Our Earthly Happiness is not the Goal of God

March 31, 1976 ~ It was my twelfth birthday and I had eight of my best friends over for the celebration of my last year as a preteen. I received eight gifts that day but I only remember one, the iconic poster of Farrah Fawcett from my friend Todd. I think Farrah was my first crush and it lasted for about five years. She was beautiful, wealthy, and everyone in the western world knew her name. She must have been so happy!

Fast forward to November 1982. Michael Jackson releases his sixth studio album "Thriller" and the music video soon followed. It became the greatest selling album of all time, about 65 million copies. For you younger folks an album is a large vinyl (plastic) thing that spun around on a machine about the size of a toaster oven and played scratchy versions of the latest hits. Michael was bigger than life and we have seen that life played out in tabloids ever since. He had talent, looks (for a while), boat loads of money, and his own amusement park. He must have been so happy!

Two days ago both Farrah and Michael died and it seemed like the rest of the world's news came to a halt. The images of the "then" and the "now" were SO telling. The young, vibrant, attractive, smiling faces of the "then" were contrasted to the aged, tired, worn, and ill images of the "now". Not so much happiness now. Sunsets fade and so do we. Like grass, they were here then they were gone and so is my poster of Farrah.

I was talking to Ivor this week and reflecting on my last post about faith and the circumstances of our lives. I was sharing a comment that came from one of our readers. In a nut shell he saw my struggle with cancelled flights and lousy airline customer service as just one of a million other people's struggles on the same day and that God probably wasn't intimately involved in it per se. He didn't necessarily think that God was using the circumstances to test my faith or that my prayers were integral to the outcome. He said it like this: "There were lots of people in airports saying foxhole prayers trying to get back on schedule and minimize chaos in their lives. I just don't know if God is rewarding seats based on faith." He also shared that he didn't see God as being hyper-involved in peoples lives.

So what in the world does this have to do with Farrah and Michael? I think I can bring this around so hold on tight. Two main intertwined thoughts: Is God involved and what is his purpose? More specifically, if he is involved, what is his purpose in allowing and/or participating in our circumstances? Is his purpose to maximize our happiness? Does he reward faith and if so how? I want to go to the Word for the answers.

Moses was leading the Israelites through the desert and God was leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When they came to the Red Sea which was like the epitome of disrupted travel plans, God divided the sea so they could pass on dry land. Was God's purpose the "happiness" of the Israelites? Or was it to get them to the place he wanted them to be and to show them his glory. Was he involved in their lives and their circumstances? For sure!

The Apostle Paul shared his travel difficulties in 2 Corinthians. " . . . been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." Does this sound like a Christian rewarded for his faith? Sounds more like he needs a refund from his travel agent.

Clearly God wasn't ultimately interested in Paul's earthly happiness. God promised Paul an eternity of perfect happiness and joy but NOT in this world. God sees the lives of every human being and sees how all our lives and all our circumstances are weaved together and he is involved in all of it, not as a divine puppeteer pulling all the strings but also not as a passive observer either. God wants to see all come to repentance and saving faith. Sometimes however he does reward faith (e.g. David dropping Goliath with a small stone or the healing of the centurion's servant) but often he has plans in our circumstance that may have more to do with God's work in someone else's life than our own. It's not all about us. We may never see the connection or God's purpose but for sure He has one. The Bible says that a sparrow doesn't fall from the sky without his knowing and all the hairs of our heads our numbered. That's a God who is involved in even the smallest details.

But friend, happiness in this life is always temporary and fleeting. Farrah's beauty faded, her marriages dissolved, and her health waned. Michael's esteem fell, his money disappeared, and his health also waned. Our earthly pursuit of happiness is usually a road away from God. It is most often in our weakness and our suffering that we are humbled and seek God. But God in his love has given us glimpses of heaven (a baby's smile, a sunset, a clear starry night sky, a piece of cherry cheesecake, or a lover's kiss) but in this world they will all fade.

Conclusion: God isn't interested in our earthly "happiness" although he does bless us with happiness and joy at times. He is interested in a restored relationship with us. Sadly, it's often happiness and success that are the greatest obstacles to our faith in God. Be assured that God is involved and aware of all of it. He directs more like a conductor leading an orchestra or a weaver creating a tapestry than a puppeteer controlling a puppet.

Sorry if this was a bit disjointed today but I hope that there was something in there you could grab a hold of!

Peace to you,

David

Cancelled Flights and a Floundering Faith

I'm kind of tired tonight and I had a fairly long week and a half. I won't complain a whole lot but I want to share something that God taught me, especially in the past two days. I don't really trust Him. I mean I trust God but don't really TRUST Him. Now I don't have a big life-changing challenge that brought me to this revelation, just a small series of struggles, fears, and setbacks.

So, it's Friday at 1 PM and I'm planning to fly to Philadelphia to pick up my fourteen year old daughter. My flight leaves at 4 PM. I log onto notthebestairline.com to check the status of my fight. "Flight 2731 CANCELLED". Ugh! So I pick up the phone and wait thirty minutes on hold listening to the "Not The Best Airline theme song". I spend the next fifteen minutes trying to speak rationally to an automated attendant who can't understand my request for a human agent. Finally I get routed to a very unhappy woman who told me that I wasn't going anywhere that night. I felt myself becoming frustrated, angry, and then it hit me: Was God aware of this situation? Did God say that, "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose"? If I have been walking with Him, am I not under his divine care? A peace came upon me and I thought, "It's all good, God is in control and it's all for a purpose." I pick up the phone and call the robotic attendant and work my way to a much nicer man who tells me, "Of course I can get you to Philly. I'll put you on amuchbetterairline.com and you'll be there on time!"

Well, aren't I good! See how my really good faith worked out! I am growing in my faith! I make the flight, land in Philly, walk to the hotel, get to my room and plug in my laptop. I log onto notthebestairline.com to check my return flight in the morning with my daughter. "CANCELLED"!!!! OK David, keep it together. God is in control, remember? Breathe. I'm good here. I'll just call the robot guy again and we'll get this all worked out. Half an hour on hold, fifteen minutes with Robot Joe and finally to a real guy who tells me that even though the flight was booked through his airline it was being served by anevenworseairline.com and that I'd have to work it out with them. Dial the new number, wait fifteen minutes on hold then get to speak to a lady who must have been having a worse day than I was. She told me that guy number one was wrong and she then preceded in the middle of my sentence to forward my call back to the first airline. Twenty more minutes on hold then I decide to pick up the cell phone and call unhappy lady number two (have I lost you yet?) while I'm on hold. I get a nicer lady this time who told me she could fly me to Denver and then back to Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you have a map, you may want to draw a line from Philly to Denver then to Grand Rapids. I could walk to Michigan faster!

Now I'm forgetting that I am a Christian and I want to go to the airport and spray paint "Don't Fly Me" on the side of their airplane. Then it hits me. I don't really trust him. Every time I think I do, he lets me get in just a bit deeper, and time and time again I break. I can hear his voice,"David, do you trust me when it seems like things aren't going right? Do you trust me when you can't make sense of things? David, learn to trust me." I calm down and put down the can of spray paint (OK, I didn't really have the can of paint). I get on Travelocity and in three minutes find two one-way tickets to Grand Rapids for way less than my phone bill. Done deal.

In the morning I get on the plane with my daughter and for a few minutes it gets a bit bumpy. "David, do you trust me now? What if the plane goes nose down?" Here is the thing. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have emotions but either God loves those he has redeemed or he doesn't. Either God is all powerful and in control or he isn't. You know what, the turbulence was OK. My heart felt OK and I heard what Moses heard from the Lord, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." I cried out to Jesus the same words spoken by a man who had a boy with evils spirits, "I do believe; help me overcome by unbelief!" God is working on my faith. He is weeding out unbelief in me and I don't like the process. But it is good! Really good.

Now, I understand that cancelled flights and poor customer service isn't cancer or a repossessed home but if God isn't in control in the small things how in the world can we trust him when our world comes apart? God also has a way of putting us in our place when we need a fresh sense of perspective. As I was going through security I met a man with a prosthesis for a left leg and a large scar on his left arm. We chatted and he told me of how the IED exploded near him in Iraq and blew his leg off then the insurgents tried to finish him off with a rifle shot to the arm. He told me that the explosion that took his leg didn't hurt but the gunshot to the arm hurt like heck. He spoke with a humble smile and a sense of pride and joy. I thought to myself, "God, please give me a faith to believe even if it ever gets that bad." I thanked the man for his service to our country and then thanked God for the lesson.

Peace and faith (real, "I know God is in control" faith),

David

Jump Frog Jump! The Slow Fade of Sin.

Back in the days when you could dissect a frog in science class without causing a protest on the front lawn, there was an experiment we did that showed how slow changes to an animal's environment could prevent the animal from noticing that it was in fact heading toward death. Mr. Yodelheimer (name changed to protect the innocent) took an unsuspecting bullfrog from a glass jar and placed him in a large, shallow pot of cool water. There was a ledge that the frog could hop onto if he so chose but he seemed content to sit in the water. Seemed logical since he was indeed a frog. Under the pot was a small electric burner that was turned on and the water was heated very slowly; one degree every five minutes. The water started at about 60 degrees and over the next hour the temperature rose to eighty degrees. Mr. Frog was as happy as a clam, "Ah, what a life!" At the end of the next hour the temperature was one hundred degrees and Mr. Frog continued to sit there not attempting to jump to the safety of the ledge and when the temperature was at one hundred fifteen degrees he rolled over and died. Mr. Yodelheimer then took a second frog and held him over the water as the kids stood in horror. Could he possibly be doing what they thought he was going to do? Yep! Plop! Frog hits water, frog feels the heat, frog hops to ledge, frog is safe, and kids breathe a sigh of relief.

There is a powerful song written and performed by the band "Casting Crowns" called "Slow Fade". I want to share a chorus of the song with you, have you watch the video, and then get into God's Word.

"It's a slow fade when you give yourself away. It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray. Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid when you give yourself away. People never crumble in a day. Daddies never crumble in a day. Families never crumble in a day." If you have time please watch the music video: Slow Fade Video

Last week we talked about vices and, as Ivor and I discussed this, we both felt God was asking us to address holiness and the subject of sin. "Holiness and sin!" you exclaim. "Sounds so religious and churchy!" Well, yeah they are but they are also very real, very important, and very, very different. Hang with me here. You'll be OK.

What is "holiness"? It means to be "separate" and "set apart" but it can also mean "pure". God commands us to "Be holy because I am holy". He wants us to be separate from the world even as we live in the world. Why, to keep us from having fun and joy? No! To protect us from the destruction, devastation, pain, guilt, and ultimate death that comes from sin. So what is "sin"? It's anything that falls short of God's holiness. It's missing the mark.

But here is one of the points I want to get across today: Sin isn't just the final ugly act, it's the slow fade. It isn't just the one hundred fifteen degree, frog killing moment. It stems from the first thought of turning on the burner. It grows with each moment you stay in the water when God's Spirit is telling you to hop to the ledge. It's seen in individuals and in societies. It's a person or a people being desensitized to moral decay. It's a man addicted to crack ten years after he and his brothers snuck behind the shed to smoke the Marlboro they stole from their dad. It's a society not phased by commercials during prime time TV that show a man stroking the leg of a thin blond woman in her tight, white T-shirt and underwear or the multitude of commercials for male enhancement drugs. I'm not quite sure how to explain to my seven year old why the naked man and woman in the bathtub are there at halftime of the Bills football game. Friend, I'm speaking not out of judgement but out of personal experience. I've been the frog and I can tell you that the water didn't feel that warm. It apparently doesn't feel too hot for our society either but I promise you that it's not just warm but close to the boiling point.

James, the brother of Jesus said it this way, "but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

The bible is clear that we aren't just a little messed up but "totally depraved". I know you're saying, "Not me!" but there is a bent in each of us away from God and toward sin. It is because of that very thing that Jesus came into the world. It is for that very thing that He died and rose again on the third day. It is for that reason God sent his Holy Spirit to live within those who have come by faith. So, that those of us who have been in hot water can find the ledge. So, that when we find ourselves back in the water we will be sensitive to even a one degree rise in the heat! The bible calls that sensitivity to sin, "conviction" and it is a really good thing!

If you are in the warming water or even in the boiling water it's not too late. God already knows where you are. I promise he has enough grace for you regardless of the magnitude of your failings. But you have to come HUMBLY to him with a "broken and contrite" heart and ask him to forgive you. Trust that Jesus paid the price for your sin. Find healing in him because sometimes the burns you got in the water may still be there for a while and the consequences of the sin may linger but the condemnation will be gone forever!

"Be careful little eyes what you see. It's the second glance that ties your hands and darkness pulls the strings . . . " It's a slow fade.

Peace friend,

David

There's One Way Past the Veil - Jesus

Before I get to business I want to tell you that this message, this teaching is for you. Although I'm not sitting with you at a coffee shop, on a park bench, or at a youth group event, I am writing to YOU personally. God knows you by name even if, as I write tonight, I don't. So, as you read on, remember this post is written to you. . . I'd be glad to do coffee if you'd like, I'll buy!

I have said before that God is who he is and that not all religions point to the same God. Paul understood this when he entered the Areopagus (Mars Hill) in Athens, Greece nearly two thousand years ago. The Greeks had objects of worship to many gods in the Areopagus but Paul knew that there was only one God and it was (Yahweh) so when he saw an altar with the inscription "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD", he found a starting point to tell the Greeks about God the creator of heaven and earth; a God who had been unknown to them. Today I want to tell you about this same God and share why we here at the I-61 Project are so passionate about YOU knowing him. If you already know him then maybe today you'll be all the more amazed.

WARNING! This may sound a bit like a social studies lesson but stay with me and you'll be blessed (even you recent graduates - you know who I'm talking to)!

When the Israelites were wondering in the desert after leaving captivity in Egypt, they were commanded by God to build a tabernacle where he would dwell with them. The term that was used for this majestic presence of God was his "Shekinah" or his glory. I won't go into the details of the tabernacle but in the inner most part of it was the "Most Holy Place" or the "Holy of Holies". In this small room, which measured about fifteen feet by fifteen feet and fifteen feet tall, was the Ark of the Covenant (a gold covered box that held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron's staff, and a gold jar of manna). Don't worry if those mean nothing to you yet.

God's "Shekinah" glory resided in the Holy of Holies and was unapproachable by man. God was and is holy while man was and is sinful. Therefore, man could not come into the Holy of Holies or he would die. To keep this place separated from the people, God instructed them to place a large curtain (the "veil", which literally meant "a separator that divides") at the entrance to the room. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the day of atonement (the day when he would come before God for the sins of the people - today called "Yom Kippur"). The high priest had to do meticulous preparations before he could enter. He had to wash himself, put on special clothes, and burn incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God. The people would tie a rope around him before he went into the Holy of Holies just in case he died. That way they could just pull him out! There was a small problem. This had to be done year after year after year. There was no permanent solution for the sin problem . . . yet!

So, you get the idea that God was absolutely pure and holy and was unapproachable by sinful men. The curtain or veil was the mechanical barrier that illustrated the spiritual barrier that existed between men and God. Now you may have a vision of God as the big guy in the sky or a wise old man with a white beard. Maybe he is just this vague spirit of love but the bible reveals that while he is indeed "love" he is also holy and just. The "just" part is the part that many people and many churches leave out. It's the part that judges sin and the part that demands a sacrifice to pay for sin. It's the reason that man's sin kept him from being in the presence of God. By the way, don't get hung up on the word "sin". It just means "to miss the mark". We've all missed the mark, so you and I are not alone (eg. pride, hate, lust, greed, selfishness, deceit).

So enter Jesus, the only Son of God. Not just a good man. Not just a prophet. Not just a wise teacher or moral leader. Jesus was called the Lamb of God. Why? Because he was the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of man. Only a perfect, unblemished, sinless God-man could pay the penalty (death) for mankind. Not over and over again every year but once and for all.

Here is the amazing part of the story. You have all likely heard the story of the death of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. You may have heard that just before he died he cried out "It is finished". And maybe you heard that "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." But let this sink in. The curtain of the temple of Jerusalem was sixty feet high, thirty feet wide, and was four inches thick. It was too tall for man to reach and too thick for man to tear. Friend, God tore the curtain from the top down when Jesus paid the price for your sin (and mine!). It was finished! The Holy of Holies was open and accessible. God was approachable.

No matter what you've done. No matter how far from God you've been. Jesus has made a way for you to come home. You can't come on your own though. God is still holy! You can only come through faith in Jesus. It's his sacrifice that opened the door and you can come by faith in him. I know that in this politically correct world of "all things lead to the same end" this message may not sit well with some but a wise and seasoned preacher once told me that my job was to "just deliver the mail". Well, I have dropped the mail in your box. I hope and pray that you will be blessed by it. I recommend you listen to Ivor's song "Come Home" if you can. You can find it on iTunes or Cd Baby (Ivor Thomas "Nowhere Else to Go").

One quick update: Our first audio podcast is on line at our main site "The I-61 Project". Go check it out when you get a chance.

Peace, David