What the Heck Do You Do When You're Devotional is Numbers 34?

I wasn't sure if I was reading the Bible or Mapquest. 

(Remember when we had to PRINT our GPS directions!)

As I'm reading through the Bible, this time using the New Living Translation, I've been plowing through the book of Number. Even the NLT couldn't add life to Numbers 34 today, subtitled "Boundaries of the Land." Literally, God lays out to Moses the exact borders of the nation of Israel.

The new nation was marked by the edge of deserts, countries, bodies of water, and a bunch of towns I struggled to pronounce. I read the chapter and asked my regular application question I use after any Bible reading, "So what?"

As I began scrolling back through the text on Youversion, I noticed a simple statement that means more to me in the age of Coronavirus than it did before:

"These are the boundaries of your land." Numbers 34:12

 As many churches, including ours, look at how we can provide more online content and connection, let's not overshoot our primary audience. Believers and churches should know the boundaries of their communities. Yes, we have been called to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), but we should begin by identifying and intentionally seeing to reach our neighbors with the gospel.

A long-time career missionary was speaking to a young man feeling excited and called to go overseas on missions. The missionary asked the young man, "What's your next door neighbor's name?" When the young man sheepishly admitted he didn't know, the veteran missionary replied, "If you're not willing to meet the person who lives right next door to you, why should I believe you'll be any more willing in another country?"

Let's reach the world! But let us first begin by taking a look at our own neighbors, family, friends, waiters, cashiers, baristas...

The Time I Almost Moved to Japan...Forever.

I loved Mario Lopez in "Saved By the Bell".
I tolerated Mario Lopez in "Saved By the Bell: The College Years".
This was all roughly 25 years ago.

So it's interesting to have Mario coming up in conversation again under the headline, "It's 'dangerous' for parents to support transgender kids." This is the common headline I found in nearly every story regarding Mario's comments.

Two quick thoughts:
1) Read people's quotes for yourself.
2) Mario's actual comments are correct.

When asked about the high number of Hollywood parents who are allowing their children, even at elementary age and younger, to choose their own gender, Lopez responded thoughtfully.

"I'm never one to tell someone how to parent their kids...If you're three and you think you're a new gender, it's dangerous as a parent to make that determination then. There are potential repercussions later...allow kids to be kids, but you've gotta be the adult in the situation.

You can watch the interview here. Start at the 11:30 mark: 

When I was seven, I wanted to be a ninja.
I high-kicked and screamed "hi-ya" all over the house.
My mom made me a ninja costume for Halloween that year.
My parents did NOT send me to Japan to start my training.

Why not? Because I was a child! The ninja thing didn't last long because later I wanted to be:

• Astronaut
• Pro Baseball player
• Archeologist (height of the Indiana Jones craze)
• Teacher
• Several other ideas before answering the call to ministry when I was 19.

Lopez is right. Parents have to be the adults. It's not unloving to prevent the uninformed and poorly formed ramblings of small children to determine their lives. We must train them up. We must let them know that gender is an awesome part of God's plan for every person. That child is no accident!

We are called to love our kids. 
We are called to protect our kids from their own immaturity.
Lopez makes both of these points clear in his full comments. 

Allow kids to be kids. They stand at the threshold of a million possibilities. Our job is not to stomp them into a mold, but to guide them into adulthood. The only apologies that should have been offered in the Mario Lopez saga should be for "Saved By the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas", and by those who unfairly summarized his thoughtful comments into an inaccurate one-word portrayal.

I Agree with a Pro-Choicer

I finally found something I can agree with Alyssa Milano on. 

Milano is deeply grieved over a new Georgia law that outlaws abortions once an unborn child's heartbeat can be detected. Don't miss that word...heartbeat. Those making arguments of support for killing a "fetus" generally are not fans of words like head, hands, or heartbeat.

So Milano has proposed a shocking solution to awaken lawmakers and voters alike to these restrictions of abortion...abstinence.

Mrs. Milano, and those of her leanings, have long maligned evangelicals like myself who advocate for a women's right to choose NOT TO HAVE SEX IF SHE'S NOT READY FOR A BABY. We've been told promoting abstinence is an unrealistic expectation, too drastic to ever work.

Yet, Milano and many of her supporters believe that abstinence is the best answer to prevent pregnancies until they have the right to forcefully terminate those pregnancies at any time. 

Wo to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness
Isaiah 5:20

I 100% agree that abstinence is a great solution to avoiding unwanted pregnancies. How it pains me that some women may finally choose to exercise self-control in order to regain some tragic right of infanticide. As a child once schedule to be aborted myself, my life argues for the value and impact of every pregnancy.

Don't post angry tweets or facebook messages in response to this effort. While the world's message remains painfully inconsistent, let us as believers in Jesus remain as advocates for what is timeless and true. We are not fighting against flesh and blood people, but against dark spiritual powers that have always devalued human life (Ephesians 6:12). Let our message be clear as heartbreak, not hate.

Be a person of prayer for legislators taking these kinds of stands. Be in prayer for men and women who are in confusion on this issue. Be in prayer for the Supreme Court which will very likely be weighing a constitutional challenge to these state laws. Most importantly, be in prayer for the furtherance of the gospel of Christ to those who desperately need to understand they've been created in the image of God who desires to redeem them from their lives apart from Him. 

Lessons I've learned over 2000 miles

After 8 years and 2000 miles run on my personal health journey, I reflected back over what I've learned from "running" that first mile, to my first 5K, half-marathon, and hopefully the Chicago marathon this year.

Here are a few lessons I've learned along the way that are key for running the physical race as well as the spiritual one.








1) Set Goals, but enjoy the run.
I've learned to have goals when leaving out on a run. Sometimes the goal is just to get moving or perhaps a specific mileage, but days I lack a goal I also lack perseverance and quit too quickly.

Commit to goals in your faith life. Not goals to simply try harder, but real measurables.

• I'm going to read the Bible for 5 minutes every day. 
• I'm going to make a personal prayer list
• I'm going to talk to 1 person about Jesus this week. 

You may not hit your goals, but without goals you'll never know if you're improving. 

2) Change your tactics and equipment.
Rafiki was right: "Change is good." (Unless you're making a live action "Lion King" that no one asked for.) I'm constantly changing things to keep my running fresh: switching between music and podcasts for longer runs, trying new trails and paths, or even completely switching shoe brands from what has been historically comfortable to what is actually comfortable today.

God promised Israel a new deliverance through the Messiah who would completely change everything! Some were resistant to the change and missed great blessings as a result. Look for new ways to pray, perhaps prayerwalking through your house or neighborhood. Listen to new preachers online for fresh perspective. Read the Bible out loud to yourself (my new favorite exercise) or listen to the audio features on YouVersion to force your brain to interact with God's Word in a new way!

3) Run with others.
Running is my "me time" and I had been hesitant to share it with others for years. In addition to being kind of a loner, I also was fearful of failing with an audience. Running with others has turned out to be for my benefit! Sometimes I get to encourage a new runner staying alongside them and providing encouragement. Other times I pace with my faster friends like Ethan, Travis, or most of the Fleet Feet lunch runners and find my overall times improving even when I later take a solo run!

Faith, like running, is better in a group. God has created the church for our benefit. We instantly have a group of people to make connections with who can help us run the race of faith. Perhaps your prayer life encourages someone struggling in that area, or someone else's Bible study method could be exactly what you've been looking for. We're all on different places of this faith journey and have much to teach and learn from each other.

One final encouragement from my years of walking with God. When you suddenly see multiple areas of life that you want to address, God's grace allows you to take them one at a time. Take the area that spoke most to you, and prayerfully pursue your opportunity to grow on that point even today!

An SBC Pastor's Statement on Sexual Abuse within the Denomination

I have been a lifelong Southern Baptist, spending my entire 19 year ministry within this denomination, and the last five as pastor of First Baptist Church of Machesney Park, IL. 

Like many, I was heartbroken by the recent reports from the Houston Chronicle regarding sexual abuse within our denomination. At the same time, I applaud the efforts of journalists and victims to bring these stories to light in order that others might not face the same experiences.

Machesney Park is located just miles from the Wisconsin border and there are many within the life of our church who have never been Southern Baptist prior to their membership at FBC. For their sake, and for the sake of anyone else reading this in our area, I want to offer the following statements on behalf of our church. 

1) We express, in no uncertain terms, our absolute abhorrence and sorrow that people who sought refuge, comfort, and guidance from a local church instead faced abuse and victimization. 

2) We absolutely agree with our SBC President, J.D. Greear, that any church "proving a pattern of sinful neglect — regarding abuse or any other matter — should absolutely be removed from fellowship from the broader denomination." While SBC churches are autonomous in hiring staff and creating church guidelines, autonomy is no excuse for the larger body of SBC churches to overlook such negligence and allow them to retain membership and influence within the denomination.

3) At First Baptist Church of Machesney Park, we take diligent steps to protect our members from sexual abuse, including:

• Leaders within our ministries to minors operate in teams where leaders and volunteers are not left alone in dealing with children and teens.
• I have created a system of background checks for volunteers to minors in my last three churches, including at the start of my tenure here at FBC. No one works among our children who has not been properly vetted. 
• As pastor, I do not meet with children unless their parents are present and ensure that meetings with an adult member are not happening alone behind a closed door apart from accountability. 

Jesus came to offer forgiveness to sinners. But that forgiveness must never be wielded as a license to sin or to coerce a victim into silence against an attacker.

In my personal experience, I believe the overwhelming majority of SBC churches to be staffed and served by Christians who unite behind the cause of the gospel. We can prove this by the steps we take from here. I will be at this year's SBC annual meeting with every intention of seeing our denomination create firm procedures to deal with any denominational leader or church that has protected their reputation more than their congregation. Autonomy is no excuse for abuse. 

Jesus' Most Difficult Prayer

You struggle with difficult prayers at times. So did Jesus. 

He was fully God and fully man, so how can this be?
Jesus was and is God (John 10:30), but He chose to limit His divine "omnis" during His time on earth (omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence...Philippians 2:5-8).

He took on human flesh to be our sacrifice for sin and our example for life.

One of those great moments of example is found as Jesus prays in the Garden prior to the cross. In His prayer, I find 3 reminders that carried Jesus through His most difficult prayer and can do the same for us. 

And Jesus said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."  Mark 14:36

Did you notice the three reminders for our prayers struggles?

1) "God can do anything."
Jesus recognizes the current difficulty doesn't diminish God's ability. God could do absolutely anything and Jesus prefaces His upcoming request with this recognition.

2) "God do this."
Jesus specifically prays for any other options. Could He have been thinking of Abraham once on the very edge of sacrificing his own son, Isaac, before God stopped him at the last moment? Jesus was not afraid to pray specifically. We are not called to hide our true feelings from God in prayer. He invites us to be honest with our fears and hopes.

3) "God do what's best."
I can't help but think of Ephesians 3:20 here: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think."

Jesus knows what God can do.
Jesus knows what He'd like God to do.
Jesus knows that God will do what's best.

Don't be afraid to pray specifically, but also be ok for God to change the specifics. Some of our prayer struggles come from praying so specifically for our will without any room in our heart and mind for God to do something better! He's infinite, eternal, and plans things so much better than you or I.

Finally, don't miss the most comforting part of all this. Jesus prays by calling God, "Abba." This intimate term was not a title, but a statement of affection like calling out "Hey Dad! Hey Pop!" As a child of God, we have the freedom to talk to God at all times as we...
Remember He can do everything. 
Tell Him what you'd like to see done. 
And be ready for Him to do even better than you could ever ask or think. 

If I Believe It, Why Don't I Teach It?

Pastor is one of the most dangerous titles a person can hold. 

Pastors can be tempted to misuse their position, granting themselves authority over people's lives that is non-existent. For me, 1 Peter 5:2-3 is the ultimate pastor job description:

"Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing...not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."

My role as a pastor is to lead by example. 

My role as pastor is not to lord over others. 

As a believer, I hold personal convictions. 

As a pastor, I cannot teach them as commands. 

Let me give you the two examples I am challenged on the most. 

Thou Shalt Not Drink

Baptist church constitutions have for years adopted a covenant including this line: "Members will abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage." While I appreciate the intent behind the statement, there is a huge problem...the Bible doesn't prohibit drinking alcohol. 

The Bible warns against the dangers of alcohol consumption, of which there are many (Prov 23:29-35, Isaiah 5:11). What the Bible does not do is expressly prohibit the drinking of alcohol. I personally do not drink. I've seen too many lives damaged, and I hold to the words of Dr. James Merritt, "You'll never be bitten by a snake you don't play with." 

Should I teach my church that drinking alcohol is a sin? No, because scripture does not teach it. Do I share my personal conviction on the subject with my church? Absolutely, but I ensure they know it's the words of man and not of God. 

Thou Shalt Tithe

I know several people in my church disagree with me on this point, but the cool thing is that we have no trouble continuing our potlucks together! However, the assertion that I do not believe in tithing is only half true. 

I recently taught a series on generosity in which I shared a pattern of generosity for every Christian I learned from a former pastor with Generis:

1. Potential: We all have the potential to give
2. Priority: We all must make giving a priority
3. Proportional: We should set an intentional proportion in our giving
4. Partner: We should be ready for additional opportunities for generosity

#3 on Proportional giving is where I think the tithe (giving 10% of your income) would fall. Personally, I have always held the tithe is an important place where our giving really grows our faith. However, if people give 10% because they were told they must, there's little opportunity for faith. The church hasn't allowed many believers to first understand their potential and the need to set giving as a priority before becoming a proportional giver. 

The New Testament gives numerous statements on our generosity. We don't determine our giving with a calculator, but with our heart (1 Cor 16:2, 2 Cor 9:7). 

Should I teach my church that failing to tithe is a sin? No, because scripture does not teach it. Have I seen the blessings of proportional giving in my own life? Absolutely, and those blessings have moved our family to be a partnering giver in other areas as we are able. Christians don't have freedom from giving, but they have freedom in giving. 

My Wish Is Not Your Command

Paul writes in 1 Cor 7 of how singleness has freed him from the pressures of married life to more fully serve Christ. While he sees the value of such a life, he writes in 1 Cor 7:6-7:

"This is not a command. I wish that all of you were as I am." 

Paul shared his personal conviction on singleness, but he never pushed his conviction as a commandment.

It would be easier for me to simply teach my personal convictions as biblical commands. 

It would also be dishonest, no matter how well-intentioned I may be. And if my congregation can't trust me on one doctrine, how can they trust me on anything ever again? Allow scripture to shape your convictions, but don't allow the line between personal conviction and biblical command to become blurred.