Walking in Another Person's Flip Flops

OK, I'll be the first to admit that doing a blog post that consists of quotes from a book (again) is probably the lazy persons way of doing things, and there might be some small truth to this, but it really is more than that. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been reading John Fischer's book, "12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee" and it has some really good things to say about us people who claim Christ as our Lord and Savior but have a way of falling way short of being the kind of witness that truly attracts others to Christ. So, as I read through the chapters, I'll be sharing some quotes from each chapter/step of recovery. If you don't get the book for yourself, hopefully some of the quotes I post will at least get you thinking.

Step 2: We have come to believe that our means of obtaining greatness is to everyone lower than ourselves in our mind.

"We need to learn to see ourselves through other people's eyes to see ourselves as we really are."

"It's virtually impossible to get another view of yourself by yourself. Just like we need at least two mirrors to see the angles most other people see of us, we need other people to tell us who we really are."

"Recovering Pharisees need to have people around them to tell them the truth - to hold up the mirrors."

"It would be wise to look at the groups we travel in and see how honest they really are. Do we have our own prejudices and secrets? Ate we honest with one another, or do we protect one another's weaknesses and sins? Do our groups foster an accurate portrayal of ourselves as we really are, or do they bolster a kind of corporate lie or propaganda?"

"We need friends who tell us the truth - other shoes in which we can stand."

"Standing in someone else's shoes changes our view of ourselves, but it also drastically changes our view of others when we see their situation from their point of view. If we truly see from someone else's perspective, we might at least be able to understand why they do what they do instead of issuing a knee-jerk judgment of what we do not understand."

"Empathy is a marvelous antidote for the tendency to judge others, and personal pain is the pathway to empathy. It's worth the pain to become more human - to identify with people - to join the human race." 

"To empathize with someone you don't even like is a sign that you have accepted and faced your own problems and therefore can understand how other people can be trapped by their own difficulties in life, even if they are difficulties outside your experience." 

"As a Pharisee, there is no doubt that the need to judge other people is at the level of an addiction. It is intimately tied to our sense of identity and is the means by which we feel good about ourselves. We judge without thinking, and it's a habit we can't get along without."

How well do we do when it comes to putting ourselves into another person's shoes? How quick are we to write somebody off or to pass judgment without giving any consideration to what their circumstances might be, how they might interpret a situation different than our interpretation, or how they might have misunderstood our intentions/words/attitudes? How open are we to the possibility that our situation or our interpretation or our intentions, words, or attitudes could be, if not wrong, certainly impact our perspective and opinion?

May God give us the sensitivity, the caution, the compassion, and his grace, to place ourselves in the flip flops of the person we are judging, and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Me, a Pharisee?

Many, many years ago, back in the early 80's, during the first stage of my life as a minister, I did a sermon series entitled, "Me, a Pharisee?" It was a rather pointed message, more pointed that it should have been, at times, and made a few folks upset with me. It wasn't that I wasn't preaching the truth, I was, but you can sometimes preach the truth/Gospel in a way that cracks open peoples heads instead of challenging and healing peoples hearts.

I pray that I'm much different now in how I preach the Gospel and God's Word in my third stage of my life as a minister.

Somewhere around 2001 I was going through a clearance book bin at a Christian book store and came across a book by John Fischer, "12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (Like Me): Finding Grace to Live Unmasked." Well, it reminded me of that sermon series from way back when so I bought the book. Besides, it was on clearance and you should never pass up a bargain on a book. It ended up on a shelf, quickly forgotten. As they say, "out of sight, out of mind."

Then last week or so I was working on a sermon and went to the bookshelf to get another book for an illustration I had remembered but accidently pulled off this John Fischer book, which I had forgotten about. I felt compelled to start reading the book. You know what? This is an interesting book and well worth reading. And very uncomfortable and convicting. Now I know why it remained on the shelf!

I would like to share with you some quotes from the first chapter of the book. Read them carefully, thoughtfully, prayerfully, asking God to speak to you about you. 

Step 1 - We admit that our single most unmitigated pleasure is to judge other people.

"Few activities in life rival the thrill of passing judgment on another human being."

"Our eyes look out, they do not look in, and if they are looking for what is wrong, they will always find much upon which to focus.."

"I think to myself, rationalize by myself, decide for myself. I am the author and finisher of my own perspective."

"So long as we remain our own authority, we do not have to be challenged. We can carry on with our own conclusions about ourselves and others, even if they contradict reality, because we are in charge of all the conclusions, and we can bolster our story however we want."

"If I judge even one person, I announce that judgment is the basis upon which I want everyone evaluated - myself included (Matthew 7:1). This is the law of impartiality. You want to judge? Fine, get ready to face the Judge.

"In the same way, if I want mercy for me, then I have to allow it for everyone else, even those who, in my estimation, are 'worse' sinners than I. This is the big picture that we all need to see: Justice for all; condemnation for all. A cross and an empty tomb for all; mercy for all." 

"When God calls for perfection, it is assumed that I cannot perform it. It's the demand for perfection that keeps me relying on God's mercy and grace. But the call to faithfulness is a call I can answer. Faithful to follow, faithful to confess, faithful to obey, faithful to repent, faithful to believe, faithful to pray and seek God - all these are the requirements of faithfulness. All of them are doable and are, in fact, my responsibility and my joy, having been the unexpected recipient of so great a mercy."

"Remember the words of Jesus: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Lk. 6:36-38)"

"What an incredible proposition. Want love? Give love. Want mercy? Give mercy. Want acceptance? Give acceptance. Want to judge? Get ready to be judged. Want to escape judgment? Don't judge at all. Don't do it. Get with those who want to get over this problem and remind each other of God's grace."

Might a recommend you get this book and read it for 2012. Get some of your Christian friends together, or your Sunday school class, and read and discuss this book together. I think it is time that we remove the mantle of living and behaving like a Pharisee and start truly living and acting like a follower of Christ. We've done enough damage to our witness as Christians and his Church. We need to remove the masks that keep us hidden, that make us critical and judgmental, and instead have our words and lives be a true reflection of Christ's light and glory. 

 

 

 

 

God's Holy Hand Grenade

 Click here to read Joshua 6

We are in a battle. It is around us, it concerns us, it involves us, and it impacts us. The Church is in the midst of that battle and every follower of Christ is being attacked on a daily basis. Our souls are the prize being fought for. It is an external battle but it is an internal one, and eternal one, as well. Some days we serve on one side and other days we may find ourselves serving on the other. We can, at times, be our own worst enemy!

Sounds a tad confusing, I admit; a little disturbing, for sure; and very frustrating, without a doubt.

You know what I mean, don't you, this battle that is going on and that involves you and me? It's the one where you feel pulled in directions that you know you should not go. It's over your thoughts and desires and attitudes and possessions. It includes your family, your friends, your job, even your church - most definitely your church. The world is both the battle ground and part of the army that is against us. Certainly it is a physical battle but it is also political, social, emotional, and psychological; and you can probably add a few more "...al's" into the mix. But above all, this warfare is against enemies in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:10-18). The weapons we use need to be, first and foremost, spiritual in nature (also see 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). And as Paul alludes to in both these passages, we need to be aware of and unitize these weapons in the battles we face in our lives. If we do not, we lose the battle.

But here is an important truth to keep in mind: even though we have these weapons at our disposal, and we are to equip ourselves and use these spiritual weapons, we also have need to have the confidence (trust/faith) that, because we are in Christ, we fight a battle that  has already been won! Christ has already been victorious, and he fights along with us in the battles we face. We are never alone!

I was reminded of this fact as I read Joshua 6. The process involved for victory by Israel was a convoluted one, bizarre by military standards. No leader of an army would go about preparing and approaching battle in this way! Which just goes to show, again, that God's ways are not our ways, and that we need to trust God in the battles and situations in our lives. We prepare ourselves, as the Israelites did, by listening to God's "word" and commands, and through obedience to God. Any other way brings failure, even if we make it through our "battle" on our own, because we have been disobedient, have been selfish, have placed ourselves in the role of God, and that, in a nutshell, is sin.  

Another thing that strikes me in this story that I need to remember is that, just as victory comes through the Lord, all glory must also go to the Lord. It's easy to take credit for something that I had little to do with, even though I may think that I gave a whole lot of effort in the task. When I start thinking, "I got through this," or "I pulled this thing off," then I have lost focus on the Author and Perfector of my faith and have placed myself above my Lord and Savior. Once I start doing that, my fall can be pretty hard! Truth is, I've fallen hard too many times because I kept looking at the wrong thing, myself.

Having faith in the victory that Christ has secured, being obedient to God's Word and Christ's commands, being equipped for "battle" with the weapons God has provided us, keeping our focus on God, and giving God the glory, are all key to experiencing the victory in our lives that God has made available to us through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:17-23)

On a side note, and a slightly skewed one at that, as I read the instructions given to Joshua in this passage, who, in turn reiterated those instructions to the army and the people, I couldn't help but be reminded of a scene in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Read through those instructions again, then, for your viewing pleasure, give this a watch.

The Colors of Fall

I love the season of Autumn. I also love the season of Spring. I like Summer, but it gets so hot down here in the mid-south and I tend to stay in doors more than being out, though there is nothing like slipping into a pool or a stream or a lake on a hot summer day. Winter is OK but it's pretty grey in the south and usually white way too long in the north. So, I'm much more connected with Spring and Autumn. I think it's the colors. I love the explosion of flowers in Spring and the trees in Fall.

There is a distinct difference between the northeast region of our country and the southern part of our country when it comes to fall colors. To me (and I stress that this is my opinion), fal colors are brighter and more distinct in the northeast than here in the south, where they tend to be a little more muted. Fall peak hits the north in September whereas it hits here in the south in the middle and latter part of October. 

But here is what I have found, for me, in regards to fall colors in the south: I look for and appreciate the vibrant colors more here in South and North Carolina than I remember doing when I lived in New York and Vermont. I still loved looking and still had moments in the north when I'd go, "Wow!", when pulling around a mountain into a valley and I'd see a quilt of colors, but every valley and every mountain and every street corner tended to consist of deep reds and bright yellows and vibrant oranges.

I just spent two days in the mountains in upper SC and lower NC - part of the Smokie Mountains. The peak season had already passed but there were still a lot of leaves on the trees, at least in the South Carolina part of the mountains. The colors were more brown because of being past peak but it was still pretty (mountains in general impress me, even without leaves). While we hiked the 10 miles on the first day in the middle of Panthertown Forest (?) in Sapphire, NC (Toxaway Lake), most of the trees had already lost their leaves. We crossed over several lovely waterfalls, looked out across some impressive vistas, but generally saw very little in color.

Well, that would be incorrect. I don't know what shifted for me but I did begin to notice patches of trees, or individual trees, that still had some leaves and some of those trees were radiant with color. And if the trees were bare or "dull" in color, I would notice a cluster of weeds with flowers of blue or white or yellow. Or I would come across a stream with leaves of yellow or red floating by, as if they were in a race toward the finish line. It struck me that, if I had continued to look for the grand color scheme of quilted color, I would have missed the little nuances of color and beauty that was, in fact, all around me.

I am like that with God's grace, more often than I realize. I tend to look for the vibrancy of God's blessings in my life, and if I don't see it I wonder why he isn't working or what might be wrong with me that is preventing God from working. But the fact is, God is always working, sometimes vibrantly, but most often in more of a muted way. I don't usually see it because I tend to be focused on the vibrant. I want the spectacular.

One day some religious leaders came to Jesus and asked him, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority” (Matthew 12:38). Jesus, in essence, says, "Here I am! And what I'm going to do will be greater than any vibrant color I could conjure up for you at the moment, and you're going to miss it because you're focused on what you consider vibrant, not what God considers vibrant."

God's grace and blessing pours out around us, and on us, in so many ways but we miss so much because we're looking at the wrong things - what we consider vibrant - instead of looking to God, listening to God, being still before God. He will surprise us in so many ways, if we learn that even in the muted tones he is there, working. But every once in a while, when we turn the corner in some area of our life, we may see an amazing splash of colors. I think that's God's way of reminding us that, "yes, I, your Creator, am working in ways that you don't always see nor understand. You are my painting, my poem, my workmanship, and I am at work in and around you."

May God open our eyes to see glimpses of his grace, open our ears to hear his whispers, open our hearts to receive his love. 

Foreskin, Spare Skin, and Bare Skin

Click here to read Joshua 5

I've been sitting on this 5th chapter for over a week now. It's been one of those chapters that just wasn't flowing right in my head - not that anything flows right in my head but let's move on.

As I thought about the first verse the realization came to me that, because I am in Christ, all the enemies that I face in my life - physical or spiritual - are defeated foes. Now, that's a nice thought to have but I admit that I don't often live with that being an active truth in my life. I can be all too quick to be controlled or impacted by enemies than to face them head on. I am learning, however, to not shy away but to stand firm, as Paul writes:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13)

It's interesting that the leaders and people in Canaan and the surrounding area were so afraid of the Israelites because they had heard "how the Lord" had done some pretty amazing things. It says that they had "lost heart" and were "paralyzed with fear". You know, when God is working in a persons life, and when we allow God to work, people around us will sense that something is different and are often uncomfortable around such a person. There's something about the power of God at work that makes people who are distant from God uneasy. God's power is strange that way. Could it be that even his power has a convicting quality about it?

Foreskin
As we move into verses 2-9 we are confronted with a somewhat awkward situation. At least, whenever we're talking about sharp objects and cutting and really sensitive areas of the body, I get nervous. I had never realized that all those Jews that had been born while on the road to the promised land were never circumcised. Now, imagine what must have gone through their heads as they stood on the brink of taking the promised land by storm, knowing that all its residents were paralyzed with fear, and Joshua comes along and says, "Hey folks. Great news. We're going to have a circumcision party! Line up and let's get a cuttin..." This isn't what they taught military leaders to do to win battles. Why would God require this of them and why at this moment?

Two things, I think. First, circumcision was a sign of God's covenant with Abraham and it stood as a symbol for Israel's faith in God's promises. So, doing it now was God, in a way, re-declaring his covenant to his people - a whole new generation, and they were declaring their faith in God's promises. Secondly, God doesn't usually do things according to what we think is normal! And this sure wasn't normal. A normal approach would be to attack while the people are full of enthusiasm and the Canaanites are scared to death. Then, after your victory, you have the circumcisions done. God's way? Have the cutting first, take several days to recover, and then go into battle.

Talk about trust! But think about this: shouldn't there be consecration/reconsecration before we take action in our lives, in the decisions of the church? What I mean is, before I go into action, if I want God to be the one in charge and at work, don't I need to consecrate myself - recommitting myself and my trust in God? What God doesn't have, he typically won't use.

Spare Skin
Once they recovered from their surgery, they celebrated the Passover. This was an act of worship that reminded them of God sparing their lives, and of what he had promised and was now fulfilling. The Psalms are filled with examples of the author calling out to God for help and guidance, questioning and struggling, and then he pauses and remembers what God has done in the past. When he does this, his focus changes, and there is a fresh confidence that God will answer and work again. When we are faced with doubts and uncertainties, and when we find ourselves in the midst of difficulties, remembering what God has done in our lives can be a source of strength. We need to have our own "Passover" rituals, one could say.

But their celebrating Passover was more than just remembering the past, it was a preparation for their future. Notice what happens after they celebrate Passover:

On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year. (Joshua 5:11-12)

Another act of God fulfilling his promise! And yet I wonder how many began to grumble because there wasn't any manna provided by God as there had been for decades. Now what they ate they made by their own hands from the land God had provided. There's one word that came to my mind as I read this: CHANGE!

We don't like change very much, and it doesn't usually matter when that change comes about because of God being at work. Just look at the church. Churches are notorious for being resistant to change. We do what we do because we've always done it that way. We're comfortable with it. But here in this passage we see God changing how he works to meet the needs of his people. I find reassurance here - that in the midst of change, which is going to happen whether I like it or not, God's resources are more than enough to meet the needs, to help me adjust to those changes, and to make changes in my life that are needed as well.

Bare Skin
The last three verses lead me to three things:
1) It's not that God is on my side that is important, it's that I need to be on God's. We tend to go about life wanting God to be in our corner, helping us out, supporting our cause, but it needs to be the other way around - us submitting and following him. Jesus put it this way: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Nuff said.

2) When we let God be in control of our lives, and our situations, not only will God be present with us but he will also provide us with what we need to accomplish the task. Philippians 4:13 reminds me that, "I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me."

3) That the first step, and the last, in winning the battles is to worship God and submit to him. Somewhere I came across the following quote and wrote it down, and it fits to this third point:

"We can only enter into the battle so that we experience God’s deliverance when we remove our sandals and submit to His authority and His presence and power." 

Back when Moses was the leader, and he and the people were standing on the edge of the Red Sea being chased by the Egyptians, he turned to the people and said:

"Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today." (Exodus 14:13)  

You know, I like to think that I have my act together and that I can handle whatever comes my way. But then, when I'm in the midst of my struggle, I find myself ill equipped and often overwhelmed. My first mistake was thinking that I could handle it by myself, which led me to my second mistake - thinking that I can do it without God. Wrong! But when I turn to God first, remind myself of what he has done for me in the past, and seek his will in the present and the future, then the battle is already won - through his strength, with his gifts, by his guidance.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7) 

Good words to live by!