the reluctant leader

I Have Accomplished Nothing

Some of you reading this blog are in the process of becoming successful. Some are already successful. Others are... VERY successful.

Think with me for a minute about some of your accomplishments. From the sandlot to the board room. From kindergarten to grad school. From diapers to the marriage altar.

Academic excellence. Athletic victories. Political power. Business connections. Wealth accumulation. Social justice. Ministry growth.

Maybe your greatest accomplishment is that you are still married to the same person after all these years. That accomplishment alone gives you superhero status in today's world of disposable relationships.

Even on a bad day when we feel like total failures, if we stop to think about it, we realize we have actually accomplished some important things.

Or, have we?

A few thousand years ago a wise old long-bearded white-haired prophet had an interesting perspective on success and human accomplishment:

"all that we have accomplished, You have done for us." (Isaiah 26:12)

In other words, all I think I have accomplished through my cleverness, discipline and superior intelligence actually had little to do with me. God did it all. And he did not need my help, my cooperation or my permission.

The only question that remains is will I acknowledge his role, or will I continue to pretend I do it all on my own?

Crashing Planes and Crushing Myths

This was originally written for Evangelicals Today magazine. I thought I should repost it on the 10 year anniversary of 911.
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September 11, 2001. As always, I phoned my dad to wish him a happy birthday. I was getting ready for bed in Manila. He was getting ready for work in Mississippi. After a brief discussion about the US stock market, I handed the phone to my three sons so they could speak to their grandfather. As soon as we hung up, I heard my wife calling, "Quick, you have to see this. A plane just crashed into a building in New York!"

Like thousands of others around the globe, I was glued to CNN for the next few hours, watching in disbelief as three more planes crashed, killing thousands, wounding a nation, and terrorizing the world. Over the next few days the news moved me to tears, to anger, and to prayer.

I was amazed that the same news producers who usually mock and vilify preachers, were now putting them on primetime asking their perspective on the attack. The line-up included Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, TD Jakes, Dr. James Dobson, and others. Courtesy of CNN, these men probably preached the gospel to more people that week than at any other time in their lives.

Of course, the newscasters interviewed plenty of "experts" who had nothing to say, but kept talking anyway. I did not know whether to laugh or cry when they interviewed novelist, Tom Clancy. I suppose he qualified as an expert on terrorism because he once wrote a novel about a hijacked plane that crashed into a building. It's a sad commentary on contemporary culture when all it takes to be an expert is the ability to make up a good story. Here's what Mr. Clancy had to say about the situation: "We need to be careful not to overreact to this. We must realize that WE ALL SERVE THE SAME GOD OF LOVE."

Do we all serve the same God? Do all religions present a God of love?

Tom's comments about the tragedy are typical of most post-modern pseudo-intellectuals. Unfortunately even Christians get sucked into this pagan way of thinking. It is my hope that the events of September 11 will forever expose and crush the following myths that corrode the foundations of the Faith.

THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS SINCERITY
Anyone who was ever attempted to be a witness has heard some variation of this statement: "As long as you are sincere, it doesn't really matter what you believe or which religion you follow." It seems that sincerity has replaced truth as the ultimate religious issue of our day. Unfortunately, many today are sincerely wrong.

Suppose we are both on a sinking ship and neither of us can swim. We are told to get into the inflatable lifeboats and we will be safe. We both sincerely believe what we are told and act accordingly. You get in one boat and I get in the other. One problem: my boat has a hole in it and sinks. It does not matter how sincerely I believe the boat will save me, if it has a hole then my sincerity is useless. Unfortunately many people sincerely believe in religions and philosophies that are filled with holes, destined to sink.

Don't ever forget that the pilots who crashed into the World Trade Center towers, killing thousands of innocent people, were very sincere in their service to their god. This is the result of elevating human sincerity above divine truth. Let September 11 be a reminder that truth, not sincerity is the ultimate issue.

THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY
Another common myth everyone engaged in evangelism has heard goes something like this: "All religions lead to the same God."

If one person studies and practices the teachings of the Bible, another the Koran, another the Veda, another the Book of Mormon, will their values, beliefs, and lifestyles be the same? Of course not, because all religions are NOT basically the same, they are fundamentally different.

For example, Jesus taught his followers to love and serve pagans in hope that they will voluntarily turn to the true God. Even if this has not been obeyed in history, this is what Jesus taught. And it is a far cry form declaring holy war on infidels and unbelievers.

So, do all religions ultimately lead to the same God? Do all roads really end up at the same place? Does it matter which road you take if you are trying to go home? Of course it matters because all roads do not lead to the same house. If you take the wrong road, you will not reach your destination, no matter how sincere you may be.

When Thomas said to Jesus: "Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5) Jesus did not answer: "Thomas, my son, it does not matter which way you go because all paths ultimately lead to God."

No! Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus was very narrow. He said there was only one way, not several options.

May the same acts of violence that took the lives of thousands of innocent people also destroy the myths that blind the minds of millions around the world.

The Certainty of Forgiveness

While reading Ephesians this morning I was struck by the certainty of forgiveness.

Paul wrote: "In him WE HAVE redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins..." (Eph 1:7)

Paul writes that WE HAVE redemption & forgiveness. He dies not say that we might have forgiveness sometime in the future, or we could possibly have, or we hope we might do enough good deeds to earn forgiveness...

According to Paul forgiveness is certain, something we can have. And we can know we have it. Right now. Present tense.

Why can we be so certain we are forgiven?

Paul goes on to say that we have forgiveness "in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us" (Eph 1:7,8).

Forgiveness is ours, not because of our goodness, but because of God's grace. And his grace is not randomly sprinkled here and there in tiny portions; it is LAVISHED on us!

Be Careful Who You Judge

Consider the following next time you think you have a bead on a someone's bad motive.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART" (1Sam16:7)

The Lord looked at David's heart and apparently liked what he saw. But Eliab, David's oldest brother, looked at the same heart and wrongly judged, "I know how CONCEITED you are and how WICKED your HEART is" (1Sam17:28)

We never really know the motive of someone's heart, so we need to be careful how we judge. What looks like a conceited and wicked heart might actually be the exact opposite. So, let's believe the best and leave heart judgments to God.

NOTE: This blog is simply a comment from my morning Bible reading. It is not a reaction to any contemporary issue, person, book or theological error.

If I Do Nothing Else in 2011, I Will…

My friend Rice Broocks tweeted the following on January 1:

“Finish this sentence, ‘If I do nothing else in 2011 I’m going to...’”

Not sure how others completed that sentence, but here’s my response to Rice’s tweet: If I do nothing else in 2011, I’m going to HONOR GOD AND MAKE DISCIPLES.

I also hope to read more, study more, pray more, give more, exercise more, laugh more, sleep more (5 or 6 hrs just doesn’t cut it any more).

And, I want to eat less and complain less.

What about you? If you do nothing else, what do you want to do in 2011?

Chritsmas: Pagan or Christian?

Living in the Philippines for the past twenty-six years, we've gotten used to celebrating Christmas wearing havaianas and board shorts. White Christmas? As long as the white part is a beach. 

Now we are in the States. And while Christmas might not be white, it will be freezing. No more havaianas and board shorts.

The cold is not our only adjustment to American Chritsmas. In the new hyper-sensitive, super-tolerant, politically correct America we are supposed to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Chritsmas." Apparently pronouncing the letters C, H, R, I, S and T when followed by "-mas" rather than a "cuss" word is offensive to some.

And it's not just the secularists who don't like Christmas. Some of my fellow pastors do not participate in  Christmas traditions because of the ungldly pagan roots. My anti-Christmas religious friends say:

- Christmas trees are bad because evergreen trees were used in pagan Druid ceremonies

- December 25 was not really when Jesus was born, rather it was choosen to Christianize the pagan winter solstice celebration

- the whole modern celebration promotes materialism

All of the above and more may be true, but does that mean we should skip Christmas?

Could God possibly take something that was pagan and make it point to Christ? Isn't that exactly what the incarnation is all about? Isn't the real reason God came to earth in human flesh to redeem things that were pagan - like me and you?

God Wants You Rich In...

 
No matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, educated or illiterate - I believe God wants you to be rich, but maybe not the kind of rich that lands you on the cover of Fortune magazine.

1. God wants you to be RICH IN GENEROSITY.
Here's how Paul described the poor Macedonian church: "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in RICH GENEROSITY." (2Cor8:2)
This verse shows that even poor people can be rich in generosity.

2. God wants you to be RICH IN GOOD DEEDS.
Notice what Paul instructed Timothy to tell the wealthy people in his church.
"Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." (1Tim6:18)

No matter how much you have, you can be rich in generosity and rich in good deeds. That's why I say GOD WANTS YOU RICH!
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For more on this topic, don't miss our November sermon series, OVERFLOW in all 15 Victory-Manila locations this month. OVERFLOW also playing on all Victory podcast channels.

Top 5 Life Lessons (for now)

After church in KL last Sunday, one of the Malaysian pastors asked me: "After so many years in ministry what is THE TOP LIFE LESSON you have learned?"

I can't remember how I answered that question on the spot, but I thought about it the rest of the day, and while I was unable to come up with one top life lesson, I did think of five:

1. Live a CHRIST-CENTERED life not church-centered life.

2. Our job is to MAKE DISCIPLES (build people) not build a church or ministry.

3. Priorities should be FAMILY FIRST then ministry.

4. BE GENEROUS all the time - especially to staff, missionaries and the poor.

5. FORGIVE everyone - especially friends, family and enemies.

 

The Gospel According to Mick Jagger

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need" -- Mick Jagger

The problem with life is I usually don't want what I need. I want exactly what I want. And I want it right now.

What we want and what we need is rarely the same. And, God is much more concerned with what we need, than with what we think we want.

Here are some thoughts i scribbled in my journal this morning while reading Luke 2. Yea, Luke 2 got me thinking about Mick's popular psalm quoted above.

- The first century Jews wanted a Messiah on the throne. God sent a baby in a barn.
- They expected royalty. They got peasantry.
- They prayed for military deliverance from the Romans. They got spiritual deliverance from sin.
- God announced, "TODAY in the city of David..." But, it was 30 years before that baby grew up and did his first miracle.

They did not get exactly what they wanted, actually quite the opposite. And they didn't get it when they wanted it, actually decades later.

No matter what is going on in your life today, remember: You can't always get what you want, but in the end, if you trust God, you get what you need.

It Is Finished!

Tweeted this thought this morning:

If someone paid off your mortgage, would you still pay the monthly payments? "Tetelestai" = It is finished = PAID IN FULL.

Got lots of re-tweets & comments, so I'm now blogging the idea...

The English phrase "It is finished" uttered by Jesus on the cross in John 19:30, is actually only one Greek word, "TETELESTAI" which 2000 years ago, was a common word used in commerce to indicate that a debt was fully paid - like a receipt proving you no longer owe your creditor.

Why did Jesus say IT IS FINISHED?
What did Jesus "finish" on the cross?
What debt did He pay?
What are the implications of having someone pay my debts?
How should I life, now that Jesus paid my debts?

That's the whole point of Good Friday & Easter.

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