March 2005
Being Humbled
3/1/2005
6:46:43 AM
Paul said he had learned to be abased
and to abound. Lately, I've imagined that I am in the process of learning some
things myself. I've felt humbled by God. In my private prayers, when I cry out
to God for more anointing, for another step towards the vision, for progress in
my walk with Him, I reveal to Him that this humbling process costs me dearly
every day. He already knows that. But by telling Him that I remind myself of its
impact. I am starting to see the depths of being "humbled." It is one thing to
understand you are being humbled. It is altogether another thing to thrive
beneath the burden of that knowledge. Each of us are humbled at times. Some are
permanently humbled in life. What Paul had learned was more than just that.
Certainly harshness comes to every life. But how do you handle it? How do you
operate Kingdom principles--like love, forgiveness, generosity, obedience--when
you seem to be getting the cold shoulder from the world, the church, and,
sometimes, even the Lord Himself. It's one thing to recognize that your awesome
array of talents could be better utilized if you weren't being held back
somehow. It's something else to realize that God doesn't need me or my talents
to accomplish His purposes. And when He is ready to use me, He will do so as it
moves Him. And I would have it no other way. I'm starting to see something here:
It's easy to soar through the sky with the other eagles when the winds are kind
and the flock is fresh and alive. But when you are the rare eagle trapped in the
barnyard with the chickens, turkeys, and lesser birds, do you still
soar?
Love Never
Fails
3/3/2005
8:18:51 AM
A precious friend revealed to me
today that perhaps there is no more capacity for love within…that there was one
love left to give but it was squandered in the last failed relationship. What an
awful thing to feel! How crushing, how vicious a thought holds my friend hostage
each day. My attempt, though feeble, was to encourage and give hope. I wasn’t on
“my game” for some reason, as I listened to my hollow words bounce around
aimlessly. I regret my opportunity to defend the power of love was wasted. I am
passionate about what the heart of hope can endure, survive, and overcome. I
subscribe to the theory that God’s grace is sufficient to give us victory in any
circumstance. Where evil exists, grace does much more exist. Certainly, if Hell
can enlarge itself to accommodate darkness, how much more can Love enlarge
itself to accommodate light. If love can cover a multitude of sins, it can cover
the many stumblings and fumblings we encounter on our way to perfection. My
friend, if faith fails you, cling to hope; if hope fails you, cling to love—the
greatest of these—for love never fails. If you fail love, then love again. It
isn’t a matter of giving love another chance but of giving you another chance.
You deserve it.
Lurching Into
Obedience
3/7/2005
3:21:37 PM
A member of my church told me the
story of how she longed to purchase a study book from the ministry of Joyce
Myers. She was not a particularly active reader. She found it hard enough to
find time to read the Bible. In fact, her income was atrocious, and she was in
the process of fixing up a trailer to live in. She really didn't have the money
to purchase the book or the time to read it. She had all but made up her mind to
put it off to a more convenient season. Something prodded her deep inside to
make the order; so, against her better judgment, she bought the study book.
After it arrived, sure enough, she glanced at it for just a second and it ended
up gathering dust on the kitchen table. She had about forgotten that book when
her daughter, who was going through some very life staggering battles in her
life, approached her fawning over some book she had been reading. It seems that
the book had about saved her life; my friend could see the change in her
daughter. Something real was happening inside her spirit and her entire
countenance had changed. Just what book had she been studying," my friend asked?
"Some study book from Joyce Myers I found on your kitchen table," was the
daughter's reply. God certainly moves in mysterious ways. Thank God we sometimes
lurch into unwitting obedience to His persistent Voice.
The God of Abraham, Isaac,
Ishmael, Jacob, Buddha, Etc…
3/8/2005
2:45:23 PM
Today I lunched at the Cajun Landing
(a most worthy blackened red snapper and shrimp bisque) with several fellow
pastors as guests of Rob Blakney, Louisiana District Secretary/Treasurer of the
Assemblies of God. He shared with us an insightful response to a question posed
to a woman, a precious A/G missionary, by a Muslim: “At the end of the day,
don’t we serve the same God?” “Oh,” she smiled. “Does your God have a Son named
Jesus who died for the sins of the whole world?” What an excellent,
non-offensive way to turn the question back to her questioner while leaving open
the door for further discourse! She left no room for compromise on the issue of
Christ and His redemptive work and was not entangled by the historical threads
that appear to lend legitimacy to the question. We desperately need that spirit
of wisdom among our ministers as we debate competing voices in the public
square. Some most worthy food for thought.
Another Narrow
Escape
3/11/2005
6:26:37 AM
Kevin Bartley passed away last month.
He's my first cousin. He's less than a year older than me. Looking into his
coffin, I couldn’t help but notice many similarities between us. Physically,
chronologically, geographically, we share so much in common, not the least of
which is a grandfather. However, unable to rip my eyes from him as the sound of
our family, some mournfully whispering, some nervously laughing, splashed
against me from behind, it was the differences between us that teased my mind
with thoughts of eternal truths. Kevin and I couldn’t have been more different
on some levels. In terms of education, life experiences, and profession, we
lived in completely different worlds. For just a moment, I saw the opposite side
of my coin prostrate in that cruel box. His life could have been mine, or mine
his, if one of us had taken a turn here or there at some distant crossroad of
the past. I saw in him the anti-Eddie; or more specifically, saw me as the
anti-Kevin. It occurred to me that Death could care less about such trivial
matters. Death does not discriminate because of physicality, age, place,
education, experiences, or profession. Death comes to the happy and the sad, the
big and the small, the old and the young. It could very well have been Kevin,
unable to stop looking at my motionless human shell lying before him in that
box, wondering what the years ahead could have yielded for his cousin had fate
been kinder. My blood chilled at the thought—Thompson blood that I share with
Kevin—"but for the grace of God." I don’t know why, but I whispered an apology
to Kevin before I walked away: Perhaps it was my sorrow that he was being robbed
by Death or my guilt at escaping it once again.
In Need of Jacob's
Ladder
3/14/2005
8:37:10 AM
A young man from one of my very first
youth groups was in service with us last night. He has fallen on hard times. He
shared with me that he hasn’t been in church in fourteen years. In that time, he
has lost his wife, his kids, his job, and everything else in life that means
anything to him. His grandmother, who raised him for part of his childhood,
passed away recently, which brought him back to our town. He gave me a call. We
had a long talk about things the Spirit of God has been trying to tell him on
the inside. Sometimes it’s easier to hear from the lips of a fellow human being
that you trust. I knew that I represented a last gasp effort to him. I didn’t
know just how much until last night. I kept an eye on him during church. He was
very nervous at first. He didn’t know how to receive the hugs and handshakes
that are distributed liberally at our little church. He knew a few of the
members from when he had attended church with us as a teen. Slowly, he began to
warm to the presence of God in the service. Several times, his eyes flooded with
tears. He tried to hide his tears by wiping them as quickly as they came, but
God saw. He always sees. After service, which touched him and gave him hope he
hasn’t had in a very long time, I took him for a ride, and we talked into the
night. God is giving this young man a second chance. I’ve seen this so many
times: God reaching out to snatch one from the flames licking at his feet. My
prayer is that this will be one of those rare times when the victim of
circumstance not only hits rock bottom but finds Jacob’s ladder back to the top.
That his eyes will open and he will see the spiritual aspect of what is going on
around him today. That the seed I have planted over several decades and several
hours ago will bear fruit in one desperate young man in need of a miracle from
above.
Figuring Out
God
3/15/2005 6:40:29 AM
Watching Larry
King interview Christian leaders concerning the faith and actions of Ashley
Smith, the brave little lady who reached out to a murderer and stopped a killing
spree, I have come to realize that those in this world without God truly have no
clue. I don't think they speak from malice as much as they do from ignorance.
Larry King really didn't seem to understand how there could be a God who we
could attribute goodness to without attributing evil to Him as well. To him, if
there is a God responsible for the good out there then He should also take the
rap for the evil out there. Of course, Mr. King misses the point that everything
that happens isn't attributable to God. Humans have been given free will. The
Byron Nichols’ of the world can perpetrate all sorts of wickedness upon his
fellow man. With that free will, men are able to choose good or evil. We’ve seen
that men mostly choose evil. God can’t be blamed for the wickedness of Byron
Nichols’ heart. God is responsible on the level that He gave men free will.
Otherwise, He would have created robots. His purpose is to create a family of
beings who have the God-like ability to choose right from wrong and choose to do
right. The fact that Ashley Smith felt she was being used by God to bring an end
to the killing spree makes perfect sense to believers. God wasn’t saying, “This
is how all Christians should act if they are held hostage.” No way! Your best
move, if you are ever held hostage, is the get out of Dodge as quickly as
possible at the first opportunity. God also gave us common sense. But sometimes
God doesn’t operate in terms of human logic. Sometimes He uses the least among
us to do extraordinary things. He used this woman to save lives: even perhaps
Byron Nichols’ life, though unbelievers may never understand that. He didn’t
force Ashley Smith to be brave and stop the cycle of killing. He gave her the
opportunity and the courage, and she used it with outstanding results. Just as
Byron Nichols chose to be wicked, Ashley Smith chose to be good. To an
unbeliever who still struggles with the concept of God, it may seem
contradictory. To those who believe it seems perfectly
rational.
The Strange Steroids
Controversy
3/18/2005
6:56:17 AM
The current steroids controversy in
major league baseball seems odd. If there was a pill that made scientist
smarter, wouldn’t we want them to take it so that our society could benefit from
their discoveries and advances? If there was a pill that enhanced our
politician’s skills of diplomacy, compromise, and debate, wouldn’t we desire to
see congress accomplish much more each session? If their was a pill that enabled
our fire fighters and police officers to save more lives in the performance of
their duties, wouldn’t that be acceptable to us all? If there was a pill that
focused preachers on the very actions of Christ in a spectacular way, wouldn’t
we want to see them reach even more of the poor, the lost, and the hungry for
the Kingdom’s sake? Yet we balk at professional athletes who wish to take a pill
to enhance their physical abilities. Isn’t that a bit strange? Nevertheless, I
can’t help but feel betrayed by those athletes who take performance enhancing
drugs. Is it because baseball is supposed to be a game? When you compete for a
trophy, all of the players should have an equal chance—a level playing field, if
you will—so that a true champion can emerge from the crowd. Sure, we want our
fast food even faster and at ever lower cost; we want to watch our movies in
ever more comfort; we want to put cheaper gas into our vehicles no matter how
they get it done. But in the midst of a world enhanced by technology we still
want our games to be fair and pure. We want to see the fastest and the strongest
among us exemplify what the human body can do without all that modern enhancing.
Sports is our refuge from a world on steroids. For many, it is the best
substitute available for true fairness and purity. The closest thing to religion
many experience is an evening on the diamond, the gridiron, or the court. How
strange.
When The Best Get The
Worst
3/21/2005
9:50:48 AM
the truth of life confounds
the
bigotry of selfishness abounds
the
ecstasy of humbleness resounds
the irony of life astounds
Confluence
3/23/2005
9:18:51 AM
Gracious! What a confluence of
emotion, intercession, and grieving sweeps
Youth
Convention
3/24/2005
6:35:05 AM
Today we take 21 of our own to meet
with over 5,000 young people at the Louisiana District Assemblies of God Youth
Convention. I have attended so many of these services over the years that I am a
little surprised that I still have that stirring in my soul at what we are about
to experience. When those young people abandon all spiritual restraint over the
next couple days to saturate their souls in Christianity, something special
always happens. Some of these kids have nothing of spiritual content at home.
Many are otherwise falling through the cracks. Thank God there are no cracks in
the
Captured By The Creature At
Convention
3/26/2005
7:40:37 AM
Oh No! It's happened! Officially, the
sullen-eyed, scaly creature from the lost lagoon has captured me; he’s turned my
beard white and stiffened my joints; most of all, he’s made the music too loud
and scrambled the words so that I can’t understand them anymore. Yes! I went to
youth convention with a bunch of young people and discovered that I am no longer
one of them. Actually, I enjoyed the services and concerts very much. I have
always been an anomaly as far as pastors go when it comes to music and such. As
a drummer, I played in bands that were considered controversial when I first
stated the ministry. Twenty-five years ago the debate was raging in the Bible
Belt as to whether or not we should even have drums and guitars in the worship
service. I must admit that I am losing a step, however. I can hardly understand
the lyrics of some of the stuff out there today. They say that’s a sure sign the
creatures come for you. What really sealed the deal for me was seeing all those
rug rats from my former pastorate masquerading as youth at the convention. These
children were disguised as normal youth, with boyfriends, weird hair, and the
whole nine yards. Children from a few other churches had also grown up into
members of the new generation. The weirdest part of all was watching former
members of my own youth groups over the years bringing groups of their own to
the convention. I watched them and marveled at how much better than seem at it
than I am. Where did they learn all of this stuff? All I know is I went to
convention expecting to recapture my youth, and they captured me! Exposed me for
the older guy that I really am! Age is quickly catching up with me. Well, at
least I will always be younger than Laura.
A Really Big
Deal
3/27/2005
9:08:38 PM
The one single event that transpired
upon this planet that had the biggest impact on the course of history and the
future: The Resurrection from the dead of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ!
After Visiting Family In
3/30/2005 4:08:36
PM