Life Lessons

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Caution: Objects In Life May Not Be What They Appear

You’ve seen the warning on the side mirror of  your car, right?  You know the one, “Caution: Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear”. 

Have you ever observed a specific situation and you just knew what was going on?  Have you watched a person’s actions and were confident of their motives and judged them according to what you saw?  And then when the truth came out you realized just how wrong you were?  Perhaps we need a similar “mirror warning” in constant view as we live life.  I think it would read something like this, “Caution:  Objects in life may not be what they appear”. 

I’m not sure anyone is immune to this, or above needing this reminder.  As a matter of fact, these thoughts come from the preparation I am doing for a lesson series through 1 Samuel this fall.  Listen to what took place and the presumption that followed:  “As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.  Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.  Eli thought she was drunk  and said to her, ‘How long will you keep on getting drunk?  Get rid of your wine.'” (1 Samuel 1:12-14)

Ouch!  Unfortunately, Eli has plenty of modern-day companions.  How often have you and I observed what takes place on the surface of lives around us and jumped to conclusions that were just as wrong as Eli’s judgment of Hannah?  The pain, the distress, the activity in another person’s life may not always be what it appears to be.  You know that is true in your life, why is it so hard to remember it is true in others as well? 

How can we avoid the surface judgments?  I don’t think there is an easy to do answer but James gives us great insight to this as he writes in James 1:19, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”   This simple statement is so profound but so very hard to remember to do at all times!  Listening with our eyes and ears and heart through the filter of the Holy Spirit will go a long way in keeping us from making judgments based on outward appearances. 

In God’s great sense of humor and/or irony, over in chapter 16 of 1 Samuel God has to remind Samuel (remember that Samuel was the answer to the prayers that Hannah was praying),  “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”   Our reaction is often to pass judgment based on what we see but God is calling us to look beyond what we can see and really notice what He sees.

I pray that I become a better listener — a godly listener — before I am tempted to jump to conclusions that are far from accurate.  I pray that you and I recognize that our need for grace and understanding in regard to our actions is the same need that others have from us.

May God grant us ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to understand the work He is doing in our life and in the lives of those around us!

 

 

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Happy Birth Day!

“Buy the truth and do not sell it;
     get wisdom, discipline and understanding. 
The father of a righteous man has great joy;
     he who has a wise son delights in him. 
May your father and mother be glad;
     may she who gave you birth rejoice!”  (Proverbs 23:23-25)

Another day is gone and this one also marked the completion, or beginning ;), of another year in my life.  God has given me many friends and acquaintances who have kept my Facebook page filled with birthday wishes.

I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people wishing me a happy birthday as I’ve had this year!  I appreciate greatly each thought and sentiment expressed.  For me, birthdays are typically just another day.  I don’t keep track of them so I end up having to do the math just to figure out how old I am whenever someone asks.

God knew how much I needed the many wishes for a happy birthday and He used them to encourage me and to make me think about some interesting questions.  What makes a happy birthday?   How do I recognize one?  Who should be happy because of my birthday?  How widespread is happiness, or joy, because of my life?  Do people bless or curse the day I was born?  Do I bless or curse the day I was born?

As I thought about these and other questions, I thought about people like Job.  His suffering made him wish he had never been born.  Yet within the affliction he endured, and the constant questioning of “why?”, he refused to lash out at God and curse Him for the condition he found himself in.  I think Job eventually realized the truth of what God says through Isaiah, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

I believe Job discovered that his birth, his life, wasn’t all about him.  When we look at life, and even our birth, as being all about us, our world becomes a very small place.  God calls us to consider His ways and His thoughts which are much higher than our own.  He not only clearly sees our current situation, he sees why we are here and where we are headed just as clearly! 

God’s concern isn’t so much for my happiness as it is for my faithfulness!  The question isn’t, “Am I getting everything I want or desire?” but rather, “Am I investing what God has given me into others so that my life bears much fruit?”!  It was these questions that led me to verses like the ones at the top of this post.  These verses give characteristics that when lived out give others cause to rejoice and be happy at the day of my birth!   Truthfulness, wisdom, discipline, understanding, and righteousness bring joy and delight — not only to the father and mother of such a person, but to the people around you as you grow in these qualities.

Do I, do you, want a happy birthday that is a true reflection of the joy that God has brought to others through us?  Then let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith so that He can fill us with truth, wisdom, discipline, understanding, and His righteousness through the power of His Spirit. 

May this anniversary of the day of my birth truly be happy for me as well as for each of you that God has connected my life with!

Praying that when your day arrives, not only is it a happy birthday but that many others are happy and rejoice that you have a birth day!

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Back Again . . . Maybe

It has been a while since I have done any writing . . . and even longer since I have written on this particular blog.  My plan is to return to writing on a regular basis — whatever that might mean. 😉

As I thought about this return, I had to consider why it had been so long.  Has God not been teaching me important lessons?  Have I not been listening?  Did I miss the value in what I have learned?  Have I missed the importance of writing down the insights gained no matter what size they appear to me?  Is there no more treasure in this jar of clay worth sharing?

While each of these questions may have some element of truth to them in regard to my not writing, I think the cause is much simpler and more pervasive in its attempt to draw me away from that which is good and right.  A lifestyle of busyness and distraction has been the primary culprit in keeping me from recording and sharing the lessons I have been learning.

It has been nearly 3 years since I have written on this blog and 4 months since I have written elsewhere.  I know that in that time span there are lessons I have forgotten because I did not write them down.  Lessons that I need to be reminded of.  Lessons that others may have benefitted from if I had bothered to share.

Paul wrote to Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.  Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” (1 Timothy 4:13-14)  As I consider the gift of preaching and teaching, of writing and communicating, that God has given me, I want to be careful that I don’t neglect this gift.  I want to use it for the good and benefit of others that they would grow in their relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ.

So, my encouragement for you is the same admonition God is placing on my heart — discover and use the gift(s) God has given you!  Do not neglect your gift but use it to invest in others to the glory of God!  Encourage others by using your gift.  Encourage others, including me, to use their gift — reminding them gently if they begin to let the busyness and distractions of life sidetrack them.  God has given us the “one anothers” in our life for both our benefit and theirs!  

Praying that we live our life in such a way that people would see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven!

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On The Move

As I look back on 2008, it truly was an exciting year!  God gave me incredible opportunities to share His love with people all over the U.S. as I travelled and taught on pursuing a passionate relationship with God.

As the year progressed, God brought about a ministry change that has me serving with Michiana Christian Service Camp as their Advancement Manager.  This is a wonderful opportunity that God has been preparing me in advance to do.  Michiana Christian Service Camp is a great ministry focused on its purpose of “preparing people for eternity”.

In keeping with this change of ministry, I have copied my writings from impactprayer.wordpress.com to a new WordPress address, tomlemler.wordpress.com.  The title and look of the new site will be the same as this, and hopefully I will soon return to writing.

You may want to change your bookmark to the new address, tomlemler.wordpress.com, if you would like to keep up with what I write.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been regular readers.  Your visiting of the blog site has been an encouragement to me.

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A Return to Writing!

I need to get back in the habit of writing!  The only way I know of to do that is to actually write.  Kind of like the old advertising slogan, “Just do it!”. 

Anyhow, this is just a warm-up post to hopefully build anticipation for a series I will begin later this week.  Last week I was once again at Michiana Christian Service Camp for another 5th & 6th grade camp week.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love this camp?  It was a great week and I had the opportunity to speak each day at the evening worship gathering.  The them for the week was LOST and I used that word as an acrostic for the four message themes I shared with the campers.  As I thought about that this week, I realized that those message themes would make good subject matter to write about here on this blog.

So . . . be looking for this series coming very soon with the first installment tackling the subject of “Listen”.

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What Are You Chasing?

I had the privilege of being the missionary for the 5th & 6th grade camp last week at Michiana Christian Service Camp.  Wow!  What a great week!

As is usual during that week, we played one of my favorite games — capture the flag.  I especially love it at camp because it provides a very vivid picture of what our pursuit of Jesus ought to look like.  A year ago I broke my big toe playing this game at camp, so I was a little cautious as the game began this year.  After a couple of rounds though, I decided my toe could handle it and I was in the game at full intensity.

Most of the campers and faculty love this game and play it with all of the energy and desire they can muster.  The task of finding a flag or running down an opposing team member is attempted with great enthusiasm and incredible effort.  The thought of rolling through the grass, or even through the gravel, doesn’t phase the serious players a bit because they are determined to win.

What are you chasing with that same determination?  What is it that you will do anything to have?  Jesus says that the one thing we pursue with all of our energy and determination ought to be God.  The greatest commandment is defined as this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”   In other words, chase after God with every fiber of your being giving all that it has.  You should finish life knowing that you have left nothing behind in your pursuit of God.

I want to be one who chases after God with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength.  As I do that, I want to be involved in teaching and equipping people to follow my example, just as I follow the example of Jesus.  May you and I be faithful pursuers of God.  He has promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart.  Let’s be whole-hearted pursuers of Jesus!

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What Is It Worth?

What Is “It” Worth?

We have many ways of determining the worth, or value, or something.  We may look at how much something costs, how much someone would give us for it, or even how much it means to us.  Physical items often seem fairly easy to determine their worth, even when that value varies somewhat depending on who is looking at it.

Non-tangible items, particularly relationships, may be much harder to place a value on.  When trying to determine the true worth of a relationship, we must honestly ask a hard question: “How much effort am I putting into this relationship?”. 

While this is true in our relationships with people, it is a critical question in evaluating how much value we place on our relationship with Jesus.  Most Christians would say they desire a growing and vibrant relationship with Jesus.  Yet many times, we expect it to exist simply because we want it.  The idea of putting work and effort into it never crosses our mind or we decide we’re too busy to invest any significant time or energy into developing that relationship.

Prayer, Bible reading, Scripture memorization, Bible study, Listening to God, and other spiritual disciplines takes time and effort.  Our desire for a passionate relationship with Jesus ought to draw us to do whatever it takes to know God personally. 

What is it worth to you?  How much are you investing in it?  Jesus desires this relationship so much that He gave His life to make it possible.

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Thrown Out, Left Out, or Sent Out (part 3)

Thrown Out, Left Out, or Sent Out?

Part 3 – Sent Out  

In Part One of this series of articles, I introduced the concept of three major approaches to occupational ministry change that can be seen in Biblical example and in churches today.  In that first post, I wrote about the change method of being Thrown Out.  This is a harsh practice born out of arrogance and pride.  While it causes much hurt and long-term issues to deal with, God has an incredible way of picking up the pieces and putting them back together when a Thrown Out person turns to Him in complete humility and trust. 

In Part Two, I wrote about being Left Out and the issues that come from this approach to change.  While gentler than Thrown Out, Left Out still leaves people hurt and disillusioned.  Even in this, a consistent pursuit of God can transform a less than ideal situation into something that accomplishes great things for the kingdom.  When faced with being Left Out, we must hang on tightly to our trust and obedience to God.

As I finally get around to writing part three, it is with great pleasure that I can say there is a better way!  God has used, and will use, Thrown Out and Left Out to accomplish His will rather than allow them to defeat His purposes.  It is possible to learn great and valuable lessons through being thrown out or left out, but let me write of a more excellent way — Sent Out!

As I thought about this series of writings, I kept thinking of the New Testament church and how God used these various methods to accomplish the spreading of the gospel.  Yet as I considered the New Testament itself — the content of the writing, the planting of churches, and the equipping of young evangelists — I couldn’t help but notice that this one technique had a greater benefit in the kingdom of God for all involved.  It is a process that began with Jesus as He implored His followers to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into His harvest fields.”  As they did just that, He answered their prayers by sending them out in pairs to carry the message of the kingdom of God.  (Matthew 10 & Luke 10)

And then there is the following text from Acts 13:1-3:

“Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:  Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Here we have the early Christians worshiping God and listening to Him for direction.  As they worshiped and fasted, God spoke to them through His Spirit about a work that needed done.  Their response is to seek God further in prayer and fasting, leading Barnabas and Saul to be Sent Out. 

I love this approach!  Barnabas and Saul went on to accomplish the work God had for them through the sending out of them by the Christians at Antioch.  They were going with a purpose.  Not only did they know that God was behind it — it was a work to which He had called them — they also knew a group of believers were backing them as well.  I don’t think we can accurately estimate the power of being Sent Out.  The hurts, fears, and doubts of Thrown Out and Left Out are completely out of the picture.  Instead, you have strength, faith, and confidence, knowing that you have a job to do that someone else believes that you can do because God has called you to it.  We see this as Paul and Barnabas travel from place to place boldly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus.  We see it in Paul’s writings as he instructs, challenges, and calls Christian believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling in Christ Jesus.

I thank God that I have finally experienced the joy and pleasure of being Sent Out by a group of people.  It has been remarkable to watch God work to bring about this change of ministry I went through a couple of years ago.  In many ways, it seems like the script was taken directly from the passage in Acts above.  In a time of worship and prayer, God called me to a greater involvement in prayer with Impact Ministries International.  I had already experienced being Thrown Out and Left Out in ministry and just knew there had to be something better.  And so I prayed and I fasted.  I went to the elders of the Deer Run Church of Christ where I was on staff at the time and asked them to join me in seeking God’s direction and timing for His purposes in my life of ministry.  After several months of meeting and discussing with each other — but more importantly, with God — we all knew God was calling me into this prayer ministry and giving them the opportunity to partner with me and see that I was Sent Out well.  They responded to God’s leading and continue to stand with me, giving me strength, faith, and confidence to do the work God has called me to.

Sent Out — it is a more excellent way!  As you serve others in the name of Jesus, I pray that you are one who is Sent Out.  Even if no one else has acknowledged it, you have been Sent Out.  Jesus said to His followers — to you and I if we are His followers — “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20)  You and I have been Sent Out.  We have been given the authority we need to share the message of the gospel.  Yes, it is much more pleasant when people participate in sending us out rather than throwing us out or leaving us out, but regardless of the actions of people, we are Sent Out!

I pray that you take seriously the fact that you have been Sent Out by God.  May He bring healing to you in the times that you are Thrown Out and Left Out by people.  I pray also that God will help you to be one who participates in others being Sent Out, rather than being a part of someone being Thrown Out or Left Out.  May Jesus be honored as we go about the work that He has called us to.