You Must Listen to Me!

Have you ever wondered why you need to listen to particular people over others?

When I was in college and planning my life to be a Youth Minister, I interned at a church one summer. It was quite a wonderful summer, as, for the first time, I had my chance to see what it was like to work in a church and to pursue my passion for ministry. One of the greatest parts of those three months was getting to stay with the church’s members and going from place each week to lay my head; and now, almost 13 years later, some of those friendships still exist.

Yet, one of the most memorable parts of that 12 weeks was our trip to Colorado. As was tradition in that church, the youth group took a week long trip to go on “Wilderness Trek.” If you’re not familiar with that organization, basically, a team of 3-4 experienced (and generally young) mountain guides take a group of 10-30 people up a mountain and back down again. Along the way, many skills are learned, such as repelling, cooking with a propane torch, and taking a bath in 38 degree water that is the result of melted snow. The whole shebang lasts four or five days and peaks, quite literally, with the summiting of a 14,000ft mountain…called Summit Day.

After accomplishing this great feat and not having a massive coronary, we got back to town, enjoyed a night’s rest, and set off to do something relaxing before we go home. Instead, however, we ended up singing up for a white water rafting trip. Let me tell you right now…Trek was easy compared to this! Oh sure, it looks like a load of fun in the brochure – with people smiling and wearing warm clothes. However, when we rode, the water was 39 degrees and we wore full wetsuits. To top it all off, it had rained a considerable deal in the previous week, and the river was up to near record levels. And in a canyon, more water means faster water…and more dangerous to boot!

Each boat had 8 riders and captain. Ours was a man named Jerry. Jerry appeared in his late 40’s and had weathered skin from the sun. As he briefed us on what we had to do to not die out there on the water (not very encouraging), he picked me out to serve as the rowing coach and spotter. Why he chose the heaviest and biggest person to sit in the pole position on the raft is still beyond me – but alas, I was anointed. As he told me my responsibilities, I quickly realized I had two jobs – 1) to spot “holes” in the river where the riverbed had given way underneath and caused a big pothole (for lack of a better explanation) and 2) to get the other riders to row together in time to avoid or go through these pitfalls. These holes were especially dangerous, depending on their depth and breadth, and could easily cause a boat to capsize or even flip over backwards if the crew did not continue to row down into and up over the crest of the hole. Jerry was good enough to tell us that a man had been drowned and killed on our very route not two days earlier with another company.

Gee…thanks, Jerry!

Well, having received this grand, eloquent eulogy, we all boarded the raft and shoved off, each taking their place, with Jerry in the stern on the rudder. They really lure you in at first, as the water was pretty calm and the scenery sublime. We had four other boats from our party behind us, and we would have an occasional rowing war to see who could work the best.

But after about half-hour of this maneuvering and enjoyment, Jerry gets our attention for an announcement. It must have been about this same time that the other boats got their speeches too, because a hush fell over the mighty river. With a serious face, Jerry said simply, “As things get a little more dangerous, you must listen to me.” He had us at the word dangerous. From that point, he told us of the perils that would soon befall us and that, if we didn’t listen to his voice and respond at the appropriate times, we could really be in trouble…or worse. As he finished his final instructions, we could hear a growing roar in the distance, until a few moments later we could see a raging torrent, white with fury and hungry for the next victim.

In a moment, we were in the middle of Armageddon, paddling like a team of Vikings every time Jerry spoke up. “Stroke, stroke, stroke,” I’d say over my shoulder as we moved from one bogey to the next. At one point in the action we had about a 2 minute rest as Jerry spoke up again and told us that the worst was coming next…something about “WidowMaker,” and….as I turned around to spot, I saw the biggest hole yet. Instinctively, I began my barking, “stroke, stroke,” until Jerry said, “no, not yet Chad, wait on my voice.” Coming to attention, I sat up and braced myself for the ride. As we came to the hole, it was so deep, I couldn’t see the bottom from my position. Just as we dropped into the 12 foot deep hole, Jerry said to me, “Now!” And with his mark, I sounded with all the command of a drill sergeant. For what seemed like minutes, we were surrounded by water on all sides – including an ominous wall in front of us. As we paddled with everything we had, we scaled the water wall and safely plopped on the other side. Realizing we weren’t dead, we all let out a cheer. Looking at Jerry, we didn’t know whether to lynch him on the spot, or pledge our next paycheck to him. One thing’s for sure…in order to have survived the day, we needed to listen to his voice.

PS – that was my last summer in Youth Ministry!!

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on God’s Word on what it has to say about the commanding voice of God.

Contemplate – on what it would be like listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice, following where He would have you go.

Seek – a way to cut through the noise of life and focus on the One True Voice.

Find – both comfort and peace as you are led by voice of the Master.

Resounding Themes:

Hearing the Master’s Voice
Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord
A Changed Life

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 10

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What two types of men are contrasted as Jesus opens His thoughts? How are they different? Who are the sheep? How do they respond to the two men? What’s the difference?

- How do the people respond to what he says? Why are they torn? What do they eventually demand of him? How does Jesus respond? Why does He say they don’t believe in Him? How do the people respond?

- When acknowledging their lack of belief, what does Jesus point to that proves who he is? What do they accuse him of? After eluding their lynching, where does Jesus return? How is he received? What’s the difference in this group and the Pharisees?

- Can you clearly hear the Savior’s voice? If no, why not? What “noise” distracts you from being able to distinguish His voice from others?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O God, You are the Great Shepherd, and we shall never be in want! And over the din of life’s noise, we hear Your clarion voice, piercing the racket of all competing voices. You call us each by name, and we come out of pen…out of our safety into the service of your guidance. And with words both gentle and meaningful, you lead us with just the very sound of Your voice. And as obedient lambs, we press ourselves into Your followership and service.

Lord, may we always be able to distinguish Your voice form all others.
Would You speak to us today, as we eagerly listen…Lord, Open the eyes of my heart,

In Christ’s Name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

So that God Might Be Glorified!

Have you ever wondered why you are given a certain affliction in this life?

If you’ve followed with me these many years, you have certainly heard about my firstborn cherub, Raemey Joy. Beyond being the sweetest and brightest 4 year-old (5 next week) I know, Raemey has done more to teach me about the nature of God in her few years than the sum of my complete life’s work.

As I have said many times, Raemey was born with a genetic disorder called Achondroplasia. When we heard that phrase from the OB GYN a few weeks before she was born, we were as lost as you are now as you read it. In short (no pun intended), Achondroplasia is the genetic condition that causes acutely short stature; she is a dwarf. Technically termed a “little person,” Raemey will likely achieve a height of about 4 four feet, give or take. Her arms and legs are roughly half the length of an “average” person, while her torso and head are generally normal. Now, there are all types of dwarfism (200 known), but hers in the most common. She is part of a very small and very tight knit community of people in America, totaling less than 3000. Even at her young age, she’s had multiple surgeries, including a perilous brainstem decompression that undoubtedly saved her life.

When we found out what she was going to be challenged with and what we would have to adjust to, I confess openly, I was confused. In the back of my mind, that ever pervasive question of “why” was lurking. “Why is she like this?” “Is her condition a product of my past sinfulness?” These questions and many more in the same vein crossed my lips as I came face to face with expectations changed.

And then, as God is so good at doing, I was drawn to His Word, and most specifically to John 9. As the story opens, Jesus and his disciples come upon a man who has been blind since birth. As was taught by the rabbis in Jesus’ day, the apostles immediately jumped to the conclusion that his present affliction was the product of one of his parent’s sins – that God Himself was punishing and enacting revenge on the offspring of sinners. In one of the most powerful statements the Savior ever spoke, he flatly told the disciples that his condition was not a result of a parent’s sin, but the cornerstone on which God would build the temple of His glory. And, as the story goes, the man was healed and God was glorified.

What a revelation from the Lord!!! In my momentary grief, I was certain that my precious little child was being punished for my vast sin; yet, what indeed was at work was bigger than either one of us. Indeed, Raemey has already, in five short years, served as a stage on which the glory of God has been proclaimed for many to see! It’s hard for us in the life to have kingdom eyes when it comes to our own sufferings and challenges. Even the apostle Paul bemoaned a certain “thorn in the flesh” which God had given him to keep him both humble and an ongoing instrument of His visible grace. I wonder today, what plagues you or someone you love? Is it physical? Is it situational? Maybe poverty or brokenness has fallen upon your house. Maybe you’ve experienced loss or grief indescribable in human words and grope, as in the darkness, for an answer to the pain. Oh, beloved, may the Savior come to you today and extend His message of peace once again, as He proclaims, “this has happened that the work of God might be displayed in your life.” Will you give God the glory today?


As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the perfection of God’s creation.

Contemplate – on how each individual, no matter their make-up, represents the genius and image of God.

Seek – the revealing nature of God, and how He seeks to be glorified in your own life.

Find – the opportunity to glorify God through any adversity you have in your life, no matter how profound.

Resounding Themes:

To God Be the Glory
Suffering Produces Perseverance
Christ In Us, the Hope of Glory
I Believe!

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 9:1-41

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Who do Jesus and his disciples encounter on their journey? Is it important that John mentions he is blind from birth? What is the disciples’ immediate reaction to him? Is this shocking? Why or Why Not?

- How does Jesus correct their assumptions? In fact, why does Jesus assert the man has been blind all this time? Does that give you comfort or distress to hear it? Why or Why not?

- How does Jesus heal the man? What does the man have to do to complete the work? Is it significant that the man does not get instantly well? How is the man treated by the Pharisees after he is healed? After he is thrown out of the synagogue, Jesus finds him and asks him what? How does the man respond? Why is this important?

- Do you have some type of affliction that you’ve always wondered why God could have allowed it to happen? Knowing what Jesus says in John 9, could it be that your specific situation has occurred so that the work of God could be displayed more plainly in your life? Are you letting God shine through your weakness or are you still wallowing in your misery and questioning God?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How perfect are Your ways, O Sovereign Master. So vast are the sum of Your thoughts, that, had we were able to count them, they would outnumber the stars in the heavens. For Your ways are not like our own and Your timing transcends the calendar of man. In You is all power and control and peace.

We are a broken people, O God, wrestling daily with the afflictions that plague us in this life. For one, its physical infirmity. For another, it’s a fallen relationship. For still another, it is loss so painful that words cannot express the grief and anger buried inside.

Our Savior and Our God, reach down into our misery and grant us a glimpse into the glory You see, the glory that awaits You as we recognize what You are doing through our pain. Father, if it be Your will, release us from this burden that we would suffer no more. But if not…if this affliction is to be the stage on which You perform Your mighty spectacle of grace…then grant us the ability to sustain a steadfast will and a heart that seeks to give you the glory in all things.

And may we be made strong in our weakness!

By the healing hand of the Master, we cry, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

The Thruth Shall Set You Free...If You Can Find It!

Can you say for certain that there is definite, absolute truth in this life?

The following contains excerpts from http://www.probe.org/worldview--philosophy/worldview-and-truth.html

One of the foundational aspects of a Christian worldview is the matter of absolute truth. The Bible rests upon belief in it. Yet surveys by George Barna show that a minority of born again adults (44 percent) and an even smaller proportion of born again teenagers (9 percent) are certain of the existence of absolute moral truth.

Even more disturbing is the growing evidence that even adults have abandoned their belief in absolute truth. By a three-to-one margin adults say truth is always relative to the person and their situation. This perspective is even more lopsided among teenagers who overwhelmingly believe moral truth depends on the circumstances.

Social scientists as well as pollsters have been warning that American society is becoming more and more dominated by moral anarchy. Writing in the early 1990s, James Patterson and Peter Kim said in The Day America Told the Truth that there was no moral authority in America. “We choose which laws of God we believe in. There is absolutely no moral consensus in this country as there was in the 1950s, when all our institutions commanded more respect.”

Researcher George Barna, writing ten years later in his book Boiling Point, concludes that moral anarchy has arrived and dominates our culture today. His argument hinges on a substantial amount of attitudinal and behavioral evidence, such as rapid growth of the pornography industry, highway speeding as the norm, income tax cheating, computer hacking, rampant copyright violations (movies, books, and recordings), increasing rates of cohabitation and adultery, Internet-based plagiarism, etc.

When asked the basis on which they form their moral choices, nearly half of all adults cite their desire to do whatever will bring them the most pleasing or satisfying results. Although the Bible should be the basis of our moral decision-making, the survey showed that only four out of every ten born again Christian adults relies on the Bible or church teaching as their primary source of moral guidance.

The survey also found that the younger generation was even more inclined to support behaviors that conflict with traditional Christian morals. “Among the instances in which young adults were substantially more likely than their elders to adopt a nouveau moral view were in supporting homosexuality, cohabitation, the non-medicinal use of marijuana, voluntary exposure to pornography, profane language, drunkenness, speeding and sexual fantasizing.”

Clearly, Christians are neither thinking nor behaving as Christians. And a large part of the problem centers on this abandonment of a belief in absolute truth. If Christians believe that morality is relative and determined by the situation, then they have changed biblical moral principles. Today there is a critical need for Christians to think and act biblically in every area of life.

How true indeed. In fact, Winston Churchill may have said it best when he quipped,

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”

This week, as we continue our look into the Gospel of John, we continue in chapter 8 as we see Jesus himself declare what is truth and can be trusted. In the end, the list was short – Jesus and His words. These alone, the Savior teaches, will produce absolute truth that will bring both life and freedom. All else is slavery.

As you worship this week:

Meditate – on the truths pointed out in God’s Word that are absolute, unchanging.

Contemplate – your first response when challenged in your morality…do you go to the Truth, or seek your feelings first?

Seek – the wisdom and mind of Christ to be his man or woman in all circumstances.

Find – the freedom that comes from practicing and believing the Truth of Christ.

Resounding Themes:

Everlasting to Everlasting
I AM the Way, the TRUTH and the Life
Set Free by the Spirit of TRUTH
Honest Discipleship

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 8:12-42

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- Why does Jesus have to constantly defend himself against what the people thought? If you were a Jew, would you have believed Jesus? Do you tend to believe people that testify about themselves, or are you more apt to believe someone testifying on their behalf?

- Jesus tells them that if they hold to his teachings, they would know the truth and they would be free – what does he mean? What did the Jews think he was talking about? How does Jesus respond?

- Is there absolute truth in the world? What is it? What isn’t it? Why do we fight so strongly against the idea that something can be true once and forever? Are Jesus’ truths enough for life? Why or Why not?

Ready, Set, PRAY

Infinite Father…Who spans both time and reality…we worship You in all of Your glory. From Your throne, You have seen the ages come and go and come again – all at your bidding. And form the beginning of time, You set firmly Your decrees in place, rooting and establishing them in love, as truth for all time. Indeed, Lord Jehovah, You are the embodiment of absolute truth. Only Your wisdom could stand against the ebb and flow of time and remain constant.

And what of Your character is steadfast and unchanging? Faith and hope and love. For in these three truths, we find a greater truth and reality than can be found by any other means. Because of your undying faithfulness, we have faith in Your promises. In response to Your power over sin and darkness, we have hope in this life and the one to come. And because of the love you first showed to us, we, in turn, find the joy that comes from loving others.

For what greater truth can be known in this life, than the love of our Almighty Savior. And in His name and supreme sacrifice we pray.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!