Settling Into Your Niche

I learned an amazing lesson yesterday afternoon while watching an ancient T.V. show. Susan and I borrowed from the library a DVD of the first season of the classic "Dick Van Dyke Show." The first episode was filmed in January of 1961.

After watching a couple hilarious shows, Susan and I then took a look at the pilot of the program. What a surprise. Carl Reiner, the creative genius who wrote many of the scripts, was the star and the rest of the cast was completely different from those we're used to. He played the part of Rob Petrie and was relatively funny. But the show didn't seem to click. As we watched the credits roll, we noticed the date of this pilot -- 1959. It apparently took about a year and a half for the producers to cast the right characters. And be early 1961, they knew they had a winner.

What hit me was how Carl Reiner undoubtedly realized that someone else needed to play Rob Petrie. And he needed to stick with what he did best -- writing comedy. Of course, when they found Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore and all the rest, they discovered a gold mine of talent. I would say that in looking back on this show, it was one of the most successful television comedies of its time -- perhaps ever.

There's something to learn for all of us from Reiner's experience. We may try to be something that doesn't fit us and perhaps get really frustrated. Maybe we get jealous of others who have a gift that we don't have. And may even stand in the way of letting the right person step into the right "role" -- in our families, at work and in our churches.

For three years during the mid-80's I was a young minister at a wonderful church in South Memphis -- still trying to find my niche in ministry. Robert Qualls, the preacher there who was enormously gifted and deeply loved by that church, insisted that I preach some on Sunday nights. I tried it several times, but it never seemed to fit me. And it bothered me since I felt that preaching was such a powerful role in the church.

It would take years for me to eventually find peace in carrying out the ministry that God had equipped me for -- pastoral work with people, writing, and exhortation. If I had settled into that role earlier in life I think I would have been more effective than trying to be something that just didn't fit my gifts and talents.

I've found through my experiences and in observing that of others that when we are content with the gifts God has given us, work with all our heart in that particular niche and appreciate how He uses others in roles that might be more visible, we have a lot more peace in our soul and with one another.

It's so interesting how this enormously successful television writer could teach us such lessons about life.

Jim

Isn't it odd that when we first hear the good news, our flesh wants to resist the message. It doesn't seem fair. It goes against our natural feeling that we should at least do something for our salvation. Grace just seems to good to be true. We can't get our minds around it. Which is why faith is our only response to what Jesus did for us, not our trying to figure it out.

When I first heard someone explain the gospel to me back in the early 70's, it bugged me...and frightened me. I began to cling to my religious background and church teaching. I didn't want to let go of my heritage. My rational thinking, pride, and fear of letting go were standing in the way of accepting the gift of Jesus Christ.

These memories flowed back into my thoughts this morning as I read Romans 10. Over and over the message is so clear from holy writ -- coming into a saving relationship with God is all about having simple faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.

For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way.

For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God

For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

Of course, Paul was making his argument to the Jewish believers why Gentile believers stand on the same ground -- at the foot of the cross. However, what Paul says applies to all of us. No matter how good we try to be or how religious we are, none of that can make us right with the Lord. Instead, as the reformers use to say, salvation is by grace alone...by faith alone...through Christ alone.

Hearing the gospel once more gives me so much comfort. Because I am so aware of how I keep falling short. Old sins keep cropping up. Thoughts come in my mind that I don't want to have. Worries and fears at times seem to overtake me and send me into a downward spiral. And yet when I hear the good news that my salvation does not depend on how good I am but instead on the perfection of Jesus Christ to fulfill the law, I am once more given hope. Because now, instead of running away from this good news, I keep running to Jesus when I see my imperfection. And He promises all of us who have faith in Him that "He generously gives his riches to all who ask for them. " (Rom. 10:12)

Jim

For Us

Last night Susan and I were having a somewhat heated conversation about money. Maybe not heated, but it did get a little warm. Though our son is about to graduate from college, our daughter has two more years. And we were "discussing" ways to help her get through her nursing program with the minimum amount of debt. I hate borrowing money. It doesn't bother Susan as much.

After several minutes of going back and forth about our opinions, it suddenly hit me --we weren't alone in this battle. Finding a solution to this problem wasn't all up to us. God's word promises us in 1 Peter 5:7 that He cares for us, and so we can "cast all (our) anxiety on him." We ended up praying together before going to bed, entrusting this financial challenge to the Lord -- who LOVES us.

Reading Romans 8 in the New Living Translation this morning was especially comforting. These verses in particular really ministered to my soul:

the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress.

the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?

Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.

I need this reminder every day...every hour...every moment. Because Christ died and rose for me and His Spirit lives in me by faith, He is FOR me. He is pleading on my behalf to the Father. Wow! And He cares for all the details of our lives.

No problem is too big for Him -- not even paying for a daughter's college education.

Jim

Dead Men's Tales

I like reading about dead men. Biographies, that is. Specifically, Christian biographies. They give me a perspective about life and how to focus on what really counts, what really matters.

When I was in Graduate School in Memphis 25 years ago, a friend at church told me of a book that transformed his life -- Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliott. I was deeply moved by reading of the brief and yet highly influential life of Jim Elliott -- student at Wheaton College, wholly sold out to Jesus, and an eventual martyr while sharing the gospel with the Auca Indians in Ecuador.

Years later Randy Becton got me to read the story of J.B. Phillips, who did produced one of the first modern translations of the New Testament. He was somewhat like the Eugene Peterson of England. And yet the man suffered terribly with bouts of depression.

I was also fascinated by reading the book released in the mid-90's, Abandoned to God. It was the story of Oswald Chambers, who also died rather young (age 41). I was particularly captivated by the dark night of the soul that he went through. Out of his brokenness came an encounter with the Holy Spirit and thus a profound relationship with Jesus Christ. He never wrote a book, and yet in God's sweet providence was married to a woman who knew short hand. She took notes of the many devotional talks he gave. Many of these talks were given at a YMCA camp where he was stationed in Egypt. After losing her husband at age 41, Bitty Chambers decided to put his devotional talks in book form -- and his classic My Utmost for His Highest has been one of the most influential books in the last century.

Yesterday I picked up from ACU a book that I began to work through at lunch and later in the evening. It is an 800 + biography on a man who has had an enormous impact on my faith -- Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a Welshman born in the early part of the 20^th Century. Raised in a church that had sprung from a major revival in Wales, Lloyd-Jones eventually trained for medicine. He graduated early from medical school and quickly ascended to a position of esteem as a clinician at a major teaching hospital in London. But as one of his biographers said, something happened:

Slowly, reading for himself, his mind was gripped by the Christian gospel, its compelling power and its balanced logic, like the majestic self-supporting arches of a great cathedral. He had no dramatic crisis of conversion, but there came a point when he had committed himself entirely to the Christian gospel. After that, as he sat in the consulting room, listening to the symptoms of those who came to see him, he realised that what so many of his patients needed was not ordinary medicine, but the gospel he had discovered for himself. He could deal with the symptoms, but the worry, the tension, the obsessions could only be dealt with by the power of Christian conversion. Increasingly he felt that the best way to use his life and talents was to preach that gospel.1

Dr. Jones gave up his medical practice and followed the call of God to preach the gospel. He preached for eleven years in Wales, where his powerful exposition of God’s word led many people to Christ. In 1938 Lloyd-Jones received a call to serve at the Westminster Chapel in London where he preached for 30 years. In 1968, he retired from the pulpit and spent the last thirteen years of his life transcribing his sermons into books and mentoring other ministers.

I recall the first time his ministry had a profound impact on me. A co-worker loaned me a copy of Lloyd-Jones’ little book on the Psalms called Enjoying the Presence of God. In the first few minutes of reading this book, my soul was deeply touched by his words. I remember well one evening that I read in this book his reflections on Psalm 81:10

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

The Doctor urged me to open my heart more to the presence of the living God. It must have looked odd, but as I lay there in my bed, falling to sleep, I stretched my hands out to God, opened my mouth and breathed this silent prayer: “Lord, fill me. Fill me, I pray.” I want more than to just read your words. I want to experience You.”

A few months later I was at a ministry conference and came across a $5.00 used copy of another book by Dr. Jones, Spiritual Depression. This title first struck me as, well, depressing. And yet as I read his messages I realized that God had given this man a gift of applying His word to the emotional battles that even Christ-followers face.

I have returned to this book many times whenever I feel myself slipping into spiritual valleys.

A few years ago I heard some audiotapes of his sermons. The messages are riveting, all focused upon the gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ve once asked myself, “Why has this man’s lessons had such a great impact on me?” Here are the reasons I’ve come to:

· He keeps pointing me to Christ and to place my soul in the hands of my Savior.

· He calls me to recognize that my salvation comes through grace alone, by faith alone and through Christ alone. Any attempt at human effort to be saved or stay saved will fail.

· He’s helped me get a bigger picture of the majesty and holiness of God, and how desperately I need the blood of Christ and His empowerment in my life.

When I struggle with my failures, recognize how I fall short of God’s standards, and my assurance of salvation wavers, the messages of Lloyd-Jones call me back to the Lord. Once more I fix my eyes on Jesus. He helps me reject anything – any church, teaching, preacher or emotion – that will get between me and Christ and His sacrifice for me.

Like all of us, Lloyd-Jones was an imperfect person. And yet I thank God for “The Doctor,” as his friends called him. He helps me see Jesus, the Savior of my soul, the Great Shepherd of this sheep. And he reminds me of the One in whom I’m to glory every day. As he says:

I will glory only in that Blessed Person Himself by whom this great thing has been done, with whom I died, with whom I have been buried, with whom I am dead to sin and alive unto God, with whom I have risen, with whom I am seated in the heavenly places, by whom and by whom alone the world is crucified unto me and I am crucified unto the world. Anything that wants to come into the centre instead of Him, anything that wants to add itself on to Him, I shall reject….Let us rejoice in Him in all His fullness and in Him alone.2

WHAT CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHIES HAVE IMPACTED YOUR FAITH?

Jim

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1 Sir FredCatherwood, Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Ministry

2 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression – Its Causes and Its Cure (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p. 189.

Receiving

When we were on vacation visiting my extended family, I spent one morning making breakfast for everyone. This has been my annual tradition, where I make "wacky pancakes" for all the cousins -- pancakes in various shapes and sizes. We had fun when I put them on their plate and asked them to guess what they were.

The cousins are a lot older now, but they still look forward to "Uncle Jimbo's" pancake breakfast.

It is such a joy to give to others. As Jesus promised us, it really is more blessed to give than receive. But why is it that so often we have a hard time receiving? And what do we miss when we don't ask for help from others and receive? And how do we deny others a blessing when we don't receive from them?

I may have already told this story, but a tradition that I have at the Service Center is "fruit time." Around 3 P.M., I like to go slice up an apple or peel an orange and then go around to all the volunteers and offer them a piece. It's a small way of showing them my appreciation. And yet there is one person who never receives a piece of fruit from me. They usually say, "No, give it to someone else." They may not realize it, but it hurts me when they turn down this gift.

I've been walking through the book of Romans each morning lately and today I pondered this gem of Scripture:

"all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ." -- Rom. 5:17

Salvation is all about receiving what Christ has done for us on the cross. The good news is that we cannot do enough, be good enough or obey God enough to win His favor. Instead, we cast our souls on the mercy of Jesus Christ and ask Him to save us. And when we come to Jesus with penitent hearts and receiving hands, He gives us His gift of salvation.

And isn't our ongoing relationship with Christ one of receiving and not just giving? We receive His love each day. We receive the continual power of the Holy Spirit when we ask for His help. We receive His wisdom and guidance as we meditate on His word and then obey His voice.

I have a friend who told me lately that when a recurring emotional battle surfaced in his life again, he decided to not hide his problem this time. Instead, he let others know that he needed help. And he got it. People called him and sent him cards. Several Christian friends came by to pray for him. He admitted a need and as a result he RECEIVED encouragement from the body of Christ.

It just seems that we let the Lord work in our lives more when we not only give to others but are willing to also receive from them. Whether it's prayer, wise counsel or even a plate of pancakes.

Jim

Secrecy

My heart has been heavy the past 20 hours or so after reading of yet another minister accused of moral failure. Hearing this news triggered memories of other men I know, some of whom I worked closely with, that were discovered to have multiple sexual encounters with women over the years. I think of the heartache that ripples out from this secret sinful behavior - wives crushed in spirit and embarrassed, children confused and angry, congregations feeling betrayed. The devil really does a number on us when he gets ahold of a Christian leader and brings him down.

The word "secrecy" came to mind this morning as I thought about these moral failings. One preacher I admired told me that Satan does his best work in the dark. That's why it's so important that we bring everything about our lives into the light, he advised me (Ironically, this same man was later discovered to be living a secret life of sexual sin).

When I was in the 12 steps program, one of the mantras of our support group was "You're as sick as your secrets." What is it about our human nature that we tend to hide things about ourselves? I can think of a few things:

1. We don't want to let on to others when we're struggling.

2. We try to handle our problems on our own.

3. Perhaps we get some sort of high by thinking we can indulge in our secret sins and not get caught.

I'm wondering if our bent towards secrecy is rooted mainly in pride. We don't want to be dependent on others to help us face and overcome our sin. We want to save face and therefore are reluctant to tell others about our dark impulses and fleshly indulgences. As a Christian, I've been ashamed at some of the things I want to do or end up doing. And so at times I didn't tell a fellow believer -- and that always led to trouble.

On the flip side, however, whenever I've been a part of a small group or confided in a close frienship where we got honest with each other, inevitably we became relieved that we weren't the only ones struggling with this sin or problem. And we could sense a movement of the Spirit among us as we confessed our sins to one another. We brought things into the light, and Jesus always blesses such actions by giving us a deeper sense of His presence.

I'll always remember that morning about 16 years ago when I called my new friend Bill Nash, a recovering aloholic. I had yelled at the kids that morning as I took them to school. Then when I got to work I felt so bad about my behavior that I knew that I needed to call someone to get help. Bill's name came to mind. My first words to Bill were something like, "Bill, I'm a perfectionist. And I'm hurting my family because of this. I need help." That began a long-term friendship with a man with whom I could be gut level honest. And he accepted me and loved me, even when he knew of the junk in my life.

Yes, we are as sick as our secrets. Yet on the positive side, I think we're as healthy as our honesty. Like the 5th step says, "We admit our wrongs to God and to somebody else," and the secrets come out from the dark. And we step into the light of the living God where there is forgiveness, mercy, grace and freedom.

Jim

Homeleaving

That word, "homecoming," stirs in us warm feelings of reunions, reflecting on "the good old days," and seeing old friends and family members.

But what about the word, "homeleaving?" That non-Dictionary word rolled around in my mind as I sleepily dragged myself to the shower this morning. Last night we got home about 2 A.M. from vacation and I had to be at work at 7:45 A.M.

Home leaving. My family and I went to California, my old home town of Ventura. One afternoon after having lunch with my mother at her assisted living center, my sister and I ran some errands for mom. Along the way my sister decided to take us on a quick drive through memory lane. We went by the hospital where all the kids were born. Drove up Dorothy Drive, where we lived about 5 years and then Rockford Court (my favorite house), where we lived for 11 years. Memories flooded my mind of summer evening softball games with the neighbors in that court. Those were magical days.

We drove by our Dad's old office, where we used to stop by on the way home from school and get a coke from his machine. I missed seeing Dad's sports car in his familiar parking spot.

Every time I return to Ventura, taking in the beauty of the ocean and feeling that cool weather, I get a brief pang of nostalgia. And I even wonder what it would be like to move back there. But then I'm reminded that it seems that door was closed long ago. In fact, though I do miss my extended family and that Riviera-like weather, I know that I needed to leave. It was time to move on. I needed to grow up.

Jesus' words came to mind this morning as I reflected on when I left home and moved to Texas 28 years ago next month:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. -- Luke 14:26-27

Wow. Strong words from Jesus. What is He telling us? It seems to me that if we're serious about being a follower of the Lord, we need to renounce ultimate allegiance to any family tie and let Jesus be the one consuming passion of our lives. Have you noticed how family ties can be so strong that they can easily become an idol? Jesus knows that and so He is very clear that if we want to be one of His, there's nothing that can be more important to us than our relationship with Him -- not even a parent, a spouse or one of our precious children.

And for some of us it may mean literally moving away from our home town. I think it did for me. For other Christ followers, who end up staying in their home town and perhaps near their parents, it may mean drawing some strong boundaries. I know of some adult children who have left the denomination they grew up in and it really hurt their parents. It took courage to stand up to their parents in this decision. But again, if we're going to put Jesus first, it may mean making our parents mad. So be it, if it means that we're allowing Jesus to be the captain of our ship.

Home leaving for the Chirstian is much more than physically leaving our city of origin. It means not allowing our physical home or family of origin or any family member to be our ultimate source of comfort, identity and trust. And this can be gut-wrenching at times since family can be such an anchor for our lives.

And yet I firmly believe that if we make our ultimate home the very heart and will of Jesus, we'll be able to withstand any criticism, shunning or misunderstanding that may come our way. And Jesus promises us that if we belong to Him then some day, one day, we'll get to go to that perfect home...with Him...forever.

Principles vs. Promises

I was deeply moved by two things I saw/read earlier this week:

1. A wonderful chapter on the gospel in Dudley Hall's Grace Works. He talks about how Christians can fall into Old Covenant thinking, where we try to live by principles (which we cannot do successfully). And then Hall describes the beauty and power of the gospel -- where we live by the promises of Jesus Christ, trusting in Him since He completed everything for our salvation on the cross. My soul was singing after I put that book down at Starbucks and praised God for the freedom He gives us in Christ.

2. The film, "Breach." It's a very well-made film of a true life story. A man named James Hansen worked for the FBI for 25 years and yet deceived our country by selling secrets to the Russians. The part that particulary troubled me was this man was such a religious person -- moral, church-going, and a family man. But he lived this double life.

The contrast of this book and movie made me think of how legalism and religion is so deadening, while living in the promises of God -- simple faith in Jesus -- brings us such freedom!

How many of you heard that Nashville Prayer and Fasting event today? Wow! What a moving of the Holy Spirit!

Jim

Watering Gardens

Bev Mann responded to yesterday's post with a hearty "Amen" -- how we need to be about doing for others rather than sit around and talk about God or form committees.

I mentioned to her about watering gardens. That is, I told the story of when I was in Randy Becton's office at Herald of Truth one afternoon. He asked me, "Jim, whose garden do we knowthat needs watering?" That is, "Whom do we know that is struggling in some way and could really use a pastoral touch?"

Early this morning as I was starting to awaken from my slumber, I looked over at Susan and started praying for her. Then a few others came to mind and I prayed for them. Too often I pray for my problems and challenges at work. But it hit me today while in bed -- I think far too much about my need for the Lord's strength and not enough about the prayer needs of others.

And so, whose garden could you water today? Maybe you can start "turning on the hose" by asking the Holy Spirit to put on your heart people those who need your fervent prayers today. And they may even need from you a visit or phone call or to be taken out for breakfast.

And I guarantee you -- when you water someone else's garden in Jesus' Name, the Lord will bless you with a refreshment for your own heart. What does that proverb say? "He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Jim

Rabid Religion

What is it about our allegiance to a religion that makes a person so angry and even rabid at times? And have you noticed how religion keeps us so off track and missing the point of being a follower of Jesus who is in love with Him and other people?

I heard some story about a few churches banding together and filing a public complaint against those in their denomination who are conducting worship services in ways they feel is wrong. Seems to me we need to spend time tending to our own flock in the church we're involved in and not get so worked up about what other Christian groups are doing. This reminds me of the story of a minister at a church whom God raised up to be a spiritual leader in the Emmaus community. One church in his city got very upset when they got word that he was a leader in this ecumenical movement. So they wrote a letter to this man's church, scolding them for their minister's involvement in this group. His elders wrote a letter back to this church saying basically, "Please mind your own business at your church. We'll handle ours."

C.S. Lewis once said: "Discussions divide us. Actions unite us."

On the way to work, as I was pondering this whole notion of how the devil gets us sidetracked and in a spiritual straight jacket with religion, a truck pulling a trailer passed me by. Emblazoned across the trailer were the words: "Broadview Baptist Church -- Disaster Relief Team." A few men wearing caps were in the truck. I knew immediately where they were going -- to help the flood victims in Eastland that have been hammered by all these rains.

I'm sure that these men weren't all worked up about how wrong other churches are in how they conduct their Sunday worship. They just knew that Jesus loves them so much and that He is calling them to go minister to these flood victims in the name of Christ. And I just can see the Lord smiling over this group of servants.

Such examples of humble service makes me want to be more passionate -- not about my opinions about how Sunday morning should be at our church or other churches, but instead passionate about Jesus and doing His will in small ways each day. Maybe that's why that aged apostle John told his flock in 1 John to major in love. Because that's how we please the Father and show the world that Christ is at work in this world to bring people to Him. And that's something that I can get very passionate about.