When Leadership Calls You...

I learned something hard today: It isn't always easy to be a leader.

In fact, it's usually rather difficult. You are required to do many things that you may not otherwise be called upon to do. For instance, most leaders must have the ability to guide, or even rebuke, the people under them.

I learned that today, and it's not nearly as easy as it might sound. Especially when you're a Christian, and must deal with all men with love and kindness, and as Christ would.

But Christ did chide His disciples when they needed it. In fact, He even became very harsh with them at certain times, like when they argued over who the greatest of them would be, or when Peter, James, and John slept at the Mount of Olives instead of watching over Him as He asked. It's a difficult and often uncomfortable task, but it is a position that you can learn much from. I have.

When I am afraid...

Ever feel like you've just gotten punched in the gut?

I have. On more than one occassion. Trials swirl around like hurrican-force winds, temptations to defy God and mankind and friends and family all screaming through your mind.... Sometimes, I can just get fed up with it all ... with life.

But I remember the words of Isaiah 41:10: "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

The power of God is a thing not understood, sometimes feared, sometimes beheld by those who trust in Him.... In these times when I fear and doubt, my Father gently chides me to remember Who He is. To remember that He is the God Who, "...has measureed the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales..."

My Father reminds me to "Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God'? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power... those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not grow faint, They will walk and not become weary.".....

May I find the strength to continue to run this race, O LORD, even when I cannot see Your face, for I know You are there behind the clouds, smiling upon me, and holding me in Your arms.
Amen.

The Snare: A Meditation on Gideon

Then Gideon [took the gold and] made it into an ephod and set it up in his city Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.... Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives. And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son... (Judges 8: 27, 30-31a)

How easily we can fall! Here, the man God used to bring Israel to victory and bring honor to Him, suddenly falls prey to "selfish ambition and vain conceit," not to mention idolatry of sorts. To make matters worse, he became guilty of polygamy, a thing strictly forbidden in God's Law.

What happened to the stalwart captain and judge of Israel? How is it that a man such as Gideon - even mentioned in the "Chapter of Faith" (Hebrews 11) - could still become ensnared by such gross sins?

As young Christians, we must take care: The enemy preys upon the young and the old. No one is safe from the Devil's temptations and attacks. A Christian's "golden years" should be the most glorious of his life; he has learned, fought, conquered, and now can pass on his wisdom to the following generations. But perhaps this is one of the most dangerous times of life. For here, the temptation to stop fighting, to forget your God is great. There are so many examples of older men and women of the Bible who have fallen in their last days. Solomon, David, Gideon, Aaron, the list goes on.

Oh, young Christian, beware the pitfall of thinking you are safe when you reach "maturity"! The Christian life is always a fight, no matter what the age or experiences. We cannot truly rest until we reach the Land of Rest, but take heart: [the Lord will aid us in the fight,] if we remain true to Him, all the days of our life.

[Remember the Creator of your youth.]

Where God calls us, there is a way.

Tonight as I vacuuming rows and rows of carpet between church pews, I realized something that many of my dreams have in common: people. The age old question that seems to baffles high schoolers as they look toward post graduation of 'what am I going to do?' has certainly perched on my mind too. However, tonight, I realized that I really, really desire to work with people--extensively. Face to face, hand to hand, touching lives as I share with them the hope of Christ. But there's a problem: I don't know that I'm very good at that type of thing. I don't have a lot of experience working with people outside the sphere of my upbringing. I thought of all this tonight as I vacuumed. But I also thought of Moses.

God called Moses to go bring forth the Israelites from captivity to the Egyptians. However, Moses didn't think he had the ability to answer the call of the Lord. He told God: "I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." And how did God answer him? He said, "Who had made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?" Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."

I was greatly encouraged by remembering these verses from Exodus, chapter 4 . My weakness is no excuse not to go where God leads. He is our Strength, and He is with us. Certainly, I will pursue where God calls. Where God calls us, there is a way.

Remember that, my friend. Where God calls us, there is a way.

How Can We Call This Living?

This is an adaption from a journal entry written on Monday, April 16th, 2007--the day of the Virginia Tech shooting.

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4.16.06
Leaning back against the van seat, I put my arm behind my head and rested it. Miles of scenery passed by me outside the vehicle window. This was comfortable.

To enjoy such relaxation is often the envy and desire of this world. "Oh, if only we could just relax and live." We have a notion in the back of our minds that we really are living when we are free from concern--free from physical and mental burden. Yet, as I leaned back in my amiable seat, the thought crossed my mind: how can we call this living? I think of the biographies I've been reading. Men such as brother Andrew, whose life mission was to carry the gospel of Christ into Communist countries. I doubt his life was free from concern. I doubt that his life was easy. But as I read his biography, I know he lived. Men such as Hudson Taylor--he too risked all comfort to carry the gospel to those who didn't know Christ. Hudson was often sick, but he carried on. These men really lived. I don't doubt that these men's lives were hard, both mentally or physically. Yet, they lived to show Christ; they lived to rescue lives, comfort hearts, and save souls. These men are my heroes.

This morning, 32 people were killed. A gunman released an odor of death across the campus of Virginia Tech College. I am stunned. I watch the news, and then in my awkwardness I tell my TeenPact host family, "I think I'm going to lay down and rest a bit." Lay down and rest? How can we call this living? How can we be content to lay back while the world around is being torn --hearts across America are being shattered with grief as they learn of the massacre of their loved ones. People were killed today, and I am resting. How can I call this living?

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Edit: After a few questions from a friend, I should clarify this post. My intentions and heart of the above thoughts were not to promote restlessness about the condition of the world around us. If read wrongly, this post may have come across as advocating 'worry'. That's not what I meant to imply in any way. As Christians, we should rest in hope of God and have an incredible peace in Him.

What I was trying to communicate was that we should be concerned about those around us--we shouldn't be content to just sit back and 'relax' while we still have time to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

New blog!

I've just begun a new personal blog, just for those times when meditation is key. At Meeting Place, I'm seeking to capture the feeling of "alone time" with God, where we can meet with Him and meditate upon His Word and His salvation.

So please, stop by and spend some meditation on God's Word along with me. I'm sure that the Lord will bless both of our efforts, for He has promised that He will!

P.S. I am also still blogging here at PtM. Meeting Place is simply another place to journal. So don't worry; I'm still here! :-)

You're almost there...

[The end of school is in sight...

you're now facing your greatest challenge.]

"My greatest challenge?" you might ask. "I thought that keeping up was the hardest part.... What's this about finishing school?"

My own teacher once compared it to an Olympic marathon runner. The athlete has pushed every single muscle in his body to do its absolute best. He has run 25.5 grueling miles around and around and around the track, numbing both his body and his mind. He has endured countless hours of pain and sweat and tension to make it to this once-in-a-lifetime event.... Now the finish line is just ahead of him. He can see it within a few more yards; victory is almost his.

[What does he do?]

Does he suddenly slow up, answering his body's pleading for rest, before his feet cross the line? Absolutely not. Even though he can't imagine that he has any left, he gathers every last ounce of strength he has and dashes forward once more. The greatest challenge comes when he is 10 feet away from victory, his entire body screaming at him to slow down and take the victory easily. But where is the glory in walking across the finish line? How does "just making it" over enhance his career?

[Are you satisfied with just "making it" through?]

Are you content to just ease over the finish line at the end of the school year? "I'll just make sure that I get a passing grade.... I won't study as hard for those last few tests. I mean, there's only one or two more months left anyway...."

I know this is the hard part of the year. You are burned. out. with schoolwork. Procrastination and rest are your friends. The temptation is so hard to resist...and many of us don't. Just get through it; don't strive for excellence ... don't finish with a great victory. Be content with just finishing.

Its a hard thing. But God calls us to do it. So do it in obedience to God. Do it for His glory. Do it for your "good testimony" before men. Don't be content to "survive" the last weeks of school. The end is just in sight, your victory is just around the bend. So take hold of it; seize it; do it with "all your might."

Do Hard Things.