There’s a Stirring


And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works… 

(Hebrews 10:24) ESV

            Are you a runner? I hate running.

            When I was in college, running was becoming popular. A number of friends who were running loved telling me about their wonderful experiences.

            They recounted to me how running helped them to clarify their thinking. Running sharpened their focus.

            I listened and thought, “This sounds great!” So I tried running. Sure enough, it helped clarify my thinking. It sharpened my focus. What I began focusing on was this, “I have only 1 mile 337 yards and 2 feet to go. I have only 1 mile 337 yards and 1 foot to go. I have only 1 mile 337 yards to go. I have only 1 mile 336 yards and 2 feet to go…”           

            I became discouraged. Fortunately, my friends lifted my spirits. They said, “You've got to run long enough to experience the ‘runner's high.’ After you run a certain length, your body begins to create chemicals, and you feel good.”

            I found their words very motivational. I thought to myself, “I need to run farther.” And so I did. Sure enough, my body began to release chemicals. First, those chemicals began talking to me. Next, those chemicals began screaming to me, “Are you crazy! Stop right now! If you don't, we are going to hurt you.” Indeed, the chemicals made me feel pain.

            Next, my friends told me, “You've got to stay with it. Here is what was happening--you were hitting the wall.”

            “Okay,” I said, “tell me more about hitting the wall.”

            “When we run a marathon, there comes a point when we hit the wall. But we just run through it. And then we finish the race.”

            “Okay, at what point do you hit the wall?” I asked.

            “About 18 miles.”

            That's when I decided I was not going to even approach the wall. I retired from running.

            Unfortunately, a lot of people today are retiring from Christianity because they are, spiritually speaking, hitting the wall.

            I have seen new Christians who were college students and so excited for the Lord. Then one of them would hit the spiritual wall and become discouraged. He would quit attending the Bible studies or worship services.

            Someone close to him would then hit the spiritual wall and become discouraged. His attendance would become sporadic. Next, the entire group, if not careful, would grow discouraged and hit the spiritual wall.

            Have you ever hit the spiritual wall? Maybe you thought your mission in life was to do A. And you find out that, no, it was to do B. You hit the wall.

            Maybe you have given your life to Jesus, and your spouse has not—and you have hit the spiritual wall.

            Maybe you decided to take God seriously at your work. You decided to truly honor your boss, because you recognized you were not just serving him, but you were serving the Lord. You believed everything was going to go great, but it did not. Instead, you lost your job. Perhaps you lost your job because of your faith in Jesus… and you hit the spiritual wall.

            If you have hit the spiritual wall, would it encourage you to know that people in Scripture faced the same challenge? You find an example of those facing these kinds of issues in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews, you find people who are serious, initially, about following Jesus; they're excited about following Jesus, but then they hit the spiritual wall. Some get discouraged; some even fall away. The going definitely gets tough.

            I've done it before myself. When we lived in Argentina, we did mission work there. Some of us enjoyed working with college students. We made some impact.

            The second year, the church was blossoming and we were very pleased with it. Judy and I were hosting a Bible study on Saturday nights in our home, and a number of college students attended.

            Judy and I left for furlough for two months. When we arrived back, two new Christians, who were vibrant students, had abandoned their faith. Other students became discouraged and became very sporadic in their activities of faith. Before long, I hit a spiritual wall and became very discouraged.

            I think about these things reflecting upon the New Testament, especially since the imagery of running and racing is found a few times there, including in the book of Hebrews.

WHY THE LETTER?

Honor and Shame

            Hebrews is not just a letter, it is basically a sermon written by a preacher. The people who received this letter had heard about Jesus, were baptized into Jesus, and had changed because of Jesus. But the society around them did not respond well.

            These new Christians had rejected the values of their culture. Society said, “Worship many gods. Show tolerance. It’s okay if you do this Christianity thing. But come to the feasts honoring our gods, too.”

            The Christians said, “No.”

            Consequently, the friends of these Christians felt hurt, insulted, angry; therefore, society said, “Fine. You can do things differently from the way we do things, but we are going to penalize you for that.”

            The preacher knew that many of the Christians were feeling shame because there were people in their culture, who wanted to marginalize the Christians.

            Marginalize: take a sheet of old-fashioned notebook paper. Notice on the side a red line that runs vertically up and down the page. This line is called a margin.

            Many times, a teacher will put negative criticism to the left of that margin. The teacher will separate those negative remarks from the rest of the text, which lies to the right of the margin. In fact, the majority of the material lies to the right of the margin.

            Society pushes those whom they seek to ostracize to the opposite side of the margin. This is called marginalizing. It is as if society is saying, “We're going put you on the other side of the margin. The rest of us will stay over here, but we are going to put you odd fellows over there.”

             Remember the financier Bernie Madoff? At one time he was part of the beautiful people in American culture. Then he was arrested for his scandalous crimes. Shortly thereafter, Bernie Madoff became a pariah. Complete strangers, his friends, even the American culture heaped great shame upon him. They placed him in the margin of society. They marginalized him.

            In his case, Bernie Madoff deserved this censure from society. But these Christians in the book of Hebrews had, at one time, behaved in a manner well pleasing unto God. Nevertheless, society turned on them. Society did not shower honor upon the Christians; instead, society viewed them as meriting shame.

            Anytime you offer your life to Jesus, you run the risk of having society, your peer group, or your friends marginalize you.

            There is a reason why this letter was written:

            32 Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever (Heb. 10:32-34.) NLT

             Many family members had been killed. Others had their property taken away. Still others suffered from insults, scorn, and abuse. So these Christians began going along with society to get along with society.

            Back in the day (of Hebrews), there were people who said, “Look, we’re not trying to create trouble. Just come to our feasts honoring Cesar, and we will come to yours honoring your Christ. All we ask is that you not be an atheist.” (To them, an atheist was one who did not worship Caesar.) “You can worship all the other gods you want to worship, as long as you worship Caesar.”

            Early on, many of the Christians had made a faith decision; they had decided to not worship Caesar. With their words and actions, they had announced, “Only Jesus is Lord.” That's when people in their social world became angry.

            The culture began to put pressure on these Christians to accept their ways. If that didn’t work, they would try a variety of means to get Christians back into line:

            Have you ever made decision in your faith to honor Christ and have it “backfire” on you? You were enjoying a good standing in your peer group, but then because you took a stand on faith, your peer group became offended by it.

            That happens a lot with young people. A girl offers her life to Christ, and friends ask, “Are you serious?”

            I have known and read of Christians who have lost their jobs because of becoming Christians or because of taking faith stands.

            You can join a lot of communities, but at some point the church will prove to be fundamentally different. Many of these groups are intrinsically good.

            Look at Christian colleges and universities. They have much in common with the church. But at some point, they deviate. The ultimate mission of the Christian college or university has a connection with academics. Throughout history, the church will have equipped many Christians to serve Jesus forever, who will not have college educations.

            Homeschooling is a great community, but it is a community ultimately distinct from the church.

            Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators, and other organizations are wonderful, but they are not the church.

            Your local public school, I'm sure, is a fine organization, yet it is not the church.

            Your local chapter of the Lions Club, Kiwanis club, Shriners, and the Daughters of the American Revolution are all marvelous groups, but they are not the church.

            At some point, there will be a deviation. Periodically, you and I are faced with this question: which group, which community will take priority?

            That is what happened with the Christians and the church in Hebrews. At some point, members began pulling away from the church and becoming more faithful to the various organizations of their society. The pain grew to be more than they wanted to bear.

            May I offer you a recent example of how someone who maintains a faith in Jesus can inflame societal passions? Look at the star quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow. Granted, there is an entire spectrum of opinion regarding Tim Tebow. Some people love the quarterback and don't care about his religion; others hate his quarterbacking and do like his religion. Some people worship Tim Tebow instead of Jesus.

            Included in that mix, are people who know that faith in Jesus is the driving force in Tim Tebow’s life—a fact he does not try to hide—and this makes these people very angry. In essence, their attitude is this, “If you will join us in celebrating our gods, we will join you in celebrating Jesus.” To which, Tim Tebow replies, “I cannot do that. I love you, but I cannot do that.” Then, the fangs come out of those who reject Jesus.           

            Recently, I read an article about a gentleman who was doing a profile in a national magazine about Tim Tebow. He was following the quarterback all over the country, literally, in order to get background for his story.

            This individual interviewed the father of one of the children that Tim Tebow ministers to through his public service organization. (This charity, funded by Tebow, flies in children and their families to meet with Tebow before and after his ballgames. These children are always facing adversity; in some cases, they're battling life-threatening illnesses. Tebow puts the families up in first-class hotels, and organizes opportunities to meet and greet various athletes and officials in the Denver Bronco organization.)

            The reporter asked the father his opinion on Tebow. The father responded like this: I am not a Christian, but I don't get it. We have athletes who create so many problems in our society, and here is a guy who lives right, is genuine and sincere. He is doing so much good. Why are they (his critics) targeting him?

            For some, Tebow is a perceived threat because of his faith in Jesus, so they are trying to push him away; they are seeking to marginalize him.

The result?

            In Hebrews, when like actions occurred:

            Some of the Christians drifted away.

            Some fell away.

            Some quit coming to church.

            Some saw the tangible things the world had to offer and sold out heaven to receive it. That’s why the preacher said, 16Watch out for immoral and ungodly people like Esau, who sold his future blessing for only one meal. 17You know how he later wanted it back. But there was nothing he could do to change things, even though he begged his father and cried. (Heb. 12:16-17.) CEV

HOW WILL THE PREACHER RESPOND?

            How would you respond? Would you do something spectacular? In Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis’ searing critique of United States’ Christianity in the 1920s, churches and revivalists would put on shows and circuses to attract the people. Will the preacher recommend that to the Hebrews?

            Will he tell them their problem is the music? Instead of vocal music only, they need to go instrumental? Instead of piano only, they need to go praise band? Instead of old hymns, they need to sing only new songs, or vice versa?

            Will he tell them to fire their preacher? Their staff? Their elders?

            He will do none of that. He will, though respond in two ways:

He will be tough.

                                                            1. In chapter 2, he warns them not to drift away.

2. In chapter 4, he reminds them that many of the children of Israel did not make it to the promise land.

3. In chapter 5, he says: I wanted to get deep with you, but you guys are a bunch of spiritual babies.

4. In chapter 6, he says: Fall away, and you crucify the Son of God all over again.

5. In chapter 10, he says: Let me tell what happens to people who quit going to church.

6. In chapter 12, he says: I know the people around you are giving you a hard time about your faith, but who would you rather turn against? Them or the holy God of Mt. Sinai who made the people tremble because they were so afraid?

He will be tender, too.

1. 2:17 He says that Jesus has been made like his brothers in every way....

2. 4:14-16...Jesus has gone through what we have, so now we can approach the throne of grace.

3. Chapter 11, he inspires them to look to the roll call of heroes.

4. Chapter 12:1 he says, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...”

            Regarding that last point, some of these Christians were getting pressure to not attend worship services. They were made to feel there was something better to accomplish with their time on Sunday. Every Sunday, Christians in the United States face the same challenges.

            In the book of Hebrews, some Christians thought about their small assemblies in their house churches and grew discouraged. The preacher addressed this in Chapter 12, proclaiming to them (if I may paraphrase): I know you feel lonely and afraid in your little houses for your Sunday worship service. Yet you need to remember this: you are not alone. There is a multitude of those who have gone on before you who are with you.

            Here is how it reads in the NCV text: 1 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up (Heb. 12:1b.)

            I do believe they were truly with them in spirit. Remember the end of “Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi [Episode Six]”? The good guys have won the battle between good and evil, and everyone is celebrating (especially the Ewoks!)

            Hans Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker are happy and excited. And then, unbeknownst to them, looking on is Anakin Skywalker, Luke's dad, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who have gone on before them.

            That's the idea in Hebrews chapter twelve. Without intending to be sentimental, today, when the church gathers in assembly, I believe Abraham is here, Isaac is here, Jacob is here… and so is my grandfather, so is my father, and so those other loved ones who gone on before us in Christ. And if you have had someone go on before you in the faith, he or she is present in the assembly with you as well.

            Again, this preacher is trying to help them understand this to encourage them. He is telling them, “When you've gathered together there are wonderful things going on that you cannot see. All of these people are pulling for you.”

            Above all else, this preacher is calling the Christians back to Jesus.

            Like any good preacher, this one offers a challenge. How do you live this out? Here is his application: “You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming” (Heb. 10:25.) NCV

            You have probably heard this quote a lot out of context, but this is in context. He is challenging them and encouraging them. He knows, that since aunt Gertrude was martyred because of her faith, and cousin Bertrand died because of his faith, more and more of the Christians have grown discouraged saying, “I don't think I will go to the worship assembly this week at Bill's house.”

            They have hit a spiritual wall.

            So the preacher says to them, “No, you need to ‘go to church.’ You need to be there. You need to be there because, hopefully, all week, you've been worshiping the Father. All week, you've been looking up to Jesus. You need to partake of the Lord's Supper together. You need to get together, look up at God, and you need to look at each other. Indeed, you need encourage each other. Your faith is the most important thing in this world, because your spirit is going to last forever. This activity will be the most important thing you do this week.”

            Make no mistake; God understood that those Christians were potentially setting themselves up to be put to death. Indeed, some would lose their lives for having made the decision to attend the worship assembly. Yet, he is telling them, “Attending the assembly is more important than even your own life.”

            This reality raises the question, if loss of life is not a good reason to miss the assembly, what is a good reason?

            Certainly, many of those outside the body of Christ today think that notion is silly. And, a growing number of people within the body of Christ believe that notion is silly as well. To these Christians, the assembly is something to be used; if the worship assembly does not serve them in a given week, it is to be discarded for something else more useful.

            However, Hebrews reveals how strongly God feels about the Christians in Hebrews assembling together. Therefore, we must take these instructions seriously.

            Now, in total fairness, this passage is strictly talking about the Sunday assembly of the Saints. This is not talking about a Wednesday night prayer meeting. It is not talking about a Tuesday morning Bible study. Hebrews is talking about that one assembly each Sunday around the table.

            God calls them to assemble together. He has empowered them with Holy Spirit. They as a group have all they need to live out the Christian life, but something is missing.

            Here’s a way to illustrate this: you can do this at home.

            Take a glass, put a measured amount of instant tea (I like Nestea, myself) in the bottom of the glass. Fill the glass with water. Drink it.           

            Question: does this taste good?

            No. Something is lacking.

            You have to get a spoon, place the spoon inside the water, and use that spoon to stir up the powdered tea in the water. After stirring, you got yourself a terrific glass of tea.

            Look at Hebrews 10:24 again, And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…  

            God has empowered you with everything you need to live the Christian life—except for one thing. You need to be stirred up. The Holy Spirit is living inside of you, but you weekly need to gather with God’s community and be stirred up. Likewise, you need to use the Holy Spirit God gave you to stir other Christians up. Together, you’ve got mutual encouragement to face whatever this world has to offer.

             Go and stir up your brothers and sisters in Christ.

            [My view on Hebrews has been primarily shaped by two sources. The most important was Dr. James Thompson, who taught a short course on HEBREWS in May 2002, at ACU. I was blessed to literally sit at his left at that course’s table. The other was a commentary called Perseverance in Gratitude by David A. DeSilva.]

Five Things I Think I Think

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I think we live in the golden age of Super Bowls. Back in the day, they were blowouts almost every year—terrible, boring games. Now, it seems unusual if the game is boring. Sunday’s game was a good one—not the best of all time, but a good game.

Eli Manning’s pass to Mario Manningham on the Giants’ final drive has to be considered one of the finest of all time. When one considers the pressure of the situation, the adversity of the Patriot pass rush, the degree of difficulty for the completion because of the pinpoint accuracy required, he/she must marvel at the achievement. Some people, for some reason, simply perform their best in the most pressure-packed situations. Manning is one of them.

Oh, and Manningham made a nice catch.

2. Another amazing event occurred Sunday—once in a lifetime. Madonna (so I’m told) performed modestly attired.

3. Judy and I saw AMADEUS again for the first time in twenty years. The writers, of course, took great liberty with Mozart’s story, especially Salieri’s role in his death (fiction). Still, it is a very compelling movie because of the music, the location for shooting (Czechoslovakia), and the quality of acting.

             4. Alec Baldwin is a great comedic actor. Yet, Tim Tebow may have topped him the other night at the NFL awards on NBC. Earlier in the evening, Baldwin, the show’s host, had teased Tebow by posturing in a Tim Tebow prayer pose. Later, when Tebow accepted an award, he articulated his gratitude to God for the platform he had divinely received. Noting the impact it had he quipped, “[It] even had Alec Baldwin praying tonight.” Touché.

            5. For the past month I have seen a number of advertisements for NBC’s new show, SMASH, starring Katherine McPhee. So many, they made me wonder why she didn’t win AMERICAN IDOL when she was a contestant a few years ago. And if she did not win, what happened to the person who did?

When a Stranger Stays Two Weeks

           When we lived in Argentina, we sporadically, experienced some hostility because we were Americans.  For example, people would ask us how in the world we could be a part of the U.S. political system.

            Judy and I had to be careful and remember we were not there to be apologists for the U.S. government. Each time we experienced such encounters, we were reminded that we were far away from our real home.            

            As you might imagine, other Americans would travel to Argentina. Occasionally, acquaintances of ours would call and ask us to host friends or relatives. These folks were strangers to us, but people we knew loved them. Their pilgrim friends were going to be far away from home; they needed a friendly place to stay.

            I remember one time a co-worker in the Lord, living in another part of Argentina, called to tell us about his cousin. The cousin was studying to earn a Ph.D. in anthropology, as I recall; the student and his wife planned on spending an extended amount of time researching in Argentina. Our fellow missionary was hoping Judy and I could host his cousin (and cousin’s wife) for a two-week visit.

            Question: what if an acquaintance called you and asked if a cousin and his wife could come stay with you for two weeks? Would you be happy with that request?

            We agreed, and, guess what? We thoroughly enjoyed the two-week visit. I have pleasant memories of long conversations, meals in the city, watching movies and sporting events on TV--two weeks of intimately sharing life.

            I think there were several reasons why we enjoyed their company. Here are two:

1. They were nice people (not to mention very interesting.)

2. These were people who, as Americans, shared a common background a common culture, and common values. Interestingly enough, in the U.S., we would not have maintained that much in common. They were from the Midwest, Judy and I were from Texas. They were Methodists, we were Restorationists. However, in a foreign land, those differences melted. The four of us retained our citizenship in another place, which was our bond.

            I reminisced about this the other day when reading Hebrews 13:1-2, “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!”

These verses reflect a time when God’s people were living in a land hostile to their faith. Christians were the outsiders. Christian strangers who were traveling needed a safe haven in a hostile town. In those days, the society did not offer many reputable motels or inns. Consequently, when you found a fellow pilgrim who had no place to stay, you offered your home to him.

From my small taste of being an outsider living in a foreign land, I would wager that the Christians who opened up their homes and offered hospitality enjoyed a byproduct of sweet blessing. After all, they were citizens-not of this world-but of heaven.

Let me encourage you if you live in a place where a Christian could use some good hospitality-for whatever reason-to welcome him or her. Your guest will be blessed, and you just might be too.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I still like Adele, and I think “Someone Like You” will, in the future, be considered one of the truly great love songs. It has haunting lyrics and a melancholy melody.

2. If “Pro Bowl” were a corporate brand, the Better Business Bureau’s “Report a Scam” would overload today.

3. Here’s my Super Bowl pick: Giants 24-Patriots 17.

4. I’ve started rereading THE LAST LION, William Manchester’s first volume of his biography on Winston Churchill. Churchill—what an amazing/fascinating man.

            5. I am looking forward to preaching out of Deuteronomy on Sunday nights. I think those who join me will be blessed, as I know I will.

            

Think Different--pt. 2

            Last week, we began by talking about marriage, community, the mission of Israel and of the Church. We also noted that God spoke to the Apostle Peter in a vision, telling him, in essence, to think differently about those God desires to invite into His community of faith.

            Bringing Gentiles into the Kingdom had "blown the fuses" of the Jews. The question in the New Testament would prove to be: would it blow the fuses of the New Testament Church? Could the Jewish Christians welcome the Gentile Christians? Could the Jewish Christians place God's agenda over their own preferences? It would mean fellowshipping those who prove to be extremely different.

            Recently, our family attended a wedding. The groom was the son of parents with we served as missionaries to Argentina. The groom’s dad officiated the ceremony.

One of the things he emphasized was a bride and groom cannot focus on individual happiness in marriage. They cannot obsess with individual wants. Each must focus on Jesus. Jesus’ Kingdom must transcend all things—even the marriage. (“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…”)

The starting step to making a marriage work is to have the Kingdom of God as the goal transcending a couple’s marriage. Man and wife are looking UP to Jesus and His Kingdom. Everything is about “how do we help the Kingdom in this marriage?” It is a lot easier to find unity in marriage when SERVING the Kingdom is the primary goal.

            The problem for Israel was that seeking the Kingdom first was not the goal that transcended their lives; their own personal agendas had superseded God’s Kingdom. That led to division and their own destruction.

            And so, in Acts chapter ten, God was handing over to a new community of people this mission yet to be fulfilled. The new community was called the Church. To fulfill this mission in love and unity, they would have to elevate the Kingdom of Jesus and His will as the primary goal above all else.

            Jesus wanted more people to come into his kingdom. He wanted them to grow in his kingdom. And so much of what you read about in the New Testament having to do with unity and love, division and discord, is this struggle between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.

            Sometimes these concerned non-negotiables. I Cor. 6:9-11 offers an example of attitudes and morals that could not be compromised. But passages such as Romans 14 and 15 call upon these churches to make decisions that will help build young Christians in the Kingdom. These were negotiables.

Paul typically does not give them the answers. He gives them a framework for negotiating the negotiables.  Hence, these Christians were to make decisions that were to help these who were new to the faith, be able to stay in the faith, so that they could be formed by the faith.

            This meant that for some of the questions addressed, Christians had to put aside their personal agendas, their personal preferences, their personal comfort zones, even their personal understandings of God's teaching in Scripture (unless it was clearly connected to salvation) for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom.

You know, the biggest disagreement I've ever seen in a church might have been the one I saw Argentina years ago. We were planting congregations in different parts of the city, and for a while one met in our home.

We met on Sunday afternoons at three o'clock. One Sunday, we had our assembly, followed by a Bible study, which was followed by our monthly family meeting.

Somebody suggested that we change the assembly time to Sunday mornings. That started a huge fight.

            It was so bad that one of my teammates finally said, “Stop! Let's table this and talk about it next week after the assembly and Bible study.”

            Well, it just so happens that this brother was the one who was supposed to bring the sermon the next week. He preached out of Philippians chapter two, 1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others….

            When it was time for the family meeting, everyone had a suggestion about when to meet, and no one suggested the time that he or she had originally proposed. Everyone suggested a time that was beneficial for someone else.

            I will never forget my teammate taking us to Philippians to help us understand how you place the mind of Christ–the mind of the Kingdom–above all else. In the end, isn't it the Kingdom that matters the most? In that case, we had to learn to think different when it came to starting times for assemblies.

            If I can paraphrase an acquaintance paraphrasing Martin Luther King, I have a dream that someday, on the same pew, will be sitting a woman wearing a burqa, alongside an elderly woman wearing a hat and earrings, alongside a young man wearing a nose ring, alongside a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit, alongside a person who likes to sing new songs, alongside a person who likes to sing old songs, alongside a person who is emotionally expressive, alongside a person who is emotionally reserved… and all of these people bringing into the assembly different cultures and different ways of viewing things.

All of that would be okay–because the glue that holds everybody together in love and unity is the Kingdom of God, which is above all.

           

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Curse you John Feinstein! You came out with another book I cannot put down—One on One. In it, you describe in exquisite detail your behind-the-scenes activities writing about sports these past thirty years. Especially fascinating is your account of your time with Bob Knight writing A Season on the Brink. I hate it when a book absorbs my attention—please stop writing them.

2. A lot of people got the Super Bowl they wanted. I cannot help but pick the Giants.

3. Texas Rangers—I believe in Yu Darvish because I believe in the judgment of Nolan Ryan.

4. Yesterday, I preached on Hebrews 2:1, which talks about drifting away from Jesus. I promised my church yesterday I would place a link to the Casting Crowns’ video SLOW FADE—a cool video and a great song. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASREBVDsLk

5. Saturday marked 39 years of Roe v. Wade; yet, I still believe in the future. Most stats I see show younger people growing increasingly more pro-life. Someday, I predict, culture will place the stigma on the pro-choice position that it has placed on the old Jim Crow laws.

Think Different

I’ve seen various versions of the following joke. My favorite was sent to me by a friend:

His and Her Diaries

Wife's Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior. I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.'

When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster!

Husband's Diary:

Boat wouldn't start, can't figure it out.

Marriage is hard. Spouses see things differently. To become married, you have to transform your mindset to a different way of thinking.

            We have seen this in other fields. Apple, a few years ago, launched a new advertising campaign—“Think Different.”  (Think different, not grammatically.) The company was integrating everything: music, computers, cell phones… a complete break from the rest of the industry.

A mantra for God could be, “Think different.” For example, in Acts 10, God was doing a work that was going to blow Peter's mind. He had to show Peter what He was up to.

In Acts 10, we have a very good man who was known as Cornelius. He was a Gentile. Cornelius was in a journey of faith, but he was not yet in a saving relationship with Jesus. So God went to a lot of trouble to see to it that it happened. However, there was a problem.

God had chosen to work through the people of the church, and they did not have the same mindset He did. For example, he spoke to a fellow named Peter. Peter was an apostle. Peter was part of the household of Israel. One day, Peter went up to an out-of-the-way place to pray.

Peter had been trained to look at food in specific ways. Now God was telling him to think different. God was telling Peter to think different about food so that he could think different about people. God wanted to bring different people into the kingdom. This was going to be a huge stretch for Peter and others who were like him.

            What Peter did not remember was that God was always about community. You go back to Genesis 2: God started building his most fundamental community–and what was that? Marriage.

            Now folks, Judy and I are married. We are very different. Our bodies are different. She is a female, and I am a male.

Do we think alike? No. She is an early riser. I have built pyramids of pillows on top of my head trying to cut out any sign of sound and light at 5:30 in the morning while she is getting ready for her day; I'm trying to sleep… because I am a late-to-bed person. (Of course, according to Ben Franklin, Judy is healthy, wise, and, now that she is a full-time teacher, surely soon to be wealthy!)

            Judy would love to set a thermostat to 70° in the winter time. I would be happy to turn off the heater until the temperature drops below 50°. (It is winter after all; we can bundle up.)

            A few years ago, we negotiated.

            Judy said, “Let’s put the thermostat at 65.”

            I said, “Let’s put it at 60.”

            We compromised… at 65.

            God, in his mysterious wisdom, has called Judy and me together in community. Somehow, we work it out. Sometimes it is through submission; sometimes it is through compromise–but we make it work.

            Now, there are those in our society today who are trying to eliminate the difference and create marriages for those who are as much alike as possible—including alike in gender. But God has always said, in His word, regarding marriage–think different.

            As for Judy and me, God, in His infinite wisdom, understands that Judy and I, as we struggle with our differences, if we submit to the work of the Holy Spirit, are being transformed more and more into the image of Christ.

            Let's expand this a little bit. God called the world to his community of people, initially through a fellow name Abraham. He cultivated a people. Later, he would call that community Israel. They were to take the good news of God to the entire world, 
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant 
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. 
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Is. 49:6.) NIV 1984

            God was saying: I want to call the world to this community.

But this community–Israel–could not get over the difference between themselves and the rest of the world. They could not think different. They wanted to think--same. They wanted only those who were like them in their community.

            What they did not realize is that God would have done a work on them had they allowed him to do so. He would have transformed them into a people of his character through this difficult work of interacting with those who were different, but that was not a priority for the Israelites.

            Unfortunately, too often, the Israelites thought about what they wanted and that messed up the work of God. You have got to think about God and his Kingdom—what God wants.

(To be continued next week.)

           

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I found the book Eisenhower-The White House Years by Jim Newton to be enjoyable. I had read that it broke new ground because of the access the author had to classified documents that had recently been declassified. Yes, the book broke new ground, but… it was not to the extent as advertised. However, these new revelations continue to draw out the fact that Eisenhower was the true leader of his White House. Moreover, I found those endorsing the book on the cover (including a few democrats) fascinating

2. John Eisenberg’s book That First Season did not break much new ground either about Vince Lombardi’s first season with the Green Bay Packers back in 1959. Probably, the more accurate statement would be Eisenberg provided a few more details about what occurred that first year in Green Bay than other books. Still, the book was interesting; furthermore, I was impressed by the quantity of people the author interviewed.

3. Okay, so I was wrong last week about Denver’s defense. They looked awful. I am picking San Fran over New York and Baltimore over New England. However, the glamour Super Bowl matchup would be New England vs. New York—a rematch of their epic 2008 battle.

4. I’m intrigued by Kiefer Sutherland’s new TV show Touch. 

5. I downloaded new music to my iTunes last week, and everyone in my family loves it. It’s called “Hero in Waiting”, and its composed by David Robidioux of NFL Films. You might recognize portions of the piece. I find it stirring and beautiful.