Archive for April, 2010

Tyranny of the Urgent

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Are you busy?  I know in between naps I hardly have time to eat or get a snack.  Life is so very busy.  But not all our busyness is important.  Many of us get wrapped up in stuff that is pretty meaningless.  Oh, it seems important at the time.  In fact it seems down right urgent.  But aren’t our days filled with nothing but urgent things?  Stuff that needs to happen RIGHT NOW?  Stuff like… finding acetone to unstick your fingers after gluing them together with ultra-glue;  spraying your car with air freshener after you forgot about the half burrito that rolled under your seat two weeks ago; returning that DVD you rented two months ago, and for some crazy reason put in the cheese drawer of your fridge; tweeting all your friends to tell them you found the acetone and your fingers are no longer stuck together, and did they know if acetone can be used on lips?;  filling out that job application to become the next crocodile hunter; reorganizing your spice rack; checking the cracks in your couch for change so you can take your family out for ice cream; replaying level one of Fondue-dancer on your video console for the eightieth time so you can try to get a perfect score.  Yes, there are so many things that scream out, “Take care of me now!”  Life is full of unfinished things each crying out.  Charles Hummel called this “The tyranny of the urgent.”  Hummel writes that he was told, “Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.”

Too often we are guilty of just that, letting the urgent crowd out the important.  It’s not that we have a shortage of time, but we fail to recognize what is important and what just seems important or urgent at the moment.  The phone rings…we get a text…an email appears in our inbox….do we have to immediately abandon what we are doing to respond?  Can’t it wait a few minutes until we accomplish the work at hand?  We can get so wrapped up in looking for the best ring-tone, or stalking Hanna Montana’s facebook page to see if she’s changed her relationship status, that we forget to stop and take care of the important things.  There are people around us who need a word of encouragement.  There are those we know in need of prayer.  There is someone who needs to hear about Jesus.  There are words of love that need to be spoken.

Ecclesiastes 3 says, 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,  3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate,  a time for war and a time for peace.

May God help us always see clearly what is important and what is simply a distraction.

Chad

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The War Within

Monday, April 19th, 2010

On a walk this evening I saw a bird sitting on a bracket of a school bus.  The bracket held a couple mirrors.  The bird had somehow seen its reflection in the mirrors and decided that its reflection was another bird who had tried to move in on its territory.  The bird jumped and fluttered and pecked at the mirror.  Over and over again it attacked its own image.  It made me think about how often we are at war with ourselves.  I have all kinds of good intentions, but I notice I’m really good at sabotaging good intentions.  If good intentions were reality; I’d be slim, strong, and intelligent; our yard would be a showplace of flowers; and each blog post, sermon, and newsletter article would offer humorous yet truly insightful and inspirational teachings.  My intention is to lose weight, but I keep making poor choices about food.  I want to be athletic, but I heard I’ll need to get off the couch for that.  Intelligent?  Well, ok, there’s nothing I can do about that.  As for a showplace yard, most of you know I have a black thumb.  That’s right; I can kill a plastic plant.  The people at the local garden nursery call me “the Executioner.”  Every spring the new flowers added to our gardens are planted into “death row.”  At times I think I should just concrete over the whole yard and spray paint it green.

Sorry, I got a little side tracked there.  Like the bird, we are often at war with ourselves.  We want to be more faithful, but temptation pulls us away.   It can get to the point we wonder if we are slaves to sin…doomed to fail again and again.  We want to have a better devotional time, but we find ourselves easily distracted over the concerns of the day.  We hope to be a more loving and giving person, but we find that everyone else has decided to be more mean and selfish.  It’s like our New Year’s resolutions, we are full of good intentions, but reality sets in pretty quickly.  We find we are the same old person we tried to get away from.  In Romans 6 the Apostle Paul challenges us to recognize that through Christ we are set free from our captivity to sin.  …count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life…  We don’t have to be at war with ourselves. By giving ourselves to God, repeatedly and unreservedly, we can find a new and deeper walk with Jesus Christ.  The choice is ours.  God calls us to quit warring and surrender ourselves to him.

Chad

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Is There a Monster Among Us?

Friday, April 16th, 2010

I remember my first time at Universal Studios in California as an exciting event.  There was this life-size statue of Frankenstein’s monster standing right outside the gate.  As you walked by it, it almost seemed real…in fact…it was.  Well, sort of.  The statue was actually a person in make up and costume with 3 inch platform boots.  Every once in a while, some unsuspecting tourist would stop and stare at the “statue”, only to have the statue suddenly lean down from its foot high pedestal and growl.  This caused the unsuspecting tourist to jump back and scream, much to the delight of those looking on.  Sometimes people would try to get a picture of them standing next to the monster, and find that right when the photographer said “Smile,” the monster would reach down and put his hand on the head and shoulder of the person standing near him.  It was all great fun….as long as you weren’t the one getting scared.  One family in particular sticks out in my mind.  There was a family with five or six children.  The monster waited until the mother was almost next to him, when he suddenly leaned out and gave his monstrous groan.  The mother screamed and jumped backwards, knocking three of her children to the ground.  The mother and children were so disturbed; they chose to leave the site.  They marched back to their car and left.

I was wondering if there are any times we chase people away from church.  In the May Pastor’s article I mention that there are many people who have left the church because of something that happened.  It’s been weeks since I’ve leaned forward and groaned like a monster at a visitor.  Visitors frequently tell me of the warm welcome they received from our members.  But I wonder, are there things we do, that keep people away?  Are we keeping people from experiencing the love and grace of God because of an attitude expressed in worship?  Are we selective in showing our appreciation to guests?  How can we better welcome and receive those who visit us, without compromising our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Most of you have heard that Fort Bragg will be expanding, and this will cause some growth in the Fuquay area.  Are we ready to be the welcoming family of Jesus to those who enter our doors?  I encourage you to pray for us as we seek to become the Body of Christ.

Chad

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Pirate Treasure Any One?

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Have you ever wanted to be a treasure hunter?  Exploring the dark dangerous places?  Is there an Indiana Jones inside you waiting to get out?  If you are screaming, “YES!” and you’re looking around for your fedora and whip, have I got a treat for you.  There is a group of like minded individuals who have taken the technology of GPS and the internet and combined it with the adventuresome spirit of a renegade seeker of antiquities – without the snakes, spiders, and barbaric natives.  This activity is called “geocaching”.   It’s a treasure hunt/easter egg hunt for people of all ages all around the world.  Whether you are in Fuquay Varina or Timbuktu there are caches to find.  All you need to do is log into www.geocaching.com choose where you want to go looking, choose a treasure and start the hunt.  Most caches have a sign in sheet, so you can add your name to the adventurers who found the treasure.  So looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon?  Go geocaching.  Going on vacation and want to make visiting a park a little more interesting?  Geocache.

Why post this?  Well, as summer is coming, lots of people are going to be looking for things to do.  Also, this year’s VBS will have a pirate-like theme.  So I’m hoping this gets people in the mood for helping out at Bible School.  So have fun.  And enjoy the day.

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice

Chad

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Welcome

Friday, April 9th, 2010

I was a fan of the old TV show Cheers.  My favorite character was Norm, a short homely heavy set man, who would walk into the bar and say, “Evening everybody.”  He would then be greeted by everyone in the bar calling back, “NORM.”   There is one show where the typical greeting of Norm happens, and then Coach asks, “How’s life treating you, Normy?”  Norm shakes his head as he says, “Like I just ran over its dog.”  One of the great allures of the show was the opening song, which says we all want to go someplace where we are welcomed, cared about, where everybody knows our name.  This odd mix of characters all blending together becoming friends made the show something many people connected with.  The good-looking former baseball star, the know-it-all postman (who actually knew nothing), Norm – the accountant, and the high strung overly educated waitress, somehow this odd collection of people who would normally have little to do with each other, all find community and friendship at Cheers.

There are frequently two things happening when someone visits a church.  First, they are looking for a new place to worship and experience God.  The second thing happening is they are looking for a connection with the people there, for community, for friendship.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to extend our love and friendship to those outside our circle.  We are to love our neighbor.  At times it can be a challenge to love our neighbor…so many of them work so hard at being unlovable.  And yet, it is as followers of Jesus where the zealot and the tax collector became brothers.  The fisherman sat beside the teacher.  The young and the old, the rich and the poor, the respected and the despised, all found a welcome in the body of Christ.  As followers of Jesus, we are called to tear down dividing walls.  We are to welcome any who come in among our fellowship.  We are to extend the love and peace of our Savior.  We are to not just tolerate their presence, but to be their friend.  When people come to your church…are you ready to welcome them?  Some days it’s not so easy to do.  But our Savior ate with tax collectors and sinners….like you and me.  Perhaps we could be as caring so others might also know God’s warm welcome.

Chad

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Pine Dust

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Right now, our area is covered in a thick yellow coating of pollen that people call “pine dust.”  Each step taken causes a little billow of yellow dust to rise up around your feet.  It reminds me of those films of the early moon walks.  When the wind blows you can see a yellow haze in the air.  Throw in all the tree and flower pollens of spring and you have a hay fever sufferer’s equivalent to water-boarding.  Your sinuses are clogged and swollen to 3 times their normal size, making you think they are trying to explode out of your skull like the creatures from Alien; your nose drips like a faucet not quite turned off; your eyes burn like you’ve been sprayed with a good dose of pepper spray; and every attempt to take a deep breath causes you to choke, gasp, wheeze, and cough.  If I knew any national secrets I’d be ready to talk. Ok, Ok!  I know I’m a wimp!

As I contemplate this near death experience that lasts for several weeks, I hear the radio playing The David Crowder Band singing O Praise Him.  I want to wallow in my misery for at least another half an hour.  I might even declare that I’m too miserable to do anything of value or ministry related.  After all, it’s not really appropriate for the minister to tell the terminally ill church member about how bad his allergies are.  But the music keeps playing, Oh praise Him! Oh praise Him! He is Holy! He is Holy!  I want to be grumpy and unreasonable, but I’m reminded of God’s love and goodness.  I hear of God’s grace and mercy.  Turn your gaze to Heaven and raise a joyous noise.  Oh the sound of salvation come.   The sound of rescued ones and all this for a king.  Angels join to sing ‘All for Christ our King!’

As I try to find a way to wallow in my suffering, God reaches down and pulls me out.  He reminds me about the blessings of our Easter celebration yesterday.  In spite of my allergies, God is good.  His steadfast love endures forever.  While I cross my arms and look to heaven and say, “Can’t I just be grouchy for a little while?”  God brings Romans 8 to mind and He whispers, “No.” 

Romans 8 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Chad

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Good Friday

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

I was on my way to pick up a few things from the store, when I saw a farmer out disking his field.   This being Good Friday, my mind did a little bit of free association (some people call it daydreaming), and I started to think about deeper things…literally.  If you are not a farmer or a gardener, you may not be familiar with the term soil compaction.  Over time soils get packed down or compacted.  It happens faster when the soil is used for farming or it is part of a dirt path.  Compaction limits the amount of water and air that can get down into the ground….down to the roots of whatever plants may be there.  Disking will cause about six to eight inches to be churned up.  This will loosen the ground for seeds or young seedlings.  But if you want something to build a healthier root system, you have to go deeper.  That’s when the farmer starts tilling.  We have a friend in Illinois that did deep tilling.  His tilling blades were five feet tall.  They cut deep into the ground, loosening all that soil, breaking up the near concrete like clumps that had formed.  Crops planted where there was deep tilling will have deeper roots, and have access to more moisture, more nutrients and more room for growing.  The plants will grow taller and they will produce more crop.  So what does this have to do with Good Friday?  Nothing really, except I began to think about how sometimes we let our hearts and souls and lives get compacted.  We get worn out by life, stepped on, pushed, prodded, and used.  Before we know it, we have developed a stone-like core.  We are no longer fertile soil for God’s Spirit to work in.  On the surface we are very fertile soil.  We attend church, give regularly, say nice things about our in-laws (ok, but some of you do) and try to live a nice, kind, moral life.  The problem is that a few inches below the surface, we have hardened our hearts.  God’s love can’t take root there.  God’s grace finds no place to grow.

There comes a time when we need a little deep tilling.  We need our hardened hearts to be broken up and reworked.  We need to let fresh grace and the nourishment of God’s love sink in.  In a manner of speaking, we need to be broken, so that the seeds of God’s Spirit might take root and grow.  Good Friday is a day for us to remember that Jesus was broken for our transgressions.  He was bruised for our iniquities.  Upon Him was the punishment that made us whole.  On the cross, Jesus, God in the flesh, died so we might be forgiven of our sins.   He gave so we might receive.  He died so we might live.  He surrendered so we might be victorious.  If we remain compacted and hard-hearted we are missing out.  We are preventing the greatest gift ever given from finding a home and taking root in our hearts.  Look to the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Recognize that on that cross Jesus bore your sins, your hatred, your anger, your bitterness, and your resentment.  On the Cross, His blood rained down to water and restore our parched souls and enable us to live abundantly and victoriously.

Chad

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