Does It Really Matter?

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

Does it really matter? Julie Felss Masino probably woke up this morning asking that question. If you don’t know, Masino is the CEO of Cracker Barrel, which made headlines this week after announcing the company’s plan to rebrand its 60-plus-year-old logo. Apparently, it matters to a lot of people, according to various social news outlets and the company’s declining market value.

‘Does it really matter’ type questions are a part of your everyday activities throughout your lives. Some questions and answers may have minimal impact on your life, but for others, the answer could be life-changing. For most people, the question, ‘Should I buy cotton candy at the State Fair?’ will have a simple answer, unless you happen to be diabetic! However, maybe in the scheme of life, a more important issue is thinking about, ‘It really did matter’.

Very few people know about John Harper, a simple man who loved God. I think Harper would have said, What you do really does matter. Harper, a widowed Scottish minister, along with his sister Jessie and his six-year-old daughter, Nan, decided that instead of sailing to the United States on the Lusitania, they would go a week later and purchase tickets for the maiden voyage of the Titanic, then the largest ship ever built. Harper was returning to the United States to preach a series of revivals at the Moody Church in Chicago.

Harper, along with all the passengers, was awakened during the night as the supposedly unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and was sinking. Harper made sure his sister and daughter were safe in a lifeboat, then he went about helping others. Amid the chaos, Harper’s calm and reassuring voice could be heard shouting, “Women, children, and the unsaved into the lifeboats!”  Until the final seconds of Harper’s life, when the cold and uninviting waters pulled him into eternity, he was pleading for those without Jesus to pray for salvation. Throughout the night, Harper had encouraged, comforted, and pleaded, even giving up his own life jacket to save others. John Harper knew what really mattered in life.

Nan and her aunt would be rescued. Nan would grow up in the home of John’s brother, George. His brother wrote of John, “My beloved brother was a man mighty in prayer. He was a master of this holy art. I have been with him in prayer again and again when his whole frame shook like an aspen leaf, so earnest was he in his pleadings with God for a perishing world. Little wonder hard hearts were broken and stubborn wills subdued under his ministry.”

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, understood what really matters. Dr. Dobson died last week at the age of 89, still speaking about issues important to families. My good friend and former colleague, Dave Clark, shared a quote from Dr. Dobson when Dave worked for Focus on the Family. Someone asked Dr. Dobson how he’d like to be remembered, to which he replied:

“I don’t think it’s important that I be remembered at all. I don’t think it’s of any great significance in the great scheme of things that I be remembered, except by my loved ones—my family. For those, I would hope I would be remembered as a person who gave unselfishly and who loved Jesus Christ. For me, the most important reason for living is to anticipate that moment when I stand before the Lord and I hear him say, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’ That, I want more than anything in my life. That is the ultimate goal I have for living—and to take as many people with me to heaven as I possibly can.”

Does it really matter? It mattered for two men who were deserving of their punishments, as they were on their own versions of the Titanic. These were the two criminals hanging on either side of Jesus that day on Golgotha –  one rejected Jesus, the other cried out for mercy, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

‘Does it really matter?’ It doesn’t matter about everything, but there are a few essential things that really do matter, such as family, relationships, character, and faith. God gently reminded me last week, as I was walking out of the house to my office shortly before sunrise, of His infinite glory and what really matters. I couldn’t help but marvel at the celestial display of God’s majesty in the rare occurrence of six planets being in perfect alignment. I personalized Psalm 8 to reflect my heart on what really matters.

LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth. You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! Even the cries of babies and children awaken my soul to Your ever-present watch over me. When I consider Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the works of Your fingers, the crescent moon, and stars which You have set in place. What am I that You should think of me, just an ordinary person, that You are concerned about me? Yet to realize You made me in Your image! You crown me with glory and majesty! You have tasked me to rule over Your creation. You have let me manage the works of Your hands; Everything!

LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Corporations will change logos, tragedies will strike, politicians will say dumb things, bad decisions will be made, and choices will get blurred, but in the end, the only thing that will really matter is letting God be God in your life! What really matters to you?

God is great!

God’s Unchangeableness

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

Photo by AS Photography

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19

Morning rush hour in Atlanta is often dangerous and chaotic, but can you imagine if there were no consistency in traffic rules?  At least when you come up to an intersection, you know to stop on red, go on green, and speed up on yellow (partially kidding).  Traffic signs provide a measure of safety since they are based on consistent rules and regulations that never change. You may have a different thought on how fast you should go, but you follow the signs that tell you what you can and can’t do, what speed to drive, and which way to go.

Life is filled with moments when we never quite know how a person will react to us. Maybe the one exception is going through the Chick-fil-A drive-through, and you always hear “My Pleasure.” We are not always guaranteed outcomes in life, as illustrated by the story of six-year-old Brandon. He had great intentions, but things went from bad to worse.

Little Brandon decided one Saturday morning to surprise his mom and dad by fixing pancakes before they woke up. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cabinet, and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of the other ingredients, all the while leaving a floury trail on the kitchen floor.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated; he only wanted to surprise his mom and dad. He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, but he didn’t know how the stove worked! Suddenly, he saw his kitten licking from the bowl and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically, he tried to clean up this growing mess, but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

Just then, he saw his dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon’s eyes. His valiant efforts to do something special had turned into a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. Through teary eyes, Brandon watched his dad walking through the mess, who gently picked up his crying son, hugged him, and reassured him that it was ok, even getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process. (adapted illustration from unknown source)

Does that father sound like someone you know? God walks into our failed attempts to do something good, looks over the mess we made, and pulls us into His caring arms and holds us close to Himself. No scolding, just caring. No rejection, just acceptance. No ridicule, just love. Most of us are somewhere between finishing up one mess and starting on another.

Brandon’s dad extending grace that morning makes it a nice, feel-good story. But what if Brandon’s dad has a horrible week at the office and isn’t in the mood for messes? Or maybe Brandon’s dad had already told him not to be in the kitchen without one of them, but Brandon decided to disobey him? Unfortunately, we have all been in situations where the outcome was totally unpredictable. Brandon’s dad is human, and all of us humans react differently in different circumstances depending upon our emotions, situation, or perspective at any given point in time.

Thankfully, the same can’t be said about God. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

How God responds isn’t dependent upon how He feels, His mood for the day, or the current fad of the day. His reaction is based upon His unchanging character, purpose, truth, and promises. When we blow it, God sees and responds not on how He feels but upon his unchangeableness. The external circumstances don’t impact His nature, which gives us a firm foundation for our lives. God’s unchangeableness is captured in a rich, powerful theological term: immutability. This is not a word we use very often, but we can be thankful for God’s immutability. If God changed with the wind, then what kind of god would he be?

“The immutability of God is grounds and encouragement for worship, “wrote Puritan writer and pastor Stephen Charnock in the 16th century. “What encouragement could there be to lift up our eyes to one that is of one mind today, and of another mind tomorrow? What comfort would it be to pray to a god that, like the chameleon, changed colour every day, every moment?” Charnock went on to write, “God’s immutability is the greatest encouragement to prayer. Prayer is an acknowledgment of our dependence upon God. Our dependence could have no firm foundation without God’s unchangeableness.”

You may not discuss immutability very often with your friends at Waffle House unless you want to impress them with big words! What will come up in the conversation will be the crisis you are facing and how much you are depending upon God to help you, or problems your children are facing and how you trust God to help them deal with the problem. How thankful I am that God listens to our problems. “You can’t base your understanding of God and what he is doing on your own interpretation of your circumstances. No, it’s your knowledge of who God is and what He does that allows you to understand your circumstances properly.” (Paul David Tripp)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8; The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8”

When you find yourself at the intersection of disaster and hopelessness, it is reassuring to know that God is already there for you and will gladly take over, even if you made the wrong turn to get there.

 

God is great!

Thanks for subscribing to PrayerSafari!

Just A Glimpse For Now

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” –Luke 9:18-20 NIV

I didn’t recognize you! These are words most of us have said at one time or another over our lifetime. Perhaps you met the person in a different setting, or he/she had changed hair color or lost weight. Whatever the reason, you simply didn’t recognize him.

Connie and I were in Richmond for our appointment service with the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board), and one of the new appointees got on the elevator with then-President Keith Parks. In good Southern hospitality form, she “struck up a conversation”. Now, by this point, all of us who were being appointed had received a ton of mail, information, pictures, and documents, many signed by Dr. Parks himself. Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize the president and asked him, “So, what work do you do here?”

This is probably not the best way to start your missionary career, but at some point or another, all of us have failed to recognize someone. A long-running TV reality show works on that very premise: Undercover Boss. The show aired for the first time on February 7, 2010, with an estimated 38.6 million viewers, garnering 32% of the market share. It did help to get the series off to a good start since it followed Super Bowl XLIV, when the underdog New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl with Drew Brees as Quarterback.

Undercover Boss had a simple format: the owner or one of the high-level executives went undercover, disguising his or her appearance, creating some fictional story, and starting as an entry-level worker. The purpose was to gain an understanding of the inner workings of their own company, what’s good, what’s not, and highlight good or poor performers in the company. Through the years since the show has been on TV, these high-powered executives have cleaned porta-potties, changed sheets in hotel rooms, cleaned swimming pools in 110-degree heat, and done all the things that it takes to make a company successful.

Towards the end of the episode, the executives reveal their true identities after being undercover for a week, inviting some of the employees into their office. As the producers admit, it is a reality show with a bit of embellishment for entertainment purposes, but in the end, the executives admit they have learned a lot about their own companies, the spirit of the workforce, perceptions about their companies, and, more importantly, a bit about themselves.

Last week, within several streams of the Christian faith, Believers observed the Feast of the Transfiguration, a commemoration of the occasion when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain, where Moses and Elijah appeared and Jesus was transfigured. “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. …While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” (Luke 9:28-30,34-35)

St. John of Damascus wrote in the 7th century, “Christ is transfigured, not by putting on some quality he did not possess previously, nor by changing into something he never was before, but by revealing to his disciples what he truly was…For while remaining identical to what he had been before, he appeared to the disciples in his splendor; he is indeed the true light, the radiance of glory.”

Undercover Boss may capture an embellished situation of the boss taking on a subservient role to better identify with those who work in their company, but the Transfiguration represents a life-changing encounter for the three disciples, when God Himself revealed His true identity. Jesus’ identity revealed to these disciples what they knew in words but now experienced in real time. Can you imagine the three, coming out of a sleepy fog, standing face to face with Israel’s greatest prophets, Moses and Elijah- the greatest of the prophets, talking reverently with their Rabbi Jesus. As they tried to grasp everything that was happening around them, all of a sudden a cloud descended, enveloping all of them, and a voice boomed out, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.”

This was a life-changing experience, a moment that became a milestone for them. This Jesus, whom they were following, had grown up with, played games with as boys, fished together, knew his mother, and over the last several years, walked miles together on dusty roads. This Jesus, their Rabbi, was the very Son of God. A.W. Tozer wrote, “Christ dazzles me and stirs within me such feelings of amazement that I can never get over him.” I have a feeling Peter, James, and John would have echoed these words.

The Transfiguration provided these three beloved disciples and the others, as they later would hear the story, the hope and encouragement needed because in a very short time their Rabbi would be nailed to the cross. This milestone moment allowed them to understand more deeply who Jesus was before their world was literally turned upside down. Peter’s declaration, “You are the Messiah,” now became a living declaration.

“Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood…Let me keep my distance always from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company always with those who say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment and bow their heads.” (Mary Oliver)

Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration a glimpse into who He is. Jesus walked out of a cold, lifeless tomb to give us a glimpse of who He is! “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

God is great!

 

The Blank Canvas

/1 Comment/in , , , /by

God isn’t hard of hearing; he’ll hear all their cries. God isn’t blind. He who made the eye has superb vision, and he’s watching all you do. Psalm 94:9 TPT

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” This quote has been used and reused millions of times, is found in different languages, and is familiar to most people. Without a picture to illustrate the point, it has probably taken a few million words to unravel the meaning of these seven words.

Long before George Eastman launched the Kodak camera that revolutionized the “one picture is worth a thousand words” generation, itinerant painters roamed the countryside in search of the wealthy, influential leaders of the city. Those were the ones who could afford to have their portraits painted. These “folk artists” came with varying degrees of talent and abilities.

Early American poet and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr, called these painters “Thugs of Art.” Holmes wrote, “Recollect those wandering Thugs of Art, whose murderous doings with the brush used frequently to involve whole families, who passed from one country tavern to another, eating and painting their way, feeding a week upon the landlord, another week upon the landlady, and two or three days apiece upon the children, as the walls of those hospitable edifices too frequently testify even to the present day.”

Regardless of Holmes’s criticism of these roving painters, they left a vivid picture of early American life. Their brushes captured the stories of life and personalities across the country. Few would be remembered as a Rembrandt, van Gogh, or Monet; yet their pictures were worth a thousand words. It is a different time since now we capture our stories with an iPhone. I have to be a master storyteller since my phone has over 19,415 pictures and another 1,341 video clips, mostly of grandchildren.

Time is the key to a portrait painter’s success as he or she strives to know who is in front of them. It requires multiple settings to identify the characteristics that should be captured on canvas. The painter needs to know his subjects, who they are, their character, and their passion. Edward Burne-Jones stated, “The only expression allowable in great portraiture is the expression of character and moral quality, not anything temporary, fleeting, or accidental.” Aristotle similarly said, “The aim of Art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance, for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes true reality.”

Sitting before God, the Master Portrait Painter, you realize how realistically He captures our picture. The Psalmist writes, “Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:1,2;13 TPT)

If you were sitting for your real-life portrait, what would he capture?

Hannah modeled brokenness before the painter as he captured her in prayer. “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.” (I Sam. 1:10) David modeled sorrow, “David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.” (2 Sam. 12:16)

Susanna Wesley, mother of nineteen children, nine of whom died in infancy, endured a difficult marriage and primarily raised the other ten children single-handedly. Susanna was a world-class educator, prayer warrior, and she believed that Christ’s Great Commission to the nations began at home with her children. Two of her children, John and Wesley, would be used by God to spark a spiritual renewal.

“Whenever Susanna Wesley wanted to pray in her busy household with the demands of ten children, she simply pulled her apron over her head…Susanna’s children quickly learned that when her apron was over her head, their mother was not to be disturbed. In this unusual posture, she would pour out her heart to God.” (John Whitehead, from The Life of Rev. John Wesley)

Would an artist capture us on canvas as portraits of disciplined prayer warriors?

Abram and Sarai had a good, status quo life until God said, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Gen 12:1) Abram and Sarai modeled obedience before the painter. Obedience led to their transformation, and later, this was signified by name changes. Ultimately, this led to the birth of a nation. “Despite the fact that he was 75 and, even though his elderly wife was barren, Abram put his faith more in God’s voice and in his character than in his current circumstances. God promised to show him where to go. To make something of his heart and his life. To bless people through him.” (Jill Weber)

Would an artist capture us on canvas, leaving our comfortable life to go where God said?

John Stott, theologian, pastor, and writer, started each day praying the fruit of the Spirit in his life. Just as an artist sitting before an empty canvas, Paul beautifully captured in Galatians 5 the picture of two different trees, the rotten fruit that falls from the tree of godlessness, compared to the life-giving fruit from a Spirit-filled life. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” The fruit of the world results in bitterness, despair, hunger, and sickness. The fruit of the Spirit results in life, beauty, filled, and healthy.

Would an artist capture us on canvas as portraits of Spirit-filled vibrancy?

Lord, today find us open and vulnerable to your touch. As you paint our portraits, we pray that you will find us filled with the Spirit, gentle, kind and seeking you with all our heart, mind, and soul.

We want our final portraits to resemble Jesus in every way.

God is great!