Tag: say yes

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What Level of Talent are We Talking (Part 2)

In 2018 I felt called to do something very uncharacteristic. I felt like God was leading me to start blogging.

After wrestling with the idea for a little bit, I got a blog set up. At first I didn’t know what it was supposed to look like (I’m still figuring it out). It started out recounting adventures from my younger days with an added biblical tie-in, but has since evolved to include other things as well. This blog has been up and running for almost exactly three years now. This is post number 188.

DareGreatlyNow doesn’t have a huge following. It doesn’t even have a large following. Some entries have been read or shared hundreds of times, others less than 10. Sometimes I’m excited about a post I’m writing, other times writing is a chore.

It’s not easy. I usually spend a couple of hours a week writing new entries. After some days at work, I’d sure like to be doing something else. It’s a tricky thing…I initially felt God calling me to start this blog. I’ve had some personal experience writing regular updates on extraordinary or exciting events in the past whose list of recipients quickly ballooned to hundreds. Well I figured “it’ll be just like that!” Well, truth be told, it’s been nothing like that. The subscriber list has slowly grown over time, but even though I’ve received some feedback here and there, I’ll likely never know the degree to which God’s used these posts to work in someone’s life.

Despite all the negatives that go along with it, I can’t stop just yet. I definitely felt called to start it, but I haven’t yet felt called to quit doing it. Giving up might be easy, but quitting a calling wouldn’t reflect well upon me as someone that considers himself a dedicated Christ-follower, nor would it bring honor to my Savior, the one that put this task on my heart.

This past week I read some footnotes about one of Jesus’ famous parables that helped remind me of what I should do. In Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus tells the parable of the master entrusting three of his servants with large sums of his money before he departs on a trip. I’ve written before about this Bible story, but sometimes reading the same thing at different times in your life can help things hit home in different ways.

Most of us know the parable. The master charged the three servants with different amounts of money, according to their ability. The first two guys, entrusted with about 375 pounds of gold and 150 pounds of gold respectively, worked hard and doubled the amount of gold they oversaw. The third guy, in charge of roughly 75 pounds of gold, went out and hid it in the dirt, rather than put in the effort to turn it into something that benefited his master. When the master returns and links up with the three to get an update, He’s pleased with the first two guys, but he’s miffed at the third guy, who didn’t even put the gold in the bank where it could collect interest.

What I’d like to focus on here is the first two guys. Can you imagine being so diligent that you double the value of something just by being persistent? Earlier this week the price of gold was $1,750 per ounce. That price, times 16 ounces in a pound, times 375 or 150 pounds means that the first guy was entrusted with $10.5 million and the master put the second guy in charge of $4.2 million, and both of those guys earned a 100% return!

Here’s the part I want to focus on, though. The master was obviously pleased with their performance. For the guy that turned $10.5 million into $21 million, the master said “That’s great! I’ll put you in charge of more, but for now, come celebrate with me!” (“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”) Know what he said to the second guy? The guy that “only” turned $4.2 million into $8.4 million? He said the exact same thing.

Do you know what that means? It means that God’s looking for faithfulness in His servants as they perform the tasks with which He’s charged them. He’s looking for them to demonstrate consistent effort even when it’s not convenient, not just something that starts out with good intentions and then fizzles out after awhile. Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Spirit that we’re all to demonstrate as our walk with Christ deepens.

Know what else it means? It means those same servants should perform those tasks with the full expectation that God will use their efforts to do something great for His kingdom. Not only that, but those servants should serve in the effort fully expecting they’ll one day be put in charge of something bigger. Being faithful in our callings prepares us for future callings.

So…do I believe the Church will collapse or the sky will fall if I stop writing entries for this blog? No, but if I stop prematurely, I believe that someone down the road (maybe me) will somehow get short-changed. The third servant in the parable was put in charge of about 2.1 million dollars. Think he got a second look the next time the master was going out of town?

Assuming I’m currently entrusted with this lowest-value task (the one-talent version, rather than the two- or five-talent version), instead of hiding it under a rock or burying it in the dirt, I’m going to put some effort into remaining faithful to the task, fully expecting to one day be entrusted with something bigger.

God charged me with a task. I don’t know what He wants to do with it, but here’s what I know: outcome is God’s responsibility, and obedience is my responsibility. That takes a lot of the pressure off me! I can’t possibly know what God’s got planned for this blog or why in the world He prompted me to start it, but that’s okay, because that information isn’t necessary in order for me to follow through on the assignment He’s given me.

Is there something you’ve felt called to do, but have given up on it? Please consider having another look. It could be your first step in God moving you along to something bigger.

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Go Ahead, Break the Mold

Our world is changing, and it’s changing very quickly.

Let’s look, for example, at the business model that Christians use to reach unsaved people. It used to be that we (Christians) would invite people to come to church, or maybe a Christmas program, so that the people we invite could hear the message that someone else delivers. Or maybe we’d support missionaries in bringing Jesus to the natives of some far-off land. There’s nothing wrong with those things, but “inviting people” or “supporting missionaries” aren’t spiritual gifts. They’re important functions, but it’s also important to remember those that speak from a pulpit or travel to foreign lands are not the only ones with holy ministries.

Maybe this general attitude of “buck passing” is what’s led to the condition of the church now.

Every church is made up of imperfect people, so a church is never perfect, but these days it seems like things have gone off the rails. Many individual Christians have lost sight of the fact that Christ is the most important thing in their lives. It’s now common to have Christians (even members of the same church) torch each other over, of all things, politics or whether or not to get the COVID vaccine. I’m talking, like, vicious attacks, burning bridges kind of stuff. It’s as though these folks honestly believe that expressing their opinion is more important than the commission we’ve all been given to point others to Christ.

Jesus didn’t shy away from the controversial issues of the day, but He also rolled up His sleeves. He met people’s needs as a way of getting them to pay attention to what He had to say. People these days who think their spiritual gift is to gaslight other Christians on social media have lost sight of their priorities.

The thing that’s supposed to set us apart has now become a rarity. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:35

In a time like this, we need people that are willing to live their lives for Christ in ways that are not commonplace. The ways that you can show love for or meet the needs of your neighbor are limited only by your imagination. People out there are struggling not only with the basics of food, water, and shelter, but are struggling with anxiety, infertility, holding a job, PTSD, insecurity, a special needs child, depression, bullying, or any number of other problems. Some of you reading this may have experience in one or more of those areas, and could be specially equipped to come alongside others currently facing that struggle. You may be considering taking a bold step to help meet someone’s needs, in the process opening the door to share Christ, but you’re hesitant because it seems too risky.

It’s not really my place to give it, but sometimes people feel like they need to hear it from someone…so, if that includes you, let me try to help out: you have my permission…go ahead and break the mold. You’re uniquely suited to do incredible things if you’ll allow God to use you. Reach people for Christ in a way that is nontraditional, is unusual, or hasn’t been done before. You were made for this! There are just two criteria you need to abide by: Love Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you are free to do anything short of sin to point other people to Him.

I don’t know who you are or what your plan is, but if you’re meeting those two criteria…I’m rooting for you.

In signing off, here’s a song by Jen Ledger that speaks to this topic. She herself broke the mold, and may inspire others to do the same.

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You Just Don’t Know the Third Option

Sometimes you think you have all the eventualities gamed out. Then something comes along and blows you away.

It’s hard to read the Bible and not get annoyed with how quickly the Israelites forgot about God’s provision for them. Israel is the nation God holds dear. After repeated bouts of stubbornness against Him, God finally had enough of the Israelites and had the people carried off as captives to foreign lands. At some future date, though, He’ll bring them back and use them to carry His message of salvation throughout the globe in the End Times.

It’s a lofty mission, and a tremendous honor for a nation that has repeatedly demonstrated their unworthiness. In that day the future Israelites will fulfill the mission God assigned to them long ago. Nobody knows what events will transpire in order to enable that remarkable eventuality to take place. Yet thousands of years ago this same group of people was perfectly willing to settle for a much lowlier lot in life, and we’d do well to learn from their story.

In Exodus chapter 14 we read about when Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt, and they were camped against the Red Sea when they learned Pharaoh and his army were pursuing them.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” – Ex 14:10-12

You and I know, thousands of years later, how the story turned out, and we scoff at their unbelief. For just a moment, imagine being in that camp and shaking with fear at what you saw. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” I see why they thought that, but they could only imagine two scenarios…remain as slaves but having their needs met, and dying as a free people in the desert. They discounted the possibility of a third option. In this case God came through big time for His people, by using a way nobody saw coming.

What can we learn from this? How can we be encouraged by this story when we’re trying to muster the courage or the resolve to take the next step (or maybe the first step) on an endeavor to which we feel God has called us? When you find yourself thinking “Do I march out on this thing, probably into failure or ridicule, or do I stay in my comfort zone, where at least it’s not so bad?” remember that God doesn’t get boxed into situations where there are only two choices. The third option just might be Him saying “If you do this, I’m going to reward your faithfulness in a way you can’t even imagine.”

God has a life of adventure and reward waiting for you if you seek His will and follow His leading. I do, however, feel compelled to give a warning along with this post. If you choose to reject the calling God has for you…that is, if you’d rather live the life that takes no leaps of faith but at least you won’t have to do anything crazy, a life of Christian lukewarmth, do you know what will happen? In most cases, God will let you do exactly that.

God, I know You have two stories for my life…the one I’ll actually live, and the one I would live if I accept each of the invitations You’re going to offer me during this lifetime. It can be scary and uncertain, but help me to make the two as similar as possible. Amen

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The Greatness of What Almost Never Was

Any Star Trek fans here? Even if you’re not one of them, stick around for this one.

When I was a kid I watched the William Shatner Star Trek movies like, a bazillion times. I think part of the reason I liked them so much at the time was because they were some of the first “grown up” movies I was allowed to see. To this day, I don’t think I’ve seen an entire episode of the 1960s Star Trek TV show, but I can probably still rattle off some lines from Star Trek II-VI (not “The Motion Picture” though…it moved too slow to watch more than once).

For those of you who aren’t familiar, William Shatner played the pompous, arrogant, yet dashing and heroic James T. Kirk, Captain of the starship Enterprise. His exploits are legendary, and depend as much on his daring impulsiveness as they do good fortune. Surrounded by a terrific supporting cast (Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scottie, Sulu, Checkov, Uhura, and all the rest), the crew embarked upon epic adventures where they saved Earth, and probably the universe, multiple times.

So when you take such a storied franchise and announce that you’re going to reboot it, you have to tread a very fine line between honoring the original and telling a new story with different actors playing familiar characters. The first movie in the rebooted franchise came out in 2009, but until viewers got to see it and start generating a positive or negative buzz, nobody really knew if it was going to be a kick-start for interest in the Star Trek universe or if it was going to be a gigantic slap in the face that resulted in a flop.

The folks that did the new movie did a great job writing the plot so that the new actors were free to play the characters their own way, rather than how their predecessors played them. Without going full nerd on you, someone from the original Star Trek era got thrown back in time and changed just enough history to impact some of the characters in the new movie. In the reboot we meet the colorful cast before they become the confident and experienced legends we know them to be, but the part that keeps it interesting is the fact that we’re never quite sure if the characters we’re watching will be able to rise to meet the challenges we know their predecessors could have conquered.

It’s this doubt that keeps the story engaging, as you wonder whether the heroes will have what it takes to be heroes for the first time.

Hang in there, I’m getting to my point.

Through all of this, there are a handful of characters that spent time in both versions of the Star Trek universe. The movie’s main villain is familiar with the famous, battle-tested Admiral Kirk, and sees in the younger version someone bearing little or no resemblance of the legend. In one of the movie’s great lines, which is the origin of the idea behind this post, this villain speaks to the young Kirk about not measuring up to the well-known hero. “James T. Kirk was a great man, but that was another life.”

Using this sci-fi movie as an analogy, let me switch gears on you. In my mind there are fewer things more haunting than the idea that I don’t measure up to what God wants me to be in this life.

When you think of any hero of the faith, whether recorded in the Bible or not, there was a time in their life before they were that person. Their path was still uncertain; the choices they had yet to make could still take their life in a radically different direction. What if Moses continued refusing God’s calling? What if Billy Graham took over the family farm instead of pursuing evangelism?

In my own life, I am on my way to becoming the person God knows I will one day be…and the same is true for you. The person writing this entry is not as seasoned or (hopefully) as wise as the older version that is yet to come; there are still choices ahead in my life that can either bring me closer to or turn me away from fulfilling the earthly potential the Holy Spirit sees in me. Of course, nobody will be perfect this side of Heaven no matter how hard we try, but with God in charge, our level of trust and obedience to Him has the ability to accomplish undreamed-of things for His kingdom. At the end of my life on Earth, my desire is to leave no unfulfilled potential in my Christian walk, to have no arrows left in my quiver. I don’t want to get to Heaven, see a huge building, and when I ask God what’s in it, He says “that’s the glory you could’ve brought me, but you did not pursue the opportunities I presented to you.”

Are you living in light of the future God has for you, or are you just drifting through this life?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:28-31

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You Don’t Win by Accident

Years ago I was in a leadership class in the Air Force, and during one exercise the teacher named several controversial topics, one at a time. Each time she named a topic, the 12-15 of us in the class were supposed to go to one side of the room or the other, depending on our personal views on the topic.

For many of the issues, the class was close to evenly split. Sometimes maybe it’d be 75% on one side vs. 25% on the other. I don’t remember the topic, but there was one time where I found myself the sole representative of one particular viewpoint.

I don’t actually know what everyone on the other side of the room thought about me taking that position on the matter, but I know what it felt like. I was one person bearing the judgmental gaze of everyone else in the room. It was lonely and uncomfortable.

Guess what? If you openly follow Jesus, this is something you should become accustomed to. Become comfortable being uncomfortable. Christ Himself let people know that following Him would come at a cost, and that hasn’t changed over time. The world always has…and always will…disavow the teachings of Christ. Are you willing to associate yourself with Him and His teachings?

There’s a strange new development in American culture. I think the concept has been around for ages, but the interconnectedness of today’s world probably amplifies it. In today’s culture, the concept of “agreeing to disagree” is gone. It’s not enough to simply disagree with people; you have to show everyone else that you disagree with them and look down on that “invalid” opinion (as though an opinion could possibly be invalid). It’s a bizarre form of insecurity that ultimately has the effect of silencing or watering down dissenters.

Many Christians are swayed by this for some reason, as though getting along with the culture is more important than the message we carry. We’re now at the point where Christians are the counter-culture people in our society…but even many Christian pastors and priests avoid sensitive topics or only focus on subjects that the culture approves of.

Well, in times when preachers water down their message and pride themselves on showing others how “woke” they are, remember this: YOU (the Church) are God’s plan to help redeem the world. Your actions, your words, your lifestyle are what will make a difference in someone else’s eternity. If your pastor or the Christian voices you’ve long been listening to now seem like they’re “evolving” the message of Christ, it’s probably time to look for a new pastor or spiritual mentor. Stick with Christ and the Bible; in a world where morality varies with the day of the week, Christ and the Bible don’t change.

Christians will naturally ask “how can we get the world to like us better?” I understand the question and the reason for asking it, but the only honest answer is to become more like the world. Sorry everyone, but it’s not the Church’s job to make the world like us more; it’s our job to help save the lost that live in it. That’s going to come from speaking the truth in love and demonstrating the love of Christ to others. We’ll have plenty of time to skip through fields of daisies and butterflies in Heaven; while we’re here though, we should be getting sand kicked in our face by the people that don’t want to hear what we’re saying.

Did you watch the video I added at the end of last week’s post? What’s “that thing” that you believe God is calling you to do? In a world that’s desperate for lasting truth, it might just be that whatever’s coming to your mind is going to make a bigger impact on the lost in this world than some of the “politically correct” pastors that are out there.

Make no mistake: living for God is hard, but it’s good. We’ll have to discipline ourselves to dig deep in order to give God our best, and it’s going to mean consistently choosing things that we wouldn’t ordinarily choose, but it’s worthwhile.

First Corinthians 9:24-27 describes the Christian life as a competitive race. We’re not in this race just to get the tee shirt, just so we can say we finished, or even just to break into the top 10…we’re supposed to run to win. That’s not something that happens by accident, it takes focus, training, and determination. The more of those things you have, the more you allow God to use you for the expansion of His kingdom.

For more on living with purpose, check out this talk from a pastor whose message is about living a life where you “run to win.”

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Overcoming Yourself and Fulfilling Your Purpose

People are fantastic at talking themselves out of things.

Did you ever just kind of “know” that you were supposed to take a certain action that had no other origin other than the Holy Spirit moving you to do it? Maybe it was to give some cash to someone you didn’t know. Maybe it was to connect and have a conversation with someone you hadn’t spoken with in a long time. It could’ve just been to speak up at a certain time.

But you didn’t do it.

Ever have a moment like that? Afterwards, you can brush it away, saying “It’s fine, that wouldn’t have made any sense.” On the other hand, maybe you actually resolved to do it. “You know what? No, that doesn’t make sense, but I just feel like I’m supposed to.” Then you never really got around to following through.

I’m curious; for every time God prompts a person to do something that they then follow through on, I’m a little scared to know how many prompts go ignored or are rationalized away.

When God does big things, He invites people to come along with Him; the people that go along and get to be a part of those events usually aren’t the people that say “no.” Sure, there are some “Jonahs” thrown into the mix, but by and large, God wants willing participants. You’ve heard the clichés. “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.” You know in your mind that God has an infinite number of ways to unlock your potential, but you struggle with giving up control and actually allowing Him to do it.

I get it. Really, I do.

Don’t let the story end there, though. Just because you struggle with something doesn’t mean it’s not worth the struggle. A step of faith, plus another step of faith, followed by additional steps of faith leads to walking by faith.

There’s a term in physics called “inertia.” You’ve probably heard it expressed as one of the famous laws of motion: a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. Whatever your life’s trajectory, when God sets something new in your path, He’s presenting you with a task that’s going to require a change in inertia. Being aware of your shortcomings and taking actions intended to combat your weaknesses can help build the momentum you need to overcome your existing inertia.

An example would probably help. When I feel God’s leading to pursue a course of action, my natural tendency is to stew on it for a bit and let the idea grow on me. “Let me sleep on it” is a common mantra in my life. That can be very helpful if I’m thinking about refinancing a mortgage, but it can be a bad thing if it’s following a calling from God. With time the idea fades or the window passes. There are times I’m reluctant to pursue something, but I know I really need to do it anyway. In my case, as a way of holding myself accountable, I tell someone about the idea. I’ve found that if the idea spreads to someone else, it has a tougher time dying. The person or people that know about it can ask me how it’s going. They can hold my feet to the fire, even if they’re just curious about whether or not I was even serious about it. God can use me to do things for His glory, but I have to be willing to make an effort…to take steps to fight through the distractions, to withstand all the other things that compete for my time, attention, and energy. In that fight, I can be my own worst enemy, so I have to take additional measures to move toward that goal.

Let me drill down a bit further, hoping it helps you in your own Christian walk.

I absolutely love it when God uses people that are “unqualified” to accomplish big tasks. David killed Goliath. Moses, at age 80, with a speech impediment, became the voice of God’s people. Jesus gathered 12 “nobodies” and changed the world. These are well-known Bible stories, but these things still happen today. God calls people to do big things that don’t make sense on paper, and He brings them success in order to showcase that it could only have happened through His intervention.

A little about me for those that don’t know me well. I’m very left-brained. My mind naturally gravitates toward math, science, logic, analysis, organization…all the things that are boring or cold for right-brained people, who favor imagination, intuition, the arts, and creativity. Now…I have some of those right-brained qualities, but my natural thought processes lean more toward a left-brained style.

So imagine my surprise when discovering that I feel led to write a fiction book. This is honestly a project that I feel God has laid before me.

That makes no sense, right? If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you might say “well, he already does a lot of writing, so that’s not really a stretch.” It’s true, I do a lot of writing for DareGreatlyNow.com, but almost none of it is fiction. I have no training in creative writing (or in whatever style blogging is considered, either). These entries are usually only two pages or so, and they’re not difficult to write about because most of them are either my experiences or they come right out of the Bible. I’m talking about a book that’s like, 40,000-50,000 words. The word that keeps coming back to me is unqualified.

Still, if you work at it for a long time, you could probably make that goal happen once, even if it’s difficult. Seemingly to make it apparent that God’s involved and that His strength is made perfect in my weakness, I feel led to write not one fiction book, but a series. Not just a trilogy. This is a seven-part series of books that are about 40,000-50,000 words each. That’s like starting with a blank piece of paper and ending up with The Chronicles of Narnia. Not just The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe…I’m talking even the ones you don’t remember or never heard of. (How many of you are now trying to see if you can name all the books in the series, I wonder?)

Alright, so let’s say I get past the nagging “unqualified” lens. The next word I deal with is “daunting.”

That’s absolutely an overwhelming task. I don’t have the time or the drive to do that! Here’s the thing though: if your vision of a God-initiated project in your life isn’t scaring you at least a little bit, you may not be envisioning something big enough. When God commissions you to do something, He also empowers and equips you to do it. Additional requirements that will need to be in place in order for your endeavor to succeed will be set in motion at the appropriate time. He’s not going to leave you flapping in the wind. As you start taking steps to make it happen (I have a colleague who might say “as you start taking bites of that elephant”), He sustains you and gives you what you need to move ever closer to the goal. By the time it’s over, it becomes evident that it could only have happened with His help.

Well there you have it, I’ve shared with you something that I feel led to pursue. Now I’m on the hook for it. I don’t really have a whole lot of experience with estimating how long this should take, but I’m guessing I’m signing up for something that will likely take the better part of a decade, unless I can somehow quit my job to work on it full time, but, you know, still have money for food, shelter, and all those other things my family’s grown accustomed to.

That’s me; that’s what I’m working with. I said in last week’s post that I’d have more on what God is asking of you. Odds are that you’ve been spending a lot more time at home over the past 10 months or so. That much time can drive a person crazy, but it can also provide opportunities for quieting yourself to hear what God would tell you.

I’m going to show you a less-than-3-minute video that I’ve shown you before, but a lot has changed in the world since the last time I did. It’s an advertisement for a product, but that’s not why I’m showing it to you. I don’t have any financial interest in the video or what it’s advertising. In fact, I haven’t even looked too far into what the video’s selling. I just think it’s a phenomenal video because it articulates a feeling I’ve experienced, so it hits home a little more than normal. I’m hoping that it helps provide some clarity for you, and maybe help you make sense of a restlessness that’s been pulling at the fringes of your mind.

After watching this video, if you have a picture in your mind (anywhere between super fuzzy or remarkably concrete) of what it’s talking about, I encourage you to do what I did in this post: know yourself enough to take some actions that will help you overcome the inertia that would otherwise keep you from following through. If you need to tell someone, tell them. If you need someone to tell but can’t get past how crazy you think it sounds, email me: tim@daregreatlynow.com. If God lays something on your heart, please pursue it. Think of it as the next “step of faith” in your journey toward “walking by faith.”

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Spies Like Us

Have you ever stopped to think that living for Christ can, in some ways, be compared to life as a spy?

No, not 007, with pen grenades and cars that shoot missiles from the headlights. James Bond movies can be fun to watch, but they’re not the most accurate depictions of what life as a real spy is like.

I’m sure there’s a lot of spying that happens today, but to me a lot of the interesting stuff happened during the Cold War. It just seemed like it was more interesting before you could hack everything through the internet. In some cases, there might be someone with access to very valuable information that feeds juicy tidbits back to their handler. You’d also have dramatic stories of Soviet pilots defecting with the latest fighter plane design.

In just about every case, you’ve got a human being that’s committing some level of treason against their country, and at least part of their mind is dwelling on the consequences they’ll face if they get caught. Some people are simply more given to worry, but excessive worry and the lifestyle of a spy are not compatible things. I can’t say that I’ve walked in their shoes or experienced the stress that they experience, but for many spies (or “assets”), there comes a point at which their life of ulcers and poor sleep gets to be too much, and they ask to be extracted or set free from the lifestyle they’re living.

That can be us as Christians. We’re simply passing through this world. “This rental’s not our home.” Working for God in the pursuit of bringing Him glory, we long for Heaven but we don’t know when we’ll get there.

Spies don’t work alone; the information or function they provide serves someone. That someone can be called many things: a spymaster, a handler, an asset manager (you might pause the next time you meet someone that describes themselves as an “asset manager”). That person’s role is to direct the spy what to do or what to report on.

When someone conducting espionage gets frayed nerves and tells their handler they’ve had enough and want to be “brought in from the cold,” the handler needs to weigh a few things. Can that asset be convinced to stay in place a little longer? How much longer will that asset be useful? Is it worth the risk of leaving them in place and being caught? Are they still motivated by the same factor that drove them to engage in espionage in the first place? The handler may need to pull out all the stops to convince the spy to stay in place and keep doing what they’re doing, and that may entail using stick, carrot, or both. After all, even if the handler is genuinely fond of their asset, the information will stop flowing if the asset leaves their post.

Ultimately, that spy lives their life in a way that reprioritizes someone else’s desires over their own. I think this is what Paul meant in Romans 12 when he wrote of our lives being a “living sacrifice.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Unlike an Old Testament sacrifice, where an animal’s life is taken in our place, we’re to present our lives and bodies as a “living sacrifice.” It’s a higher, more productive calling than a calling with a quick ending. It’s a life of service that spans years and in many cases multiple decades; compared with an ending on an altar, this kind of sacrifice can be much more taxing and take much more effort.

At one point or another, just about everybody has wished for the trials and difficult times in their lives to be over. Sometimes people even go so far as to pray for God to take them home before it gets any worse. While that would certainly take away the stress and shortcomings of what we have to endure in this imperfect world, it would severely restrict the amount of usefulness God can wring out of us in this life. In that regard, He’ll sometimes say “No, I need you where you are right now. Sit tight, keep doing what you’re doing, and I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” Like an actual spymaster, He may do this through reassurance, or He may do it by applying more leverage on you.

So here we are. We’re not home yet, but while we’re waiting for God to take us there (in His time, not ours), we’re to place God’s will above our own.

This next part is hard to hear; I wish I could look you in the eye and reach out and put my hand on your shoulder when I say this. The world will always hate Christ, and by extension it will always hate those that follow Him. If you’re a passionate and obedient Christ-follower, you will have your life of peace, prosperity, and fulfillment, but it’s probably not going to be here on Earth. So saddle up, grit your teeth, and dig in, being willing to endure difficulties and discomfort, because the part you’re waiting for won’t be until you’re finished here. It’s going to be worth it, though, so hang tough and let your Handler be the one to tell you what your role is and when it’s time to come in from the cold.

Next week’s post will have more on what it is that God wants you, specifically, to do in this life. Spoiler alert: I don’t know what your specific calling is, but I’ll talk about how to help you figure it out. If this is something that’s been on your mind, please spend the next week in prayer to help prepare you for it.

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A New Year is a Great Time To Get Started

Let’s pause for a moment to think about what the term “the body of Christ” means. The people of the church across the world constitute “the body of Christ,” but what does that mean?

Think of the average human body. It has two arms, two legs, a brain, a mouth, etc. Each part of the body plays a role. Some of those roles are more visible (a pastor, for example). Others are less prominent, but are still important to glorifying God. Volunteering to clean bathrooms in the name of Christ truly takes a servant’s heart, but isn’t a function that gains a lot of attention. Think of this as a middle toe in the body of Christ.

If you’re a Jesus-follower, you’re a part of the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit has blessed you with talents that you’re to use for the purpose of glorifying God. For some people, their calling is obvious. If teaching from the Bible comes very naturally to you, it’s probably not terribly difficult to see the direction you should go (the particulars may be a mystery, but the broad strokes aren’t). For others it may not be so clear cut. If you absolutely excel at being a business leader or entrepreneur, it may be confusing to try and see how to glorify God using your God-given talents. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to start a God-focused business. It might mean exactly that, but it could also mean that you should use your talents to run a successful business using God-honoring business practices in order to fill a need that’s not being addressed. Maybe it means that God commissioned you to make a boatload of money that can then be used for His glory. My point is that whatever you are naturally good at should be one of the ways you make an effort to glorify God.

Many of us are glad to see 2020 pass into the history books, but what impact will you make on the year 2021? What is it that you’re here to give, to achieve, for the glory of Christ? Maybe you don’t have something specific in mind, but then again maybe you do. Don’t let the fact that you lack a vision of the final product hold you back from starting the endeavor. About two and a half years ago I started getting a vague picture in my mind. I knew I had a lot of unique experiences, and I knew that I had a knack for writing. I could put them together somehow, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like…a book of some kind? How do I consistently write about my experiences in a way that doesn’t come across as, well, being “me-centric,” but instead honors Christ?

The truth is, this effort is still evolving. Even now I don’t know what the end version will look like. What comes naturally to me is writing about things I’ve observed or done and putting a Godly spin on it. Over and over it comes back to the same thing: I want to encourage people to reach their full potential in Christ, but I need to be flexible about how God actually does that through my efforts. The important thing is that, even if it’s not perfect, I’m pursuing the thing I feel called to do. This is my 150th post, and I still have tons of ideas about future posts. This blog is not wildly successful in terms of a vast readership, but I believe it honors God, and I think many times God wants to see actual obedience before He opens doors to new possibilities or additional responsibilities for His followers. He wants to see you move from “I would” to “I’m doing.” Lots of Christians say “sure, I would do that if I felt God wanted me to,” but I imagine a much smaller percentage say “I think I’m called to do this, and it’s time for me to step out.”

I love it when people make that leap into the unknown, and I want to encourage you to make the jump. Just a word to help buck you up…some of the people that start this process are successful right away. For the vast majority, this is not the case. There will be some struggle, some personal cost, and some frustration when seeing someone else’s quick success. I understand why you may feel that way, but don’t lose sight of the goal and start thinking that lack of quick success translates into a valid excuse for quitting.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

God put you where you are, He gave you talents and resources, and He wants you to follow through when He tells you which direction to go. Sometimes it will be close to home, other times it will require leaving the comfort and familiarity of your surroundings.

To close today’s post, I’d like to provide a quote from the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness.” In a scene where the main character, John, is conflicted about leaving his pregnant wife to embark on an exciting trip to a far-flung place in order to build an important bridge for his job, his wife helps put him at ease about leaving at a terrible time for their family life. In light of today’s post, it’s a quote that applies to us all, and I hope you’ll apply it in your life.

“You build bridges, John. You have to go where the rivers are.”

This world will crumble and it will get darker, and that provides the Body of Christ with more opportunities to shine brighter. May we all be ready and willing to go where we’re called in order to do God’s work in 2021 and beyond!

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A New Spin on an Old Story

I’m pretty sure COVID is never mentioned in the Bible, but the book contains lessons we can apply to our current circumstances. I’m actually kind of surprised this hasn’t occurred to me before.

After centuries of God telling His people, the Israelites, that they need to straighten up (and centuries of them not doing it), He finally dropped the hammer on them. He warned them time and again, but they’d ignore or even kill the prophets. Once He had enough of it, He allowed the Persian Empire (Babylon) to raid Jerusalem and carry away most of the people as captives back to Babylon.

Many of the people refused to accept what was going on. They’d been brought up to believe that as Jews, God favored them. While true, that’s only part of the story. God selected the Jews to be His people, but warned them many times to follow His ways and pursue Him. By failing to do that corporately, over and over again, God finally had enough and allowed Babylon to serve as his instrument of judgment.

Still some chose not to believe what was happening. These people started giving ear to false prophets that popped up. One of them claimed (Jeremiah chapter 28, paraphrased) “Everybody, take heart! God will deliver us from this and we’ll be back home in Jerusalem inside of two years!” This message, though false, appealed to the people, so they believed it and threw their support behind prophets that proclaimed this message.

God, however, intended for these exiles to stay in Babylon for 70 years, and He didn’t hide His intent. Now, if you’re one of these people, living in a foreign land against your will, you’re going to live your life differently if you believe you’re only going to be there two years than if you believed you were probably going to spend the rest of your life there. Of course God wasn’t going to let this be the end of the Jews, but He works on His own timeline, not the one that people decide He should.

To help set the record straight, God had Jeremiah write them a letter. Paraphrasing from Jeremiah chapter 29, the prophet writes “look, everybody, you’re gonna be here for awhile. Build houses for yourself. Plant gardens and eat the stuff that grows in them. Get married to each other and have kids, and give those kids away in marriage. For now, this is your normal. No, it won’t always be like this, but that’s what it is for now.”

That’s our modern-day tie-in. The basic question here is “how many people have put off or canceled major life events because of the current circumstances?” Countless weddings have been postponed, untold numbers of students missed the opportunity to have a traditional in-person graduation ceremony, and it’s simply impossible to know how many other major trips or events have dropped or otherwise been put on hold.

The deeper question, and the one that has a more permanent impact, is “what God-honoring things have been put off or canceled because people decided that the world no longer met their definition of what the world should look like?” There are obvious things, like the cancellation of church services or outreach programs, but there have been varying degrees of success regarding the thing that have taken their place. For example, most churches this past summer probably either completely canceled or had a greatly scaled-back version of Vacation Bible School (VBS). Children are especially open to hearing about what Christ has done for them, and it’s important that Christians reach them. The challenge is addressing the same needs through different means, and the missed opportunities come when there’s no attempt to fill the gap.

That’s just an example. There are elementary-age needs, middle-school-aged needs, high-school-aged needs, needs for singles, for engaged or newlyweds, for men, for women, for families, for widows/widowers, for seniors, for professionals, for stay-at-home parents, and countless sub-groups of any of these demographics. The world needs you…whether it’s your creativity, your technological savvy, a spacious or special property you own, or a brand new idea that can be used to reach people in the name of Christ…this is your opportunity to step out in faith and make an eternal difference.

In this season of COVID, remember not to live like you’re still in Jerusalem. For the moment, we’re in Babylon, and we have to live out our Christianity and witness to non-believers within the parameters of our Babylonian environment. Build houses, plant gardens, and pursue long-term relationships. We may be here for awhile or we may not, but either way, we don’t have the option of letting the ministry opportunities stop. You might be the only thing that an important new undertaking is waiting for.

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Proxy War

Over the past few weeks I’ve touched on how Satan commonly employs the same handful of tactics. I’ve covered how he wants to keep unbelievers unbelieving, and how he wants to water down the effectiveness of those that have become Christ-followers.

So where does that leave us in this epic spiritual struggle for the ages? Well, a historical anecdote might help set the stage:

After World War II, our ally Russia (then the USSR) started to walk down a different path from ours, and our two nations became enemies. It didn’t take long before both sides amassed enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other (and the rest of the world) several times over. In light of this massive weapons buildup, it became crucial that the two countries avoid a direct conflict, because it could very easily escalate into something with terrible consequences for the entire world.

American tanks facing off with Soviet tanks in Berlin

Most of the developed world split into two camps: one that sided with the Soviets and one that sided with the United States. The two sides had radically different ideologies, and both wanted to strengthen their position and gain additional allies. No corner of the world went untouched by this indirect conflict (or “Cold War”).

Both sides knew that war with one another could quickly escalate to global catastrophe. Yet with both sides armed to the teeth, they couldn’t help but rattle sabers at each other in various ways. Both superpowers turned to supporting smaller groups or nations in fights against someone from the other camp. This led to a series of “Proxy Wars.” The Korean War, the space race, the Vietnam War, numerous conflicts in Africa, Asia, and Oceania were all just different chapters of the same story: the US vs. the USSR.

That’s where we are in the spiritual battle right now. The real story has always been God vs. Satan, but the fight plays out across the globe in chapters, fought through Christians and non-Christians.

You and I are “proxies” in a certain sense. We speak on Christ’s behalf when sharing the gospel, and the enemy’s efforts are sometimes manifested, either intentionally or unintentionally, through other people. What’s so easy to do, and I want to caution everyone against this, is to slip into the trap of thinking that the proxy on the other side, the unbeliever, is the enemy. Absolutely not! Satan is the enemy; the proxy is a soul that can potentially be saved, join the Kingdom of God, and do great things for Him! This is so important. Have a look at what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

It’s very important to stress that although all people are inherently sinful, relatively few of them are malicious or openly hostile toward Christ and Christians. God can even take violent, hateful people and turn them into powerful assets for His kingdom (read the story of Saul’s conversion to Paul for an example). There’s nobody that God doesn’t love, and no matter how bad you think you’ve been (or how bad the worst person you can think of has been), God is willing to extend salvation to them if they accept Him as their Savior. We don’t know who those people will be, though, so it’s up to Christians (and this is where we often have trouble) to treat everyone as if God’s working on their heart to reveal Himself to them and bring them to salvation. This is where another Bible verse comes in:

Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. – Matthew 10:16

We’re supposed to be out in dangerous territory, spreading the gospel to people that haven’t heard it, and yes, to people that we believe will reject it or react violently to it. Proxies can harm us in multiple ways. We must balance between being on guard against them while showing them love, compassion, and the truth in the hopes that we help win them for Christ.

One of my favorite sayings is that you do not know what’s on the other side of your obedience. At some point you, as a Christian, will likely feel called to do something that makes you uncomfortable, and that’s by design. The Bible is full of stories of people that God stretched in some way to go do things they thought were impossible. God makes no pledge about giving you cushy assignments. He’ll take care of you…maybe not in the way you’d like, but if you follow through with what you’re supposed to do, you might be surprised at how things fall into place for you.

As I close today, I just want to reiterate that other people are not the enemy in our spiritual struggle; they are the prize! You will do nothing on your own to win them for Christ, but you have no idea what Christ will do through you according to His plan. Boldly accept His invitation to play a part in His master plan. You won’t be able to see where the road leads, but part of growing your faith is taking the first few steps without seeing where you’re going.

God didn’t offer to let us be choosy about the people to whom we bring the Gospel. They all need to hear it, and you might be the only chance someone gets to hear it.