Nothing To Hide

Over the past few days I have had three different friends who have been asking me about how God can love them when their lives are so imperfect.  I have often had that same struggle. Throughout history, great men and women of God have faltered, have failed, and have felt inadequate- yet God has loved and used them anyway.  Geoff Moore said it so much better than I can in his wonderful (if a bit obscure) song Nothing To Hide.  Read the lyrics. And believe...

"Nothing To Hide"
(Words and Music by Geoff Moore and Phil Madeira)

Everybody's thinking about self-esteem.
On talk shows, Oprah knows,
She read it in a magazine.
'Cause we don't like ourselves so much.
We just need to feel the touch,
Of someone who'll accept us in our need.
Nothing I have said or felt or done,
There's nothing that can keep me from God's love.
He will take me as I am,
He's got a thing for runaway lambs,
And there is mercy in His blood.

Chorus
We've got nothing to hide, nothing to loose,
Nothing to fear, and nothing to prove,
He loves us just the way He made us.
And no matter how high, no matter how low,
No matter how far we still have to go,
He loves us just the way He made us.

Everybody's talking about true success.
Cashing in, psychic friends,
What to eat, how to dress.
But I refuse to play that game,
My rules have forever changed.
I will live in wonder in freedom in His rest.

Chorus
We've got nothing to hide, nothing to loose,
Nothing to fear, and nothing to prove,
He loves us just the way He made us.
And no matter how high, no matter how low,
No matter how far we still have to go,
He loves us just the way He made us.

Bridge
He can't love you more, He won't love you less.
Nothing to hide, lose, fear, or ever prove.
Nothing to hide, lose, fear, or ever prove.

Chorus
Nothing to hide, nothing to loose,
Nothing to fear, and nothing to prove,
He loves us just the way He made us.
And no matter how high, no matter how low,
No matter how far we still have to go,
He loves us just the way He made us.

Because of Jesus,

Do Something Great

I first read this story a very long time ago and used it in a sermon in 1992 at Springfield Friends Meeting.  I wanted to share it with you today as an encouragement to us all.  Jesus doesn't want us to sit around and complain.  He wants us to get out into the world and do something GREAT in His name.  Enjoy.

A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring to him. They were too far behind the times, with boring tunes and meaningless words.  His father put an end to the discussion when he said, "If you think you can write better hymns, then why don't you?"  The boy went to his room and wrote his first hymn.  The year was 1690; the boy's name was Issac Watts.  Among the almost 750 hymns he penned in his lifetime are When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, O God Our Help In Ages Past and Joy To the World.  Feeling bored?  Do something great to serve God.  Wouldn't it be amazing if we were still remembered for your faith 300 years from now?

Do you love the church of Jesus Christ too much to leave it the way it is?

Because of Jesus,

Saturday Shout Outs!

Greetings one and all, and welcome to another edition of Saturday Shout Outs! Life continues to be full of excitement here in Tampa and around my little world, so let me share some updates with you.  Here we go!

• As of 4:54 pm yesterday, our dear friend Lisa Jewett became a grandmother for the third time!  Adalyn Joy Jewett was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and everyone is doing well. Just so you know, Lisa is 5 years younger than me and had blue fingernails. Not your average grandma...
• Will Jones has been accepted to the University of Central Florida, where he plans to be part of their film school,  We are excited for and proud of him!
• The plans for the April 20th FUMC-Kissimmee reunion continue to roll along!  People are making plans to come from Texas, California, Virginia- and even foreign countries, like Alabama!  Make your plans, tell your old friends and be sure to let us know you are coming!
• My old Quaker Lake Camp friend, Susan McBane Tuggle, has been complaining to me lately that she is not in my Hall of Fame.  She is really quite deserving, but still I think she will need to make a full confession on how she tried to drown me in the New River on a staff canoe trip all those years ago before I can induct her. It's time for the truth to be told, Boom Boom! :)
• Another QLC buddy, Mike Newsome, asked for prayers as his son Jordan, a baseball player, who underwent Tommy John surgery this past week. He came through with flying colors and now faces a long rehab process, so keep praying!
• I want to say thank you to Joanne Gastler (Wesley Memorial UMC), Millie Simmons and Marie Allen (both Springfield Friends Meeting) for the love and support they give this blog by liking the links on Facebook.  Thanks so much for encouraging me!
• Spring Training is here!  Wooo hooo!!!

That's it for today!  I hope you have a great weekend, enjoy the Oscars, and leave a comment.  Blessings to all!

Because of Jesus,

Flashback Friday: How To Be An Atheist

"Everyone is entitled to have an opinion.  It's just that yours is wrong..."
-George Carlin

(This post originally appeared on this blog in 2010)
Every Wednesday morning I board a city bus at 6:10 AM and head to Temple Terrace for a class.  This is not a class anyone volunteers to take, it is one some people are required to attend.  To say that it is a diverse group of people is a major understatement.  The discussions are often quite entertaining for me, and this past week was no exception.  A 38 year old man, when asked what he was doing to meet new people, indicated he was preparing to join an Atheist Club.  The group facilitator, knowing my beliefs quite well by this point, asked me if I thought the guy was an atheist.  I told the group I didn't think so, but for me to explain why I doubted him would take too long.  So today, I offer up my opinion on what makes a good atheist.  I hope you will read it in the spirit it is intended.  So here we go- how to be an atheist:

1. Believe in something.  Too many people call themselves atheists when in fact they are agnostics.  What's the difference?  An agnostic doubts and denies the existence of God.  An atheist believes there is no god- and everything that goes along with that belief.  They don't answer questions about God with statements like "I don't believe all that stuff" or "I've never seen God."  They answer flatly and with conviction- "there is no god." An atheist believes- they just believe in no god at all.
2. Understand what it means.  To believe that there is no god has ramifications in every part of your life, just as believing in God does.  A good atheist knows that their belief system means that everything that has happened in all of history was an accident.  Nothing created the universe, it just happened.  Christians may argue about creation theories, but they all begin with "in the beginning God..."  The atheist's universe has no beginning.  People were not designed by a Creator, they just morphed out of slimy ocean creatures or magically appeared one day.  There is no purpose to life, you just do whatever you want to because there is no higher calling to which you should aspire.  And you can't just offer these thoughts as possibilities- you must believe them.
3. Watch your language.  It is a moral imperative that you quit asking God to "damn" things.  You believe there is no god, and to keep saying this makes you a hypocrite.  Interestingly enough, hypocrisy by Christians is often the #1 reason cited by non-believers when asked why they do not attend church.  Wonder if it keeps them away from the Atheist Club too?
4. Become lawless and loveless.  A true atheist understands that our laws are based  on the 10 Commandments.  Since God does not exist, those commandments were bogus (despite historical documents that prove otherwise- See Item 5) and therefore the laws of our land are not valid.  Make up your own, or live in the total chaos of a lawless society.  And since our basic understanding of love- the way we treat our fellow human beings and show them respect- comes from the world's religions, you must throw out that stuff as well.  If God is love (and He is!) then love must be totally foreign to you.  You can have all of the sex and lust you want, but the concept of love should be removed from your belief system.
5. Believe something for which there is no evidence.  It's tough being an atheist.  There are historical documents and confirmed events dating back thousands of years that point to the existence of God.  The miracles and the resurrection of Jesus were reported in many historical documents (not just the Bible) by many different witnesses.  Hundreds of people have spent millions of dollars and their entire lives trying to prove the Bible to be fake or God to be a fairy tale.  Instead, they keep proving the very things they were trying to discredit.  The fact that you got sick on your vacation or that your football team lost by 37 points yesterday is not proof that there is no God.  Many scientists who believe in creation theories like evolution or the big bang cannot get past the question of how those things began.  They are hesitant to say "God created," so they use the phrase "intelligent designer."  Sounds like a creator God to me.  In any case, it is hard to make the case that the universe "just happened."  But that is the case you are left with, so learn to defend it.
6. Have no hope.  I cannot personally imagine going through life without the knowledge that God loves me.  God's love and grace have lifted me from the depths of despair on many occasions.  Without God, I would have no idea where I would turn for hope.  Both of us have to have faith- the evidence of things unseen.  But for the atheist, your faith is in you.  No one stronger, no one greater, no one who loves you unconditionally.  Just you, with all of your flaws and failures.  You must be much stronger than I am...

Many atheists consider themselves to be intellectuals, above all the "hocus-pocus" of religion.  Consider this intellectual perspective.  Have you ever witnessed child birth?  Have you ever picked a ripe apple from a tree and tasted its amazing flavor?  Have you ever looked into the Grand Canyon or out at the waves on the ocean, or thought about the precision complexity of the human body?  If you can consider these things and still think all of it happened by accident, then you may have what it takes to be an atheist.  But consider this- if you are right and there is no god, then I look foolish, and neither of us have lost anything.  But if I am right, and God created the world and sacrificed His only Son so that we might spend eternity with Him, then there is much to gain through seeking God- and much to lose by choosing to ignore His presence.  If all of that sounds like a case for God, then why don't you look into Jesus?  I know He's got the answers...

Because of Jesus,

Jesus, the Storyteller

Who was Jesus?

He was a storyteller.  He told stories.  He was the world's greatest storyteller.  Ask him a question; he'd answer with a story.  Give him a crowd of people listening intently; he told them stories.  Give him an argument; he'd give you a story.  Give him a real tricky, catchy question; he'd give you a real tricky, catchy story.

Have you ever watched a 7-year-old listening- inhaling- a story?  Eyes wide, mouth slung open, mind churning, he lives, accepts and believes.  He is totally absorbed.

This man-God Jesus.  He was a good storyteller.  He knew what he was doing...

Lois Cheney, from her 1969 book God Is No Fool   Abingdon Press

Forward Hoooooo!!!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. - Phillipians 3:12-14 (NIV)

Our pastor at Van Dyke Church, Matthew Hartsfield, gave a great sermon illustration this past Sunday.  He credited it to another pastor whose name now escapes me, but it was a brilliant illustration that I wanted to share with you today.  It went something like this...

God made the human body with the intention that our movement would be forward.  Our eyes are focused to the front. So is our nose.  Our arms work best when we are reaching forward. Our legs have more strength when moving forward or kicking to the front. Our toes point forward.  There is only one part of us that points backwards.  It seems that even as God was designing the human body, he knew there was some crap that would need to be left behind...

Although he used different words, the Apostle Paul said basically the same thing to the church in Philippi 2000 years ago.  Forget what is behind you and press forward.  In the old, seldom seen movie Gumball Rally, there is a classic line where one of the drivers rips off his rear view mirror and says, "That is the first rule of Italian driving- what's behind me is not important!"  We all have memories we love and treasure and baggage that we find difficult to let go, but as the great philosopher Pumbaa once said, "You have to put your behind in the past!"  We have to keep pressing on.

Far too many of us- myself included- tend to get caught up in the failures of our past.  We give lip service to God's grace and forgiveness in our lives, but we don't REALLY believe it.  You see, the opposite of forward thinking and pressing on is not remembering. There is nothing wrong with remembering.  The opposite of forward thinking is backwards thinking.  And that will get us into trouble every time. Backwards thinking attempts to strip God of his power, and makes the work of Jesus on the cross look like a fool's errand. Think about it. Is it ever a compliment to say someone or something is backwards?  No...

I do indeed have "crap" I need to leave behind, even as I keep my eyes focused FORWARD on the prize that is abundant life in Jesus Christ.  My guess is you do too.  If Paul could write that he had not achieved his goal, then it is safe to say we haven't either.  So we keep pressing on.  God loves us. Too much, in fact, to leave us the way we are. Let's start fresh from right now- Forward Hoooooo!!!

Because of Jesus,

Today's Play List

This morning I was (as usual) listening to my I-pod to get myself fired up for a new day. If you are not familiar with my particular I-pod, it is a very old, very low memory hand-me-down (like the one pictured) from my son Will.  It only holds about 230 songs.  I have a lot more music than that in my library, so on occasion I rotate songs, moving out tunes I grow weary of and bringing in songs I have not heard in a while.  Lately I have "had a hankerin" for a lot of the Christian music I listened to back in the day, and I have added many of those classics to my current playlist.  So it was no surprise this morning when my first 10 songs on shuffle were heavily tilted towards that genre.  Here's what I heard:

1)  Consuming Fire-  Third Day
2)  Field of Souls-  Wayne Watson
3)  Roll Away Your Stone- Mumford & Sons
4)  Must Be- Lost And Found
5)  Time Is... - dc Talk
6)  Dive- Steven Curtis Chapman
7)  Undo Me- Jennifer Knapp
8)  The Rising- Bruce Springsteen
9)  Cross of Gold- Michael W. Smith
10) Good Advice- James Ward

That's what I am listening to. What's on your playlist?