I Want To Walk Away Changed

I had a God encounter.  No, there wasn't a burning bush or thundering and lightning.  No goose bumps, no holy shakes, and no, I didn't end up face down on the floor.  It was just me in a crowd of people determining to connect with God.  I don't know about you, but I don't need another sermon for the sake of just hearing another sermon.  I don't need another worship service where I'm impressed with great musicianship and songs that simply move me emotionally.  I didn't come to hear a like-minded preacher say things I agreed with so that my theology could be validated.  I wasn't there to be entertained,  I wasn't there to perform some religious ritual so that I could feel better about myself.  I'm done with that kind of approach.  I'm broken.  I've got issues.  There, I said it.  Man, does that feel good!  While I would like to admit that I'm perfect, I live with myself and I can tell you straight up, I'm not.  I came that day to be changed.

So, there I sat with my head bowed down as the service was drawing to a close.  I prayed a simple prayer that I often pray.  "God, what are you saying to me right now? What's the one thing you are trying to get me to understand, right here and right now?"  Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church had preached primarily on pride and I was pretty convinced that did not apply to me.  So, thinking I had little reason to worry about this particular vice I asked God, "Are there areas of pride in me?"

Before I get to His answer, let me just say I wanted to know the truth.  I knew what I believed, but I wanted to know the truth.  I needed to know the truth. It is only in knowing the truth that we can find true freedom.  I don't need someone to sugar coat things with me.  Regardless of how it stings, I understand that change only happens when we know the truth and respond to it accordingly.

In Luke 18, we are told of a rich young ruler who approached Jesus one day.  He was a man who came to Jesus wanting to know what he had to do in order to have eternal life.  As you read his story, you find out in the end that he walks away from Jesus "very" sad.  Think about that for a moment. He has an encounter with God, and walks away sad. I find that interesting.  He came to Jesus seemingly in search of salvation but didn't find it.  This is Jesus, the Savior!  How can this be? How can someone come to Jesus and not walk away with the assurance of salvation?

In the following chapter we are introduced to another rich man whose name is Zacchaeus.  Unlike this rich young ruler, Zacchaeus walks away from his encounter with Jesus a changed man.  All of a sudden he wants to make things right with everyone he's wronged.  In an instant he goes from only thinking of himself to having compassion on those less fortunate than him.  Isn't that interesting?  One man walks away sad while the other man walks away changed.

From the context it appears that the rich young ruler is a pretty good guy.  Actually he seems to be a great guy.  Zacchaeus on the other hand, not so much.  I get the sense when reading the story that the rich young ruler struggled to find fault in himself.  Zacchaeus on the other hand had no problem understanding his "sinner" status as he was surrounded by people who would remind him constantly.  Could it be that the rich young ruler was more interested in convincing Jesus how deserving he was already of this eternal life?  Did he really want to change or was he there for a pat on the back?  Zacchaeus was a crook.  A sinner to the core.  A man hated and despised by most everybody.  Perhaps even himself.  Could it be that this man climbed a tree in order to see Jesus because he was crying out for change in his life?  Could it be that he hated who he was and what he did?  I'm not sure, but one thing I know is that when he did encounter Jesus, his heart was radically changed.

Two men encounter Jesus and the results are as different as night and day.  I've been like that rich young ruler more times than I care to admit.  Well, except for the rich and ruler thing.  I've come to church or approached God with this desire to have Him sign off on my good works.  I've come with an attitude that I've got things together and are quite deserving of a Divine pat on the back.  I've come wanting affirmation and validation for my righteous lifestyle choices.  I've come longing to hear a message that inspires me and pumps me up.  I've shown up some places that, unlike Jesus, facilitated my desire to be coddled.  And while I might not have walked away sad, I was still unchanged.  What an absolute waste of time.

I determined not to waste time on this day.  I refused to be like the rich young ruler.  So, humbly I asked God, "Are there areas of pride in me?" The answer?  A resounding yes.  Ouch!  I could see it clearly though.  There was no denying it.  I could walk away sad or I could walk away changed.  I chose the changed route.

While I'm a pastor, I also place my self under the authority of a few pastors.  So, let me speak as a sheep for a moment.  Pastors, don't beat around the bush.  Don't skirt around the truth.  Shoot straight with us.  Don't facilitate our desire to be coddled.  Challenge us.  Push us.  Call us up to a higher level.  Step on our toes.  Compel us to get off the fence. Speak the truth! Please, for eternity's sake, speak the truth! I need it.  We need it.

Perfection needs no changes.  I'm not there.  The older I get the more I realize how far away I still am on this journey. Sometimes I have wrong heart motives.  Sometimes I struggle to love others.  Sometimes I struggle to completely trust God.  Sometimes I ________________ (fill in the blank).  With every God encounter I long to walk away changed. I need to walk away changed.

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Yep, I Hit The House

I heard it hit the house.  It hit it hard.  I stood there in disbelief as I tried to figure out just how in the world I hit the ball that far off course.  I mean I'm not exactly Tiger Woods on the golf course.  Actually the only similarity you might find is that both of our names start with the letter T.  While most of the time I find myself hitting from the trees along the right side of the fairway, on this rare occasion I yanked one to the left.  This golf course is located in a neighborhood so there are houses lining the golf course.  So, as I set up to hit my second shot there was a home located about 25-30 yards to my left.  The house's location to the ball took it completely out of play, so I thought nothing of the house. There was absolutely no way I could possibly hit this house.  It was not a difficult shot as the only issue was a large oak tree slightly left of where I needed to hit the ball. I pulled out my 3 hybrid and lined up to hit the shot.  Remember most of the time my shots go right.  However, for some reason on this hole I hit two shots in a row to the left.  Yep, that oak tree that was to the left?  It took a direct hit.  As I braced myself for the ball coming back at me, I heard it hit the house that was completely out of play.  To make matters worse there was a lady sitting out on the patio.  Her scream made me think not only did I hit her house but her as well.

My first thought was that thought you get as a little boy when you hit a ball through someone's window. "RUN!!!" "Run, Tim, Run and don't look back!"  Unfortunately at my age and current athletic state, running was not an option.  I couldn't blame it on my golfing partner as he was in the golf cart.  I had no option but to approach the lady.  So with tail tucked I set out to retrieve my golf ball.  She met me half way with golf ball in hand. I apologized half a dozen times, assuring her that I am not that bad, but that stupid oak tree was the real culprit here.  With heart rate still racing, she handed me the ball and told me that was a first for her.  Now, before I go any farther let me just say that I did not hit her with the ball.  I came really close, but thank God I missed.

I don't know how many golfers play that hole every day but multiply that times 365 and that is a massive number of golfers over the course of a year.  Perhaps some have nailed her house while she was not sitting out on her shaded patio, but I was the first to hit her house with her sitting out there? Of course I was because her house is completely out of play for each and every level of golfer.  Yet, somehow I managed to hit the ball that far off course.

Along my Christian journey, I've felt that far off course a few times.  No, it wasn't intentional, but there I found myself nowhere near where I should be.  Where I wanted to be.  Where I was trying to be.  Let's face it, we all miss the target a lot as we play this course called life.  Our efforts at loving one another and forgiving one another, much of the time look like that misdirected golf ball.  Our attempts at obeying God fall way short of where we expected to be when we teed off.  If we'll be honest with ourselves, our motives, thoughts, and desires are often nowhere near the fairway.  Just like my errant golf shot, we often find ourselves doing things or saying things that leave even ourselves scratching our heads.  How in the world can we be this far off course when we are desperately striving to hit our shots down the middle of the fairway?


There are a lot of reasons. I don't know that much about the golf swing to know exactly what I did wrong on that pathetic shot but I'm sure it involved my left elbow, wrists, follow through, swing plane, and what I was thinking before and during the swing among other things.  So it is when we miss it in life.  It could be any number of things.  It could be the result of our approach, our habits, or how we think.  It could be the product of what we think about God, how we see ourselves, or how we view others. Past wounds, unforgiveness, and fears all affect what we do and why we do them.  And sometimes the enemy plants himself, much like that oak tree, in the way to assist us in getting completely off course.

In golf when you make a bad shot, you take a penalty stroke and take a drop.  You're not eliminated.  You just continue to play on.  I did just that.  Unfortunately, I did horrible on that hole.  But, it wasn't just because I hit the ball bad.  Its because I couldn't get that shot out of my head.  Every time I approached my next shot, I was thinking about that pathetic shot.  So, I hit another bad shot. And then another one. And then another one.

Regardless of how off course we find ourselves on our journey, we've got to learn how to forget about the past and play on.  We need to be less concerned about how we got here and more concerned about how we play from here on out.  God is great at forgiving us and extending grace to us.  We need to take notes from Him on how to forgive ourselves and to accept His grace that redeems our past. That bad shot did not define me as a golfer.  I'm not Tiger Woods but I'm also not as bad a golfer as that shot would like to define me as. When you find yourself in the trees on your journey, or on the fairway to a completely different hole, remember that your current location does not define you.  Yep, you are way off course, but take a deep breath, forget about how you got there, take your drop and get back in the fairway.

Now, if you find yourself continuously in the woods as you journey through this life, addressing the issues that consistently get you that off course is a must.  Sometimes that requires a different set of eyes that can see things we are blind to.  Find a believer, a counselor, a minister who can walk you through those issues.  As you humble yourself in that way you'll discover that you end up in the fairway a lot more than you used to.  You won't have to try really hard to hit it straight. You'll hit it straight because its in you to hit it straight and you've decided to deal with the issues in your life that cause you to get off course.  
       

Read The Fine Print

I like to watch America's Got Talent.  I'm not sure what the attraction is for me, but I enjoy watching the show most of the time.  After watching this year's finale, my wife noticed the fine print rolling at that end of the show.  So, I backed it up and paused it long enough to read it.  Moments earlier I watched as they announced the winner thinking, there's a new millionaire.  I know that Uncle Sam will get a huge hunk of that million, but before taxes that's what the winner wins.  Or, is it?  All season long the show mentions that the contestants are competing for a million bucks and a show in Vegas.  However, when you read the fine print, things are not as you assume them to be.

Kenichi, this year's winner does not get to take home a million.  Not even close.  His million dollar payout is done through an annuity over the course of the next 40 years. So, what does that look like in dollars and cents?  About $25,000 per year before taxes.  He can elect to take a lump sum payout, but that is somewhere around a third of the million promised.  And that too is before taxes.  Now, I know that the exposure one gets from that show can equal huge dividends in the years to come, but they do not instantly become a millionaire as the show would like each of us to think.

Now, I really don't care how much they win.  I'm thinking a $25,000 annual addition to my bank account would be a really good thing.  The point I'm making is that a lot of times there are things we assume to be true that just aren't true.  It's only after a closer look that we find out the real truth.  I don't know about you, but I like knowing the real truth.  I can't stand fake, fraud, or deception. I hate hype and manipulation.  I despise white lies, black lies, and every other colored lies.  I just want to know what's real and what's true.

Ever since I was a kid I've been a "seeker."  Let me explain what I mean.  When I was a child I remember having conversations with my Dad prior to entering a store.  "Now Tim, don't touch anything!  I mean it.  Keep your hands to yourself and don't touch anything!"  Those pre-store speeches were the product of my inability to inspect anything from a distance.  I had to touch it.  I had to feel it.  I wanted to know what it was made of and how it worked. Around the house, I would take things apart not because they were broken but because I wanted to see what was inside.  Stereos, televisions, computers, watches, cars, cameras, and many other things fell prey to my desire to get a closer look.  Often, I wasn't able to put them completely back together which would result in a different conversation with Dad.  To this day I still struggle to keep my hands off of stuff when I enter a store and I find myself occasionally taking something apart just to see what's inside.

This "seeker" thing in me also manifests in my desire to get the "real" story when I see a movie based on a true story.  I have to know just how historically accurate they are.  Although I'm often disappointed in the "Hollywood" version once I know the truth, at least I can't rest good at night knowing the truth. So, when I say I'm a seeker, what I mean is that at the very core of who I am, I need to know the truth about a thing.  I'm never content to take something at face value.  I want to go deeper.  I don't want to just put my feet in the water, I want to jump in.

So it is with my journey with God.  I'm not content to just hear about Him.  I'm not ok with hearing somebody else tell me what they think or believe about Him. I want a hands on, first hand revelation of this Creator of the universe.  Don't get me wrong, I value those who know this God and I love hearing them share their encounters and experiences and the truths they have learned about Him.  What I'm saying is that's not enough for me. I'm not content with second hand knowledge when I know I can get much closer than that.  Much like walking down the aisles of those stores and seeing something on a shelf.  I can't help myself, I've got to get a closer look!

Religion, tradition, and culture paint a picture of God that is not at all accurate.  If we simply accept that picture as an accurate portrayal we'll miss what is real and what is true about Him.  We have to move past all of that.  We have to be willing to slow down and get close enough that we can see the fine print.  From my experience I can tell you that as I've determined to take a closer look, there is much about God that I once thought was true that I no longer do.  Assumptions I've made about Him in the past have given way to the truth as I've determined to move past the fluff of religion, the traditions of men, and an increasingly deceptive culture.  God is real but we'll never really know Him if we allow anyone or anything other than the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to us.

I'm sure that many don't really care about how the whole million dollar payout is handled by America's Got Talent. To be honest it's completely irrelevant to me except for my unquenchable desire to know the truth.  I just had to put the TV on pause and read the fine print.  In the same way many are content with their concept of who God is and what He's like.  They are less concerned with knowing the real truth about Him as they hold tightly to assumptions about Him that they are convinced are true.  I can't approach my journey with Him that way.  I have to put things on pause every now and then and evaluate what I believe about Him and why.  Are they assumptions?  Are they true?

The truth is that Kenichi will get his money for winning America's Got Talent.  He'll just get it in a completely different way than most who watch the show assume he will.  Knowing that truth is not life changing for any of us.  However, not knowing the truth about who God is and what He's like?  That's a completely different story.  It's the difference between freedom and bondage.  It's the difference between life and death.  Choose to slow down and get close enough to read the fine print!

The Devil Has Many Voices

You've heard from God.  You know it.  You're convinced.  You've found a promise in Scripture that relates to you right where you are.  Or maybe that word came in your quiet time with the Lord.  Perhaps, it came through the words of a friend or minister.  Regardless, something in you came alive.  Hope was renewed.  You were strengthened to get up and go another round.  Then....

There's always a then.  Most of the time it blindsides us.  We fail to see it coming and "boom" there it is, from out of nowhere.  A voice that opposes everything that God just spoke to you.  Like a right hook from a heavy weight boxer it causes us to stagger and stumble.  We quickly try to remind ourselves of what God has just spoken to us, but this voice of the enemy is unloading like a machine gun that has an endless supply of ammo.  Over and over and over this voice screams its unrelenting lifeless jargon in an attempt to rob us of every ounce of hope.

The enemy's voice takes a lot of different shapes and comes at us from all kinds of angles.  In the Garden of Eden, it came through a serpent.  With Joseph it came through his brothers who sought to destroy him.  With Moses, it came from his own feelings of inadequacy.  With David, it came from an insecure king who sought to kill him.  With Job, it came through his wife and friends.  With Jesus, there was a time it came through his friend Peter.  The truth is the enemy has many voices.  Regardless of what shape it takes, it has one goal and that is to cause us to doubt what God has said.

We should not think it odd when the enemy's voice speaks.  Jesus explained to us, that immediately after the Word is sown into our hearts, the enemy comes to steal it (Matthew 13).  Rather than being blindsided, we would do well to heed the words of Jesus.  The right hook is coming!  Look for it! Expect it!  Be ready to duck, block, and then hit back.  I think it's interesting that when Jesus was tempted by the enemy in the wilderness that following his attempt to trip up Jesus, Scripture tells us that he backed off and waited for a "more opportune time."  The enemy picks his moments.  He waits and when he sees the opportunity to strike, he unleashes his fury.  Be ready for it!

This past spring I planted a garden.  I worked hard to prepare two raised beds.  I planted squash, strawberries, green beans, tomatoes, black beans, and several other things.  The first thing to produce fruit was my strawberry plants.  They had strawberries all over them.  And just as they started to turn red something happened.  I went out one day and the same plants that had fruit on them the day before were completely barren.  As I looked around I noticed that birds had eaten my strawberries.  Every last one of them!  In order to get strawberries, I was going to have to do something to keep the enemy at bay.  So, I put up bird netting and ever since the birds have been denied access.  Chalk up a victory for me! I've learned a lot from my little gardening experience.  There are critters that want to damage everything I plant.  If you think that simply planting a seed is all there is to insuring that eventually you'll have fruit, you are completely mistaken.  There are bugs, squirrels, birds, racoons, and many other critters that have to be kept away from the plants in order to see a harvest.

So it is with the Word of God.  If you think that simply hearing the Word of God guarantees a harvest, you'll probably never see it.  The Word of God has a real enemy. While the Word of God is designed to produce fruit in our lives, the enemy has a strategy to thwart that process.  If he can't rip the seed out, then he'll show up at another opportune time to attempt his abortion. Expect him. Once, I saw that birds had stolen my strawberries, I didn't sit back and think it wouldn't happen again.  I expected it.  I prepared for it.  I took the necessary steps to make sure that the "enemy" to my strawberries would never destroy that fruit again.  In the same way, we must understand that each and every time the Word of God  takes root in our heart, there is an enemy lurking in the shadows waiting for the right moment to destroy it.  He'll come speaking words of doubt and unbelief and he'll use any voice he can to spew his garbage.  He'll use our friends and family.  He'll use our own internal voices tainted with wounds from the past.  He'll use our fears of rejection or our own insecurities to promote his deceitful agenda.  He'll leave us hopeless, frustrated, and most importantly doubting the very thing that just hours ago we were so confident that God clearly spoke to us.  

When you read the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the biggest temptation they faced was not to eat the fruit.  It was to doubt the Word of God and believe another.  Eating the forbidden fruit was just the evidence that they had given into that temptation to doubt what God had said.  We face that temptation every single time God speaks to us.  Get ready for it.  Prepare yourself.  The devil has many voices and he'll be speaking to you soon. "Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil, goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8). When he throws his right hook, have your counter punch ready and declaw the sucker!

Jesus Refused To Feed The Hungry

Jesus refused to feed the hungry.  I know what you're thinking, the Bible says he fed 5,000 on one occasion and 4,000 on another.  You are exactly right, there were times when he did feed the hungry.  However, believe it or not there was an occasion where Jesus refused to feed the hungry.  Kind of messes up our view of a benevolent, compassionate man who went around just taking care of the poor and needy among humanity.  Now, before you start to post some negative comments, hear me out.  I'm not saying we shouldn't help those among us who have needs.  However, I think if we are going to do it in the name of Jesus, perhaps we should first know Him and understand what He did and why He did it.  Otherwise in our attempts to truly help people we may actually be hindering them.   

After feeding the multitude one day, Jesus leaves and goes to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  A large number of those that He fed the previous day followed Him. They showed up with the expectation that once again Jesus would miraculously feed them all.  However, they were confronted with the harsh reality that the soup kitchen was closed.  No, it wasn't because of a lack of funds or food donations. Jesus refused to feed them because loving them demanded something more than filling their bellies. Think about it for a moment.  How many times do we throw money at a problem and just want it to go away?  It's the American way.  We donate here or there and feel good about ourselves and pat ourselves on the back for our generosity.  We helped feed a homeless person or we gave them a blanket or a pair of socks.  It certainly makes it easier to look in the mirror each morning knowing that we've done our part to help the less fortunate among us. 

Several years ago, I was doing some ministry in the inner city of LA.  We were handing out sandwiches to the homeless.  I remember so well getting off the bus and seeing a lady sitting on the sidewalk.  Starting up a conversation with her I said, "How are you doing today?"  She responded, "How the #@*!# does it look like I'm doing? I'm homeless!"  (Note to self: never open a conversation with a homeless person with that question).  My response?  "Want a peanut butter sandwich?"  She took two.  I know we were only suppose to give one to each person, but I was thinking two sure made me feel better after our exchange.  The truth is that handing her a sandwich was easy. It made me feel good about myself for helping her.  Plus, it sure did away with the awkwardness caused by my pathetic attempt at making small talk.  It's been more than a decade and I've never seen that lady since.  I came home to the comforts of my suburban life and took up life where I left off.  I had done my "christian duty" of loving the least of these.  At least that was what I had tried to convince myself.

Really, I handed someone a peanut butter sandwich and I can call that loving someone?  Actually, I think you can, but I know well that with that woman that peanut butter sandwich offered me an out.  It afforded me a moment to move on to the next person.  I fed her belly that day, but I did nothing that could be truly equated to loving her.  Jesus fed the multitude one day, but when they came back for more food the next day he refused to feed them.  Filling their bellies wasn't the real issue with them and He knew it.  Jesus went to the root, and ran them all off.  He had a conversation with them that was uncomfortable but it went much deeper than the surface issues in their life.  The woman I met that day was hungry but that wasn't why she was homeless.  The "why" though would take much more from me than a nice greeting and a peanut butter sandwich.  The "why" might have meant that I take a seat on the curb next to her in spite of how she smelled, how she looked, or how many walls she had built up around her.  She responded to me that day in the way she did, not because she was hungry.  Sure, she got her belly filled but once I left, she was still bitter, angry at the world, and still homeless. While loving her didn't require me to find her a new home to live in, certainly it required more of me than a peanut butter sandwich. 

For Jesus, loving the multitude that day wasn't feeding their bellies, it was looking beyond their growling stomachs and determining to offer them more than some fish and bread.  I don't want to belittle the idea of meeting the needs of the less fortunate among us but it is imperative for us to look beyond the surface.  Otherwise, in our attempts to love people we'll fail to truly love them.  Do we really want to pat ourselves on the back when we've done what really amounts to putting a Band-aid on a severed artery?  It's true that the hungry need food but if we only focus on filling the natural belly while ignoring what is spiritual and of eternal significance we've missed the point.  Jesus was much less interested in meeting the physical needs of the crowd that day and more interested in meeting their real needs.

I think we struggle with this area because meeting real needs means we run the risk of being rejected.  We want people to love us, not reject us.  Offering a hungry person food increases our chances that hungry people will love us.  Unfortunately, Jesus doesn't instruct us to go into the world and try desperately to get people of love and accept us.  On the contrary, He instructs us to love people. However, loving people is much more difficult than getting people to love us.  Loving people requires much more than feeding a belly.  That part is easy.  Feeding them takes a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread.  There's not one among us who can't pull that off.  Truly loving them though might mean some stink is rubbed off on us. It might require a few more minutes of our time.  It will require us to step way out of our comfort zone.  It will require us to look beyond the surface issues in their life and determine to dive into the deep end with them.  It will require us to speak the truth while running the risk at being rejected by them. Simply put, we have to be more focused on loving people than being loved by them.

In loving people, let's determine to follow Jesus' model.  It's ok and completely appropriate to feed their bellies.  At the same time, let's not pretend that we've done our job of truly loving them until we as the church go beyond what the government or some humanitarian organization can do.  The mandate of the church is not to simply become an agent of humanitarian aid.  Our call is a much higher call.  We are to love humanity beyond meeting a their basic needs. While feeding their bellies let's make sure we are doing it with eternity in mind.  What a tragedy it would be for us to offer someone some bread to feed their hunger while neglecting to offer them the Bread of Life to feed their true hunger.  Jesus closed the soup kitchen for a day, but He never closes the kitchen that offers mankind food to feed his spiritual hunger.  In all we do, let's make sure we are really feeding the hungry what they truly need.

A king Is Born!

Much of the world stood on pins and needles as it anticipated the arrival of a new King.  They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.  Finally, the moment had come and everyone was captivated by all the excitement.  Then the announcement was made, "A new King is born! A new King is born!" Emotions went through the roof.  Some jumped for joy, some cried, some clapped their hands, and some shouted from the rooftops as they celebrated this new King.  No, wait I think I'm getting my stories mixed up. Jesus' birth wasn't anything like that.

This week much of the world has waited with great excitement anticipating the arrival of a new addition to the royal family.  And finally we heard the word that the new heir to the throne was born.  Every photographer wanted desperately to be the one to get the first picture of this new king.  Media outlets from all over the world had reporters and camera operators standing by to bring us the news live because this child was royalty.  Never mind that the throne he has to stand in line for is one with little  power or authority.  Forget the fact that great grandma still maintains a firm hold on that throne and this new heir still has grandpa and dad ahead of him.  A new king is born!  Let's all get excited!

Ok, so perhaps I should tone down the sarcasm a bit.  But, I can't help but contrast this moment with that of Jesus' birth.  The King of kings, King of the universe, the King whose kingdom never ends, was born one night and most of the world couldn't possibly have cared less.  The masses weren't following this moment waiting for the announcement.  The town in which He was born made no place for Him.  He was so insignificant to those in Bethlehem that nobody offered Him a room for the night.  Apart from His parents and a few wise men from a distant land, nobody had a clue as to who He was. Quietly, the King came into the world He had created and hardly anyone knew He had arrived.  Like any proud father, His Father in heaven had to announce the birth of His Son, so while the world slept through this monumental moment, all of heaven celebrated.  And to a handful of shepherds hanging out in a field, God sent word to declare,  "He's here!  He's here!  He's here!"

So, the birth of "The King," goes by with few to notice it and no fanfare from the masses.  Still to this day, much of the world fails to recognize who this Jesus is.  "He was just a man," some say.  Others think He was nothing but a fable.  But one day this King will be back and all the world we see Him then.  A world who failed to recognize Him the first time, will not struggle to recognize Him this time.  His return will not go unnoticed by the masses.  While many will still reject this King, multitudes will celebrate His return. This next time, He'll get the fanfare and the praise He deserves. And every other king, queen, prince, princess, emperor, ruler, leader and potentate will bow their knee to His throne.  For His throne is above every other and unto Him alone belongs all power, might and authority.

I am really excited for Prince William and Kate on their new addition, but don't expect me to join in all the hoopla.  For goodness sake, I'm an American, so my red, white, and blue DNA kind of opposes the whole monarch thing.  More importantly though there's another King who I'm expecting to return.  So, while the world's eyes are all turned toward jolly ole England, mine are set to the eastern sky.  -- Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.  And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.  He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fined linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.  Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.  He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev. 19:11-16 NKJV).  --  Now, that's my KING!  

Search My Heart, Oh God...

I will admit when it comes to the Zimmerman/Martin case, I have not followed it with the interest of many others.  That being said, I don't live under a rock either.  Because of that, I know much of the details surrounding this tragedy.  I'm still a bit puzzled as to why it became such a national story but I'll leave my theories on that for another time and place.  Over the course of the last few months as I witnessed much of the hoopla surrounding this case and now the aftermath of the verdict play out on my television screen, I'm reminded how ugly human nature can be.

Tainted by a media, who rarely can tell a story without some type of slant, agenda, or bias, many made judgments one way or the other long before there was ever a trial. Oops, did I make a judgment about the media there? In the court room, the idea is that the jury will get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Then based on that "whole truth," they can rightly judge someone.  Unfortunately, much of the time each lawyer only wants one side of the truth and is more interested in winning than justice being served.  Oh wait, that kind of sounds like a judgment call on my part as well doesn't it?  Sorry about that.

The fact is that we are often so quick to rush to judgment.  Something happens and immediately we have an opinion on the matter.  Never mind that we don't have the whole story.  It is indeed tragic that a young man lost his life.  I would not want to be in his parent's shoes and navigate through life in the aftermath of this huge loss.  I can not begin to imagine what they are going through.  At the same time is it right to condemn Zimmerman when I have no clue as to what exactly happened that night?  I know there was a lot of evidence presented at the trial, but we will never truly know the whole story, the whole truth of what happened that night.  Did he overreact that night?  Is he a racist?  Did he watch too many John Wayne movies or Dirty Harry movies growing up?  Was he afraid?  Did he fear for his life?  What was going through his mind that night and if he could replay the event would he do anything different? I pray I am never in a position such as he was that night.

Was this a just outcome?  I don't know.  Do any of us really know?  I mean sure you may lean one way or another, but is this really an easy call here?  One with no doubt either way?  From the chatter following the verdict, it would appear many are convinced their own judgment regarding this case is the right one.  Things have been said and been done, that have left me scratching my head.  The anger and hatred that is being spewed speaks volumes about the content of our hearts.  Sure, we can mask it really good when things are going the way we want them to, but throw something like this out there and the garbage in our heart rises to the surface.

Human nature, or "the flesh" is a truly ugly thing. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the works of the flesh and none of them are things anyone should embrace, especially believers.  Yet, how many of us want to stand on our soap box because we are convinced we are right. We want to spew venom because the world certainly needs our venom in the mix, right?  Paul links hatred, anger, wrath, and causing division with things like murder, idolatry, and witchcraft.  In other words, he indicates there is no difference between them.

Issues like this are always good gut check moments.  They always serve to reveal what's below the surface.  Much of the time there are things there we have no clue are there until we encounter moments such as this.  Many times we justify our thoughts, speech, and actions rather than recognizing them for what they are... works of the flesh that have no place in the life of a believer. Many have reacted and will continue to react in ways that are consistent with the content of their heart.  As a believer we are challenged to allow God to search our heart and remove anything that is not consistent with His nature.  Of course, that will change our dialogue and how we respond in times such as these.  Scripture tells us that Jesus made Himself a man of no reputation.  He was not interested in standing on a soapbox, proving He was right, or defending His position.  He was determined to make sure that the world saw His Father in Him.  We would do good to take His lead in reflecting the nature and character of God to the world.  If you're with me then let's pray together, "Search my heart, Oh God and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"