When You’ve Almost Drowned


In deep waters, You carry me.
Out of land-locked lakes, You call me.
As storms rage, You protect me.
Again and again my life is sustained in the ocean of your love.

When land’s not seen, teach me to trust and even enjoy.
Take me deeper than I think I can go, and my faith will be enlarged.
Baptize me and overflow me with the water of your Spirit.
You’re the Commander of the sea, and Captain of my soul.” (JHP)

There are people so fearful of water that they never venture into the ocean, or any other body of water. They see the waves and hear the surf, and anxiety grips them. But they have a good reason.

When you’ve almost drowned, you fear being in water, especially water that’s over your head. You lack confidence. You panic easily. The moment your feet can’t touch the bottom and you feel the pull of currents, your mind tells you that you’re going to drown, again.

But this kind of fear will never go away, unless you surrender to it.

Master swim instructors teach people who are fearful of water how they must yield to the water and use their body’s natural buoyancy. Lifeguards tell people not to fight against riptides and currents but to swim at angles through them.

Fear and panic that stems from any prior bad experience can be crippling. There are situations so horrible that they almost suffocate the life out of you. You may still be alive, but you avoid anything and anyone that even comes close making you feel vulnerable again.

God has rescued you from the deep waters in your life. You felt as if you were going under, but God brought you out. Yet now you sense his gentle push back into the deep. You don’t want to go, but it’s actually in the deep places that God will strengthen your faith and teach you things about Him and yourself that you could never learned on the shore.

As tides, waves, currents, and storms come unseen but felt, you learn that God is sustaining you and keeping you. You discover in the deep oceans of life that you were actually meant to be there. And you find others in the deep water who are like you once were, struggling, filled with fear and panic. They’re drowning and time’s running out. But you now know who will help them, and He’s reaching through you to them.

Job Qualifications

Remember your first job?  Mine was at a car dealership.

Before I was hired, I was interviewed by a manager by the name of Mr. Carlson.  The interview was intimidating enough, but Mr. Carlson was even more intimidating.  He was a tall, serious fellow who asked me what qualifications I had to work at their dealership, for which I had none.  But after all that, I was finally hired, and given the highly esteemed title of “Lot Attendant.“  Don’t laugh, I got to drive Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs, and Volvos.

In the New Testament we’re told that Apostles looked to select some people to do work around the church.  The qualifications for the position were simple:


”Seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.“ (Ac 6:3)

Being a person of good reputation is important, but that second qualification stands out the most to me, “full of the Holy Spirit.”  One might even ask, “Aren’t all Christians ‘full of the Holy Spirit?’”  Apparently not, or it would not have been mentioned as a specific qualification. 

Yes, the Holy Spirit is resident in every person who has made Jesus Lord of their life, yet there is a filling with the Holy Spirit that can be described as “full,” or even, “overflowing.”  This is what the Apostles were looking for.  This is what God is still looking for.

The beautiful thing about being qualified for God’s work is that we need not feel intimidated by our lack of skills.  In God’s kingdom, whatever we lack, He will freely give us as we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit.   Someone once wisely said,

"God does not call the qualified, but he qualifies the called”

And with no apologies to Mr. Carlson, we’ll be given the a much better title: “Servant of God.”

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Louisa’s Place

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Whenever I find out that someone has been to San Luis Obispo, I’ll ask him or her, “Have you been to Louisa’s Place?” To which most people answer that they have, or they know about it. Those who have been there will often start talking about how much they love the restaurant. Just the other day a person told me, “I had the best omelet I’ve ever had in my life there.”

If you go to Louisa’s Place, be prepared to wait for a table because everyone who lives in San Luis Obispo knows that Louisa’s is the best place in town for breakfast and lunch. And don’t expect any fancy atmosphere, just good, really good food. That’s been the staple since the restaurant opened in 1972.

I love to tell people have who been to Louisa’s Place that Louise is my mother-in-law. I tell people about how hard Louise and her family worked to make the restaurant special. How she would get to the kitchen way before the sun was up to bake things fresh. How she survived the onslaught of high-end eateries all around her (most of which are gone now).

I also love to tell people that although good food was important to Louise, people were more important. Many of the items on the Louisa’s Place menu were named after her grandchildren, which they would, and still do, proudly tell you about. Many of her employees would not have been the first pick by other employers (especially one dishwasher in the early ‘80s), but she loved, respected, and believed in them in a way that they could feel, and as a result so did the customers.

Louise sold the restaurant many years ago, and it’s continued to be a popular spot. Good food is still served, and there’s a friendly atmosphere. The current owners are doing a great job, but they would be the first to tell you that the key to their success is doing what Louise did.

There are so many life lessons and applications that could be had from the Louisa’s Place story, but the one that stands out the most to me is the importance of understanding what makes something great, and continuing to do it. Albeit, little changes and enhancements may be useful, the essence of what is done cannot change.

This is the kind of thing that Paul is talking about in Romans. Paul wants his readers to know that the key to their spiritually success is understanding what makes their faith even possible.


“…and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” (Rom. 11:17)

We have been grafted into Israel’s tree and are now recipients of the blessings promised to them. Paul wants us to never forget the grace shown to us by God, and how nothing we’ve done could have accomplished this. It was God’s sovereign choice to include us.

The next time you’re in San Luis Obispo, you must visit Louisa’s Place! Have an Italiano omelet, some home fries, and a hot cup of coffee. Tell whoever’s working there that you know Louise (or at least her son-in-law). Savor the moment. You’re being included in something amazing that started way before you got there.

His Appearing

Several of years ago our church family lost a precious sister named Jesse Clark. Jesse and her husband Earl were pastors in the Foursquare Church for many years. Jesse shared with Kathie and me many stories from her and Earl’s early years in ministry. Once while telling us one of these stories, Jesse said something almost in passing that stood out in my mind and I shall never forget. As she was describing what it was like for her and Earl to be in Bible college during the 1930’s, she said:


“Earl and I, and the rest of the students, were sure we wouldn’t graduate from Bible College before the Rapture.”

Like many other Christians during that time, world events loomed, making them certain the Lord would return at any moment. A brief look at Church history will find this sense of the imminence of Christ’s return was in much of the Evangelical Church for most of the 19th and 20th centuries. The urgency they felt produced some of the most impactful efforts for the Gospel. After all, in their minds Jesus was coming any moment and many people had still not heard of His love for them.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that splinters within sectors of the Evangelical Church, which had historically believed in the soon coming of Jesus Christ and the Rapture, began questioning the idea and teaching, even making fun of the notion. One famous teacher who had a profound effect in this movement went on record saying:


“We’ll never impress people with the God of the ‘sweet by and by.’ We’re called to teach people about the God of the ‘here and now.’”

What distilled from that approach, in my humble opinion, has been tragic. Many Pastors have vowed to never teach on biblical prophecy. As a result, Christians have little or no understanding of end-time events, nor what the Bible has to say about them. Many are caught up with the good things of this life, neglecting genuine Christian fellowship, and not really longing for Christ’s return.

However, there are many Christians in the world who are experiencing suffering and persecutions, who’s walk with Jesus is vital and deep. They have a more intense longing for His return and they know this world is not their home. They are looking forward to His appearing. Me too! How about you?

Graveyard Shift

Getting up at or before sunrise to make it to a job that starts early can be draining.  Working a 9 to 5 shift every day can get to be monotonous.  But nothing can compare to the exhausting difficulty of working the graveyard shift.  While the rest of the world sleeps, those on the graveyard shift push buttons, pull levers, answer calls, go places and do things.

Someone is working a graveyard shift, but it’s not because of a job.  While others are sleeping, they’re wide-awake.  Their mind is racing.  Their heart is pounding. Events play over and over again.  Regret.  Fear.  Anger.  Hurt.  Rather than being relaxed in the stillness and lifelessness of the night, things seem to close in around them like a noose.

David worked the graveyard shift many nights.  Worrying about his family.  Lamenting his foolish actions.  Mad at God one night, longing for His presence the next.  But finally after too many bouts with insomnia, David cried out,


“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” (Psalm 43:5)

David isn’t asking his soul to tell him what’s wrong.  Instead, David is notifying his soul, his thoughts, and emotions that there’s going to be a change.  No more sleepless nights.  No more anxiety.  No more watching the sunset and then rise again.  He needed rest and he was going to get it.

To hope in God is important, but what David reveals in addition is the most important factor to getting a person off the graveyard shift.  David said,


“I shall yet praise Him.”

He would declare the goodness of God, sing of His faithfulness, recount His works, and shout hallelujahs at the top of his lungs.  And as David lifted up praise to God, something happened, he began to sense the nearness of God.  Then things within him settled down and became peaceful.  His eyes grew heavy and sleep took hold.

If you’ve been working the graveyard shift lately, follow David’s example.  Take a moment and think about where you where and what things were like in your life when God found you.  Think about how many times He’s proven faithful and strong in situations that you’ve turned over to Him.  Now begin to praise Him and thank him.  It won’t be long until you sense His presence, along with joy that’s unspeakable and peace that surpasses understanding.  Before you know it, it will be morning and you’ll be thanking God for the best night’s sleep you ever had.

Harold Wood, Coleman Phillips, and Evelyn Thompson 1983. #thecenterchurch #escondidochristianschool #escondido #Foursquare #cloudofwitnesses #heroes

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A Little Hill Called Zion

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“For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place” (Psalm 132:13)

In ancient times mountains were thought of as being places where the gods lived.  Mount Olympus was the home of Zeus.  Mount Zaphon, according to Ugaritic texts, was seen as the home of Baal.  As a rule, these sacred mountains were tall, majestic peaks that were visually impressive and for the most part inaccessible to common man.

God also had an impressive mountain.  It was called Mount Sinai.  Sinai is where He personally met with Israel and talked face to face with Moses.  All of the Bible’s references to this mountain are in conjunction with the giving of the law.

But God had another mountain that wasn’t as visually impressive, but all the more special.  It was called Mount Zion.  It was neither remote nor particularly grand.  It was only about 2500 feet above sea level.  More of a knoll than a mountain, yet the Psalmist describes Zion this way:


“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” (Psalm 48:2)

Mount Zion does not dominate Jerusalem in the same way Olympus overshadows Greece.  It is also important to note that unlike the other mountains, Zion has had a large population of people living on it and around it.   There is none of the remoteness or mystery typically associated with the mountains of the gods. Unlike the gods of this world, the God of Israel does not wish to dominate over His people from above.  Instead, it is His desire to be with His people,


“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

John tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).  However, God didn’t want to just “dwell with” His people. His greatest desire is to “dwell in” His people,


“In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you” (1 Cor 6:19)

Mt. Zion is a non-impressive hilly area in a populated area because God wishes to spend time with us, to help us, to love us, to comfort us, to support us, and to have a personal relationship with us!  He is a God of people!

The Legend of Al Lira

Hanging on the walls of my office are some very important mementos, but one of my favorites is an old offering bag. It’s the kind that has a clothe pouch and the two wood handles on it. It was given to me as a gift from a very special group of people: the folks from the first church I pastored.

The church was called Faith Chapel. It was in Glendale, Arizona. And in the three and a half years I was there, I learned more than in all my years of Bible College and seminary multiplied by 100. I learned especially about being faithful and generous.

Regularly at Faith Chapel we would make various needs of the congregation known, and always, always, ALWAYS the needs would be met. There was an incredible spirit of generosity in that church!

On the last Sunday I was at Faith Chapel, the people gave me one of the offering bags to serve as a reminder to trust God to meet needs wherever I went. But the offering bag also serves as a reminder to me of a man named Al Lira.

Brother Al was the head usher at Faith Chapel. He was one of the most faithful people I’ve ever known. In fact, when we would take one of those special offerings mentioned above, it was Al who would stand at the exit holding an offering bag (in fact, the very one that’s on my office wall) until the last person made their way out. Then humbly Al would finish his duties (which included straightening things up, turning lights off, and locking up). Always smiling and always waiting for me, graciously he would thank me and wish me a blessed afternoon. Al kind of stuttered a little when he talked, but I understood every word from the heart of this precious man.

One Sunday as we were walking out Al asked,


“Pastor, have you ever been to La Perla Restaurant?”

“No Al,” I answered. He proceeded to invite me to what would become a regular get-together for he and I in the old downtown part of Glendale. As we met and talked during those times, I learned that Al’s wife had died some time ago and how much he loved her and missed her. Al told me how some of his children had fallen away and gotten into trouble. He told me about his doctor’s report and how his health was failing. We prayed together.

But my heart was most endeared to Al Lira by what he said to me as we walked out to our cars,


“Pastor, I want to thank you for letting me serve at the church. It really means a lot to me.”

My throat was dry and a big lump was forming. I realized I was with a true giant in the faith. Al Lira was a man who served with gladness, who wanted nothing in return, and who loved God and God’s people more sincerely then most I’ve ever known.

I know faithfulness doesn’t have to look like Al Lira, but I firmly believe it ought be done with the same spirit. Being faithful in small things, while also being grateful for them. Seeing every person and task as valuable and worthy of your time. Not only getting things done, but doing them with the right spirit.

If you’re ever are in the old part of Glendale, Arizona, go the La Perla Restaurant. You will you enjoy some of the best Mexican food ever, but you’ll also be in a place that one of the true legends in God’s kingdom used to eat with his pastor.

Tale of Two Funerals

I once conducted a funeral for a woman named Elda. She had passed away at the age of 87. As we sat in the mortuary’s chapel, the director came and notified me that it was time to begin. But no one was there. Myself, a soloist (who had come with me from our church), a hospice nurse (who had cared for Elda the last few months of her life), and Elda’s oldest son, were the only people in attendance. It was pretty miserable.

Today I participated in a funeral for a woman named Marcie. She had passed way two days before Christmas at the age of 53. Along with all of her family, hundreds of people filled our church’s sanctuary to pay tribute to this special person. It was pretty awesome.

The striking contrast between these two services is a reflection of how these two women lived their lives. One of these women lived for self, while one lived for others. Can you guess which one?

While she was living, Elda reminded people about how much they didn’t know and how much she did. She regularly told me that our church was too cold (temperature-wise), the music was too loud, and the preaching was too uninspiring. Nothing and no one seemed to please her.

While she was living, Marcie reminded people how much she and God loved them. She regularly complimented and encouraged people in whatever they did, including me. Everything and everyone seemed to please her.

Although I’m reflecting on Elda’s life as I write this, I doubt that anyone has thought much about her, nor remembered her for something good. But since two days before this last Christmas, I and everyone else who knew her, haven’t stopped thinking about and talking about how much we loved and appreciated Marcie.

Most would say that Christianity is summed by one word, love. However, while I certainly would agree with that, our love as Christians cannot be done in a vacuum. It must be lived, breathed, felt, seen, known. Christianity is really summed up by this one word…


…OTHERS


Some people who claim to be Christians live such small lives that no one really seems to notice when they come, or when they go. But other Christians live such enlarged lives that everyone who has been touched by them will never forget, including God. Hebrews puts it this way,


“For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Heb. 6:10)

Although we are saddened to say goodbye to Marcie for now, we celebrate her life because we are better people as a result. Speaking of celebration, can you imagine the cheers of heaven when Marcie arrived, and God leading the parade?

Imagine now something else a little more sobering, what will your funeral be like? Not so much how many people will be there, but why will people be there? What will their reminiscences of you be, and how long will they be effected by your life? Did you live in such a way that your works, efforts, words, thoughts, etc., could be described as a “labor of love” and “ministry to the saints”?

If you are reading this, you’re still alive and there’s still time. Find someone and allow God to love them through you, or maybe just ask them if they knew Marcie. Chances are they did.

John Bunyan Interviews Lance Armstrong

Oprah Winfrey interviewed Lance Armstrong this evening about his illegal use of performance enhancing drugs during the Tour de France. Millions of people watched as Lance admitted to Oprah that he had cheated, lied, and attacked anyone who got in his way. Unfortunately, there is nothing he can say or do that undoes the damage his actions have caused.

Lance has been stripped of his seven yellow jerseys, an Olympic medal, and barred from all endurance sport competitions. Fellow teammates and the entire cycling community have ostracized him. He’s jeopardized the future of the LIVESTRONG Organization, and made fools out of his friends and family who have stood by him through all of this.

But the worse part of this whole mess, in my opinion, is that people now associate cycling with something negative. Lance Armstrong is/was cycling. Millions of people were drawn into cycling because of him. But now as a result of his stupid actions, there are millions of people who want nothing to do with cycling. What’s sad is they will never experience the enjoyment of cycling, which is one of the best activities there is, all because of Lance Armstrong.

In the same way, there are people who associate church, Christians and even God, with something negative because of the foolish things done by others. The wrongdoing of one, or a few, causes people to want nothing to do with Christianity. The dumb things done by others even causes people who once walked close to God and were active in fellowship and worship with others to disconnect, become hard and jaded towards spiritual things.

We learned that Lance’s deception became worse over time. The fact is, our hearts don’t usually grow cold overnight. Little things creep in and the sense of what’s wrong or right becomes less clear and less of an issue. Before long we’ve grown cold, defensive, and repulsive to onlookers.

Oprah asked Lance several times if there were any moments along the way that he realized the ramifications of what he was doing. He said things had accumulated and grown complicated over time, only being clear to him in hindsight. This got me thinking. What if there could have been some kind of warning system along the way that caught Lance’s attention and stirred him to do what was right.

Then I starting thinking about people I know who have derailed spiritually, and even my own backslidings. What if there was some kind of warning system along the way that could catch our spiritual attention and stir us to do what is right.

John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, actually created a checklist of sorts that reveals and warns of spiritual declination and hardening of the heart:

A forgetfulness of God and the forgetfulness of the fact that one day we will meet Him.

A gradual loss of private holiness, private prayer, a curbing of our lust, and a sorrow of our sins.

An avoidance of the company of lively Christians.

A disinterest in public worship.

A picking of fault in others while ignoring our own.

An association with the godless, more than fellowship with God’s people.

An involvement in fleshly lusts in privacy.

A playing with sin more and more openly.

A revealing to all the sorry condition of our lives due to the hardening of our hearts
 

As you read this list, are any of these areas happening in your life? Instead of viewing it with fear, or worse denial, allow the Holy Spirit to stir you to do what’s right. The Book of Hebrews offers this help…


“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice’…Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” (Heb. 3:7, 12-14)
 

This might not help Lance Armstrong avoid losing his credibility, or cycling its fans, but it will help those of us who’s hearts are distant and growing cold. It will help prevent our lives from being something that pushes people away, but rather draws them and inspires them to the joy of church, fellow-Christians, and a life lived with God.