How's Your Attitude?

We all have tough days, don’t we? Some of those tough days vary by intensity.

There’s the tough day when we run over a nail and a tire on our car goes unexpectedly flat. Tough day.

There’s the tough day when we go into work and the boss is unhappy because a project isn’t done when he expected you to have it done. Tough day.

There’s the tough day when we go in for a check-up and the doctor looks up at us and says, “I think you have cancer.” Tough day.

There’s the tough day when we answer the phone and the voice on the other end says, “I’m trooper Jones with the State Patrol. I have some difficult news to give you.” Tough day.

It’s one thing to have a great attitude when things are going well for us, but when our days are tough, how’s our attitude then?

That’s why Paul is so amazing to me. Sitting in prison, having been through shipwrecks, being beaten and left for dead, and having his enemies dogging his every step, Paul wrote these words in Philippians 4:12. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty of in want.”

Isn’t that amazing? Paul said that he had learned how to be content in any situation, no matter how tough it was. How did he do that?

Well, it’s the next verse that tells us how.

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

No, Philippians 4:13 isn’t saying that I will be able to compose a wonderful cantata like Handel. It doesn’t imply that I will be able to shoot a round of golf like Tiger Woods. This verse doesn’t say I’ll be able to invest in the stock market and become as rich as Warren Buffett.

What Philippians 4:13 is saying is that by God’s sustaining grace I can be content whatever the situation that may come my way.

That’s the type of attitude that Paul had.

How’s your attitude?

Are You Perfect?

No, it’s not a trick question. Are you perfect?

Now, before you answer, consider another question: How do you define perfection?

That’s a thought-provoking question and one I want you to take a few minutes to consider…

Done yet?

With your definition in mind, consider the following passage about Jesus found in Hebrews 10:14.

“Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (NIV; emphasis added).

Take a look again at the words I’ve emphasized in the above text.

Hebrews 10:14 doesn’t say “he will make perfect.” It doesn’t say “we make ourselves perfect.” Nor does it say “he may make perfect.”

If I take scripture seriously—and I do, by the way—then I can’t get around the fact that this scripture is saying that I have been made perfect by Christ!

Now consider this: Who should get the credit for my perfection; Jesus or me? Again, if I take scripture seriously, I have been made perfect by Christ. He’s the one who deserves the credit for that. This isn’t something I get any credit for whatsoever.

Let’s also pay attention to the last part of Hebrews 10:14.

“…who are being made holy.”

I may have been made perfect in Christ, but I still have lots of room for growth in my spiritual journey. There’s much that needs to happen on my way to holiness.

But again, the question is: How do I become holy and who, in turn, gets credit for this?

Hebrews 10:14 is crystal clear on this as well. I don’t make myself holy. I am made holy. My role is to cooperate with Jesus in that process of Him making me holy. Consequently, He’s the one who is to receive the credit for my holiness as well as for my perfection.

Do you see why Christians should be the most joyful people on the planet? Christ takes responsibility for my perfection and for my holiness. I don’t have to worry about it!

Because Christ takes responsibility for both my perfection and holiness, He is, therefore, deserving of our unreserved passionate worship!

When I “get” that Jesus takes responsibility for my holiness and for my perfection, it brings me a freedom that can only come as I trust Jesus wholly and completely to do these things on my behalf.

So, let me ask the question again. And will your answer be different this time?

Are you perfect?

Stay Focused

In the early 90’s when I was still living in the Seattle area I enjoyed riding my bike on a regular basis. I wasn’t what I would call a serious rider—just a recreational rider who used riding to stay in shape.

One Sunday I had agreed to ride with a couple of other guys who were members of my church. We arrived at our meeting point and it was quite windy, but we decided to ride anyway.

The wind was at our backs as we headed north on the bike path and we rode easily. We had ridden probably 10 to 15 miles when we decided to turn around and head back to our starting point.

Now heading south, the wind had picked up dramatically and it was gusting in our faces. The ride back was going to be dramatically different.

At one point I remember thinking, “Let’s just get off our bikes and walk them back.” But Chuck and Tad, being younger and stronger riders than me, insisted that we could ride back.

We each took turns in the lead creating a draft for the two other riders. When the lead rider would get tired, he would drop to the back and draft off of the other two guys.

Most of the way back I kept my head down, not only because it made me more aerodynamic, but also because it was so discouraging to see how slow our progress was. It was difficult to look up and see how much farther we still had to ride. So to keep my spirits up, I simply focused on the rear tire of the bike in front of me.

Tired, sore, but not too much worse for the wear, we slowly but surely arrived at our destination.

Have you ever felt like your Christian journey is like that? It seems that at times the headwinds slow our progress as Christians to a crawl and other times it feels like the headwinds are actually blowing us backwards. Progress is minimal at best and the temptation is strong to just give up and throw in the towel.

It’s at time such as these that I recall the advice of Hebrews 12:2, 3.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross…Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

The next time you’re tempted to give up on your Christian journey, focus on the example of Jesus and let His life inspire you to never, ever give up.

Stay focused!

How Much Do You Love?

There’s something that is attracting about passionate people. Their passion may be for their career, their kids, their hobbies, or their views. Passion is compelling and we’re often drawn to those whose passion is evident.

And yet…

Sometimes passion bothers us, especially if from our perspective that passion is out of balance or goes too overboard to suit our own sensibilities. Then passion becomes, at the very least, mildly irritating.

Passion. It’s what’s behind the story found in Luke 7:36-50.

Jesus is invited to a dinner party by one of the religious leaders of His day, a man named Simon. While Jesus was at the party, a woman described as “sinful” comes to the party and breaks an expensive container of perfume and poured it on Jesus’ feet. She was crying as she did this as well and she used her hair to dry Jesus’ feet of the perfume and her tears.

Simon looked at this woman, and knowing her past, said to himself, “If Jesus really was who He says He is, He would know about this woman and wouldn’t approve of what she’s doing.”

The Bible says Jesus then told a story. Two men owed money to a lender. One owed ten times as much as the other, but neither had the money to repay the lender. The lender decided to cancel the debts of both men. Jesus concluded the story with a question for Simon.

“Which of the men would appreciate the lender the most?”

Seems to have an obvious answer, doesn’t it? So Simon replied, “The man who had the bigger debt cancelled.”

Jesus approved of Simon’s answer. Then he told Simon that the woman who was passionate in her display of love for Jesus stood in stark contrast to Simon’s lack of public passion for Christ.

The story in Luke 7 contains this punch line: “Her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Jesus tells us in this story that there is a direct correlation between our perception of how much grace we have received from God—how much we’ve needed His forgiveness—and how much we demonstrate our love for Him.

Frankly, some of us as Christians fall into the trap of thinking we’re pretty good people who aren’t in as much need of grace as other “sinners.” The tragedy of falling into that trap is that like Simon, we won’t be as passionate then in our demonstration of love for God.

Again the correlation is straightforward: Lots of grace received, lots of love returned.

So I close with a simple question: How much do you love?

Covered With Grace

When I was about 12, my dad worked as the Service Manager at the local Chevrolet dealership—Wright Chevrolet—where we lived in Columbus, Wisconsin.

One summer day my dad needed to go to Milwaukee to do some training at General Motors. It was decided that the whole family would go to Milwaukee. While dad was busy, we would go to the Milwaukee Zoo and then to Lake Michigan.

The zoo was a favorite place of mine to go because I loved to go see Samson the 600-pound gorilla who was the most famous resident of the zoo. So I was excited about our trip to Milwaukee with my dad.

It was one of those hot, humid Wisconsin summer days so I was also looking forward to going to the lake. My two younger step-brothers and I spent our summer in shorts or cut-offs so it wasn’t a problem to go directly from the car to the water. My three-year-old step-sister joined us as we ran on the beach and into the water.

My brothers and I were playing in the water when I decided to get out and warm up a bit on the beach. Then I spotted her—there was my little sister on the beach completely naked. She apparently had stripped off her clothes to enjoy the beach.

For a 12-year-old boy who was just getting used to having a girl in the house and was just on the verge of becoming a teenager, this was a mortifying turn of events. I hurried up the beach, informed my mom of my little sister’s state of undress, and kept on walking as fast as I could away from the scene of the crime!

I thought of this childhood incident when I read the story of in Genesis 3 of the aftermath of the fall of Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve had succumbed to the tempter by eating the fruit offered to them. What followed was the realization that they were naked. Genesis 3 tells us that “they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

The narrative of Genesis 3 goes on to tell us that God came looking for the fallen pair. Finding them, they confessed that they had been hiding because they were afraid due to their nakedness.

A conversation ensues in which Adam and Eve try to place the blame on their fallen state on someone else, refusing to take personal responsibility for their predicament. Typical.

After telling them of the future that faced them because of their fateful decision, we come to verse 21, a verse that is easy to skim over quickly and miss its significance. But take some time to digest the implications of this verse.

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”

Did you notice anything of importance as you read this verse?
Consider just a couple of points.

First, something had to die in order for these garments to be made for Adam and Eve. The text doesn’t say which of God’s recently created animals had to lose its life on behalf of Adam and Eve. Regardless of which creature died, this whole incident points forward to a day when God the Son would die on the cross for you and me.

Second, while Adam and Eve had made garments to cover themselves, God let them know that these garments weren’t good enough. The only thing adequate to cover them would be what He Himself provided for them.

These two points tell us something important about grace, don’t they? Grace comes at a high cost—the very life of God the Son. And it is grace and only God’s grace that is adequate to cover our need.

As you consider those areas in your life where you’re inadequate to provide for yourself, remember there is a God whose love for you is so great that He has made all the provision necessary for your needs.

Remember, you are covered with grace!

No Greater Love

Born in Romania, this Jewish teenager was interned in a labor camp during WWII when Romania joined forces with Nazi Germany. He, along with his family, was then sent with thousands of other Jews to a central ghetto in the city of Foscani. Fortunately, he survived the Holocaust while hundreds of thousands of other Romanian Jews did not.

In 1953 he graduated from Romania’s Polytechnic University with a degree in mechanics and aviation construction. Sixteen years later he received his doctorate from Romania’s Academy of Sciences.

He found work at a government aerospace company. However, in the 1970’s his career was stymied because he refused to swear allegiance to the Communist regime in Romania. When he requested permission to move to Israel, he was fired.

In 1977 Prime Minister Menachem Begin intervened to get his family an emigration permit. He and his family moved to Israel in 1978 where he became a citizen.

He took a sabbatical in 1985 in Virginia and eventually made the move permanent.

His specialty was composite structures and aeroelasticity. He published extensively and had received numerous awards for his work. He was internationally know for his work in aeronautical engineering.

For 20 years, Liviu Librescu taught as an engineering professor at Virginia Tech University.

On April 16, 2007, Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, Librescu was teaching a mechanic’s class in Norris Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech. Shots began to ring out in Norris Hall as a gunman began to shoot and kill fellow students. The gunfire began to come closer to Librescu’s classroom. Realizing what was happening, Librescu urged his students to open the classroom windows and jump to safety below as he braced himself against the door. Student after student jumped to safety, but Librescu stayed behind. He died protecting his students.

Librescu lived through a period of history when so many stood by silently and did nothing during the Holocaust. But on a day when he came face-to-face with evil, this Holocaust survivor refused to be a silent bystander and he willingly gave up his life so that his students might live.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NIV)

On a day of great darkness the light of God’s grace shown even brighter in contrast.

As you reflect on what Jesus did for you on Calvary, may you understand this simple truth about God’s grace: There is no greater love.

The Red Chair

The first church I pastored was in Morton, Washington, a small logging community south of Mount Rainier. It had an average attendance of 40-50 people for worship services.

I was 26-years-old when we moved there and I was enthusiastic about pastoring my first church. Unfortunately I had more enthusiasm than common sense.

In the spring following my arrival we decided to take a Sunday to clean the church. Stuff had accumulated throughout the church that simply needed to be tossed out. The baptistry had even become a place for storage. That would have to change.

As the day wound down, I had to make a decision about the red chair. The red chair sat in the back of the sanctuary at the doors leading to the lobby. Every week our deacon Lee, a retired gentleman, sat in that red chair. He gave bulletins to folks as they arrived. He kept the temperature in the church comfortable for folks. He could quickly oversee anything that needed attention from that red chair.

The red chair had made its way to the church following a remodeling project at a local medical office. It was old, it was worn, and it looked out of place in the sanctuary.

I thought the chair needed to be moved, but I was reluctant to toss it out entirely, so I made the decision that it would be placed in another room in the church.

The next week when Lee arrived at church he discovered that the red chair had been moved. He didn't say much about it--he didn't have to--because the hurt was evident on his face. For a couple of weeks after Lee wasn't in church.

About that time I was getting ready to go to summer camp for a week as the camp pastor. I packed up the car and along with my wife, my two-year-old son, and my two-month-old daughter headed north out of town toward camp.

Just a couple of miles out of town, my '79 Pontiac Sunbird began to occasionally lurch. I had had the same problem previously with this car and knew it was undoubtedly a clogged fuel filter. The prospect of my car breaking down on some lonely stretch of highway on National Forest land didn't intrigue me, so I decided that I'd turn around and take a more-traveled highway to camp so that if I did break down, help would be easier to find.

So we headed west on Highway 12, knowing we'd be late to camp, but with an increased likelihood of actually getting there.

We were west of Morton and had just passed Mossyrock when the car completely stopped. What to do? Fortunately, I had several church members who lived in Mossyrock so I went to a nearby home and asked to use the phone (remember, this was before cell phones). One call after another produced no results as no one seemed to be home. I knew only one other person to call in Mossyrock, but I wasn't real keen on calling him--my deacon, Lee.

I finally called Lee and he threw his tools in his vehicle and met me at my car. With the hood up, Lee took a wrench and with a few turns was able to pull out the offending fuel filter. He tapped it, blew on one end of it, and with a smile told me that while it wasn't a permanent fix, at least it should get me to camp and allow me the chance to get my car in to have the fuel filter replaced.

That Sunday afternoon, more than a car was repaired. A relationship was repaired also.

I learned an important lesson about grace that day, too.

Jesus said, "Do to others what you would have them do to you." That's what grace is all about, isn't it?

Lee chose to treat me graciously, in spite of the fact that I hadn't treated him with the same grace.

I pastored that church for almost four more years. Guess what found its way back to its rightful place and stayed there as long as I was the pastor?

You're absolutely right--The Red Chair!