I Might Decide to Preach All Day

Life at Work
Lyle Lovett sings “Church,” a song about a church service during which the preacher keeps on preaching to an increasingly hungry congregation. The moral of the story is in the last verse:

And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

Some preachers preach through lunch time, others preach into the nighttime. That’s what Paul did in one of the funniest stories Luke records in his Acts of the Apostles.

I say it’s a funny story. It might not be if Eutychus, the man who fell asleep and then fell to his death had stayed dead. Luke says that Paul went “on and on,” and that Eutychus fell sound asleep. It is important not to sit in a window sill during a long sermon. Interestingly, after the man fell, died, and was brought back to life, Paul ate and then talked with them some more until daybreak. Even the dead man stayed around for the additional conversation.

These people in Troas really wanted to hear a word from God through Paul. Knowing that he was about to leave, they wanted to take in all they could. When you’ve been without food, you get so hungry so that you can’t get enough when you finally get some. When you know that food is about to be scarce, you take in all you can, like a squirrel before winter.

I come across a lot of people who don’t eat what they have set in abundance before them. In the natural world, I understand that. If I go to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, I get full the minute I walk in the door. Just the realization that when I finish one plate, I’m no closer to being without food than I was when I started, makes my stomach shrink in a hurry. Do you suppose that the availability of the Word keeps you from being hungry for it? Could it be that since you can listen to the word on the television and radio; you can hear it Sundays and Wednesdays; and you can read it any day from any number of versions that you feel full though you are receiving limited nourishment?

Do you feel that hunger pain for a Word from God? That’s Life at Work!

Absurd but Not Unbelieveable

Life at Work
Abraham was told that he and his wife Sarah would have a child. Why was it so great a thing that Abraham should believe that he was going to be a daddy? Because he and Sarah were right at ninety years old when they received the promise.

Imagine Abraham and Sarah talking with the local crib maker. "So, are you buying this for a nephew, a cousin, or what?" Abraham responds, "Nope, Sarah's expecting our first. We're getting this for him and his children to come. Better make that crib big. God said there's going to be a bunch of 'em."

Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? Sarah laughed, at first. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.

For example, God said, "I'll forgive you of your sins, resurrect you from the dead, and bring you to heaven with me to live forever." Ridiculous? Yes. Preposterous? I'd say so. Absurd? You bet. Laughable? When I look at my own sinfulness, yes. Unbelievable? Well, not really. Remember, it was God who promised. God has often done ridiculous, preposterous, absurd, laughable things. That's why, even this, is not unbelievable.

Life at Work

Life at Work
“Give him a fair fight!” Most of us remember those words or words like them from our elementary school days. One of the funny things about that cry that usually had to do with making sure it was one against one is that we knew what a fair fight was. We forget what a fair fight is when we become adults. That’s why when you are reading books about relationships there is likely to be a chapter or two to educate us about how to fight fair. In Becoming a Couple of Promise (NavPress, 1999), Dr. Kevin Leman tells about unfair fighting.

It is not a fair fight when:

We generalize the behavior of another by using words like “you always” and “you never.”
We change the issue during an argument in order to make a personal attack.
We make a vague accusation instead of being clear about a complaint.
We respond to a complaint by citing a case where something worse has been done to us.
We flood the other by throwing out the multitude of things they have done wrong.
We bring out an old grievance that we’ve been saving in our minds to drop at just the right time.
We use passive-aggressive comments to lay guilt on the other.

The tendency of many will be to read that list to see when others have fought unfairly. Don’t do that. Read each one and ask yourself, “When have I used this tactic to fight unfairly.” Give him/her a fair fight! That’s Life at Work!

Artemis of the Ephesians

You’ve got to call her "Artemis of the Ephesians;" otherwise you might confuse her with another Artemis, goddess of the Greeks. The Artemis about whom the Ephesians cried, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” was born, so the myths say, near Ephesus. She did not make the temple that was built for her in Ephesus her home, she lived in the woods – or wherever living things lived. She was the mother of all the living. Anything, then, could be given or offered to her. Maybe that’s why her shrine in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Greek World was so large and why so much of value came into the city.

Demetrius was a silversmith who made his money making Artemis memorabilia. No, that isn’t what they would have called it, but since her only lasting value has been the trinkets of her likeness that have been discovered, “memorabilia” is appropriate. Demetrius was a worshipper, it would seem. He mentions the fact that Paul slandered Artemis in his preaching against idols, and that he didn’t think that was right. Yet, twice, before he mentions the slander, he mentions the money that he and his cohorts will be out if people continued turning from Artemis to Yahweh. He no doubt knew that there could not be a profitable conversion for him, either. After all, Yahweh does not want any images made of his likeness – as if that could really happen.

Later on the city clerk is going to console the people who riot by saying that they all know that Artemis is divine and their beliefs shouldn’t be threatened. He seems concerned that he will have to answer to the higher authorities regarding a riot and really wants to avoid that. He succeeds in quieting the crowd, and is able to dismiss the crowd.

Demetrius is concerned about money and says that when Paul says that man-made gods are not gods at all that he was destroying the reputation of Artemis. The city clerk is concerned about riots and says that no one had blasphemed their goddess by what they had said. Someone isn’t telling the truth, here. The city clerk is avoiding reality to avoid a confrontation with his superiors. The message about the God of Heaven, the God whom Paul preached, the God who sent Jesus allows no room for other gods.

Yahweh is jealous. Yahweh demands all of your loyalty. Yahweh is real and alive. Do you think he is trying to push all of your other loyalties aside? Have you gotten the impression that he refuses to be one of two masters to you? Do you perceive that he wants you to love him with all your heart, soul and strength? Then you have understood correctly. He’ll have no place but the only place. That’s Life at Work!

Blessing Our Communities

Luke describes prayer clothes, demon possessions, Jewish exorcists, Seven Sons of Sceva, Ephesian Kung-Fu, beaten streakers, and book burnings. This is a wild story in Acts 19. Despite all of the strange things that make up this story, there is one part of the account that we are not surprised to see Luke include: "In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power" (Acts 19:20). What is it about the work in the areas where Paul traveled that brought about positive result so consistently? I’m going to suggest three things that seem to be true about Paul’s work that we can use to cause the word of the Lord to spread quickly and grow in power.

The dynamics of the area were considered when an approach was determined. Paul would not have tried to put on a brush arbor meeting in New York City. If an area was particularly philosophical, Paul was a philosopher. If the area was superstitious like Ephesus, showing power over the established superstitions would be a great way to go. So maybe, maybe the extraordinary miracles of Paul were needed in this extraordinary city of Ephesus.

Our primary push has been to reach people for Jesus who live around Yukon, Mustang, El Reno, and Piedmont. There are things that are peculiar about these areas that we need to consider when we think about serving. We provide opportunities for our college kids here, but we don’t have a campus ministry. The way we help the poor of our area is not going to look like an inner-city ministry. If we have high divorce rates, high teen pregnancy rates, drug/alcohol abuse problems, lots of kids at home by themselves in the afternoons, a high widow/widower population, a high single parent population, a high blended-family population, and a significant number of teens, then those things will help us decide what we do to be a blessing to our communities. We need to place high priority on those things.

Paul brought with him certain abilities and strengths. He also brought with him other people with certain abilities and strengths. He also used the local people to whom God had given certain abilities and strengths. We need to consider what talent God has put in the local body here as we move to reach our communities. To mention one, we have a great number of excellent teachers in this church. We ought to have the best Bible School available, and we should consider the other ways that we can utilize this extraordinary blessing of the Spirit.

One other thing that was true about Paul and the people with whom he worked that was important in their successful outreach was the determination they had not to let trouble get them off their path. They kept their eyes on the goal, hurdled their obstacles with help from Heaven, and moved forward. Let’s do that, too.

That’s Life at Work!

You Say One Thing and Do Another

“You say one thing and do another.” That is the regular complaint that I make to my preacher, the man I look at in the mirror every morning. “They do not practice what they preach,” Jesus said concerning the Pharisees. Then he calls them hypocrites for the rest of Matthew 23. That hurts.

I preach about marriage, parenthood, morality, service, faith, and priorities. But I’m not the husband or father that I ought to be sometimes. I sin because I don’t always behave morally. My service is lacking, my faith is weak, and my priorities are out of whack.

Those things are true of everybody at some point or another, but not everybody stands in a pulpit regularly calling people to repent of their failures. Preachers do. I do. So often, I look in the mirror and in the faces of the people who know my sin; and I am hit squarely with my failures, and I feel like a hypocrite.

Lord, forgive my sins – which are many. In my mind and heart I want to completely quit sinning, “but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Romans 7:23-24). To quit sinning completely, I become more and more convinced out of my own experience is not going to happen. Thank God, for me and for you, there is forgiveness in Christ. That’s Life at Work.

A Mom's a Mom

You might have brought your baby home from the hospital having delivered her yourself. She has your eyes, your husband’s hair (or lack thereof), your sister’s dimples, and your dad’s feet. One thing is for sure - she has all your love, and you have all of hers. Because a mom’s a mom.

You might have watched from behind a window when he was carried by a nurse from the birthing room to the nursery. You might have known that the baby that just went by would be at your home before long. You’ve been good to the birth mom who just couldn’t take care of the child in her womb. You’ll always know what she looked like because you’ll see her in the baby you’ve adopted as your own. His features don’t look like anybody in your family, but one thing is for sure, he has all your love. You have all of his, too. Because a mom’s a mom.

Maybe the kids you care so much about came to your home knowing who their birth mom was and knowing they couldn’t live with her anymore. You adopted them after personalities developed, after they had to consider whether they were loved, and after they could be held and rocked comfortably. You’ve struggle, you’ve taught, you’ve hugged, and you’ve spent yourself on them. One thing is for sure, they have all your love. And you have all of theirs, because a mom’s a mom.

You were going to be their grandparent, but your role has changed. There’s a huge age difference, and you find it hard to keep up most days. You’ve stepped up to the challenge, though. You take him to school and pick him up. You go to his soccer games and sit with the soccer moms smiling as he falls all over the field. You weren’t planning on this. There were days when you thought you couldn’t do it, and wished you didn’t have to. But now, one thing is for sure. He has all your love, and you have his. Because a mom’s a mom.

She’s lived in your house for six months. You have no clue how long she is going to stay. DHS could come tomorrow to take her from you. You’ve held her as she cried. You’ve comforted her when she’s been scared. You’ve done all you can to heal her heart. You’ve modeled a good home. You’ve hugged her and kissed her. You’ve told her things she should have been told all her life, but that she’s never heard before. You don’t know if the phone call will signal the end of your time with her, but one thing is for sure. She’s got all your love, and you’ve got hers. Because a mom’s a mom.

God bless you Moms. All of you.

Mother's Memory

Life at Work
Woman’s Day magazine was recommending some gift ideas for Mother’s Day. One neat gift idea was “Mom’s Memory Jar.” Write some memories, some special moments to you, on some colored pieces of paper, put them in a pretty cup or jar, then tie a Mother’s Day balloon to it. I like that idea. I think I’ll suggest it to my kids.

Funny thing about that, though, is that the real gift for my kid’s mom will be that they counted the moment as special. You see, JeannaLynn won’t need to be reminded of the moment. I promise you, she remembers.

As Luke wrote about Mary seeing the baby Jesus lying in that manger with all the shepherds around, he said that she “treasured up all of those things and pondered them in her heart.” Later, when she thought back on finding Jesus talking to the leaders in the temple when they thought he was lost, Luke wrote again, “His mother treasured all these things in her heart.”

Mother’s have a special gift from God that enables them to remember and cherish special moments with their children. Whether you write them on notes and put them in a jar, or call your Mom Sunday to talk a little, tell her about some occasion involving the two of you that is cherished by you. She’ll likely remember, and then she’ll never forget that you remembered, too.

Have a Happy Mother’s Day Sunday.

A Team

Life at Work
“When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).

We already knew that Priscilla and Aquila were hospitable – they housed Paul for nearly two years. I wonder if their exposure to his evangelistic spirit and teaching ability enabled them to help out Apollos. They were certainly effective, and the succeeding verses reveal why that was so important – but first things first.

John Maxwell noted about teams, “A team is many voices with a single heart.” The fact that this couple works together stands out to me. Look at the verses that mention either Priscilla or Aquila.

“There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them…,” (Acts 18:2)

“Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (Acts 18:18-19)

“He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26).

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3)

“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” (1 Corinthians 16:19).

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19)

They were Christians as a team. They were teachers as a team. They suffered as a team. They housed individuals and churches as a time. They even sent and received greetings as a team. They succeeded as team.

Why? Because though they were individuals, they had one heart; a heart for God. That’s Life at Work.

(Maxwell Quote from: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player.)

Help in Times of Trouble

Some friends in Manhattan are in the NICU with their baby who is struggling to live. My friends are one in the struggle with their infant son named Ira. Their struggle is not physical, though. It is emotional and spiritual. Why does their baby have to be on extreme life support while other babies in that hospital were born perfectly healthy? Why wasn’t their baby formed with organs in the correct position when baby after baby is born with organs in perfect order? I know these questions are out there. If they are not on lips, they are on hearts. Now, they are on paper.

One of the doctors asked my friend, a preacher, if he would preach Sunday. He responded that he just doesn’t have anything to say these days. I’ve been there. Maybe you have, too.

The truth is, not many of us have an arsenal of helpful things to say at times of heavy grief and fear. What has helped my friend the most is the attention from his church family and the promises that people are praying for him and his wife, for their daughter, and for their son.

We can offer some help for you in your times of struggle. Our answer box isn’t empty. We’ve got some answers for some struggles. But what we can offer in endless supply for you is love from a caring church family and the promise to pray that God will see you through. That’s Life at Work!

What You Can, When You Can

A Saturday Night Live skit recently satirized President Bush and his never-ending efforts for the country. “I’m working 24/7. That’s twenty-four hours a week. Seven months out of the year.”

The President’s work is important. It does require a good bit of time, no doubt. Probably more than the twenty-four/seven of Saturday Night Live. Our work is important, too. “Which work?” you ask. The work of taking the good news about salvation in Jesus to the world is important!

There are lost people here and yonder who need to know what sin does to their relationship with the God who has set a day to judge the world, and what that Awesome God has done to make things right with him again. Our opportunities vary with the day. They certainly did with Paul as Luke tells his story in Acts 18.

Paul went from Athens to Corinth to preach. The first thing that Luke wrote points to obstacles that stand in the way of what we want. He said that Aquila and Priscilla were in Corinth because all Jews had been ordered to leave Rome. Sometimes you can’t even live where you want to! But Paul lived with them, working as a tentmaker, in order to keep from being a burden to the Corinthians (cf. 2 Cor. 11:7-12). He taught about Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath days.

When Timothy and Silas arrived, Paul’s opportunities increased because Timothy and Silas were able to help Paul. Paul devoted himself exclusively to the work of preaching and teaching. The funds were there and the time was there. God provided the protection he needed, too. There were people there who wanted to hear. Many of those hearers believed and were baptized. But not everybody.

Even though he had funds, and time, and protection; Paul still had those who opposed him. He was taken by force to Galileo, which turned out just to be a waste of time, because Galileo wouldn’t even hear the bogus case they brought against Paul.

Do you see all the things that impact our ability to tell our neighbors and the world what God wants them to hear? There are funds, time limitations, dangers, unwilling hearers, and other responsibilities.

So what can we learn from Paul’s experience in Corinth? Don’t lose site of God’s purpose for you during the slower times. Pick up the pace on the straight-aways. In other words, do what you can, when you can. That’s Life at Work!

They Serve a Puny God

They served a puny god. That’s what I thought when I read an article in my hometown newspaper in the Southeast several years ago that described a new temple being built in a larger city nearby. The article described how a prominent Eastern religious group was trucking in their gods. Their gods have to be brought in by truck? Those are puny gods.

I don’t want a puny god. I want a god about whom you say, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24-25).

A god who needs me is no good to me. I need a God who can do things for me that I can’t do. I want to know that when I pray for my spouse to come home safely, for sickness to be removed from my body, or for my family to be healthy again that the God to whom I pray can actually do those things that I can’t accomplish. How could I believe that a god who I have to truck in to his new home could do anything for me?

The truth is that one of the hardest things God ever had to do was get us to heaven. But he can even do that! The God of Heaven, the creator of everything, the giver of life and breath, doesn’t need me. I am so glad about that. I need him, though. You do, too. That’s Life at Work!

What Do You Say About God to Someone Who Doesn't Know Him?

The little boy was fairing poorly, to say the least, in elementary math. His mom did everything she could to help him get his grades up, but all her efforts were in vain. She finally decided to take him out of the large public school he attended to enroll him in a small, private Christian school nearby. They had never exposed themselves to Christian teaching, she just thought some of the differences might make the difference for him.

The first day she picked him up from school; he got into the car with her and immediately opened his math book and started studying. When they got home, he went to his room and stayed there studying until dinner. After dinner he went back to his room and studied more. This kind of study was so out-of-character for him, the mother was shocked to silence. But it happened everyday for six weeks!

Finally, he got in the car with her and handed her the report card he had received that day. She slowly opened the card, and a big smile spread across her face. He got an A in math! She was so happy – for him and herself.

“What’s the difference, son?” she asked. “Is it the smaller class size? Is the material explained better? Is the teacher that much better?”

“No, none of that,” he son said. “I just knew the first day that I walked in the classroom and saw that man nailed to that plus sign that they were serious about math.”

There have been a few times that I’ve come across someone who knows next to nothing about Christianity. Even people who know something about Christianity can be limited in what they know, really know, about God. Paul found some people in Athens who had erected an altar to the unknown God. They did that to cover their bases, so to speak. Paul knew that there really was a God that they did not know. What do you say to someone who doesn’t know God?

Paul told them five things in Acts 17. They are important things. Maybe they are important because you need to know them. Maybe their importance is in the need for you to express them to someone you have encountered and care about. Here, in a nutshell, is what he told them. Read it with a tone of caring, not arrogance. You can bet that is how Paul said it.

1. The God You Don’t Know Doesn’t Need You, But You Need Him
2. He Wants You To Seek Him, But You Don’t Have To Look Far
3. Since You Are His Offspring, You Would be a Fool to Worship Idols
4. He’s Been Patient, But Now Is the Time to Repent Because Judgment Is Coming
5. The Resurrection of Jesus Should Prove It to You

Turn from the life that sets you at odds with the God who you need. He’s been close to you all your life, even when you didn’t know it. He raised Jesus to be your savior, but also to be your judge. You are his offspring because you are his creation. It’s time to become one of his children. It’s time to get know God. That’s Life at Work!

A Moral Compass

When evaluating a vision, John Maxwell says that says that you should check your compass to see if the dream is worthy of pursuing. This chapter in The Seventeen Indisputable Laws of Teamwork stresses the importance of your intuitive, historical, directional, strategic, and visionary compasses. That’s five of the six compasses he mentioned. There is one more that struck me as I read the entire chapter. It is the first compass in his list. It is a moral compass.

Now, being a preacher, a moral compass has a louder ring of truth to it than some of the others he mentioned. But the chapter addresses something that made the need for examining a vision with a moral compass really stand out. He illustrated the importance of leading to live a dream with the success of the Enron Corporation.

I admit that I don’t know much about Enron’s failure. OG&E delivers my utilities. But I’ve watched enough of the news to know that greed was the driving force behind the visions of Enron’s executives. If greed is the driving force, and a leader examines the vision with a moral compass, the vision will never be pursued. Where a vision is pursued without examination with a moral compass, success may be seen for a while, but failure will come.

Remember these proverbs that are recorded in succession:

"He whose walk is blameless is kept safe,
but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall."

"He who works his land will have abundant food,
but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty."

"A faithful man will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished" (Prov 28:18-20).

No doubt, Maxwell will write more books. I hope he does. They are worth the read. I wonder if we will see another chapter about the importance of a ethical dreams where the fall of Enron, rather than its success, is the primary illustration.

One Thing

Two books are on my mind: Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald and It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys by Marilyn Paul. They are on my mind because they are on my shelf, and I need to read them. I need to read them because I need motivation and education about getting my life in God’s control. I bet I’m not the only one.

Paul wrote, “But one thing I do… I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). One thing? I’ve got a desk stacked with things that are calling my name. Opportunity left because he got tired of standing in line at my door behind responsibility. I am growing more aware that I want to do what is important sometime instead giving my time and energy to the urgent. And Paul does one thing.

I want to do his one thing. I know you want to, too. We both know that pressing toward the goal is not something to do instead of working to provide for my family, or responsibly doing my work so others can take care of their families, or being a blessing to my community. I do those things as part of pressing toward the goal. But sometimes I lose focus. Sometimes control slips out of my hands, and I feel driven by the goals of others that don’t have anything to do with the “one thing.”

Did you need to read this today to help you refocus on one thing? What do you need to let go of, and what do you need to reach out for, so that you can press toward the goal? What can your neighbors who are the South Yukon Church of Christ do to help you with that? We’ll press on together. We’ll do the one thing as group. That will help. That’s Life at Work.

The Scriptures Prove It

Higher ranking character. That’s what Paul said the Bereans had in comparison to the Thessalonians who had chased Paul and his companions out of town. Instead of chasing them out of town, the Bereans received Paul’s message and searched the scriptures daily to see if what he said was true. What had Paul said? He said that you could prove from the Old Testament that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.

That wasn’t commonly understood, of course. Even after Jesus crucifixion, John comments that “they (the disciples) still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9).

The Jews, disciples and unbelievers alike, believed in a very powerful messiah. While power and resurrection go hand in hand, power and death do not. Of course, to resurrect, you have to die. They didn’t believe that would happen to the Messiah – the Anointed One of God.

Convincing the Jews that the Christ must suffer and rise from the dead was a constant crusade for Paul. Preaching that the Messiah died was stumbling block to them. Even Peter said, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”

Peter, Paul, and the other apostles would use various Old Testament passages to prove that the death and resurrection of Jesus was a fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah. Peter quoted the Psalms on Pentecost:

…because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.”

We are used to using the New Testament to prove the resurrection of Jesus. But God had revealed long before that the story of redemption would include the death and resurrection of his Son. When your faith needs strengthened, read some of those passages that will fortify your conviction that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead. See what use the inspired writers made of Old Testament passages to proclaim the good news – the news that Jesus died and rose from the dead to save you! That’s Life at Work!

Go Home

In an animated email, a stick figure is beating his head against a stick wall saying, “I want to go home. I want to go home!” I’ve been there. You probably have, too. The frustrations of the workplace can be so overwhelming that we long for the comfort of home. Sadly, though, there are too many of us who don’t want to go home enough. If the frustrations of the work place don’t have us aching to leave, we stay, and stay, and stay, and stay.

Now, I want “Life at Work” to have some relevance for most who read it weekly, so let me say this generally: Though there is no Sabbath Day command for Christians to require us to rest for a period of time, the principle of the Sabbath Day is still pertinent. You need some rest. Take it.

But there is another reason for many of us to go home even when we could stay at work a little while longer. There is a family, a spouse and some children perhaps, who need some time with you. That time needs to be good time, play time, prayer time, family time. Not just hurry-you-to-bed time. Not just crash-out-on-the-couch-and-leave-me-alone time.

The Jews turned the blessing of the Sabbath rest into a burden. He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man; not man for the Sabbath.” We’ve turned the blessing of employment into a huge burden. God made work for you; not you for work. Take a break. Give your family some of your time and energy. That’s Life at Work!

Raised from the Dead

“He raised him from the dead.”

How do you respond to that statement? Maybe this week, approaching Easter, your thoughts are about the resurrection of Jesus and your first response is positive – a response of belief. Maybe you’ve been hearing recently about money-hungry false prophets who claim the ability to raise the dead, so your first response is negative – a response of disbelief. Many of us have been in both places. Many of us believe in the resurrection of Jesus, yet we realize how unusual a resurrection is. We are quick to reject claims that it happens now, prior to the resurrection of all the dead that Jesus told us about in John 5:28-29.

Acts 17 details the responses of various people to the claim that Jesus was dead, but is alive again. In Thessalonica, some Jews, a great number of Greeks including a significant number of women believed. In Berea, more Jews were at least interested in the news of the resurrection because they searched the scriptures to see if what Paul preached was true. In Athens, some sneered, others wanted to hear more, and a few believed.

I’ve heard some say that you can’t react with apathy to the message of the resurrection. They say you’ll either believe with a life-changing faith, or you will disbelieve and be unmoved in the pursuit of whatever it is you are pursuing. I disagree. I think some of the Athenians who were more interested in a philosophical slant on the resurrection idea were responding with apathy when they said, “We want to hear you again.” I think that many of us who grew up in the Bible belt constantly hearing the message of resurrection believe it to be true, yet don’t live the unusual lives that the unusual resurrection calls us to live. In fact, according to Barna (Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators, 1996) eighty-five percent of Americans believe in the resurrection of Jesus, yet only twenty-six percent of us read our Bibles once per week. That’s a sign of apathy. We should change that. That’s Life at Work!

How God Used an Earthquake to Save a Home

On January 17, 1994 at 4:30 in the morning, the Northridge thrust, a fault under Northridge, CA, shifted causing the first earthquake to strike directly under an urban area of the United States in over sixty years. The quake produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in the US according to the Southern California Earthquake Data Center.

The pictures that show the damage of that quake are not huge cracks in the ground that crossed some remote road in some far off deserted sand field. The pictures are of homes, neighborhoods in fact, and apartment complexes that were destroyed by the shaking and shift of the ground. This quake didn’t just collapse the home of a field rat; it collapsed the homes of people.

When we think of earthquakes, we think about the destruction of homes. God thinks differently.

Paul and Silas were on their way to the place of prayer and ended up in prison. There was a slave girl in Philippi who had been following Paul, Silas, Luke and the others around the city shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” (Acts 16:17). Normally, Paul and his companions would have rejoiced at the testimony, but this girl was a possessed by an evil spirit. If you saw someone with a terrible acne problem pushing a face cleanser, you’re probably not buying in. A demon-possessed girl pointing the way to salvation is not effective advertising.

So one day – why he put up with it at all I don’t know – Paul cast the demon from the girl by the power of God. She was rescued, but her owners were outraged. They had been using her as a source of revenue, but now their money-maker was normal. They accused Paul and the others of causing an uproar. Paul and Silas were beaten, thrown into prison, and shackled.

What do Christians do when they’ve been beaten and locked up unjustly? These Christians sang. I don’t know what they sang, but I bet it wasn’t “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me” or “Man of Constant Sorrow” or “Welcome to My Life.” It may have been a song that expressed distress, but it probably expressed confidence, too. They knew God could rescue them. And he did. He sent an earthquake that broke their shackles and opened the door of the prison. But that isn’t the greatest part of the story. When he sent the earthquake, he also saved a home.

The jailor took Paul and Silas home with him to learn what the slave girl said he could learn from them – how to be saved. He and his home were saved that very night.

I know there is a different between a house and home. Thanks for letting me play with the words here – I know you get the point. Buildings might have collapsed in Philippi, but a household was saved. That’s how God used an earthquake to save a home. Does anything need shaking up around you to get you asking “What must I do to be saved”? That’s Life at Work!

Step into the Real Life

The movie The Truman Show (1998) starred Jim Carrey as Truman who, since infancy, was the main character of a TV show about himself, but he didn’t know it. He didn’t know that everyone in his life was an actor until he bumped into a caterer backstage. Having learned that his life setting had been arranged and choreographed by his father who produced the show, he was faced with the reality that he needed to experience life for real. But he didn’t even know what that meant. Brian McLaren asked this question about Truman’s choice that is important for us: “If we stood poised, as Carrey's Truman did at the end of the film, ready to step out of our dome, leaving a safe and scripted world where we're the star and where it's all about us, would we take the step?”

Do you know that Jesus calls you to such a life? Life with Jesus is often unpredictable and it certainly isn’t about us. For some of you that idea is exciting and challenging. Some of you have already answered the call to the capricious life lived for God.

Others of you are scared to death at the idea. I understand. Jesus said, “Follow me,” but adds “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” You might not be comfortable.

Jesus says, “Follow me,” and adds, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” Your life will be about bigger priorities than the normal life.

Jesus said, “Follow me,” and then adds “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom.” This life is different. Consider your choice carefully, and don’t start if you’re not going to finish.”

I can tell you that I’ve taken the step and the choice was the right one, without a doubt! The way to suppress your fear is to build your faith. We can help you with that. Then let God build your courage. When you step into the kingdom world, you’ll have lots of help. Those of us who have done it stick together. That’s Life at Work!