I love to organize. Whether events, activities, schedules or trips it’s probably my most enjoyable thing besides teaching.

A few years ago I was the director of a Bible Institute in Russia. My main responsibility was to coordinate the different men as they traveled over to teach. I organized the teaching schedule, oversaw communications with our churches in the Northwest, managed the finances and helped with flight itineraries.

It was wonderful!

One of the things I like to do is to get into the details and try to figure out a better or less expensive way to do something.

The Bible Institute we worked with was on Sakhalin Island, just north of Japan. The flight schedule that was planned for us was to fly from the West Coast to New York, from New York to Moscow and from Moscow to Sakhalin. This would take two days travel time and have us flying about three quarters of the way around the world.

As I looked at the map it seemed to me it would make more sense to simply fly West over the Pacific to South Korea and then up to the Island. It would only be one day travel time and be less taxing for the men.

As I looked into setting up travel arrangements this way I was told by the organization we were working under it couldn’t be done. The flights wouldn’t coincide, the price would be higher and it just wouldn’t work.

After several days of frustration, closed doors and dead end leads something changed. I came across a travel agency in Seattle that was able to put flights together that met our needs at a price that was over $100 less than flying most of the way around the world.

Since I was the director of the school I used the more direct flight to see if indeed it worked. Getting to Sakhalin went off without a hitch. But when I got there I was told there had been a change and I would have to stay at least one day in San Francisco on my return flight. Fortunately when I arrived in SF I was able to take a standby seat and get home that day.

With this, as in all of life, some times when something changes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not.

What got me to thinking about the idea of change was hearing this week the Mormons have changed their stance on homosexuality. Officially they say they haven’t changed, but when one of their top leaders goes before the Salt Lake City Council to give their support for treating homosexual couples equal to heterosexual couples in housing laws their actions make it clear something has changed.

As I thought about it I was brought back to how great it is to know and love a God who doesn’t change. The theological term is that He is immutable.

Can you imagine serving a God who changes, who learned and grew and knew more today than yesterday? It would be hard to stake your life, and especially your eternal destiny, on someone who tells you today how to be saved or live rightly only to have him come to a better understanding later and change it.

As I contemplated this I realized how much I take God’s immutability for granted. What He said 9,000 years ago to Adam and Eve about salvation, righteous living, spiritual maturity and other crucial eternal matters is the same thing He is saying to you and me.

Down through the ages different heretical teachings have arisen to question God immutability. The most recent to ripple through our country is openness theology. This belief says that “there is no certain future knowledge, and God is learning too.”

Those who espouse this say God is learning and developing right along with us as time progresses. They do not believe God is immutable.

Throughout Scripture, however, God tells us that He does not change.

I Samuel 15:29 “And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

Psalm 102:25-27 “Of old Thou didst found the earth; And the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end.”

Malachi 3:6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.”

James 1:17 “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”

From these and many other passages the Bible emphasizes over and over again the immutable nature of God.

How comforting it is to know that what God wrote in His Word over 2,000 years ago is still true and relevant today. And the security we can have from the reality that the direction He gives today He won’t later have to say He made a mistake or realize He was in error.

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.
Mark

Several years ago I worked in a lumber mill. My main job was “pulling chain” for the planer. After the wood was cut to size and length it was then planed smooth.

Coming out of the planer the boards would drop onto a set of chains that moved them down a metal table. The three of us who worked the chain were assigned different lengths of wood and when ours passed by we pulled them off and stacked them into a pile.

As winter approached and less wood was being processed the foreman kept some of us busy by giving us odd jobs around the mill.

One day he took me into a small room that was filled with different types of hoses. He told me some were pneumatic and others hydraulic. I was to separate them into two piles based on which type they were. I asked him how I could tell the difference and he said by the fittings.

Now people like Bob Whaley and others could undoubtedly tell the difference with their eyes closed. I had no clue. They looked all the same to me no matter which way I looked at them.

I had no idea what I was doing and no way to figure it out. All I could do was my best and hope it worked out.

There are times in life we have to do something or a decision to make and we’re not sure at all how to do it. Sometimes they are minor like sorting hoses but other times they can be major, potentially life changing situations.

This last one is where Eliezer found himself.

We pick up his story in Genesis 24. “Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, ‘Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you shall go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (verses 1-4)

Can you imagine being responsible for going to a distant country and finding a wife for your master’s son? Think of the questions that bounced around his head during the 450 mile expedition.

Does Isaac like taller women or shorter? Would he prefer one who is a little husky or more petite? Will she even come all this way back with me? Will her father allow her to come? How will I know the right one? What if they don’t get along when I finally return?

I think Eliezer could have driven himself crazy trying to figure it all out.

When he finally arrived he prayed and asked God to grant him success (24:12). He waited by the well for the women to come out of the city and struck up a conversation with one and found out she was a relative of Abraham.

He went back to her family and explained his reason for being there. Both she and her father agreed to the proposal and she went back with him to Abraham.

When Isaac saw Rebekah verse 67 tells us “he took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her” and they lived happily ever after. Well, maybe not happily ever after but she was the right choice.

With no real concrete direction, no instruction manual for finding a wife for your master’s son, no personality test to give her or Dr. Phil to check her out, how did he come to find the right girl?

In verse 27 Eliezer said something I think is very profound. In the King James Version it reads, “And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me . . .” (emphasis added)

“I being in the way.” He had to go, do what he thought was right the way he thought best. And while he was in the process God was at work all the time causing him to ultimately find Isaac’s wife. He had to step out first and God was at work through his actions.

This passage reminded me of an area of my life I’ve been working on for a while. When I’m not sure what to do I often let fear of failure or concern of making the wrong decision stop me from doing anything.

What I’m working on is remembering God hasn’t called me to “paralysis by analysis.” He does want me to pray, seeking His will and wisdom, and at times to search out godly counsel. But, if after doing that I still don’t know exactly what to do, He expects me to take a calculate step of faith in the direction that seems right and best.

This is not to say I put blinders on and go like a bull in a china closet, but to move forward, still looking and listening for His leading and correction. But the key is I make a decision and go.

Like Eliezer, I need to be in the way, be actually moving forward, and the Lord will lead me.

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.
Mark

Last week in Small Group I mentioned something I learned from my coursework in Romans. Someone commented it was good to see there are things in the Bible I still have to learn. Believe me I have a lot to learn!

A couple days ago I was listening on the radio to Chuck Swindoll, a world renowned Bible teacher and one of the top preachers of our time. He said although he had read and taught the passage they were studying in II Chronicles numerous times there was a verse he had never seen before. Not that it wasn’t there all along, it just hadn’t caught his attention.

That is the great thing about God’s Word, it’s always new and fresh and no matter how much you know and study it there are always new things to learn.

This happened to me as I was reading through I Corinthians 11 recently. The chapter begins with the authority and order in the church. The last part is the great presentation of importance and solemnity the Lord’s Supper or Communion.

In the middle of the chapter, as Paul transitions from one theme to the other he wrote these words;
“But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.” (verses 17-19)

Verse 19 caught my eye like it had just been added since the last time I read the chapter. “For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.”

Notice how Paul words it. He doesn’t say, “there might be factions” or “there will be factions.” What he says under the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit is that “there must be factions.” (emphasis added)

Is he saying there must be because people are sinful and selfish and that a natural result of that is factions?

I don’t think so.

The word “must” is a very strong and powerful word. For example when Peter and the other apostles were told by the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the gospel, they replied, “We must [same word] obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). According to Dr. John MacArthur in his commentary on I Corinthians, “The word is often used in the New Testament to represent divine necessity.”

It seems Paul is saying that factions are a part of church life in order to make evident the sin and selfishness of individuals or groups in the church and the spiritual maturity of others.

But, some may say, doesn’t God hate factions? Doesn’t He only want unity?

Yes He does and if all men and women were led by the Spirit and under His control there would be peace and harmony. But people often choose to follow their own desires and seek after their own interests.

What Paul is saying is since people don’t always listen to and obey the Holy Spirit but instead pursue their personal agenda, God uses factions in the church “in order that those who are approved may have become evident.”

Now two things stand out that this verse isn’t saying.

First, it is not saying it’s okay for me to get a faction started. It is something that develops but not something I am to coordinate or initiate.

Second, this doesn’t say who are the ones who are approved, those who stay or those who go. The verse people love to use in situations like this is 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.”

What the verse does say, and I think what I’m to learn from it, is that God uses factions as a dividing line to make evident those who are truly following Him.

And how is that evident? Not but the number of verses one side or the other can quote to prove their side is right but by their words, their actions and their attitudes.

Galatians 5:22, 23 give us insight, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Also I Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Factions in the church are excruciating. They can damage people, friendships and the reputation of the church in the community.

God uses them though to bring wrong and harmful directions and attitudes to light and give those who are spiritual the opportunity to evidence their true love and commitment to the Lord.

I’m not sure why but that’s what’s been on my heart this week.
Mark

I fancy myself a bit of a wordsmith. Someone who is able to understand and use the nuances and shades different words provide.

I’ve worked with men who are wordsmiths extraordinaire. I always had to keep a dictionary close so I could track with what they were saying. Often I would just nod and smiled like I understood, but with the blank stare on my face it was fairly obvious I didn’t.

I’m not of that caliber but I do enjoy the precision the right word can provide. This is helpful when I’m trying to be exact in describing something or paint a verbal picture. It is also helpful as I seek to understand what is being taught when I study the Bible.

This week I was reading through Romans 8 when a word stood out like I had never read it before although it was in a verse I have known by heart for many years.

In verse 28 Paul wrote, “And we know” and it was the word “know” that leapt off the page.

What struck me is just because I know something doesn’t mean I believe it.

I know I would be more healthy, lose weight, have less illness and probably live longer if I ate better, cut out fast food, reduced sweets and eliminated late night snacking.

I believe, however, I can keep up my poor eating habits and none of the problems other people face because of their diet will affect me.

I say I “believe” this because that’s the way I act. I may know a lot of things but what I truly believe affects what I do, what I say and how I act.

It is important to know things. But knowing something doesn’t really help me unless I believe it and thus allowing it to impact my life.

The rest of verse 28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

I know God causes all things to work together for my good. I know He is in control, that nothing comes into my life without His knowledge and awareness. I know God loves me and only wants what is truly best for me.

I know all this, but often there are times I don’t believe it.

Adversity comes and I doubt His goodness and provision. Something happens to one of my children or grandchildren and I question His awareness and protection. My income falls short and I wonder whether He will truly provide as He promised.

There are many things the Bible tells us we should know about God. A few that come to mind are;

Matthew 7:7, 8 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”

Philippians 4:6, 7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Proverbs 3:5, 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

Thinking about these verses and the other promises in the Bible, I have to ask my self, do I simply know or do I truly believe them?

As I contemplated this thought this week I had to admit how often I just know them.

To change this to become what I believe I have to consciously work on remembering how He has worked in the past and hold on to that.

In Psalm 63:6-8 David said, “When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches, For Thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to Thee; Thy right hand upholds me.”

How much do I know about God and how much do I really believe Him, letting it affect me, giving peace and joy in my life?

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.

Mark

Talk about impatient.

The days dragged on an on with no end in sight. Trudging over the same barren desert with sand as far as the eye could see.

And the food! Manna for breakfast, manna for lunch, manna for dinner. Manna meatloaf, manna casserole, manna pancakes, manna sandwiches, manna stew. Manna, manna, manna.

Their clothing didn’t wear out (Deuteronomy 8:4) which means most everything they wore was hand-me-downs. No new shoes, no new shirts, no new coats. Every thing they wore had been worn by someone else. (I don’t even want to think about their underwear.)

God had said because of their unbelief they would wander the desert until the last person over age 20 died (Numbers 14:29). Looking back in history we know it was 40 years but they had no idea how long it would be as set out on yet another trek over the same barren wasteland.

Based on a rough estimate of how many people left Egypt, on average about 30,769 people had to die each year or 2,564 per month or over 85 people a day. And not until that last person died would they be able to enter the Promised Land.

I can imagine as the number got lower and lower them having a count down. “Only 173 left.” Later, “Only 96 left.” Then, “Only 3 left.” Think about what it would have been like to be one of the remaining few!

Once the last ones died God brought the Children of Israel to the edge of the Promised Land. Joshua was now their leader.

Finally all that waiting was behind them and the time had come to enter the land. They knew well the stories of the lush, fertile fields with the over abundance of produce and how it took two men to carry one cluster of grapes. It made their mouths water each time they thought of imagined it.

We pick up the story in Joshua 1, “Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, ‘Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.’” (verses 1-3, 5)

Think of the wave of excitement rippling through the camp as these words were recounted over and over again.

Every place their foot walked would be theirs.

No one would be able to stand against them.

They would conquer and destroy all the inhabitants and then get to take the best pastures, fields and houses for themselves.

“Go on, go in, take it, it’s yours” God said. “Nothing and no one will be able to stop you.”

They had a blank check. They were invincible. They couldn’t be stopped.

It was there’s for the taking!

After Joshua led the charge conquering the heart of the land we come to the book of Judges where we expect to read, “Israel defeated and destroyed all the inhabitants, settled in their territories and enjoyed peace and safety throughout the land.”

(continued in part 2)

(continued from part 1)

But instead we read, “But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.

“Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob.

“Then the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley.” (Judges 1:27, 31, 34)

To me it is unimaginable that this could have happened. Hadn’t God promised them no one would be able to stand before them and everywhere they went would be theirs to own and inhabit?

It was handed to them on a silver platter! All they had to do was believe God and take it.

That, of course, is where the rub comes. God had promised, the possession was theirs; every battle could have been won if only they would have trusted God, listened to Him and followed His leading.

How often I shake my head in disbelief at those ancient Jews. With that kind of assurance from God Himself how could they possibly not go out boldly and confidently conquering the people and enjoy the blessing and rest He promised?

It’s unfathomable!

Then at that point it’s like the Holy Spirit says to me, “How are they any different than you? You have God’s promises for your life and yet you don’t go out boldly and confidently, conquering the situations you face.”

And then several verses come to mind. Verses like,

Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 7:7, 8 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.”

John 14:13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:31, 33, 34 “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

These and many other promises God has given me so I can have boldness and confidence as I face whatever comes into my life and yet, like those early Jews, I get discouraged, question, fear, wonder and worry.

I look back on those times when I doubt God, choosing to not trust His promises, and wonder how I can be so shortsighted and skeptical. God has promised it. He has proven Himself time and time again. Why can’t/don’t I believe Him and move forward with the assurance of victory?

His promises are there. His strength is there. He has proven Himself to be reliable and trustworthy time and again.

The victory is there for my taking, I simply must trust Him, listen to Him and follow His leading.

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.
Mark

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is a retired Marine sniper who now heads the NCIS Major Crimes Response Team stationed at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

Agent Gibbs is a determined, calculating man with an eye for detail. He is known for his hard shell and gruff interaction with those around him, especially people he interrogates, and for getting the job done quickly and effectively with little emotional connection.

Also he’s known for his rules which guide how he and his team handle collecting evidence and dealing with witnesses and suspects.

For example, Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene. Or Rule #8: Never take anything for granted. Then there’s Rule #39: There is no such thing as coincidence.

Another one of Gibbs’ rules which is used more often than the others, but without a number, is “Never say you’re sorry. It’s a sign of weakness.”

In this week’s episode Ziva, an Israeli Mossad agent serving as liaison with NCIS, was in the interrogation room with one of her former comrades. When she quoted “Never say you’re sorry, it’s a sign of weakness” two things jumped out at me.

First, although I’ve heard this recited several times, it struck me as how unbiblical that statement is. Throughout the Bible we are told to admit when we are wrong.

Probably the most familiar verse is I John 1:9 where we are told, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

In Psalm 32 David said, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.” (verses 3-5)

Although these two passages refer to admitting our sin to God the principle applies to our relationship with people as well.

Proverbs 28:13 tells us, “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”

And in James 5:16 we read, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another . . .”

We are to acknowledge when we have done something wrong, first to God but also to the person we’ve wronged. And hopefully with that are sorry and repentant.

But there was another, more significant thought that jumped out at me – God never has had to admit He was wrong or apologize for a mistake.

At first blush that may seem like not much of a revelation but when I thought about it was huge!

Never has God directed me to do something He later had to correct or apologize for. Never has He set a rule or given an instruction for life He had to come back and admit was wrong or a little misguided.

Not once has He had to revise the Ten Commandments or alter His prophecies or correct something He said or wrote in Scripture.

God is always right and always true. What He directs and how He leads is always accurate. He has never made a mistake and He never will.

Both of these truths are extremely important for me to keep in mind.

Remembering to admit when I do wrong and being sorry and repentant for it helps restore and strengthen my relationship with God and those around me.

Remembering God never has and never will have to be sorry for doing something wrong helps me to confidently and boldly follow Him however He directs and accept what He allows as best and right.

That’s what’s on my heart this week.

Mark

Tuesday morning I was standing in the kitchen pouring myself a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios when it hit me, “I’m pouring a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast!”

Now that may seem really weird but let me explain.

Several years ago I started noticing I was having a reaction to sugar and anything that easily turned to sugar in my system. Cloudy thinking, emotional lows to the point of depression, not being able to stay awake and several other symptoms developed all linked to eating sugar or carbs.

The high point (or should I say low point) was the day after I had several helpings of spaghetti for dinner the previous night and found myself exploding over every little thing. It was so bad my secretary said the next time I had pasta to let her know and she would call in sick the next day.

Because of this reaction to sugar I had to greatly restrict my diet to a few very bland things. The only beverage I drank was water and had to watch what I ate like a hawk so I wouldn’t end up blowing up at family and friends.

One time an older couple in the church invited me over for lunch and everything they served was full of sugar. I did the best I could to explain why I was eating so sparingly but they didn’t understand. Later they told some other church members they wouldn’t ever have me over again since I was so hard to cook for.

Most of the people of the church were supportive and many started bringing sugar free desserts to potlucks to help me out.

I tried to figure out what was going on and even talked to a couple different doctors but with no avail. Later, while listening to the Christian radio station, I heard about a naturopathic doctor in Portland who said he helped people with unique medical situations.

I went to him with great hope and expectation. After spending $1,000 for pills and being told the rest of the treatments would cost over $5,000 he said he thought he could help me but there were no guarantees.

I resigned myself living the rest of my life with this type of finicky eating and the awkwardness it caused with those around me.

A couple years later I was in Albany at an appointment to sell an ad to a lady who owned a health food store. While waiting for her to finish with a customer I overheard her talking about Candida overgrowth. As she explained the symptoms she described what was happening in my body down to the last detail.

Needless to say I was shocked! After the man left I talked with her at length about the condition and how I could remedy it and after reading more information about it and following her instructions the symptoms began to leave and I was able to eat normally again.

What came to mind the other morning as I was pouring my Cheerios was how God had worked in such an unexpected way to solve my problem and how quickly I had settled back in to a regular eating pattern and all but forgot about it.

The point that struck me is how easily and often I forget the many blessings God has done for me over the years.

To stop and think about all He has done – the money He provided at just the right time, the advice I desperately needed coming from an unusual place, the encouraging word I received in a time of loneliness – the list could go on and on.

I remember singing as a child, “Count your blessings, name them one by one” and the song leader having us changed the words to say “Count your blessings, weigh them ton by ton.” I think if I would pause long enough to count His blessings I would realize they do have to be measured ton by ton.

In the Psalms we are challenged to think about all the goodness we have received from the Lord. In 77:11, 12 we read, “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; Surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate on all Thy work, And muse on Thy deeds.”

In 63:3-7 David tells us, “Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches, For Thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy.”

God is so great and faithful. He has done and continues to do so much for me and in my life. How important it is to regularly take time to reflect on all His blessings and benefits and thank Him for them.

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.

Mark

When I left the pastorate a few years ago I was disappointed, discouraged and depressed.

Every day for months when I got up I would pray, “Lord, help me learn the lesson You have for me today so I can get back to being a pastor again.”

Day in and day out I would try to figure out what God was trying to teach me. It was like I was in school. I thought if I could learn the things lacking in my spiritual knowledge especially towards Him I would be okay and He would use me again.

Boy was I wrong!

Through time and with a lot of help from my BFF Brian I came to realize it’s not about knowledge (or at least not JUST about knowledge).

Oswald Chambers put it this way, “We are inclined to think that everything that happens is to be turned into useful teaching. In actual fact, it is to be turned into something even better than teaching, namely, character. The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a terrible trap in always asking, ‘What’s the use of this experience?’”

The Apostle Paul wrote about this when he said, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.” (Romans 5:3, 4)

Also in Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Instead of always trying to understand what God was trying to teach me I had to accept the fact that He is more concerned about who I am than what I know or what I do. And the true character of who I am isn’t just something I learn but something He molds and develops in me.

As God works on me usually I’m unaware of what area He’s working on or what He’s trying to accomplish. It’s only as others see and comment on the changes or I look back over the months and years and see growth and development do I realize what He’s been doing.

But even understanding this I still wrestle at times with who and what God uses to work on me.

As Oswald states it, God is at work in our lives to make us “broken bread and poured-out wine.” The idea is He wants to broken and yielded to His will and poured-out wine so we go where and do what He directs. He’s working on our heart to make it more receptive and open to Him.

Oswald continues, “God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, ‘If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!’ But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed— you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.

“I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.”

As I read these words again this week that analogy really struck me. Am I a grape or a marble in God’s hands?

When He squeezes me do I harden up and pop out of His fingers like a marble not letting Him accomplish His work or do I willingly yield like a grape, being moldable and pliable, allowing Him to squeeze into and out of me the sweet juice of His presence?

The other thought that came to mind is how much does my being a grape or a marble depend on the fingers He uses to squeeze me? Am I willing to let God work as long as it’s within the boundaries or through the people I feel are acceptable or do I keep a willing heart no matter who and what He chooses to use?

God’s goal is to produce Christ-like character in me. And it’s clear He usually does that through various pressures in my life.

The question is, as I feel His pressure do I respond like a marble or a grape?

That’s what’s been on my heart this week.
Mark

Last week I was given a watch from Best Buy commemorating my five years of working there. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since I was a raw recruit just learning my way around.

In my time at the store I have seen a lot of changes. Managers have come and gone. Policies and procedures have been adjusted and readjusted. Technology has developed with products that were cutting edge five years ago now are common place.

One thing that was immovably set in stone was the way we approached sales. It was called CARE Plus and it guided us on how to approach customers, educate them about the products and wrap up the sale.

CARE Plus was drilled in to new employees, used to evaluate existing employees and the standard much of our annual review was based on.

With all the other changes that regularly took place over the years it was the one process that was permanent.

Permanent, that is, until four months ago when at our monthly meeting they announced CARE Plus was no more and TRUST was the new approach we would use to help our customers. Believe me, a huge ripple ran through the group as the announcement sunk in.

To put it in a nut shell, CARE Plus was salesperson focused. We were the experts. We knew the products. We had the recommendations. The customer was there to learn from us and glean from our expertise.

However what we have seen over the past couple years is people are coming in more knowledgeable and prepared. Most have done their research and often know the exact product they want.

TRUST was designed so the salesperson would come along side the customer, more as an equal than the expert, helping confirm their decision and filling in any gaps they may have.

As I analyzed how CARE Plus contrasted with TRUST an image came to mind that helped visualize the difference. If you can imagine and arrow pointing at the person who is the main focus. CARE Plus had the arrow pointing primarily at the salesperson. We were the experts and did the majority of the talking. With TRUST the arrow is to be pointed mainly at the customer. Who they are and what they think and know is important and they are the ones who should be doing most of the speaking.

I thought of this Sunday while Tyler was preaching on Jonah. Tyler mentioned several titles different commentators have given the book but one that came to my mind was “Jonah: The Selfish Prophet.”

If you use the arrow analogy for selfishness, throughout the book the arrow is constantly pointing at Jonah. What he wants, what he thinks, how he wants things to work is at the root of all he did.

I think this is evident throughout the 47 verses that make up this short book but a couple passages in particular stand out.

The first three verses tell us, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

Jonah didn’t want to do what God told him to do. Apparently he had a major grudge against the Ninevites and didn’t want them to hear God’s message and possibly repent (4:2). Instead he wanted to make sure they were destroyed. So he selfishly turned his back on God and the Ninevites and hopped on a ship heading in the opposite direction.

While on the ship a huge storm came upon them causing the sailors to fear for their lives. As it became obvious Jonah was the reason God sent the storm and the only way to stop it was for him to go overboard into the sea, Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” (1:12)

(continued in part 2)