Choosing to Cheat

Several years ago, I read a great book by Andy Stanley entitled "Choosing to Cheat". It's a simple book that takes no more than two nights to read (that's if you're a slow reader like me) and looks at the issue of when family and work collide. This simple but yet profound book has implications for not only family and work, but can affect our church involvement, how we parent, involvement in our respective school, community involvement, and how much money we give away.

In a nutshell, the book says that when the opportunity comes and you're confronted with a decision to prioritize either family and work, let the family value win. Tomorrow I leave for retreat with a group of high school students. All week, I've been preparing for this retreat, because I desperately want it to be a time that is both encouraging and inspiring for those high school students that come. I've put a lot of physical and mental energy into the retreat and in other areas that are a part of my "job". I'm constantly watching how many hours I spend away from my home and at my work (or ministry). I don't want to cheat my family, rather I'd rather have a ticked off elder board than a ticked off kid because his daddy spends too much time at "the office" (fortunately, I serve at a church where the elders are adamant that my service to my family precedes my service to the church).



The implications have broader affect when I look at my finances. Mandy and I recently bought a couple couches for our family room because the current ones are worn out and falling to pieces (literally). We saved up, shopped around for deals and didn't spend the money until we really needed the couches. Due to this out of the ordinary expense, the temptation and opportunity came to cheat God with my finances. Before I could be tempted to hoard and keep my money, I ran over to my check book and made a check out (my tithe). I didn't want to cheat my Lord. The same resolve I had to not cheat my family of time and security, is the same resolve I want with my finances and every facet of my life. I want to serve my Lord regularly. I want to spend time with Him regularly. I want to give my money and time to Him regularly. I don't want to cheat my Lord. I'd rather cheat myself and keep the dilapidated furniture than cheat Jesus.

Choosing to Cheat has even wider implications. More on that later...stay tuned!

God and Eric...and what I'm learning from it all.

Okay, so it's been a long time since I last blogged. Actually its been too long. I fell out of the blogging world in the summer when Mandy started blogging more on our adoption of Levi. With all that surrounded the adoption of Levi and our impending trip to Ethiopia, I kind of put my own personal blogging on hold, and now is the time I shall resume expressing my personal thoughts, opinions and life lessons in the "blogosphere". So, I thought I'd share some thoughts and lessons from a new friend that I have. His name is Eric.

I met Eric at the beginning of the summer and soon realized that this brand new follower of Jesus had tremendous potential but desperately needed to get grounded in this new faith that he had in Jesus Christ. Eric has a past, which I won't go into, but let's just say that he has been restored by the grace of God and gripped by the mission of God. Eric is a brand new creation. Eric is incarnating the powerful reality the Apostle Paul penned in 2 Corinthians 5:17. His life was once devoted to drugs, loneliness and self-destruction and is now captured by God and His incredible love. It's been amazing to see the changes God has brought about in Eric's life.

A couple of weekends ago, Eric accompanied me on a road trip to Savannah, Georgia to help a friend of mine move. We left late on a Thursday night and drove through the night. Eric had never been on this type of "road trip", where the goal was to simply help a friend. While we were driving on I-77 in southern Ohio, Eric and I were talking about how it's often difficult to love people. Eric asked me, "Paul, have you ever found it difficult to love people?" I assured him that there have been countless times that my love for others has been less than perfect, in fact, sometimes my love for others has been quite pathetic. I find myself often not loving the way Jesus wants me to love. As Eric and I discussed more, Eric said, "I want to have more of a love for people...for people who are hurting." Eric expressed a desire to help people and offer the very hope and salvation that he had received. It was around 1:00am and I found myself thanking God for this brand new Christ-follower and his longing to have Christ's love flow through him into the lives of those that needed it most.

We continued to drive and discuss, until Eric said, "Paul, u gotta' stop. That transport truck on the side of the road is flipped over." I gathered my thoughts, waited for the next exit, turned off and proceeded to go back towards the flipped over transport truck. As we approached the transport truck, it became obvious that this was a serious accident. There were no police or EMT on the scene yet, so besides one other guy, we were the only ones on the scene. Before I could pull our mini-van over on the shoulder of the dark interstate, Eric darted out of our vehicle and ran towards the demolished transport truck. As I got out of the van, I saw a body that looked lifeless lying right beside the shattered window of the truck. It was obvious that this truck driver was ejected from the front window of his truck.

It was dark but this didn't keep Eric from kneeling right before the truck driver and he reached down by his neck to check for a pulse...and YES, he was alive. Eric asked the truck drivers name, and it was Paul. For the next 5 minutes until EMT arrived, Eric took care of Paul. Paul's head was badly bleeding and it was obvious that he had some dislocated and broken body parts as there was bone exposed in the arm area. It did not look good for Paul. Eric got his own jacket and wrapped it around Paul's lacerated head so that the bleeding would subside. Eric kept the attention of Paul as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Eric was right there with truck driver Paul, showing him the affection and care that he just admitted five minutes earlier that he desperately wanted in his life. The EMT arrived, we briefed the state trooper and the medical workers, and then Paul was rushed into the ambulance. We sensed that we were no longer needed, so we made our way back to our van and continued on our road trip.

Following a stop at the nearest rest area to wash the blood off of Eric's hands from the accident, we re-counted what just happened. As we talked about truck driver Paul and this unfortunate accident that we just witnessed, Eric said "Hey, we gotta' pray for Paul". Eric prayed and I agreed as we prayed in our moving vehicle on I-77 in southern Ohio. I reminded Eric what we had just been talking about before we came upon the flipped over transport truck. Eric wanted to have a love for people. Eric wanted to help people. Eric wanted to express love and grace to those people that needed it the most. Eric realized what God was doing, and so did I. Eric had just loved in a very selfless way. He got down on his knees, gave up his own coat and got his hands bloody as he checked the pulse of this poor, broken and injured truck driver. This was love. This was Jesus making a difference in the life of Eric. This was life-change!!!

I'm thankful for the lesson Eric taught me on that late night on I-77 just north of Marietta, Ohio. Eric embodied the very truth that Jesus illustrated in Luke 10. The parable of the Good Samaritan says that while the religious people walked by the beaten, robbed and half dead man, the Samaritan STOPPED and paid attention when others were too busy or too ignorant to stop. It says in scripture that when the Samaritan came upon the man laying on the road, "he took pity on him". This same pity that Jesus described I saw in my friend Eric as he approached the truck driver, cradled his bloody head with his jacket and then patiently waited with him until help came. This is love. This is the love Jesus wants from me. Lord, help me love like this. Help me to take the time to STOP. When I see a need, whether a truck driver ejected from his cab, a homeless man or a hurting teenager, I want to have love. Lord, help me to slow down, see the need and then be filled with compassion and moved towards action. I want to live like this.

Thanks for the lesson Eric!

adoption updates!!!

If you're wanting to follow along in our adoption journey of little Levi...you can get all the updates on our family blog at http://www.psalm-2714.blogspot.com/ (I have to give credit where its due, so Mandy is really the brains and does all the entries...she's a great blogger).

Psalm 27:14

Peace

God Gives EVERYONE Influence

Here's a great quote from a great author. READ CAREFULLY (or else you might miss something):
"You know where to begin: take initiative. You know who God is, so embrace life's uncertainty. Remember that the person you are becoming in Jesus Christ is your greatest gift to others, so use your influence. Every great adventure is filled with peril and danger, but the risk is worth it. You have already been authorized to move forward, so advance. Impact your world by fighting battles that are on God's heart. Engage in an adventure so compelling that it causes the awakening of the dead in spirit. In this moment each of us will have to choose. Will you seize your divine moment or let it slip away?"

Erwin McManus

Don't Miss This

Sometimes in life, you hear something said that you don't want to forget. It's so profound and so good, that you don't want to miss it. One of those statements that I read once captured me and I don't want to forget its meaning. My Grandma (who's now in Heaven at the feet of Jesus) had a favorite poem that was framed and for many years it hung in her home. It stated: "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."

Don't miss the truth in the above poem. Read it again. Keep it. Hold on to it, and then remember it. Just make sure that you don't miss it!

Jesus in Disguise

This past Sunday, I witnessed "Jesus in disguise". I was at church walking in the lobby of our church in between our services, and I greeted a man and his wife, who shook my hand and then handed me an envelope. Recognizing that this envelope was given for a specific reason, Mandy and I opened it and noticed a large sum of money that was designated for our adoption. In the card was a short not saying, "money for one way ticket to USA" (meaning it was meant for Levi to come home with us).

After Mandy and I got over our intitial reaction of being both humbled and overwhelmed, I picked up the phone and called this person (who except for two inteactions, I hardly knew who this man and woman were). When "Jesus in disguise" answered the phone, I immediately said "thanks". He said "you're welcome. My friend had already heard why Mandy and I were adopting, so I simply wanted him to know that we truly appreciated his extrememly generous gift (which became so much more significant to us seeing that I had very little relationship with him and his wife). What followed in our 4 minute phone call impacted me and Mandy. He said that when he was a young boy, he always wanted to be rescued. He desperately wanted someone to come and rescue him from his childhood. He then told me that no one ever came and he was never rescued. The reason why he and his wife gave us this sum of money was because he knows what it feels like not to be rescued. This drove him to be a part of what we are doing in adopting Levi. He then asked if the money could be used to fly Levi back to America, because he wants to "be a part of this rescue."

This is powerful. It's powerful for two simple reasons. First, he and his wife hardly know Mandy and I. This is a true picture of unselfish and selfless love. Secondly, this was powerful because our friends embodied Jesus...to give and expect nothing in return. We had and will have nothing to offer our friends, except the word, "thanks". They gave to "the rescue" knowing that they would get nothing back from us in return. The applause of God is all over this couple and their love for God and Levi.

This is Jesus living. This is "Jesus in Disguise".

Our New Son has Finally Arrived!!!

Well, one of the best days of my life was yesterday. It was so incredible to finally get the news about our new little boy in Ethiopia. It was so surreal to look at his pictures, check out his medical history and personal and family history. It's been a long road as we originally felt the call that God wanted us to adopt from Ethiopia in 2007. Mandy has started a blog exclusively related to our adoption and the journey that we're on. She journaled about our experience yesterday as we received the news. You can check out the blog and the "play by play" at www.psalm-2714.blogspot.com.
Enjoy. Keep praying for us. Mandy and I will keep writing and blogging as we anticipate our trip to Ethiopia.

Thoughts on Psalm 91

I just finished reading Psalm 91. What an incredible chapter, filled with so many timeless and timely promises from God. The verses in this famous chapter ring true in the life of everyone who has clinged to God when all they had to cling to, was God. C.S Lewis said that "he who has God and everything else has nothing more than he who has God alone." In other words, if all we have is God, could this really be enough? Is God all that we need?

Scripture is filled with so many instances of average people who had there backs against the wall, and in dire circumstances and God came through. He delivered. It's not just evident in the bible, but all through human history, God's been showing His greatness, His power and how all sufficient He really is. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (verse one). George Meuller knew that God was enough. This great man was not only a pastor but an orphan advocate. Every year, Meuller (who lived in the early 1800's), clothed, fed and and taught over 2,000 orphans. Stories are told of times when Meuller had his back against the wall, and there was no food to care for these orphans, and God miraculaously provided. Bread showed up on his doorstep. Milk or money showed up on his kitchen counter. There were times when Meuller ahd nothing but God and His promises. George Meuller knew what it meant to have God and God alone.

When we make God our hiding place, we have in Him everything that we need. Peter knew this too. Remember when He was on the water. All He had was the Christ to cling to. The only hand He had was the hand of Jesus. The woman caught in adultery knew this. When she was criticized and mocked by the crowds, the only one who loved her unconditionally was Jesus. The forgiveness that she longed for and the clean heart that she craved only came from God. The interaction with Jesus was all that she needed to take away the shame and guilt that had invaded her life and captivated her thinking. I could go on and on with stories of real people who only had God, and it was enough.

So, could God really be enough for me? Is He really? Verse four gives some awesome imagery, when it says, "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." Just as feathers on a bird provide warmth, security and protection, God wants to be that for us. He wants to be our protection. He wants to be our security. He wants us to trust Him for His provisions. He's everything we need. If He was enough for George, Peter and that woman caught in adulter, He's enough for me. And listen to this: He's enough for you too. Regardless of circumstance...you gotta' believe it. Sometimes all you may have is God. Remember, it's enough. Nothing more and nothing less. It's enough!