My Bicycle Riding Hero

I listened in semi-disbelief when I was told, “Jeff rode the bike to Elkhart. And back.”

“The Bike” is a $2.00 garage sale model. A forty-five year-old, overweight clunker.

And Jeff? He’s definitely not the athletic type. But facing near zero-odds of completing the seventy-mile circuit; he did it.

I’m amazed! Jeff’s my bike riding hero.

With a pressing business matter to take care of in Elkhart, Jeff took off. Kind of reminds me of some of my other heroes: the Disciples of Jesus. With Jesus, they had kingdom business to attend to.

So they took off.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee He saw Peter and his brother Andrew. Fishermen; they were casting a net into the lake. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately these two left their fishing to follow Jesus.

Going on from there, Jesus saw two other brothers. Jesus called to them. Same response. Immediately they left what they were doing to follow Jesus.

Now Jeff could have waited; maybe convinced someone to drive him later. Waited for a better bike. Waited to get in physical shape.

So many great things are never accomplished simply because: “I’m waiting until I ________________” You fill in the blank.

Now heroes get going quickly; applying the element of faith in the unseen and the unaccomplished. Active, steady, patient faith. One peddle stroke and then another. It’s not about speed, rather peddle stroke after peddle stroke.

The Bible describes the disciples as pursuing God’s work with “steadfast perseverance” and “continuing daily.”

What do you need to do today? Start. Continue.

What project is God prompting you to accomplish? Start. Continue.

Imitate the disciples. And imitate Jeff’s method: “I go slow uphill, coast downhill, and stop for ice-cream.”

I’m a Bum

“Oh, so you’re a bum,” the salesman said.

I was shopping for a commercial refrigerator for our church. This salesman, who I contacted via phone, asked some questions; then shifted to inquiring about my occupation.

Wrapping up my explanation, I said: “My activities revolve around ministry.”

I don’t know what triggered his you’re-a-bum conclusion, as the conversation ended rather quickly. As did the chance of him making a sale.

Now he hadn’t angered me in the slightest. I merely discounted the salesman as being rude. And totally wrong.

I thought: “I’m not a bum; I’m serving God.”

And then one day, I concluded: “I am a bum.”

Psalm 103:14-15 says: “For God knows how we are formed. He earnestly remembers and imprints on His heart that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. He flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone…”

One of the definitions of bum is “worthless.” Can you think of many things more worthless than dust? We are dust. It blows away; we are gone.

Kind of bursts our self-esteem bubble. So I simply concluded: “I’m a bum.” Worth-less compared to God.

A repeated theme in Psalm 103 is: “Those who fear Him (God).” And here “fear” might be better thought of as: awe, amazement, reverence, a holy fear, a clear recognition of how great and mighty God is compared to our tiny, insignificant existence. Thus our dust-like standing before God.

A clear grasp of the vast difference between God’s unfathomable magnitude and our mere humanity needs to be renewed often—preferably daily. One of the greatest men to ever live, John the Baptist, fully understood this.

Let his words regarding Jesus, be our words to live by: “He must become greater; I must become less.”

The Good Temptation?

“I’m tempted,” George thought while staring at the internet-connected computer screen. Then he repeated quietly to himself, “I’m tempted.”

He wasn’t being lured by pornography, gambling, etc. George is a commodity trader. From his home office, he’s jockeying for position in the world futures market. He was tempted to ride the market a couple more upticks to achieve a higher profit for the day.

Now George is an oddity among traders, because he believes God has given him a very detailed cocoa-futures trading system.

His temptation? To tweak God’s system that day. The money seemed to be right there. And his family sure could use it to bridge their present financial challenges. But George knew what to do. He wrapped up for the day, shut-off the computer, and did his daily Bible study.

Here’s what George has learned:

1. Temptation is not from God. Immediately recognize the source of: “I’m being tempted.” Matthew 4:1 says: “Then Jesus was…tempted by the devil.” Then three verses later the devil is simply called, “The tempter.” And he made his first Biblical appearance as Eve’s tempter.

2. The Bible tells us: “No temptation has seized us except what is common to man.” There is nothing new coming from “the tempter.” Essentially all temptations are an enticement to be disobedient to God. Same for Eve. Or George. Or Jesus. Or you.

3. As the Bible says, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Temptation will always be part of the human experience. But God has promised us freedom from its grips.

4. Scriptures tells us: “He (God) will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” Then the next words offer God’s best anti-temptation plan: “Therefore, my dear friend flee…” Flee from temptation!

The Atheist Who Despised Me

His words caught me off guard: “...I have no stake in this argument, because I’m atheist.” The “argument” referenced his disagreement with an article I wrote. A spiritual conversation with my friend Nancy was the central theme.

Eternal destinies were discussed; Heaven, Hell, who’s going where was looked at in the light of the Bible.

The atheist concluded that I had judged my friend as unfit for Heaven. He clearly knew Scripture’s warning: “Judge not.” All religions with a “do unto others as you would have them do unto you theme” were praised. The book of Job was referenced as he concluded his disagreements with me.

I carefully scrutinized my words regarding Nancy. Concluding I believe her to be hell-bound would be difficult. Bottom line: this is between her and God.

For me spiritual conversations with Nancy or anyone else are a great way to get to know a person—to deepen friendships as life-beliefs are shared.

Yes, I am a follower of Jesus. I believe the Bible. And yes this offends some people. Jesus himself was referred to as, “A Rock of Offence.” Jesus and His Gospel.

An atheist by definition is someone who denies the existence of God. Concepts of Heaven, Hell and eternal judgment are not life-truths. Followers of Jesus can seem offensive.

I know, because eleven years ago all this judging and hell-condemning talk was confusing and offensive to me. Until these Scriptures became real: “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already…This is the verdict—the Light (Jesus) has come into the world.”

We all follow some light. Choose Jesus, the True Light.

The Good Revival

I still have vague memories of the time Forrest took me to a revival meeting twenty years ago. Even though I had left “un-revived.” And unsaved.

We drifted apart. Then one day I spotted him at the local park while jogging.

I set in my mind: “I’m going to have a God-talk with Forrest,” as I approached him. Our conversation eventually turned to that long-ago revival. Forrest didn’t remember, adding: “I was going to a different church every week.”

He started describing the churches he had attended, mainly focusing on why he left. They all had problems. So Forrest quit attending church altogether. Saying: “I just watch it on T.V.” But dissatisfaction was obvious when he started emphasizing the pitfalls of the T.V. preachers.

Now he made some valid observations. Yet he agreed, all the churches and the T.V. preachers who he was targeting were undoubtedly Christians.

So I suggested a different tack to Forrest.

The Bible says: “Finally brothers; whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Every church, every Christian, every T.V. preacher, me, and Forrest fall short of fully honoring God. We just plain fail at doing what is right.

I told Forrest to quit focusing on all the junk. Focus on the good stuff, the God stuff.

Soon our conversation took a distinct shift. We talked about God’s mercy, faith, our eternal hope. Forrest quoted some Bible verses. I added a couple. We talked about Jesus. And our moods spiked upward. By simply refocusing and emphasizing the: “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy,” we felt revived.

Forrest said, “I’m glad I ran into you.” My feelings were absolutely mutual. It was a good revival.

Splash Mouth

“We need to learn to keep our mouths closed,” my wife said.

I didn’t, “Amen,” out loud but I did in my brain. Just like the Bible says: “Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise.”

Now my wife wasn’t actually referring to keeping silent. She was talking about a powerful little spray apparatus we have in our bathroom used to clean our teeth. We’ve discovered if the mouth isn’t closed; water sprays on the mirror, in our eye, and even up our nose.

In a parallel, the words we speak about ourselves askew the view we have of ourselves. Like a splashed mirror, we have a distorted image of how God sees us. Words like: “I can’t, I won’t, I’ll never,” pervert: “Created in God’s image…the righteousness of Christ…more than conquers.”

And we will strain to see God’s all-things-possible-through-Christ banner over our lives.

Words errantly sprayed from our mouth also distort our eyes. One of the most damaging is the way we perceive the people we are in contact with.

When we let words form on our lips and in our minds, solely because of what our eyes perceive, danger lurks. Instead we must more fully desire “the eyes of Christ.”

Water up the nose? Eeeew, that’s just not right.

Noses are far better at receiving sweet smells. God’s nose is no different. David in Psalm 141 addressed God: “Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You.” Fragrant, enticing, emotionally stimulating words of prayer—from our mouths to God’s nose. Are we doing this?

God allows us to speak powerful words. Words of Godly life change. So let us pray; God help my speech reflect this Bible passage: “...words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.”

Lazy--One, Two, Three

I kept running into lazy. Three people in a two days, mentioned “lazy.”

“You’re lazy.”

“I guess I’m lazy.”

“I’m just lazy.”

First lazy: Del talked to Burt after Bible study: “You’re lazy.” Ouch! Seems a little poke-in-the-eyeish. Not exactly. While Del knows Burt’s packed with potential; Burt just isn’t digging in to get to the next level with God.

The Bible says, “He (God) is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Burt is on the edge of opening up some great opportunities, rewards from God. But “lazy” could easily knock him off course. This happens to way too many people.

Second lazy: I had seen John at church only once. He lives down the street in my new neighborhood. Next time I saw him I said, “It was nice seeing you in church.” As we talked briefly, he volunteered a reason for erratic attendance. “I guess I’m lazy.”

The Bible says, “I was glad when they said to me: Let us go to the House of the LORD.” That’s how John seemed at church. “Glad.” He was greeting people and engaged in the service. “Glad.”

A proven pathway to worthy life-experiences is to press through: “I don’t feel like it.” And arrive at: “Let us go…”

Third lazy: Richie, a middle school student, initiated the conversation. His: “I’m just lazy,” was a way of explaining his lack of success at school.

Richie head-on recognized the detrimental effects of his laziness. And he was rightfully shaking the lazys from his life with a thrust into new and positive school activities. This will head Richie toward success.

Bottom line: as Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of the lazy man desires and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”

Be rich!

Twelve Year Old Pickles

“That must be the record,” I said to my wife. She responded, “Has to be.” We were talking about food for needy families. No it wasn’t a record food drive or a record distribution day.

Someone had contributed a jar of pickles outdated by twelve years! We both kind of laughed. Kind of…

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” And these pickles were definitely for “the least” in our community.

My wife and I agreed: “They didn’t know what they were doing.” It was just a little oversight mixed in with a do-good objective.

Right?

Listen to those words from Jesus again: “'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, the least in society; that was Me--you did it to Me.” So, would a person accidentally have an oops-moment and present to Jesus Christ pickles twelve years past their expiration date?

Introspection caused me to look first at my own heart. And attitude. Do I see the face of Jesus in every needy person? Or do I look upon a single lump of humanity—the poor?

The prophet Isaiah gives challenging advice: “Share your food with the hungry…bring into your house the poor wander…when you see the naked, clothe him.” In addition to these material goods he adds: “Extend your soul to the hungry.”

My soul!

This is taking all God has given me—all the love, mercy, compassion, kindness, grace…and giving, extending all to “the least in society.”

Yes, we will sometimes be perplexed as to how to accomplish this. It’s as if Isaiah knew our thoughts. He adds: “The LORD will guide you continually.”

Free Won't

Thomas had been given a free gift from God. This gift is one way God expresses His love to humans. The gift? Free won’t.

Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. The Bible says: “But Thomas…was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, ‘We saw the Master (Jesus).’ But Thomas said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it." I won’t…

Jesus died. Was resurrected to life and had appeared to a few—but not Thomas. Thomas then exercised his free won’t: “I won’t believe.” His God-given choice/gift.

At a small gathering of friends recently, we discussed some men in the Bible whose lives intermingled closely with Jesus—Peter, Thomas, and Paul. I asked the question: “Who can you most relate to?”

Two answered honestly, saying they were like Thomas during the doubting phase of his life. Free won’t in my friend’s lives said: “Until I have more evidence, I won’t fully believe in Jesus.”

I have respect for their searching attitude. But there is a huge, destructive trap that can easily unfurl. I won’t believe until…way, way too often becomes: “I won’t do anything regarding pursuing truth. I won’t believe in Jesus. And I won’t invest any effort into making an informed decision on this ultra-important matter.”

Now Thomas and my two friends (for the most part) have a proper, searching attitude.

(1) Thomas maintained his connection with his believing friends. “And Thomas was with them.”
(2) Thomas never said that believing was beyond possibility. He needed more evidence: “Unless I see…”
(3) Thomas was willing to make a swift, radical change. From I won’t; he immediately responded to Jesus: “My Lord and my God.”

Why is God Doing This to Me?

“Why is God doing this to me?” Galen asked, nearly pleading.

He wasn’t asking me. But I was interested in Sherri’s response. Galen complains of being plagued with crisis after crisis. Now he was sure, God was causing his latest run-amuck.

Sherri always tries her best to inject hope. It seemed futile as Galen was feeling pretty beat down.

Now here’s the strange twist. Sherri has experienced nearly as many challenges in the last year as Galen. Possibly more.

Family deaths. Selling her home. A business setback. Working in a variety of ministries which occasionally results in fatigue or illness Money seems semi-nonexistent. But she presses on with joy as she shares hope, God’s hope, with others.

What’s the difference between Galen and Sherri?

Attitude. Godly attitude.

The Bible says: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such thing.” We each have a choice. We decide on how we think about God. Other people. Our situation. Ourselves. Etc.

Attitude.

Here’s an example. Sherri said, “I was at Wal-Mart looking at an ice-cube tray. I put it back; it cost too much.” Her secondhand refrigerator didn’t have any trays. She continued, “I just thought: God can provide one.”

Serving God fulltime and a $1.47 purchase is too extravagant. Almost seems like a why-is-God-doing-this-to-me-moment.

Two days later she was out for a walk. She noticed an ice-cube tray in some grass along the road. When’s the last time you found an ice-cube tray? There’s more. Three days later she found a second one.

When Sherri told me, she was laughing. Raising her hands toward heaven, praising God. As the Bible says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say: rejoice.”

Attitude.

Choose One. The Heart or the Bible?

No one forced Tammy to fill in the handout. And the way she tossed it on the counter signified she was miffed.

The Free Store, where she was shopping—for free, is an unabashed Christian ministry.

And they aren’t sneaky about trying to make Jesus known. Tracts, Scriptures on the walls, church service schedules on the bulletin board, always free Bibles and Christian books.

In the flyer titled, “What do you think??” she had answered correctly on five of its six questions. Do you know God loves you? Was Jesus a fool to die on the Cross? Do you know why Jesus died on the Cross? Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? Do you know exactly what you believe and why you believe that way?

She didn’t answer: “Is the God of the Bible real?” But she left a comment: “Belief is in the heart not a book!”

This would be a common way of thinking: “Follow your heart.”

I once looked up, read, and compiled every Bible verse containing “heart.” 800 verses. During this time frame, I asked people what “heart” meant.

Amazingly, even the godliest and the most intelligent people I know, provided somewhat fuzzy explanations.

So why would a person want to follow their heart? Would they even know exactly what they were following?

The word “heart” makes its first Biblical appearance in Genesis 6:5: “The wickedness of man…every intent of the thought of his heart was evil continually.”

Following the heart way too often leads to calamity. Or worse.

The Bible says: “The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.” Here’s the superior approach: get God’s law, the Bible in your heart. This properly prepares our hearts to guide us in a slip-less life.

Hardcore

That’s what my Pastor calls them: “Hardcore.”

We both agree. We have more respect for someone who is hardcore—making a firm stand in what they believe; no wavering. Even if our beliefs are totally opposite. They’ve made a bold, uncompromising stand which they will live and die by.

Joshua, one of the greatest leaders in the Bible, spoke words which exemplify this way of living: "Now, therefore, fear the LORD God and serve Him in sincerity and truth...and serve the LORD God. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD God, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.”

Hardcore. Make a choice. Make a stand. Till the end.

Looking in the Sunday newspaper it appeared I found someone doing just this. Miriam performs non-religious wedding ceremonies: “A humanist clergy… (she) is driven by principles of humanism, a science driven philosophy that rejects religious belief and focuses on human value.”

Pretty blunt for a Christian to read. “Science driven…rejects religious belief.”

The article then goes on to say: “Miriam often incorporates glass-breaking into her ceremonies, explaining its power in protecting the couple from evil spirits.”

What? So which science teaches glass breaking protects against evil spirits?

Jesus’ followers were often challenged with clear, focused, make-a-choice teachings. Their confused minds, filled with contrasting beliefs, were startled by words like: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.”

Later a decision-time question from Jesus forced a response.

Their answer solidified their now “hardcore” standing: “Lord, there is no one else that we can go to! Your words give eternal life. We believe and know You are God’s Holy One.”

No wavering. Whole-hearted dedication. No doubt.

Hardcore.