Be Ready For The End Times All The Time

End times theologies and ideas can seem a bit out of place to me. I wonder how important it all is. After all, what happens at the end of time will happen. The only time I can do anything about is now.

I do not believe my assurance of salvation and our hope in Jesus is in jeopardy because I’m clueless about what will happen in the end. The early disciples seemed to have little clue. Should I be worried I don’t have more clarity about end times 2,000 years later?

Jesus does consistently say this: Be ready for the end times all the time. I think that's the overarching point of the three stories in Matthew 25, which follow the specific schooling from Jesus in Matthew 24, teaching points many believe to be about end-times. I believe Matthew 24 is about the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. Either way what Jesus says there strongly supports the importance of being ready and putting your trust in God.

I might be wrong to be so unconcerned. But I'll put my trust in the grace of Jesus whose lack of teaching on the matter suggests to me there are other more important points of focus. Why wouldn't Jesus spend more time on end times if it is an all important doctrine? When the end comes, it comes. You may go to be with the Lord or the Lord may come to us before you finish reading this paragraph. Either way, you don't know when the end will come.

Still here?

When Jesus speaks of the end, He does not warn us to not be surprised. He warns those of us who are living unprepared. It will be OK to be surprised. It will not be OK to be unprepared. When Jesus returns, I hope He surprises me while I'm preaching or hanging out with my family or otherwise showing myself a good and Godly human.

Whenever He comes I want to be ready.

Don't Confuse God With Life

When Phillip Yancey was writing his book Disappointment with God he interviewed a friend of his named Douglas. Douglas was a family man, a Christian leader and a trained psychotherapist. He had a lucrative practice but left it to work among the poorest of the poor in a large American city.

Sounds like a great guy, right? Surely everything will work out well for a guy like this!

Several years ago at a Pastor’s conference I heard Yancey tell about Douglas and how his life was going. As I recall the story, Douglas' wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The cancer spread into her lungs. Her life was seriously threatened and a new series of treatment had started.

As this developed a drunken driver smashed into their family car head-on. Douglas's twelve-year-old daughter went through the windshield and was badly lacerated in the face.

At this same time Douglas was serving on the leadership board of his church. The group made a difficult decision to change the direction of a long standing ministry. Though the move was preceded by much prayer and deliberation, one of the deacons and a close friend of Douglas blamed him personally, angrily left the church, and told as many who would listen that it was all because of Douglas.

Yancey thought it was a natural fit to ask Douglas about being disappointed with God. "You know, Philip,” he said, “I don't think I've ever been disappointed with God." Yancey asked, "How can this be?"

His answer went something like this: "I learned a long time ago not to confuse God with life. Is life unfair? You bet. My life has been unfair. What has happened to my wife, what has happened to my daughter, the accusations within our church... it's all unfair. But I think God feels exactly the same way. I think He is grieved and hurt by the cancer, by what that drunk driver did, and by the breakdown of personal relationships as much as I am. But don't confuse God with life.”

Don't confuse God with life. That is a great insight.

There is a verse in Ezekiel where God tells us to consider three of His much loved people: Daniel, Noah and Job. They are specifically pointed out as being righteous. One of them spent the night with a bunch of lions. One of them lived through a huge flood that killed thousands of people. And then, of course, there's Job. He is the greatest example of unfairness in the Bible. Yet when God looks at those people, He says these are three of my favorites.

All three of them—Daniel, Noah, Job—and many others, including many of the people who wrote the Psalms—learned to have a relationship with God that didn't depend on how healthy they were or how many people applauded them and how well their lives were going.

As for me, when I focus on how life is going I can easily come down with a bad case of “woe as me.” I am much better off when I focus on how God is going.

FOCUS

Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a painful lesson:

“It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, Congratulations.” I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters.

You don’t forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven’t in the years since.”

I’m not a good golfer and I’ve ended up in my fair share of trouble on the course. I’d love to play like Palmer played. But how about taking the same approach in life? How great would it be, in regard to all the sand traps we find in life, to say, “I am determined to never lose my focus again and I haven’t in years.”

As the scriptures say in Hebrews 12:1-3, we want to throw off whatever hinders us, the sin that so easily entangles us. The answer is to fix our eyes on Jesus and run with perseverance the race marked out for us. The Amplified Bible says this is, “Looking away (from all that will distract) to Jesus.”

That’s great advice. Look away from all the stuff that distracts you and keep your eyes on Jesus. Here are five things you can do today to keep your focus.

Forget the gallery. Sometimes people cheer and sometimes they jeer. Either can distract you from the most important things you need to do today. I’m not saying overlook people. I am saying don’t let them distract you to the point of overlooking God.

Only do what you can do. Don’t get so excited about possibilities for tomorrow that you neglect what you actually can do today. Live in the moment and be faithful to it.

Commit to Jesus the first few minutes. Begin your day with some quiet time in prayer and in The Word.

Understand that the enemy does not want you to succeed. There is an adversary and watching for him will serve you well. He does not want anything good for you today. The battles are real but God has already won the war!

Share the victories. Talk about the goodness of God and rejoice when you experience deep faith and abiding peace. Tell your story to anyone who will listen. It will encourage and help them more than you know. Plus it will remind you of all the good going on in your life.

God Has Brought Goodness, Grace and Mercy

Ten years ago tomorrow our community was suddenly changed by a senseless shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church.

From Wedgwood’s website: Just before 7:00 pm that evening a crazed gunman entered the building and interrupted a youth activity, a "Saw You at the Pole" prayer rally. He fired over 100 rounds from two different handguns, and exploded a homemade pipe bomb. Seven young persons were killed, and seven others were wounded before the gunman ended his own life.

Following the shooting a relationship of grace and reconciliation began between Wedgwood and Altamesa. You can read an article (one I originally wrote for Heartlight and Wineskins) about Altamesa’s response to the shooting by navigating here.

You can also read an article in today’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram by navigating here. I told the reporter how we have learned lessons the hard way, how our two churches genuinely love one another and how in the wake of a really terrible thing, God has brought goodness, grace and mercy.

The shooting brought abrupt and painful changes out of darkness. The decade since has brought changes from God’s light, the more time-consuming ways we experience grace and love.

And if you have not read the great testimony to God’s power to forgive and redeem in yesterday’s Star-Telegram you really need to take a few minutes to do so. Really.

Say a prayer for all who have suffered. And say a prayer for Aaron Ashbrook, brother of the shooter. Aaron and his family have worshipped with us at Altamesa the past two weeks. Pray that the God of grace and creator of all tomorrows gives Aaron grace and a good day tomorrow.

Come to think of it, that’s not a bad prayer for all of us.

A Tribute to Randy Moody

Today is the two year anniversary of Randy Moody’s death. His mom and dad, Lora and Don subscribe to my weekly e-mail, as do a few others who knew Randy well and loved him much. Randy and I have been close friends since college days. I did not realize how his death would rock my emotional world two years ago. I spoke at his funeral and broke down, weeping and unable to speak at the microphone for almost a full minute. As I wrote two years ago, “To say I will miss Randy Moody is not quite right. I will miss him. But I will not be the same now that he is gone.” So true. Below is my original post about Randy from my blog. You can also read an article about Randy that ran in The Christian Chronicle here.

I Am Glad I Got to Walk Part of it with Him

From September 3, 2007

My dear friend Randy Moody is gone.

A brief news item is posted today at the Newnan Times-Herald website. About half hour south of Atlanta, Newnan is one of those small towns that has become a bedroom community.

The article simply says, "A Newnan man in his late 30s or early 40s died of smoke inhalation Saturday from a fire at his home."

I received a call last evening from Lynn Anderson, a mutual friend and mentor to both Randy and me, telling of Randy's death. Early this morning, as I stared at the words on the computer screen, I knew the unidentified man was my friend and preaching colleague.

Randy and I met the first week of school as freshmen in college. We ended up going to grad school together. As seniors we tied for faculty votes as "Outstanding Communication Student of the Year." We received matching plaques and, somewhere, I have a photograph of us smiling and sharing the honor.

Randy had easily become an NCAA National Debate Champion and later coached consistently winning teams from tiny Abilene Christian against powerhouses such as Oklahoma and UCLA. And when he turned his focus to his first love he was the best preacher the Churches of Christ produced in my generation.

We took more than a couple of road trips. He was the first guy I knew who bought a Mazda RX7 (one of the "it" cars back in the 1980's). He was the first guy I knew to buy a Mac (one of the first generation 128K's), and the first to buy a CD player (when we wondered if this new technology would catch on).

If it hadn't been for me, he would have been the last of us to get married. I was there, wearing an uncomfortable white tux and tight shoes in his wedding.

Two decades later I cried with Randy when he and Lara divorced. He left preaching for a while and sold Cadillacs. A couple of winters passed and he met Susan. He told me over a long phone conversation how his broken and lonely heart had found its cure.

He had begun preaching again, at a church in Newnan. I spoke with one of their elders last evening. He was gracious to step out of his grief for a few minutes and minister to me in my shock and heartache.

To say I will miss Randy Moody is not quite right. I will miss him. But I will not be the same now that he is gone. A friend has died and a voice for grace and redemption has been silenced.

About ten years ago Randy wrote a book, Living in the Real Church: A Fresh Look at How Christians Treat One Another. You can still find it at Amazon here. I will miss the guy who believed with all his heart that there was a way to live and love, a way shown by God. It's a way not free of trouble but the way through our trouble. It has been Randy's way and I am glad I got to walk part of it with him.

God bless you Randy. We will see one another again.

A Touching Story, Just Serving God

On occasions God calls us to something that everyone will notice. We may get congratulations and affirmations. But often God calls us to anonymous service. Not many see, not many know.

I remember speaking with author Max Lucado several years ago. His first book On the Anvil had just been published and I asked him if he was excited about becoming recognized. He replied, “I’m just excited about serving God, whether I sell any books or not.”

Great attitude. And here is a heart touching story from some Altamesa folks who have that same mindset. John & Lucretia McMicken live & serve with their family at Christ’s Haven for Children. The McMickens won’t likely sell any books and won’t be recognized. I know their story because they occasionally shoot me an e-mail asking for prayer. They are just living life, serving God’s children.

The McMickens usually take up an entire row at a worship assembly! The events in this story occurred last week so the children Lucretia writes about were with us at Altamesa yesterday, all dressed up and glowing with love and affection. The only adjustment I made to Lucretia’s original e-mail is changing the names of the children.

I’m always amazed how God shows up and says here is my plan. Sunday evening John and I were at Wal-Mart checking out. I hear someone say Lucretia. I turn around and it is Suzie. I got the biggest hug and was told “I love you!” Suzie lived with us for about 6 months. She was a very sad child. She was then 7, functioning on 3-4 year old level. Mother removed Suzie because she was moving out state running away from her husband. (this is what she said) Anyway, they moved back into the area. Suzie’s mother applied to put her back at CH. I was asked if I would take her back. I said no, Suzie is a very demanding child and Manny had just moved in. I had a million excuses. Well Sunday when I saw her my heart just dropped. Her mother was counting her change trying to buy food. Suzie’s 4 year old sister asked me if I would buy her a drink, she was thirsty! Suzie was barefoot, dirty, just real real sad. All night this tugged on my heart. I’m here to help children not turn them away. We were both at Wal-mart for a reason. Suzie and her little sister are moving in on Wednesday. Please pray for these little ones and pray for me with a house of 8 kids under 10.

Serving Our Father and Loving HIS Lambs,

Lucretia McMicken

Is It Enough To “Remember” Jesus?

An oak stained table stood up front and center in the small church where my faith was initially formed. The words “Do This in Remembrance of Me” had been carefully carved on its face. Of course Jesus is the One who said, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

When we share communion we “remember” Jesus. Is that enough? Is there more we have to do?

If “remember” means all it should and can mean, it is enough. If we reduce “remember” to something less than it ought to be, we miss the power and life that Jesus intends.

The power and life version of “remembering” involves all the good synonyms of the word: learning by heart, bearing in mind, and being so familiar with what I commit to memory that it actually becomes a part of who I am. The weak and lifeless edition of “remembering” is just the opposite: a casual recollection, a careless reminiscence, an occasional glance at history.

The lower “remembering” is where communion is sacramental, a cheapened element of regular religious practice. I do it on Sunday but it has little to say about Monday. My heart is not into it and is not a part of who I am. This “remembering” leaves me unchanged and unchallenged.

The higher “remembering” compels us to take the body and blood beyond the table. This is when my faith and God’s life is broken and shared in all I do. The words etched on the table are written on my heart. All I do becomes a participation in the life of Jesus. I am transformed and daily confronted by the power of God.

Which kind of “remembering” do you do?