Clay in the Hands

Our students leave for camp today.  I remember those days at camp – all the activities, the experience of being away, the study and fun.  I remember the songs sung around campfires.  One song in particular stands out, showing my age I suppose, but still true today – Pass It On.

I have heard it said that Christianity is always one generation away from extinction.  I think that is true.  I trust that God will not cease to interact with mankind due to our inadequacy, but I also know that God’s plan for the redemption of mankind includes our faithfulness.  We are commanded – not asked nicely but commanded – to make disciples in Matthew 28.  Deuteronomy 6 is clear that we are to pass on our faith to the next generation.  Here is what it says:

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

This passage begins with the Shema, one of the pivotal doctrinal statements of Judaism, as well as Christianity.  And then it directs us to share our beliefs with the next generation.

Psalm 145 clearly points us to the importance of sharing our faith as well.  In verses 4-7, the author describes this process.

⁴ One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
⁵ They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶ They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷ They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

He uses words like commend, speak, tell and celebrate.  The message is clear.  We are to pass on our understanding and faith to the next generation.  This process begins at home.  Share your faith with your children and their children.  Then take that same motivation for others to know Jesus into the world.

This is not a recommendation or a request.  This is a mandate.

Who will you tell about Jesus and the difference he has made in your life?

Start today.

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I am back state-side after a weekend in Juarez, Mexico with local pastors and their wives.  It was the best conference we have done to date.  The 38 couples in attendance all had a great time.  The weekend gave them time to rest and refresh as well as challenged them to take a serious look at their individual spiritual walk and how that is lived out in their marriages and ministries.

I walked away with the renewed realization that pastors – regardless of where we serve – all need encouragement and time to decompress.  But another reminder was the overwhelming sense of being part of something bigger.

I often get so focused on what God is doing in my little part of the world that I tend to forget that God is at work all over the world through faithful servants.  God is making a difference.

So when we watch the news and hear about all the evil in the world and begin to get the impression that bad is winning over good, remember that God is still in control and very much alive and well.

Be blessed today!

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I have been thinking about what it means to live a resurrected life.  Over the past two weeks, that has been the subject on Sunday mornings.  We have talked about living with hope – and hope is a confident expectation that Jesus is who he says and will do what he promises.  We serve a risen savior who has conquered sin and death.  There is nothing we face that Jesus has not already faced and overcome.  So we find hope in knowing that these light and momentary troubles are just temporary (2 Corinthians 4).

We have also talked about the fact that living resurrected lives should mean living with peace.  This hope we find in Jesus gives us the opportunity of peace.  We don’t have to worry about tomorrow because we have a confident expectation that Jesus will take care of it.

When we live with hope and peace, then we are freed to live for God fully and when we do that we live for others as well.  This will be our topic this Sunday – Living for Others.  As I have been thinking and praying through this series, I ran across a quote that illustrates the idea of living for others.  If you have read my ramblings for any length of time, then you have noticed that Thomas Merton is a favorite of mine.  He said this:

To go out of ourselves is to act at the very summit of our being, not moved by our own nature but moved by God Who is at once infinitely above us and Who yet dwells in the depths of our being. . . . A perfect act of faith should, at the same time, be a perfect act of humility.  (Thoughts In Solitude)

When we live resurrected lives – as the new creations we are becoming – then we live outside ourselves.  Our focus has shifted to the desire to please God and make a difference in the lives of others.

Go and make a difference today!

Live resurrected!

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Today, I have the privilege of speaking at the funeral of a man who has been larger than life here in Corpus Christi – a successful business man and entrepreneur – a philanthropist and generous supporter of the community.

I had the opportunity to meet Dusty Durrill a couple of months ago.  He knew his days were becoming limited and he wanted to find peace with God.  He admitted to me that he had never doubted the existence of God, but he had not followed him with his life.  In fact, he had never had much use for religion and the church.

I appreciated his honesty and authenticity.  But through our conversation, after he had grilled me as to my intentions, he found his peace with God and that is a morning  I will never forget.

But as I have reflected on his life and his story – I have become more and more convicted and concerned.  How many other people have that story and that perception of the church?  I wish I could say the perception of the church being filled with hypocrites is a false perception.  But sadly, just being honest, it is not.

Now before you stop reading, let me say, there is not a place on earth that is not filled with hypocrites.  If there are people – there are hypocrites.  So to shun the church because she is filled with hypocrites is just an excuse.

But my conviction is this – shouldn’t we strive to be authentic and real?  Shouldn’t people find a place where they can be themselves when they come to church?

God loves us just as we are but he also loves us too much to let us stay that way.

So today, be REAL.  Let others know you are human but that you are striving to live like Jesus.  The world needs real believers being real.

Be real today!

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