Divine Intervention

It must be the nature of our society. We want to control every little thing about what we do and where we go. I recently had to fly to Austin for a conference. I booked my passage both ways, with layovers in Memphis. The trip to Austin went without a hitch. Coming home was a different story.

I arrived at the Austin airport in plenty of time and hurried through the security check so I could get to the gate and have some time to read and study. I no sooner sat down than a message flashed on the monitor in front of me: my departure was going to be delayed by thirty minutes. No! That would make me miss my flight from Memphis to St. Louis. I searched for an agent of the airline I would be flying on and nobody was in sight. I finally gave up and went to eat an early lunch.

Arriving back at the gate an agent was there and booked me out of Austin on another airline about twenty minutes later. Unfortunately, it took me to Dallas, where I would have a three hour layover before catching a flight home. I worried about transportation problems in St. Louis because of the changed schedule. My daughter could no longer pick me up and my son was on his way to New Jersey. However, my daughter-in-law made arrangements to pick me up at the airport.

Now, here's where it gets really cool. I arrived in Dallas and spent my three hours reading and window shopping in the terminal. As I was getting ready to board the plane I looked up and saw a friend I had not seen in over fifteen years. He was in Dallas for a meeting and would be flying back to St. Louis, too. I had a great opportunity to visit with him as we waited to board our plane.

I was switched to another airline and routed through a different airport because of a mechanical problem that put my original plane a half hour late. Was it fate or a coincidence? I don't think so. I think it was divine intervention. My heavenly Father made it possible for me to meet up with an old friend. Now I think that's pretty cool.

What Might Have Been

Recently I did some thinking about the past. I began to think about decisions I had made in my life. I came up with several decisions I made that, had I taken a different road, would most probably have seriously altered my life. A couple of decisions would have led me away from vocational ministry. A few would have changed the direction of my ministry.

I wonder what my life would have been like had I taken one of those other roads? Where would they have taken me? That's not to say I wish I would have taken one of those roads. I'm pleased and at peace about the path I've taken. It's been great.

But it does bring to mind one of my favorite Bible verses. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "

I don't pine for the "road not traveled," as I believe I am right where God wants me. He's led me throughout my life. At every fork in the road God has directed my path. It's been a great ride and it's not over yet.

Asking the Wrong Questions

Let's see. I've served in eight different ministry positions. I've been interviewed for several others in churches or Christian organizations. Recently I had the opportunity to reflect on the process of being interviewed. I've been reading a book by Gregory Frizzell, Seeking God to Seek A Pastor. Dr. Frizzell makes the point that search committees often start with the wrong questions. They never seem to ask about the pastor's personal spiritual qualifications.

So, as I reflected I realized that I've not once been asked about my personal time in prayer and Bible study. I've been asked to tell when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and about God's call on my life for vocational ministry. I've been asked to discuss the growth in my last ministry position. I've been asked all the regular questions, but I'm convinced I've not been asked the important questions. In short, there have been no probing questions about my daily relationship with the Lord. I guess those doing the interview have assumed that I had a good daily relationship with the Lord because I was in vocational ministry.

I've come to the conclusion that this is a faulty assumption. Depending upon which survey you read the average pastor spends, on average, someplace between fifteen minutes and thirty minutes in prayer each day. How can one who will be the spiritual leader of a church do so without spending time with the Lord?

We have a host of writers telling us the most important thing in the church is leadership. They take a passing stab at the importance of spiritual leadership and then move on to talk about leadership qualities that could easily be divorced from spiritual leadership. Two of the greatest leaders mentioned in the Bible are Moses and David. Yet, neither of them read the latest John Maxwell book on leadership or one of Thom Rainer's contributions to leadership. They simply spent time with God and allowed Him to direct them.

Maybe that's why the church is struggling so much today. Without leaders who spend vast amounts of time alone with God how will they provide the spiritual leadership necessary to lead our Lord's church?

It's time we stop asking the wrong questions and start answering the right questions about those who would lead our churches and Christian organizations. Tell me about your private time with the Lord each day? What has the Lord said personally to you today? How much time do you spend in personal Bible study and prayer?

How would you answer those questions?

Multiple Personality Disorder in the Church

Recently I talked with a pastor of a church, who told me he was asked if he could bring together the two factions in the church. He told me that he had already identified at least eight factions in the church.

I've been thinking a lot about that and church health. If the church is the body of Christ, and has factions, it's a little like a person with multiple personalities. It isn't good and isn't easy to fix. I guess everyone has seen some movie on television where someone has multiple personalities. Whatever happens depends on which personality is dominant at that particular time. And, they can switch personalities quickly.

That seems to me to be an adequate description of a church with factions. Whatever happens in the church depends upon which faction is dominant at that particular time, and the dominate faction can change quickly.

It's an unhealthy situation in the life of the church. As I thought about that pastor and the question he was asked, I remember thinking that he would never be able to fix the problem in that church. A church with factions is a far cry from what our Father wants. Jesus prayed to Father God asking that there would be unity in the church. That's only going to happen in a church of multiple factions when they allow God to heal them.

It begins with a realization that the church is sick and that factions are sin in the body of Christ. Then comes confession, admitting to God that the church has sinned. Then the church will have to ask God's forgiveness and His healing.

When that happens God will hear and heal. Revival will come to the church and the body will become one under the lordship of Jesus. You know, there are a lot of churches that have multiple personalities and need the divine healing that can only come from God. Could your church be one?

Confrontation

Yesterday I took my blood pressure twice, and it was really high. I commented about it to my wife and her response was, "You know what you need to do." I replied, "Yes, it's stress-related and I need to quit my job." We bantered back and forth about it. By the way, that's not the problem, but it was better than admitting the real problem.

It dawned on me today that we do that a lot with God. When things are not going well His Spirit says, "You know what you need to do." Our reply is similar to mine. We offer God all kinds of things we think will fix the problem or answers we know are no solutions at all. Doing God's will seems too painful. It means giving up bad habits and letting God take control.

Yes, I really know what I need to do to deal with my blood pressure. Most of us, when we get to the point of bantering back and forth with the Spirit also know what we need to do. We're just resistant to doing it. Don't you think we should just surrender and do it?

Oh, by the way. Today I started exercising again. And, I'm working on cutting back on the sweets. It won't be easy. I think I'm busy and it seems like a waste of time to exercise. And I love chocolate way to much for it ever to be healthy to give in to my addiction. But it's time to bit the bullet, exercise, and reduce my sweet intake.

Maybe it's time for you to bite the bullet and surrender to God's will for your life.

Family

Recent events in my life gave me cause to think about the blessing of family. I was blessed to be born in a Christian home with loving parents. As my family expanded through marriage, children, and grandchildren I have experienced more love than one deserves.

On May 28 our second granddaughter, Liza Madden Davis, was born. There were a couple of moments of concern after she was born, but God is good and Liza is now home with her parents and big sister. As I returned home and thought about the experience several thoughts came to mind.

Family is precious. Everyone is born into one, but some are not as blessed as others. To have a family that loves each other and wants the best for each other is a blessing not all have. God has blessed me with a loving family.

One can do well in his/her chosen profession. You can distinguish yourself academically. You may have the biggest house on the block or the finest car money can buy. However, all of those things pale in comparison to family. My greatest desire is to worship and serve my heavenly Father. My next priority is to be the husband and father my family needs. That means they need to be able to see my Lord in all my life.

Father, thank you for parents who love me unconditionally. You allowed me to grow up in a Christian home where you were loved. Thank you for a godly wife who's worth more than rubies (Proverbs 31:10). Thank you for children, including our daughter-in-law, who love you. And thank you for two beautiful granddaughters.

Father, I love you and ask you to guide me so that I can be a godly example for my family.

Living Through Suffering

It's a tough month for me. At sixteen years of age I started having problems with allergies. After a lot of tests it turned out I was allergic to most things that grow. (Well, let's just say the list is long.) I took the shots to desensitize me. It didn't help. At the age of twenty-six I was told I needed to live in air conditioning and forget any outside activity. Later, I went to another doctor who started a new round of shots and told me I was "mostly" cured.

I've lived with my allergies for forty years. For six to eight months every Spring I suffer. And, for forty years I've asked God to heal me. I've faithfully trusted God to heal me on his time frame. I've considered the possibility that God has left me with the allergies so that, like Paul, I can declare that God's grace is sufficient.

This week I lost it. It's been a particularly bad week for me. My allergies have been at their worst. One night this week I couldn't breathe. My medication didn't seem to be working. And, because I couldn't breathe, I couldn't sleep.

So, I spent my sleep hours trying to breathe and wipe my nose. In between I prayed. No, I begged. I pleaded. I asked God why. I reminded God I had trusted him. That I had given my life to ministry for him. Then I offered an ultimatum. I told God I wanted him to either heal me or take me home.

The next morning I was still on this earth and still suffering. I made an appointment to see the doctor, who gave me a shot and prescribed a new medication. Things are better, but I'm still not healed.

That means I'm a little calmer in my prayers now. I'm still reminding God that I've suffered with these allergies for forty years and that I want to be healed. And yes, I'd rather be home with him than to suffer with the discomfort of my allergies.

Here's the thing that strikes me most. I was hurting and angry. Yet, I knew (and know) that God still loves me. My life is in his hands.