The Purpose of Suffering

All of life is perspective. EVERYTHING! What is good, what is bad, it is all perspective. James says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.." . How can I be joyful in the midst of trial or suffering? Because! “…because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” I can be joyful if I have the proper perspective. If my focus is on what my trial is producing, perseverance leading to maturity, then I can be joyful. If my perspective is on the trial, then I cannot.

Right now I am in a suffering a great trial. My son is sick. If I focus on his illness and the complications that can result from it, I experience all manner of torment. But if instead I ask this simple question, “Father, what are you doing in this situation?” Then our Father willingly shares his perspectives with me.

“Control is an illusion.” This is one of the perspectives the Father has shared with me. I so desire to protect my children, yet, the truth is, I am unable to. I am not God. I cannot protect them from all the possible harm that can befall them. This does not negate my responsibility to parent them. But it does change my perspective.

“I can do nothing without Him.” Children are an entrustment from the Lord. I have to confess I am not always faithful with this entrustment. There are times, more times than I care to acknowledge, that I fail to put their needs above my own. I am a selfish creature and having children has not cured this, it has just revealed it. In this, as in all things, I need the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

“My son needs an encounter with God.” This is one of the ways the Father has led me to pray throughout all of this. He has also directed me to lead my son to direct his own prayers to the Father, to cry out to God for healing, and to depend on him for grace. I pray that through this he will know God in a personal way.

These are some of the perspectives the Father has given me throughout this trial. I am sure there will be others. The greatest perspective, of course, is that all of our lives exist to bring glory to the name of Jesus. May this be true of our family through this time.

Remember, suffering is not the worst thing. Suffering that produces nothing, is the worst thing!

Question Normal

It just hit me today. I put way too much stock in my own opinion. Truth is I don't have a clue what truth is. I have an internal sensor that tells me when something is right or wrong or normal. But just how trustworthy is this sensor? I'm sure professional assassins think they have a sensor they can trust, as do all kinds of other criminals and perverts.

What is normal? Really it just means average, common. ordinary. In an insane asylum normal is being insane. Normal is usually determined by the majority. Yet history has taught us that the majority can all view as normal some pretty awful things.

So this morning I asked myself, "Is there anything in my own definition of normal that is totally and completely off?" And what did myself say? Well, what could it say? How would it know?

Now you see that I lean a bit toward the philosophical and like philosophers of old I could drive myself insane (which in some circles would be normal) trying to figure out if I am normal. What am I going to do? How can I determine normality which is really another word for right or truth?

Truth is I can't. I can be sincere, yet mistaken. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Proverbs 14:12). 'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

What am I to do? Is there anyone out there who can help me? Is there anyone who is not encumbered by their own history and experiences and has a truly objective point of view? Yes, there is. He is God.

There are so many marvelous things about our heavenly Father but two of the things I love the most is that he always tells the truth and he knows the truth to tell it. You see, God is the only normal there is. He is the standard of all things. Boy, how people hate that. Yet, hating it does not negate it.

I love how often before speaking Jesus would say, "I tell you the truth." How comforting that is. How great to know that I can know the truth and though my own opinions my be totally off, I am not left to their mercy. I can go to him who not only knows the truth, but is the truth for all my definitions of normalcy. This is may not be average, nor ordinary, nor common, but it is right and normal.

Worship and Feeling Unworthy

"Do you know there are people who can't enter into worship because they feel unworthy?" a friend recently asked me. My response was quick and seemingly insensitive, "What does their worth have to do with worshiping God?"

If you've ever felt this way let me say very sensitively....

We worship God because HE is worthy. Notice the statements of heavenly worship recorded in Revelation 4 and 5. Several times they begin, "You are worthy..." Worship is based on God's worth, not ours. Where ever did we get the idea that in order for me to worship God I have to be a certain kind of person. Worship is not an expression of my spiritual attainment but an expression of the God's holiness, glory, majesty, power, etc, etc, etc.

I can understand the feeling of hypocrisy that might arise from singing a song whose core message is "I will always obey you," when perhaps you have not been living in obedience. Perhaps you have even been living in blatant disobedience. In a situation such as this you may feel that your worship is lie. I am not encouraging you to lie. But to realize there are many ways you can worship God that have nothing to do with you!

GOD IS ALWAYS WORTHY OF WORSHIP! No matter my mood, my condition, my situation, my health, my trials, or anything else that starts with "my"! That is what is so AWESOME about God and worthy of worship that HIS WORTH DOES NOT CHANGE! He is ALWAYS WORTHY. "He does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16

No matter what else is shifting in our lives, including us, HE DOES NOT!

Something else that may surprise you is that you don't have to be a Christian to worship God. Hold on a minute. My core definition of worship is to "make God God." In other words, whatever you worship is your God. But there is another aspect of worship. The understanding and declaration of truth whatever your personal commitment to it.

Read Daniel 3:28

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God

What Nebuchadnezzar is doing here could easily be described as worship. He recognized and declared God's worth above all other gods even above his own authority. Does this mean that Nebuchadnezzar became a follower of the Hebrew God? That is a question for future discussion. Right now though we can learn that I can always worship God, declaring his worth no matter my current feelings on my worth.

Am I encouraging duplicity? Am encouraging you to say one thing and live another? Personally I cannot believe that you can declare God's greatness and worth and be unaffected by it. You may feel like a hypocrite because at that moment you might be. I can guarantee you one thing. Abstaining from worship because you feel unworthy is not going to produce anything!

So forget about yourself and worship HIM. This may or may not bring about a change in your life (doubtful as that might be), but it will give God the worship due his name. And that is what worship is all about.

It's time to be the people of God

I couldn't sleep so I got up and read the last 10 chapters of Romans. Wow, a lot of wonderful truths are contained in this powerful letter!

Believe it or not, chapter 16 brought me to tears. Yes, I know that's the chapter with all the greetings. "Hello from all us here and please say hello to all those I know in Rome," Paul says (paraphrased of course).

What's so beautiful about all these hellos is the marvelous nature of what it means to be the people of God. Often when we are exorted to "be the people of God" the emphasis is on the God portion. Today I want to exhort you with an emphasis on the "people" part, because to call God "Abba" (Romans 8:15) is to call many brother and sister.

Being God's people means working together. "Greet Pricilla and Aquilla my fellow workers in Christ" (16:3). "Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you" (16:6). "Greet Urbanos, our co-worker in Christ" (16:9). There's more, but I think you get the picture. Our Father, as Jesus put it, is always at work (John 5:17) and as his people we need to be working in the family business. This means working together.

Being God's people means affirming one another. Notice Paul's words of encouragement and recognition: "they are outstanding among the apostles (16:7), "my dear friend in the Lord" (16:8), "whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test" (16:10). One of the purposes of the church to love and build it up the church, not tear it down. "A house divided against itself cannot stand" (Mark 3:25) and a church divided against itself cannot stand. We must be a people who build each other up, yes in our local communities, but also broadly. We are not a perfect people and it is fine and good to recognize our faults so that the Holy Spirit can do his work in us. Yet, we must be careful of caustic criticism that is devoid of all love and grace. The days are coming, and I believe are already here, when we will have many enemies from without, let us not have enemies within.

Being God's people means practicing hospitality. "Gauis, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy..." (16:23). Now this may not sound as spiritual as the first two, but bear with me. It may be the most spiritual of all. To practice hospitality is to share and sharing is a manifestation of the love of God. It is truly supernatural beause the natural is selfish. We can work together and build each other up and still remain a group of individuals . Yet, when we share, we put to death the old man, and give expression to very essence of the gospel, sacrificial giving. If we want the power of the New Testament church, we must live in community as they did. Practicing hospitality is especially important today as so many of our brothers and sisters are struggling financially. If we do not love and care for our own, we discredit the gospel we preach. So I encourage you to practice radical hospitality.

I encourage you to build each other up, radically. I encourage you to put aside your differences and work together to preach the gospel to all nations. Basically, I encourage you to be the people of God.

What do you hunger for?

Appetite tells a lot about a person. When it comes to food, I often crave mangoes, fried plantains, and guava pastries. This definitely makes me a Cuban!

How about you? What do you crave? What are you hungry for?

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." (John 4:34). Jesus hungered to see the Father's will accomplished. He craved to complete the purpose for which he was sent.

So what do you hunger for? Are you hungry for the will of God to come to pass in and through your life? Are you hungry to DO His will? Are you craving his Kingdom? Are you hungry for the things He is hungry for?

I think hunger is a good way to evaluate our true spiritual state. You see the reason I love mangoes, plantains, and guava (and you might not) is that I have spent a lifetime (40+ years) developing a taste for these foods. The truth is we hunger for the things we feed on. Strange but true. Jesus fed himself on doing the Father's will, so this is what he hungered for.

Perhaps you don't hunger for God's kingdom, or his will, or the salvation of the lost. Obviously you've been eating other foods. Today, you can make a choice to begin feeding on new food.

Some people say, "you either like something or you don't." I don't agree with this. The truth is while I was given a head start liking mangoes, as a kid I did NOT like greenbeans, celery, spinach, or most any green vegetable. When I became an adult I realized these things were good for me, whether I liked them or not. So I taught myself to like them. How did I do that? BY EATING THEM! Remember what you feed on you will eventually develop a taste for: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Today, develop a taste for the Father's will. Start feeding on it. Feed on that which you know is his will and soon you will hunger for it, more than I hunger for plantains (which is saying A LOT!).

About Shame

Shame is not something you hear talked about much these days. It seems out of fashion somehow. Though of course, it is still very much around, just not talked about.

One definition of shame is " the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc, done by oneself or another. " There are of course things that are shameful. Sin for example, is shameful. That is why one often feels shame after sinning.

Shame can also be produced by others actions upon us. It is sad, but many live in shame not because of their sin, but because of the sins committed against them.

I guess one of the most shameful things that a person can experience is pubic execution. I'm talking about a humiliating, excruciatingly painful, public execution where one is taunted, ridiculed, and physically exposed. Such an experience would definitely be called shameful. I think it would definitely make it into David Letterman's or anyone else's top ten most shameful moments of history.

Yet, in Hebrews we are told of Jesus endured such a top ten moment "scorning its shame." Yes, it was shameful, but Jesus scorned, despised, disregarded, thought little of, the shame, instead he thought of the joy.

So today let this encourage you in two ways:

One, remember that you are part of the joy for which Jesus endured the cross. If you have not submitted your life to him yet, what are you waiting for?

Two, scorn some shame today. It may not be public execution, but it may be ridicule or simple rejection. Scorn it! Then you'll be able to say with the apostle, "I am not ashamed..."

The Discipline of Thanksgiving

Psalm 69:30 declares "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

The first verse of this psalm stands in contrast as the psalmist cries out, "save me oh God for the water is up to my neck."

It can be very difficult to be thankful in difficult times. On the other hand, I find that it can also be difficult to be thankful in good times. I guess the truth is, its just hard to be thankful- period. We are a complaining society much more than a grateful people.

That's why I call thanksgiving, a discipline. Its takes as much will power to be thankful as it takes to get up in the morning and work out. Yet, millions of people exercise daily for the benefit it gives their body. Why don't we, exercise our spirits by practicing the discipline of thanksgiving. It's simple, just finish this sentence, "thank you for..." 10 reps, 5 sets.