Time Matters, p.3: Giving honor to others

Punctuality, in general, is a way of honoring the people you are working with or associating with. 

It communicates respect and honor for others when I show up on time.  If I make you wait on me (when I’m late), in essence I am communicating that my time is more valuable than yours and that my presence is more important than yours. 

If I am comfortable in regularly showing up late for something, either I don’t think it affects others, I feel that my time is more valuable than someone else’s, or I am being asked to do something that is physically or morally impossible. (Sometimes there are legitimate complications that may cause someone to be late. We are mainly discussing here the issue of habitual patterns and not infrequent incidents.)

I remember an old boss of mine many years ago saying, “We’ve got a dollar waiting on a dime.”  The reality is that not everyone’s time is of the same value.  Generally speaking, the person who is paid the highest wage for what they do or whose decisions and work affects the most people, should be most honored in regard to time.

If you are making your boss wait on you it is NOT good!  It would be far better for you to wait on the boss.  If those in authority cannot trust you with time, do you think they’ll be comfortable trusting you with important projects and budgets?  Not likely.

More next time.

Time Matters, p.2: The moral reason “why?”

It is almost impossible to radically change your behavior without having a major change in your belief system or value system. 

One reason it is so hard to change ingrained patterns of behavior is because we often seek to change without knowing the moral reason why.  Most people have areas in their lives that they would like to see changed, and deeply feel they ought to change, but somehow cannot make lasting change happen.  Biblically speaking, “repentance” is the word that best describes the process of changing behavior.  Repentance comes from the Greek word metanoia, literally meaning “to change your mind.”

But whoever heard of someone “repenting” for tardiness?  Most people do not perceive tardiness as a moral issue.  Lying and cheating and lusting are moral issues, we’ll admit, but tardiness? And that’s one of the main reasons why chronically late people don’t find the power to change.  They have not seen the moral issues involved.

Generally speaking, we are all much more punctual when it really matters and less punctual when there’s little cost involved.  In most cases if I’m consistently late for work, my pay may be docked, or I might even lose my job.  If I’m late for the plane, I will miss the flight and pay a stiff financial penalty.  If I’m late on the mortgage payment I might end up in foreclosure.  If I’m late on the credit card payment there’s an immediate charge and a whopping increase in interest rate. The more that there is a recognizable cost to being late (or value to being on time), the more likely people will be on time! 

I even found this to be true in developing nations where the cultural concept of time is much less structured than in the US.  In many of these more “relaxed” cultures, people show up whenever they want to…except for the train or plane!  Even my Tanzanian friends know that you have to actually be on time for these kinds of things.

Whether there is a conscious decision or not, our punctuality is one way we demonstrate what (who) we value.  And sadly, being chronically late is one way we show what (who) we do not highly value.

Did I hear someone say, “Ouch!”?  The principle related in the paragraph above is one of the truths that really helped me reshape my view of the importance of being on time.  Though it was never my intent to communicate dishonor to others when I was tardy, this got communicated nonetheless.  More in the next blog.

Time Matters, p.1: Time to Catch the Bus…again

Last week was the beginning of the new school year for us.  We have to drive our kids about a quarter-mile from our house to the bus stop each morning.  It’s always a challenge to shift from the more relaxed summer mornings schedule to the strict school year schedule. This is not an easy or fun adjustment!

 We have nick-named the bus driver, “Debbie-digital”.  She is almost like a computer.  How she keeps such a tight schedule day after day and week after week is beyond me.  I mean, especially when you consider that she’s picking up dozens of little kids day after day and they are not always coming out the door as quickly, or they’re forgetting their backpack or lunch box and having to run back to get them, etc. 

Last year I think we discovered her secret to being on time: she is willing to leave anyone behind in an effort to maintain her schedule!  Sounds kind of cruel to leave a kindergartener behind, I know. Not just a few times in the past have we been just one minute late to the bus-stop, only to find Debbie-digital had come and gone.  George W. Bush may have promoted a “no child left behind” policy for our schools, but Debbie-digital has her own creed!  While it would be more comfortable for us if Debbie would relax a bit and wait a couple of minutes if we are late, this would compound itself in problems down the line.  Other parents and students would be required to wait longer and longer each time Debbie chose to wait for the tardy people.  No one wants to have to wait many extra minutes because of other people’s decisions.  And this would be the case if Debbie-digital was not intentional about being on time at each of her stops!

 Many years ago I attended a church leadership conference and one of the speakers taught on the importance of punctuality.  The talk radically impacted my view of time.  To this day (almost 20 years later) I can remember the session he taught!  For those who regularly struggle with being on-time or who have never really considered punctuality as having any great importance, over the next several blogs I will be sharing some key thoughts and principles that will help you make some meaningful changes.

The influence of a godly father (a tribute to Bill Gressett)

I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But this authority is to build you up, not to tear you down.  (1 Corinthians 10:8)

     Most people gain their general view and feeling about authority from their parents, especially their father.  If your father was harsh and unyielding, then you likely see people who are in authority as people to be avoided if possible.

     If your father was passive or absentee, you may not have an appreciation for the benefits that God-ordained authority can bring to your life. If your father was abusive and controlling, you may view authority figures as people who simply want to use you or take advantage of you.

     Our initial view of God’s authority is usually tinted (or tainted) by the character of the authority our father’s demonstrated to us.  This can be awesome or debilitating, depending on the environment you grew up in.

     Perhaps the greatest blessing God has given me, outside of salvation in His Son Jesus, was the powerful influence of an amazing biological father, Billy James Gressett. 

     My father died on July 13, 2010, leaving us all in deep grief but profound gratitude.  Here are several bullets that encapsulate the kind of father he was to me and my brothers:

He was always there for us and with us and there was never ever any thought that he might leave…ever.

He was kind and generous to everyone, especially to mom and us.

He was our greatest fan and always encouraged us to take risks and follow our hearts, even when it meant moving away from him.

He truly loved God and treasured His word.  And this was a daily relationship for dad.

He busted our butts when we were young and rebellious. But never made us feel like he didn’t like us, even when he had to discipline us.

He let us have motorcycles way sooner than anybody with any sense would have.  This was no doubt because this would entice us to more willingly show up at the farm after school.

Yes, he taught us how to work…and hard…on the family farm.  Actually, he did more than teach us, he made us work.  I didn’t always appreciate it at the time.  But I certainly have since I’ve grown up.

He taught us to handle money very early.  We all had checking and savings accounts before we were even teenagers.

He taught us that bosses and teachers and officers of the Law were our friends and deserved our respect.

He taught us a lifestyle of sexual purity and faithfulness to one’s wife.  I never observed my father even slightly flirt with anyone but mother.

I could go on and on…….

     Because of Dad’s influence, I can honestly say that it has never crossed my mind to think that God is unkind or uncaring or stingy or cruel.  I’ve always assumed that God was for me and not against me.  Though I certainly understood God has not always been pleased with my attitudes or behavior. 

Because my dad characteristically did things that were not only in his best interests but also in mine, I’ve pretty much my whole life deep down knew that God’s will was really best for me – even if I avoided it for extended periods of my life.

     Now Dad is with Jesus.  But I’ve got a heart full of character and wisdom and love for God because of the way he built us up.

     I guess that’s the bottom-line.  Dad lived to build us up.  Not just empty praise or vain flattery.  He built godly character and faith into us.  And it’s already spilling over into yet another generation of Gressetts.

     If God is anything close to as good as my dad, He’s worthy of all my love and trust.  And the reality is that Dad’s love for me was but a drop in the ocean compared to God’s great love.

     Thank you, Dad, for a life well-lived.  And for a legacy I can’t escape. 

The power of the “exchanged life”

If you died with Christ, you can also walk in newness of life with Him.

Have you ever considered what a difference dying would make in your life?  

Just think about it for a minute.  No, I’m not talking about suicide.   But I am referring to the profound change that can occur when the life of the sinful flesh is dealt a death blow.

Does an alcoholic wrestle with his habit in the grave?  Does a person in debt fret about mortgage payments after death? Does a corpse concern herself with how she looks in other people’s eyes?  Does an angry man keep yelling after his last breath?  The answer is “no” to all the above. 

If it were only possible to die to the sinful nature without ceasing to live now.  Wouldn’t that conceivably make some marked change in your experience?

The Apostle Paul tells us that this is exactly what has happened to the genuine Christian:  “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (Gal 2:20)

It’s not something you can ”mature into” or finally achieve.  Though growth in experiencing this grace is to be expected.  It’s a historical and spiritual fact to be believed and received NOW.  The Holy Spirit must help us understand that just a certainly as Jesus died on the Cross, our old life was put to death in His death.  As this light breaks, and faith rises in our hearts, we come to realize in personal experience what is already a historical fact. 

A prayer:

“Father, help us to see more of the glorious salvation that you have provided for us in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Grant to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of Christ, so that we might lay hold of that which is life indeed and escape the corruption in this world through lust.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

Leonard Ravenhill on Paul’s freedom

Leonard Ravenhill, perhaps unknown to the great majority of my readers, was an extraordinary preacher and firebrand of the 20th Century.  Now with the Lord, his life and ministry were very radical and made a deep impact on many souls seeking spiritual renewal and revival.  He had this keen gift from God to bless (and also offend) people from every camp within Christendom!  He was able to identify with many spiritual streams within Christianity and to bridge generation gaps.  If you want to provoke your heart to seek God more passionately, then spend some time reading and listening to the material at www.ravenhill.org.  

The following is an excerpt from his most well-known book.  I am reprinting this here because it shows the radical freedom a man who is dead and raised in Christ has.  Ravenhill is writing of the effects that the “exchanged life” had on the Apostle Paul:

He had no ambitions for himself – and so had nothing to be jealous about.

He had no reputation – and so had nothing to fight about.

He had no possessions – and therefore nothing to worry about.

He had no ‘rights’ – so therefore he could not suffer wrong.

He was already broken – so no one could break him.

He was ‘dead’ – so none could kill him.

He was less than the least – so who could humble him?

He had suffered the loss of all things – so none could defraud him.  (Leonard Ravenhill in Why Revival Tarries)

Reading a list like the one above often results in feelings of condemnation to those who (like me) often see ourselves far from this ideal.  But there’s an error to the idealistic approach.  The exchanged life is no ideal.  It’s a spiritual reality and tangible inheritance available now to every real Christian.  It cannot be earned or forced.  It simply is.

More on this subject in the next post.

Did you get it when you got it?

Have you experienced the overflowing of God's Spirit?

 

One time during the Apostle Paul’s missionary travel he came upon twelve “disciples” somewhere around Ephesus.  We are not told what exactly precipitated Paul’s curiosity, but he asked these guys:  

Did you receive the Spirit when you believed?  (Acts 19:2)  

They responded by telling that they had not heard anything about the Holy Spirit.  Paul then asked another question:  

Into what then were you baptized? (v.3)  

The disciples said that they had received “John’s baptism”.  Paul went on to explain that John’s baptism was related to repentance and preparation for something (Someone!) to come.  He no doubt then preached the gospel of Jesus to them and they received another baptism in water – but this time “in the name of the Lord Jesus.”  

Then Paul prayed for them, with the laying on of hands, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  This was clearly evidenced by inspired utterances from their mouths, words of praise and prophecy that came spontaneously by the Spirit.  This was the tangible reality that Paul had originally asked if they had experienced.  

Years earlier, when Jesus spoke to His disciples about His impending return to the Father, He said that it was in their best interests.  For He would send the Holy Spirit to them and the Spirit would be their teacher and lead them into all the truth.  Jesus had already told them that those who were thirsty could come to Him and drink and that out of their innermost beings would flow new rivers of living water.  John tells us that this referred to what would happen after Jesus was glorified (raised and ascended back to Heaven - see John 7:37-39).  

Paul’s diagnostic questions to the Ephesian disciples is instructive to us today.  His first question related to the tangible gift and presence of the Holy Spirit – and not to specifics of doctrine.  Certainly doctrine is incredibly important, and Paul would get to that too.  But if one’s doctrine, no matter how accurate and true, does not bring you into a tangible and overflowing experience with the Spirit of God, then something is missing.   

Let’s say that Paul met with these twelve disciples again the following day and asked the same question:  

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?  

What do you think their response would be?  Certainly it would be, “Yes, we have received the Spirit.”  But what if Paul asked this:  

How do you know you received the Spirit?  

What do you think would have been their answer?  Do you think it would be a doctrinal one or an experiential one?  

Most Evangelicals if asked Paul’s question would say, “Yes, I received the Spirit when I believed.  Because the Bible says that every Christian has the Spirit of God in them.”  Faith must rest upon the revealed Word of God – without a doubt.  But the inspired Word says that if you properly believe and receive the gospel that there should be a corresponding experiential confirmation!  Call it whatever you want to call it.  But there’s no substitute for it.  

Sadly, many professing Christians do not have an experience similar to the twelve at Ephesus.  I am so glad some charismatic believers began asking me Paul’s diagnostic question many years ago.  It made me realize that I was giving mental assent to many biblical doctrines without letting the reality of those beliefs powerfully manifest in my life and body.  It created some tension and crisis in my faith.  But it made me struggle into a fuller and more biblical dimension of Christian faith and experience.  

What about you?  Did you receive the Spirit when you believed?  How do you know?

What makes a Perfect Game Perfect?

The runner was called safe, ending the hope of a perfect game.

Many of you probably have read or heard the commotion surrounding the bad call the umpire made during a Detroit Tigers game last week.

The situation was this, Tigers pitcher, Armando Galaragga, had pitched a “perfect game” through 26 batters.  A perfect game means that each batter that comes to the plate either strikes out or is put out before making it to a base (9 innings x 3 outs per inning = 27 batters).  Twenty-six men had been to bat and 26 had been retired.  The 27th batter then hits the ball and makes his run to first base.  There is a close play at first base and the umpire calls the runner “safe”.  That means that Galaragga’s hopes of a perfect game ended at that point.

In 130 years of American baseball history only 20 men have pitched a perfect game.  So you can imagine the gravity surrounding the call at first base last week.

Here’s the sad thing: the umpire clearly missed the call.  The runner was out at first base – no doubt about it!  In professional baseball video replay of calls by umpires is not allowed for consideration.  The plays stand as originally called.

So Galaragga was robbed of his perfect game!  This was a sad conclusion to a perfect effort by Galaragga and the entire Tiger team.  But there’s a really cool part to the story.

First off, Galaragga didn’t throw a fit.  He took it all calmly and with incredible character.  Secondly, the following day when the umpire could see that he had blown the call, he immediately made a public admission of his mistake and apologized to Galaragga.  This didn’t change the fact that “on the books” the game went down NOT as a perfect game – though it truly was perfect.

Well, the game may not have been officially “perfect”, but the character of this pitcher and umpire proved amazing!  It is a high note during a really sad season of American history.  So much moral failure, so much doping, so many sex scandals. Not a lot of public examples of great character these days.  But we saw one last week. 

Finally, what did I take away from this event?  It made me realize that Galaragga pitched a perfect game, even if he didn’t get credit for it from the powers-that-be.  The Baseball Commission doesn’t allow replays to effect calls presently.

Well, that’s life.   A lot of people don’t get the credit they deserve and others get credit they don’t deserve.  And justice doesn’t always happen…now.

But one day there will be a final accounting.  And God will review every call and every decision ever made.  Then those who may have been denied the credit due them will certainly get it.  And those who have secretly cheated and broken the rules, and perhaps gotten away with it, will be found out.

All the more reason to let God be your umpire and your fan club today.  His opinion is the only one that matters!  We should be playing for an audience of One.

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare and the Problem of Syncretism

Syncretism: When the enemy tries to nullify the gospel by adding his own defiling components to the mix.

 

During Paul’s second missionary journey, we read about his confrontation with a slave girl who had a spirit of divination.  This lady followed Paul and Silas “for many days”, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” (Acts 16:17, NASB margin)  Gradually Paul came to realize that there was something very much wrong about this lady.  Paul turned and spoke to the evil spirit within this lady, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”  Luke tells us that the spirit came out “at that very moment.”  

Though this seems bizarre to modern readers, this was not uneducated superstition on the part of Paul.  Actually, this same sort of thing still happens in our world today.  Here are two important truths we learn from this account.  

1. Demons are real and they know that Jesus is the only way of salvation.  They must submit to the authority in His name!  There is no geographical or religious immunity from Christ’s rule.  The demons don’t like the fact of Christ’s exclusive power and authority – but neither do they deny it (unlike the leading “fuzzy” thinkers of our day.)  If they can’t keep people from hearing about the salvation in Jesus Christ, they will try to defile the message somehow.  

2.  Subtle alliance with evil is a greater danger to the gospel than is open persecution.  Another term for this is “syncretism”.  This is what happens when people take a little of the old beliefs and religion and mix it with the gospel.  This happens in every culture and it dilutes the gospel until there is no power in it.  Jesus becomes “a way of salvation” rather than “the way of salvation.”  Jesus becomes a great guru and teacher and example…but not the exclusive Son of God and Savior.  Many times it takes someone from outside our own culture to come in and discern where we’ve allowed the enemy to seduce us.    

A dear national pastor once warned me to leave my wife at the host home while we were on missionary assignment, and not bring her out in public that day.  He was afraid that someone would “cast the evil eye upon her.”  Translated, he was afraid that she’d become the object/victim of some form of witchcraft.   

The skeptical American writes this off as pure superstition.  Admittedly, there’s a lot of superstition mixed in.  But just as in Paul’s day, there is real spiritual darkness and opposition present in our world.  And the devil roams around looking for someone to devour (see 1 Pet 5:8).  I told the host pastor, “Brother, Jesus has given us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the devil and nothing shall by any means injure us” (see Luke 10:19).  The native pastor was mixing up heathen fears with the bold claims of the gospel, thus forfeiting the superior power and support of God’s Spirit!  

But we also need the benefit of the perspective of believers from outside our dominant culture.  The American church is full of compromise with the world-system around us, and much of it we are ignorant of.  

I think it is almost certain that a mono-cultural, mono-ethnic church is also a church that has succumbed to ”syncretism” at one or more levels.  If I’m only around people who share the same dominant culture, we probably all share the same prejudices and blinders!  

This is why we need both a historical and global perspective on the things of God.  We all have gaps and errors in our worldviews.

Avoiding unhealthy dependency on others

 

Codependent relationships involve unhealthy dependencies.

 

 Codependency was the counseling buzzword of the 90′s. And while we don’t hear it used as frequently anymore, the issue it related to is still very much alive.     

There can be unhealthy dependency on the identity we gain through our calling and gifts…and through the people we are in relationship with in those roles.  While we serve God’s purposes in the lives of other people, we are never meant to become or to make others into  “Jesus-substitutes”.

 Healthy, God-formed relationships will prepare us for change and support us as we grow, but not insulate us from trusting God, making tough decisions, and taking the risks of faith that are associated with obeying the Father’s directives for our lives.

Do not allow people to expect of you what they refuse to go to Jesus for.  Do not expect from others what you have not allowed Jesus to do for you.  Though there are seasons that we play an almost mediatorial role between people and God, that must always be short-lived. Our goal is always for them to become powerfully connected to God as their Father, with no other mediator than Christ.

 

Here’s a very important question each of us needs to ask:

 

Who am I?

 

How do you answer this question? Do you define yourself in terms of the tasks you do, your job, or gifts? In terms of who you work with or for, or are married to?  In terms of another person?

 

Here’s a diagnostic question relating to codependency:

 

If the title or task or the important person you’re associated with

were removed, how would this affect you?

 

“I’m important because…I’m the director of the department…the owner of this business…the only person who knows how to do this….the wife of the pastor…a deacon at the church…chief usher…the pianist…” etc..   Etc..  

  

While our giftings and callings do affect the way we view life around us, they must never be the lense through which we view ourselves!  No matter how successful or unsuccessful I may appear in my own eyes or in the eyes of others, I must continually renew my mind with the identity of who I am in the Father’s sight!     

  

Our highest calling and privileges are associated with the FACT that God loves us and knows us and has acted on our behalf in actual history through the redemption we have in Christ! Any substitute for this powerful reality is unhealthy…and possibly even idolatrous.     

 Through faith in Christ, we have become the children of God, sons and daughters of the King! We are God’s beloved children!  We are not orphans.  We are not common people. We are not outsiders trying to get into the party.    

  

  

A cobbler may be known according to the tasks he does.  A baker may be known by the bread he produces.  But not so for the prince or princess.  Those who are offspring of royalty and heirs to a throne find their identity in a bloodline.  The splendor and honor of being born of the royal line changes the way people view themselves.  They may even be a mess, but they are a royal mess!    

  

The quickest way to escape the trap of unhealthy relationships with people is to get rooted and grounded in your identity as a true child of the Living God and a co-heir with Christ.  Don’t be surprised if God upsets your “nest” of temporary security at times, and gives you opportunities to find your value in Him alone.  

    

Is this happening to you in this season of your life?  If so, don’t fight against it.  Don’t stress-out trying to play “god” by continually resurrecting things that actually prolong dependencies on people that have become unhealthy.  Continue to grow in Christ.