God allows for, even enables, a do-over

“From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2).”

Hoagy Carmichael wrote the  following lyrics:

“Old rockin’ chair’s got me, my cane by my side
Fetch me that gin, son, ‘fore I tan your hide
Can’t get from this cabin, goin’ nowhere
Just set me here grabbin’ at the flies round this rockin’ chair

My dear old aunt Harriet, in Heaven she be
Send me sweet chariot, for the end of the trouble I see
Old rockin’ chair gets it, Judgment Day is here
Chained to my rockin’ chair”

I am sure there are plenty of us who feel that way as we get older. We feel like life has passed us by, or that we’ve wasted our best years.  We just want to sit in the rocking chair, drink our mint juleps and pass on.

On the other hand, some of the mature set have decided to make hay while the sun shines.  With longer life spans these days, Grandma and Grandpa can be be found on the ski slopes now.  These folks are the ones with the bumper stickers that read,”I’m spending my children’s inheritance.”

These latter seniors would follow Mark Twain’s adage,”Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. ”  

They still have strength and vigor, but are using it to fulfill their pleasures.  For them, a quote from former baseball player Chili Davis is applicable.  He said,”Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.”

For the believer, Chili Davis’s statement has truth, also.  Even as we reach middle age, some of us continue to act like kids.  Jim Fiebig said, “Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone”.  For some middle agers and beyond, this is rings true, also.

Some of us in middle age wake up just in time, however.  We learn from our mistakes.  For some reason, up until now we just haven’t gotten what godly men and women were trying to tell us (Proverbs 5:12,13).

We had all the advantages, too. We had godly parents.  We had faithful mentors .  We made tons of promises to God, but kept nary a one (Psalm 61:5).

Now, we’re tryin to turn it around as we enter the last stage of life.  We realize that we may be getting old, but we realize we ain’t dead yet. 

We are asking God not to remember the sins of our youth, but instead show His love to us as this time (Psalm 25:7). In his suffering, Job felt God was making him pay for his youthful indiscretions (Job 13:26).   Suffering will make you feel that way, but it will also produce godliness in the end. 

We are finally gettin it, but the standard is still too great for us.  We want to make a difference for God in our families, with our fellow believer, and with the lost before the lights go out.  But we now know that if we’re going to reach the heights, it is God who will have to enable us (II Samuel 22:34).

Perhaps this is the greatest lesson we sinful saints have learned over the years. God has to do it. 

This gives hope instead of anguish for the rest of the journey.  It’s in His hands as we finally make ourselves available for His use.   Thankfully, there is still time.

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”  ~John Barrymore

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The cavalry to the rescue

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD (Proverbs 21:31).”

Saturday night is movie night in our family. So last night we chose to watch “Stagecoach”, one of the early John Wayne films.

The story is about a diverse group of people traveling through Apache territory.  The passengers  include former Civil War enemies They also include those esteemed by society and those who are not.  Regardless of their status,    Gernonimo is on the warpath, and this disparate band of folks are about to become desperate. 

They think they have it made when they ford a ferry and near the town where they are headed.  But the Indians have caught up with them.

In the most exciting scene of movie, the Indians go after the stagecoach in a high speed chase, guns blazing on both sides.  When it appears that all hope is lost, the U.S. Cavalry comes to the rescue, and the group is saved.

A lot of things had to happen, though, for these travelers to even be near in the same place as their rescuers. In “Stagecoach”, the self-righteous elitists who should be humble leaders find that their poorer fellow travelers are necessary for them to get through their current predicament.  In fact, these “lesser” members of society have more character and courage in a pinch than the high society folks. Thus, people who would normally not have anything to do with each other meld together in a common cause: survival. As a result, they have already overcome many dangers to get to where the cavalry is located. 

When things look bleak, we humans tend to look for ways of escape.  That’s only natural.  But it’s especially hard on those who are leading the group. Others are depending on presidents, governors, pastors, elders, and fathers and/or mothers to come through for them.  For these leaders, the pressure is great.  Some measure up, and some don’t. In Stagecoach, the leaders are poor, forcing the followers into positions of leadership.

The apostle Peter warned the elders of  the early church that they needed to be willing, humble servants of others in the midst of suffering.  He also charged the people in their charge to submit to them.  Peter told them that their humility toward one another would release God’s grace (I Peter 5: 1-7).

It’s difficult for Christians in position of responsibility to lead when their followers won’t follow. Likewise, it’s difficult for those in their care to respond to their leaders when they have selfish attitudes and actions.

Satan is more than willing to stir things up among both the leaders and followers.  Indeed, he surely is a cause of part of the suffering we endure as Christians.  Peter warns of Satan’s role and tells believers to resist him, keep a firm faith in God, and maintain the perspective that suffering is part of the Christian life (I Peter5: 8,9).

God calls believers who are in a common purpose to humbly cooperate with each other when they are in a tight situation. We think we might be equipped for our trials using our own wits and resources.  But God is the source of overcoming when we are suffering, and it His grace which will help us prevail (I Peter 5:10).

 We Christians may have to suffer for a while, but the cavalry, God and His grace,  is coming to  the rescue.  To be in the spot where He can help us, we need to trust in Him and in each other.

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Year-round living Christmas trees

“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day (Psalm 96:1,2).”

Most people who follow sports know the story of Michael Vick.  He is the American football player who had the world at his feet.  He was a gifted athlete for the Atlanta Falcons and highly celebrated.

Then Vick’s world came down like a house of cards.  He was arrested for being involved in a vicious dogfighting ring and sent to prison. He was disgraced.  There was a good chance he would never again play in the National Football League .

However, one team gave him a second chance.  The Philadelphia Eagles took him under their wing (pun intended) and let him play football again. He hasn’t done much on the field. But this didn’t stop his teammates from voting him as their most courageous player.  Even though he knew he would face criticism and abuse for his past because he was again in the public eye, Vick took the field again and by all accounts has been a model citizen. His teammates wanted to recognize this.

As Christians we are apt to take a dim view of a man such as Michael Vick.  We will join in the chorus of fault finding and judgement.  We tend to forget, however, that none of us are immune from sin.  The Scriptures tell us that if anyone thinks that he or she stands, they should take heed lest they fall (I Corinthians 10:12).

The Galatians are an an example of believers who had heard the truth, but were turning away from it. The apostle Paul used an athletic analogy to rebuke them.  He wrote, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth (Galatians 5:7)?””

We are prone to be very eager about sharing our faith and God’s love with people around Christmas and judging and criticizing them the rest of the year.  Our pop culture and the media showed at Christmas that he is a God of second chances.  He appears to be gving Michael Vick one.  More than likely God is doing it so Michael will see God’s grace and turn to Him. 

My mother has a unique approach to her Christmas tree. She leaves it up all year long and decorates it according to the season. For example, in July the ornaments may be American flags celebrating the birth of America.

We ought to be individual living Christmas trees every day of the year, celebrating Jesus’ birth and ready to share God’s grace and love to hurting and sinful people all the time.

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Godliness comes from God

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage…O LORD Almighty,  blessed is the man who trusts in you (Psalm 84:5,12).”

We have a standing rule in my family.  No one engages Dad in serious conversation before he has his first cup of coffee in the morning.  I am the world’s worst “waker-upper”. 

This morning the rule got violated.  But I was the one who broke it.   My kid was messing with the Christmas tree that had just been decorated the night before and I began to rebuke him.  One thing led to another and I had lost my temper.  I had forgotten my own rule. 

I don’t like not being perfect.  It really frustrates me.  So in my recent quest to pursue godliness, I walk away from the type of event that occurred this morning  bamboozled.  After all, I want to be holy, but I keep blowing it. 

This feeling of being thrown out of kilter comes from my lack of understanding of my condition and what it takes to be godly.  The apostle Paul understood both.  First,  he knew he was a sinner.  He knew what his heart could produce (Galatians 2:17). 

Second,  he relied on Jesus to live His life through him in order to be godly.  Paul didn’t throw out the gospel when he blew it.  He didn’t go back to relying on what most people trust in to be righteous — their own goodness (Galatians 2:19,20). After Paul fell, he didn’t throw out the baby with the bath water.  He went back to the gospel of the grace of God to gain perpsective as to who he was and who Jesus was.

Seeking to gain our own righteousness is a loser.  This isn’t God’s plan. Being godly without Him is impossible anyway (Proverbs 21:30,31).

Rome wasn’t built in a day and holiness isn’t gained in 24 hours either.   Many of us have spent a lifetime pursuing things that lead us away from righteousness.  We have a lot to overcome.

It’s better to have the perspective that we are on a journey and to rely on God’s strength and power within us to make the necessary changes.

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Serving Jesus in the midst of stress

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake (II Corinthians 4:5).”

This has been a particularly stressful period in my life, moving back to the United States, starting a new job, waiting for my family to join me.  Then there are day-to-day issues that add to hourly stress: relationship conflicts, dealing with bureaucracy that is either delaying benefits or billing me incorrectly, even tonight’s weather report — freezing rain into the morning, which should make for an interesting commute on my crutches. (Add the two college girls on their cell phone talking personal business with their parents as I try to write this from a cafe.)

I tend to wake up in early with this amount of stress. I at least have learned to pray.  The Psalmist said, “But I cry to you for help, O LORD;  in the morning my prayer comes before you (Psalm 88:13).” I also have learned to listen.  A wise man said in Proverbs, ” Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.  For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD (Proverbs 8:34,35).” The noise in my life seems to drown out me hearing much though at this point. So it is more me talking to God than listening to Him these days.

Today I was feeling a little disrespected and had a talk with someone about it. After hearing the facts, I quickly calmed down and tried to act like an adult and evaluate the situation. The person who was “dissing me” was from their perspective doing what they thought was right, for them at least. Had I made a scene, it would have been only to fulfill my selfish goals and desires. In fact, I probably would have made my situation worse. Instead, I think I bestowed some grace my staying cool.

The main thing is to keep perspective in periods of high stress. Asking good questions is one way to do it. One of my best friends likes to ask, “Where is God in all this?” Another good question is, “Did you send me here, God?” 

The apostle Paul realized that God had given him his ministry. It was his assignment. So even though he was highly stressed in carrying it out, he relied on the power of Jesus Christ within him to see him through (II Corinthans 4:1-12). He realized in his reactions to the stress that he was preaching Jesus Christ.  So he kept cool and relied on Him. He sought to exalt Jesus, not himself. As he result, he didn’t get discouraged in the tough times.

So in my stress I am coming to the grips that for now this is God’s assignment for me. For the most part, I am glad to have it, but I need to get out of the way and quit seeking my own ambitions. I need to look after those of Jesus Christ in the people around me.

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