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In the previous post I talked about the principle of planting abundantly. Today I want to tell you about somebody who did it.
I married an MK. That’s “missionary’s kid,” in case you’re uninitiated. It was enough of a culture shock to marry a Texan, but to say “I do” to somebody who could have repeated her vows in Thai if she wanted was really special. For 26 years I have heard the stories, met most of the major players, and lived vicariously through the memories, the loves, and the laughter of a family whose lives are invested to this day in Jesus’ mandate to take the gospel to the world.
All of that came calling the day after Christmas 2004. To this day Robin refers to the event as if it were a proper name – an evil killer who has somehow become an unwanted part of the family.
His name: Tsunami. [click to continue…]
“Our behavior, attitudes, and initiatives toward others are an act of sowing. The acts of others toward us, at least in a general sense, are an act of reaping. If others are being critical, judgmental, or hostile to us, before we write them off as uncaring jerks, it may be wise to examine what we’ve been sowing in our own attitudes and relationships. If we aren’t seeing generosity being returned, maybe we haven’t been giving.”
-from my journal, January 10, 2001
Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others – ignoring God! – harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life (Galatians 6:7-8, The Message).
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Sometimes when the Lord wants to tell me something significant, he opens my eyes.
Sometimes he closes them. Literally. And speaks to me through a dream.
A few years ago I was on an airplane, reading about how God reveals himself through dreams, and I decided to see if the Lord had anything to say to me in that manner. That night in the hotel room, I asked him to speak to me through my dreams, and I “instructed” my brain to remember.
Remember I did. Clearly. Vividly. Unforgettably. [click to continue…]
This just in – apparently the Bible Belt is still buckled. That according to a recent Gallup survey, as reported by World Net Daily. Americans are still largely religious, but some states have more than others. The Gallup telephone poll of 355,334 adults asked the question, “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” Nationwide, 65% said yes.
But in the Deep South, my ancestral home, the numbers are much higher. Mississippians and Alabamians lead the list, with 85% and 82%, respectively, answering yes to Mr. Gallup. You can find your state by the color-coded categories below. The darker the green, the higher the response. Some states have a very religious culture, while others are decidedly secular.
Wow. There you have it. And all this time I thought we were in a state of massive decline and increasing irrelevance. With nearly two-thirds of Americans turning the pages while we say “Amen,” I guess we can invest in those church bonds after all.
Sorry. Don’t mean to rain on the celebration, but I don’t think I’m buyin’. Not in the secular belts. Not in the Bible Belt, either. [click to continue…]
Awards season is in full swing. The Golden Globes, Grammys, and Emmys are history. The Oscars are approaching. That can only mean one thing:
Michael Minutoli is probably close by.
Michael Minutoli is a party crasher, and without a doubt one of the best. For more than 15 years, this man has boldly gone where few of us would dare, and he never had a ticket. You could find him at movie premiers, awards programs, concerts, and backstage parties. Have tux, will travel.
He moves with such congruence, he blends right in. And he has the pictures to prove it – more than a thousand of them. You can find disposable camera prints of Michael with his arm around the likes of Harrison Ford, Katie Couric, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, President Bill Clinton, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Madonna, and Bruce Willis. Just to name a few.
And boy, does he have stories to tell. [click to continue…]
Spiritual gifts are in the news lately. Figured out what yours is/are yet? It’s a fascinating study, provided we approach it with the right attitude.
The Internet Monk suggests that the Holy Spirit gives different people different gifts in different situations – challenging the assumption that we somehow receive a gift load when we are saved and carry that with us throughout a lifetime.
Tim Challies also wrote last month about discovering your giftings.
The Barna Research Group just did a survey on spiritual gifts and discovered some interesting stuff. Since they’ve been doing this for a while, they reported some fascinating trends among Americans claiming to be born again:
- Evidently the Holy Spirit is recognizing a greater need for encouragement over the last several years (can’t imagine why!). The percentage that claims to have the gift of encouragement has tripled – growing steadily from 2% in 1995 to 6% today.
- Also, apparently the Spirit has decided that Americans have enough understanding of the gospel (or maybe that some of the mega churches have all that sown up). Since 1995, the proportion of born again adults claiming the gift of evangelism dropped from 4% to 1%.
- On the other hand, Lucy, churches may have some ‘splainin’ to do. Evangelicals who have no idea what their gift is rose from 8% in 2000 to 13% today.
One of the questions about spiritual gifts that comes up occasionally is whether the gifts mentioned in Ephesians, 1 Corinthians, and Romans are exclusive. That is, are those sixteen or seventeen spiritual gifts the only ones the Holy Spirit gives? Were those lists – all of which are different – meant to be just examples, or are they the only possibilities?
That sure came up on the Barna survey! More than one-fifth (21%) of survey respondents claimed to have spiritual gifts that aren’t mentioned in the Bible. These include:
- a sense of humor
- singing
- health
- life
- happiness
- patience
- a job
- a house
- compromise
- premonition
- creativity
- clairvoyance.
So I gotta tell you, my wheels are turning. While it may be risky to step outside the framework of the Bible, the possibility of other spiritual gifts brings up some interesting ideas. If other spiritual gifts really do manifest themselves in the Body, then I think I may have discovered some. And I’m sure building a wish list for others. So with apologies to the Apostle Paul, here are ten possible charismata he just didn’t mention: [click to continue…]
I’m about to share some relevant, important information to you – especially if you are interested in starting a business or avoiding germs. I’m also going to show you something that’s so painful, it’s funny (or vice-versa). Why? Because I can! And because The National Enquirer was right about inquiring minds.
But first, a story with a point.
I miss my old friend Randall. During our younger years, we spent many hours together praying, talking, and clowning around.
Randall once told about a funny, yet convicting experience. For a long time he’d been watching another highly-respected Christian. One day he announced to his brother Leigh, “I think I’ve finally found something wrong with Greg.”
Leigh, known for his dry humor and sometimes biting sarcasm, replied, “Congratulations! You found the mote!”
The “mote” to which Leigh referred was the old King James word for “speck” in Matthew 7:3-5.
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck out of your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Next time you’re in a crowd of people, Christians in particular, look around. You will find your share of people whose “eyes” are filled with “motes.” And you’ll be tempted to look past the pole in your own eye to notice, criticize, or try to correct the specks in someone else’s. [click to continue…]
Somewhere in a sea of uniformity, a yellow tulip stands alone.
Exquisite… but doubtless convinced that “different” means “ugly.”
Ask this amber wonder for any wish – it will openly yearn to be “normal.”
Never again to be viewed as a mistake, or a freak.
And yet, wish granted, all that remains is a sea of red.
Beautiful… but hardly remarkable.
To dress as no other is the honor of the bride.
To sing as no other is the glory of the nightingale.
To live, give, and love as no other is the beauty of a heart freed by grace.
Bringing Hope to the Land of Nod (Part 3)
1. Reconnect the spiritual with the interpersonal.
2. Expose anger for what it is, and provide a model for forgiveness.
3. Respond to Victimhood by Redefining Responsibility
4. Reopen doors of trust and acceptance.
Every vibrant relationship is a dance with trust. As the relationship deepens, so does the trust. As the trust grows, the relationship deepens even more.
That said, it’s easy to see why the citizens of Nod have an itty bitty trust issue. “Fool me once,” and all that.
Do people trust you? The challenge we face in being instruments of healing is that trust, once broken, is incredibly difficult to restore. Yet without it, hearts remain crippled and closed off.
Our goal for the citizens of Nod is to lead them to do more than survive. We believe God wants them to thrive. [click to continue…]
Two posts ago I started sharing what we’re learning about being instruments of healing to people in the “Land of Nod” – the realm of the aftermath of broken relationships. It was to this place that Cain went after he had killed his brother and rejected the mercy of God.
To bring hope to the Land of Nod, we must:
1. Reconnect the spiritual with the interpersonal.
You relate to people in the same way you relate to God, and vice-versa. We must be faithful to live that message, and communicate it well to others.
2. Expose anger for what it is, and provide a model for forgiveness.
Anger is always a choice; so is forgiveness. To help the Nodians, we must encourage them to accept responsibility for their anger and guide them toward forgiveness.
The third thing we are learning to do to bring hope back to Nod is:
3. Respond to Victimhood by Redefining Responsibility
Week in and week out, people pass through our doors carrying a past that neither they nor we can change. [click to continue…]
(Note: This is out of sequence, but I couldn’t pass this by. I’d like to know your thoughts.)
First, read this:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26, NASU)
Then read this: A Botched Abortion in Mother’s Own Words
Then read this again:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26, NASU)
Please tell me you feel at least a little outrage.
Please tell me that you haven’t lived so long in a culture of death that this leaves you untouched.
But while you’re at it, please give me something better than violence or political rhetoric. [click to continue…]
