End of the Rope

Scripture – “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:24

As I read this scene in the Bible I am reminded of the movie, “John Q”.  John believes he is faced with no options and so he takes matters into his own hands in order to save his son.  If you are a parent, this movie will hit you right in the gut as you ask yourself, “What would I do to save my child?”

The father in this scripture story has exhausted his options, he went to the disciples to save his son, but they were unable to rescue the boy.  He then believes he still has one option, one card that he is willing to play.  He goes to Jesus and expresses his uncertainty about the future.  “IF YOU CAN…”  I love the brutal honesty of this father.  I love the humility of this father.  I love it because I believe it reflects the heart of a person who is truly on the path of resilient spirituality.

How?

People who are on the path of resilient spirituality understand the commandment to “love the Lord their God, with all their heart…” to mean we are to be brutally honest with our emotions before God.  Jesus cried out from the cross, “Why have you forsaken me.” David cries to God, “I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.  I pour out complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble” (Psalm 142:1).  I believe you are never more holy than when you are real before God.  Besides if God can’t handle your emotions why would you need God?  The reality that God can handle our emotions gives resilient people just enough faith to keep pressing on in the midst of overwhelming circumstances.  Resilient people are able to keep pressing on because they know they are not alone in that deep place of despair.  That somehow, someway God really is with them. That somehow, someway that God really has his or her back.

Resilient spirituality is also found in the heart of a humble person.  The father realized that he could not solve this problem on his own.  He knew this was not a pull yourself up by your own bootstraps moment.  No amount of education or good works was going to solve this problem for him.  He knew that if he was going to be rescued, more specifically if his son was going to be rescued it was going to take something, someone more bigger than him to get this mission accomplished.

Thus the real power of the teaching, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed…”

Share a time when you cried out to God “If you can do anything” – today and see how others receive healing – that is the mission of resilient people.

Generational Mistakes

Scripture: Samuel’s sons did not walk in his ways.  They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.  1 Samuel 8:3

How good it is to be back in the states.  I had hoped to keep up with my blog while overseas, but I made some choices that did not allow me to continue posting blogs and do all the other things that I needed to do.  But now that I no longer have to be focused as a Navy Chaplain I should be able to return to posting thoughts on a more regular basis.  Of course that may change again because as many of you may know we are expecting a little one to join our family anytime now —I’ll keep you posted and of course I will share photos.

As I contemplate the arrival of Melody and having spent an entire weekend getting reconnected with Matthew I was struck by the scripture passage I quoted above.  A few verses prior the following description was provided about Samuel, “Samuel gave solid leadership to Israel his entire life.”  Some other descriptions of Samuel – He prepared Israel to battle the Philistines and every battle he led them in they won; his counsel that he offered to others was sought after and he was always on the mark; God confided in Samuel (now that’s a really big deal); and the people knew that Samuel was God’s man.

How is it possible that a man this respected and this close to God could produce such bad fruit?  The consequences were that the people lost hope in God and thus requested that they be placed under the leadership of a king.  You think taxes, gas prices and war are tough now – well thank Samuel’s sons.  As I consider this situation I had two reactions:

One – It just goes to show that our God desires to have a very personal relationship with each person.  Just because I am close to God and I plan to grow closer to God throughout my life I cannot assume that Matthew and Melody will have the same respect and reverence for God that I have.  I also cannot assume that just because I teach them that they matter to God, that God loves them and has created them with a special and unique purpose, that Matthew and Melody will receive that teaching.  God created us with choice and we do have a choice of accepting or rejecting Him .

Two – What good does it do to “advance” God’s Kingdom but lose my family along the way?  Picture in your mind the 4X100 relay race.  The sprinters are in the blocks.  The gun sounds and the first sprinter runs like a lion is chasing him.  He passes the baton to the second sprinter, they now have a 100^th of second lead, he passes the baton to the next sprinter and the lead has increased to almost a ½ second, he passes the baton to the final runner, but the baton slips through his fingers and falls to the track.  They scramble to pick-up the fallen baton, but the damage is done, the team goes from first to last.

While Samuel provided pastoral and military leadership to Israel, the Philistines were subdued, the cities the Philistines had captured were returned to Israel and peace was made with the Amorites.  I would argue that God’s Kingdom had been incredibly advanced.  Yet, soon after Saul is anointed king, the Amorites and the Philistines start their attacks again.  While Samuel was busy pointing people to God, while he was busy teaching people the need to trust God, his own children were running in the opposite direction.  All the years of hard work and dedication were lost.

For some reason Samuel’s sons did not receive the baton cleanly and as a result the people become fed-up and disheartened and they demanded a king.  How are you doing at passing batons to your children and grandchildren?  Was the baton passed cleanly to you?  Are you in danger of doing such incredible work for your church, your community, and your business that you are missing the privilege of leading your children?

Many of you know that I did not receive the baton cleanly from my parents either.  I grew-up in a home that was filled with alcohol, adultery and abuse.  My parents never divorced, but they truth is for my entire life they were never married either.  They were legally married, but they did not live as husband and wife the way God intended or the way children needed.  Growing-up my heart longed for a happy and healthy home.  God has blessed me with a wonderful person to begin to create that possibility with.  Jackie and I are happily married and we are blessed with two wonderful children (one is certainly on the way).  I am committed to passing on the baton safely to Matthew and Melody, but truthfully I am not satisfied with just passing that baton to them.  I feel called and compelled to equip and empower thousands of other families to do the same for their children.  It is because of that sense of calling that I have started two organizations – one is called Shoulder 2 Shoulder and the other is called StayMarried4Ever.

Shoulder 2 Shoulder aligned with Operation Military Family is a strategic process of equipping churches to stand alongside our military families and families in general to help families move from survival to significance.

Stay Married4Ever will be a platform in which I will offer monthly coaching to groups of families who desire to finish well.  The ultimate goal of Stay Married 4ever is to transform the 50% divorce rate to 20%.

To learn more about these organizations let me encourage you to check out the websites at www.staymarried4ever.com or www.shoulder2shouldercoaching.com.  I have also started another blog site called www.staymarried4ever.wordpress.com.  I hope you will start checking this blog out as well.

Ask For Wisdom

Scripture:  “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’” (1 Kings 3:5)

Once again one of David’s sons has tried to forcefully take his throne.  Adonijah met in secret at the Stone of Zoheleth (don’t you just love these names) which was a high place on one of the mountains that overlook Jerusalem.  You can just imagine Adonijah licking his chops as he gazed upon all of Jerusalem believing this was now his kingdom.

His excitement was probably similar to Simba’s when Mufasa  told him that wherever the sun touches the ground that is their kingdom (Lion King).  Satan took Jesus to the top of a mountain to show him the kingdoms of the world.  There is something to be said about being able to see the “kingdom” before ruling the kingdom.  Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision the people will perish.”  But just because you can see the kingdom doesn’t mean you will be granted the privilege of leading the kingdom.

Adonijah learned this the hard way.  Word got back to David that Adonijah had proclaimed himself king.  David immediately jumped into action and anointed Solomon as the next king of Israel.  Adonijah responded to Bathsheba, “You know that I had the kingdom right in my hands and everyone expected me to be king, and then the whole thing backfired and the kingdom landed in my brother’s lap – God’s doing.” (1 Kings 2:15).  These are the things that took place prior to Solomon having this dream.

Vision without wisdom will lead to nothing but broken dreams.  Consider that thought as you think about the big dreams, goals, plans you have made for this coming year.  Adonijah operated with a vision but he lacked wisdom.  Have you ever ventured into something big only to discover you didn’t have the wisdom to fulfill the task before you?

Because God has wired us to be tender hearted and warriors with spirit we tend to plod through the difficult situations.  You graduated from the “School of Hard-Knocks”, but imagine how much easier and quicker you may have accomplished this vision if you had first been gifted with the wisdom to complete the task.  There really is a lot of wisdom in the thoughts – “measure twice, cut once,” “turn off the main circuit breaker before messing with anything electrical in the house.”  Not only have we been wired to be warriors but we have also been wired to be impulsive.  Perhaps you haven’t done this, but I know I have walked into an electronics store or even a car lot and made a purchase without actually doing some homework.  I lacked wisdom in those moments and ended up paying more than I needed to. I share this with you because I am absolutely amazed at Solomon’s response to God’s offer – “Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well.”  (I Kings 3:9).

Solomon was about 20 years old when he gave that response.  I know that when I was 20 and if the God of the Universe had said to me, “Ask for whatever you want” my response would not have been anything as noble and wise as Solomon’s.  I probably would have asked for a really hot car to be quite honest. At 20 I was busy trying to prove to myself and to the world I had what it took to make it.  I was all about ambition and achievement.  I didn’t want people to know my weaknesses.  I wanted people to think I was amazing that I was mature.

Solomon took a totally different approach.  He admitted his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities, “I am too young to lead this kingdom.  I don’t know the ropes.”  Solomon was already wise and he didn’t even know it.  When I was the pastor of Grace UMC, my first church, I was to proud, to full of myself, to admit that I didn’t have a clue of how to lead this church.  I didn’t even have the wisdom to know that I needed wisdom.  James says, ”If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and He won’t humiliate you when you ask for help.” (1:5). My leadership was based upon hunches, impulsive behavior, and as a result I gained wisdom without asking for it.  I gained wisdom through humiliation.  God would have loved for me to learn in a different way.  God desires the same for you.  The Word teaches us that “We receive not because we ask not.” (James 4:2) what would you ask of God today?  Would you ask for wisdom?  Would you ask that God would lead you to know the difference between good and evil?  Would you ask God for the wisdom to do His will?  Proverbs 4:7 tells us that “getting wisdom is the most important thing we could do.”  As a man who wants to finish well I realize that I need even more wisdom.  Proverbs 28:26 says “If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure.”  I am tired of being a fool – How about you?

Keep Looking

Scripture: “Keep looking, seven times if necessary” (1 Kings 18:44)

Happy New Year!  I don’t know about you but this is actually one of my favorite holidays of the year.  I look forward to the last couple of weeks of December because they are times of planning and anticipating.  I also have an opportunity to look at some of those dreams and desires that alluded me the previous year.  But the best part of the New Year is I am given another opportunity to enlist in the Army of Hope.  When a New Year approaches I am given the opportunity to announce that in spite of  a continued world of pain and suffering, in the midst of a growing community of pessimism and cynicism I can choose to look for hope in the big and small events of life.  New Year’s Day is decision day for me.  It was decision day for Ahab as well.

After many years of drought, Elijah is telling Ahab, the king of Israel, that rain was coming.  Ahab was not only a bad king, he was a king who had done more evil than any king before him and any king after him.  In fact, in the Book of Kings, Ahab is listed as “The New Champion of Evil” (1 Kings 16:30-33)  One of the evil deeds performed by this king was to sacrifice his two sons, his eldest and youngest sons, as part of the foundation for the new walls to Jericho.

Prior to the announcement of the coming rain, Ahab had witness Elijah massacre all of the false prophets and now believes that he is about to meet the same fate.  Instead, Elijah tells Ahab, “Rise up, celebrate!  Rain is on the way” (1 Kings 18:41).

What an amazing proclamation.  Ahab, “The New Champion of Evil” is being offered the opportunity to repent, to think about God differently than the way he had been thinking about God and about himself.  It was New Year’s Day for Ahab.

It is yet another wonderful example of how our God is so incredibly generous with His love and His forgiveness.  It is understandable why Ahab might hesitate to believe such great news.  His entire life has been filled with darkness.  “When your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” (Matthew 6:23).  This is what John means when he writes, “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5).

Ahab was in such bondage to his false belief of the Baal gods, even though he had just seen an amazing miracle from God (see Miracle on Mt. Carmel, 1 Kings 18:16-40), that it was nearly impossible for him to believe that God was real and that God would give him another chance to reign as King of Israel.  It was nearly impossible for him to believe that God saw him in a different way.

When God looked at Ahab He did not see Ahab as “The New Champion of Evil,” rather God saw Him as a person worthy of His love, attention, acceptance, and redemption.  God wanted to rain forgiveness and mercy upon Ahab’s life.  God wanted Ahab to know that “He was a member of a chosen race, part of a royal priesthood, a member of a holy nation, he was God’s own possession” (1 Peter 2:9-10).  God wanted Ahab to hear the words, “You are my son and in you I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Of course Ahab would have difficulty hearing those words because his pattern of behavior told him something entirely different.  His thoughts were overwhelmed with the reality that when people openly rebel and ignore God there are severe consequences to pay.  And yet, Elijah was telling Ahab, “Keep looking, seven times if necessary.”  Elijah was saying, “If your faith were only the size of a mustard seed, it would be large enough…” (Luke 17:6).  How hard it is for us to believe the words – “You are my image bearer, You are my masterpiece, You are a my new creation, You are my beloved son or daughter.   You are filled with light not darkness,”

My prayer for you, your family and your circle of friends is that as you begin this New Year, as you continue your journey of resiliency that you will continue to look in every way and every day for God to reveal His delight in you as His son or daughter.  I pray that you will notice in this story that the rain cloud was coming even if Ahab could not believe it.  In other words, God will continue to love you and continue to see you as His beloved even if you don’t believe it or see – Trust me just keep looking and you will see it.  Happy New Year’s!!!

Amazing Faith

Scripture: “A god has come into the camp,” the Philistines said.  “We’re in trouble!  Nothing like this has happened before.  Woe to us!  Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?”  1 Samuel 4:7

When I arrived in Tokyo I was suddenly made aware that everything was in Japanese.  I am used to everything being in Spanish, but now Japanese.  O.K. bad humor.  Yes, there were signs that were in English, but my senses were so overwhelmed with all the colors and Japanese signs that it was very difficult for me to see the English signs.  The simplest things, like, getting to baggage claim, purchasing a ticket, or using an ATM caused me to question my own intelligence.  When I learned that my government travel card had been denied I questioned God and asked, “Why do you always make things so difficult for me?”  Let’s just say for about 45 minutes I was stuck with the poor little me disease and wondering if God was even real.  I know that sounds a bit dramatic and it is, but it really is amazing how quickly our minds can take us down unless we take control of it very quickly.  As I finally figured out how to get outside to catch my bus for an hour and half ride to my hotel, I began to think God loves me, God cares about me and God has given me the power to choose how I will respond or react to this situation.  Funny side note – I missed the first bus because I couldn’t figure out how to get outside of the airport.  When I went back in to change my ticket I learned that the ticket counter was literally right next to the door I needed to go out the first time.  Your thinking really does produce the results you are currently experiencing.  And for 45 minutes if a non-believer had been observing me he or she may have wondered does he really believe God will take care of him in this situation because he sure looks stressed.

Has a non-believer ever amazed you by there faith?  A church one time was being sued by a bar owner.  You see the church had been praying that God would close the bar down.  The bar caught fire and burned to the ground and the owner was suing the church because of its prayers.  The church denied having anything to do with the fire, but the owner, a non-believer, was positive that this was an act of God.  The judge ruled in the church’s favor, but commented about their lack of faith in their prayers and in their God. 

The Philistines were enemies of Israel and yet they had more respect and reverence for God than the Israelites did.  If you want to see how this plays out completely read the whole story in I Samuel 4-6.  I wonder if we suffer from the same lack of faith that the Israelites suffered from.

Have you ever faced a situation that led you to say, “I could never do that!”  That’s fruit of a small faith.  What if you said, “I could never do that” but then you went to God and said, “God there is no way I can do that, if I am going to do this you are going to have to give me the courage and the strength.  The only way I could possibly do that is you working in and through me.”  Have you been holding back from offering forgiveness to someone thinking “I could never do that?”  Have you been denying words of affirmation and comfort to your spouse because he or she wounded your pride? 

God did lead the Israelites to triumph over the Philistines, but only after they admitted they couldn’t do it on their own.  But before they could become all that God designed them to be they had to endure some very painful deaths to self, a lack of respect and reverence for God.  What deaths does God need to do in your life?

By the way I did arrive safely in Misawa.  I got my government card activated and I have had opportunities already to positively impact non-believers, why because I remembered that if I would just live with faith, even faith the size of a mustard seed, God would use me and prove to me that He really has my back.  I hope you will discover that truth again today.

Out of the Country

I am sorry that I have not made a post since Thanksgiving.  Right after Thanksgiving I went to Portland for a conference.  I then went to a James Malinchak speaker’s bootcamp.  I left that conference early in order to catch my flight to Misawa, Japan where I will be serving as a Navy Chaplain until the 20th of January.  I have been here about a week now so I am just about ready to start reflecting and writing again.

Misawa is an Air Force base with a Navy detachment.  It is in the northern part of mainland Japan.  It is a beautiful country.  I am in a pretty rural, agriculture area with a mountain range about 70 miles from the base.  It is very cold, especially when the winds begin to blow.  The average snowfall is around 100 to 200 inches a year.  The snow hasn’t fallen yet, but it is expected anytime.

Well I trust and pray that you will all have a very safe and Merry Christmas.  I hope to begin posting new blogs this week.

Don’t Forget Thanks-Giving

Scripture: “When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, ‘Enough!  Withdraw your hand.’”  (2 Samuel 24:16)

Sometimes we forget what a powerful God we serve.  Sometimes we become more comfortable with the loving and forgiving image of God and forget that when God gets ticked off there is usually a severe punishment to follow.  David has once again stepped into it.  He ordered a census.  Counting people, specifically men who were capable of fighting, was not a sin.  What got David in trouble is what he did with the information that he now had.  David was able to size up his armies and with that information he was able to determine things like:  How many campaigns could he fight?  Which enemies would he need to avoid because his army was smaller?  What kind of taxes would he need to impose in order to supply for his armies?  If we thought of this the way a business person would we would probably wonder so what is the problem.  Shouldn’t a person know how much capital they have before they start on a business venture?  Doesn’t the Bible even say, “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” (Luke 14:28). 

Here is where the problem came, “David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people replacing trust with statistics.” (2 Samuel 24:10).  Apparently God is pretty sensitive when it comes to people putting trust in themselves or others and not in Him.  Apparently God does not like when we decide to trust our own might, intelligence and creativity, rather than trust Him.  I wonder are there things happening in your life right now that require you to completely trust God, but it has been your pattern to “count” what you have and to put more trust in those results?  Perhaps after you read what happens next you might reconsider this pattern.

One thing I have noticed with David, whenever he gets in trouble a lot of people have to pay the price.  The prophet Gad comes to David and tells him that because of his unwillingness to trust God he gets three choices for a punishment.  Now you have to admit that is pretty cool of God to give David some options, but which one would you choose?  Option 1 – An additional 3 years of famine; Option 2 – 3 months of running and hiding from your enemies or Option 3 – 3 days of an epidemic on the country?  Notice that with each decreasing time frame (3 years, 3months, 3 days) the severity increases.  David chose option 3 because he was hoping that God would hear the cry of His people and would react mercifully. 

Now here is what is amazing to me and it causes me to really look at what it means to “fear the Lord.”  God immediately dispatches one of His angels to the territory between Dan and Beersheba (which incidentally is the location where David counted the fighting men) and 70,000 men are killed.  Just like that God is able to take out 70,000 people with one angel.  So let me do the math David counted his men and determined that he had approximately 1.3 million able-bodied fighting men and in less than a day one angel was able to destroy 70,000.  At that rate of killing one angel would be able to destroy David’s entire army in approximately 15 days.  If I were a betting man, I would bet on the angel.

Perhaps David counted the wrong resource? 

Perhaps David should have counted the number of angels God had at His disposal.  Revelation 9:15 says, “And the four angels (did you get that – 4) who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind (a 3^rd! 436,211,123 people in China alone).”  How many times do you feel overwhelmed because you lack resources?  How many times do you feel like what you are doing is impossible because you don’t have enough education, experience, wisdom?  Are you counting the wrong things?  With God you never lack.  With God all things are possible.   No wonder God is so sensitive to His children trusting others more than they trust Him. 

 

Are You An Indispensable Leader?

Scripture:  “But the soldiers said, “No, don’t go into battle with us! It won’t matter to our enemies if they make us all run away, or even if they kill half of us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better for you to stay in town and send help if we need it.” 2 Samuel 18:3

As a military guy I found it a bit disturbing when I read this verse.  I couldn’t imagine going into battle and my battalion commander staying in the rear with the gear.  I am reminded of a scene in the movie “Band of Brothers” when the men were ecstatic that one of their officers was going to be sent back to the U.S. to push the selling of war bonds, apparently he was a horrible leader in battle.  David wasn’t a horrible military leader.  David was gifted in strategy and tactics.  Actually he wanted to lead his men into battle.  It was his men that insisted that he stay behind.  They told him that he was in essence more important than all of them put together.

I wonder if they knew of his orders for Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) ?  What amazing loyalty these men had to David.  I was equally surprised that David gave into their requests.  Having trained with the Marines I learned through them that no Marine was indispensable.  If the General went down there would be others who would continue to engage the enemy.  This line of thinking was meant to filter down to the very last private.  Every Marine was a Marine.  So I struggled with this idea that David would be seen as indispensable.  So what if David died in battle, perhaps that would rally his men even more and they would fight even stronger.  Here I am picturing the scene in “Braveheart” where Robert the Bruce uses the death of William Wallace to encourage the men to fight with him.  As a pastor I am constantly trying to persuade people that I am not indispensable.  If I didn’t show up at the church some Sunday, the message would still be delivered.  If I weren’t able to be at the hospital to say a prayer for healing, God would still be able to provide the healing and comfort that people need.  I am not very impressed with people who think they are a self-made man/woman, millionaire, success, etc. 

A visitor to a mental hospital was astonished to note that there were only three guards watching over a hundred dangerous inmates.  The visitor asked the warden, “Aren’t you afraid that these people will overpower the guards and escape?”  The warden responded, “No, lunatics never unite.” 

There is no doubt in my mind that God has placed within each of us a spirit of interdependence – the idea that people cannot be successful at anything in life unless there are a lot of other people working alongside of them.  The Bible says that we were created in God’s own image and in that description we are given the image of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit working alongside of each other as they created you and me.  As image bearers of God we are creators of interdependent environments.

 As I reflected some more about David being seen as indispensable I realized that perhaps there are areas in our lives that we are really indispensable.  I began to ask myself the question what is it that I do that no one else can do.  I mean someone could possibly replace me, but actually do what God created me to do.  I concluded that no one could be a father to Matthew the way I am intended to be a father to him.  I also concluded that no one could be a husband to Jackie the way I am intended to be a husband to her.  As I think about this I find myself wondering – “How am I doing at telling myself that I am worth ten thousand soldiers to Matthew, Melody, and Jackie?”  In my zeal to go to battle for my church, for other families, for strangers, what happens to Matthew, Melody, and to Jackie if I am taken out?  When I come home exhausted from the battle and I have nothing left to give to them I have been taken out.  If when I join the rest of society and say “Thank God it is Friday” but all I have for Matthew, Melody, and Jackie is leftovers then I have failed to understand my indispensable role. 

Are you surrounding yourself with people who will tell you – “Don’t fight this battle because if we lose you – we lose everything?”  Have you ever heard your children say, “Why don’t you play with me?  Why don’t you read this book to me?”  They are really asking you to stop fighting other battles and instead fight the battle that matters, the battle for their hearts and their minds.  Does your marriage seem stale or stagnant?  Perhaps it is because you have been zealous for the Lord in the marketplace, but have ignored the indispensable role that He has given to you. 

I believe there are battles that we will still need to be engaged in outside of our homes, I just think part of our evaluation and planning for that battle must also include our families.  We need to ask the question if I am taken out what will this cost my family?

God’s Chosen One

Scripture: “And the Lord said, ‘He has hidden himself among the baggage.’” I Samuel 10:22

Saul had been anointed by Samuel and told, “You will be prince over God’s inheritance.”  Samuel had even told Saul that there would be three confirmations that he would receive to prove to him that God really believed he had what it took to govern His people. 

Confirmation #1 – Two men will tell you the lost sheep have been found. 

Confirmation #2 – When you arrive at Oak Tabor three men will offer you two loaves of bread to eat.

Confirmation #3 – When you arrive in Gibeah you will be joined by prophets and you will begin to prophesy with them. 

Saul received three very specific confirmations and all three came true.  You would think that Saul would feel very confident and assured that he was God’s man for the task.  So why was Saul hiding amongst the luggage when the people wanted to crown their new king?

Have you ever started on a job or a career that you knew you were qualified for, but still were unsure of yourself?  Do you remember how you felt right before the wedding – you knew this was the person you were meant to love and to cherish for the rest of your life, but inside you wondered do I really have what it takes to love and cherish another person?  Do you remember the first time you held your baby in your hand, when you looked into his or her eyes and you wondered – do I really have what it takes to love and provide for this innocent and helpless child?  I think in some ways that was what was happening to Saul.  In spite of the 3 confirmations he received he still wondered about his own ability to lead.

Obviously when we doubt that we have what it takes even after God has told us that we do we are revealing a defect in our faith.  When God tells us we have what it takes, but we say “No I don’t” what we are really saying to God is, “You don’t know what you are talking about.  You don’t know me like I know me.”  We have placed ourselves above God which of course creates a lot of problems down the road.  Ever since the Fall men and women have nervously wondered if that actually had what it took to survive.  It is because of this insecurity that God sent His Son to prove to us that when we walk and talk with Him then we do indeed have what it takes.  In other words, Saul’s faithful response may have sounded something like this, “Father I know that you have anointed me.  I know that you have provided 3 confirmations for me.  But the truth is I am scared.  I still don’t believe in my heart that I have what it takes.  Father there is no way I can do this.  If I am going to lead these people the way you intend for me to lead these people then you are going to have to give me the strength, the courage and the wisdom to do this.  It is impossible for me to do this without you.” 

 Has God confirmed an “anointing” in your life but you are still struggling to embrace it?  Then take a moment and remember these words from God, “I chose you…  I love you so much…  With me all things are possible… You will do even greater things…”

Recognized and Respected Authority

Scripture: “If I am a man of God, Elijah replied, ‘may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!’ Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.’”   (2 Kings 1:10).

 A Navy Chaplain is taught from day one that if they are going to succeed as Chaplains they better learn how to   operate from both sides of their collar.  On one side of the collar was a device that represented your “recognized authority.”  This device was your rank.  On the other collar was a device that represented “respected authority”.  This device was a symbol that represented your faith community.  If you were Jewish you wore tablets, Muslims wore a crescent moon and all others including Christians wore the cross.  The military mainly operates from a position of “recognized authority.”  I will do what you tell me to do because you have the authority based upon your rank, your position, to tell me what to do.  When a person is moved to do something that they normally would not do, such as charging an enemy in an open field, but they do it willingly and courageously it is because the leader is a respected authority.  Elijah apparently was not a recognized authority, nor a respected authority.  But God was about to change that.

King Ahaziah, the king of Samaria, had fallen through a roof and wanted to know if he would recover.  The king refused to consult the prophet Elijah and instead sent people to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.  Elijah, after being prompted by God, intercepted the people before they reached Ekron and told them “turn around and go tell your king he will die in bed.’’  The messengers returned with the news and the king immediately sent out a captain with a company of fifty men to capture Elijah.  When the first captain arrived at the mountain where Elijah is found he orders him to come down.  Elijah responds with the statement “If I am a man of God…”  Lightening bolts come out of the sky and immediately consumes the captain and the fifty men.  The king sends a second captain and the captain says, “Come down at once by order of the king.”  Elijah responds, “If I am a man of God…” Lightening bolts come out of the sky and consumes this company as well. 

God is establishing Elijah as a recognized authority and eventually he will be established as a respected authority.  God is also establishing resilient Christians as recognized and respected authorities.  Unfortunately, many Christians are to much like Ahaziah and his captains, believing they have authority just because they carry the name of Christ around on a bumper sticker or because they listen to Christian music on their radio station.

Elijah demonstrates that he has recognized and respected authority not because of what he does, but because of what God does.  The lightening bolts did not come from Elijah they came from God.  Elijah was completely submissive to God’s will.  If God wanted to prove that Elijah was a man of God, then He would do so however He wanted to, in this case, He would send down lightening bolts.  When Elijah confronted the false prophets of Baal, God chose to prove that Elijah was a man of God by sending down fire from heaven to consume a water-drenched offering. 

There are times that I wish God would establish me as a man of God with lightening bolts and fire from heaven.  One of the “perks” I enjoyed as a Battalion Chaplain with Marines was when the Commander wanted to chew me out it would not be as severe as some other officers because deep within the Commander, there was a superstition that it might not be a good gamble to mess with one of “God’s men.”  I am sure I could create lightening and fire with my Commander and with Jackie if I said, “you better pay attention to me, you better do what I say, because I am God’s man,” but they would not be the lightening and fire that would establish anything except that I am an idiot.   Being a resilient Christian is not something you earn.  It is not a title that is bestowed upon you.  It is not a rank that you wear.  Being a follower of God is a lifestyle that you receive when you become submissive to God’s will and purpose for your life.

The third captain learned from the mistakes of others.  Life is certainly a lot easier when we willingly learn from the mistakes of others.  When he approached Elijah he came with a spirit of submission.  He knelt before Elijah and begged for mercy for himself and his men.  The third captain understood that healing follows repentance.  Resilient Christians, Authentic Christians,  cannot expect God to recognize their needs if they have a rebellious spirit within them.  True repentance requires a different thinking pattern.  To continue doing the same thing, but expecting different results is the sign of an idiot or at least a person who is going insane.  This third captain wanted to survive and he knew that what others had done before him didn’t work.  He made a conscious decision to change the way he thought about Elijah and about God.  He repented and thus he and his men were saved. 

God had established Elijah as the recognized and respected authority.  Elijah was able to lead this man and his soldiers to a real understanding of who God was because he was already in a submissive posture before God.  The third captain and his soldiers were spared because they learned to be submissive to those who were placed in authority by God.  “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God” (Romans 13:1).  Jesus even submitted Himself to those who were in authority, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” (Matthew 22:21).  He allowed the Sanhedrin to arrest Him, rather than call upon twelve legion of angels (Matthew 26:53).  Recognized and respected authority should be the goal of every Christian who seeks to be a disciple after God’s own heart.  This kind of authority is only given to those who are willing to be submissive to the will of God.  Those who snatch authority without a spirit of submission and repentance ultimately end up the way of Azahiah and his captains – DEAD!  

How is your relationship with your loved one?  Your children?  Your neighbors?  Your co-workers?  Your in-laws?  Are those relationships thriving or are they dying?  Your attitude towards repentance and submission may have a lot to do with the direction of those relationships.  As Christians you are members of God’s royal priesthood, you are ambassadors of God’s Good News of forgiveness and new life.  If people don’t recognize and respect your authority the problem could be theirs, but it is most certainly is yours.   The answer is found through submission.