Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is dead at 50. Whatever the autopsy finds, Jackson died a victim of his own insecurities, obsessions and phobias. Mutilated by surgeries of choice gone wrong, Jackson lived his last decade or more in constant pain created by his desire to end some internal pain on the inside by recreating the arrangement of his outside.
Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.
Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.
Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.
Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.
The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.
Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!
Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.
Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.
Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)
Love, Nancy.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND
Early in his career, Will Smith, the actor/father/singer, was just Will Smith, rapper, and he had a song called “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” It was a comic look at the decisions that parents make (mild things like discount, un-cool clothes) that cause teenagers to groan. No, parents don’t always understand what is important to our children (especially when it comes to fashion); but the reverse is even more true – children do not understand the decisions parents make. How can they? Until you’ve had children of your own, you just cannot understand the concern, responsibility and love that go into parenting.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
GRANDE, NO WHIP, TRIPLE SHOT, SKINNY, NO FOAM, EXTRA HOT, SOY…
Yep, I’m THAT person – the one who takes ten words to describe my drink choice at Starbucks. The franchise is struggling and the lines do seem shorter in the airport cafes, but that means I don’t have to wait so long for my venti, triple shot, skinny, cinnamon dolce latte or sugar-free, skinny, venti, London Fog. But, hey, at Starbucks it is all about ME – my particular cravings, likes, wants. I have my own, personal coffee niche.
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
Monday, May 4, 2009
POT LUCK CHURCH OF GOD
I’ve mentioned many times in my blogs that I work in an industry that supports magazine publishers and that publishers are in trouble. This week, in a publishing-industry e-newsletter, I found a quote about why magazines are failing that I think applies to the current struggles of many churches.
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
Saturday, April 25, 2009
UNPLUGGED OR UNHINGED!
Does anyone else feel overwhelmed with the job of reporting on every second of your life or is it just me? I’ve got FaceBooks, MySpaces, LinkendIns, Twitters and Blogs – not just one, but multiple accounts for most of them – personal, DCM and work. I tweet. I blog. I post. I can’t keep up with all the telling of all the things I’m supposed to be telling or reading about all the people I’m “connected to” on all the places we are connected.
I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.
With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!
There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.
As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.
Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….
Love, Nancy
I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.
With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!
There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.
As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.
Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….
Love, Nancy
Monday, April 20, 2009
PROXIMITY PART TWO
I love hugs from little kids. They hug with total abandon, squeeze as tight at they can and have no hang ups about what is or is not a respectable length of time to hold on. Much better than the kind of side-ways hook or butt out hugs we are forced to do as adults for the sake of propriety.
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Sunday, April 12, 2009
THE BENEFITS OF PROXIMITY, Part One
The other day I was running errands for work – preparing for a visit from a potential client. I’m the sales person for this company, so everything about the visit of a potential client is my domain. I was waiting for 200 color copies to be run at Kinko’s and needed to pick up some items from a craft store. I planned to stop at a store I’d been to before on my way home; but, conveniently, there was one in the same shopping center as Kinko’s. The other craft store lost my business because there was one closer to Kinko’s. There was no other reason to shop at Store B instead of Store A. Both stores had what I needed. It all boiled down to proximity.
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
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