I’m sure it had to be a funny sight. Driving down the street of the ordinarily quiet neighborhood and seeing the two young boys sitting on the curb shoulder to shoulder, holding hands, with a look of disgust on their faces.  What had started out as a harmless game of basketball in the driveway between the two jovial brothers who are almost five years apart ended up as a brawl that resembled an Ultimate Fighting Championship and landed the now loathing brothers on the curb in front of their house holding hands in an effort to resolve their differences.

I’m not endorsing the parenting method but I gave up running for the “Father of the Year” award many years ago. Those two boys are now 18 and 14 and have a remarkably close relationship. One that their mom and I are very proud of except for times when it teams up against us.  But when they were younger they would fuss and fight all the time and that often landed them in the precarious position of sitting shoulder to shoulder, holding hands until they settled their differences. Here’s what I noticed whenever that happened – it didn’t take long for their irritation at each other to turn in to irritation at their situation and they would quickly find the determination to resolve their differences.

It’s a great life lesson: the first step to getting along is working with one another not against one another. Can the world just stop and spend some time sitting on the curb shoulder to shoulder, holding hands?

Jesus did that. In John 4, Jesus meets a woman at a well. Jesus engages the woman in conversation – an astonishing break from culture and tradition. For a couple of reasons.  One, the woman was a Samaritan. Racial tensions between the Samaritans and the Jewish people ran high and a Jew would never have interacted with a Samaritan.  And for the double whammy, she was a woman. In first century culture, men did not randomly interact with women. Yet, Jesus engaged in conversation with her. Despite their differences. Despite their culture’s irritation with each other. Despite their people’s past and current conflict.  That conversation led to the woman putting her faith in Jesus and many in her village did as well. All because Jesus initiated the conversation.

What would happen if we got bold enough to simply engage in conversation with those we are in conflict with? To those who are different from us? To sit across the table from each other and not debate our irritation with each other but our irritation with the situation and find the determination to resolve our differences? With our spouse. Our boss. Our coworker. Our church. Our friend. Our enemy.

Can we just stop and spend some time sitting on the curb shoulder to shoulder, holding hands?

 

You can’t help but notice its back to school time. Even if you don’t have children in school you are surely detecting the sensational media hype, the big yellow buses, and how your typically frazzled co-worker seems to be unusually more at ease during the day.   Perhaps you’ve spotted the backpacks, school supplies and uniforms. Or maybe you’ve wondered why the neighborhood, the park, and the mall are unusually tranquil during the day.  And even if you have missed all of that, you undoubtedly cannot ignore the obligatory annual first day of school pictures barrage on social media.

Okay, so maybe it’s not so obligatory. Possibly a bit bandwagonish, but not mandatory. Back to school brings with it a flood of pictures posted of siblings standing together dressed in their first day of school outfits wearing their brand new backpacks as though they are armed to take on the world.  Parents can’t help but display their pride in who their kiddos are growing up to be.  They love them and are just absolutely crazy about them! Often times there is a current picture paralleled with a photograph from last year or from the first day of kindergarten that shows a tremendous amount of growth that makes a parent’s heart swell and their eyes moisten.  First day of school pictures represent a new beginning and a bright future.  I’m a parent – I get it! As one of my friends posted, “This is the best day of the year on Facebook.”

Did you know that is exactly how God feels about you? I’m not sure about heavenly social media but my guess is that God has pictures of you posted everywhere today and every day! He loves you and is absolutely crazy about you! He can’t help but display His pride in who His kiddo is growing up to be. He boasts of the growth you’ve made from last year to today.  He just can’t contain His excitement over where you are today and His eagerness about what is ahead for you.

So if you find yourself in a disheartened place…

• Maybe a teacher convinced you that you would never amount to anything.
• Perhaps a boss let you know how little he thought of you.
• It’s feasible a spouse has chipped away at your self-esteem and you feel like a failure.
• Possibly the weight of your own mistakes and poor choices weigh on you daily.
• Maybe you are persuaded that if you were just a little prettier, a little smarter, or a little less socially awkward then you would have more value.

Remember, God is crazy about you!

Perhaps Max Lucado says it best. I’ll leave you with his insight:

“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!”

God’s Got This? Got what? The thought that was brought to your mind just now. The thing you are most worried about. Your greatest fear. Your biggest insecurity. The place you feel overwhelmed. Your greatest struggle. The habit you can’t kick. The hurt you can’t let go of. The hang-up you can’t escape.  God’s got this!

In perhaps one of the most spectacular chapters of the Bible we are encouraged that God’s got this. In Exodus 14, the Israelites are on the run from the Egyptians.  For 400 years God’s people had been slaves in Egypt.  Then God raised up a man name Moses to deliver them from their harsh oppression.  Multiple confrontations and ten epidemics later Pharaoh agreed to let them go.  Then he changed his mind and began to pursue after them with his vast army.  The Israelites “feared greatly” (Exodus 14:10, ESV). And Moses countered, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14, ESV, emphasis added).

The Lord will fight for you…and He did. Moses reached out his hand and the Red Sea split apart.  The Israelites walked across on dry land and when the Egyptians began to chase after them, the waters collapsed and drowned them all.  The Bible tells us that as God’s people looked back all they saw were dead Egyptians on the shore.

The Lord will fight for you…and He does. What is it? You are sending your baby off to school for the first time? Your teenager is ferociously campaigning for independence? Getting out of bed in the mornings is a fight?  The news you just heard is suffocating?  Your work is making you feel like an Israelite under the oppression of the Egyptians?

The Lord will fight for you…and He will. Whatever it is. God’s got this!

“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today…The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

“Have-to’s” are a part of every day. You know what I’m talking about – those things you don’t necessarily enjoy doing but must do.  And whether you like it or not you have to find the time and energy to get them done.  Like doing the laundry.  No one (okay maybe a few peculiar people) enjoys doing laundry but it’s either that or wear dirty, smelly clothes or even worse, going naked.  Paying the bills is a “have-to”. Filling the car up with gas is a “have-to”. Homework is most certainly a “have-to.”  I’m sure you have other “have-to’s” every day?

“Want-to’s” can also be a part of every day. Those things that we look forward to doing not because we must do them but because we can’t wait to do them.  For me, getting to play golf is a “want-to”.  I don’t ever feel like I “have-to” go lose expensive golf balls and flirt with anger on all eighteen holes. I want to! You know what they say? A bad day on the golf course is always better than a good day in the office.

The Christian life is full of “have-to’s” and “want-to’s”. In first John 2 we are told that If we love God we will follow His commands. But let’s be honest – those often feel like a list of “have-to’s.” I have to go to church. I have to be nice to people. I have to give to the poor. I have to love my enemies. I have to forgive that scumbag. And the lists goes on and on.

But God never intended for His commands to be an encumbering list of rules we have to do. God’s desire is for us to want to follow His commands. How do we get from the “have-to” to the “want-to”? Let me offer two suggestions:

Pray

Pray for the “want-to.” Appeal to God for a change of heart. Request that a superficial sense of “have-to” would be transformed into a supernatural compulsion of “want-to”.

 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove

the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit

within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

Just Do it

Reaching the point where we “want-to” obey the commands of Christ doesn’t necessarily happen overnight. Growth in the Christian life often begins with obedience even when the desire is not present.  That was true for me when I first started tithing.  The first time I wrote that check, I did so reluctantly. I knew I needed to, but I didn’t really desire to.  In fact, I was quite disturbed about it.  But each time I wrote the check, God would do something. He would give me a glimpse of the outcome of my giving. He would show me His promise of giving. And over time I began to write that check each time with joy.  It was a process that began with just going through the motions.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22

 

What do you have to do today? What do you want to do today?

 

The world is a mess! Can I get an amen?

Just glancing at the headlines is sometimes overwhelming. Displays of calculated terrorism, extreme radicalism and senseless acts of violence. Accounts of the ever intensifying divides that exist over everything from marriage to abortion. Eye-catching images of the racial tension that we once thought was receding like an outgoing tide. Statistics on overcrowding in prisons, homeless shelters, and refugee camps. Reports of disturbingly increasing number of those living in poverty, occupying orphanages and becoming victims of human trafficking.

Yes, the world is a mess! Can I get a witness?

It’s easy to glance at the headlines and begin to get on the “world is going to hell in a handbasket” train. But before we go too ballistic on the globe, let’s zoom in a little and be honest – we are a mess. I’m a mess! And you are too! We are all a bunch of messy people living in a messy world.

We all have hurts, habits, and hang-ups. What’s yours? Stress? Fears? Overwork? Unhealthy or unholy attractions? Addictions? Regrets? Worry? Bad habits? Anger? Dishonesty? The overwhelming need to control? Finances? Perfectionism? Resentment? Compulsive thoughts? And the list goes on.

Perhaps you can relate to:

• The young woman who is following Jesus yet also deals with depression and suicidal thoughts.
• The young man who loves Jesus yet also finds himself struggling with sexual identity.
• The single female who loves Jesus but struggles with despair because she isn’t married.
• The woman who walks with Christ yet can’t seem to overcome her struggles with an eating disorder.
• The couple who has recently started coming to church every Sunday in an attempt to save their unraveling marriage.
• The man who reads his Bible faithfully but can’t seem to overcome his addiction to pornography.
• The woman who gives to the church sporadically and struggles with an obsessive shopping compulsion.

Here’s the good news: God is in the business of turning our mess into His message!

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:1-3, ESV)

God wants to take the mess in our lives – the pit of destruction, the miry bog and the wounded places. He wants to pull us out of those stations, set our feet on higher surroundings and turn the old song into a new one – a new message – so that all the world will see and hear. God turns the mess of our lives into a message of His goodness!

Where is God turning your mess into His message? Are you honest with your mess? Are you ready to be pulled from the chaos? Are you ready for a new song? Admit it – you’re a mess! Let God make it a message!