Two Shirt Day

It was a two shirt day. I expected to have to change shirts. I do put a clean one on in the mornings. But I didn't expect it so soon.

Maybe I had better start at the beginning.

I took a shower in the house where we are staying here in Okinawa. Everything seemed fine. So I got dressed as usual. No problems yet. Then I started into the living room to continue my prep work for our first service here at Keystone Nazarene, the congregation with whom we have the privilege of sharing life this Summer.

And then it happened. The sweat started running. I turned on the fan and placed myself in front of it. But the sweat continued. I tried to ignore it, but to no avail. And then I made the mistake of moving.

As soon as I moved the evidence of the monsoon of sweat that was taking over the local weather system under my shirt became evident. What had been my secret was now revealed to the world, or at least to my wife and our host. The sweat had penetrated my shirt and was making its presence known to everyone who cared to look.

Sometimes in our spiritual life we try to hide the turmoil in our lives. We try to make the outside look better than our inside. We put on the happy face and pretend, at least to the outside world, that all is well. But we can't hide this turmoil from ourselves. And eventually it shows up to the outside world.

We all know people who pretend everything is OK, but are completely unaware that everyone around them knows something is wrong. They think they are hiding it, but it is plain to see.

Paul wrote that he was strongest when he was weakest (2Cor 12:10). When he was willing to live in that weakness, not trying to hide behind some fake facade, then God's power could take over, making the impossible possible.

So in defeat I went to my bedroom and put on a different shirt, one that would hide the sweat. The sweat is still there, but people can't see it. I guess I just became better at hiding my real self! Yikes! That isn't what I want. I want people to see the real me. But I hear in a voice in my head reminding me of what my loving wife might say, "Yes, but they don't want to smell the real you!"

I put on more deodorant!

You Want Me To Do What?

The Japanese people are the most polite people I have ever met. This is woven into the fabric of their culture in so many ways, ways I can only imagine at this point since we arrived here in Okinawa only six hours ago.

Here is an example from the flight from Tokyo to Okinawa. As the flight attendants started to do the safety briefing ( you know the one about exits, oxygen masks and life jacket’s) they gave us the gentle bow or respect. They turned and in unison bowed to those of us who had entered their airplane. In that moment I felt very respected, important, honored.

I know it is part of their job. I did some things when the boss told me to that were different from my inclinations. The Army consistently told me to show up much earlier that I ever wanted to! We called it “zero dark thirty.” It always seemed earlier than any rational human being would show up. But I would be there, along with a few of my closest new friends.

We often do things in life that seem to us out of place.

Jesus was talking to His disciples one day He told them to do something very unusual. In Matthew five He was giving them insight into the extent of the reach of the Gospel into the human heart and will. Or as they say in the South, He started meddling.

Retribution isn’t the answer. Neither was justice. “38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’” Justice is nice. Retribution might even feed some deep part of us that gets hungry when justice seems slow.

But Jesus tells them to stop resisting the evil person’s actions.

“39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.”

I can hear those listening say, “You want me to do what?” “This is crazy. They will take advantage of us.” “No way I’m doing that! I have my dignity to consider. I have my rights.”

Our enemies, Satan, sin and selfishness, want us to hold onto our dignity, our property and our time.But that is the lie. We don’t deserve respect, being the confirmed sinners that we are. The things we have aren’t ours to keep, since heaven is our new home. And our time is not our own, we were bought with a price.

As followers of Jesus we must live as Jesus did. “42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Yikes, this is hard! No it is impossible. We might be able to do it once or twice, but to do it consistently and with the right attitude, that is another story. And that is what I see as I encounter the Japanese people. They didn’t have to bow, but they did. They know from seeing Western values and culture that life doesn’t consist in the bows given or received. And yet they continue to bow. Even as we walked through the airport. Every time an encounter with another person started, there was the bow.

How can I bring this bow into my heart and mind? How can I prefer the other person ahead of myself? 

Mr Perfect: The Movie

1 John 1:10

          We will be casting a new movie about an actual living person. It will be titled “Mr Perfect: The Movie.” We are looking for nominations and suggestions for the actor to play the lead role. The person is allowed to star in the movie, if that makes it easier. Don’t worry ladies, the sequel will be “Ms Perfect: The Better Movie.” Our culture seems to be obsessed with perfection. People concentrate so much on their looks, that they often miss what is much more important. People can put up with ugly if the character and personality are dynamic. But even the best looking can’t maintain true friends if they are rotten to other people.

          The sad thing is that some people actually believe they are perfect, or at least as perfect as any human being can be. They might never actually say those words, but by their action they say it. Everything is about them. The world revolves around them and what they do. Other people are just an inconvenience. Their feelings and ideas just slow down the perfection that they want to enact in their world. They say they want to get along, but then at the first hiccup they rail into those who stand in their way. Their opponents are then portrayed as the lowest form of life, devoid of intelligence and common sense. If they would just do what he wants, everything would run smoothly.

          This is not a new type of person, bread in the throngs of the 20^th Century. There have always been those who thought they could do no wrong, that they were sinless. But John will have none of this. He says that anyone who claims to not have sinned in their life, past and present, is a liar. They are trying to make God the liar, saying that He is wrong. Not everyone is a sinner, and they are the proof.

          What this kind of person is really doing is replacing God and His judgment about right and wrong with their own set of standards, a set that they make up to make themselves look good in their own eyes. That way they can claim to be perfect. They redefine what is evil making it good instead.

          Notice that John uses the pronoun “we” as he discusses this problem. He says that we might be the ones claiming that we have not sinned. Even if our culture redefines a sinful act, that doesn’t make it any less sinful in God’s eyes. This includes a church culture. We have often excluded people for whom Christ died. It used to be by the length of their hair or the color of their skin. We excluded people because they didn’t dress like we did or talk like we did.

          So when we paint what we do as the pinnacle of perfection, we are in dangerous territory. The LORD wants a humble people, transparent about their struggles with sin and the perfection of our Savior. This doesn’t mean that we are always talking about our sin, but that we are always lifting up the Savior, a Savior that we so desperately need.

          I don’t want to be on the side that declares that the LORD is a liar. I want to be affirming His perspective on life and the world. I might misunderstand what He has said, but I want to be struggling to put what I do know to be true into practice in my life. I don’t need perfect clarity to know sufficiently to live godly in Christ Jesus. And when He does bring greater clarity, I am willing to step up and admit I was wrong. I am a sinner. I am human, limited and broken.

          Have you any ideas about that Mr Perfect nomination?

Self-Correcting Guidance

Psalm 25:1-11

          With the drive to invent and perfect self-driving cars and the rise of robots in some parts of the world, Japan in particular, there are some who see humans on the verge of being taken over by robots. They will replace and have replaced some factory workers. No union negotiations needed! They have replaced information booth people and concierge services with a computer kiosk. Google has taken over the reference librarian’s job. Physical maps are almost a thing of the past, so there go those jobs.

          The one thing about the self-driving cars that we need to know is that they are constantly collecting data from the outside world in order to do their job. They are connected to satellites to know exactly where they are on the road. They collect distance data from all the other objects around them so that they don’t bump into other cars and people. When traffic slows, they slow. They may be self-driving, but they certainly aren’t independent. They need input and lots of it.

          Our writer tells us about his sources of input. He lets us in on where he finds direction and wisdom to navigate his world. And that source is the LORD. And that navigation starts with plugging into Him. Putting our trust in Him is the orienting anchor. The LORD acts like the navigational GPS; our connection to Him keeps us moving in the right direction. Without trust, we will keep grabbing the wheel and overriding His will for our lives. We have to let go and trust that He knows what He is doing, that He has the best in store for us, that things are not out of His control. We must trust that shame is not coming our way if we follow Him. Shame is a very powerful motivation to avoid things. Shame can paralyze us. With Him, there is no shame in our future.

          Our writer then asks for specific instructions, specific input from the LORD for his journey. He needs his map updated. He wants to have the LORD teach him the paths of life, to guide and direct. This is not a onetime event. This is constant, interactive and engaging communication.

          Can you imagine if your GPS voice caught an attitude when you didn’t follow its directions? You miss a few times and then it starts to call you names and insulting your intelligence. The more you ignore it, the worse it gets. It wouldn’t be long before it would be pitched out the window.

          Our writer wants the LORD to guide him based on his current relationship with the LORD and not on his past history. He wants mercy and love rather than what he deserves. Isn’t that what you want? I like mercy and love!

          We often look on instruction as a negative thing, don’t we? But the LORD’s character requires instruction. Not only do sinners need instruction, like how to start a relationship with the LORD, but every person needs to know His way. Humility is the starting point of all instruction. If we think we know it all, we certainly don’t think we need anyone telling us anything. Humble people are ready and willing to accept the influence of others. So knowing that the LORD is loving and faithful makes it easy to listen to His instruction.

          And humility recognizes the need for forgiveness, not just when we begin our journey of faith, but as an ongoing process of our faith. Are you ready to take a course offered by the LORD?

Credits

Psalm 18:16-29

          Do you sit through the full credits when you go to a movie in a theater? What is a gaffer, a best boy, a key grip, a wrangler? Does a dolly grip stand around and hold a toddler’s doll? Are there that many cattle on a movie set that you need a wrangler? Did the worst boy get fired? Does everyone have to turn in their car keys when they walk on the set? And if you are an extra, doesn’t that just mean that you weren’t needed, or only needed in case the first one got broken?

          I always wondered if I were in a movie, would I need my name in the credits. Would I want to watch my name slide upward, or fade in and out? What if I were expendable crewman number 5, or gum wrapper collector? Would I want it then? And if I were the star, they would know who I was already, so seeing my name in the credits wouldn’t add much, would it?

          The author of our psalm, David, has survived a series of attempts on his life. The current king, Saul, has repeatedly set his military elite after him, forcing him to hide in caves. Sounds like the final days of Saddam Hussein’s life, living in a hole in the ground. But Saddam had been on the run from his own people for years. He slept in a different place almost every night. He had 80 palaces built to accommodate this mobile lifestyle. He would kill the architects and contractors to ensure no one knew about the secret safety features. You would not want to get awarded a government contract when he was in power. The best you could hope for were construction delays.

          David had been on the run, but David trusted the LORD. What I find interesting is that David doesn’t take credit for his rescue. He knows his own heart. He has struggled even with trusting. It has not been an easy journey for David. He has had his questions. He has had to wrestle with them and live without direct answers. He has had to continue believing and trusting even in the face of contrary evidence.

          David credits the power that rescued him to the LORD, and not to anyone else. He doesn’t really acknowledge his part in what happened. He continues to point to the LORD. When the enemy confronted David, he would have been like a limp wet noodle if the LORD had not been his support. I imagine his knees were weak and he could barely breathe. David knew it wasn’t him, it was the LORD. David had used up his reserves and he was running on empty. David was brought to a place of rest and refreshing.

          Some might read verses 20-24 and see a proud man, someone with little self-awareness. How could anyone claim to have any righteousness or cleanness on their own? But I don’t think David is claiming these things on his own. The only way to be righteous and clean is to do what David did. He didn’t try to do it on his own. He relied fully on what the LORD did in and through him. He was not running around taking credit. He knew it wasn’t his doing. He gave credit where credit was due.

          David was not a perfect man. He did his share of dirty deeds. But he seemed to be able to bring himself to a humble place before the LORD and get a clean slate. Confession and forgiveness was part of his normal life. He applied the Word of God to his life and situation. He made choices consistent with the character of God and the revelation of godly living found in the Scriptures.

          Because the LORD was with him, no military obstacle was too great. A troop of soldiers or an enemy’s defenses could withstand David and the LORD. Or as David would put it, the LORD and David. The character of the LORD is such that when we align ourselves with His character and purposes, we can’t fail. Faithfulness, blameless, purity, and humility are all characteristics of people who are in right relationship with the LORD.

          If these aren’t part of our daily experience, then I want to encourage each of us to draw in close to the LORD. Make confession, an honest appraisal before the LORD of our failures and foibles, a regular part of our spiritual journey. Keep a clean slate with Him. Don’t let our cache become so clogged with history that we slow down and crash.

          It is the LORD who keeps our lights on. It is the LORD who brings light into our darkness. Are you willing to let Him be the light in your life?

Sorrow

Psalm 5:1-7

      Grief can be one of the most difficult emotions to handle. It can overpower us and even take away our will to live. Some people do some pretty crazy, out of character things when grief strikes. Sorrow can get us questioning our most basic beliefs about life and God. It can be a time of inner turmoil unlike any other experience in life. And everyone walks through grief differently.

      It often feels like a roller coaster ride when going through grief. The ups and downs, twists and turns come and go, often without any notice. We seem to be at peace, and OK with what is going on, and then in the next moment, the tears and despair roll in like the fog along the Maine coastline. And then without notice, the fog seems to lift.

      Our Psalm today is attributed to David and he was a man just like you and me. He experienced his share of losses and betrayals. You can hear some of this up and down, back and forth as you read the Psalm. He goes back and forth between his cries for help directed to the LORD and his struggle to understand the actions of the wicked. Putting the righteousness of the LORD together with the seeming lack of judgment of the wicked causes this tension.

      We hear this same tension expressed today in words like this. If God were a loving God, then He would do something. He would not allow cancer deaths, starving children, AIDS, incest, rape, murder, and a million other evils. If He really cared, He would do something. He wouldn’t let them get away with that.

      David goes back and forth between expressing his trust in the LORD and the actions of his enemies. He wants action. He starts by pleading with the LORD to listen and consider his words. He wants to be heard. He wants intervention that will relieve his sorrow.

      David points out that he made the LORD aware of what was going on “in the morning” and yet things still have not changed. It is difficult when the LORD works on His timetable rather than ours. We always want answers now, and the LORD sometimes makes us wait. David even seems to make the case to the LORD for His intervention. He lays out the things they are doing wrong, as if the LORD didn’t know them already. These evil people aren’t welcome in God’s presence, but David is. Come on, LORD, do something.

      Notice that David tells the LORD, and us by extension, that the wicked can’t stand in God’s presence. They aren’t allowed. David says that by the LORD’s great love, His grace, he is allowed to be in His presence. David knows that the only way he can be accepted by the LORD is because the LORD has made it so. He has poured out His love on David, thus making David acceptable.

      And as a result David is able to bow in the LORD’s presence. He assumes a humble, lowly position. He knows He doesn’t deserve to be there, so he expresses that knowledge by using a body position of humility. This is in contrast to his enemies who lift themselves up. They are trying to write their own rules of life. They are leaving the LORD out of their equation.

      So the next time your life seems to be on a roller coaster because of the evil around you, perhaps the best place to end up is on your face before the LORD. He is able to bring about the needed changes, both in our situation and in our hearts. Assume the lowly position. Give up your ‘rights’ and allow the LORD to be in charge.