Dealing with the Problem (Friday Devotional)

 

No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

- Proverbs 28:13

When the church offices received new carpet and a fresh coat of paint a few months ago, I was quick to move all my things back in as quickly as possible. My bookshelves were filled immediately, my desk was put in place, and my other furniture was returned to where it all belonged. After several weeks out of pocket, I wasted no time putting everything back in place.

Well, almost everything. Week after week, my walls have remained bare as I have failed to hang up the decorations that will go there. For a while my excuse was not having the right tools to do so. Then I blamed decision paralysis—which pictures should go on which walls? And lately my excuse has been busyness, a refusal to devote 30 minutes to this task when more pressing matters demanded my attention.

The result is an unsightly pile of bulletin boards, photos, and artwork in the corner of my office that is now starting to gather dust while I neglect to do anything about it. As long as I ignore the problem and find excuses not to deal with it, nothing changes.

We often handle sin the same way I’m handling that pile—we prefer to avoid its reality rather than addressing it; we would rather change the subject than change the situation. So long as we busy ourselves with other things and willfully ignore it, we can convince ourselves that it’s not a problem.

But just like that pile in my office, sin remains present and problematic until it is dealt with. Scripture’s solution is simple: repentance. Because of Christ’s atoning death on the cross, if we will confess our sins before God and turn from wickedness, He will forgive our sins. The Lord is both just and merciful; He cannot ignore sin but He also does not ignore repentance. If you turn from your transgressions, God promises to cleanse you from your unrighteousness.

But first comes the willingness to deal with sin instead of hiding it. The world’s solutions to sin range from rationalization to distraction to moral relativism, anything that will allow you to avoid the painful reality of sin’s prevalence and power. But if you want anything to change, don’t expect it to happen through avoidance. The blank walls in my office tell the stark truth: the problem won’t go away until you address it.

Far From Cancelled (Friday Devotional)

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.

- 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the closure or dramatic reconfiguration of a lot of organizations, traditions, and events that once seemed as reliable as the morning sunrise. Holiday extravaganzas were called off. Conventions and annual meetings moved online. Sporting events were postponed or cancelled outright.

The closure that saddened my family the most was announced on July 7, when the State Fair of Texas confirmed that, for the first time since World War II, Fair Park’s gates would not be welcoming thousands of people this fall for food, shows, photos, and fun. Especially for my son, who dressed up as Big Tex for Halloween last year, it was crushing to hear that “the germs” meant there would be no fair this year.

But in the weeks and months after that announcement, something remarkable happened. First, word started getting around that Fletcher’s, in the wake of the fair’s closure, would be hosting a series of pop-up events around the metroplex to make sure that people got their corny dog fix. Then mom-and-pop restaurants here in Garland decided to get in on the fun too, adding to their menus traditional (and not-so-traditional) “fair fare,” from funnel cakes to fried Oreos. Finally, the State Fair itself announced that they would be hosting a series of drive-through events where visitors could get their photo with a masked Big Tex, chow down on a few favorite snacks, and play a game on the midway. While the State Fair as we know and love it remains closed for the year, it was inspiring to see so many people get creative and make adjustments to ensure that, even if the fair is cancelled, fun is not.

Just as institutions like the State Fair have adapted in the last six months, so too has the church. Despite the discomfort, believers worship in masks on Sunday mornings and block off pews. Those who are less than tech-savvy have learned to use Facebook Live so they can participate in Bible study and worship from home. With so many fellowship opportunities off the table for now, church members have reached out to one another by phone and e-mail to check in and offer encouragement. Church has looked different, but it has not been cancelled.

In such tumultuous times, it’s been helpful to remember that this is far from the first time the church has had to navigate a difficult season. In the earliest days of the church, the apostles faced everything from persecution to sickness to internal conflicts. There were surely moments when they wondered if Jesus’s final promise to them—to be with them always, even to the end of the age—was coming up empty.

But in the wake of their difficulties, they grounded themselves in the knowledge that God was refining them in crisis and that their ability to persevere in struggles was serving as a witness to God’s grace and glory. Hard times made them bend but never break, and every obstacle offered an opportunity to show people how the Spirit breathes life into what is lifeless and hope into what seems hopeless.

Six months into this pandemic, with the end not yet in sight, the church continues to endure, just as Christ promised we would in dark days. May we continue to be obedient to the mission God has given us, making adjustments where we must and using the gifts He has given us. For while many things have been cancelled, ministry most certainly continues.

Puzzling Faith (Friday Devotional)

 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, says the Lord.

- Isaiah 55:8

When I was in college, I developed a routine—every morning I would grab one of the library’s free copies of the New York Times, open up to the crossword puzzle, and work through as much of it as I could. Mondays I always managed to solve the whole puzzle in less than half an hour, Tuesdays I could usually finish in double that time. But by Wednesday, the puzzle had reached a difficulty level I never quite managed to master without cheating, and by Friday I was lucky to get 2 or 3 of the answers unaided.

Maybe you have a favorite puzzle of your own—a word search, Sudoku, Boggle, or some other game to keep your mind moving and provide some amusement in dull moments. There’s something about the human mind that loves solving puzzles, cracking codes, and finding the answers to riddles.

Unfortunately, that inclination can lead us to misunderstand our relationship with God and misinterpret how we know His will for us. For many a well-intentioned Christian, God’s will is something hidden in a labyrinth of Bible verses, something they can uncover if they dig through enough esoteric passages and decode enough prophecies. Instead of seeing the Bible as God’s Word to His people, they see it as a puzzle to be solved.

Doing so betrays a fundamental arrogance, a misguided belief that knowing God fully and having all our questions answered is something which happens through study and cleverness instead of something that will come by God’s grace on the other side of eternity. What we must humbly remember is that God is higher and greater than we are, that as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “for now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.”

The good news is that, while God is “unsolvable,” he is not unknowable. The Lord has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who shows us the character, priorities, and power of God. It is by knowing and following Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, that we know God.

When we come to terms with that reality—that we are called to know God relationally rather than understand him intellectually—we find something far greater than the satisfaction of cracking a code: the joy of fellowship. It is then that we truly understand that God is not a puzzle to be solved, but a Lord to be loved.

Ready to Share (Friday Devotional)

But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.

- 1 Peter 3:15

If you were to look in the trunk of my car, most of the things you’d see wouldn’t surprise you: a spare tire, a few tools, a couple of water bottles, and some reusable grocery bags. But those wouldn’t be the things you noticed first, because what takes up nearly a third of the floor space in my trunk is roughly 30 baseball caps.

I decided long ago that my souvenir of choice when visiting a new ballpark would be the hat worn by the home team, and that initial decision burgeoned into collecting the hats of now-defunct teams and minor league franchises as well. So when you see me around town, I’m as likely to be sporting a Brooklyn Dodgers cap as I am the Rangers’ colors (though you’ll never see me wearing the navy and orange of the Astros—that hat remains pristine and unworn in the back corner of the trunk.)

That explains the quantity of caps, but not why I store them all in the trunk together, taking up space I might need someday. The reason is simple: I’m most likely to wear one when I’m out and about running errands. I wanted to make sure I always had the hat I wanted on hand when the time came. I wanted to be prepared.

1 Peter 3:15 calls believers to a more significant kind of preparation, saying we must “always be ready” when someone inquires about the gospel. Rather than seeing evangelism as the exclusive domain of preachers and missionaries, we are told to be prepared to talk about our faith when opportunities arise.

The truth is that people are more likely to go to their friends with spiritual questions than they are to call the local pastor (at least initially.) With that in mind, every believer ought to have their spiritual trunk packed; we all ought to be able to explain the most basic tenants of our faith. Will you be able to answer every question? Probably not, but there’s a big difference between not having exactly what you need and not having anything at all.

So as you make you way through life, be sure you’re as prepared to share your testimony as I am for a sunny day. After all, I’m glad to always have something to put on my head—but far gladder that I know how to share who’s in my heart.