Exceptional People

And we are good at finding exceptions. For instance, if someone says, "Children ought to honor and obey their parents" we say, "But you shouldn't take that too far, I mean, there are exceptions." And we quickly name a few exceptions. We are good at finding exceptions.

Bring up Proverbs 22:6 and someone will say, "It doesn't actually mean that. I mean some kids are just gonna rebel." See, there are exceptions to that verse, and we're good at finding them.

When we bump into Malachi 3:10 we are all over the map. First of all, that's Old Testament. Second of all cost of living was different back then. Third, we shouldn't set a number on it, that is so legalistic- there should be freedom for each individual to decide what he feels he should do. Fourth, etc, etc-. this is a real hot button issue. It has lots of exceptions and we can find them, because we are good at finding exceptions.

We hear, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and might." We start sputtering with qualifying statements like, "That means you just need to make sure you love God a little bit more than you love your 4x4 or your 'Stang." Exceptions are everywhere- who can find the most?

If the Bible says we ought to "pray without ceasing" we say "that doesn't really mean we have to pray all the time..,."

We are good at finding exceptions.

What if we took our eyes off the exception book and started focusing on God? What if children everywhere started looking for as many ways as possible to honor and obey their parents? What if parents everywhere started looking for as many ways as possible to raise their children in a Godly manner? What if Christians everywhere started looking for more abundant ways to tithe? What if we all started seeing how many ways we could demonstrate that we love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds? What if we started looking for more ways to pray without ceasing or to meditate on God's Word day and night? What if we quit looking for ways to break every command with our silly search for exceptions and start looking for all the possible ways to fulfill every command? What if?

If we stop looking for exceptions and start looking for applications why-

We would be truly exceptional people!

A Six Flags Moment

I had a grand time at Six Flags Over Texas with my siblings on Memorial Day. We rode rides that Rosemary and Dorcas loved(Crazy Legs, etc.). We rode rides that scared Rosemary and Dorcas. (They actually rode Tony Hawk and Batman) There were some rides that they didn't even see- they had their eyes closed the whole time (Batman). We rode rides that David loved. We rode rides that scared David. After one ride (Superman) he said, "Remind me never to ride that one again."

I was exhilarated (Batman, Flashback, etc.). I was dizzy (Tony Hawk). I was terrified(Texas Giant). I got a headache(Texas Giant). I had a great time. There were a few rides that none of my siblings would do with (Texas Giant, Flashback) me so I did them with Gen while they did other things. There was one ride (Superman) that my sister Ruth, who has a season pass, has never ridden but we rode it yesterday.

A lot of great things happened. But one of the things that left me breathless happened on Superman. Ruth, Dorcas, David and I rode. The seats are three across so we went two and two. On the side where David and I were a little girl took the third seat. As we were strapping in she struck up a conversation. She told me she really liked Superman. I asked if she screamed for this ride. "I never scream." And she didn't. But... well let me just tell you about it.

After a few moments of beautiful suspense we shot up about twenty stories. Exhilarating. Superman has three towers: red, blue, and yellow. Each tower has four sides with three seats per side. While we were suspended at the top waiting for the drop the little girl turned to me and calmly asked, "Why aren't they using the yellow tower today?" I said I didn't know.

Then we dropped. On the way down I heard the little voice beside me continuing the conversation. She said, "It's either the red and the blue, or the red and the yellow, but never all three." It sounded as if she was talking to me so I answered, "Maybe they don't have enough workers to operate all three towers at the same time."

"Yeah, they probably don't, but we wouldn't have to wait so long if they were all three going."

I agreed. "The lines were long today."

"Yes, they're almost always long..." At this point the ride was slowing down and soon we were on the ground again.

How many times does a ten year old have to ride that thing to be able to converse freely in the midst of a free fall? Superman is one of my favorite rides, but something about having a calm conversation in the midst of the free fall just leaves me a little breathless.

Just keep smiling. And say Merry Christmas.

    I came to Dallas today to spend Christmas with my family at my sister's house. This morning I was lacking a lot of presents...so I, being the brilliant shopper that I am, decided to drive up here first, then go shopping. The road up was good, traffic was much lighter than I expected. I arrived at the shopping center at Lewisville and was delighted with all the deals I found. But, while I was waiting to check out at different stores, three different people cut in line right in front of me. 
    They all did it sort of same. They sidled up beside me, looked at me out of the corner of their eyes several times, then pretending that I wasn't there they just walked in front of me. I was shocked to say the least. The first time it happened I was reminded vividly of something that happened earlier this year: I was visiting my sister in preparation for Micah and Natasha's wedding. We all went to Krogers to do some shopping. While we were waiting to check out we were all standing there talking. Suddenly a lady came up behind us, squeezed between us and the counter, and got in line behind the person that was being checked out.
    I was so shocked I said, "Well, EXCUSE US."
    Immediately the lady looked up and said rather pointedly, "Are you in line?"  
    "Yes we are."
   "You were all just standing there gabbing." This last she flung over her shoulder as she went to the next counter.  
    After she was gone the others who were with me looked at me with shocked expressions. Turns out they thought I had been rude. I wanted to excuse myself saying that I had just been so shocked by her behavior. They all agreed that she had been rather rude, however they also agreed that my response had been less than gracious.
    In another instance a short time later, the exact details of which I have forgotten, something very similar happened. Again someone did something I thought was rude, I responded in a less than gracious way, and those who were with me kindly brought my own inadequacy to my attention.
    So today as I stood in line and watched that lady cut in line I was shocked. But I also guarded my lips. Then I smiled, not at her, she never even looked at me after cutting in front of me. A little later, same store- different trip, a couple did it too me. Again I was shocked. By now I started thinking that maybe God was trying to teach me something. Recently I told God that if there was anything that I needed to learn before He would allow me to get married then I wanted to learn it fast. I decided that maybe these Christmas Eve line-cutters were another class in God's School of Hard Knocks. By the time it happened the third time I was convinced. As I smiled at the clerk, who actually saw it happen, I thought I heard my Teacher say, "Well done son, go to the head of the class."
     I wonder if being pleased with my own progress in one area is going to trigger a whole new class that I'll have to pass before I can get married?
      Another thing- when I told Ruth about these incidents she said that nobody ever cuts in front of her up here except when I am here. That begs the question: Am I invisible? Or do I have "Country Bumpkin" written all over me? This is going further than I really want to go....
    So let me go to the head of the class by wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas! And remember- next time we go shopping please don't cut in front of me, I've already learned that lesson. I'm ready for a more spiritual one now.

Merry Christmas.

America's Magic Lamp?

In the days leading up to the election many of you met with your churches to pray for our country. Many of you were praying very specifically about the outcome of the election. For some of you this may have been the first time in four years that you prayed for our country.

Remember 9-11? For months afterwards we gathered in churches and town squares, in parks and community centers and prayed for our country.

I am glad that we meet together to pray at election time and at times of national tragedy. I am glad that we look to God for help. But sometimes I am afraid for us as a people. Do we really just want to keep God around like a magic lamp? You know, “The (insert something scary here) are coming! Pull out the lanterns! We need to rub in another miracle in order to avert this national tragedy!”?

If we seriously think that it is sufficient for us to pray and do our duty just on Election Day then we must change our thinking. Every day of our lives must be spent in such a way so as to prepare a way for God to bless us, our children, and our country.

We need to pray continually for our country. We need to pray like Daniel did in chapter nine. We need to pray like Nehemiah did in chapter one. We must allow God to be God. We must seek Him, not only for help in times of great scariness, but also to learn His righteousness at all times.

If we as a country only keep God around for emergencies, what if He decides not to keep our country around any more?

War In Heaven

“And there was war in Heaven:” This simple sentence has the elements of an oxymoron. Heaven: peace, joy, eternal freedom from sorrow, and everlasting life. War: turmoil, pain, destruction, and death. War, in Heaven?

“And there was war in Heaven:” What a thought. If Heaven itself experienced the ravages of war, what makes us think that we can avoid war here on earth? What makes us think that we can convince the nations of this world to lay down their weapons and establish peace? When the insurrection started did Michael the Archangel piously stand by and say, “Actually, I live in Heaven and do the will of the Father. There is no way that I can take part in this fighting”? Did he say, “Wow, enemies, gotta love 'em”? No. Michael in direct obedience to the Father, rallied his troops, fought a bitter battle, and vanquished the enemy. (If you want to hurt your head, try thinking about this: Did any angels die in the battle? And if they did- what happened to them?)

External wars seem inevitable here on earth. Perhaps we should stop focusing on the external wars and start focusing on the epic battle between good and evil that still rages on. Perhaps we should stop hiding behind religion or ideals and join the battle and fight against the Enemy of God. Perhaps we should quit trying to stop the killing and start living a God conscious life.

The Dragon is still out there. He is after you and your posterity. Are you going to let him win? He wins when we live our lives apart from daily, personal communication with God. He wins when we are so concerned with our own causes, reputations, and religious ideas that we can't even see the people around us. He wins when we pass judgment on sinners because of their sin instead of showing them the truth, love, and mercy of the Saviour. He wins when we begin to think of people as our enemies. He wins when we start to think we can solve our own problems as individuals, as communities, as a nation, and as a society.

Let us bring Michael's battle to earth. Let us surrender to the God of Heaven and declare war on the dragon. And let us take counsel from the Word and the Spirit and fight advisedly. Do not be deceived. Deception is our Enemy's chief weapon. Let the Truth of God's Word cut through the deception of the Enemy.

May you overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of your testimony.

Oh, and did you notice the way peace was restored in Heaven? The good guys won. What a concept: restoring peace by fighting and winning a war.

*Revelation 12:7-11