Grace? REALLY??

20 Jan

If anyone is undeserving of the love of God, it is me.  And I guess all of us could make that statement if we are honest about things and it be true.  We do not deserve and cannot earn salvation.  We cannot clean our own lives up enough, we cannot live a good enough life.  If left to our own devices, we CANNOT succeed.  But God had a plan.  His plan is GRACE, extended through us by the sacrifice of His Son for our sins.  And our lives should never be the same.

Jesus talked about love.  He talked about forgiveness.  He leads us to forgive and love each other, and reminds us to do it in the same manner it has been done to us.  With that truth in mind, why do you think there are times in life when WE, the recipients of His grace, His disciples, find it so hard to extend grace to others?

My heart breaks when I hear stories of people who looked for grace in the one place where they thought they would find it, the one group that should understand it, and they found none.  Ironic?  Maybe a little hypocritical?  Why don’t we do it?

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21-35 tells this story.  This parable about forgiveness tells the story of a master who forgives a tremendous debt to one of his servants.  The servant immediately goes out and starts shaking people who owed him down.  Threatening the full extent of the law.  For almost nothing.  When the master hears of the servant’s wickedness, he reverses his decision and hands the man over to the jailers to be tortured until he pays back every penny.

Jesus ends this parable by saying  35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Hmmm …. something to think about on a Monday morning.

A Crazy Season

13 Jan

Today is January 13, 2014, and this is my FIRST post for the new year.  As I reflect on my past two weeks, the answer is simple.  And it is kind of sad:  Too much death in January.

If you ask any funeral director, he will tell you that the season after Christmas is one of the busiest seasons they have.  I guess people who are close to death use Christmas as a goal to live to, and once that goal is met sometimes they let go.  But that is not the entire story here.  I have had several families and friends who have had very unexpected sickness come on to a loved one and before they know it death was the result.  Very sad.

I freaked Diana and Drew out the other day as we were driving to Greenville as I told them “When something happens to me, THESE are the people I want to handle my funeral.”  I am NOT planning on that happening any time soon.  Any time in the next 35-40 years really.  But when that day comes, I want people who really know me to handle that service.  And they can tell anything they want to tell.

All of this reminds me of two things:  1.  LIFE IS PRECIOUS.  Each and every day should be lived to the fullest.  Be sure to do your best and your most EVERY DAY, because 2. There is NO GUARANTEE OF TOMORROW.

Not to be morbid, but this really IS what is on my mind.  Have a great day!

God uses difficulties for good

31 Dec

Many times I have quoted Romans 8:28 in times of difficulty … I believe God uses all things for the good of His kingdom.  That verse doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us will be good.  But can God even take the bad things that happen to us and use them for the building of His kingdom??  I submit this:

Over the past four years now (yes, it has been four years) I have learned much about NPH, dementia, and dealing with those types of patients.  What happened with my dad four years ago was not a good thing.  In fact, it has been a source of great struggle for him along with my entire family.  I would call it a tragedy.  But God has used that tragedy time and time again in my ministry.

Again, recently I found myself in a place where I could help a family dealing with a family member with short-term memory issues.  It it almost second nature to me now to be able to talk to someone who is struggling in those ways and be able to calm them down and help.  Is this an ability I would’ve chosen??  Probably not.  But God has equipped me and I will do my best with what He has given me.

God is able to even bring good results out of our difficulties.  Are there things in your life which He can use??  Are you willing to let Him?

Holidays can be hard

30 Dec

Here we are in 2013.  The Christmas / New Year’s season is almost over.  And it will be 2014.  Wow, how time flies!!

In all of the celebration and focus on joy, we cannot forget there are many in our midst suffering through difficulties this season.  Some dealing with sadness, loneliness, depression.   Some facing these holidays for the first time without someone they dearly love.  Some facing perhaps the last holiday with someone they love.  And we cannot overlook those who have recently suffered loss in the job markets.  And, admittedly, many of us fit in one or more of these categories.

What can we, as the Body of Christ, do for those who are hurting during such a time of celebration??  Maybe this is where COMFORT and JOY really come to play in the church, because there are several things we can do to help our brothers and sisters:

  • Pray!!
  • Be there for them!
  • Reach out and check on them!
  • LISTEN

As Betty Moore-Bell shared yesterday at Ebenezer, I cannot imagine how difficult Christmas must have been for the families of those two missing girls in Myrtle Beach this Christmas.  But I know I have a church family that would be there for me if I were in such a dark place during this season of light.

Who would EVER forget an anniversary??

5 Dec

I will never forget this date … December 5, 1993.  No, that is NOT the day I was married to Diana Lynne Duncan.  THAT date was December 5, 1987.  No, the 1993 day is a different date, and one that I will NEVER FORGET as long as I live.

We had been at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for a year and a half.  I was overwhelmed by my first Hebrew exegesis paper … I think it was on Genesis 22.  Hebrew was soooo foreign to anything I had ever seen.  I had worked and worked on this paper, trying to pull an “A” in the class.  I worked late on the paper that night.  When I went to bed, in the darkness of the night Diana said it:  “Well, I guess it’s official.”  That was all she had to say.  The tone in her voice let me KNOW I had messed up terribly.  And I scrambled to figure out what… Not her birthday, that was in June … WHAT WAS IT???  It took me a few minutes to wade through the clutter of Hebrew words in my mind to realize I had forgotten our 6th wedding anniversary.  WOW!!  I messed up big.  And we were in seminary, so we had no money with which I could buy my way out of this with a nice gift or an expensive meal.

Needless to say, it took YEARS to get out of that dog house.  And I will never forget that day.  And I will NEVER forget our anniversary.  So, every year now I tell her happy anniversary about a week early!!!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!! I love you!!

The Good Things

4 Dec

Yesterday I got to do one of the things I really love doing about my job.  One of the good things.  I got to help a friend.  Specifically, a friend who is a seminary student and new minister.

I had an opportunity to sit down with this friend and talk through some issues and help him develop a plan of attack.  In the midst of all of the Tuesday things that had to be done yesterday, I got a chance to slow down and help someone.  That is always a good day!  Those other things are necessary, too:  Staff meeting, a little project on the physical plant, a quick trip to the hospital.  But, when I get to directly help someone who needs a little, that makes my day!!

Last week, a couple of pastors from Saddleback spent 90 minutes in a video conference with me and one other pastor (from New York City).  The entire purpose of this was for them to pour into us and our ministries.  I have always LOVED that about Rick Warren and Saddleback.  And it is nice to be able to pay that forward a little!!

Diary of an Oddball

27 Nov

Okay.  I will admit it.  I am the oddball of which this speaks.

I did not choose this.  I do not strive to be different.  But I know that I am.  Maybe it’s because my initial background is computers.  Maybe it is because I am an introvert that forces extrovert because my calling and job requires it.  (This might explain why I am perfectly content to be locked in a cave with a computer.) But I know that I am.

I hope you wouldn’t pick up on this in the walls of Ebenezer.  I am comfortable with my church family, so hospitality and friendliness come pretty easy within the walls.  And, somewhat outside of the walls.  But put me in a room full of area pastors or people I don’t know well, and I clam up.  It’s not that I don’t like them… I have MANY friends who are pastors in our area.  But put me in a room full of them, and I get really quiet.

Maybe that is why today’s online training with Saddleback was so meaningful to me.  It was me, a pastor from New York City, and two pastors on the Saddleback campus.  And we had a blast!!  And we solved some problems and broke some barriers down.  I am so thankful for the folks at Saddleback and their commitment to equip pastors all over the world!!  They inspire me to help the young pastors I know and to equip pastors in Honduras and other places when I have the opportunity.

And I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Thankful for my Heavenly Father.  Thankful for the Holy Spirit, and I am thankful that God is greater than EVERYTHING, even my shyness!!!  And I am praying that God will continue to help me to use all those things He has given me to glorify Him and build His kingdom!

The Value of Family

26 Nov

Here I sit in Easley again.  A day or two before I had planned to be here for Thanksgiving.  I am thankful that Dad seems to be doing okay today.  Yesterday was a hard day for him and for the Wike family as we buried dad’s brother, Bob.  I don’t think any of us even thought Dad would bury his brother.  But we did.

As I wrote yesterday, death is hard enough for all of us.  Dad’s disease adds another dimension to the process of mourning.  My prayer for him has been that he will be able to work through this as best he can and not re-live this death over and over.  So far, so good.  Time will tell the ultimate answer though.

My dad had a great love for his brother.  In ways that most of us would never understand, they found themselves set as the two of them against the world many times from their youth.  They were always there for each other.  Even until the end.

I am thankful today for family:  For my little sister, who drove up from Tampa on Sunday just to be here with Dad and is driving back today.  In the rain.  I am thankful for my wife, who took charge of the turkey frying I was supposed to do yesterday and pulled folks together to get it done.  And I am thankful for my church family, specifically for the folks that jumped in at the last minute and got those turkeys done, and for the folks that have pulled together to help me be able to spend this time with my dad.  These are hard days for him and I am glad I could spend a couple of extra days with him before Thanksgiving.

It is no cliche:  I really don’t see how people make it through times like this without family.

Heading home for a funeral

25 Nov

A sad journey today. Very soon I will be on the road to Easley to attend my uncle’s funeral and spend some time with my dad.

Death is always difficult. Sadness envelopes you when it is someone close. When a Christian dIes, there is always hope and comfort in knowing that disease will never again touch that person. But that doesn’t lessen the sense of loss.

My dad loved his brother dearly. They were close all throughout their lives. I know if dad didn’t suffer from NPH this would be a horrible day for him. In a sense it is even harder in the fact that he cannot seem to get into the grief process. Every time he deals with knowing Bob died it is as if the first time he has heard the news.

Praying for closure today for my dad and praying for Uncle Bob’s family.

Making the Most of it all

19 Nov

Every year around this time we start hearing and thinking about the meaning of the season.  Well, seasons … Thanksgiving is a time when we think about the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, a time to be thankful for where we are and how we got here!!  Thankful for the provision of God in our lives.  This really meant something to the first Pilgrims to celebrate Thanksgiving… They had survived and were beginning to thrive in a harsh land.  Truth is, we should be most thankful for their determination and spirit!!

And then, of course, Christmas is upon us.  The celebration of Christ’s miraculous birth!!  We will be reminded that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.  We will honor our traditions of exchanging gifts with those we love.  It will all come and go so quickly, if we blink we will almost miss it!!  December is definitely the fastest-moving month on the calendar…

To keep this as simple as possible, what if all of this meant a little more to us this year.  What if, at the forefront of our hearts, we kept the spirit of the holiday (Holiday is a word derived from the fact that it is a HOLY DAY, a day set apart) and knew in our hearts that God and His blessing is what these days are all about??

I challenge you:  Find a way to put God first in these holiday seasons!!!

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