Out of Gas

Out of gas. That’s how I’ve felt this past week - spiritually out of gas. I tried reading my Bible, but it was just words on a page. Then I thought maybe I needed to confess all my sins - which I did - but my prayers seemed to just bounce off the ceiling, never piercing through the fog. I tried listening to Christian music, but it felt like the voices were singing about someone I didn’t know, or, more accurately, someone I used to know but who was now on vacation.

"God, where are you? Don’t you care?" I said the words out loud to Him, and received no answer.

Then I recalled something C.S. Lewis said: that there is a natural ebb and flow to our faith. Sometimes we feel close to God, and sometimes we don’t. Lewis called it “the law of Undulation:”

“[Man’s] nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation – the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks…this undulation [is] in every department of his life – his interest in his work, his affection for his friends, his physical appetites, all go up and down. As long as he lives on earth periods of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty. The dryness and dullness…are merely a natural phenomenon.” (From The Screwtape Letters)

Wait a minute, so this is normal? Knowing that changes everything. I don’t have to fret or worry that my faith is in jeopardy. I don’t have to beg and plead with God to stop hiding from me. I don’t have to navel gaze in order to find that one stubborn sin that is ruining everything. Knowing that this is all part of the natural rhythm of life, I can simply hold on in the trough and wait for the next peak.

I think about times in the Bible when God seemed distant or absent from His people. When Lazarus got sick, Jesus was nowhere to be found. In fact, he purposely stayed away until Lazarus was good and dead. When he finally arrived, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But, of course Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. The trough of his absence was merely a preparation for the peak that followed, one that he had planned for all along: Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! (John 11)

In the same way, I am reminded (thanks to Lewis) that I can simply wait for God to show up in my trough. When He arrives, He will bring His resurrection power with Him, reviving me in such a way that I will reach a new peak in my faith.

That’s totally worth waiting for!

Jesus the Lamb

It was Passover week, AD 33. The bleating of lambs could be heard all over Jerusalem as literally hundreds of thousands of the adorable, four-footed creatures crowded the temple courts, the city streets, and the campsites of the Jewish pilgrims gathered there for the annual Passover celebration. Unaware of their fate, the lambs would soon become the focal point of the celebration when they were sacrificed for the sins of the people on the altar in the great temple.

Passover was the festival commemorating the incredible miracle God performed for His people centuries before in Egypt, when He had instructed the Hebrew slaves to slaughter a lamb, “a male without defect” (Ex. 12:5) and place its blood on the doorframes of their homes. When the terrifying angel of death went throughout Egypt killing the firstborn of every household, it “passed over” the houses that were marked by the blood of the lamb. The result was the great exodus of the Jewish people, free at last from the slavery of cruel Pharaoh.

From that day forward Jews observed Passover, with thousands upon thousands traveling to Jerusalem every year for a big celebration. This particular year, Jesus and his disciples also went up to Jerusalem, with Jesus riding on a donkey and the crowd - already in a celebratory mood - shouting “Hosanna!” as he arrived.

Jesus, however, entered with a heavy heart, for unlike those unsuspecting lambs he was well aware of his fate. John the Baptist had prophesied it three years earlier when he saw Jesus for the first time on the banks of the Jordan and, with finger pointed and eyes blazing, shouted, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) And now that very hour was upon him. He himself was about to become the sacrificial lamb.

So, on that first Good Friday, the same day of the Passover feast, as the lambs were being taken into the temple courts to be prepared for slaughter, Jesus took up his cross and made his way to Golgotha. The only man in history who was sinless and without defect allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, his blood saturating the wood just as the blood had saturated the doorposts in Egypt.

Jesus hung on the cross for six excruciating hours. At twilight, which is also called the ninth hour, all the Passover lambs all over Jerusalem were slaughtered. At that exact moment, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” and breathed his last breath (John 19:30). The sacrifice was complete. In an incredible act of love, he died for the sins of mankind, so that by believing in him we are "passed over" by death and receive eternal life.

And now, as we look forward to Resurrection Sunday, we can rejoice knowing that death was not the end. Jesus is the risen Lord! “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13)

Happy Easter!

Is That You, God?

Last week I told the story of hearing God in the middle of a Mexican food restaurant. So, what did I mean by “hearing” God? What does God’s voice sound like, anyway?

Some believe that God has stopped speaking altogether, while others argue that hearing God’s voice is reserved for a special few. But, I believe that the Bible teaches that all Christians are able to hear the voice of God:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.  Jeremiah 33:3

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  Isaiah 30:21

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  John 16:13

I think God is speaking to us all the time. It's just that His voice can be pretty difficult to discern sometimes. For instance, when the Holy Spirit was prompting me to talk to the man in the restaurant I kept thinking it was my own thoughts, and it took me awhile to clue in that it was actually God! 

In fact, even great men of the Bible didn't automatically know when God was speaking: Samuel mistook God’s voice for that of his fellow priest’s, Eli (1 Samuel 3). Elijah expected to hear God through a powerful earthquake, wind, or fire, but instead He spoke in a small whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). And keep in mind that these guys were OT prophets, the heavyweight champions of hearing the voice of God! If even these men had a hard time, then it stands to reason that the rest of us would too.

So how do we develop the ability to hear God? There is no formula, but here are a few helpful things to keep in mind:

-- God will never tell you to do something that is in violation of the truth of Scripture

-- Although God can communicate however He wants to, He often speaks in a still, small voice that can be mistaken for our own thoughts

--  The best way to know if it’s God is the scariest way: to step out in faith and act on what you are hearing. Oftentimes, we don’t know for sure whether it was the Holy Spirit’s leading until AFTER we have done it! This requires radical obedience!

One thing I’ve learned that has helped me a lot is that it’s better to be obedient than be right. If we step out and get it wrong there is much room for grace, and God is bigger than our blunders. In fact, I think He loves it that we put ourselves out there to try and minister to another person. (I wish I had room to tell you about my experience in the Whataburger drive through when I definitely got it wrong!) Hearing God takes practice…and faith. So when you think God is speaking to you, just go for it! You may just discover that it WAS God speaking to you all along!

Jesus & Mexican Food

I had a cool God experience this week.

On Tuesday night, Rob and I went out to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants. As the waiter seated us, my eyes fell upon a man and woman sitting in a booth across the room.

I need to tell that man that Jesus loves him, I thought to myself. I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came, assuming it was just my own stream of consciousness. I looked at my menu, munched on chips, and chatted with Rob. But then, there it was again…

Tell that man that Jesus loves him.

Throughout the meal, the thought kept returning to me stronger and stronger until, finally, it dawned on me what was happening: the “thought” was actually the leading of the Holy Spirit. And He was asking me to speak to this man!

So now, I had to decide whether or not I was going to act on what I was hearing. My heart started racing. I got butterflies in my stomach. And for a few minutes, my rational mind took over. I thought of all the reasons why I shouldn’t act on what I was hearing, such as:

1.  Maybe I was making this up and God wasn't speaking at all

2.  The man will think I’m crazy

3.  “Jesus loves you” is such a simple, obvious statement that there’s no way it could be helpful…and the man will think I'm crazy

4.  It will inconvenience me…and the man will think I’m crazy

But as I sat there eating my nachos and mulling it over I came to one, overarching conclusion: God was asking me to take a step of faith and I needed to be obedient. After all, “faith” means you don’t know what the outcome will be. “Faith” means that you do it even though you’re scared.

So, I shared all of this with Rob, and together we came up with a plan. We decided to break the ice by paying for their meal. So, Rob instructed the waiter to bring him the couple’s bill. After a few minutes the couple finished eating, got up from their table, and walked past us toward the exit.

“Excuse me,” I said. They paused and looked at me. “I wanted to let you know that we were the ones that paid for your meal. And I want to tell you why we did…”

“Oh, thank you!” they both exclaimed at the same time.

I turned my attention to the man and said, “Sir, this has never happened to me before, but I really felt strongly that I should tell you that Jesus loves you.” I went on to explain a little more about the love of Jesus, and that we had bought his meal as a demonstration of that love.

The man listened intently, and then with a big smile and eyes glistening he shook our hands and thanked us. The woman gave me a huge hug and said, “This means so much. You have no idea what you’ve done. He really needed to hear that.”

I will never know what impact those words had on this man. Maybe he just got a terrible diagnosis, or lost his job, or was depressed. Or maybe he was just wondering if Jesus was real. All I know is that it was absolutely thrilling to step out in faith in order to be used by God in another’s life. I can’t wait to do it again.

Mali Music

A few days ago Rob and I were watching TV and just happened to catch the performance of a new R&B artist named Mali Music. As I listened to him sing his breakout hit, "Beautiful," I was totally moved. I felt my spirit soar -- like I was sitting in church or something. Rob must have also felt it because, just as I was about to comment, he said, "This guy has got to be a believer. It just seems like he's worshipping."

So I did a little research and discovered that sure enough, Mali Music is a gospel artist that has recently crossed over to secular music. And he has absolutely exploded onto the R&B scene. He has joined the ranks of other Christian artists like Lecrae, Paramore, and Switchfoot in choosing to take the gospel beyond the confines of the Christian music genre to a secular audience.

So, this week's blog is short and sweet. I love "Beautiful" and wanted to share it with you. I hope it causes your spirit to soar, too.

(To listen, click on the picture. If for some reason it's not working, click on the link below it.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QnBylFZpVk

The Real St. Patrick

On Monday we will once again commemorate the most famous Irishman who ever lived. No, I’m not talking about Bono, although I would be in full support of having a day dedicated to him. I am speaking of the man we venerate by drinking green beer and pinching each other: Saint Patrick.

Folklore about Patrick abounds. One legend says he chased all the snakes out of Ireland. Another says his walking stick magically grew into a living tree. But, I think the truth about him is even more interesting.

Patrick was born in 387 AD in Britain. At the tender age of 16 he was kidnapped by pirates, taken to Ireland, and forced into slavery as a shepherd by the cruel king Miliucc. For six long years he wandered the Irish hills, utterly alone.

In his loneliness, Patrick began to call out to God. There was no one else to whom he could turn. As Patrick spent his days and nights in prayer, his loneliness lifted and in its place settled an assurance of God’s presence with him. Over time he developed an extraordinarily close relationship with God and a rock solid faith.

Eventually, Patrick was able to escape Miliucc’s grasp and make his way home to Britain. But this is not the end of the story. Incredibly, a few years later Patrick made the brave decision to go back to Ireland to evangelize the very people who had enslaved him. He became a missionary, traveling throughout Ireland and sharing the gospel wherever he went. The Irish people warmly welcomed him, eagerly receiving the good news of Christ. He was so well-loved that, upon his death, the nation made him their patron saint.

Patrick discovered his calling in a very interesting way: through being exiled. He had to live for a time in a state of forced absence from his country, his home, and his family in order to get to know God better. The Bible is full of similar stories of the exiled: Abraham followed God’s call into a strange new land. Both Moses and John the Baptist lived alone in the wilderness for years. David and Elijah had to hide out in caves because their lives were in danger. With each of these men, as with Patrick, God used the pain and loneliness of exile to draw them to Himself and develop spiritual maturity.

Perhaps today you are finding yourself in a place of personal “exile.” Maybe you are newly divorced, or jobless, or away from the family that you love. Or maybe your exile is more internal – a sense of emptiness or lack of purpose. Could it be that God has allowed this time in order to draw you closer to Him? Maybe God is busy doing a deep work in you to prepare you for your calling and, when it is over, you will have an exciting new sense of purpose and emerge ready to make your mark on the world -- just as Patrick did.