Overtaken* by Blessing or by Curse, You Decide...

 My family’s home was on a steep hill and we had Black Labrador Retrievers when I was growing up. They were intended to be duck hunting dogs, but became mainly just pets. Heckle and Jeckle, named after the mischievous cartoon Magpies of the late 1950’s, loved to run when released, each one trying to outdo the other. I once then tried to outrun them down our front yard to let them swim in the lake. I let them go and was running as hard as I could, but I was no match for my canine companions; they both clipped me at my knees when overtaking me, sending me into a bowling ball tumble into the Nandina bushes. Scraped and bruised, I then had to chase them through the neighborhood and put them back in our yard. The nandinas had a preteen boy sized indentation that would eventually grow back, but they were a reminder to me to be aware of where those dogs were when I was running. In that same yard, my toddler cousin would run down the hill full speed while laughing, until his little legs couldn’t keep up. He would fall head first and tumble, still laughing. My aunt would come and scoop him up and cover him in kisses and they would laugh and do it again and again. 

In the book of Deuteronomy, when Moses was reminding God’s people that they should love and obey God and not turn away from Him to other gods. He says “if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.” (Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV) The imagery is of a fast and strong animal that outruns, attacks, and overwhelms its prey. Moses had also reminded them that good things would overwhelm them if they loved God and obeyed Him. He says, “all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:2 ESV) But we all know what happened; the people were not able to obey and they were overtaken by their enemies, famine, and loss. 

This is where the Good News comes in. God sends His Son, Jesus, who is completely righteous and His great love outruns us, overwhelms us, and overtakes us. He pursues us like a mother chasing a toddler then scooping us up, snuggling us close, and kissing our whole face. As we respond to Jesus and love Him back, we are overwhelmed by His blessings. Jesus reminds us… “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24 NIV11) 

I think I'd rather be overwhelmed by great blessings rather than curses.  Obedience comes from our love of God, not the other way around. We can’t religiously obey our way into loving God, but when we love God we will obey Him. 

Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all. 

Foundation Sacrifices?*

 I was working 4 jobs and my family and I were living with my in-laws. At my previous church in Nashville, we lived in the parsonage, so when I left the church with no place to go, we went to live with Anita’s parents.  I worked part-time at another church, at the local Baptist Association, at the UPS store, and at a local gymnastics gym, all while doing my due diligence and praying to find a new full-time ministry opportunity.  Some days I had to check where I was working that day. I had dyscalendaria, getting my days and weeks mixed up. My days didn’t have much time left in them for my family.  I tried to spend my days off with my family, but it seems I was working every day somewhere just trying to get my feet back under me, pay my bills, and rebuild my life. One day my father-in-law said, “Bill, your son really needs you right now.” It broke my heart. All the indicators in his life checked off: he was winning awards at school and playing golf with his grand-dad, he had friends and seemed happy. My other kids seemed to be doing well too, they were enjoying country club life and being spoiled by their grandparents, while attending a school in one of the best districts in the nation. But my father-in-law was right, I didn’t have much time in my schedule for my family. They kept their game faces on, because they knew I was looking for a new ministry, but I wasn’t there for some important day to day conversations about life in elementary school, bed-time prayers, or tuck-in times. When God led me to be a pastor on staff at another church, I had to live in Chattanooga and commute 3 hours to be home with my family until the school year ended.  The bonus was I only had one job instead of four.  When my family finally joined me in Chattanooga, we ate dinner together every night. Every Friday was set aside to go explore our new town together. We were finally creating some new memories and experiences together, but the days we lost over that year’s time would never be recovered.  The classic song, “The Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin still plays on the radio in my mind when I think about those days. 

In the book of 1 Kings there was a man whose name was Hiel, which means “Brother of God.” He was from the city of Bethel, which means “House of God.” He famously rebuilt Jericho, but gave up his family for the fame. This man, who was a supposed follower of God, had not consulted God but had decided to follow the prevailing practice of using his sons as “foundation sacrifices” to the pagan gods when building a building. Actual skeletons have been found in the foundation walls of buildings excavated around that area by archaeologists. The first son, Abiram’s name means “my father is exalted.” And the second son’s name, Segub, means “exalted.”  This man was willing to give up his family to be seen as exalted for his great work. This story comes from one verse in the book of 1 Kings. Here’s how it reads: “... Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest, he finished its gates, according to the word of the LORD he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.” (1 Kings 16:34 CSB17)  Notice that the Israelite conqueror of the Promised Land, Joshua, had prophesied that this very thing would happen. Remember this was the city whose walls had collapsed after the Ark of the Lord and the Israelite army had marched around it for 7 days and they shouted and blew trumpets. Sometimes even people who are considered “God’s people” do the same things the pagans do for accolades, wealth, and benefits that cost them everything. 

When Jesus comes to Jericho much later there is “good news.” A man named Zacchaeus had given up relationships to become wealthy.  This Israelite tax collector for the occupying Romans, famously repented, had Jesus stay at his house, and also returned the money (4 fold) to the people he had gouged while collecting taxes. When Jesus turned his life around, it restored his relationship to God and the people he had hurt. A real relationship with God reorders our priorities and helps us act like our “Jesus-self,” valuing God and others over fame, prosperity and worldly gains. 

Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all. 

No Brakes! No Control!*

 

She had let off the throttle and killed the engine, but she was still careening toward me as I was preparing to help her dock her Seadoo. She was laughing and smiling having had an exhilarating ride around the lake but not yet realizing the impact of her mistake.  I had been around watercraft enough to know that this was going to hit the dock pretty hard and give her a jolt, so my wide eyes told her something was wrong. She tried to turn, but with no power jets, she had no control. I tried to cushion the crash by catching it with my feet and legs, but they were no match for the momentum of the water rocket.  I had scrapes on the backs of my legs from the dock and my feet hurt from trying to cushion the impact. She just about fell off the saddle as the personal watercraft hit the dock. A part of the bumper strip buckled and the dock was marred, but she continued to laugh as she climbed on the dock and threw the lifejacket at me. I wanted to be upset with this friend from one of our churches, but after some thought, God reminded me of the times I had barreled into a situation or conversation after my brain had already shut down. My words and actions careened into people who were trying to help me and I had no clue the damage I had done to our relationship. 

Wise King Solomon says, “One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.” (Proverbs 14:16 ESV) Our actions and reactions have consequences. Sometimes we need to be reminded that our best self (our Jesus-self) always handles people with care. We will either use our power and strengths thoughtfully to intentionally bring kindness to people, or we hurt people when we mindlessly charge in like a “bull in a china shop.”  

Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all

Pop the curb!*

Photo cred: Benjamin Hunting

My father was a very patient man… except when he got behind the wheel.  He drove like Mario Andretti even when there was no emergency. Now, he could be helpful with his Jeep Wagoneer pulling people out of the ditch or taking someone to the hospital in the snow, but he could also use the 4 wheel drive feature to do some crazy things. While hunting one time we took an old wagon road that became so narrow he drove with one set of wheels on the path and one set  on the embankment… all I saw was grass, rocks, and red mud out my window from the passenger side and when I looked to the driver’s side my father was in his seat way above my head and I saw trees and sky out his window. When my family went to a stunt car show and the car went up on two wheels and drove around. I said “aw shoot, my Dad and I did that in the woods last year.”  Apparently, there were few rules for my father who grew up with fewer cars on the road and fewer laws on the books. He drove out of necessity way before he was 16 or had a license. Once, when he was trying to get to the hospital, the traffic was stopped, so he hopped the median to try another route. However, he didn’t notice the police cruiser on the other side. He got pulled over. When he tried to explain that he was a physician who was trying to get to the hospital, she did not care. She wrote him a ticket. He did not think that was fair, so he tried to appeal. The man who was trying to help him with the process said, “I don’t know what you said to that officer when you got pulled over, but she refuses to tear up that ticket and is determined that you will pay the fine.”  Being the child of my father, I too thought that there were few rules I needed to follow when driving. I definitely got my share of tickets, jumped medians, and rolled through stop signs. But it finally dawned on me that maybe I shouldn’t drive like that. I had just started seminary and was interning at a church in Ft. Worth. One day the traffic was very slow leaving the church parking lot, so I jumped a landscape median and a curb and pulled out onto the road. The next week, a new friend who helped with the church’s building and grounds team, said, “I saw you pop the curb last week.” I said, “yes, that is one benefit of having a 4Runner.” Then he clarified saying, “we don’t do that around here.” With an entitled edge to my voice I said, “Why not?” He then let me know “Why not! And What for!” He said it was rude, it ruined the landscape and irrigation, and it was not a good look for a church intern to be impatiently driving over medians. I said, “oh, I guess you are right, never thought about it that way.”  Sometimes we need to be reminded that our thinking is twisted. 

“Iniquity” is thinking that wrong behaviors are okay when they are clearly not. The Hebrew word for iniquity is a word that means twisted.  In iniquity, we have a mistaken view that self-serving, distorted, or harmful actions are okay for us to do. We may have learned them legitimately from generations before us, but they are still wrong. When God introduces Himself to Moses, He makes sure that Moses knows that iniquity can be forgiven, but it is never okay and that we are to behave differently when we belong to Him or it can affect our families generations later. Exodus 34:6-7 says, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7 ESV) Wow, that generation stuff is convicting, because I rode with my son a few years ago and guess what? He drives a little bit like his dad and his granddad.  My son and I have both chilled out in the last few years, but when triggered, I can still pop a curb with the best of them.  Only now I have remorse, I have to confess my iniquity, that I have behaved in a way that doesn’t look like the actions of someone who belongs to Jesus.  I’m praying that the driving iniquities will end with this generation. 

Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all.