Tag: Faith

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Calling

Finding your calling

Having a calling: do we have a calling, and if so, how would we know? I often think about this and talk with others about it because I spent most of my life chasing the wrong dream. I felt that God’s natural and spiritual gifts were the same or at least variations of the same. My passion for my vocation was the same as my passion for Christ. I believed He made me chase what I chased for a God-given reason. Regi Cambell, in his Book “Radical Wisdom” made this statement:

“A secular endeavor approached from a spiritual perspective is spiritual.

A spiritual endeavor, approached from a secular perspective, is secular.”

Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Over half a century of getting knocked down to my knees, then getting back up only to be knocked down again, have taught me that I am not good at creating my calling. God created it in me; I needed to stop fighting it and grow with it.

John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

Calling is that umbrella that sits over all things in your universe. It not only includes the tools that God has given you: skills, passion, relationships, vocation, experience, and knowledge, but also spiritual gifts. This transformation of worldly traits into spiritual realms is what powers you to a higher purpose and meaning.

THE LIST

Here is a simple list of “thoughts” that might help inspire you to think more deeply about your calling.

    • Give Freely: The accurate measure of your life lies in what you give away—not just money, but your time, attention, and compassion.
    • Beyond Accumulation: What you accumulate in life loses its value once you’re gone. Yet, it often defines the worth of our lives.
    • Selfless Living: Those who dedicate the latter part of their lives to selfless service rarely wish to trade it for hobbies like fishing, traveling, or golfing.
    • Act Now: It’s wise to engage in meaningful actions while you have the time, health, energy, and resources. We never know how long these will last.
    • Time Awareness: Many of us realize that time is running out, and it’s the one thing we cannot save for a rainy day.
    • Meaning Over Measure: A calling is more about its intrinsic meaning than measurable outcomes. Focus on your intent, not just the impact.
    • Fear of Significance: Our fear of making a significant impact can prevent us from making the most meaningful contributions.
    • Emotional Burden: A calling is driven by your emotional burdens, soft skills, and feelings rather than your background or hard skills.
    • Embrace Your Burdens: Reflect on what keeps you up at night. Don’t suppress these feelings—let them guide you and allow God to work through them.
    • Learn by Helping: A calling often starts by assisting others. Learn from them, and let their passion ignite yours.
    • Focus on People: Your calling is about the people God places in your path, not necessarily the specific tasks or destinations.
    • Disobedience Indicator: You can recognize your calling if not pursuing it feels like disobedience.
    • Success Redefined: Measure success by your actions, not by what you achieve. Ask yourself, “Did I do what was asked of me?”
    • Outcome Independence: Your responsibility is to fulfill what God asked you to do, regardless of the outcome.

2 Thessalonians 2:14, “He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

THE CHALLENGE

The challenge for most overachievers is that they want to be the next great tsunami. They want to be that transformable wave that changes destinies and lifts lives. They want what they do to ripple through eternity like rolling thunder. Me too. But that is not the path before most of us. The path is a path of obedience to small things that will someday lead to great things, mostly after we have left his spinning globe.

Do not fail to do what you can while waiting to do something significant. What is significant to God is a life lived as a reflection of His love and care for all humankind. Calling isn’t a mountain to climb but a step out the front door. It is a decision to focus on people, not tasks or destinations. It uses the personality and traits God created in you at inception to serve the people God puts before you.

2 Peter 1:10-11, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

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The Essential Steps to Achieve Purpose and Meaning

There are three essential steps to achievement. No one can achieve anything without these three steps. We must achieve them in this order. Either most of us don’t believe in this list, or they don’t believe they can achieve it. You must embrace these three elements to become the person God made you.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” Muhammad Ali’s “The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey.”

It is incredible how many people I meet at every stage of life still don’t feel fulfilled. They struggle to find meaning and purpose. Some are very successful; some are not. They started down a path and couldn’t or wouldn’t change directions. They somehow believe they are on the right path; the actual destination is around the next bend.

Romans 9:21, "Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?"

I Conceive

“Without God, life has no purpose; without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” Rick Warren

The first step is accepting that you are unique and perfectly made for what God has planned for you. This step allows you to perceive yourself as invincible to failure. Things will not always go as you have in mind and prefer, but they will always lead you to where God has planned for you to go. The challenge is to find the right path. Trying to be like someone else because they have something you want is not the same as living as you are designed.

Proverbs 19:21, "Many plans are in a man's heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand."

Most of us are under the influence of social media, well-meaning parents and friends, or cultural norms that push us toward artificial purpose and meaning. We get there to discover it wasn’t a destination but a milepost. God will use every experience, relationship, opportunity, and roadblock to hone your ultimate path. Many of the setbacks and disappointments are nudges from God to get you moving in the right direction.

2 Timothy 1:9, "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity."

The first step to lifelong achievement is to recognize who God made you to be. Your vocation, skills, and aptitudes are tools to achieve that purpose.

I Believe

Probably the most challenging part of becoming a Godly person, living within God’s plan, is commitment. We all want that safety net. Our society has created alternatives to failure, so we don’t have to commit fully. One of the most important decisions you can make in life, who you will marry, allows for no-fault divorce. There is a back door to almost any decision.

Job 42:2, "I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."

Our brain has the reticular activating system designed to move us from discomfort to comfort by recognizing patterns around us that mimic our expectations. We do not like uncertainty; we gravitate to what we know. There is risk in committing to being a Godly person. The world will not support your decision. It wants you to conform to expectations. You must believe God created you for a specific purpose, which will not fail regardless of public opinion.

You can not achieve your full potential without an iron-clad commitment to that path.

I Achieve

“God has a purpose behind every problem. He uses circumstances to develop our character. In fact, he depends more on circumstances to make us like Jesus than he depends on our reading the Bible.” Rick Warren

Finally, you must do it. God can not steer a stationary ship. Movement is required. My experience dictates that God is not a straight-line kind of guy. He doesn’t find the quickest path from A to B. Just as Paul went to Rome via Asia Minor, Greece, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, and then Jerusalem didn’t have a well laid out straight path, neither will we. But each stop along the way has meaning.

God does not waste effort. It is up to us to search out the meaning and use it as we move forward.

Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Living with Christ is a person’s highest and most satisfying achievement. It is not the trophies accumulated along the way; it is the destination. It is not measured as people would measure it. We can not see the eternal impact of our efforts, but God can. First, you must understand that God loves you and has an incredible plan for your life, then you must believe it to the point of commitment, and finally, you must do. No other process will bring the joy that only God can bring.

 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

 

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Believer or Follower

Are you a believer or a follower? You see the intricacy of nature, and you believe. Yet, how does a butterfly know how to paint its wings? How does a chameleon change its color? What lies in the deep of the ocean? You see the vastness of the universe, every expanding, but expanding into what? Billions of stars spread out over a seemingly endless space, and you believe, but do you follow?

Are you a believer or a follower? You touch a newborn child’s small, delicate hands and believe. In the dark of the night, you lay still, listen to your heartbeat, and believe. You see, hear, smell, feel, and believe. But do you follow? God’s creation is all around you, so you believe, but do you follow?

Colossians 1:16, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

It is easy to believe because the mile markers are all around you. You don’t have to attend church to believe; even Satin believes.

Believing

Mark 16:16, “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.”

Believing is the easy part. God created in us the desire to search for our maker. We can not rest until we find the answer to “What am I here for?” How did I get here? Our lives depend on meaning and purpose. Without it, we wander in the darkness, looking for light. The light we seek is direction, purpose, and value. Once we understand God’s true nature as the author of everything, we understand our place.

Mark 9:21, “Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

We start to see a pattern and logic to man’s existence. But do we believe God knows and cares about us as individuals? It is one thing to try to grasp the enormity of creation and realize we can’t understand. It is another to grasp the enormity of God’s love for us; one is tangible, tactile, and rich in sensory feedback, and the other is a feeling that wells up inside us. It is a visceral reaction to an invisible power. Are you a believer or a follower?

Having Faith

The question becomes, who am I here for, not what am I here for? Our drive should be who I serve, not what I am to do. Knowing there is a God is not enough. Believing there is a God answers the what question. The bigger question is the who question. An unimpassioned God who spun the universe out in the ether to see what would happen is not the same God that would send His son to die for you.

This revelation is where the visible work of God becomes the invisible. First, we see the splendor of His creation; now, we must feel the love of His compassion for us. Do you believe that Christ died for your sins? If you do, what does that actually mean?

Salvation is by grace, not works, so that no man might boast. Christ’s death broke the barrier between God and us. His death on the cross opened the door to salvation. It is an invitation to spend eternity with the creator of the universe. Faith is about believing in something you can not prove. Faith invites the Holy Spirit into your daily life as a guide, companion, and comforter.

James 2:22, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

Faith is the next logical step. It is when you decide you are not big enough alone. Faith is accepting help to overcome the challenges of a broken world. Faith knows Christ loves you unconditionally and will fight for you.

James 2:26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

“You find that the things you let go of while following Jesus were the things that were going to destroy you in the end.” – Francis Chan

Following

Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Now the hard part. Doing is a by-product of following. Doing in and of itself serves only the doer. Not all good deeds are works of the spirit. Good works driven by the Holy Spirit are the only ones that matter. Following is about obedience to God’s call. Following is about doing God’s will, not our own.

“Great moves of God are usually preceded by simple acts of obedience.” – Steven Furtick

James 2:14, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”

Following God is about setting ourselves aside and doing what God had predestined for us long before He formed the universe. Following God is about achieving the fullness of God’s creation in us. That fullness does not conform to worldly standards. It doesn’t promise worldly prosperity or life without challenges. What it does promise is an eternity greater than anything you could imagine.

Jesus says, “I want you to follow me so fully, so intensely, so enduringly that all other attachments in your life look weak by comparison.” – Timothy Keller

Being a follower is the true sign of being a Christian. Live the life God has always wanted for you. Be a follower.

Titus 3:8, “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
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Faith with Absolute Assurance

Faith is the assurance of things we hope for but have not received. Our faith in Christ is grounded in His promise to us through Abraham. We believe because we can see the impact on our lives today that encourages us about our future. It does not mean today is puppy dogs and unicorns, but it does mean that today is leading to a better tomorrow.

John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Whenever I face a critical issue, I return to a simple truth; “Do I believe what I say I believe?”. Everything is condensed down to this one critical question. When I distill an issue down to the root cause, it always boils down to this; do I trust that Christ is who I say He is, and do I believe He cares the way He says He does?

RELIGIOSITY

Let me give you a real-life example from several years ago. I knew someone who owed me money. They asked me to do some work for them, I did it, they acknowledged that I did it, and their client was satisfied with the work. I asked several times over the next year about getting paid without a resolution. He is a professing Christian. He has plenty of money, so he shouldn’t be concerned. Now I am a huge commitment type of guy. I believe you say what you will do, then you do it. It’s not the money; it is the principle of the matter.

My first thought goes right to righteous indignation:
Proverbs 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act.”

I am owed; you, as a Christian, have an obligation to pay me. So, I start to build my argument. I start remembering bible verses that condemn him and justify me. I pray for the right (passive-aggressive) approach to make him feel guilty if he does not pay. It stopped being about money some time ago. It is now religiosity. I own the high ground. God is on my side.

There are a few things I should think about first:
Proverbs 16:2, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.”
Proverbs 20:22, “Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.”
Proverbs 27:19, “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”

What started as a quest to right a wrong has turned into a vendetta. My motivation turned selfish. It is not about getting my wages but proving my religious superiority. It has turned to punish him for not being as good as me. I stopped trying to let God work through this and started dictating the terms.

FAITHFULNESS

Living by faith requires a different approach. When we decide to follow Christ, we commit to allowing Him to lead. This commitment requires a certain level of trust. I believe Christ does not want us to suffer needlessly or without kingdom impact. Therefore, if we must suffer, there is a purpose in the suffering, and that purpose will positively impact His kingdom here on earth.

The next question that comes to mind is, at what cost? Who wins and who loses, and by how much? Does evil prosper? The ultimate answer to those questions is in Revelations.

Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

And who does this apply to?

1 John 3:8, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”

There is an actual price to be paid by those who reject Christ. We must be assured that God will do what He said He would do.

APPLICATION

When we have been wronged, what should we do? The first thing we should all do when faced with a dilemma is to pray for guidance. It is through prayer that we gain assurance that our faith is rewarded. There are too many permutations of grievances to suggest a one-size-fits-all solution. But, the starting point is always the same. Prayer

It is also essential to determine where our ego is during this time. Is the grievance material or emotional? Is the wrong subjective or objective? Do I believe God has my best interest in mind, even if I don’t get what I want? Am I advancing my kingdom or His? What do I believe about Christ’s dominion over the world? These are the critical questions, not our perception of right and wrong. God will handle right and wrong.

LAST POINT

The last point is that there are times when we must take advantage of the authority God has established over man to help with worldly issues that broken man can not adequately address. We have laws and governing authorities for that purpose. These are tools for Him to use to help us. They are not tools he has created so that we can punish those we dislike or disagree with.

Romans 13:1-2, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

Trials will come. That is part of being human in a fallen world. How we face those trials will determine our impact on His kingdom for Him. Our assurance of victory comes through our faith in the victor. We can win the battle but lose the war.

James 5:11, “As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
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A Memorable Heart

Proverbs 27:2, “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”

“A memorable heart is the easiest way to immortality.” ― Suzy Kassem

Nothing brings me to my knees faster than attending a memorial service for someone who has lived a life worth living. Several years ago, the son of a friend of mine died unexpectantly at the age of 21. Ryan FitzGerald was a good kid and well-liked. When I went to his memorial service, I expected a big turnout. What I got stunned me. Not only was the auditorium full to overflowing, but young person after young person went up on stage to talk about what Ryan had done for them; everything from facing down bullies to comforting loss. Some of these young people talked about things that had happened many years ago. Some even said that Ryan probably wouldn’t remember coming to their aid. They talked about wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs; Ryan was the sheepdog. He protected the sheep from the wolves.

1 Timothy 6:18, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”

Yesterday I attended another such memorial. I mentioned Robert before; it was his. Not only was the church full of people showing their respect, but they also told the story of his life. His was a life worthy of praise. I struggled throughout that service to imagine mine. Was I a sheepdog? Have I lived a life worthy of Christ’s sacrifice?

Psalms 127:1, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches but in vain.”

What will others say about you? In both of the examples I mentioned above, it was not just that they were good people. Evil can look appealing if it gives away enough stuff. Good people are better than not-so-good people, but ultimately, they don’t stand out. Their motives still linger like a shadow over their actions. Great people, the type of people that leave a positive impact on generations, are Godly people. They have a way of being good that reflects humility and compassion. Godly people understand where grace comes from. They act as they do, not to please others but to serve their creator in a manner worthy of His sacrifice.

Ephesians 4:1-5, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Interestingly, you can’t be the type of person that wants a great memorial service and have it too. You have to be the type of person who doesn’t care, who doesn’t want the attention, and who only wants to live to please Christ. The main ingredient is always to look outward. Always concern yourself with the welfare of others. When you give yourself completely to servitude for Christ, amazing things start to happen in your life. Both Robert and Ryan would be a little embarrassed by what was said about them. The embarrassment would come because it was not their intent to get recognition. Their intent was to serve.

Matthew 6:1,” Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

“Feeling good about yourself is not the same thing as doing good.” ― Theodore Dalrymple.

Nothing I say here is new. It is not surprising that the people we esteem the most are not just charitable people; they are not just good people; they have a little something special that makes them stand out.  There is an assured humility that allows them to bend down to serve while still holding their heads high. They are confident that Christ is in their corner, He will not allow them to be laid low, and He will glorify their efforts. They do not need the accolades of men to motivate them.

Hebrews 13:16, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Yet, we struggle to emulate these people. We struggle to believe that our God truly cares for us. Our worldview dictates that we can only do so much and no more. We cannot risk our future or the future of our family beyond a certain point. Serving is not only conditional but relative.

Ryan and Robert innately knew how to serve God unconditionally. For many of the rest of us, it is not that easy. I do ask that you try to ratchet up your efforts so that, over time, you will be embarrassed by the good things people say about you.

Matthew 25:23, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

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Performance-Based Faith

I have just returned from a trip to Honduras, where we were vetting a potential future project to help locals create micro-businesses.  These trips present a cadre of potential conflicts.  First, we have the friction created by my obedience to God’s call.  It conflicts because I am responding to what I believe to be God’s vision for my life, but I am also judging my effectiveness; how much good am I doing.  The second has to do with what we are teaching.  We are teaching people to use Godly principles to create for-profit businesses.  Most of us see the potential conflict in that.  We must balance living in a performance-based world with grace-based salvation.  It is tough to keep the two separate.

Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”

Christ modeled our relationships here on earth after our relationship with Himself.  He wants us to learn from Him and grow closer to Him through involvement with Him. But, we are to honor the originator of all things in the process.

Ephesians 2:19, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.  “

TRANSACTIONAL FAITH

In a performance-based world, we become obsessed with goal orientation.  We, through constant reinforcement, fixate on achievement.  Our parents remind us that results do matter.  So when we take on a task, we want to know why.  Is it the best use of our time?  Is it within our calling, aptitude, and gifts?  We somehow can’t take our hands off the wheel; if we can’t drive, we want to navigate; even when we don’t know the destination.   

Colossians 3: 23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

The key to this statement is “as working for the Lord.” God was very clear from the beginning that we needed to be active while living the life He has created for us.  That activity must have a purpose, and with it comes achievement.  Our part is to be obedient in doing the task before us, not the outcome.  The outcome is the exclusive domain of God, not us.  Whatever God puts before us is part of His plan for our lives.  We must do it with peace and joy.  God does not get His highest pleasure from our achievements; He gets it from our obedience.

Ephesians 3: 12-13, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren writes, “Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.”

The implication here is not that we get satisfaction from what we accumulate or accomplish but from the tasks that God puts before us because it is a gift from God.  Being the person God has made you be isn’t about creating something; it is about discovering something.  The pursuit is progressed not by the honors that we accumulate but by our obedience to God’s plan for us.

BUT PERFORMANCE COUNTS

Work is one of the ways we demonstrate God to non-believers.  But, if non-believers cannot trust us with the worldly endeavors one can see, how can we be trusted with spiritual works that require faith?

1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

So, we endeavor to meet a high level of performance not to please God but to glorify God to non-believers.  We are held responsible for our results; we need to take that seriously.  God created us to work; setting and meeting goals is part of the responsibility.  From a worldly perspective, this responsibility produces the most anxiety in our lives.  It not only affects the way we perceive the nature of our work, but it also affects other aspects of our worldly existence.  It affects our self-perception and self-image and our drive to have better material goods and living standards.  One of our obligations as Christians is to be a good team member, employer, parent, child, and spouse.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 “such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.”

BUT NOT TO GOD

Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

For most of us, it is hard to turn that switch off.  Somehow, we still try to do good works as if they are the keys to salvation; they aren’t.  That is not to say that we should not strive to do good works; it is just that those good works will not get us to heaven.

Matthew 7:16-20, ” By their fruit, you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them.”

It is when we start to believe we can be good enough, fruitful enough, holy enough that we lose sight of the beautiful gift of God; eternal life with Him in heaven through grace.  The balance we need to strike is to understand that while the world requires performance as a means of measuring worth, God does not.  Spiritual performance is a by-product of grace, not a goal.

Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

We need to get back to helping our Father with His business.  We are to be obedient to His will.  We cannot control the outcome or the timing; we can only enjoy working in His presence.

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The Illusion of Prosperity

I have been thinking about this for some time. I’m trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. I have seen firsthand the plight of the 40% of the world’s population that lives on less than two dollars a day. I have looked into their eyes, I have seen how they live. My focus has been on these people called The Majority World (Africa, Asia, and Latin America). God has given me a skill set, knowledge, and experience that He wants me to use to help these people in any little way I can. Today I look in the opposite direction. I’m looking at one of the most prosperous nation in the world.

Lamentations 3:19-25, “Remember my suffering and my aimless wandering, the wormwood and poison. My soul continues to remember these things and is so discouraged. “The reason I can still find hope is that I keep this one thing in mind: the Lord’s mercy. We were not completely wiped out. His compassion is never limited. It is new every morning. His faithfulness is great. My soul can say, ‘The Lord is my lot in life. That is why I find hope in him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to anyone who seeks help from him.”

The story I want to tell today is not about The Majority World, in a small way it is. I was raised in the Midwest in a small farm community. Even though I have spent most of my life away from my childhood home, I still identify it as my home. I have returned twice a year, almost every year for a half-century. I have a vision infused deep within my brain of idyllic small-town America. It fosters a feeling of fondness, wholesomeness, and community that comforts me. This year as I sat in the park, listening to a local rock band sponsored by the City for “Fun Days,” I suddenly realized I was wrong.

THE GROWTH OF A COMMUNITY

First, let me tell you a little history of my home town. My hometown was established in 1836. A gristmill was built because the nearby river had a 15-foot waterfall that provided hydropower. The Illinois and Michigan Canal was to be constructed nearby to provide transportation. Unfortunately, the depression of 1837 bankrupt the state government, and construction on the canal stopped until 1848. The railroad arrived about 1850, becoming the preferred mode of transportation. The great news for my hometown is that industry grew with the hydropower and advent of the railroad. By the 1880s, raceways were built to provide mechanical power to the growing industry sector. By 1911 the raceway helped provide electrical power to the City. My hometown was one of the first to have electric trollies. Growing up, I still remember the rail tracks embedded in the streets from the trolley. Unfortunately, the trolley system went out of service during the Great Depression.

By the early 1900s, an eight-story Carton Factory was built provided ample employment for the City. Today that brooding brick building still towers over Main Street. It became the lifeblood of the community. It operated until 1960. The Federal Government finished Interstate Highway 80 just ten miles north of town in 1967, forever changing the traffic pattern away from my hometown. The power plant that used to power the Carton Factory, and my hometown stopped producing in 1989.

I was fortunate that I grew up in the ’50s and ’60’s when my hometown was called the City of Churches. It was a small town but economically healthy. To this day franchise systems bypass my hometown. All the drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, banks, hotels, news paper and even telephone company are local family-owned businesses. We were a community.

THE FALL OF MID AMERICA

I should have noticed it. I should have picked up on the clue when the city motto was changed to the City by the River. I should have seen it when the Carton Factory closed, then the power plant, then the High School, and finally two of the three grade schools. But I didn’t. It was still the small town I grew up in and loved.

I didn’t notice that 100% of the students were now on the free lunch program. I didn’t notice that the shops along Main Street were now bars and Slot Machine Outlets. I didn’t notice that the once vibrant three story hotel on Main Street was now a flophouse for the down and out. I didn’t live there, so I didn’t notice that unemployment was a way of life; Welfare, Unemployment, Food Stamps were lifelines. People didn’t have careers or professions; they had a series of disassociated jobs, mostly at minimum wage. They worked off the books because it wouldn’t reduce their benefits. Working at $5.00 an hour tax-free was better than minimum wage at a burger joint.

That night in the park, what I did notice was a lack of hope. A dark future permeated everyone in the park. Even those with steady jobs felt the pain of their friends and relatives. The City was surviving but on life support. Without government programs, the City would dry up and blow away. Instead, the residence now made life livable with alcohol and more potent stimulants.  I couldn’t help but think of the kids. What was their future? Would they slowly die from inside like the rest of the City?

The decay of small towns is happening all across America. Of the 19,000 incorporated cities in the United States, over 16,000 have a population under 10,000 people.

MY LAMENT

I guess what makes this story hard is that I have no answers. There are four levels of poverty; spiritual, being, relational, and material. Politicians and governments concentrate on material poverty because it is easy to see and measure. They throw money and programs at the result of poverty, not the source. The foundation to recovering from material poverty is to overcome spiritual poverty. In Christ, there is both a hope for the future and a prescription for achieving that hope. With faith in God’s promise through Christ we start to better understand our true worth. We also start to understand the importance of not only lifting ourselves, but those around us. Finally, we create a material environment that sustains our purpose. With Christ-centered hope, anything can be accomplished; people fall back on old habits without it. Generational, systematic, cultural poverty was not created in a generation and will not be overcome in a generation.  Without schools, there will be no jobs, and without jobs, there is no need for schooling. Without hope, no-one cares.

It is a lament. I have no answers; I can only pray and serve. The results belong to God.

Isaiah 40:28-31, “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t grow tired or become weary. His understanding is beyond reach. He gives strength to those who grow tired and increases the strength of those who are weak. Even young people grow tired and become weary, and young men will stumble and fall. Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.”

There is a great book discussing the complexity of poverty entitled “When Helping Hurts.” By Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

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Performance Based Faith

Today I was thinking about one of the major conundrums in life; we live in a performance-based world with grace-based salvation. It is tough for me to keep the two separate.

When I was young, I loved to help my dad; sometimes, he had something to teach me, and other times it was to learn to be more like him. When I got involved, the projects got done but a little slower and maybe not as neat, but done all the same. At other times, I seem to get in the way. The project still got done just after I have left. Every time, I grew closer to my dad by being involved.

The results were never mine to control; it was his project, not mine; I was “helping.” I didn’t get to control the process or the timing. If I, as a child, told my dad that I thought he should take on a given project and he needed to use a particular material or a specific process to achieve my goals, he would remind me that it was his house. He was the one who sacrificed to have a home in which I could live. He would enjoy my help finishing the projects he had prioritized, but that was my choice to help him, not the other way around.

Christ modeled our relationship with our parents after our relationship with Himself. He wants us to learn from Him and grow closer to Him through involvement with Him.

Ephesians 2:19, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.“

TRANSACTIONAL FAITH

In a performance-based world, we become obsessed with goal orientation. We, through constant reinforcement, fixate on achievement. From childhood, we are constantly reminded that results matter. When we take on a task, we want to know why. Is it the best use of our time? Is it within our calling, aptitude, and gifts? We somehow can’t take our hands off the wheel; if we can’t drive, we want to navigate; even when we don’t know the destination.   

Colossians 3: 23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

The key to this statement is “as working for the Lord.” God was very clear from the beginning that we needed to be active while we are here. That activity must have a purpose, and with purpose comes achievement. Our part is to be obedient in doing the task before us, not the outcome of the task. The outcome is the exclusive domain of God, not us. Whatever God puts before us is part of His plan for our lives. We must do it with peace and joy. God does not get His highest pleasure from our achievements; He gets it from our obedience.

Ephesians 3: 12-13, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

The implication here is not that we get satisfaction from what we accumulate or accomplish but from the tasks that God puts before us because it is a gift from God. Being the person God has made you be isn’t about creating something; it is about discovering something. The pursuit is progressed not by the honors that we accumulate but by our obedience to God’s plan for us.

BUT PERFORMANCE COUNTS

Work is one of the ways we demonstrate God to non-believers. If non-believers cannot trust us with the worldly endeavors one can see, how can we be trusted with spiritual endeavors that require faith?

1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

So we endeavor to meet a high level of performance not to please God but to glorify God to non-believers. In life, we are held responsible for our results; we need to take that seriously. We are created to work; setting and meeting goals is part of the responsibility. From a worldly perspective, it is this responsibility that produces the most anxiety in our lives. It not only affects the way we perceive the nature of our work, but it also affects other aspects of our worldly existence.  It affects our self-perception and self-image and our drive to have better material goods and standards of living.  One of our obligations as a Christian is to be a good employee, employer, parent, child, and spouse.

2 Thessalonians 3:12 “such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.”

BUT NOT TO GOD

Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

For most of us, it is hard to turn that switch off. Somehow we still try to do good works as if they are the keys to salvation; they aren’t. That is not to say that we should not strive to do good works; it is just that those good works will not get us to heaven.

Matthew 7:16-20, ” By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

It is when we start to believe we can be good enough, fruitful enough, holy enough that we lose sight of the beautiful gift of God; eternal life with Him in heaven through grace. The balance we need to strike is to understand that while the world required performance as a means of measuring worth, God does not. Spiritual performance is a by-product of grace, not a goal.

Philippians 4:19,  “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

We need to get back to helping our Father with His business. We are to be obedient to His will. We cannot control the outcome or the timing; we can only enjoy working in His presence.

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The Redemption of Naomi

I went to Kenya as a member of the IMED team. We fund micro-businesses in impoverished third-world nations to raise them out of poverty; this assignment was the Riff Valley, about 90 km out of Nairobi. They were part of the Narok City community, where 85% of the homes have dirt floors and no water or electricity. It is the home of the Maasai. 

There are no security nets or entitlement programs; life is hard, to the very end.

MEET NAOMI

Naomi was one of our students and now the proud owner of her own business. She is a widow with six grown children; she is illiterate but brilliant. Naomi always wore a smile. At first, she seemed shy, not wanting to talk or make eye contact; most of our students, about half male and half female, interacted spontaneously. As time wore on, I got the sense that Naomi had an undefeatable steel core that would not be denied. There were moments when she made direct eye contact and, with a smile, seemed to say, “test me, I dare you.” She wanted to start a grain store, selling maze in the local market. We spent several weeks together getting to know the culture, the market, and the students. We taught them business principles, help them create business plans, and ultimately, if viable, funded their business.

THE TESTIMONY OF NAOMI 

During a lull in the activity, I asked Naomi how she came to know Christ. What she told me was a heartwarming story of redemption. Kenya, especially the Riff Valley, is a hard land. It has about 40% unemployment. Government support is almost non-existent. The average monthly expenditure for a family of six is twenty-five dollars. Naomi was married to a cattle driver; a cattle driver drives cattle to market in Nairobi by herding them on foot; it would be insanely difficult by American standards. For reasons that Naomi did not divulge, her husband started to exhibit signs of mental illness. Some of these signs were fits of violence and wild ranting. He has since passed.

Two weeks after giving birth to her sixth child, she reached a critical point of hopelessness in the midst of one of her husband’s fits. That crucial point is when we feel we must give up; life has hit us so hard that getting back up doesn’t make sense. scared, tired, and depressed; she had a newborn to take care of, children to feed, a husband unfit to provide, and no help in sight;

Two weeks after giving birth to her sixth child, she reached a critical point of hopelessness in the midst of one of her husband’s fits. That crucial point is when we feel we must give up; life has hit us so hard that getting back up doesn’t make sense. Naomi was scared, tired, and depressed; she had a newborn to take care of, children to feed, a husband unfit to provide, and no help in sight; she was overwhelmed

She went into the bedroom to cry, she laid on the dirt floor, entirely enveloped in despair. Then she recalled people in the marketplace speaking of this “Christ”; she prayed for the first time in her life. Her simple prayer was, “Christ, if you exist, save me from my situation.” What she said happened next is a fantastic description of God’s love.

REDEMPTION

Her testimony was, “And God painted a new picture of my life.”

The situation did not change, but her view of it did. She experienced hope. There was a calmness and clarity concerning the road ahead. It wasn’t about immediate answers as it was about knowing it would be alright. Christ would walk with her through this trial. Answers would come later. 

Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, believed that there is always one last vestige of freedom even under intolerable circumstances: it is the freedom to choose with how you view your circumstances. He said, “We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last human freedom – to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstances” Naomi chose wisely; she chose to hope in Christ. 

THE CHASE

When you start chasing your passion, you soon realize it has always been chasing you. You will meet the Naomi’s of the world, which will confirm that you are where God planned. As much as God wants us to change the world around us, He knows chasing our passion will inevitably change us too. 

Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

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Created for this Moment

Esther 4:14, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”

I have always found this comment my Mordecai enlightening. It is one of those hand slap to forehead kind of things.

GOD’S PLAN

The story of Ester is fascinating because it shows the length God will go to prepare people. Ester’s journey from the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Mordecai’s adoption after her family’s death, to the disposition of Queen Vashti, to Ester’s selection and favor under Hagia, to her acceptance by King Xerxes was planned by God so that he could save His people and eventually rebuild Jerusalem.

Talk about God having a long view of things. Ester is precisely where God wanted her; at the exact moment the Jews needed someone in her position. But God also made an important pronouncement about this opportunity. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place.”

Two things we need to take from this; you are where God wants you, and if you don’t act, God will use someone else.

MODERN DAY ESTER

I love the story of Ester. I can relate to so many aspects of her journey. You see, I like nice clean, well-thought-out, concisely articulated plans. No, I’m good with the reality that plans change; but you can’t change a plan you never had. That’s my thinking anyway. Life, on the other hand, is the story of Ester.

A modern-day correlation to Ester would be; parents move out of state before your senior year of high school, you have to go to an in-state college in a state you don’t like, you end up in a job after college you don’t like, you get passed over for promotion time, and time again, you finally land your dream promotion after being mentored by one of the big guns at work, and you are given a career crushing assignment. Then God says, “You were created for just this moment.”

All you hear is the sound of a toilet flush as your future does a swirly down the drain.

I love Ester; she sucks it up, puts her life on the line, and charges ahead. Carpe Diem. I guess I am a sucker for heroes and heroines, not the too dumb to know I’m in over my head type, but the “boy that’s going to leave a mark” type. Ester understood what her decision meant to her and what it meant to God and chose God.

RECOGNIZING OUR MOMENT

Most of us spend a lifetime preparing for moments that never come. We gain knowledge and skills, we save and invest, and we acquire worldly things that we will ultimately leave to others. For the most part, I don’t think we do this as an act of self-reliance or greed; I don’t think we know any better. The future is this big unknown.

Do you think Ester was focused on God’s plan for her life when her parents died; did she believe that exile seemed like the expressway to God’s purpose? Do you think it might have been a little scary being chosen as part of the King’s court, knowing his reputation? I don’t know, but I would guess that Ester felt either abandoned or at least shuttled off on a spur somewhere.

Philip. 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

KNOWING GOD

God does not waste effort. God does not play games to see what we can bear. We all have times when we can only shake our heads and say, “what was that all about?”. God is true to His promise. He will not forsake you or abandon you. Pay attention to everything that happens in your life; there will be a test. He will use the people, places, and experience of your life to advance His Kingdom.

For most of us, it will not be rebuilding Jerusalem; it will be saving a life; performing some innocuous, simple, mundane act of overwhelming kindness.  Saving one life for eternity outweighs the building of an entire city of gold. The city will fade, its splendor conquered by time, but an eternity in the presence of God never fades.

Part of knowing your purpose is to be ready to execute when the time comes. Do not spend a lifetime preparing for something that may never happened. Remember, Mordecai, warned, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place.”

Luke 19:26, “to those who use well what they are given, even more, will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.”

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