Mornings With My Shepherd

My morning runs are often a time for me to reflect. This morning as I was running I realized a few things that I would like to share with you.

We all experience difficult times in our lives. Oftentimes, these difficulties and adversity are brought about by our own wrong decisions, stubbornness, and largely resistance to doing what God is very clearly saying to us. I know this to be true for me.

In my reflections I was reminded of a story about how shepherds deal with their sheep. In any flock, there are sheep who out of not knowing any better or out of sheer stubbornness stray away from the herd. When this happens these sheep are exposed to danger, pain and at worst--death.

In the first few instances that the sheep strays, the shepherd uses his staff to reach out and draw the erring sheep back to the fold. That is why we often see a "crook / hook" at the end of the shepherd's wooden staff. This is used to hook the neck of the sheep and draw them back to the herd. I'm certain that for the sheep, this experience is by no means pleasurable. Imagine being pulled back from your neck ?!? The farther away the sheep has strayed, the longer it is that the sheep will experience the less than pleasurable, if not painful, experience of being pulled back to the herd with the use of the staff.

Sadly, sheep will be sheep. Especially stubborn (like me) sheep. Eventually, if the experience of the staff is not enough to convince the sheep from straying away from the shepherd, things escalate. The shepherd, out of love and concern for his precious sheep will do something drastic. In this case, the shepherd eventually has to break bones on the sheep's leg so that it can't stray away from him anymore. Now if the staff was painful, imagine how much more painful this is!

This is not only painful for the sheep but for the shepherd as well. Sheep are precious to the shepherd. Shepherds want their sheep to be perfect, unblemished, unscarred, undeformed. However, out of love for the sheep, the shepherd will sometimes have to resort to this method to keep them from straying away into danger and death. There are times when the broken bones heal and the sheep come out of the experience still whole. In most cases however, that sheep will walk away from the experience with a scar, a limp, etc. That scar or limp remains to remind the sheep of how much the shepherd loves him as well as to remind him not to stray away again.

Because of the broken bones the sheep cannot walk. As such, the sheep is carried by the shepherd over his shoulders until the bones heal and it is able to walk again. It is during this time of pain and healing, while on the shoulders of its shepherd, that the sheep gets close to its shepherd and is renewed and restored to health.

A lot of times in my life, I was that stubborn sheep. Many times God, My Shepherd, has used His staff to call and pull me back into the fold. But as sheep will be sheep so boys will be boys and in the stubbornness of my heart, I often refused and ignored His calls. Inevitably, He had to break my legs (figuratively). Not because He wants to hurt me purposely but because He loves me and wants to draw me back to Him, restore my intimacy with Him and draw me away from things, people and circumstances that are dangerous for me.

If we are experiencing hurt, pain, failure, disappointment, loss, loneliness, etc. right now could it be that we are straying from our Good and Loving Shepherd and He is calling us back? Could it be that we are doing something, holding on to something or to someone that is drawing us away from the Shepherd? If so, I pray that we won't wait for the "breaking" experience and heed the pull of our shepherd's staff.

On the other hand, if our legs, our bones have been figuratively broken by the Shepherd, I pray that we use the time to regain and restore our intimacy with Him and that by His grace we may heal completely.

Lastly, let us not forget that over two thousand years ago, a perfect unblemished lamb had to be broken too--on a rugged and cruel cross. He was broken not because He strayed but because it was the only way to bring the other sheep who strayed back into the arms of The Shepherd. He bore the pain and wears the scars of the thorns on His head and the nails on His hands and feet out of love. And one day, when we are brought into Heaven and our physical bodies are glorified and perfected, we will still see Him wearing those scars as a reminder of how much He loves us and what lengths He would go through to bring us back to Him.

The Cracked Pot

Good morning!

The week is almost over. I don't know about you, but for me this is usually the time when I am drawn to look back at the past few days and begin reflecting. Unfortunately, there are times while I'm doing this that I see more mistakes/failures rather than successes, more flaws and weaknesses rather than strengths. Many times, I feel pretty much like the cracked pot in this story that I'd like to share with you.

The Story of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” “Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?” “I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” The pot said

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Jeremiah 18:6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel."

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness...”

Be encouraged. We serve a sovereign and powerful God who is able to work "through" our cracks, our dents and if need be patch them up for His glory!

Reflections on 2 Kings 5: The Servant's Heart 1 of 2

Reflections on 2 Kings 5: The Servant's Heart (1 of 2)

In this passage of scripture, we see four servants: the maidservant of Naaman's wife, the King of Israel (in the service of God), Naaman's soldiers, and finally Gehazi (Elisha's servant). Let's take a look at the first two.

2 Kings 5:1-7

¹ Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^[a]with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. ² Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were ^[c]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.

⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷When the king of Israel read the letter, ^(E)he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking ^[f]a quarrel against me.”

The Maidservant vs. the King

A true servant draws strength from and has faith in his master's abilities to provide, protect, preserve and accomplish His will through him as he serves.

The maidservant being an Israelite looked to God himself as master or essentially through His representative, the prophet Elijah. That is why when this maidservant saw the condition of Naaman (having leprosy), her natural response was to tell Naaman of Elisha the prophet and his ability to cure—most likely after having experienced this or seen it first-hand. On the other hand, the King, after seeing Naaman, had an altogether different reaction. It was one of despair. I praise God for the contrast He uses not just in this passage but in this book of 2^nd kings. In Chapter 6 it was a contrast between the four lepers and the king. But as early as this chapter we find a contrast between a king’s reaction to crisis and that of a mere maidservant. I praise God for the consistency of His word, for was it not said in the book of 1 Corinthians:

²⁶ For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to^[b]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no man may boast before God. ³⁰ But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

The thought of the consistency of God’s word blows my mind. But God in His grace has yet to give me insights on the beauty of this thought.

In the meantime, let’s go back and take a look at the King and the maidservant. If we really bring it down to the bottom-line, both of them were looking at the same thing. They were both looking at a man with leprosy. The maidservant’s humble response enabled her to point Naaman to go to Israel and seek Elisha to be healed. On the other hand, the king who was in Israel himself and also had knowledge of Elisha was completely ineffective, he turned and looked at himself and as such became desperate.

Admittedly, I would have loved to have lived in the time of the OT, seeing all these great and mighty miracles come to pass. But as Christians of today, living in the age of grace, we too are being used by God (hopefully like the maidservant and not the king) to bring about and see miracles unfold before our very eyes—the miracle of changed lives. How is this done? Simply by doing what the maidservant did. She pointed. Our (MY) goal as a Christian is not to “save” people but rather to point them to the “Savior”. The moment I start relying on my own craftiness /competence (I become like the king in v.7) I start becoming ineffective. No amount of eloquence, no measure of worldly wisdom can change a man’s heart—only God can do that. I have no strength or wisdom of my own to save men. All I have is knowledge of the savior who by His grace saved a wretched man like me.

As I reflect on this, I am even reminded of that passage in Exodus 3 and 4, when God was giving Moses his mission and Moses looks at himself and realizes all his own inadequacies.

Our duty is to tell other people of the Savior, not to be a savior in their eyes. It will be frustrating at times especially when we don’t see people reacting the way we would want as we share the gospel with them. But let me encourage you with this verse I found in Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; ¹¹ So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

Get to know God by reading His word. Carve His words in your heart that you may act in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Point others to Christ through your words and your actions. Leave the results to God.

How Much Is Christianity Worth?

I did not think I would be posting another entry in my blog for today. But God in his grace, led me to and inspired me through a story I read in a Christian blog post. This was exactly what I was looking for to cap-off my quiet time verses this morning which was in Ephesians 2:1-10 and Matthew 5:10-15.

Ephesians 2:1-10 ¹ And you ^[a]were ^(A)dead ^[b]in your trespasses and sins, ² in which you ^(B)formerly walked according to the ^[c]course of ^(C)this world, according to ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in ^(E)the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all^(F)formerly lived in ^(G)the lusts of our flesh, ^[d]indulging the desires of the flesh and of the^[e]mind, and were ^(H)by nature ^(I)children of wrath, ^(J)even as the rest. ⁴ But God, being^(K)rich in mercy, because of ^(L)His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were^(M)dead ^[f]in our transgressions, made us alive together ^[g]with Christ (^(N)by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and ^(O)raised us up with Him, and ^(P)seated us with Him in ^(Q)the heavenlyplaces in ^(R)Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing^(S)riches of His grace in ^(T)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(U)by grace you have been saved ^(V)through faith; and ^[h]that not of yourselves, it is ^(W)the gift of God; ^{9 (X)}not as a result of works, so that ^(Y)no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, ^(Z)created in^(AA)Christ Jesus for ^(AB)good works, which God ^(AC)prepared beforehand so that we would^(AD)walk in them.

One of the most difficult times in my Christian life is when I can't see what tomorrow will bring and my yesterday is trying to catch up with me and calling me back to the life I once lived.

I see this in those moments when decisions I am about to make will define whether I am a follower of Christ or still a child of this world and a slave to my old ways. It could be times when I have to surrender what I previously knew as "craftiness" or “competence” in exchange for doing what would be more pleasing to God.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that being competent or making sure that we are doing things right is not pleasing to God. I am merely saying that as Christians we are called on to take this a level higher. Going beyond just doing things right and instead making sure that we do the right thing and do it right---just as God would have us do it. Doing things right by the world’s standards does not always align with doing them according to God’s standards.

Oftentimes, this is easy enough to do in big, life-changing decisions. Why? Because in these situations oftentimes everything is black and white. Right and wrong are clearly defined and there are no two-ways about what we ought to do. By and large we are victorious in battles we wage in this area of our lives.

Sadly, as Christians, this is not where the battle rages. This is not the trench. This is the map room. This is strategic not tactical. Any general worth his mettle would know that too many tactical battles lost will inevitably lose you the war.

Allow me to tell you a story that I read in a Christian blog:

“Several years ago, a young priest moved to London. He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. A few weeks after he arrived, He had occasion to ride a bus. As he took his seat, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him, twenty-pence too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself:”you better give the twenty-pence back. It would be wrong to keep it.

Then he thought: “Oh, forget it. It’s just twenty-pence. Who would worry about such a small amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they’ll probably never miss it. Besides, this may even be a blessing of sorts from God.”

Does this sound familiar? Ever been in a situation similar to the priest? How did we react? Did we rationalize? Justify? Or worse, did we actually “spin” the situation so that it would not only be acceptable/rational/justified but even seemingly “miraculous”? This is as "tactical" as "tactical" can get. No strategic arguments here about grace, prophecy or tribulation, etc., etc,.This is where the battle is waged. But how? Its just such a little thing. Such a small decision. Right? Let’s see what happened in the rest of the story.

“When his stop came, the priest paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the twenty-pence back to the driver and said:”Here, you gave me twenty-pence too much change.”

The driver, with a smile, replied:”Aren’t you the new parish priest in the area? I have been thinking lately of going to worship in your church. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

When the young priest stepped off the bus, his knees became weak and soft. He had to grab the nearest light pole and hold on for support. As he hung on to the post, with tears in his eyes he looked up to heaven and said: “Oh, my Jesus forgive me. I almost sold out Christianity for a mere twenty-pence!”

We rarely ever see the impact that our actions have on the people and the world around us. As Christians, we must come to the full appreciation and realization that our lives and the way we live it may be the only Bible some people will ever get to read. Jesus himself said:

Matthew 5:13-15 “13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

The challenge is not so much how we do the right thing rightly in the big decisions of our lives, rather the challenge is how we show the Christ of the Bible through the seemingly small, mundane decisions we make in our daily life. It is here where our battle as Christians rages. It is here where everyday people see everyday Christianity lived out. It is here where souls are won or lost for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is where the salt is tested for its saltiness and this is where our light should shine the brightest.

Admittedly, there are a lot of thought patterns, reactions, habits we acquired in our pre-Christian life that we still carry over into our present life as believers. These were not “magically” gone when we accepted Christ.

If you’re like me, then most likely we’ve all been able to deal with the major issues in our thought life, actions and habits that we know are not pleasing to God. However, it’s the “little things” that I find hard to surrender. Largely because of their littleness (IRONIC!). They could be as simple as the way we react to other people on the road as we drive, what comes into our mind when things don’t go our way, how we treat our staff, colleagues, help, etc. when they do something wrong / against us / or simply make a mistake, etc. It’s these things that we need to completely surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.

Big things, big plans, big decisions are easily surrendered to Jesus. It’s the little ones we are often unaware of that we have difficulty surrendering. Its almost as if saying to Jesus: “Lord, all my lands, all my fields are yours..but I’m not giving you my house, my fireplace, my dining room, my closet—leave them to me, I can take care of them. They’re too little for a Lord like You.”

Well, truth is, although it is exciting to experience the fellowship, power and faithfulness of our Lord in the fields of our lives, still the most meaningful and unforgettable times of refreshing fellowship are experienced in the home—our heart, in the little things. This is where Jesus desires to be intimate with us. That’s why he said in Revelation 3:20

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”

The idea of dining together here is a picture of “intimacy / closeness”.

Moreover, we will realize that when it comes to trusting God in the really tough, big, decisions of life, it helps to have practiced trusting Him in the small ones. Being "intimate" and "honest" with Him in the little things. The “good works” that result from trusting him in these little areas of our life serve as further proof of the faith in Christ that led us to salvation (Ephesians2:10). Only when we're conscious of our Christianity in the mundane, little, day-to-day, decisions can we expect this same Christianity to naturally come out and shine for the glory of God in the big decisions we make!

This is where the worth of our Christianity is measured. It's not everyday we get to make "big", "life-changing" decisions. But we are called on to make decisions moment-by-moment of our lives. This is where other people see the true value / worth of our Christianity.

This is not just seen and appreciated by God but seen by the people that God wants to reach through us. This is where the battle is won! Fight the good fight fellow soldier in Christ! The battle is joined! Victory is ours and heaven is in sight! Press on!