God Is Looking For You

A telephone solicitor heard the voice of a young boy on the other end of the phone.

"Can I speak to your mom?"

"No, she is busy!"

"Can I speak to your dad?"

"No he is busy too!"

"What are mom and dad doing that keeps them so busy?"

"They are helping the firemen and the police here at the house."

"What are the fireman and police doing at your house?"

"Looking for me" said the little boy.

Have you ever realized how God is looking for you?

God searches out Adam and Eve in the garden. They have eaten the forbidden fruit after the conversation with the talking snake. They realize they are naked. I am not sure whether it is the nakedness or the fear of disobeying God (or both!) that leads them to hide from God. But God finds them.

Jesus tells three lost stories in the Gospel of Luke. There is the lost sheep where the shepherd loses one and leaves the ninety nine. Then there is the lost coin that a woman turns her house upside down to find. Finally there is the lost son that the Father runs to meet when the son comes to his senses. The Father gains the son that has come home only to lose the son that has been there all along.

We like to think that God has more to care about than each one of us. But it simply is not true. God will not rest until ALL of the world is found.

When my son, Noah was a little boy he loved to play hide and seek. When he was annoying his sisters, they loved to play hide and seek with him. But he was not good at the game. All you had to do is say, "Noah, where are you?" His little voice wherever he was would answer, "Over here!" If you did not find him in a short period of time, he would come out from his hiding place.

You may be in hiding. You may think God is not looking for you. But you are wrong. God is always searching for you. God is always wooing you back to where you should be. You can always be found by God.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

 

Lie Down and Rest

There is that line in the 23^rd Psalm, "He makes me lie down..."

I sent my son to the grocery store the other day. Sending my son to the grocery store used to be quite an adventure. You never knew what he would end up buying. You never knew how long it would take him to get there and back even if it was only five minutes away. You know there are a lot of ways one can go to the grocery store.

So Noah comes into the house after a short while and says, "Dad, come see if you can turn off your car." Now the thought of a car not being able to be turned off had never crossed my mind. The thought of my car not turning off sent fear throughout my whole body as I have zero mechanical skills. In fact, I have negative numbers when it comes to mechanical skills. But sure enough, the car would not turn off. You could even take the key out and it would continue running. So what do I do now?

Well, my first thought was to get it to a place that when it did stop running it would not be in the way or in a line of danger for me or anyone else. The second thought (which became my first thought quickly) was I need to get this to a mechanic. So I drove the car that would not start to the shop.

Some of us have the same problem that my car had. We do not know how to stop. Maybe it is that we do not know when to stop. Maybe it is the fact that we have such low self-esteem that if we were to stop, we would be of less value to the world. Sometimes it is the emotions that will not let us stop. Whatever it is, our motor—our mind, spirit, or body will not turn off.

It is an exhausting way to live life. We martyr ourselves daily making sure that the world around us knows that we are doing this. We blame anything and everything for anything and everything. Usually we end up crashing or at least driving through the world around us wreaking havoc in every direction.

The Psalmist says that God says, "Lie Down!" Not only are we to lie down but we are to lie down beside the still waters. Obviously God does not have insight into our troubled life. Or does God really have more insight than what we want to admit.

A good mechanic takes the car that will not stop and knows how to immediately turn the car off, disconnect the battery so it will not run down. Then the mechanic puts a new part in the ignition that recognizes the power of the key. Did you hear that last part—recognizes the power of the key?

God is the key to our life and our restfulness. You can trust God with the world, even your crazy world, and rest.

I served a troubled church one time. It troubled me greatly as well. Each day I would begin the drive home carrying too many burdens in too many places. Finally on the way home at a four way stop not far from my house, I had had enough. I could go no more. I asked God to help me in a way I had never done before. God invited me to rest. I heard God say to me that every day on my way home, at the four way stop, I could unload the burdens of the day and leave them there. I could go home and rest. I could go home and just enjoy being with my family. So that became a ritual. Some days I had to let some cars go around me at the four way stop as I was not through unloading the burdens. But each morning on the way back to work, I could pick up the previous days concerns at the four way stop. They seemed lighter because I was rested.

Rest. It is necessary. Let the power of the key (God's presence) turn off the motor that will not stop.

Pray for me as I pray for you

Staying Married is Work!

And they lived happily ever after.

These are the words of a fairy tale. Fairy tales is a genre of literature that we all know are fantasy. This means the story is full of things that are not real. The reality of marriage is that it is hard work. Those who tell you otherwise are simply not being truthful.

The reason that marriage is hard work is that I am hard to live with. Yes, I know many of you are shaking your heads in disbelief. But it is true. It is true for you as well. Each one of us is difficult to live with. We have our own rough edges. We all have our moments in which we are less than beautiful. If you do not believe it, just look in the mirror early one morning.

Now having said all that let me tell you that it is worth all the work. There are days that romance fills the air. There are days that you stare into each other's world goo goo eyed. There are days when you are glad that you have held their hand and their heart. There are days that you are glad that you are glad someone else held your hand and your heart.

In today's world the statistics tell us that half of the marriages will fail. That number goes even higher for persons who live together before they are married or are in their second or third marriage. I think it is because of the work involved in staying married. We simply are not willing to give the relationship the time necessary. We are not willing to grow up.

The second reason marriages fail is infidelity. The other word for that is cheating. The biblical word for that is fornication.

A refined woman showed up at her drugstore one morning. "I need some cyanide." The druggist who was a dear friend of hers said, "What in the world do you need cyanide for?" She answered, "My husband has been unfaithful and I am going to kill him!" The druggist answered, "Now you know that I cannot give you such. It is against the law. I know it is a terrible thing, but you must think this through." The woman then pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the druggist's wife. The druggist then said, "You didn't tell me you had a prescription!"

God's prescription for marriage is love, forgiveness, faithfulness, and yes—work. Give each other the time needed. Grow up as you grow in love and years. This week, I am fortunate to celebrate 25 years of marriage with my darling wife, Mandy. She has blessed me in so many ways. And yes, we have had to work at it but it is worth all the work!

And we have lived happily—most of the time.

Pray for me as I pray for you

Do More Meet Less

It is just a silly story that came to me.

There was once a city somewhere in the United States.

The governing body of the city became deeply concerned when it came to their attention that people were actually hungry. Something just had to be done. So the strategies began.

At the first meeting in which hunger was placed on the agenda, a young man stood up and offered a solution. Let's plant a community garden and share. We share the work. We share the garden goods with those in need. With that, he left the meeting and planted a garden on an abandoned field near the town.

The Council heard the idea but the decision was made that the idea needed to be refined. Therefore, a study committee was appointed to study the options as to what plants would yield greater results as well as where the best place would be to plant the field. After the first meeting of the study group, the group came back to the Council suggesting that it also include in its study a look at what other cities had done to face the problem.

The Daughters of American Gardeners (DAG) decided that it would be necessary to honor all of those who had planted gardens in the area over the past 100 years. After all these folks had paved the way for gardening in the area and to not honor their work would be a slap in their face. The Council adopted an official day of recognition for this celebration.

The local ministerial association decided that there needed to be a day of prayer to ready the city for the task ahead of them. The God Almighty would be the one to bless the crops and allow the problem to be resolved. It would also be a great time of spiritual renewal for the community.

The Mothers Against Youth Being Endangered (MAYBE)) organized within 30 days. These Mothers of all ages would take a stand against what hunger can do to the youth of our day.

The Political Action Pac Against Hunger (PAPAH) immediately when into action. The group of political pundits had a $1000 plate benefit in which the money raised was used to run political advertisements identifying politicians who voted against hunger oriented legislation. Some of the money raised was also used to prosecute persons who planted a garden in places where city resolutions prohibited them to be planted. Nothing worse in life than illegal gardens.

There was more action and movement in the city than one can imagine. However do not confuse action and movement with resolution.

Three months later, the young man passed out food the hungry in the city. Their smiles were his reward for the work he had put in the field.

One of the things that amazes me about the life of Jesus is that nowhere in the scriptures do I find that he organized a study or held a committee meeting. Jesus just went about doing good.

Maybe our world would benefit with less meetings and studies and more hands doing the work of compassion. When all is said and done, may more be done than said!

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Life is Too Short!

For those whose spiritual life is not at its highest point, I need to give you information you probably are not privy to have. The 112^th U.S. Open Championship Tournament was held this past week. Webb Simpson won it.

Golf is a spiritual game. I can play a round of golf with someone and learn a lot about their spiritual life. For some playing with a clergy is a challenge. When I have met some folks on the golf course, when asked what I do for a living, I have answered, "I'll tell you after we putt out on 18!" I do not want to spoil their round!

For many years, my brother, Larry and I would play in some golf tournaments. We would take a Sunday off and play during the weekend. We enjoyed tournament competition—most of the time. One tournament we were paired with two Baptist deacons. The first nine was one of those rounds where there was not much talk. They were played great golf. They were also speaking in tongues and consuming lots of beer. We were not playing well at all. As we made our way to the 10^th tee, one of their buddies ruined their day. "How are ya'll making out playing with the two preachers?" All of a sudden they were trying to remember what they had said and done. They began to apologize for everything. They shot a 50 on the back nine! We were amused.

I remember playing with two guys where I learned the B and J rules of golf. These were two church members who had played together for years. They invited me to play a round with them. Usually golf is ruled by the United States Golf Association rules. Each person is responsible for enforcing these rules for themselves. However a person playing with you also enforces the rules to protect the field of competition.

The B and J rules were quite different. First of all you had to walk. How could you carry on a conversation riding? A pull cart was permissible even encouraged. If you hit a hazard, you had the option of hitting another ball or just lifting from the hazard with no penalty. If you needed to move your ball or tee it up to hit it, no problem. Once you began putting on the green, you continued until you finished. You never had more than two putts per hole. The maximum number of strokes per hole was two over par. Your efforts were recognized in deduction of swings taken on the hole. If you found a golf ball, you gave it to your playing partner. Two whiffs equaled a free "throw" of the golf ball. It causes less damage than throwing the club. Laughter during, after, and before the shots was encouraged. Any snacks harbored in your bag for the round had to be shared with everyone.

I have never laughed so much during a round of golf as I did with these two guys. They enjoyed each other's company. They enjoyed their round of golf. As we were loading our clubs back in the car, I asked them how they came up with the B and J rules of golf. B looked at me and said, "The days and the courses became too long!" Without a moment's pause, J continued, "and life is too short!"

I think Jesus spent time with the disciples laughing and loving. Maybe it was the time at Lazarus' house. Maybe it was on the journey around the Galilee. Good friends make it a habit to laugh a lot and love even more.

Life is too short to not laugh and love. I think somewhere in the heavens these two guys are still playing golf.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Fathers Can Inspire

Sunday is Father's Day. It is not as grand and glorious as Mother's day. I think it is because that in the actual birth process, dads are pretty much spectators. So there is not as much a sense of indebtedness. Mothers remind children of the pain of childbirth.

What are your memories of dad?

As a little boy I remember my dad playing all kinds of sports. Secretly I think he wanted one of his sons to be a professional sports star. However, it just wasn't there. He would spend hours with us playing baseball, golf, or football. On Saturdays before there was organized football for elementary kids, my dad was organizing it. We didn't have uniforms or practices. We showed up in our rag tag football stuff and played. When we played golf, the round never started until Dad made his first par. Until then it was just warming up. He wanted to at least start the round even par. Nobody in Minden started on number one at the golf course so it did not matter.

I remember the first plane ride. Dad got tickets to the Dallas Cowboys football game. We flew from Shreveport, caught a bus and went to the game. Then the next day we flew home. My dad ran a radio station so he could get press passes for opening days. I was at opening day for Six Flags, Astroworld, the Astrodome (Yankees versus Houston Colts), the Superdome, and Disney World. I lived a theme park life.

Dad was a leader in the church. He was the one who traveled with the youth group whenever and wherever. The church was the source of friends and fellowship. And God be with you if you misbehaved at the church!

But the greatest gift that Dad gave to me was a sense of security. My world was safe. I was encouraged to adventure (within limits) I was given boundaries to test knowing that my place at home was not at risk. When I did well, he was my greatest cheerleader. When I failed, he was there.

My dad is now blind and 86 years old. The last ten years has changed dramatically for him. He can no longer do the things he did with such great ease. It is frustrating for him in many ways. Sometimes he wonders aloud to me as to why he is still around. I know the answer. He is around for those who need his presence. The presence of a father makes all the difference in the world.

My prayer is that when I am in the last years of my life, my sons and daughters will have memories of their dad that inspire them as much as my dad has inspired me.

This Father's day, celebrate the presence. It may be in the memory. It may be at hand. Know that God is present for you.

Gather Honey in Life!

So while visiting my grandkids, I was introduced to a new television show I had never seen. It is called Duck Dynasty. After watching it I knew why I had never watched it. But when you are with Grandkids, you will do anything—once. It is a reality show about an unusual family in Monroe. The family is what many would refer to as "redneck." Now one needs to understand that this can be a word of endearment to some. At times it seemed that it was a reality episode of the old movie, "Dumb and Dumber". Again, please do not read this as an uncomplimentary remark. I really believe that a part of the reality show wants this response!

This particular episode was about honey and bees. The boys (younger grown men) were out in the swamp in North La and came upon a huge beehive filled with honey. Their challenge was to get the honey in spite of the bees. The decision was made to create a long hose with the shop vac. They would suck the bees into the shop vac and then steal the honey. Needless to say, this ended in failure pretty quickly. So then one of them convinced the other that bees would not sting at night. After all, none of them could remember anyone being stung at night. That night, they made their way to the beehive. One of them would cut the branch holding the beehive and another would catch the honeycomb. Needless to say, bees DO sting at night. Finally they make their way to the dad with their stories of failure.

The dad takes the youngest grandson with him the next day. The grandson blows some smoke around the beehive to keep the bees calm as the dad gently puts the honeycomb into a container. No swarming. No stings. Only honey.

Sometimes gentleness and grace are the greatest tools we have to gather the honey of life. Harsh actions or reactions only create more swarms that can harm everyone. The opportunity to respond as Christ would respond is a gift of the Spirit.

I know it is hard to believe, but there are some folks that simply do not care for me. Don't laugh too hard, it is true about you too! This past week I received probably the harshest letter I have ever received in over thirty five years of ministry. This person thought it was necessary to "dress me down" in every way. Now there is a part of me that remembered the old adage, "Sticks and stones may break…"—you know the rest of it. But there was another part of me that felt the pain of each word. After all, we all want to be liked. Then I remembered what I know to be truer than I want it to be---hurt people hurt people.

So I made the decision to tell Jesus about how the words hurt me. I asked God to help me change what needed to change for my witness to be faithful if indeed it was not faithful. Then I spent some time praying for the person who wrote me the letter. That is all that I will do to answer the letter. Harsh reactions only create more swarms in life. I will choose to focus on those whom God has given me that I will nurture.

Gather the honey of life with gentleness and grace.

Pray for me as I pray for you!