Square Peg – Round Hole

Square Peg – Round Hole

There is an old adage that says, “You can’t put a square peg in a round hole.” Sometimes things just don’t fit. Relationships can be that way. Temperaments clash, or likes and dislikes just don’t mesh. There are many reasons people do not get along.

However, I realized something today as I was fiddling with my latest gadget. I signed up for a Square account so I could take credit card payment for my book sales. It is a great service, and not very expensive. You just plug the Square reader into the iPhone audio jack, download the app, and you’re ready to go.

I ran into a slight problem, however, when I tried to plug the Square Reader into my phone. I have one of the big-honking protective cases on my iPhone. I have never dropped my phone, but in case I ever do, I don’t want a cracked screen, or worse! The thickness of the protective case would not allow the pin to seat properly in the phone’s audio jack. Consequently, there was no way to use the Square reader without first removing the case.

This is so true regarding relationships. We tend to put up such a massive wall around us to keep anything, or anyone, from hurting us that we also prevent good things from making contact as well. Not only is this true of human relationships, but it also can affect our relationship with God. The same guard we erect to keep us safe from emotional harm also closes off ALL attempts to touch our soul.

My pastor spoke on this very thing this past Sunday. He said, “Transparency leads to humility, and humility produces grace. Self-preservation leads to pride, and pride produces God’s opposition” The more vulnerable we become with those around us, the more open we will be to allow God’s grace to sustain us.

I found a work-around to the problem of using the Square with my phone case still intact. I purchased an adapter that provides an extension, which gives enough clearance for the Square Reader to fully engage in the audio jack on the phone. This is what led to the byline of this post: Square peg in a round hole. You see, God always has a way. Even if we are “square pegs in a world of round holes,” there is still hope for us.

A licensed pastoral counselor and I were discussing temperaments one day. A temperament is simply the way you came prewired by God. Each temperament has good and not-so-good qualities. She explained, “One good thing about being a Christian is that God ‘tempers’ our temperament.” Through the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Believer, God “rounds off” some of the sharp edges that tend to keep us causing harm to others. In other words, He serves as an “adapter” to help us function in our world, even when things don’t exactly fit.

This is also the work of God’s grace in our life. My prayer this day is that you can find the grace to allow God’s Holy Spirit to begin His work of dismantling your outer protective shell that you’ve spend years building, and let Him touch you with His healing to stop the pain of past hurts, and allow you to become “real” again. It will be uncomfortable at first, but that is why His grace is there: to help you start the process of grace flowing into you from the Lord, and then back out of you to those around you.

The Five Fold Ministry – All We Need Is Love

The Five Fold Ministry – All We Need Is Love

Five Fold Ministry, Ascension Gifts, or Equipping Gifts – regardless what you call them they all mean basically the same thing. None of these labels are found in scripture, but they all refer to the list of titles or offices found in Ephesians 4:11. Paul gives a list of “gifts”, according to what he called them, that Jesus gave to the Church after He ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Look at these statements in context.

Ephesians 4:7-14 (ESV) But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

…

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (KJV says pastors), and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, …

If this list were intended to be the foundation for Church government I believe much more would have been said about their qualifications, form, and function. Paul gave qualifications and a description of duties for deacons and overseers (or bishop, elder, etc. depending on translation) in one of his letters to Timothy (1 Timothy 3). He also explicitly referred to them as being an office in the Church.

Paul gives a different list of ministries in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31. Why is this list not considered when naming “offices” or “ministry gifts” to the church?

1 Corinthians 12:27-31 (ESV) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

Which has more spiritual significance: Jesus giving gifts or God appointing people in the church? Here, eight different functions are mentioned, including apostle, prophet, and teacher, but omitting evangelist and shepherd (pastor). Added to the list from Ephesians are miracles, healing, helping, administrating, and tongues.

Paul then asks several rhetorical questions with the implied answer to each one being “No.” After listing most of the functions previously listed, he then urges his readers to desire the higher gifts. The implication is that none of these listed are the “higher gifts,” including apostles, prophets, and teachers.

As you know, chapter and verse delineations were not part of the original letters in scripture. They were added for ease of reference. In light of this, the very next thing Paul states after “desire the higher gifts” is 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (ESV) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Perhaps we have missed Paul’s focus of trying to explain the diversity of function while stating the singleness of purpose. If we cannot love one another it really does not matter what the sign says on our door. Instead of fighting over who is in charge let us learn to love our Brothers and Sisters in the Church, and find ways to serve them instead of severing our Lord’s Body.

Awaiting

Awaiting

I think I miss out on a whole segment of life because I’m a man. We men are wired certain ways. Traditionally, we have been typecast into being the hunter-gatherer; the female, the nurturer. Women shop, men purchase. Men charge the mall as though they are overtaking a strongly fortified castle. Females saunter about from store to store as though it is a flowery meadow, taking in the sights.

I realize there are many exceptions to all of those statements, but there are certainly differences (other than anatomy), generally speaking, between male and female. These differences are what cause men to miss out on so much. Let’s go back to the mall example. If I need a shirt, I go to the store where I typically find shirts that I like. If they have what I want, I purchase the shirt and leave the mall. My wife would look in all the stores to see if there might be something she liked better, or could get at a better price. Amazingly, she “finds” all kinds of deals that she didn’t even know were there.

Let me get to the point of this article. When dealing with our relationship with God, men usually take a more direct approach to things. We look in the Bible to find the answer or solution we seek. We pray for the need at hand. We worship when it’s time to worship. Women seem to approach God with a more contemplative demeanor. They tend to be more relational. This brings me to the thought that sparked this whole dialogue.

My friend, Ed Chinn, shared a quote with me recently by Simone Weil, who wrote, “What is most important cannot be searched for, it must be awaited.” Immediately I went to passages of scripture like, “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened.” Also, “I press toward the mark of the calling we have in Christ Jesus.” Those are manly scriptures. How can this comment by Simone Weil be true?

Then I recalled some other passages, like, “The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for those whose heart is perfect toward Him.” There is nothing about “searching” in this passage, only “awaiting.” Without going much further here, for sake of time, let me tell you where I have come to land on this. I believe “awaiting” in this instance is our exercise of faith.

You see, we do seek after the Lord, but we must do so in faith, expecting. Even in our searching we have to keep our hearts open to “find” what the Lord has for us in every moment of every day. If we do not “await” His coming, even in the mundane, we will miss out on so much of life. Maybe us guys need some help from you ladies on this one. Teach us how to “await” so we will not miss the Lord when He appears.

Secrets – A Poem

Secrets – A Poem

by Dudley M. Harris

It never seems to happen intentionally

A bit of information, an accidental glimpse

Knowledge you can’t un-know

Now part of your portents

You want to tell your new-found truth

To a trusted friend or public writ

The problem comes when pressed to share

You withhold a tiny bit

Like a flake of gold in the miner’s pan

It glistens in the light

A treasure, it seems, you hold so dear

A secret – your delight

What makes it seem more special still

Is when others find you have one

The coy demeanor, inflected voice

You beam brighter than the sun

Secrets do not always gain

In value with their age

Sometimes it’s like a cancerous growth

Small and harmless, in deadly rage

When brought to light before you want

A secret can bring great pain

Just speak the truth when first you voice

Your peace will always remain

© Kurios Publishing. 6 August 2015

Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1 – The Progression of Man

Psalm 1:1-6 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The first psalm gives us an interesting look at progressions. Our lives consist of a series of progressions. We even call them the “ages” of man: newborn, toddler, adolescence, teenager, adult, elderly. (There are many other lists, but this one makes sense to me.)

Each age is a progression. This psalm gives us some insight into both positive and negative progressions. It begins with the negative. The psalmist starts by describing things that a blessed person would not do.

The sequence is as follows: walk, stand, sit. When you apply this sequence to the life of a follower of Christ it demonstrates how one might fall back from their commitment they made. Paul describes the Christian life as “running the race.” With this in mind, let’s look at the steps given in Psalm 1.

When we stop running, we begin to walk. This seems to be relatively harmless. We get weary, we just want to get our breath. However, when we slow our pace we become more vulnerable to the counsel of others that do not have our best interest in mind. Some of these voices may be the reason we slowed down in the first place. It is always dangerous to leave the jetstream of the Holy Spirit.

Once we have broken stride we become even more vulnerable to other influences. The psalmist calls them “sinners.” We begin to stand. Standing indicates lack of mobility. If you are not moving forward in your walk with Christ you become more vulnerable to temptations. This halted state can then lead us to just “sit down” among the scornful. The Hebrew word for scornful is “loots”, which means, “make mouths.”

You’ve seen this. Sometimes one will stand behind a person and mock them by acting as though they are speaking. They are scoffing them. I have seen this far too many times when people begin to drift away from their relationship with the Lord. They begin to mock the very ones that desire to see God’s best fulfilled in their life. You do not arrive at this place quickly. It is a progression, and it begins by simply slowing down the pace at which you pursue the Lord.

The good news is, there is a way out. The psalmist then follows with another progression; a positive one: delight, meditate, plant, fruit. If you feel your passion for the Lord has waned from where you once were in your relationship with Him, the path back is simple. Even if you have never slowed your pace of pursuit of the Lord, the progression will keep you seeking harder than ever.

It begins with delighting in the Word of God, the Bible. Not only do you delight in reading it, you begin to meditate on what the Lord has said. Meditation is not some far Eastern cult practice. Christian meditation on scripture is where you simply consider what it says, and then allow the Holy Spirit to reveal how it applies to your life. The simple definition of meditate is, “to engage in contemplation or reflection.” It doesn’t require any special training or equipment, or even location. Just give yourself some room and time to think about what the Bible says about you.

When you develop the habit of reading and contemplating scripture you will become planted, or established, in the things of God. This will give you renewed strength and stamina to resume “The Race” for the Kingdom. Once you are back in the jetstream of the Holy Spirit, running with the Lord’s Wind, you begin to bear fruit. It really is that simple.

Regardless of where you are in the progressions mentioned above, realize that God is ready to meet you with grace to pursue Him. It is only by grace that we can run, and it is only by grace that we even know the Lord. Resist the temptation to stop running. If you find yourself off course, walking, standing, or even sitting, God’s grace is still available for you.