A Prayer for a Crook

Last week someone stole a check from our church that was mailed to one of our vendors. They altered the check and increased the amount $600 above the amount of the original check. They made it out to another name and even provided an out of state driver's license as they cashed it at one of our bank's local branches. Yes, this is fraud and if they stole it through the mail it's also a federal offense. Thankfully our bank has restored the amount to our account and is investigating the crime. Remember, banks have video cameras!

This crime couldn't have come at a more challenging time in the life of our small faith community. It was money we simply did not have to lose. The folks responsible for our accounts payable and receipts ministries pride themselves on transparency and accountability in the area of finances, so do our elders. Every church should. So they take this very seriously and you can imagine how disappointed they felt upon the news. It happened on their "watch" so to speak. However, there was nothing they could have done to prevent the crime. In fact it was their financial diligence that discovered the crime!

I was really frustrated and angered by this crime. I felt like we had been violated and we had. In my anger, I was ready to pray the imprecatory prayers of the psalmist that were prayed over enemies in the Old Testament. I was more than ready to ask God to judge this person and bring them to my idea of justice. It would've been a punitive prayer. I'm glad I did not pray it.

It occurred to me that while I may not forge/alter checks, or steal mail, I am still guilty of cheating/robbing God. We all are! Think about it. We regularly rob God of our time, gifts and talents. We have no trouble giving 6 to 8 hours a week supporting our football team, or going to the gym, but we can hardly justify giving Him a little more than an hour in weekly worship. We cheat God by professing His will and direction for our lives then live in ways that are totally disobedient to His Word. We cheat God by claiming all of the benefits of salvation and a relationship with Christ, but fail to pattern our lives after His example and teaching. We cheat God whenever we engage in judgment of another human. We cheat God whenever we gossip. We cheat God when we have a critical spirit. We cheat God when we laugh and forward a sexist or prejudice joke. We cheat God when we spend 14-20 hours a week watching television, but can't spend one hour reading His Word. We cheat God every time we walk past a friend, family member, co-worker or neighbor who does not know Christ as Lord and we fail to talk to them about it. There are so many more examples, but you get the idea.

So before I could pray for the person who stole from our church I had to spend a lot of time in personal confession. Now I'm ready to pray for the person who stole from our church.

"Lord, I am a sinner, have mercy on me. I come before you in the name of Jesus and ask for your mercy, grace and compassion to be poured out on the person who did this. I cannot imagine how broken, hurt and desperate they must be to have acted in this way. Give them the courage to come forward and confess what they've done to You. As they confess, I trust You to prick and guide their conscience as to what they should do about it. Protect their spouse and children from their crime. Reveal Your love for them in ways they have never seen, or experienced. They are obviously in desperate need so I ask for your provision. If we know the person who did this, sensitize our hearts to their obvious needs and use us to meet those needs whether we discover they did this or not. Forgive me for wishing anything but your direction for their lives. Lavish your love on them. May they be overwhelmed with the love of Christ through Your church. Protect them from harm as they process and consider what they've done. If they have done this to others as well, I pray you will bring restoration and comfort upon those victims too. Lord, it is hard to love an enemy and 'turn the other check', but Jesus said we must. Give us a spirit of love and pity that sees the pain of the one who committed this crime. May You be glorified through this in whatever way You can. Amen."

"Cling To" Promises

For many years I've practiced having one or more "cling to" verses of Scripture. Last Spring before my surgery and health battle it was Romans 12:12:

¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

A friend wrote it on a card and God used it to remind me that ours is a patient hope rooted in prayer despite life's problems and challenges. These "cling to" or "go to" verses are like salve or aloe poured onto blistered or burned skin. They bring comfort, encouragement, strength and affirmation of our faith in God. Every Christ-follower should have a "cling to" verse and they should change as we move through the seasons of life. Here are a few I've had over the years:

²² The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
²³they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him." ²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:3-4)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

¹⁶Thus says the LORD:"Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16a)

Having a difficult time right now? Lonely? Depressed? Uncertain? Worried or anxious about something? Feeling hopeless as you walk with someone down the road of illness? Upset, angry, disappointed? Joyful, grateful, thankful? Whatever you are going through rest assured God's Word can speak to your situation. Search the Scriptures and find a verse that speaks to your situation and "cling to" it. Make sure you read the larger passage so you have a proper perspective on it and aren't just pulling something out of context. Write it down and carry it with you. Use "post-its" and put it in multiple places you will see it throughout the day. Read it out loud and pray over it. I promise God's Word will speak to you. It has spoken to me over and over throughout the years.

From the Blogroll.....

From the blog roll here's some links to recent blog posts that I think are worthy of a read. These are some of my favorite bloggers. It's not mean to be an exhaustive list. Some are reflective, others challenge, inform, comfort and stir the heart. Enjoy these very diverse blogs:

• Mark Batterson
  

• David Head on gloomy days and God's mercy at Ponder Anew
  

• Mark Driscoll on Positives, Negatives and Neutrals in Leadership

• Marketing guru Seth Godin on empathy

• Latest Link/website worthy of your time: Charity Water.org via Tall Skinny Kiwi blogger Andrew Jones from down under.

• And over at Out of Ur, Collin Hansen writes about Tim Keller's latest book, Counterfeit Gods which should make all of us stop and really think about the idols in our lives.
  

Violent Crime or Violent Sin?

This week a 15-year old Florida teenager was doused in alcohol and set on fire by five other boys. Here's part of the story about this atrocious crime that appeared in this week's L.A. Times:

The teenage squabble involved a video game and a bicycle. It blossomed into revenge during a chance encounter and ended in the near-fatal torching of a 15-year-old boy, the Broward County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Some of the teens charged in the attack laughed when investigators confronted them, the sheriff's office said.

Four 15-year-old boys and one 13-year-old accosted Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Fla., accusing him of being a snitch for calling the cops on their leader, whom the sheriff's office identified as the local bully.

Brewer tried to leave, but the gang doused him with alcohol and set him on fire, authorities said. Flames burned 80% of his body, especially his torso and arms, and seared off much of his hair, including his eyebrows, family members said.

According to investigators, Matthew Bent, 15, whom they identified as the organizer of the attack, shouted, "Pour it on him!" as other splashed the victim with alcohol.

Brewer tore off his shirt and jumped into an apartment complex pool. He later was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn center, where he is listed in critical condition with mostly second-degree burns, officials said.

"This is just an incredibly cruel thing, that anybody could have possibly done this to another human being," said Dr. Nicholas Namias, director of the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Burn Center.

One thing is clear for those of us who follow Christ and believe the Bible is a lamp and guide for our journey here on earth. As despicable as this crime is it can be reduced to one thing: humans are depraved and sin-filled. Lurking within each of us is the capacity for such evil. Humanity is addicted to sin. Only the grace of God can keep us from similar acts of evil. Only the grace of God can change a soul that's so filled with hate for self and others that it would perpetrate such tragedy. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 8 (bold emphasis mine):

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Stories like this provokes righteous anger. It makes me wonder and ask questions like:

"What happened to these boys?"

"What church or Christ-follower missed an opportunity to minister to them?"

"Did we fail to demonstrate and show the love and peace of Christ?"

"What if....."

It becomes incredibly apparent to me that we (Christ-followers and the church) must be more vigilant than ever in sharing the hope of Christ with the world. You can't police the heart. Jesus Christ is indeed the only hope for a world where kids burn another child. I pray justice will do her work in this case, but I also pray these boys will know the hope of Christ so He can salvage and transform their hearts. If he could do that for me, he can do that for anyone!

Honest Abe: The Sin of Silence

One of my favorite Abraham Lincoln quotes is, "To sin by silence makes cowards of men." Spot on Abe! How many times have you and I sinned by our silence? For example:

Someone tells a joke in poor taste...we simply say nothing even though we're not amused.

We overhear someone at church, or a neighbor gossiping and do not nip or correct it.

We talk about someone we know to others instead of talking to them face to face.

We freeze when someone makes a racial or clearly prejudicial statement. We reason it's better to let ignorance prove itself.

A Christ-follower offers inaccurate information about a politician or celebrity and we sit quietly.

Someone passes on one of those (usually politically motivated) urban legends or myths and we forward it to others without ever confirming it's truth on Snopes or similar truth-telling websites.

A friend cites facts about pending legislation or a specific politician that is just flat out wrong. We reason it's not worth the time even though we know according to fact check.org they are completely wrong.

We are often highly critical of the Apostle Peter's failure to stand up for Jesus on the night of his false arrest, but fail to realize we have done worse than Peter many, many times. At least Peter was broken about his denial of Christ.

We don't set out to sin by silence. It actually starts slowly. One, two, three and then before we know it a thousand comments or conversations have passed us by without correction, challenge or dispute. Usually our silence is motivated by a desire to remain in the shadows, or to be polite and not ruffle feathers.

Just the other day a well-meaning, public servant and fellow Christ-follower brought up the citizenship question of President Obama and declared that his birth certificate had been falsified. He said it with so much conviction and force that I sat in silence hoping the moment would pass. Even though our conversation was about something else, why didn't I challenge his comments? Why didn't I call him by name and open my computer and take him to documentation that proves this rumor is completely and totally false? Why did I sin in silence? By the way if you want to see it click here: Factcheck.org

Christ-followers are to be truth tellers. We are supposed to be known for the truth and erring on the side of truth. We don't get a pass for taking the road of least resistance because it's uncomfortable or unpopular to challenge something we know is not true or accurate. I don't have to know how the Apostle Peter felt by that fire in the outer courtyard when he denied the truth. Sitting in silence is no different than the denial of truth.

May God forgive us when we fail to speak up or challenge known falsehoods, lies and pure rumor or gossip. May He prick our conscience so we that we confess our failures when it happens so we don't allow ourselves to become anesthetized to a life of silence. And may He give us the humility to make sure that whenever we do challenge or speak to a falsehood, rumor or lie that our motivation and words are in love! Paul writing in Ephesians 4 sums it up for those of us who follow Christ:

¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Humble vs. Humble

Pastor Mark Driscoll calls on the saints of Mars Hill to be a humble people and church. Would to God all of our churches would be like this because each of us pursues humility. May it be so, may it be so in your church and mine.