Embarrassed

 I originally wrote this item in 2007. 


Embarrassed!   

Did she just say, embarrassed?

Have you ever noticed that sometimes during the heat, of what the self-help gurus call “a healthy discussion” (an argument where I come from) something is said that takes the whole thing to the next level?  

The word embarrass is that something today. 

She asked; “Doesn't the way you live your life embarrass you?” 

I knew what she really meant - but before I could respond with my answer, I instinctively heard myself ask this question.  What do you mean by, 'the way I live my life'? 

She went on to define “embarrassed” as it relates to my life as; me driving a piece of crap car - living in a camper - working in the construction business after nearly 30 years in a management career.   Then the clincher; the way you now profess to be a “Christian” after making a fool of yourself all those years telling people you weren't even sure there was a God. 

Well the gloves were certainly coming off now (as they say) as it was obvious this was heating up quickly to become one of those throw-down types of arguments.    I guess it was a good thing I'm one of her friends, because I would hate to be attacked by her if I were one of her enemies!

Her pause led me to believe she had emptied her clip, and was reloading - so I took advantage of the situation as any brave soldier would do by jumping in.   I started (as most "healthy discussion" participants do) to unload my barrage of rocks back at her, and then I hesitated.   For out of nowhere came a voice that said; you without sin cast the first stone, and so I no longer had the full urge to pop her up side the head with a rock.  Okay, maybe a little bit.  Suddenly my entire mindset changed, and I found myself reaching deep into my heart for a civil response, and this is what came out.

“Do you want to know what it takes to embarrass me?   I'll tell you!    It takes being 15 years old, just getting off the school bus in the housing projects where you and your family has lived for years.  You round the corner while jostling with your friends, and there standing before you is the most embarrassing moment of your life.   Everything you and your family own has been thrown out onto the sidewalk in front of your apartment.   Your clothes, your bed, your record collection, dishes, dirty clothes, artificial Christmas tree, everything!   So, how do you as a kid handle that kind of embarrassment?   How do you maintain any semblance of self-dignity when your friends and neighbors see you stripped naked before the world?”

“It was already hard enough to fool yourself into believing you had a little bit of self-dignity as it was.   Especially around the kids at school (the ones that you wanted so badly to be accepted by) yet they all knew you rode the bus back and forth from the housing project.   As we all know, at a drop of the hat kids have a tendency to throw that kind of stuff out there to embarrass you.  Yet, you've come to grips with it and still tried to hold your head up. 

Fortunately you still have the kids that rode the same bus to call your peers.   They’re in the same situation - so they can relate.   A band of misfits, or ‘family members’ as I now look back at them as.  But on this day that was no longer the case, as now I found myself lower than them.   Everything we owned was piled there half on the sidewalk, and half in the street and seemingly the entire world was now looking at us with disgust - now that’s embarrassment as its defined in my life!

How can a teenager maintain any measurable level of dignity when faced with that type of humiliation before his neighbors, friends, and enemies alike?   Already fighting the battle with an abusive alcoholic stepfather, five siblings, and a mom who wasn't around much because she had to work two and sometimes three jobs just to keep our heads barely bobbing above water.  I assure you it was already a struggle to find any sign of peace in my life, much less a bit of self-worth in myself.”  Embarrassed doesn't even come remotely close to how I felt that afternoon and the days and years that surrounded it. 

Then I returned to answer her question; "Am I embarrassed about how I live now?"   Ha, I don’t think so!   And for the first time in my life the description of that experience had come from my lips.   I couldn't believe it myself!   I've harbored the resentment of that situation internally for over 30 years – but now it was finally out there.   It was like having an evil spirit exorcised from my soul.   What a sense of relief!   What a sense of release!   What a sense of naked vulnerability!   Yet somehow, me blurting all that out, seemed to stop the back and forth action in the argument. 

I went on to explain that regardless my current circumstances I couldn't see myself returning to a mindset where I would value material possessions over the things that are truly important in life.   To have the freedom from the superficial concerns which had possessed me for so much of my adulthood allows me to focus on helping others in need, and it is anything but embarrassing to me.   I ended the conversation, (which it had simmered down to at this point) oddly enough by telling her about the embarrassment that Jesus' disciple, Peter must have felt one fateful morning.

After a night of hiding out in his comfort zone (a fishing boat) he came swimming to shore in time to see Jesus, the risen Savior whipping up some breakfast on the beach.   Peter hurries over as his eyes must be deceiving him - yet it truly was his master.   Then he remembers how he had betrayed Jesus by denying he even knew that “crazy man” from Galilee but not just once - yet denial times three!  Then Peter begins to feel embarrassed, after all at the supper table he boldly declared that even if he had to go it alone - he would never forsake his Lord. “Embarrassed” is defined in Peter’s life by this moment.   Left feeling stripped naked (not in front of the whole world) but rather before the one that came to save the world.

And here’s the good stuff; Jesus didn't say - Peter, how could you have done me that way?  Or, promise me that you won’t lie to me again.   Peter, tell me that you won’t deny me before others anymore.  Or, Peter, don’t try to make yourself appear to be stronger or bolder than others anymore. 

No, he simply asked; Peter do you love me?   Peter replied… Jesus asked again; Peter do you love me?   Again Peter replied once more… A third time He asked, Peter do you love me?

Peter no longer worried about being embarrassed, as his heart was broken, for he knew now Jesus had assuredly forgiven him, even though he didn't deserve it.


Embarrassed that I enthusiastically tell others of God’s amazing love and mercy, (after denying him for so long) - I doubt it!    For if your heart is full of the love, which overflows from His cup, then there’s no room for embarrassment in serving Him.

Then He said unto me, “As for the rest of the embarrassing issues in your life - you simply have to get over them.  You can’t afford to maintain those kinds of distractions while serving me.”  And I said earnestly in response, “Please give me the strength Lord, to continue moving forward!”

For if a man gains the entire world, yet loses his soul…I suspect the punishment will be much greater than a mere feeling of embarrassment.  Sometimes when we grow up with literately nothing, quite often as adults we over-indulge ourselves with stuff to try and create self-worth or to simply make us feel better.  This can trick us into thinking we have broken free from our past, from our poverty, from our nothingness.   Yet, all along we're simply allowing ourselves to be bound up by something with even greater destructive power than poverty.

Many of you have been through situations that are so much worse than mere embarrassing" moments in your life - things I can't even imagine having to deal with.   Thus, I never complain about my life!    I'll never compare by hurt, my problems, my experiences to what anyone else has gone through because I know I've been blessed from birth to escape real pain, real hardships.   Yet, what I learned through this situation can apply to each and every one of us, for its not based on my strength or yours, its based solely on His strength to see us through all the tough times in our lives.  

Holding on to embarrassment and other such negative feelings is just another way the Enemy attacks us, and keeps us from reaching our true potential in Christ.    Trust in Jesus to see you through the most trying of circumstances!

Your brother in Christ, Doug

BOLDNESS

Recently I was made aware of a situation in Sudan where a pregnant woman is imprisoned and facing execution for claiming to be (of all things) a Christian, something many of us also claim to be. Furthermore her 20 month old baby is being kept with her in prison and has already suffered serious medical problems due to the terrible sanitation issues at the facility.  When you hear a story like that it makes you both angry and brokenhearted at the same time, or at least it does me. How can that be in this day and age? One thing people living in countries that allow religious freedom have a tendency to forget is that we are in the minority. There are many more people living in countries where religious freedom is not an option.  There are billions upon billions of people living in countries where they’re not even allowed to choose NOT to believe in the state sponsored religion.  Having the freedom to choose what we believe or don’t believe is a huge deal, yet I think we may take it for granted far too often.   

Here are some excerpts from an article I found and pieced together for brevity sake and I assure you, nothing has been taken out of context.

A Christian mother in Sudan, who is pregnant with a second child has been sentenced to 100 lashes and death on charges of apostasy (the denouncement of her original religion - Muslim) and adultery (because the court doesn't recognize her marriage to a Christian man), has a long legal battle ahead even as her wheelchair-bound husband says his hope lies only in his prayers to God.

Mohamed Jar Elnabi, the lawyer of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Christian woman who has a 20-month-old son and is eight months pregnant, says he plans to file an appeal application on Sunday.

The young mother was convicted on April 30, and given three days to recant her Christian faith on May 11. "The court has sentenced you to be hanged till you are dead," Judge Abaas Al Khalifa finally told her Thursday after she refused to forsake Christianity.   Ibrahim has been kept at the Omdurman Federal Women's Prison with her son since Feb. 17.

Ibrahim's father was a Sudanese Muslim who left her when she was just 6 years old. She was raised by her mother, an Ethiopian Orthodox. However, Sudan's Islamic law recognized her as a Muslim because her father was one. It also considers her relationship with her Christian husband as "illicit."      -

Meanwhile, Ibrahim remains strong. "She is very strong and very firm. She is very clear that she is a Christian and that she will get out one day," the lawyer said.   But the wait is not easy for Ibrahim's husband, Daniel Wani, as he "totally depends on her for all details of his life," Elnabi said. "I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do," Wani was quoted as saying. "I'm just praying."

The religious atmosphere is tense in Sudan. Elnabi received a death threat Wednesday, the day before Ibrahim was sentenced. "I feel very scared," he was quoted as saying. "I live in fear if I just hear a door open or a strange sound in the street. I could never leave the case. This is a matter of belief and principles. I must help someone who is in need, even if it will cost me my life."

BY ANUGRAH KUMAR, CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR    May 17, 2014|9:22 am

So here we have it; a pregnant woman/mother of a small child claiming Christianity, refusing to recant her testimony, facing death, and the attorney who (for the mere reason he is representing her) may lose his life as well.  Her story reminds me of these words from an old hymnal;

Though none go with me, I will follow. 
No turning back – no turning back.

Now that’s BOLDNESS folks!  Our prayers are obviously needed in this situation.

This is a portion of an item I wrote in 2008 titled; Less is Better .  It includes some excerpts from a Wikipedia article, but the great majority of what you’ll read here are my words.

In 1904 a very simple living, twenty-five year old coal miner / tinsmith began to believe God was calling him to preach despite the fact he had absolutely no oratory skills whatsoever.  His personal hygiene issues were atrocious, known throughout the city, and the only book he ever gave any attention to was the Bible.  He was the last person anyone in his hometown would've thought God would call to the ministry.  Yet, Evan Roberts desired above all else to preach the Gospel.  

He enrolled in a formal training program, but quickly became bored with the tedious effort to learn the minuscule details of ministry work.  He simply wanted to preach, and wasn't really interested in waiting until he completed all of his training to begin.   He spent every spare moment standing behind a makeshift podium, facing a mirror, delivering sermon after to sermon to his make believe congregation.  Eventually he was evicted from the boarding house in which he lived for preaching and praying too loudly.  In his defense he staunchly claimed; The Holy Spirit awakens me each night at exactly 1 am and these encounters go on until 5am or so - then it allows me to rest once again.  It is not by my choosing the hour it takes place, yet God’s.  

He believed with all his might he was being prepared solely for the day he would take to the pulpit. He continued to beg his pastor to allow him to preach, but it seemed as if there was no way this crude existence of a human being was ever going to be allowed to stand behind the sacred podium of a religious facility.  Roberts began to pray for God to change him, to lead him, and to begin using him.  He knew everything to do, but somehow cleaning up a bit never crossed his mind.  In response to his prayers he claimed to have heard God tell him that there was a great revival on the horizon, and that he was to call out to the people to repent and prepare their hearts for God’s presence.

Finally this enthusiastic, yet seemingly substandard young man convinced his pastor to agree to allow him to preach on a single occasion, but only after their Wednesday evening service was complete.  “If anyone desires to stay and listen, so be it” said the minister.  Only seventeen curious onlookers stuck around to witness this ‘ungodly’ looking spectacle take the pulpit.  Evan’s message was a simple four part sermon that went as follows:

1. Confession of all known sin

2. Repentance and restitution

3. Obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit

4. Public confession of Christ

A message I’ve heard the likes of Billy Graham mimic many times and it still rings true today. 

Evan Roberts explained what it meant to truly confess their sins, and how important it was that they remove all doubt from their hearts.  He spoke of heeding the call of the Holy Spirit, and how a changed heart would lead them to publicly confess Jesus as their Lord.  He kept it simple, using fewer words than he had in any of his early morning practice sessions.

Even though his preaching was rough and unpolished the small audience (which included his pastor) was moved to a point of repentance. The next night he was back at it, but this time with his pastor’s full encouragement, and the crowd was quite a bit larger.  Days passed and his preaching continued, yet his message remained simple and to the point.  The meetings were moved to wherever the now “evangelist” Evan Roberts felt led to go. 

Those traveling with him would often begin meetings with intense intercessory prayer, urging the attendees to surrender everything over to God.  Many in the crowds gave testimonies of what God had done in their lives since their great conversion.  Evan would often be seen on his knees pleading for God’s mercy, with tears streaming down his cheeks into puddles, literal puddles on the floor or ground.   The crowds would become so moved by wave after wave of the Spirit’s presence, spontaneous prayer, confession, testimony and by the singing which erupted in all the meetings that they would throw themselves upon whatever altar was put forth, pleading for forgiveness from God.

Evan, or his helpers, would approach those crying out in anguish and urge them to surrender to Christ.  All the while not a single musical instrument was played and often there wouldn’t be a sermon preached, yet the crowds continued to come and thousands professed conversion.  These meetings often went on until the early hours of the morning. Evan and his team would go home, sleep for 2–3 hours and be back at the pit-head by 5 am, urging the miners coming off night duty to come to chapel meetings. 

This awaking of sorts spread like wildfire over Wales. Other churches also began to experience the presence of God. Hundreds of overseas visitors flocked to witness the revival and many took that same revival fire back to their own land including America. More than 30,000 people came forward in the first month of his preaching alone.   The local newspaper began printing the names of those converted in their publication, as this was quickly becoming a phenomenal and historical event. Within eight short months over 100,000 people were brought into God’s kingdom.  What the learned, and polished couldn’t do, God did through this lowly, yet humble servant.  Once again He used the lesser for a greater cause!  Again we see BOLDNESS my friend, true boldness!

Let me ask you; have you ever accepted a job offer, a promotion, been elected to a public position or even started a new ministry opportunity that you weren't so sure you were totally capable of doing?  We now know that ministers like Evan Roberts sure have.

Who knows it may have been in a drug or alcohol rehab situation, or when you started a new business or as a newly enlisted soldier in the military. As a new parent, a new school, whatever or wherever it was, it’s a situation where the possibility of failing was very real in our minds.

In the meantime we just do the best we can, because we know at some point "they" are going to figure out we really don't know what we're doing, and that we don’t belong.  They’ll find out soon enough we're in way over our head, and it will all come crashing down around us.

What was amazing to learn was, that nearly everyone who has ever been in one of those types of situations has thought the very same thing you and I were thinking. The other shoe will drop at some point syndrome as I'll call it, because everything has to be some sort of "syndrome" these days.

In reality total failure almost never happens, so we go on with our lives, we learn, we get better, we find ways to survive until we get the experience we need under our belts. Most importantly we grow in many aspects of our life which we never expected to during this process.

Let me stop now and say this:  If you're at one of those times in your life, and in one of those situations, know this - God wants only good things for you. Honor Him in what you're doing and He will bless you with the ability to grow.  You can overcome the fear of failure by relying on His strength and not your own. Pray both for confidence and humility and continue to give your very best effort.  He is certainly working behind the scenes in our situations.  

BOLDNESS IN CHRIST OVERCOMES FEAR ALWAYS!

After reading that article about the condemned Christian woman from Sudan I felt God was telling me I needed to do more than simply pray for the situation. Yet what could some old, fat, insignificant guy living all the way down here in “churched up Alabama” do that would make any real difference?  Maybe nothing, I initially thought.  Then it came to me as to what I should do.  Here is an email I sent to the Minister of Justice of Sudan the other day.  

To moj@moj.gov.sd

May 19 at 2:46 PM

Dear Sir,

I would like to offer myself to serve as a replacement for Meriam Yehya Ibrahim punishment.  She has two small children, both of mine are grown.  It would be such a crime to take those small children's mother away when they need her the most.  I can take the beating and execution for her as a Christian in order that she can live and raise her children.  I assure you I am 100% serious.  I have a valid visa and can pay for my own flight to Sudan.   Please consider this request immediately! 

Sincerely, Doug Sharp

I included that email in this journal item for two reasons, and neither was to shine a spotlight on myself, (for who am I) yet rather on the situation at hand.   

First of all, I want you to pray with me that I be allowed to take this lady’s punishment and death sentence. What a shame it would be for those precious babies if they lost their mom this way and were left with a dad to tend to them that is severely disabled.  Pray that somehow I can contact the right person in the right agency, or the right attorney that could persuade the powers to be to allow it to happen, as I AM VERY SERIOUS WITH MY INTENTIONS IN THIS MATTER!

Then secondly, I would like to encourage others to pray and ask if possibly the Holy Spirit is leading you to do likewise.   One woman dying for her stance and Christian beliefs is a phenomenal story in and of itself, but what if all Christians – especially those in Sudan and throughout the world come out of our closets with BOLDNESS and say in one accord, “Then you must kill me also, for I am a Christian!”

One person dying for Christ’s sake will certainly bring attention to Him, but in the eyes of the world it will also bring attention to the one being martyred.  I believe if thousands upon thousands of us stand arm in arm, saying with one voice, we are willing to die for Christ also, that it will bring about great attention to the name of Jesus alone, as there will be far too many of us for the world to individualize the situation! 

Here’s the obvious risk though; we might end up actually dying in this situation as well, so understand that before you decide to begin this process with me.

So whatta ya say – do you feel a little BOLDNESS coming on?  doug

It's Only Make Believe

On my way to the office today, driving the car I rarely use, the radio was tuned to a classic country music station.  The song playing as I pulled out of the drive was Conway Twitty’s - It‘s Only Make Believe.   I admit, I’ve always loved that song, for whatever reason.  His voice was so, so strong early in his career but then in his later years, (in my humble opinion) he started to sound more like Elmer Fudd.  Listen to him sing the song The Rose from 1992 and see if you don’t agree.  It cracks me up every time I hear Elmer Fudd singing; Da Wose - Some say wuv, it is a wiver……enough about that though, that’s just me talking crazy.

One of the most intriguing tidbits about the song; It’s Only Make Believe (written by Conway Twitty and Jack Nance) is that for eight long weeks after its release in July of 1958 it virtually sold NO records whatsoever.  The record producers simply could not believe it.  Here was this (what they thought to be) mega hit record, by this very popular singer, getting lots of airplay - yet no one was buying the album or single – what gives?  Finally someone at MGM Records had the great idea to begin surveying the record shops to see if that would help solve the mystery.  What they learned truly surprised them.  Sure there were lots of requests to buy the record from the public but, nearly everyone thought the song was sung by the hottest thing in music at the time, Elvis Presley.   Customers came in daily asking for that record by Ol’ Shake-a-Leg himself, but the clerks kept telling them they didn't have it yet, so they left empty handed or with some other really cool Elvis record.

As I said, this went on for two whole months during what was the busiest time of the record selling season back then, yet all the while, It’s Only Make Believe  quickly became the most requested song on radio.  MGM executives took action and immediately sent word to all stations to over-emphasize that it was sung by Conway Twitty, not Elvis - and the rest is history as they say.  By November of that year it became the first, and only # 1 Hit Conway ever had on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-e2MUH3rBw

It’s only make believe

Sometimes it feels like we live in a world of make believe, doesn’t it?  Everything today seems so “surreal” as it’s often described in today’s most over-used phrase EVER.

Making believe – as if we were mere children playing a game on the front porch or in the back yard after we got bored with other stuff, during what used to be three long months of summer vacation from school.   We could make believe we were anybody, doing anything, on any type of adventure we wanted to.   Our imagination was our video games back then - we didn't sit on the couch with a controller in our hands killing aliens like nobody’s business – NOPE, we were outside hanging from a tree limb or hiding under a makeshift tent from the sheets on the clothes line. We didn't have much, but by golly we could make believe with the best of them because our imaginations were exercised to full strength every day.    Do you ever wish you could go back to those days……yeah me too sometimes.

An interesting thing I read Billy Graham say in an interview once; he speculated that only about 25% of the people who came forward in his crusades over the years actually sincerely committed their lives to Christ. Despite there being lots of REALITY in what he said, it’s still a very sad statistic, as well as being a sad statement of how we love to play make believe.  Today’s study (actually done in 2012)show an even gloomier view of this issue – only 6% of people that come forth or represent they have made a commitment to God at a crusade or religious event show any signs of significant change in their lives one year later.  Again, this is so very sad!    But here’s the up-side to all this – even if only 6% of the people that came to a Billy Graham crusade were “transformed” that is still approximately 12 million people.   12,000,000 people that may have never given their lives to Christ if the Good News had not been preached to them by this common man from the dairy farms of North Carolina, doing something in a very uncommon-like way.

So what’s all this telling us?   Simply this; we’ve become very good at making believe, but more importantly it shows in our minds and hearts we recognize we need something more than what we’ve been pretending to already have.   We professional pretenders know the real truth - all the while we’re making believe we have everything under control, we’re really nothing but a big, hot mess of goo on the inside.

You've heard me say this before; I pretended for 19 years to be an Agnostic but the truth is, I was never really an Agnostic. First and foremost; I merely had questions which I was seeking answers to it.  Secondly; my life didn’t line up with the way I knew in my heart God wanted me to live, so rather than submit myself to His authority as Lord over my life I made believe I didn't know if He existed or not.   I got so good at it I could argue both sides of the issue with believers as well as the so-called Atheist crowd, yet, as that period of make believe in my life began to wind down it became harder for me to deny the truth that my heart had always known to be real.  

Interesting fact:  Even while professing to be an Agnostic I was invited to be a special teacher for a month-long series to a young-adult group at a Baptist Church in East Tennessee.  Now, isn’t that strange!  They didn't offer me this opportunity because I was pretending to be something else, as I went around openly declaring to be an Agnostic.  What actually got me the invite was my strong belief that regardless what you do, or believe in, do it or believe it with great passion - or simply don’t do it at all.  This, I could teach because I truly believed it - it wasn't make believe for me, it was a core principle in my life!

What happened in the process was this: Over that four week period God started showing me the ridiculous pretentiousness in my stance to be a so-called Agnostic, as well as pointing out the other wrong thinking and doings in my life.  So what ended up happening was this - He reached down and rescued me from myself!  I'll never forget lying in the floor of the sun-room (which I had built onto the camper I lived in at the time) on a cold December 5, 2006 night, balling my eyes out in repentance.  God forgave me, and welcomed another prodigal son back home, even while the smell of fresh pig’s slop was still on my breath.

What helped get me to that point was this; one of the leaders from that young adult group gave me a CD by a Christian group I had never heard of at the time called, Casting Crowns.  The song from their Lifesong album that broke the will of this self-proclaimed Agnostic was one entitled; Stained Glass Masquerade. The lyrics seemed to jump out of the CD player and grab me by the throat and wouldn't let go till I submitted.  I was no longer given the option to make believe as it was a point where I believe God said; we’re going to settle this issue once and for all - and we did!   I've never looked back, not once, for how could I – my life had been saved. I HAVE BEEN RESCUED!

Is there anyone that fails?
Is there anyone that falls?
Am I the only one in church today
Feelin' so small?

'Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like every thing's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So, with a painted grin, I play the part again
So, everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
under shiny plastic steeples
with walls around our weakness
and smiles to hide our pain?

But if the invitation's open
to every heart that has been broken
maybe then we close the curtain
on our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there?
are there any hands to raise?
Am I the only one who's traded
in the altar for a stage?

The performance is convincing
and we know every line by heart
only when no one is watching
can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
if I dared to let you see
the truth behind the person
that you imagine me to be?

Would your arms be open?
Or would you walk away?
Would the love of Jesus
be enough to make you stay?

Songwriter: HALL, JOHN MARK       Published by: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzKOrlPuWzo

1 Corinthians 13

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I believe when we truly “get” what God is telling us in these scriptures we can no longer go on living in a world of make believe just as I couldn't after December 5, 2006. This I now know, we must submit our will, our hearts, and our complete lives, to serve and to love Him and others - right here, right now in this very REAL world we live in.

 It’s only make believe, 

but the Good News is, it doesn't have to be!

“But would it set me free
if I dared to let you see
the truth behind the person
that you imagine me to be?”  

                                                                                                                  doug

FOR RICH EYES ONLY

If you're reading this on a computer, (even if it's at work) on your smartphone, tablet, notebook or laptop - YOU are richer than 98% of the world's population.  

That's right - you and I fall into the “richest 2% of the people in the world” category.

Here are two other things I suspect you may also say are true about yourself;

1. You don't believe what I just wrote, even laughing at the notion of me suggesting you're "rich."

2. You probably don't live like a rich person.

Today many of us think in order to be considered rich one must have mega-money, mega-sports cars, mega-mansions, etc… but in fact that way of thinking is perpetual.  

Just as a person with very little may believe if they had what you have they would be “rich”  -   someone with $50,000 in assets may think in order to be “rich” they would need to at least be a millionaire.   -   A person with $500,000 in wealth may think to be “rich” they would need to have at least 5 million dollars.  -  A person with 10 million dollars in assets might also think to be truly “rich” they would need to have at least 100 million dollars in wealth, and so forth, and so on.  We all have our own prejudiced view of what being "rich" means!  There's rich, then there's Lotto rich as they say!

The truth is, it doesn't matter if you’re sitting in a government-provided house, surviving on your monthly government check, eating soup from cans that you had to walk to the store to buy - you are still the absolute envy of the great majority of people in the world.    Here’s something to know; TODAY on our planet nearly 20,000 children under the age of 18 will die from a lack of food and/or proper medical treatment?  Tomorrow the count begins anew for another 20,000 young people that don’t deserve to die this way, yet all the while we live in the richest time in human existence.

Did you also know that in the 1970’s only 50% of  middle income families in American had air conditioning in their homes?  How about the fact that, 40% of them didn’t even own a microwave, and not all of them owned a colored television set,  and surprisingly only 30% of them had more than one car per household.  This is the MIDDLE-INCOME folks we’re talking about here, not the poor.  Today, if you or I have to suffer through a sweltering summer day with no air conditioning we would make the six o'clock news.

Now let’s look around our own homes and apartments, (a people who call ourselves poor), do we have all those things?  How many flat-screens do we see?  How much food is in that working fridge that has that  ice dispenser thingy right there on the front door instead of having to bust cubes loose from those tiny little plastic trays and chase them around the kitchen floor? What’s that in the driveway with four tires, (which may be partially bald, but they’re still holding air) and what’s that parked beside or behind it?  I could go on, and on, but you get the point!

As much as we become dissatisfied with the "stuff" we have, can you imagine if we could load it all up and drag it over to another country, and step off the plane or boat yelling to the crowd of onlookers, “Hey, who wants this piece of crap,(fill in the blank) ___________ whatever?   More than likely we would be immediately arrested by authorities for starting a full blown riot in their country as the crowd would began ripping and tearing at each other with vengeance just to get to our  yucky, discarded sofa, car, clothes, outdated boxes of mac and cheese, jewelry, old cellphones, lawnmowers etc...  

WE ARE INDEED RICH – so let’s come to grips with that!

Mark 10:17  - Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, (a young man, a ruler among the Jews who was very rich, a person of great dignity, and large substance) knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18. So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

19. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

20. And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

21. Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.”

22. But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had a great many possessions.

23. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

24. And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26. And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

27. But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Did you see it?   Right there in verse 26 where it says; “And they (his disciples) were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”   Now why would that be such a perplexing issue for them?  Let me ask you, have you ever considered any of these ragtag followers of Jesus to be rich?  NO, I suspect none of us have, even though some of them were rich compared to many others in their communities, and some of them came from rich families.    There were several rich people flowing in and out of the stories from the ministry of Jesus, some doing good with their riches and some wanting to hang onto them like the guy in the story we just read.  This was indeed an issue that hit close to home with the disciples, so when all of a sudden they're hearing this new teaching about how “riches” are a bad thing, (which wasn't what Jesus was saying), it scared them a bit.    What Jesus actually said to his disciples was this, how hard it is for those who trust in riches  to enter the kingdom of God!

Anyway, back to my point here - Throughout our lives when we've heard the verses shown above in sermons or in Sunday-school lessons I’m betting you, like me, never thought this issue was directly related to YOU. I thought Jesus was talking about the Bill Gates, Warrant Buffets, Ted Turner’s, of his time, not someone like the average Joe, barely scrapping by paycheck to paycheck.  But, WHAT IF Jesus was actually talking about rich people just like me and you?  Haven’t we already agreed it’s true, we’re “rich” by comparison to the other 98% of the world’s people, so surely we're to be included in that conversation.  What would have to change in our lives to get to a point where we’re willing to let go of all our STUFF in order to (verse 21) pick up our crosses daily and follow Him?   I think for some of us it’s not as much about getting rid of our stuff, as it is about making it available for His purpose, His glory, His kingdom.   I think we all have things in our lives, (if we’re pushed hard enough) we would have to admit are “excesses” that could be used to help others who are less fortunate.  They would even see great value in the same things we probably would never even miss.

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One of the reasons I fell in love with Quest Community Church in Lexington, KY even though I've only visited there a handful of times over the past ten years is because of the “shoe" story.   What the heck is a shoe story you might ask!  Well it's this!  But let me first say, this is just my version of the story which I readily admit may not be very accurate in detail, as its been several years since I read and heard it, (and I have a terrible memory sometimes) yet the account you’re about to read is absolutely true in substance.

As I recall, it all came about as a response to a movement of Holy Spirit during a church service.  For whatever reason God had laid it on Pastor Pete Hise’s heart  about how there were so many people in the world (still in our modern day of excess) that went barefoot every day, all year long simply because they didn't have a single pair of shoes to wear.  Now this had absolutely nothing to do with the sermon series he was in the middle of at the time, so he kind of did like some of us do, he put it to the rear of his mind for another day, and another situation.  

Yet, at some point on this particular day he couldn't keep ignoring this “shoe” issue any longer, as it kept distracting him from his sermon.   Finally he paused for a brief time and without notice abruptly changed the conversation and started talking about the shoe issue that's prevalent throughout much of the world. Then he went a step further and took off his own shoes and placed them at the front of the stage area, vowing he was giving them away to someone shoe-less in the world that needed them so much more than he did.  The crowd was left speechless but very moved by what they had just heard and seen from their pastor.  No one came to church that day expecting to hear about the shoe-less people of the world, but now that they had...

What happened next is what sets off a big lump in my throat, the people in the congregation started taking off the shoes they had worn to church and took them to the front and laid them by their pastor’s shoes.     No one knew to plan for this event so they didn't wear their old high school days, worn out Chuck Taylor hi-tops – NO, here laid fancy cowboy boots worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars (as this church is centered in the middle of the nation's richly-filled thoroughbred horse industry), and new stilettos also worth hundreds, people’s favorite sandals, and tennis shoes, the most comfortable and stylish shoes they owned, their best Sunday-go-to-meeting shoes, and even a couple of pairs of the latest version, and most expensive Air Jordans.  

Yet, not another word was spoken throughout the service while the front area of the church was slowly filled with shoes of every make, size, color, and designer tag.  The congregation humbly and silently returned to their seats, then proceeded out the door and to their cars - barefooted in the middle of a Kentucky winter.     

This was the day Quest Community Church found its true identity as a church, and its work in the area of benevolence and having a servant's heart for the needy in their city and throughout the world has grown tremendously ever since. 

 -

You still think you’re not rich?  Take a look in your closet and count the pairs of shoes you have.  If it’s like mine, it’s pretty embarrassing!  From a distance they look a lot like a couple of widow's mites to me.

Recorded in an ancient Jewish teaching is this: The Holy One said, “Open for me a door as big as a needle's eye and I will open for you a door through which may enter great tents and many camels.”

In other words, God only needs a non-believer, partial-believer, or a life-long pew sitter like some of us, to open up just a small crack in our armor and He will come pouring in and set up room for an oasis of riches.  God only needs to get his foot in the door, so to speak to make a change in the heart of a rich person that allows them/us to be able to ultimately pass through the proverbial eye of the needle.  Who knows, it may be something as simple as taking your shoes off.   I pray all of us will allow God to do the work in our lives that He so greatly desires, and in turn He will make us truly RICH. 

 27. But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

doug