc. are all results of the struggles of workers and unions to provide a more fair work environment and keep people from having to work themselves to death to maintain employment. But let us take time this day to celebrate another lightening on the load. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
It's good to struggle to make things better, and on Labor Day we remember the struggle of those who made life a little easier for the working class in this country. But to find true rest and to lighten all our load, struggle isn't necessary. All we need to do is come to Jesus and let Him take it.
ULM
Monday, September 7, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 6 ~ Stepping Out
Last night my wife Leah showed me some video that was taken of our grandson during our recent visit with her son and daughter. Baiden, who is just a couple of months over two years old, is on a park playground stepping from one raised stepping "stone" to another. The width of the steps is right at the end of the range of how far he can spread his legs. He has his little hand in his Aunt Amanda's hand, and he's just going for it, completely trusting her to keep him from falling. He's stepping out and working his little legs for all he's worth, but it's not his strength and balance keeping him on the path and from falling. It's his aunt's hand holding his.
We need to be like my grandson. Without fear or hesitation, we can simply step out and walk from one stepping stone to the next leaning into the reassuring hold of our Daddy's hand. We do need to do our part. Amanda was not carrying Baiden. But no matter how much or how little our part is, we can trust that Daddy will do the rest. He will give us the strength and balance and whatever else we need for the journey.
We need to be like my grandson. Without fear or hesitation, we can simply step out and walk from one stepping stone to the next leaning into the reassuring hold of our Daddy's hand. We do need to do our part. Amanda was not carrying Baiden. But no matter how much or how little our part is, we can trust that Daddy will do the rest. He will give us the strength and balance and whatever else we need for the journey.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 5 ~ Game On
Today is the day I have been awaiting with eager anticipation all year, the kick off of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football season. Since the final whistle blow of last season I have looked forward to this day and the weeks to come. The team is rebuilding. They don't have the stars of some of the other teams. They are not going to win every game, and it will be a miracle if they even make a serious running for the conference championship. The idea of winning a national championship is ludicrous. But I can't wait to watch it unfold, and it all starts in a few hours.
We can have that same enthusiasm of a football fan for what God is going to do next in our lives. He has a plan, and it's starting soon, whether soon is a few hours from now or a few months or a few years, He will be kicking off a new chapter in our life. We can get worried and afraid knowing that we are not as prepared as we'd like, or as strong as some others, or don't have the resources, or we can look forward with expectation at performing our best and learning what God would have us learn. He doesn't expect us to be perfect or to succeed on our own. In fact, self-sufficiency is the last thing He wants from us, so we can let that fear of failure go. He is waiting to pour out His grace to make up the difference, whether great or small, between what we can do and what He wants done.
There will be times of difficulty. Learning and growth always include some struggle and pain. Learning new things and new levels of trusting God is predicated on walking beyond where we are, what we already know and stepping outside our comfort zone. Some may see us try to run with God's game plan and only see our shortcomings, criticizing us from the sidelines. That can hurt and be embarrassing. But others will see the glory, power, love, grace and mercy of God in both our successes and failures. We ourselves will have the pleasure of being on the field in the action of what God is doing. There is nothing greater than fulfilling the purpose of our calling.
So today, let us continue to do the things we have been told to do. Everything we are called to do today, called to go through today is preparation for what is to come. Let's do it with passion and enthusiasm and a determination to do our best for the Coach who calls the plays while remaining reliant upon His instruction, guidance and power to pull it off. Game On.
We can have that same enthusiasm of a football fan for what God is going to do next in our lives. He has a plan, and it's starting soon, whether soon is a few hours from now or a few months or a few years, He will be kicking off a new chapter in our life. We can get worried and afraid knowing that we are not as prepared as we'd like, or as strong as some others, or don't have the resources, or we can look forward with expectation at performing our best and learning what God would have us learn. He doesn't expect us to be perfect or to succeed on our own. In fact, self-sufficiency is the last thing He wants from us, so we can let that fear of failure go. He is waiting to pour out His grace to make up the difference, whether great or small, between what we can do and what He wants done.
There will be times of difficulty. Learning and growth always include some struggle and pain. Learning new things and new levels of trusting God is predicated on walking beyond where we are, what we already know and stepping outside our comfort zone. Some may see us try to run with God's game plan and only see our shortcomings, criticizing us from the sidelines. That can hurt and be embarrassing. But others will see the glory, power, love, grace and mercy of God in both our successes and failures. We ourselves will have the pleasure of being on the field in the action of what God is doing. There is nothing greater than fulfilling the purpose of our calling.
So today, let us continue to do the things we have been told to do. Everything we are called to do today, called to go through today is preparation for what is to come. Let's do it with passion and enthusiasm and a determination to do our best for the Coach who calls the plays while remaining reliant upon His instruction, guidance and power to pull it off. Game On.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 4 ~ Jesus Loves Muslims
Jesus loves Muslims....and as Christians so should we. Please read what I am saying before you get angry or dismiss this. It's important. First, there are many groups trying to promote the idea of peace between these two religions preaching "love" and cooperation and compromise. They point out thar both religions have roots in Judaism and came from Abraham. They try to talk about how most Muslims respect the Bible and honor Jesus as a prophet. That's not what I am talking about. Jesus is not a prophet and never claimed to be. He is either the very Word of God that spoke all creation into existence and came to die that we might have life, or He is a liar and a mad man. Choose which you believe.
No, we should not love Muslims because of who or how they are, but rather because of who Christ is. Do they deserve it? No. And neither do I. And neither do you. Grace is not about what we deserve. That's why it's called grace. But they're beheading Christians! Yes, they are. But....no buts. Jesus said if we love Him we will be persecuted. He said they're going to condemn us, hate us and kill us. This shouldn't be surprising anyone. He also said you're blessed when you're persecuted, so maybe we should stop all this I'm offended and need to retaliate against people blessing us. He also said love your enemy and pray for those who despitefully use you. He also said Father forgive them as religious hypocrites, soldiers and the sins of me and you nailed Him to a cross and killed Him. We weren't merciful enough to take His head. We crucified Him. A much worse way to die. And if we had been there, we would have either yelled for His crucifixion or fled from His side or stood there and wept without stopping anything. I nailed Him there. So did you. With every act of rebellion and selfishness I became the enemy of God and destroyer of His Son as much as any member of ISIS.
While we were still the enemies of God, Christ died for us. He did not say "these sinners are offending me, so I'm going to offend them back." He didn't require us to change or repent before He showed love. While we spit on Him and cursed His name and screamed crucify with our selfishness He willingly went to the cross on our behalf. Oh, and by the way, He also did that for every member of ISIS and every Muslim that ever was, is or will be.
God died for Muslims. He wants relationship with them. He calls them to Himself. It breaks His heart when they remain enemies rather than be reconciled to Him. Jesus is walking the earth today spreading His message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that we can be reconciled to the Father, that there is a way to relationship with our Creator, and that the Lord of Heaven and Earth loves us all. Did you know that, that Jesus is doing that here and now? Well, He is. Look in a mirror. If you're a Christian you are looking at a hand or foot or mouth or.....something, a part of the body of Christ. This is not metaphorical. This is reality. We are called to be His light in the dark, His ambassador to the lost enemies of God, to love as He loved so that the world that needs Him knows how to find Him. Christ lives in us, and if the world is going to see Him, it has to be in our actions and reactions.
That means that Muslims see Jesus when a father says "I forgive you" to the radical that just killed his wife and children who would not deny Christ. In every act of love, forgiveness and grace they are shown they get a glimpse of the Living and Merciful God who loves them. What they do with that glimpse is their responsibility. But giving that glimpse is ours, yours and mine. Christians posting pictures on social media of bikini clad women eating bacon to return offense is not the way to show love. By the way neither is saying "you're OK as you are. Keep your Qua ran while I'll keep my Bible and we'll meet in the middle when we can." Love is saying "you are an enemy of God as I once was, but He loves you and so do I. Jesus died to set you free. I forgive your offenses and attacks, and I will pray that you find your way to Christ as I have. There you will find freedom, forgiveness, peace, joy, a life worth living, and love.....lots and lots of love.
No, we should not love Muslims because of who or how they are, but rather because of who Christ is. Do they deserve it? No. And neither do I. And neither do you. Grace is not about what we deserve. That's why it's called grace. But they're beheading Christians! Yes, they are. But....no buts. Jesus said if we love Him we will be persecuted. He said they're going to condemn us, hate us and kill us. This shouldn't be surprising anyone. He also said you're blessed when you're persecuted, so maybe we should stop all this I'm offended and need to retaliate against people blessing us. He also said love your enemy and pray for those who despitefully use you. He also said Father forgive them as religious hypocrites, soldiers and the sins of me and you nailed Him to a cross and killed Him. We weren't merciful enough to take His head. We crucified Him. A much worse way to die. And if we had been there, we would have either yelled for His crucifixion or fled from His side or stood there and wept without stopping anything. I nailed Him there. So did you. With every act of rebellion and selfishness I became the enemy of God and destroyer of His Son as much as any member of ISIS.
While we were still the enemies of God, Christ died for us. He did not say "these sinners are offending me, so I'm going to offend them back." He didn't require us to change or repent before He showed love. While we spit on Him and cursed His name and screamed crucify with our selfishness He willingly went to the cross on our behalf. Oh, and by the way, He also did that for every member of ISIS and every Muslim that ever was, is or will be.
God died for Muslims. He wants relationship with them. He calls them to Himself. It breaks His heart when they remain enemies rather than be reconciled to Him. Jesus is walking the earth today spreading His message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that we can be reconciled to the Father, that there is a way to relationship with our Creator, and that the Lord of Heaven and Earth loves us all. Did you know that, that Jesus is doing that here and now? Well, He is. Look in a mirror. If you're a Christian you are looking at a hand or foot or mouth or.....something, a part of the body of Christ. This is not metaphorical. This is reality. We are called to be His light in the dark, His ambassador to the lost enemies of God, to love as He loved so that the world that needs Him knows how to find Him. Christ lives in us, and if the world is going to see Him, it has to be in our actions and reactions.
That means that Muslims see Jesus when a father says "I forgive you" to the radical that just killed his wife and children who would not deny Christ. In every act of love, forgiveness and grace they are shown they get a glimpse of the Living and Merciful God who loves them. What they do with that glimpse is their responsibility. But giving that glimpse is ours, yours and mine. Christians posting pictures on social media of bikini clad women eating bacon to return offense is not the way to show love. By the way neither is saying "you're OK as you are. Keep your Qua ran while I'll keep my Bible and we'll meet in the middle when we can." Love is saying "you are an enemy of God as I once was, but He loves you and so do I. Jesus died to set you free. I forgive your offenses and attacks, and I will pray that you find your way to Christ as I have. There you will find freedom, forgiveness, peace, joy, a life worth living, and love.....lots and lots of love.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 3 ~ Making Our Bed In Hell
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
~ Psalm 139:7-8
These scriptures where used as as the verse of the day by a minister friend of mine, and when I opened the daily e-mail and saw them the memories hit me pretty hard and reminded me of God's faithfulness. You see, these verses became important to me during my incarceration. It's an awesome (as in truly and extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear; breathtaking, magnificent, wonderful, amazing, stunning, staggering, stirring, fearsome, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, excellent, and marvelous) that there is nowhere we can run that we will get beyond the reach of the Father. Sure it's nice to remember that "if He leads you to it, He will lead you through it," but if you're anything like me, the worst and most painful times have been a result of not following His lead.
Sometimes we may feel like we can't cry out to God for help because the mess we're in is our fault. We imagine God acting like an upset parent saying "you made your bed, now lie in it." That's how I felt about prison. I did the crime and now I had to do the time...alone. Then one day I read these verses, and I lay in my rack and cried. Literally that morning I had made my bed in hell on earth, and it was my rebellious prodigal spirit that took me to that place. And here was a verse reminding me that the Father in the prodigal son story stood on the porch waiting to welcome his son home, not to berate him and condemn him or show some "tough love." Even though I put myself in that place and made my bed in hell I could find Him there with me. I wasn't alone.
No matter what you are going through today, whatever in your circumstances and situation may feel and hurt like hell, He is there. Even if you got there entirely on your own and it's all your fault and you deserve it, His presence is promised, and His mercies are new every morning. Like Jonah's days in the fish and my days in prison, you may have to do the time, but you don't have to do it alone. Turn quickly to Him and let His love comfort you.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 2 ~ Road Construction
Yesterday I had to return something back in my old stomping grounds. As I rode my motorcycle down the highway I noticed that traffic the other direction had been reduced to one lane for road construction. After I dropped off what I needed to return, I headed back to Nacogdoches and decided to avoid the road construction. I turned off the highway onto what I remembered as a pretty smooth black top road that cut through to a farm to market highway and led into town the back way. Either things had changed or I remembered wrong.
A portion of the road didn't have black top. Part of it was white rock and the rest thick sand. Now, my motorcycle doesn't handle well in sand at all. It's just not made for it. Not only does it not handle correctly, but the fender fails to prevent the front tire from slinging dirt in my face. The next thing I knew I had to slow to about 20 mph and still had to constantly blink sand out of my eyes. Finally the road became black top again, but it wasn't so smooth. There were pot holes and ruts in it big enough to shake me to the point of pain, and there were too many to dodge.One hole couldn't be avoided because it sat right in the path I had to take across a one-lane bridge.Even though I had slowed to second gear it rattled my teeth and hurt my back.
It made me think how we often make the same mistake I made on a spiritual level. We spot something coming that will be inconvenient or difficult, and without waiting for guidance from the Holy Spirit we pick another route. Often it's a return to the roads we've traveled before, but they don't work quite like we remember or expect. The turn out to be even more difficult. dangerous and painful than what we were trying to avoid in the first place. This is even more true spiritually since when we turn off His path to go our own way, we leave the path of grace and find ourselves on our own.
Sometimes life gets hard and inconvenient. It can even be dangerous at times. There are times if we listen for direction that God will give us an alternate route around the situation. But there are also times that He wants to use that construction to do something in us. We're supposed to go through it. We may not want to or enjoy it as much. It may slow us down. But it's also the best route. When we head off down the roads of our own way, whether new or old, they never provide the safety and grace that God provides when we stay on the road He has chosen. And we often miss something He wanted to show or give us as well.
Today let us not be quick to veer off in attempt to avoid the construction in our lives. Let us rely on His grace rather than our old ways to get us where He wants and needs us to go.
A portion of the road didn't have black top. Part of it was white rock and the rest thick sand. Now, my motorcycle doesn't handle well in sand at all. It's just not made for it. Not only does it not handle correctly, but the fender fails to prevent the front tire from slinging dirt in my face. The next thing I knew I had to slow to about 20 mph and still had to constantly blink sand out of my eyes. Finally the road became black top again, but it wasn't so smooth. There were pot holes and ruts in it big enough to shake me to the point of pain, and there were too many to dodge.One hole couldn't be avoided because it sat right in the path I had to take across a one-lane bridge.Even though I had slowed to second gear it rattled my teeth and hurt my back.
It made me think how we often make the same mistake I made on a spiritual level. We spot something coming that will be inconvenient or difficult, and without waiting for guidance from the Holy Spirit we pick another route. Often it's a return to the roads we've traveled before, but they don't work quite like we remember or expect. The turn out to be even more difficult. dangerous and painful than what we were trying to avoid in the first place. This is even more true spiritually since when we turn off His path to go our own way, we leave the path of grace and find ourselves on our own.
Sometimes life gets hard and inconvenient. It can even be dangerous at times. There are times if we listen for direction that God will give us an alternate route around the situation. But there are also times that He wants to use that construction to do something in us. We're supposed to go through it. We may not want to or enjoy it as much. It may slow us down. But it's also the best route. When we head off down the roads of our own way, whether new or old, they never provide the safety and grace that God provides when we stay on the road He has chosen. And we often miss something He wanted to show or give us as well.
Today let us not be quick to veer off in attempt to avoid the construction in our lives. Let us rely on His grace rather than our old ways to get us where He wants and needs us to go.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Unshackled Moments ~ September 1 ~ Fantasy Football
Saturday evening my stepson gathered with his father and friends and they drafted their teams for fantasy football. Yesterday evening I spent a few minutes thinking about the team I'd want to have. I'm listening to Pandora in hopes of hearing again the advertisement with the code for the free entry into the fantasy football league I'd like to play. All over this country people will be spending a few minutes to full-time hours and more going over stats and projections and injury reports as they decide who to play, who to trade and who to bench week to week on their fantasy teams. Some people do it for fun. Some do it for the love of the game and competition with friends/bragging rights. Some people do it for money, as in enough money to live on money. But what it's all about is control, or the illusion of it.
It started simply enough. Fans who love certain players would be able to rate and rank those players against their buddies who love different players. My favorite quarterback could outperform yours even if he didn't have the best offensive line in the history of the game protecting him. Well my favorite wide receiver never drops a pass. So teams were made up of different players from all different teams and their stats are used to determine performance. It gives the illusion. If I could put together a team with these and those players I'd be unstoppable. See the stats even show it. But it's fantasy. It's not real. And any sense of accomplishment and control is an illusion. The stats are bogus. It's not going to be the same as if that team was built to see how a player performs with his real team. You didn't have to hire a coaching staff. You get all the benefits of the players that aren't on your team protecting your quarterback and catching his passes. I could go on.
Now don't get me wrong. I love football, and there is nothing wrong with playing fantasy football. It's a nice little additive to make a weekend of football even more exciting and give you the opportunity to be in a position to give your best friend a friendly hard time without having to trash his team too much. But some folks take it far too seriously and seem to lose sight of two things. One it's not real. They call it fantasy for a reason. Two, football is not that important. It's a game. And while the fall would be far less exciting, we would all survive just fine if it disappeared tomorrow. That goes for all sports. We would be in far more trouble if the farmers and the truckers and the teachers were taken by aliens than we would be in the event that science fiction took our sports professionals.
It's ok to enjoy sports and fantasy football, but let's keep it in perspective. And let's do the same with our lives. I decided several things yesterday. I decided to stop at my best friend's father's hospital room on my way out of town and spend a few minutes with them. I decided to drive 2 more hours south to make my wife happy and hopefully at the same time bring in a little more future income buy picking up a poodle. I decided to buy a Houston Texans T-shirt while I was in that area, because I love the Houston Texans and the shirts get cheaper closer to Houston. I decided what I was going to drink and eat and a few other things, like the music I listened to while driving.
Making those decisions can give me the idea that my choices gave me control of my day and my life, or the "need" to make decisions makes my life feel more important. Illusions on the same level as fantasy football illusions. My big choices were not as much mine as I might like to think. They all stem from two choices made years ago. One to submit to the plays that my coach, the Holy Spirit, calls, and two to do what I could to love, care for and bring joy to the treasure who made a choice to say yes to my proposal of marriage. And those other choices, aren't really all that important. Would it have really made any difference in the eternal scheme of things it I had bought a different T-shirt or none at all? And let's be honest here and admit that I got my wife's opinion on the shirt anyway.
What I'm taking too long to say is that choices and decisions matter, and we are called to use our minds with purpose. We have every right to make choices and to take pleasure from them and their results. But only one choice really matters. Only one choice is about control. Only one is life or death. What will say when God calls us to come to Him and let Him be Lord and call the plays in our life? Every other decision, regardless of how we responded to that one is fantasy. Our eternity has been settled and life or death will win. It's not a game. It's eternally real. God is calling. Let us respond with "I am yours. Here I am Lord, send me."
It started simply enough. Fans who love certain players would be able to rate and rank those players against their buddies who love different players. My favorite quarterback could outperform yours even if he didn't have the best offensive line in the history of the game protecting him. Well my favorite wide receiver never drops a pass. So teams were made up of different players from all different teams and their stats are used to determine performance. It gives the illusion. If I could put together a team with these and those players I'd be unstoppable. See the stats even show it. But it's fantasy. It's not real. And any sense of accomplishment and control is an illusion. The stats are bogus. It's not going to be the same as if that team was built to see how a player performs with his real team. You didn't have to hire a coaching staff. You get all the benefits of the players that aren't on your team protecting your quarterback and catching his passes. I could go on.
Now don't get me wrong. I love football, and there is nothing wrong with playing fantasy football. It's a nice little additive to make a weekend of football even more exciting and give you the opportunity to be in a position to give your best friend a friendly hard time without having to trash his team too much. But some folks take it far too seriously and seem to lose sight of two things. One it's not real. They call it fantasy for a reason. Two, football is not that important. It's a game. And while the fall would be far less exciting, we would all survive just fine if it disappeared tomorrow. That goes for all sports. We would be in far more trouble if the farmers and the truckers and the teachers were taken by aliens than we would be in the event that science fiction took our sports professionals.
It's ok to enjoy sports and fantasy football, but let's keep it in perspective. And let's do the same with our lives. I decided several things yesterday. I decided to stop at my best friend's father's hospital room on my way out of town and spend a few minutes with them. I decided to drive 2 more hours south to make my wife happy and hopefully at the same time bring in a little more future income buy picking up a poodle. I decided to buy a Houston Texans T-shirt while I was in that area, because I love the Houston Texans and the shirts get cheaper closer to Houston. I decided what I was going to drink and eat and a few other things, like the music I listened to while driving.
Making those decisions can give me the idea that my choices gave me control of my day and my life, or the "need" to make decisions makes my life feel more important. Illusions on the same level as fantasy football illusions. My big choices were not as much mine as I might like to think. They all stem from two choices made years ago. One to submit to the plays that my coach, the Holy Spirit, calls, and two to do what I could to love, care for and bring joy to the treasure who made a choice to say yes to my proposal of marriage. And those other choices, aren't really all that important. Would it have really made any difference in the eternal scheme of things it I had bought a different T-shirt or none at all? And let's be honest here and admit that I got my wife's opinion on the shirt anyway.
What I'm taking too long to say is that choices and decisions matter, and we are called to use our minds with purpose. We have every right to make choices and to take pleasure from them and their results. But only one choice really matters. Only one choice is about control. Only one is life or death. What will say when God calls us to come to Him and let Him be Lord and call the plays in our life? Every other decision, regardless of how we responded to that one is fantasy. Our eternity has been settled and life or death will win. It's not a game. It's eternally real. God is calling. Let us respond with "I am yours. Here I am Lord, send me."
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