The 'trappings' don't change the 'execution'

(Oops, wrote this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it!)

With college football ramping up into some feverishly-competitive match-ups this weekend, it’s hard to ignore the hype, even if you’re not one of those who ‘Love Purple Live Gold,’  ‘Roll Tide,’ or even ‘Sic ‘Em, Bears!’ Each of these teams – and many more – are working hard to prepare a game plan that will outwit, outsmart, and outscore its competition. But even with the best laid plans, on any given night, it’s anybody’s ball game. Yep, even the underdog can upset the favorite and wreak havoc on the BCS standings.

            So, who really has the advantage? If everyone knows the underdog is capable of an upset, how does a team maximize its preparation? While listening to some ESPN Game Day interviews last Saturday, I heard the previously-unbeaten Miami Hurricanes coach address the issue of playing still-unbeaten Florida State in Tallahassee in the loud and intimidating Doak-Campbell Stadium. Al Golden said he wasn’t worried about facing the Seminoles with their home field advantage (what he called “the trappings”), Instead, he surmised, “It all comes down to execution, two acres, and a ball.”

            Thanks, Al, for reminding me that it’s not so much WHERE I’m pursuing my God-calling as it is HOW. How well am I executing the plan I’ve been taught and have practiced, wherever I am? Sure the ‘stadium’ and ‘fans’ (or lack thereof) can impact my performance but neither of these trappings should be the deciding factor in the consistency of my obedience.

           

            Well, as we know, it didn’t turn out so well for the Hurricanes; FSU blew them away with a final score of 41-14. But neither team knew what the outcome would be when they started. Thus, the players hit the field with the expectation that, because of intense preparation on both sides of the ball, their efforts would pay off. May you too have a game plan of obedience that focuses not on the WHERE but on the HOW so that you can faithfully execute the call of God on your life both now and in the future. And THAT’s worth cheering for!

Pink It Up!

For some, orange is the color of October. But the Breast Cancer Awareness people have us seeing pink here, there, and everywhere! So let’s join the party on Thursday, October 24, and PINK IT UP! Throw on a pink tee or pink jeans or pink hair bow or whatever pink thing you’ve got, and help spread the word.

To some on the NOBTS campus, breast cancer awareness takes a personal turn. One student shared a prayer request recently for her aunt who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. At least one staff woman and one administrative council wife are celebrating remission from the disease. One alum’s wife, hailing from Fayetteville, GA, is a two-time survivor and another’s mother-in-law is six-months post-surgery and finishing up her chemo treatments.

However, not all women with the disease have this outcome. One such gal was Kim Wilson, a 2000 graduate of NOBTS. Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35 while serving with the IMB in Southeast Asia. She returned home and spent the next two-and-a-half years going through treatment and recovery, including a double mastectomy, multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, and breast reconstruction surgery. Kim returned to Southeast Asia in the spring of 2005 but was diagnosed with a brain tumor just a few months later, and returned again to the states for treatment.

In March 2008, Kim returned to the NOBTS campus one last time. During her visit, she was able to share her story in classes as well as a special gathering of campus women in Carey Hall. Her signature testimony revealed her solid and sold-out trust in God: “My Lord is the greatest. He has remained my rock through all of this and will continue to strengthen and guide me through all of this. We all are praying for complete healing.”

Her good friend (and NOBTS media director) Vanee Daure believes Kim got her complete healing when she went home to be with the Lord on May 20, 2008. Several years ago, Vanee started the Kim Wilson Scholarship Fund in memory of her friend to help women who were coming to NOBTS to study missions. In hopes of raising more funds for this missions scholarship, we will be accepting donations through the month of October in the Dean of Students office but especially on October 24, PINK IT UP DAY. Stop by between classes and show your support. Those giving $1 or more will receive a pink Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet with your choice of the words FAITH, HOPE, STRENGTH, or SURVIVOR.

Thanks for helping to keep Kim’s mission fresh and growing!

Don't play favorites with God's love

I taught last Sunday on the first part of James 2. So, like a good Bible study teacher, I started preparing at the beginning of the week. As I read the first verse, I knew I was in for a challenging week. “…Don’t show favoritism.” Not, “try your best to treat everyone the same.” Or even, “I know some people are different and annoying but give it a shot.” Nope, James just jumps right out and says it: “Hey, Christian, stop playing favorites.”

I had several in-my-face opportunities to practice what I was going to preach during the course of the week. I did well on some tests; okay on others. More than anything I was reminded at how exclusive even we as believers can be. Ouch! Basically, the summary of the lesson was/is ‘don’t play favorites with God’s love. He doesn’t, and we shouldn’t either.’

One of the gals who attended the Bible Study continued to process the passage as she did her quiet time the next day. She started with this passage:

So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. - John 4:40

I read this passage this morning through the filter of yesterday's lesson. Obviously associating with Samaritans (let alone staying as their guests for two whole days) would have been damaging to Jesus' reputation in many ways, but he did it. I can imagine that the disciples were extremely hesitant - maybe even grumbling because of Jesus' desire to truly invest in these people. After all, He'd done His duty (according to the way my mind works, anyway). He'd spoken to the woman at the well. Most Jews wouldn't have done that. If I'd been in Jesus' shoes, I'd have walked away feeling pretty proud of myself. He'd shared the Truth with her, and she'd gone in to town telling people she thought she'd found the Messiah. He could have been done there, and two thousand years later, we'd still be talking about what a good guy Jesus was.

But He didn't stop there. He stayed with the Samaritans for two days. This blows my mind and challenges me to look at the James passage in a whole new light. I'm not supposed to tolerate people I find difficult. I'm supposed to LOVE them and spend time investing in them. Forget feeling good about myself for smiling and having a thirty second conversation with them about how their day is going. I'm supposed to invest in them. Ouch. But the next two verses in the passage cast a new light on things and make me understand why it's all worth it.

And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” - John 4:41-42

Because Jesus spent the two days in Samaria, "many more believed." They moved beyond faith because of what someone else told them and into a belief based on experience with the Savior. This is my prayer for people with whom I come in contact. Rather than having a brief encounter with me and thinking, "What a nice girl," I want people to see Jesus and be challenged to have their own real encounter with Him. This doesn't happen when I deem to speak to someone whom I find annoying. This happens when I invest in people and share life with them.

This made me smile on so many levels: 1) someone actually thought about the study after it was over; 2) someone found a connection in another part of the Word; and 3) God takes our feeble efforts and multiplies them as He sees fit!

Who do you need to be a little nicer to today? And who do you need to invest in? If you fast forward to the end of the ‘favoritism’ passage, you see this amazing promise: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” So dish out some mercy today; it wins!

Remember. Don't Forget.

How many times do we read in the Old Testament “remember” this and “don’t forget” that? Blake Newsome mentioned this in his chapel sermon last Thursday, pointing out that Deuteronomy 8 is full of such references.

So we’ve been remembering. Remembering what it was like to be a part of the seminary community eight years ago when Hurricane Katrina came for a visit. Remembering when three years later, then-mayor Ray Nagin instructed New Orleans and NOBTS’ers to hit the road again in anticipation of “the mother of all storms” (a.k.a. Gustav). Remembering the end of last August and the disruption Isaac brought to our schedules and lives.

Reflecting on her Katrina experience, Courtney Veasey wrote: Eight years ago today, at the age of twenty-two, I learned a very important life lesson: to hold YOUR plans with open hands. I had just graduated college, spent the summer doing mission work, and then set off on my first "adult" adventure of moving to New Orleans to begin graduate school.  Three weeks after that move, I found myself back in Florida and watching in unbelief with the rest of the nation (and world) as Hurricane Katrina invaded our shores and brought with it, quite literally, a flood of devastation. I lived on a first floor apartment at the back of the school campus where most of the flood damage occurred. Needless to say, when I returned nearly a month later to retrieve any belongings I could from the rubble, what could be salvaged was minimal.  It had taken two SUV's to get my belongings there in August, and one carboard box to carry out what remained in September ... humbling. [To read the rest of these thoughts, see Courtney’s blog at http://courtneyveasey.com]

What is it that you need to remember -- not for the sake of dredging up bad memories but to reminded of how you saw God at work in ways that you might not have seen Him otherwise? Sheila Taylor, in response to a Facebook post about the significance of August 29 in our lives, pointed out: “We will never forget Katrina, but most of all we will never forget the faithfulness of our God.”

It’s fixin’ to get real, girlfriends. You may not have a hurricane story in your Christ-walk narrative but I trust you’ve got something in your personal journey that reminds you over and over and over that He is faithful and active and loves to show up in the middle of ‘impossible.’

Your first quizzes are rolling in. Your first papers are coming due. Your first seminary stress-outs are lurking nearby. It will be easy to forget the work of the Lord that got you here. It will be easy to trade the peace you felt as you applied to come here for sweat-producing anxiety as the due dates pile up.

Instead, remember. And, even more, don’t forget.

"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God ….” (Deuteronomy 8:11a)

Hold Me, Daddy, Hold Me

The worship leader invited us to raise our hands in praise as we joined voices to honor Almighty God. I have to confess that, at times, I am tentative about this kind of instruction coming from the stage because I think one’s worship posture ought to be more spontaneous and personal. But he followed his initial appeal with these words: 'like a small child raising his hands for his father to pick him up and hold him.'

Pictures of many of the children I've seen in this posture ran through my mind, and my heart smiled. They’re so trusting and expectant as they hold up their hands and say, “Hold me, Daddy, hold me!” In that moment, I wanted to express that affection, so I threw my hands in the air with abandon along with so many others.

A while back, Rich Mullins wrote the words:

Sometimes my life just don’t make sense at all

When the mountains seems so big, and my faith just seems so small.

So, hold me, Jesus, I’m shaking like a leaf.

You have been King of my glory; won’t you be my Prince of Peace?

The start of a new semester holds a kind of scary anticipation (for those who have taken Total Wellness and the Minister, this is eustress and distress at its finest!). We can’t wait to see what’s in store but, then again, we’re a bit nervous about what might be in store. We love the fun surprises but hold our collective breath through the difficult challenges.

 Be proactive. Go ahead and invite your Heavenly Father to hold you through this semester … through the good grades and the hard assignments … through the relationship highs and the late-night lows. Remember the Apostle Paul’s invitation to worry about nothing but, instead, to give it all to God with thanksgiving. And then, get ready, because according to Philippians 4:7, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

A Big Show-Off

The opening night of Euroventure we enjoyed some amazing worship with 'Good Luck Penny,' a group from Orlando and beyond. At one point the leader asked us to turn and face the windows where we could look on the mountains. Even before we began to sing 'how great is our God,' I was already sensing a need to see the greatness of God in a new and fresh way.

Notice white section in center

As I looked out over the beauty before me, I noticed that in one area in the center of my field of vision, the snow began to move. And as we continued to sing, the snow movement continued and we witnessed a small avalanche! Incredible! As we sang out to the Creator, He smiled back! He showed off! I was looking for Him, and He confirmed that He was there! I felt the power of the Holy Spirit in that moment.

Earlier in the day, I had read a devotion about physical and spiritual dehydration. This really hit home to me since we are in such high altitude and feeling dried out from the inside out. But it also hit home because I have been so harried to get ready for this trip and finish the grant and prep my classes, I've been dehydrating spiritually.

In the moment as the snow tumbled as I watched, I felt my soul bring quenched. No longer parched ... I sensed myself being drawn once again to the Living Water ... Not only drawn but satisfied!

Packing My Suitcase

I’ve gotten to travel several times this semester and, each time, I struggle with what to put in my suitcase. If I’m flying, I’ve got to be very judicious about my choices because I don’t want to haul a bunch of luggage through the airport, even if Southwest lets two of my bags fly free. But if I’m driving, my choices seem even harder because, well, I don’t make choices; I just dump stuff in the car and then sort it out as I go along. There must be a happy compromise somewhere between the two.

In our spiritual journeys, we are all the time packing a suitcase. Every Bible study, every sermon, and even conversations with friends are full of spiritual direction that sometimes makes us think, “God, why am I hearing this? I have no point of reference for this stuff.”

It’s really a natural response because that’s how most adults are wired … that’s how adults learn. It’s this concept called andragogy which basically means that adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance to their jobs or personal lives. Basically, our lives are so full that we tend to think we don’t have time or energy to invest in stuff that doesn’t matter RIGHT NOW!

But it’s like packing a suitcase. Sure, you need to fit in the things you know you’ll need, but it’s not out-of-the-ordinary to throw in an extra outfit or jacket or swimsuit just in case. You want to be prepared . . . just in case!

So, as you struggle through the end-of-the-semester “why am studying this stuff” blues, hang in there. Picture yourself layering your suitcase with the necessary, the important, and the just-in-case … you’ll be surprised at how much of this information you’ll use right away while other details will be tucked away into the extra spaces just in case.

Oh, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to save room for souvenirs. God’s got some doozies for us to pick up along the way! But that’s a story for a different blog . . . .