"Followerable?"

I thought I would do something that is not the norm for today's blog. Wednesday night I teach an adult Bible study in our church. From a practical standpoint, I thought that some of the stuff, from this past Wednesday, may be good for the readers.
In Ephesians 5:1, we are encouraged to "...therefore be followers of God." In some of the newer translations, it uses the word 'imitators' instead of 'followers'. In other words, we are called to imitate or mimic God - God copycats. We are to act just like God. Boy, that's a challenge! Before you throw in the towel and give up on that notion, look a little bit closer. The phrase "..be ye therefore..." carries with it, the necessity of a process. The statement could actually read like this: "So make sure you are continually in the process of becoming an imitator of God." Man, that helps me realize that I'm on my way to becoming more like him! And for me, that has been a long and enduring process. Hey, I realize that some of you "saints" out there were so close from the start that you did not require much processing, but I did.
Why is it important to mimic God? Because that's the only way many people will ever see him - through your life. I hope you do feel some of the responsibility of that if you are a believer. You need to be "followerable". As you follow him, maybe you will lead someone in the right direction.
How does that work?

1-Let your walk match your talk. Like I read somewhere, "God forgives and forgets, but people keep scrapbooks."

2-Act right! You know how to act in a restaurant. You know how to act at work. Begin to ACT like God.

3-Be Real! People despise hypocrites. If they know you're real as a human being, and they see your passion for God, they want trip over your flaws.

Try those things out and people might find you "followerable".

Rivalry Week

For those that don't know, I'm a huge fan of college sports. In particular, a huge fan of college sports in the form of the Clemson Tigers. There's a purity in the competition at the collegiate level that the professional sports just don't have. This past weekend was labeled as rivalry week in college football, and my beloved Tigers came out on top in their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. What else would you expect when a chicken tangles with a tiger? Yet after all the emotion and bickering between the fans, I have to ask the question, "does it really even matter?". I mean, here I am 3 days after the 'big win', and life continues on about the same as at it did last week at this time. I'm not any richer, wiser, or slimmer! Too many people live and die with the wins and losses of their favorite team. Believe me, I've "been there and done that." I like to win as much as anybody! But here are a few things to remember in our Sports saturated culture:

1)It is a game! Most of us are only spectators. Remember that the next time you refer to a win or a loss in the first person. "We" didn't win! "We" watched!

2)Sports are great for developing people and disciplines. Try to take the life lessons that can be learned from them. Don't allow them to lessen life!

3)Enjoy it when you come out on the winning side, realizing that will not always be the case. If you can't handle success, you probably won't have much of it!

Hey remember, if your team comes out on the losing end, it's not the end of the world. There's a great God who will determine that. There's a lot more to life than a ballgame. It's taken me about 43 years to really get a handle on that, and I hope you can arrive at that place a little earlier than I did. It really helps remove that bitter taste of Rivalry Week.

Thanks!

What are you thankful for? The good, the bad, the bold, and the beautiful. Yes, even the bad produces some good sometimes. I'm glad God said, "in" everything, and not "for" everything give thanks! Because there are some things and people that I'm probably not very appreciative of. But, whatever situation they or it places me in, I will be thankful. Come on and try it, BE THANKFUL! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!

It Still Hurts

As we enter the Holiday season, one thing that I face now is the reality of how life changes. People that have been such an important part of your life, are not there anymore. And boy, how the holidays bring that reality home! Over the last decade, I have experienced the loss of three of my family members. As I move further away from their departures, I have to admit It still hurts. The laughs and sounds of their voices are still very clear, but only in my memory. My Grandfather's Santa-like laugh, my Father-in-law's nasal voice, my Niece's girly giggle would be wonderful to hear during the holidays, but that will have to wait. So wait I will, until we are together again. It is so wonderful to know that what we know as life, does not end here. The great Apostle Paul wrote, "...that if in this life only we have hope, we are of men most miserable." I could not live without that hope! This life is so fragile and can change within seconds. The people that we love so much, can be taken with or without warning.
I think that people in ministry are sometimes perceived as being bullet-proof. A pastor like myself, can be viewed as without weaknesses or pains that the real world has to go through. But let me tell you from my own experience, we are real people in the real world! I know that many of you experience the same kind of grief that I'm talking about, especially during the holidays. Our sorrow is not as devastating because of the hope that I have in Christ. We know this is not the end, but it still hurts!

"...kiss my..."

"After all that punishment I had dealt the beast that day, all I could think was, 'after this is over, I need to kiss my ass'." This may be what the story would have read like in the King James Version, had Balaam's recounting of the event to others, been recorded in Numbers 22. The Bible says that he smote the animal over and over in an effort to make her move in a direction that God was against. The story tells us that Balaam entered a conversation with the ass, saying "...if I only had a sword, I would have killed you." In reality, this man's beast saved his life - and what did the animal receive for it? You guessed it - a real ass beating! Now don't go and get your religious devil's riled up too quick because of the "play" on words. There's a powerful point here if you will see with your heart.(By the way, there are several great sermon titles afforded here if we allowed for the true vernacular of the KJV. Here are a few: "Hauling Ass", "The Talking Ass", "Stop Beating Your Ass", and my personal favorite, "Kicking Your Ass!".) This donkey was perceived to be an obstacle for Balaam and his own plans. Yet the stubbornness of the donkey prevented Balaam from walking into sure peril. The Angel of the Lord said, "if she would not have turned back, I would have slain you, and saved her life."
I wonder how many times in our own lives we have faced perceived obstacles, that in reality, is the providence of God at work in our lives. How many times have we stubbornly forced our way past resistance, only to find out that the grass, on the other side of the fence that we hurdled, was not that great after all? You see there are times that God is watching out for your best interest even when you're not really aware of it. Many of those times we even question God as to why He's saying "NO" - when obviously, to us anyway - "YES" would be so much better. That promotion, that new car, that girl or that guy was the thing that would have fit perfectly into our plans. "Lord,I need it my way, and right now! Those donkeys that are in my way and keeping me from getting to where I want to go, need to be shot!" Not so quick there young fella'. God may be keeping you from a mistake that could cost you the rest of your life!

This may help:
1)Perceived obstacles may be the exact opposite of your perception. These may be the stepping stones or the open door to your most beneficial opportunity.
2)Try to discover the source of your resistance. If it's God, I'd advise you to STOP!
3)Hold On! The thing you are 'hating on' right now, may be the thing you love the most later.
4)Look Again! There may be more to it than you see initially.

I hope the point is taken well. Believe it or not, I'm NOT encouraging the use of slang. I'm not trying to be a wise-guy or disrespectful in any way. But what I promise to do, as best I know how, is to be real with you on these blogs. I hope this is an attention-getter! There are so many life's lessons that we sometimes miss or overlook in the scripture. You may say I could have gotten the point across another way, but, one thing for sure, you won't ever forget this one! The blog where the Preacher said... "there may be times that I need to 'kiss my ass'."

The Biggest Loser

I couldn't help but laugh at myself Tuesday night as we sat eating a late supper, while NBC's reality show "The Biggest Loser" was being aired. There I was - with one of my favorites for supper - KFC's fried chicken and a double order of mashed potatoes and gravy.(Don't forget the scratch-made biscuit!) A BIG man's meal, with all the calories and fat that is recommended for my next 27 meals, all in one!
If you don't know the show, it's basically NBC's version of "Survivor", with weight-loss being the goal of the participants/players. They are put through rigorous exercise routines and placed on calorie-pinching, habit-altering diets. I've yet to see any of KFC's "original" included in the meal plan!
So, what I'm I laughing about? Here I am, needing to lose a few pounds(tons) myself, and I'm being entertained by this grueling training-camp that these guys are going through. No food, tread-mills, stair-climbers, and every kind of torture they can impose on these poor people.(I've always said that the first stage of Hell will be 100 yrs. on a stair-climber. Folks you don't want to go there!) I'm laughing at the fact that I'm willing to be entertained, and even pulling for these people that are doing something that I desperately need to be doing myself. That's the world we live in today. A lot of spectators and commentators that are judging and critiquing everyone else on something they should be doing themselves! I mean, com'on Eric, "get your fat backside off the couch, and do a little stair-climbing yourself." It surely wouldn't hurt to get a little exercise. It may be that I'm in denial, but I'm not even going to go there - the "diet" thing - Who needs one anyway?
Do you see my point? How many of us sit by watching someone else do the things that we know we should be doing ourselves? Maybe it's something at home that we know we could do, that goes undone; something at work, school, or even our church. Maybe we sit back and criticize everyone who is involved doing the thing, while not lifting a finger to help make things better. If that's the case, I'll guarantee you one thing, you're the Biggest Loser! Get off the couch and help make a difference - It all starts with you! Who knows, you may make it to the next round?

Dog-gone-it!!!

I picked up my first real penalty last Saturday while coaching my son's little league football team. A 15-yarder for unsportsman-like conduct. Yeah baby, I did it right! I'm not exactly proud of the penalty, but it wasn't 'uncalled' for to be 'unsportsman-like'. That referee had it coming anyway. All I was asking him was, "Can you sleep with the call you just made?" - Fair question, right? I mean, if you feel like you made the right call, then sleep away. But if not, then toss and turn your way to a red-eyed tomorrow morning. He deserved it anyway!
Now, for the record, that's not really the reason I provoked the guy to throw the yellow hankie. What got me in trouble was the fact that I was standing beyond the coaches' box, on the field of play. Maybe the yacking was what got his attention, but the reason for the penalty was the violation of the parameters of the designated area for players and coaches. I remember the sinking feeling that hit me at the moment the "ref" reached for his back pocket, for his little yellow "snot-rag"(sorry, I'm still a little miffed). Dog-gone-it! It almost cost us the game! But, I had crossed the line, and I knew it.
Have you ever been there; at a place where you know you've crossed the line, you've gone too far, or said too much? Maybe it was a few more words than was needed to get your point across, or a thought that you held a little longer than you should have. Too far, and you knew it the moment you indulged yourself in the self-gratifying act. Does it still make you feel a little queasy to think about it? You see, we all know that there are parameters that need to be recognized in our every day life. Parameters for every arena of life. One of the most important attributes we can possess through life is the ability to discern the boundaries. And when you see the line, dog-gone-it, don't cross the thing! The penalty may cost you the game.

Rolling Back Time...

Rolling the clock back one hour every Fall is something that I always look forward to. That one hour just seems to be so special, a gift that adds to the crisp newness that the cooler weather always brings with it. If one hour feels that good, I wonder what days, weeks, or years would feel like. What if you could roll back time to last week before the argument with your spouse and live the week over? What about 5 years, before you left the job you've regretted leaving ever since? Most all of us would love the chance to get a "re-do" in one area of life or another. Shute, I'd like to get a "mulligan" on a lot of stupid things that I've done over the years! One of the greatest discomforts that we all deal with is living life with regret. We all experience regret over some event or choice that we wish could have been different. If we could only go back and do it again. But, we'll all have to settle for the hour we pick up every fall. Yet God does promise us in Joel 2:25 that He will restore the years that the locusts and the canker worm have destroyed. You may not be able to roll time back, but you can have a new start. All of us have the opportunity to become a new creation in Christ. I don't think they'll come up with any kind of "daylight saving time" that will roll back years or even days. But, God can do more for you than simply rolling back time. He'll give you your whole LIFE!