In less than two weeks, if the polls are to be believed, a record turnout of the American electorate will elect Senator Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. To be sure, his election will be a significant and historic milestone for our country.  No matter what your politics, all Americans recognize that the election of an African-American President signals that the last significant vestiges of institutionalized racism in this country are gone forever.  We all rejoice in that.  But at the same time, no one really knows what kind of President the Illinois Senator will be.

The optimistic and pessimistic sides of me have differing takes on this. The optimist part in me thinks that Obama has the opportunity to be, as Colin Powell noted in his endorsement, a "transformational leader."  He could bring us together and seek common ground with both Red State and Blue State America. The pessimistic side of me fears he might move sharply to the left and govern from there causing us to move farther away from the Jeffersonian ideal that the government that rules best rules least. (I must point out that if that happens it will, unfortunately, be just a continuation of the Bush Administration's disappointing trend toward enlarging government and moving away from a free market economy.)

For now, I will choose to hold on to the optimistic hope that a President Obama will unite rather than further divide us.  More importantly, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I will support him as my President and be faithful to pray for him.  Let's be clear: If I choose to follow God's Word, I have no other choice.  Sadly, I fear many in the church - most notably many church leaders - will choose to be political rather than biblical in responding to President Obama.

That is the critical question facing the church in the United States today: Will we in the church choose to be biblical or political in our response to a President Obama? I am convinced that our response will in large measure determine our effectiveness and credibility for the next four years. 

It is no secret that since at least the late 1970s, the portion of the Christian community known as the "Religious Right" has been solidly entrenched in the Republican party. In the interest of full disclosure, I should state for the record that I have voted for the Republican Presidential candidate since I cast my ballot for Ronald Reagan's first term in 1980, so I would certainly qualify as a card-carrying member of the Religious Right. 

For a generation now, those of us on the Right have presumed to have a lock on so-called "values voters."  We have assumed that God was on our side and that we were on His. We have almost deified our preferred candidates, while denigrating and demonizing opposing candidates almost to the point of character assassination.  We assumed that if you were a Christian, you would vote the same way we were voting.  That was a safe assumption for us to make because everyone we knew and socialized with agreed with us 100% politically.

This present election cycle has been vastly different.  The "Religious Right" as we knew it for a generation foundered, unable to agree on a candidate to support. (Why they failed to wholeheartedly endorse Mike Huckabee is still a huge mystery to me.)  When John McCain, arguably their least favorite candidate - one who openly called Christian leaders "agents of intolerance" in 2000 - was tapped as the Republican nominee, the damage to their credibility and influence was done.

Absent someone to be for, many of my brethren on the Right have opted instead for simply being against someone, in this case Barack Obama. In my role as Managing Editor of two Christian media portals, I receive dozens of press releases and news wire dispatches from Christian organizations in my inbox and on my Blackberry every day.  Here is a sampling of recent headlines from Christian groups and organizations:

"Newscast from the Future Exposes Obama Nightmare"
"Reasons Why Obama Looks Like a Wolf"
"Barrie Hussein: Congenital Liar"
"Fake Christian Chooses Fake Catholic as Running Mate"

It is interesting to note that these same Christian news wires ran numerous press releases attacking John McCain before he became the Republican nominee for his stance on a range of issues including abortion. But there have been nothing but positive stories sent out since he became the presumptive nominee.  This is a problem, folks.  When we fail to be consistent and biblical in speaking truth to power, we forfeit the right to do so.  When our staunch criticism of John McCain ceased when he became the Republican nominee, we are being political rather than biblical.

I can understand opposing - even strongly opposing - a candidate on the issues, but to call a man who gives a sincere testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ and who is by all accounts a devoted father and husband a "Fake Christian" is beyond the pale.

A couple of years ago, a prominent Christian leader (on the Right, I might add) stated that the church needed to repent of failing to give Bill Clinton the respect that he was due as one God had placed in authority over us.  He was right. Maybe if the church had earnestly prayed for President Clinton and shown him respect even while opposing his policies there would not have been the scandals in his personal life and his presidency.  If you scoff at that idea, I would suggest you underestimate the power of prayer. 

The Bible could not possibly be clearer: We are to give the leaders that God places in authority over us respect. And we are to sincerely lift them up in prayer. 

Tony Evans is fond of saying the white church depends on an elephant, the black church depends on a donkey, but Jesus is not riding on either.  He stands before us saying, "I'm not here to take sides, I am here to take over!"  The bottom line is this: My personal relationship with Jesus Christ defines who I am, not my political convictions.  My relationship with Christ transcends politics.

Let's purpose in our hearts that we are not going to repeat our mistakes from the Clinton years.  Let us determine at the start that We will be faithful to pray for and support our President - whether it is Obama or McCain - and ask God to give him wisdom, discernment, and favor as he leads us in the years ahead. 

Have you ever heard the story of the man who slipped off the edge of a cliff and was desparately hanging onto a rope to keep from falling?  The man screamed at the top of his voice, "IS THERE ANYONE THERE WHO CAN HELP ME?" 

A calm, reassuring voice answered back, "It is the Lord.  Let go of the rope."

The man thought about it for a moment, and then looked down to see how far he would fall.  Then he yelled out again even louder, "IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THERE WHO CAN HELP ME???"

Have you ever been at a place in your life where you felt the Lord was telling you to let go of the rope, but all you could see was how things looked from a logical, human perspective?  I know I have, and, like the man in the joke, I was really tempted to ask for a second opinion.

Everything about our human nature wants to see it first and then respond based on what we see with our eyes.  We want to see it then believe it.  We want to know where we are going before we agree to start the trip. That is our human nature.  And it flies in the face of how God calls us to be.

Take a look at the lives of the remarkable people whose stories are told in the Bible and you will see people who believed it before they saw it.  You will see people who went when God said go even when they didn't know where they were going or what it would be like when they got there.  You will see people who walked by faith and not by sight.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He allowed and encouraged Thomas to experience what he had said he needed to see to believe that Jesus was alive.  He physically saw and felt the wounds in Jesus' hands, feet and side.  When he did so, Thomas fell down on His face and declared, "My Lord and My God!"

Jesus responded by saying, "Thomas, you believe because you have seen.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).  The New International Version translates that verse this way: "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Far too often, I find myself walking only by sight.  But I know it is those times when I step out into the darkness in obedience to God's call that He blesses me, and grows me, and stretches me.

What is God calling you to do that will require you to step into the darkness?  Or let go of the rope?

Have you ever heard the phrase "Worship Wars"? It is frequently used to describe what has happened in many of our churches over the last couple of decades as worship styles have changed.

The two words that make up the phrase "Worship Wars" ought not to go together. Worship is holy and sacred. Wars can on rare occasions be justified, but most often they are the opposite of holy and sacred. "Worship" by definition is all about God. "Worship Wars" are most assuredly not about God. Worship Wars are all about us, about our personal preferences and what we want.

For those of us who are students of church history, we know the current "Worship Wars" are nothing new. As music changes in society, the music that is considered to be acceptable in the church changes slowly behind it. If that process never happened, we would still be worshiping the Lord through the use of first century Hebrew tunes and rhythms! Just think about it - at one time, Gregorian Chants were the new "contemporary" music being used in the church!

I read an article recently about an incident that happened at a church in Canada. This controversy over music in worship wreaked havoc and division in this congregation for over a decade. Speeches were made. Petitions were signed. A bunch of meetings were held. Threats were made. Families were divided. Many people left the church.

Was it the older members rebelling against singing choruses or the younger members complaining about singing the old hymns? No, the controversy was over whether or not is was appropriate to use an organ in the worship services, and it raged among the members of St. Andrews during the 80s. But not the 1980s… it was the 1880s!

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart because the vast majority of my ministry career has been spent as a worship leader. And as is usually the case, the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.

When we take our eyes off the One we are worshiping and focus on how we are worshiping, we have a heart problem. When we cause or even participate in conflict in the church over what boils down to our personal preferences, we have a heart problem.

There are those who would say they are not fighting for their personal preferences, they are fighting to keep worship holy and acceptable to God. I would say to you if you believe that your cultural preferences are tantamount to God's will, you have a heart problem.

Nowhere in God's word does it spell out to us our style of worship. The closest it comes to that is in two very similar passages in Paul's letters - Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 - where we are told to worship God and admonish each other using "Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs." Bible scholars and historians disagree on the exact application of those terms, but all agree they encompass a wide variety of musical styles. In other words, God's words tells us to use a wide variety of musical styles to worship God and encourage each other.

No matter what style of worship you employ in worship, God always focuses in on your heart. He told the Samaritan woman at the well that the Father is seeking for those who will worship him in Spirit and in Truth. (John 4:23)

Are you or your church embroiled in the Worship Wars? If so, I urge you to surrender immediately… surrender your will, your desires and your personal preferences to God and direct your focus toward the One Who alone is worthy of our worship and adoration.

Worship is not about us, it is about Him.

As a general rule, I try - admittedly with varying degrees of success - to be politically neutral in my postings in this space. That is actually fairly easy for me to do, because these days I find myself to be pretty ambivalent politically. 

It wasn't always that way. I have voted Republican in every Presidential election since 1980.  For that matter, I have voted for Republicans for everything down to local dog catcher except for the occasional ballot cast for conservative Democrats like Zell Miller.  I am a political, fiscal, and theological conservative, and the Republican party has, over the years, for the most part espoused those values.

"Espoused" being the operative word there, in contrast to "embodied." Over the years, Republican administrations that I voted for have been responsible for government growing larger and larger and the free market economy being ignored in policy considerations. 

I have not pulled the lever, punched the chad, or checked the box with great pride for a Republican presidential candidate since the last time I did so for Reagan in 1984. The presidential candidates I have voted for since that time have earned my vote by the dubious distinction of being the lesser of two evils.  George H.W. Bush.  Bob Dole.  George W. Bush.  I was far from enthused about the prospect of any of these men leading our nation, but given the alternative - Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot, Al Gore, or John Kerry - I held my nose and cast my vote.

In the years since The Great Communicator left office, the United States of America has been anything but United. We have become for all practical purposes two nations - the Red States and the Blue States. It has gotten to the place now where to be elected President, you have to pander to the extreme left or right of your base and thereby alienate roughly 50% of the country. Our last two elections have been bitter, divisive, ugly, and destructive.  In between those two elections, the events of September 11, 2001 united Americans in a way we haven't been since World War II.  But somehow, we squandered that unity and good will and by 2004 we were right back where we were in 2000.

Now comes John McCain.  When he ran in 2000, a friend of mine gave me a copy of "Faith of Our Fathers." I read it and came away with admiration for his integrity and his service and sacrifice for his country. But as a candidate, I found him lacking.  Lacking in excitement, lacking in leadership skills, and lacking in the ability to make us feel good about ourselves as Reagan did so well.  In 2000, I didn't appreciate McCain's characterization of Christian leaders as "agents of intolerance."

By most if not all accounts, it is a very different John McCain that ran for president this year and went on to become the surprise nominee.  Like many of my friends, I have not been able to support McCain for a myriad of reasons relating to policies, leadership, and his past.

As mentioned in a previous post, many of these friends have found their rationale to support John McCain because of his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, but that VP pick has made it even more difficult for me to support the Arizona Senator.

My first impression of the Palin pick was the fact that that her razor thin resume would instantly rob McCain of one of his strongest arguments - experience.  But just days later when we all saw how carefully Palin was being handled, many of us started to suspect there was a bigger problem. Why would the McCain campaign go to such pains to keep their new VP pick far away from the press? I began to suspect it was because they knew something we didn't about Gov. Palin, and that they wanted the Palin phenomenon to blossom as much as possible before reality hit.

When Palin began sitting down for carefully handpicked interviews, we saw for ourselves why they have been keeping her on a very short leash.  Take her answer to a Katie Couric question about the $700 Billion Wall Street bailout:

Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

Good grief. That reply, and for that matter her entire encounter with Couric was worthy of Miss South Carolina's bumbling answer about maps. (In case you didn't see that classic bit of video, watch it here.)

I'm not alone in being a conservative who is appalled by the prospect of Sarah Palin being a 72 year old cancer survivor's heartbeat away from being leader of the free world. Writing in this week's National Review (the NATIONAL REVIEW, for crying out loud!) columnist Kathleen Parker actually calls for Palin to step aside for the good of the country:

When Palin first emerged as John McCain’s running mate, I confess I was delighted… It was fun while it lasted. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. No one hates saying that more than I do.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true.

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first. Do it for your country.

Even conservative icon George Will has expressed serious doubts about McCain's selection of Palin, saying, "Many cultural conservatives, who are much of the GOP's base, consider McCain's adherence to their persuasion perfunctory. By his selection of Palin, he got the enthusiasm of the base. But what has he got in Palin? In coming days, he and we will learn from a stern teacher, experience."

There's a little more than six weeks left until the election.  The initial burst of celebrity has faded quickly thanks to the economic crisis.  They can't keep her under wraps any longer, and the VP debates are coming up soon. (That should be interesting. Joe Biden, for all his experience is also famous for his gaffes.)

I fear John McCain will soon sorely regret his choice of the Alaska Governor as his running mate.

Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying, "Salvation and power are established! Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah! The Accuser of our brothers and sisters is thrown out, who accused them day and night before God. They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness.  Revelation 12:10-11 (The Message)

In our justice system, one of the most powerful pieces of evidence is eyewitness testimony.  In the days before DNA and other scientific and forensic advances, the testimony of an eyewitness could make or break a case.  An eyewitness could identify the guilty party or solidify an alibi and free an innocent person.  The assignment for an eyewitness is to tell the truth about what they saw, heard, and experienced.

When Jesus ended his earthly ministry and gave us the Great Commission, he declared, "You will be my witnesses." We are called - commanded, even - to be eyewitnesses to the saving, healing grace of Jesus.  In the Bible, there is a wonderful story of someone who did just that.  The story in found in the 9th chapter of John. The story begins with a theological discussion, continues with a miracle, and ends with a powerful testimony.

As Jesus and His disciples were traveling, they saw a man who had been blind since birth.  The Disciples (sadly like many of us sometimes) were more interested in the theological ramifications of the man's situation than they were in the man himself.  "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" they asked Jesus.  Jesus replied, "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins. This happened so the power of God could be seen in him."

Jesus then told His disciples, "We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over."  For many years, I didn't understand why He said this - it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. But I believe what Jesus was saying to the disciples was you are wasting precious time trying to find someone to blame for this man's blindness when you should be ministering to him.  (There's a sermon unto itself there, but that is a devotional for another day…)

Immediately after saying this, Jesus made mud, put it on the man's eyes and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, which ironically means "sent."  As soon as the man obeyed, he was able to see for the first time in his life!  The town, which had known him all his life as a blind beggar, was buzzing with the news that he could now see.  There was such a change in him that people who had known him all his life didn't think it was the same person.

There was a problem, though.  The man had been healed on the Sabbath, and that was, according to Pharisaic Law, not legal.  So they marched this man to the Pharisees to see what they thought.  When they heard the story, there was a deep division among the Pharisees.  Some of them were still spiritually minded enough to realize this was of God.  Others, sadly were so mired in their self-imposed legalism that they refused to believe this was of God or that Jesus might be a prophet, much less the messiah.

They called the formerly blind man to appear before them to hear his story.

Some of the Pharisees thought they were being tricked, so they hauled the man's parents in front of them to identify him.  The parents, who were deathly afraid of the Jewish leaders, acknowledged this man was their son and that he used to be blind, but said they had no idea what had happened to him. "He is of age, ask him yourself" they said.

The Pharisees would love to have discredited this man and thereby discredited Jesus.  One thing stood in their way: his simple yet powerful personal eyewitness testimony.

"All I know is this: Once I was blind, and now I can see!"

You and I are often given the opportunity to use the power of our eyewitness testimony to persuade others of God's grace, love and mercy and to encourage our brothers and sisters.  Let's be alert for opportunities that the Holy Spirit will give us today to tell our story of His working in our lives!

There's nothing like two hours on an airplane with no Internet access to help the seriously backslidden blogger find his way back to the web's straight and narrow.  I'm on my way to Oklahoma City this morning for the MinistryCOM conference and the trip allows me something that has been very hard to come by the last three weeks… time to write a blog post.

A lot has happened in the last three weeks, much of which I planned to blog about. Some of it I will still get around to writing about in more detail, Lord willing. 

Sarah Palin

John McCain surprised everyone and picked rookie Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate and a media sensation was born.  A lot of my friends see this as the reason they have been waiting for to support McCain who, up to this point, to say they have been unexcited about him is a gross understatement.  I have a slightly different take on it.  I, too have been less than enthused about McCain, and I find myself less so now. 

John McCain is 72 years old, and a two time cancer survivor.  There is a greater than normal chance that he will not live out his first term.  That means there is a possibility that someone could be President of the United States who just two years ago was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, population around 6,000.  I understand that her job is to energize the conservative base that has been so lukewarm about McCain, but I am concerned that her strident, in-your-face, almost belligerent tone will make 2008 a repeat of the last few elections, where we are left bitterly divided almost down the middle between red states and blue states.

I agree with my friend Ed Stetzer.  He pointed out a bumper sticker he saw recently that summed up his feelings about the 2008 election season.  It said in large letters, "Jesus 2008."  Then in smaller print below that it said, "Please come get us before November 4!"

Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk…

My friend Rick Hawkins and I made a pilgrimage to New York August 31 to be present for one of the last dozen or so games that will ever be played at Yankee Stadium.  It was a quick trip: we flew up there in the morning, went to a 1:05 pm game, flew back that night.  The last time I attended a game there, I was seven years old, Whitey Ford was pitching, Yogi Berra was catching, and Mickey Mantle was in the outfield. 

The game itself was forgettable - the boys from the Bronx lost to the Blue Jays 6-2 - but we did get to see solo homers by A-Rod and Jason Giambi.  The locals we sat near were friendly, especially when they found out where we were from and why we were there, and a fantastic time was had by all.

Rick I decided we would come back next year and give the new stadium a try, but there's something still almost unbearably sad about losing a place that is home to so much history.  Yeah, it's really, really old and run down, but c'mon… it's Yankee Stadium. 

Heaven's Gain

Two weeks ago, my beloved Aunt Sara passed away in Florida.  "Sarie" was more of a second mom to me and my siblings than an Aunt.  So many of the significant memories of my childhood and early teens are wrapped up with this remarkable lady.  We spent our summers at her beach house on Dark Island, 25 miles north of Steinhatchee on the Gulf Coast.  She taught me how to fish, how to crab, how to go scalloping, how to drive a boat.  Later, she taught me how to drive (when I was about 13) using an old 1959 VW Beetle on the deserted beach roads. 

Everyone should grow up with an Aunt Sara. She was the one who, when all other adults saw you as a pain in the butt, she saw you as her fishing buddy.  The summers of my childhood were magical because of her. There was no place on earth I would rather have been than sleeping in the hammock on the screened in porch, listening to the boats come out and in.  Uncle TJ passed in 1990, the beach house was destroyed in 1993 by the "storm of the century," and now, Aunt Sara is gone, too, and with her passing, there is nothing left of that time in my life but the memories.  But, oh, what memories we all have!

My life is infinitely richer because she was a part of it for more than fifty years.  Her memorial service was vintage Sara.  Some tears, of course, but lots of laughter, great stories, and even a Bob Dylan song, "When He Returns."

Heaven is a lot funnier, even more joyful place today with Sara there. 

Wall Street Blues

Then there's the meltdown on Wall Street.  It will be interesting to see how this effects the presidential election.  You can argue that Congress is at least as much - if not more - to blame for this than the Bush Administration, but historically we tend to fire the coach when the team is losing, so to speak, and McCain is both a part of Congress and tied to the current administration.

It has been interesting to hear the words that have been used by the media to describe the failure of giants like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG and WaMu: "Tsunami," "Disaster," "Category 5 Hurricane." On the other end of the spectrum, President Bush called it an "adjustment." I suspect the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes.

It is a bump in the road. A larger bump than usual, maybe the largest bump we've hit in 6 or 7 years, but a bump nonetheless.  My suspicion is that as a result of this bump, we will see significantly lower prices at the supermarket and at the gas pump.

We're preparing to land and the flight attendant is giving me "the eye," which means my laptop needs to go back under the seat.  More from OKC later.  Maybe.  I don't know, I've gotten pretty adept at this slacker thing…

I suspect many if not most people reading this share this common childhood experience: bowing your head, closing your eyes (maybe peeking a little bit to make sure your brother or sister has their eyes closed), clasping your hands together in front of you and saying, "God is Great, God is Good, let us thank Him for our food…"

The Bible says on many occasions that we need to learn from and become like little children.  Children believe what they are told because they trust the ones who told them.  When our mother, father or grandparent told us that God is great and God is good, we believed it.  No little child ever engaged their parents in a theological discussion about the goodness, the greatness or the fairness of God.

No, it’s only when we get older, more sophisticated, and to be gut-level honest, more susceptible to the lies of our adversary that we begin to question how good or great God is.  It’s strange that after years and years of seeing and experiencing the faithfulness of God, we still question Him and doubt Him.

God is great, God is good… but if God is good, what about all of those innocent men, women and children who are dying in Darfur?

God is great, God is good… but if God is good, why did He allow my loved one to die?

God is great, God is good… but if God is good, how can He send people to hell?

You know, sometimes, as much as it pains us, we just have to admit we don’t have all the answers.  We don’t see the whole picture. But God can and does.  And we know that He is working all things together for our good. 

It is in those times that we don’t have all of the answers that faith comes into play.  It is then, in the words of Charles Spurgeon, when we cannot trace the hand of God that we have to trust the heart of God. "For I know the plans I have for you," the Lord declares in Jeremiah 29:11, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God is Great.  God is Good.  Let us thank Him.

One of the most touching stories in the Old Testament involves King David and a man with the unusual name of Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth was the grandson of King Saul and the son of Jonathan.  Saul was the King of Israel who lost his anointing from the Lord because of his disobedience at Gilgal.

Jonathan was David’s closest and dearest friend. Even when Saul was trying to have David murdered, Jonathan remained faithful to his friend David.  When Saul and Jonathan both perished at Gilboa, David mourned the loss of his friend in the "Song of the Bow" recorded in 2 Samuel 1:

"How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful…"

Mephibosheth was only five years old when his father and grandfather fell to the Philistines.  When word of the slaughter reached the royal estate, everyone fled in panic.  A family nurse who was carrying young Mephibosheth tripped and fell to the ground, breaking both of the child’s feet.  This left him crippled for life, unable to walk.

Years later when David had defeated all of Israel’s enemies, he sought to find one of Jonathan’s family so he could show them kindness out of love and respect for his beloved friend.  David was told Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was still alive but was crippled.

David sent for Mephibosheth, who trembled before the king. "Don’t be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."

From that day forward Mephibosheth and his family came into David’s house and ate at the king’s table like one of the king’s sons.

Mephibosheth had done nothing to deserve David’s kindness.  Yet he was adopted into the king’s family.  In the same way, you and I have done nothing to deserve God’s kindness, yet we have been adopted into the King’s family.

The Bible says to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).  Ask God today to lay on your heart someone to whom you can show kindness for Jesus’ sake.

Lord, we thank You for the gift of Your grace, freely given to us, even though we have done nothing to earn or deserve it.  Help us today to show kindness and mercy to those we come in contact with.  Help us to forgive as we have been forgiven.  Help us to love as we are loved.

For the second time in just over three months, the congregation of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Tampa is dealing with the loss of a beloved pastoral staff member. Simeon Nix, Bell Shoal’s worship pastor for the last thirteen years, suffered a heart attack late Saturday night and passed away early Sunday morning at Brandon Regional Hospital. 

Simeon Nix was a big man physically and spiritually.  Over the last three months, he guided the heartbroken church through the grieving process following the death of Senior Pastor Forrest Pollock and his son in a plane crash.  Both in his public ministry from the platform and in countless formal and informal counseling sessions, Nix helped the hurting church realize that God was still in control and that He still had a plan.

It was a familiar role for Simeon.  Earlier in his ministry at Bell Shoals he had to comfort and guide the church through the loss of Pollock’s predecessor, Ken Alford, who resigned in 2002 because of a moral failure.

Gary Payne, a friend and staff colleague of Simeon’s was quoted as saying, "He was never afraid to give you a big hug and tell you that he loved you."

Last Tuesday, Nix was hospitalized after experiencing significant chest pain.  Doctors cleared the blockage by inserting a stent.  His prognosis was good for a full recovery.  He was released from the hospital Friday and told friends and fellow staff members how good he felt. He even took a short walk around the neighborhood Saturday night with his wife and some friends.

Late Saturday night, Nix suffered another heart attack and passed away a few hours later.  He was 47 years old.

Simeon leaves his wife, Beth, and the two children they adopted as toddlers from Russia: Bre’Ana, 7, and Sterling, 7. His extended family was the Bell Shoals congregation, which numbers about 7,000.

Funeral arrangements are pending as of this writing.

Related:
Dr. Forrest Pollock Dies In A Plane Crash 
Heaven Only Knows

Sometimes we in the church are accused of glossing over the fact that life can be hard.  We sometimes tend to give the impression that all you need to do is give your heart to Jesus and all of your problems will be solved, all your bills will be paid, you will have success and prosperity and everything you touch will turn to gold.  If you are a Christian, you will have a continual smile on your face and always be happy.  We make all our baskets, we sink all our putts, we close all our deals.

Does that sound like your testimony?  I know it doesn’t sound like mine! 

The problem is that we’ve confused joy with happiness.  Happiness is dependent on happenings.  Circumstances in your life dictate whether or not you are happy.  Joy, on the other hand, is a gift from God - a fruit of the Spirit that transcends whatever is happening in your life.  Joy allows you to rise —even to soar— above difficult circumstances, challenges, and heartaches.  Joy comes from knowing Who is in control and that He has a plan to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)  We do not draw our strength from the great feeling we get when things go right; if we did, we would be powerless when hard times and adversity hit, and we would all be easy pickings for the devil.  No, it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength! 

Jesus wasn’t happy about going to the cross.  He prayed the night before "If there is any other way, let this cup pass from me…"  But He did have joy in obedience.  The writer to the Hebrews put it this way: "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…"  There was joy for the Lord Jesus even in the pain and the agony of the cross because He knew the end result of His obedience and sacrifice would be the offer of salvation for you and me.  Jesus chose to go through hell for us rather than to go to heaven without us.

In the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul talks about joy over and over again.  Yet he wrote that letter to the church at Philippi while he was imprisoned in horrible conditions.  How could he write about joy while imprisoned in a dark, cold, rat-infested Roman cell?  It’s because joy is not dependent on circumstances!

When you and I face tough times, we can draw on great reserves of joy that are rooted in our knowledge of the faithfulness of God.  That’s how Job was able to say in the midst of tragedy, heartache and great loss, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15, KJV) He knew God and He trusted God.  That is how he could have "joy in unrelenting pain" (Job 6:10, NIV)

Job’s friends made the mistake of misjudging Job. But what was worse, they misrepresented God.  They presumed to speak for God in telling Job he needed to repent.  Job’s friends naturally assumed that since things weren’t going great for Job, he wasn’t living right, and God was punishing him for his sins.  I’m afraid the spirit of Job’s friends is still very much with us.  We see and hear it just about every Sunday.

Now, don’t get me wrong here— I’ve spent most of my life in church.  Since I was a teenager I have either worked for a church or worked with organizations that worked with churches.  I love the church.  I love church people.  But let’s be honest—sometimes we have a problem keeping it real.  We look at each other and smile real big and say, "I’m fine!  We’re all fine! How about you?  Are you fine?" while inside we’re hurting.  The problem is if I admit to you that I am hurting or struggling, you might assume that I’m not spiritual enough.  To avoid that I just pretend that  everything is fine, when it really isn’t.

If there is any place on earth that you should be able to keep it real, it ought to be the church.  God’s Word tells us to confess our faults to each other so we may be healed. (James 5:16) But you can’t confess your faults if you are afraid to let me know that you have any!  In the church we, like Job’s friends, have bought into the notion that "spiritual" Christians don’t have any problems.

But if you think about it for a minute I believe you will agree with me that the most spiritual people I have ever known were those who had walked through deep dark valleys of sorrow and heartache yet through it all their faith and trust never wavered.  It wasn’t the smiley-faced folks pretending to be perfect who touched my heart, it was those who I saw pressed on every side but not crushed, cast down but not destroyed.  It was in those people that I saw that indeed the joy of the Lord is our strength.  I want to be one of those people!

Lord, help me to draw my strength from your gift of joy and not from my feelings or from my present circumstances!