More Than Chameleons

I’m not sure why, but some of us are like verbal chameleons. If we hang around people with a certain accent for very long, we start talking like them. I first discovered this when Cathy and I spent three years on a church staff in California. We were about a mile from the Pacific, surrounded by the nuances of West Coast culture. But, when we left there and went back to school in Phoenix, old friends wondered if I had lived in Texas those three years. Why? Because our pastor was from Texas and many of the people in our church were military families who grew up in the South. I spent most of my time around people with a drawl and guess what? I got a bit of my own! Almost forty years later, someone occasionally asks me if I’m from Texas because of the way I pronounce a word.

I saw it again a year or two ago when our friend Kenra returned from eleven months of mission work in some of the poorest countries of the world. Obviously, some of her team were from the South and Kenra, who grew up in Yuma, came home sounding like she had spent a year in Alabama or Georgia. Like I said, some of us are verbal chameleons.

 

In life, most of us would admit that we are influenced by our environment. We often want to cut some slack to people who grew up in poverty in the inner cities of the world. No matter how much anger we may have about drug abuse, for instance, we can sort of understand a ghetto kid who starts selling drugs because he can see no other way out of the poverty cycle.

 

If we can unwittingly adapt to linguistic nuances or to the harsh realities of our environments, could we also be changed in a positive way if we were saturated by things like love? Or joy? Or peace? Is it possible that attitudes can be changed because of the attitudes of those around us? Is it possible that we might think differently because of what we read or watch or listen to? The obvious answer is, “Yes!” A subtle danger lurks in our “people-are-products-of-their-environment” argument, however. It’s the danger that moving to a different environment would just change us again. We need something more, something deeper than environment to turn us into a different person. Fortunately, the Good News of Jesus offers it: "Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence."2 Corinthians 5:17 (God’s Word translation)

It takes both the “new creation” power of God’s Spirit and the saturation power of environment to mold our characters, our attitudes, our relationships and our thinking into God’s beautiful design. That design was lost by the first man and woman on the planet and we inherited that loss. God, however, has always…ALWAYS…longed for us to be reshaped, both on the inside and the outside.

 

Jesus took care of the inside part of us; all we have to do is claim God’s gift of salvation by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The chameleon parts of us require discipline and a lifelong journey of the soul to know and do what God’s Word says. We will talk more about it this weekend at Stone Ridge Church. Can’t be there? Catch the podcast!

 

 

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Don't Fear The Truth!

"I think she knew she had cancer. She refused to see a doctor about it because she feared hearing the diagnosis." Those words were spoke by a family member after "she" died. And, yes, she had cancer. She somehow knew the truth, but she was still afraid of hearing it.

I understand how that woman thought. I have felt the tug of bad things happening in my body, yet preferred denial to finding out the truth. Forget, "the truth will set you free." Sometimes the truth seems so scary! Fortunately, I was able to face the truth when I did have cancer and we caught it so early that I'm doing fine now. Still, I have compassion for the fear of that woman.

What happens, though, when the truth we need to face looks like a chainsaw threatening to cut us apart? What happens when the truth runs smack dab into our traditions? I have seen this scenario over and over and different people handle it different ways. I have lost track of the number of times we had to measure our Stone Ridge traditions against the truth we found in Scripture. The truth was sometimes painful and threatening, but it always...ALWAYS...set us free!

We did away with some of our traditional gatherings because the truth freed us to look at the community we are trying to reach and realize those gatherings were counter-productive. We changed our church leadership style, because the old style didn't measure up with what we found in the Bible. We even changed our name when we realized that the old name was more of a stumbling block than a stepping stone when we tried to talk with people about Jesus. In each of those cases, we were set free by the truth.

Everywhere we turn, though, we can encounter people who want to twist the truth into something to bind us rather than free us. Politicians, religious leaders, even Hollywood can find ways to take a small nugget of truth and morph it into a lie meant to take us captive. So, how do we learn to study the Word of God and dig out the truth, thus filtering out the bondage? That's our subject this weekend at Stone Ridge Church. Can't be there? Catch the podcast!

 

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What does it mean?

"What does it mean?"

Isn't that one of the most familiar questions in our language? As we go through life, we often find ourselves in situations just like the members of The Fellowship of the Ring in Tolkien's classic. They were running from the forces of evil and discovered that their safest passage lay through the ancient mines of the dwarves. They arrived at the gate, finding nothing but solid rock. As the moonlight fell upon the rock, the outline of a door became visible, over which ancient script was written, "Speak friend and enter."

"What does it mean?" That was the question. Gandalf the Wizard began reciting various chants, but nothing happened. The Fellowship grew increasingly agitated, but no one could figure what it meant. Finally, the simplicity of Frodo's Hobbit mind overtook the deep thoughts of the others. They were to speak the word "friend." As they did, the way was opened.

Last week, we discovered that the Bible is intended to illuminate our path for us. Indeed, it often does. But what if we don't understand what it means?

When I first arrived in Yuma, I became friends with a couple who had moved here a few years earlier from California. Their story was interesting, to say the least. He had been up for a possible job transfer and they were praying about where God might want them to go. Finally, out of desperation, they blindly opened a Bible and placed a finger upon a random verse. The verse said something like, "Go to a desert place." They figured that meant Yuma, so they came! (True story!)

While I don't doubt that God was somehow at work in that situation, I would never recommend random finger placement as the best way to discover God's will. Nor should you. But, what do we do when we aren't really sure about the meaning of a passage? Are there some "map-reading" skills we can incorporate to help us learn from it? Can even obscure verses speak to us if we seek their meaning? The answer is a resounding, "Yes!" What are those skills? Join us this weekend at Stone Ridge to discover them! Can't be here? Catch the podcast!

 

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A Little Illumination

The recent trip to visit our partner church in the Dominican Republic began with a long, hard day of travel. Departing Yuma at 2:30 a.m., we boarded an early flight out of Phoenix, then caught a late-afternoon hop from Miami. The trip was an emotional one; we were there because our friends were grappling with a church crisis. Upon arrival in Santiago, we discovered that one of our suitcases didn't arrive...mine. Though I felt immediate peace -- we KNEW that this trip was in God's hands -- reporting the missing bag (we discovered it was still in Miami) took a while, further delaying our journey.

Outside the Santiago airport, we met our ground transportation who would take us over the mountain into Puerto Plata. By the time we arrived, it was midnight. One vehicle got there a little early and stopped to pick up pizza for a (very) late-night supper. We ate quickly and got a go-cart ride from a porter to take our jet-lagged bodies to our rooms.

The complex where we often stay in Puerto Plata is very large and includes a number of hotels. We had never stayed in this particular one so I payed close attention to the path we drove to the building where our rooms were located. We made our way up the stairs to the third floor and crashed into bed, trying to get rested for what promised to be a long day ahead.

I awoke as the light of day began to flood my room, but immediately my brain did a double-take. "How did I get so turned around?" I wondered. Based on my often-accurate sense of direction the sun was rising...in the West! Yikes!

A little while later, I realized that my directions were right until we hit the top of the stairs on the third floor. The way the stairs emptied out onto the floor, my brain did a 180 and make me think my room was on the west side of the building instead of the east. Oh, what a little illumination can clear up!

I tell this story because I have known many people who try to read the Bible without illumination. They remind me of the Ethiopian official in Acts 8. "Who is this writer talking about?" he asked Philip. "What does this mean?" If you feel like you're trying to read the Bible in the dark, maybe you need the Son to come up in your heart. He is the one who opens the door of illumination.

This weekend at Stone Ridge Church, we will see how Jesus both illuminates Scripture AND uses Scripture to turn the lights on in our lives. Don't miss it! Can't be there? Catch the podcast!

 

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Small Habits = Substantial Changes

My friend Johnny Mac graduated with one of those high school classes that has a reunion just about every year. Every year he gets away and heads up to Central Oregon to spend time with his buddies from almost a half-century ago. When he comes home, he regales me with stories about their time together. I walk away from those tales feeling like I was there with him

I didn't graduate in one of those classes. In fact, my high school class has had very few reunions over the years and I was able to attend only one. It was an eye-opener. It's not that I felt shock at how the years had wrinkled everybody but me. The changes I saw weren't so much the natural progression of time as the obvious ways different classmates had used their time. I mean, some of those who had been the life of the high school parties now looked like they wanted to melt into the wallpaper. Others who had been the quietest kids in school were now confident and outgoing. What had happened?

I started to realize those changes as I watched an old friend. He was the mascot of high school success. He went on to a very successful career. Yet, I noticed that he couldn't handle the crowd of former classmates without a few beers under his belt. At the same time, I had a brief conversation with a woman whom I barely remembered. We had been in high school band together and I remembered her as quiet to the point of being reclusive. Our short talk showed me that she was calm and confident in ways I never would have imagined.

The lesson I learned at that reunion was simple, but profound: small habits over a long time can make substantial changes. As follower of Jesus, I have been noticing the way one small habit has reshaped me over the years. It's the habit of reading my Bible every day.

Many years ago, I was intrigued when a publisher introduced The One Year Bible. At the time, it was unique. I

bought the book and began to read small passages from the Old Testament and the New Testament every day. Those passages were followed by a short excerpt from the Psalms and a few verses from Proverbs. I discovered that an investment of 10-15 minutes a day would make it possible for me to read the entire Bible in a year.

I would love to tell you that I had already been reading the Bible through each year; by then I had been a pastor for quite a while. However, it took the One Year Bible to encourage me to develop this habit. That was a little over 27 years ago and I have been reading the Bible through each year since. To be honest, some of the early years included days where I was mystified by the content I was reading. Verses (and sometimes whole passages) didn't make sense. I kept reading anyway and the volume gradually became familiar territory.

It's understatement to say that the Bible changed me. How did it do it? Pretty simple, actually. I started out reading the Bible and soon discovered that the Bible was helping me read myself. I saw things in my life that didn't reflect the character of God's people in the Scriptures. I discovered ways to handle many of the everyday stresses of life. I learned how to treat Cathy and love my kids. I learned about how to manage money. I learned about generosity. The list goes on and on.

This week at Stone Ridge Church, we will talk in depth about ways the Bible changes us. Can't join us? Catch the podcast!

 

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40 Days for Life Change

Something in me deeply believes something about you. I deeply believe that you would make some changes in your life and that you would make those changes every day for 40 days if you KNEW that they could change your life long-term.

Perhaps you have wanted to start reading the Bible every day, but you find yourself getting bogged down. One reason you get bogged down is that the Bible is such a large volume and, let's face it, sometimes it just doesn't make sense to you. If, in 40 days, you could get significantly more understanding and insight from the Bible and you knew this would change your life, would you give 40 days? I think you would!

You might be a person who wants to develop your prayer life, but you must admit to yourself that your prayers are far too infrequent and God seems to be way far off. If 40 days of encouragement from friends and practical tips on how to pray could change your prayer life from now on, would you do it? I believe so!

If you could invest 40 days, not to change your own life, but to help a friend change theirs, would you do it? I'm certain you would!

You might not change from a couch potato to an Iron Man champion in 40 days, but you CAN change to an "ex-couch potato." You can change from a television addict to a book reader in 40 days if that is your goal. Your 40 days transformation can be many things, but those days will be but the beginning of bigger changes to come.

But, why 40 days? Why not 50 or 30 or 12? For some reason, God established 40 days as a period during which we can experience significant transformation. Want to see the various 40-day transformations that took place in the Bible? Go check this website out. It's pretty amazing.

On the first weekend of February, Stone Ridge Church will begin 40 Days in the Word. I am challenging our church to.

1. Attend worship each week and we will study together. Can't attend? You can catch our podcasts here.

2. Join a 40 Days Small Group. Sign up this weekend.

3. Do the 40 Days Devotional. Sign up here.

4. Memorize the weekly verses.

5. Bring a friend with you. Be a part of their transformation.

We are about the reach the starting line. I invite my readers to join us in this life-changing season!

 

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Anger Danger

Two men named Saul were both known for their anger. One of them, the Old Testament King, allowed anger to compensate for his deep insecurity. At the time of the announcement that he was God's chosen monarch, he couldn't be found; turns out he was hiding among the baggage (1 Samuel 10:22). As he reluctantly took the reigns of government, he overcame his insecurity with a counterfeit solution: anger. Every time he was faced with a challenge he couldn't handle, he had a rage outburst. Ultimately, his anger destroyed him.

The other Saul considered anger an outpouring of his religious zeal. The only problem was that his zeal set him against, rather than for, the plans of God. His anger began to change one day on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), when Jesus Christ appeared to him from heaven. It took a painful discipline, three days of physical blindness, to show Saul just how blind his rage had been. No doubt he spent a part of those days thinking about his own foolishness. I find it interesting that Saul -- now called Paul -- still had to face the harvest of some of that anger as a young follower of Jesus. It was primarily his "righteous indignation" that caused the separation between him and Barnabas just before his second missionary journey (Acts 15). Paul 's later writings demonstrate the maturity that came from his identity in Christ, maturity that brought his anger under control.

When you compare the two men named Saul, they present a life lesson on anger danger. Like all of us, they were people whose lives held great potential for good. Through the lens of history, though, one of them became known for changing the world while the other is remembered for not being able to change himself. One of them conquered giants of false religion while the other withered before a single giant named Goliath.

God designed you and me to face giants. We will never see the big ones fall if we can't deal with the small inside us. What giant is holding you back?

Facing Your Giants is our topic this weekend at Stone Ridge Church. Can't join us? Catch the podcast!

 

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