Looking for a Loophole?

I love the story about W.C. Fields. He was on his deathbed reading a bible, which was highly out of character since Fields was an athiest, or at least an agnostic. A friend asked him what he was doing and he famously said, "I'm looking for loopholes". The good news for W.C. Fields was there is a loophole in the bible. I sure hope he found it.

Maybe you are looking for a loophole too. Life has a way of reminding us that we don't measure up. We spend too many days in the dumps because of a failure or guilt that has built up like sludge in an engine. In those rare moments of honesty in personal reflection, most of us realize we fall short on many levels. The news reminds us daily that we are not the only ones. Humanity is falling short. There's a big problem. Any sense of justice says the time will come to pay up for the moral and spiritual failures of life, and make no mistake, we all make regular contributions.

The bible does concur with this. Those debts must be paid. Aging, death and dying are powerful object lessons that the debt collector is coming. Justice demands it, but loopholes are also legal as well, and God has given us a big one. Romans reminds us that we all fall short. We know that in our hearts and souls. But Romans also says, "now a righteousness [or a loophole] has been made known... through faith in Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:21-22). The loophole is made legally binding through faith. In other words, trust God more than you trust yourself. Trust God's promise more than you trust the world's doubts and false self-confidence. This Easter when you look at the cross, remember God's justice, but also your loophole
through Christ.

#BeGreat

Greatness.  We all want to be great at something.  Heck, be honest, we want to be great at everything. You know it's true!  Get married and you determine to be the best spouse ever.  The first child comes along and you set out to be the best parent the world has ever seen.  Books will be written about how efficiently and mess free those diapers were changed!  We all set out to be great pet owners with greatly trained pets. The goal is always to have greatly organized closets, filing cabinets and tools. Just the other day, the teacher asked my son who his hero was.  Do you know what he said?  His Mom!  I am happy for her, but I want to be his hero!  I want to be the greatest Dad ever! Applause! Applause!

This yearning for greatness is not a new thing for us humans.  It must be how we're wired.  How many self help books are designed for you to achieve greatness in fitness, finance, love and spirituality to name just a few?  There is always a new formula.  The being great at everything goal usually crashes and burns pretty quickly though. Reality sets in.  So instead of being great at everything, most people settle for being great at one thing, anything, even if it's just remembering to take out the trash.  Unfortunately though, usually we have to settle for only being pretty good at some things and miserable failures at others.  No wonder so many of us are depressed!

Even the disciples wanted to be great so I guess it really is how we're wired.  That's why Jesus taught about it.  He understood this desire for greatness.  After all, he made us so he should know, right?  His solution must have shocked everyone.  Essentially, he said if you really want to be great, then it can't be about you, which seems counter intuitive.  According to Jesus, true greatness comes from how we build up others much more than how we build up ourselves. Jesus said, "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-44).

Greatness is possible for a few through self promotion, self discipline, self aggrandizing and a little tenacity. This is true, but rare and it is not a greatness that will last.  People are forgetful about great achievements, but they never forget a great friend.  You will be great the greater you are to the people God has put around you. Do you want to be a great Mom or Dad? If so, then serve your kids, love them, spend time with them. Want to be a great husband? If so, then go shopping, watch "The Bachelorette", paint her nails, and yes, talk about your feelings.  Trust me.  It will be great.

Go Unless You Get A No

I had my first MOB (Men of the Bible) class last Wednesday. We met in the “man-cave” (formerly known as room E).  I used an old pizza box as the sign over the door. We are doing a series of lessons on discipleship by Erwin McManus. The first one was called “Advance: Go Unless You Get a No”. This is a great idea! It's biblical too. Jesus makes it pretty clear in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) where He says, “Go and make disciples of all nations”. There is a lot of “go” in Acts 1:8 too. “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth”.

Despite all the “go” in the Bible, we sure do a lot of waiting around don't we? Instead of “go unless you get a no”, we usually live more like “wait until you really know”! But besides waiting for Jesus to return, there is not much waiting written into our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. Should you talk to your neighbor? Go! Should you go on that mission trip? Go! Should you feed the hungry? Should you give someone a bible? Should you serve in your church? The answer is never wait. The answer is go unless you get a no.

There will be a no from time to time. Don't worry though! God is good at getting our attention when His answer is no. It should not be very hard to recognize. Until then, the answer is “go!” Just imagine if believers around the world quit waiting around? Wow!  

Link to Erwin McManus

Rest

I have recently joked, “I just thought I had to preach the sermons. I didn't know I had to apply them!” The joke came about after having to put the scriptures I preached on, and the applications I made, to the test. For example, recently, I preached two sermons on Psalm 23. The first one was “The Rest of the Story”. It was an application to Psalm 23:1-2, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” The bottom line in the sermon was that we were made for Sabbath rest. After all, it is in the ten commandments! If we are not resting, we are sinning. If we are resting in the Lord, we are being restored. Ahhh, that sounds good, doesn't it?

I got a chance to put this to the test on my recent getaway with my son, Jackson. Just the two of us took a week to go hiking and camping along the Appalachian Trail. We hiked 20 rugged miles. We didn't shower. We got bug bites. We had an encounter with a bear! My muscles ached. We got drenched in multiple rain showers. But that is not all we got. We got rest. Personally, I got away for a week. I unplugged. I called it “going off grid”. It was awesome. And as I woke up each morning in the Scriptures and in prayer and as I went to bed the same way each night, an amazing thing happened. I grew closer to my son, and I grew closer to my Lord. He restored my soul. I was truly exhausted and grimy by the end of the week, but I have never been more rested.

Link to sermon on 7/1/12 "The Rest of the Story"

Drew's Preaching Online

A number of people of asked me about how to listen to my sermons online. Just click on the title of this post, or on the link below, to check them out. Feel free to tell me what you think!
Preaching Podcasts in iTunes

My Last 20

My mother died at age 62 from advanced colon cancer. I'm 42. It's hard to believe that when my mom was 42, she was down to her last 20. That got me thinking. What about me? When is my time? I sure hope I'm not down to my last 20, but maybe I am! I can't be sure. I don't even know if I have one day left, let alone 20, 30, or 40+ years. God knows, but I don't.

The other day, these thoughts led to an epiphany for me. I don't have much time left! Whether it is one day, or 20 years or more, the clock is ticking. I've got my dad's side of the family. They all live long, long lives. My grandmother just died at the ripe old age of 95! My grandpa is still living at age 94! If that's me, I've got another half century, at least! But on my mom's side, they all die young. Mom died at age 62. Her sister died a few years later at age 66. Their dad, my Grandpa George, died at age 66 too. Their mom, my grandmother, died around age 70. Three of them died of cancer and one of heart failure. I don't know what to think! Maybe I'll fall somewhere in the middle?

It turns out, if you're not God (and I'm not), it's really hard to say when you're gonna die. So I'm going to start with 20 years. That's my goal. In 20 years, I'll be the same age my mother was when she died. Every year after that will be like the whipped cream on top. In 20 years, my kids will all be grown up. A few might even have kids of their own! In 20 years, I'll probably still be paying college bills, but I'll also be getting close to retirement! In 20 years, I will be able to say I have lived a great and full life, but I sure will want to live more of it! Again, and as usual, God knows, but I don't.

So I made a deal with myself today. More importantly, I made a deal with God. I rededicated my life to the most important things. I want to make the most of the next 20 years! I pledge every new day to Him! I will be faithful. I will be a great husband and father to the glory of God. Of course, I'll make lots of mistakes too! I will work very hard to serve my savior, to learn His Word, to live the life! If I live as if I'm down to my last 20 years, and it just might be my last 20 years, then an amazing 20 years it will be. If I obey more than I have in my first 42, and love more, serve more, study more, pray more, deny myself more, lift others up more, care more, act more, listen more and live more, then that will add up to a life well lived. Whether it's 62 years, 72, 82, 92 or 102, I hope to enter eternity after making the most of the current life we live. I hope you will too.

Out of the Ashes

One thing we Americans are good at is fixing things. It doesn't seem to matter what the problem is, we've got the solution, or we'll find one. For example, I have heard that one woman fixed the problem of her free flying birds pooping on the carpet, the counters, the children's toys and bedspreads at home. She invented "Flight Suits", as they are known, little birdy diapers that fit snugly onto most household birds. Someone else invented hands free binoculars so you can drink your beer and eat your peanuts at the ballgame, but still see the game from the nosebleed section. That's where I usually am. There's the alarm clock that rolls off your bedside table, on to the floor and across the room. You have to get up to turn it off and before you can hit it with a hammer! I even heard there is a motorized ice cream cone so you don't have to turn the cone yourself. Only in America!

In America, we can fix just about anything. One thing we can't fix though is our problem with sin. No matter how much you might want to fix this problem, there nothing in the yellow pages or online that can help. My father-in-law is a great handyman, but even he doesn't have the right tool to forgive me for my sin. Every look in the mirror, every gray hair and wrinkle, every aching joint, every trip to the eye doctor for a stronger prescription, every funeral reminds us that we are formed of the dust and to dust we shall return. Before I know it; in the blink of an eye, the gravestone will read "Here Lies Andrew C. Elling". Trust me, there will be one like it for you too.

At our Ash Wednesday service the other night, we all acknowledged this conundrum. The conundrum is why we showed up there that night in the first place. It's why we put dirty ash crosses on our foreheads. We can't fix this problem, but we have a God who can. Ash Wednesday is an acknowledgement of this. It is the beginning of a journey. Too often we skip ahead to the joy of resurrection day. Jesus didn't do that. He walked the journey there one step at a time. Our faith will not be as deep and strong as it can be until we all walk with him. Walk down the mountain resolutely toward Jerusalem. Stand with him on trial and as the whips tear the flesh off his back. Carry the cross with him up to Golgotha. Feel the nails pierce his hands and feet as if they were your own. Do not let yourself jump ahead too quickly to Easter Sunday. The good news is that day will come. Instead, wait a while first. Walk with Jesus. Feel it. Shed some tears. Gaze upon our bloody and beaten Savior. That Savior is the only possible fix for your problem of sin and mine.

At the service on Ash Wednesday, we all read Psalm 51. You should too. If you feel your failures like King David did. If you admit your weakness, acknowledge the flaws, confess your sin to God, give your life to God, pray for His forgiveness through Christ, then you will live in the end. In fact, you will live starting today. If you can say the same words to God that King David did, then when you die, when you return to the dust, then the gravestone might have your name on it, but you will not be there. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, like King David, you will not be there. It is on your journey to the cross of Jesus that you will find life.