So here is the scene: You're on the brink of winning a huge contract for your company. It's potentially the biggest contract the company has ever seen and you're in the running for the raise of a lifetime. Your boss tells you he'd like you to invite the CEO of the potential customer company to dinner at your home and of course you smile and say, "I'd love to."
You send the invitation and receive an RSVP for both the CEO and his lovely wife. You clean the house, set the table, and then you look into the fridge and grab that stuff in the Tupperware at the back corner of the second shelf, the half eaten tuna sandwich wrapped in cellophane, and the left over burrito you couldn't finish last Friday. Hmmm? Dessert? Ah ha! Apple Jacks! I love Apple Jacks! So you put out a couple cereal bowls and check the date on the milk. Just a 2 weeks past the "best used by" date so you open the top and take a whiff. A little stiff but certainly not enough to make anyone sick. You set the table put out the leftovers and the doorbell rings. It's going to be a good night! NOT!
I know the example is a bit over the top but maybe not so far off when we compare it to our relationship with God. It's interesting how little of our good stuff we really give to God. Many of us spend our money all week long on frivolous things and then put a few bucks in the collection basket on Sunday. We talk to our friends, watch TV, chat on Facebook, then give God a 2 minute prayer at bedtime. We use our talents at work, on the golf course, and in our hobbies but volunteer our time a couple times a year. Now I know that many of you are giving God your best stuff so keep it up but the rest of us need some help.
Giving God your best stuff has an origin from the very beginning of man. In Genesis the story of Cain and Able revealed that God wasn't please with the leftovers. In Malachi God reminds us that everything we have comes from him and when we withhold our best stuff from him we are "robbing" him. There is a concept of "First Fruits" that I'd like to share as well. The first crops that God's people would collect from their fields and give to God were called the first fruits. This was a sign that everything the land produced belong to God (Deuteronomy 26:1-15)
Now this is not a guilt trip but a wake up call. You see God doesn't need our stuff but he does desire us and our hearts. He knows what is best for us and when we short change God with our time and our stuff we are really hurting ourselves. But there is something else that is equally important. When we give God our "first fruits"others benefit. People may benefit from our financial giving, our talents, our love, and maybe just our time. I won't belabor the point but take a few minutes and survey a normal week of your life and see how you're spending your money, your time, and your gifts. How you spend things reveals a lot about your priorities. If you are desiring an evening with the God of all creation you might want to leave the old tuna sandwich in the fridge.
Peace, David
OK, you're probably tired of references to my trip to SW Colorado but I was talking with a friend the other day and something hit us that was fairly germane to the Christian walk so I have to share it today. He was telling me about an internet piece he had received about how amazingly well designed the camel was and I told him that the llamas we had for our mountain trip were equally well suited for what they do. So, I want to share with you a little about llamas and then see how you fit into the story.
The Llama is a camelid (same family as the camel) that was raised mainly in the Andes of South America. They, like the camel, can go for days without drinking water and the eat almost anything. They can carry 25-30% of their body weight for miles, up and down steep hills.
But here is the part that got us thinking: They have the weirdest feet! They have two big toes with large thick toenails. Their feet are soft and not hooved and they walk on rocky terrain without a thought. As we walked a narrow and often rocky trail at high elevation, the llamas travelled effortlessly and seemed not to be concerned with the occasional dangerous slope. They would stop and eat the dried grass as if they were walking on flat ground. Their weird feet were made for this and they llamas were comfortable there. But, when we got down near the trailhead, the path leveled out and there was little slope. This part of the trail was in the dark timber and since we had had some recent thunderstorms the path was muddy and a bit slippery. No big deal. But when the llamas feet hit the mud they immediately became uneasy. They slipped and slid and looked like they were afraid of falling over. WHAT? They weren't afraid of falling nine hundred feet on a narrow rocky trail but are afraid of tipping over on level ground. The thing is that their feet were made for one terrain and not the other. Perfect. We brought them because we were going to hike in the mountains and for the most part, not in the mud.
So, what are your feet made for? I mean this more globally actually. What are you made for? We are the body of Christ and we are all made differently, with different gifts. Paul tells us in Ephesians Chapter four that,
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
Maybe you are an out front person who shares the Gospel with whoever will listen. Maybe you have the gift of compassion and are more comfortable sharing a quiet hug. Maybe you are a hands on person who would rather fix a neighbor's roof than talk about your "feelings". The point is that God made the llama's feet different than he did a cat's, a dog's, or your feet. But each can do something different.
Here is my challenge for you today. Reflect on your feet. No, not your literal feet but your gifts. How has God built you? What is your role in the Body of Christ? What is your role in the family, in your workplace, in your church? Spend some time in prayer and asked God to help you discern your place in his family here during your time on earth. If your work was done, he'd have called you home!!
Peace,
David
I was watching "Man vs. Wild" the other day and there was Bear Grylls walking through a seemingly endless desert and salt flat. The sun was intense and the heat brutal. Bear was tired, dehydrated, and he resorted to drinking his own urine which he had saved in a snake skin. His eyes were nearly swollen shut as he made his way toward the coast. Then, just like that, it appeared; the ocean. He ran and dove in. It was cold and refreshing and led him to rescue.
I know that this doesn't sound much like the makings of a prim and proper Christian blog but then again Christianity doesn't exist in a world of clean, neat, and perfect. It exists in a fallen and often brutal world where scenes like I just described pale in comparison to some much worse. A week ago I was hunkered down in a tent high in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado as a nasty thunderstorm battered the landscape, lightening struck close to our camp, and fifty mile per hour winds nearly flattened our tent. In the morning there was snow on the ground and thick fog limited our vision to about fifty yards. Then just like that the fog lifted, the clouds moved on, and the bright sun shone in the blue sky. The storm was over. It was awesome.
Cancer, bankruptcy, infidelity, depression, fear. . . . I don't know what your desert or storm might be. Maybe you're in a time of bright blue skies and the storms have already blown by. Either way we need to see the sovereignty of God in both times. The Bible is packed with examples of God's presence during the desert times and in the midst of raging storms. Sometimes it was punitive. He, like a good parent, was chastising his children to lead them back home. Sometimes it was to reveal the character of those involved and sometimes his plan was completely hidden from man. But never was God caught off guard or impudent in the situation.
Moses lead the Israelites through the desert for forty years on the way to the Promised Land. Joseph spent time at the bottom of a well, was sold into slavery, and spent time in prison before he became Pharaoh's right hand man. Jonah took a detour into the depths of the ocean and spent a few days in the belly of a great fish before he found his way to the safety of the beach. The Apostles trembled in fear as the waves battered their boat before the Lord Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to cease their fury.
I know that my storms don't come close to storms that others have weathered and your storms my be bigger or smaller than mine. I think that it doesn't really matter how our storms compare to other's because it never really seems to bring us comfort to know others have had more intense storms. Like if you just went through a divorce and someone says, "Well, you should be thankful because there are children in Africa who haven't eaten in weeks." There is little comfort in that.
So here are the two points I want you to take with you today:
1) God is in control as much during your desert times and storms as he is in your Promised Land. His desire is always to draw you nearer to him because there is no better place to be. I know it can be intensely difficult to cling to faith but call on him and he will be faithful. Don't be afraid to reach out to brothers and sisters in Christ as well. I don't know what I would do without those of you who have lent me a shoulder or and ear (you know who you are). If you are in Christ, God promises that one day there will be a reward that "no eye has seen and no ear has heard" In other words, nothing we have experienced here on earth can compare to what the Lord has prepared for those that love him.
2) If you are in the position to comfort someone in a storm, remember the words of Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Love you all,
David
