Conflict of Interest

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

A couple of weeks ago, I read the terrific new book by one of our very own Thomas Nelson authors, Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (it really is a great read … in fact, it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for the last three weeks now – so I’m hardly alone in that sentiment … but, I digress ).  A few days later, Miller spoke to us in our quarterly company-wide meeting in Nashville.   And, in reading and hearing his voice over the course of that week, one question/theme continued to present itself to me.

And, I’ll get to the question momentarily.  But, let me explain the book to  you, first.  That way, you’ll understand how I came to the question to begin with.  Don wrote a best-selling memoir several years ago on his spiritual journey (Blue Like Jazz – another terrific book that you absolutely must read if you haven’t already).  A few years later, a couple of hotshot movie producers called, wanting to adapt it for the big screen.  Don said yes and they began writing … only to figure out that the real Don’s life wasn’t a great enough story.  Not enough action.  Not enough conflict (at least not that people could see … most of Don’s conflict played out between his ears).  The real Don wasn’t a hero.  So, they began to edit Don’s life.

Now, this struck him at his core.  And upon reflection, he decided, more or less, that if there was to be a sequel some day – if someone were to tell the story of the rest of his life – he better get busy making it one worth telling.  He had an opportunity, from that point forward,  to edit his life … to write his own story.  And, you’ve just gotta read about some of the things he did (and is still doing).  It’s really remarkable.  He’s finally living a story worth telling.

But, you know what it took (and, this is where my question comes in)?  It took understanding the components of a great story.  What makes one (oddly enough, while we all know one when we see one, writing one ourselves ain’t so easy).  And, Don realized he didn’t know.  So, he went to Robert McKee’s world-famous story seminar to find out exactly what they were.

Among the many things he learned there – and maybe the most important? That conflict is crucial.

That, to be a hero, the story’s protagonist must face it.  Take it on. Beat it down.

How many great movies have we ever seen, after all,  in which the main character didn’t have something to overcome?

We love it when an underdog character triumphs in the face of

Odds ... long odds

overwhelming odds.   When the street fighter from Philly takes down the champ.  When Bedford Falls rallies around the Savings & Loan.  When the small-town school in Indiana wins the state championship.

Awesome stories.  Some of our all-time favorites.   And, we’d love for them to be ours … to be the heroes in those types of tales, wouldn’t we?

Absolutely.  But, again … there’s that one thing all of the great stories have in common that we want nothing to do with.

Odds.

Obstacles.

Conflict.

And, until we’re willing to stare them down, ours will be tales – like Don’s – that need a re-write.

So … (boy, can I take a long time to get to a question, or what?) … that begs the following questions …

Why do we love conflict in the movies … but not in our lives?

Why don’t we understand that, if we want our lives to be stories worth telling, they’ll require our overcoming great conflict?

They’ll require risk?

Bravery?

Sacrifice?

A cause that we believe in and will fight for?

Surrounded: The War on Terror

Heard a sermon last week from Pastor Brady Cooper at New Vision Baptist Church here in Murfreesboro on spiritual warfare and, as is usually the case, my imagination ran wild.

Check out this clip.

Airstrikes over Vietnam.   Soldiers, on the ground, pinned down, fighting for their lives as the enemy attacks them from every conceivable angle.  Surrounded and without hope of escape, they’ve called in backup.

Moments later, it arrives.  Fire rains down from on high … the enemy, taken out by these lightning bolts from above.  Each unleashed upon a precise location that would allow for the soldiers’ escapes from the clutches of the enemy.

Surely, by now, you gotta see where I’m goin’ with this, right?

So – do you feel surrounded?  I do.  Hemmed in and fired upon.  Every day.

I mean, if you believe, as I do, that there’s a battle going on and that we’re on the ground … then you understand that, as Christians, we’re the foot soldiers … that we’re on the front lines.  And, if you’re paying attention, you’re hearing those shots ring out … you’re feeling the enemy fire whiz by from every direction, ripping into the grass and trees and make-shift shelters we’ve built and many times, into the very flesh of those we love.

Bullets and grenades, in the form of hurtful words, extramarital affairs, lost jobs, sick children … lies, pride, greed, deception, envy, anger …

American_soldier_in_Vietnam.

And we’ve all taken our share of bullets.   In fact, alot of us are full of shrapnel.  And we’re lying there, fearful, wounded, in our foxholes (i.e. offices, bedrooms) … our eardrums bursting with each explosion, sweating, bleeding, hurting … waiting for the inevitable … to be found out, descended upon, overtaken, imprisoned, killed.

You may think I’m going a bit overboard here … that my imagination has indeed, put in a little overtime.  And those of you that know me also know that where I’m concerned, yeah … it happens from time to time.  Rest assured, however – this isn’t one of them.  I really believe that if our eyes were opened to what’s going on all around us, we’d be terrified.

We’d find that we’re at war.

That we’re surrounded.

And that there’s no way out.

… Or is there?

Well, like the soldiers who called in these air strikes, we too have a direct line to deliverance – prayer.

With that in mind – when was the last time you wrapped your hands together around that radio and spoke to your field commander?

He knows your location.  He knows who is after you and how they plan to attack.   And He can get you out.  He’s just waiting for you to ask … and hoping you’ll call again before you need it.

—————————————————-

Like me, you’ve likely heard this analogy before.  It’s just how my mind works and how I visualize it happening all around me …  and when I revisited it at New Vision last week, I thought this time I’d get it down, in case there was someone out there who hadn’t put it together quite this way before.

And, while I’m at it, let me be also say that I’m no hypocrite – I’m as guilty as anyone of not spending enough time in prayer.

Anyhow … on a somewhat related note – I’m trying to figure out what to do/where to go with this blog.  New name, new look, new content.  I’ll still post thoughts like these – and likely, quite often.  Regardless of what it evolves into, faith will always be a big part of it. But, I’m thinking there needs to be more.  More of the day-to-day.  I’m tossing all these things around in my head and just waiting for that aha! moment … ’cause, I know if I force something that isn’t authentic and that I don’t enjoy into this space, not only will I not enjoy it and eventually cease doing it, you won’t read it anyway (as though anyone is reading it now, right?).

Gordon_Dalbey's_book

So – any thoughts on spiritual warfare? On any of this stuff? If you wanna read more about it, there’s plenty to be found in a number of best-selling books, including John Eldredge’s classic, Wild at Heart or Gordon Dalbey’s Healing the Masculine Soul (left), among many others.

Love to hear from ya, as always.  Be blessed, have a great weekend and following week.  Leave ya with this from the Apostle Paul:

^{Ephesians 6:10-18}

¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we^[c] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^{[d] 16} In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.^{[e] 17} Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers

¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we^[c] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^{[d] 16} In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.^{[e] 17} Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers

Can I Get a Witness?

Must admit that it feels a little strange to be back behind the keyboard.  Our home computer contracted a really nasty virus and was in the shop for nearly three weeks.  All the while, I of course, had plenty to say – but nowhere to say it.  Once I got it back? Nothin’.  Not a thing to say.  And, in fact, until this very moment, the real problem with that never occurred to me.

Like alot of people, truth be known, I probably use this forum – my blog/the internet – as a bit of a crutch.  A hiding place.  A cop-out.   Being introverted and sometimes even, a bit shy, I feel a heckuva lot more comfortable professing my faith from behind this keyboard.  And, while there’s absolutely nothing in the world wrong with sharing my life/experiences/concerns/the truth, etc. with others in that way, when you make a statement like the one I made in that first paragraph up there … maybe it’s time to take a step back, re-evaluate.

Of which statement do I speak?  Allow me to quote myself.  “All the while, I of course, had plenty to say – but nowhere to say it.”

Are you kidding me?

Nowhere to say it?

How about to the people around me? At work? At home? At church?  Am I – not consciously, albeit – at a point where I am thinking more about how a particular thought the Lord lays on my heart would work better as a blog post than about how it could enrich the life of the person in the cube next to me?  Or about how it may be exactly what the person I’m talking to at that very moment needs to hear? Am I letting opportunities to speak into others’ lives  pass me by, because, well … I can just send it to ‘em with a link and a photo later?

I catch myself flipping open my journal to get a particular thought or angle down before I lose it.  So that I (I!) can reflect on it later.  And, while that, at first glance, wouldn’t seem to be something awful, at second glance, maybe it is.  After all, in that moment, I’m not thinking of anyone but myself, am I?  I want to get it down, so that I – and only I – can reflect on it later … Maybe pray about it.  But, what about the person with whom I’m talking? What if it’s something THEY could/should reflect on later? Am I robbing them of something they desperately needed to hear? Couldn’t our talking it through offer us both something significant?  And, couldn’t I still, later, sit down at this keyboard – only with even MORE to say?

Not sure what this means for you, if anything … for me, it means I’ve got to stop seeing this platform as an escape, a crutch, a cop-out, an alternative.

Preach to SAVE me – not PLEASE me: The Dangers of a “Feel-Good” Gospel

God never ceases to amaze me. 

There’s a message I’m supposed to be hearing right now – obviously. I picked up MacArthur’s book, Hard to Believe, which I wrote about last week. The book’s topic – “seeker-sensitive” churches, or more specifically, pastors and churches who preach only a “feel-good” gospel … a gospel that will grow the number of butts in seats on Sunday.  But – not necessarily a gospel that will save souls. I’ve been agreed with on what MacArthur said and my opinion of it. I’ve been taken to task.

But, upon visiting Fellowship Memphis’ web site to hear the latest sermons, this one was (its subject unbeknownst to me), of course, the first one I opened and listened to. Of course it was … of course.  God will absolutely direct your path and speak to you, if you are willing to listen.

Very, very, very well said (as always) by Bryan Loritts. If you’re gonna preach the gospel – don’t preach it to please people. And preach it ALL.

Great, great listen. Do yourself a huge favor and check it out.

Love to hear what you think afterwards, as we continue this discussion …

http://www.fellowshipradio.org/wp-content/uploads/01%2006.28.2009_DNA_%20AligningBiblically.mp3

Christianity Lite: Tastes Great, Less Filling

Just began what has, thus far, been a pretty darned good book.  John MacArthur’s Hard to Believe.   I’ve always enjoyed  MacArthur, though some may find him (and other conservative Baptists) “harsh”.  He admits so much and in fact,  says that this book will certainly do nothing to alter that perception.  It may even further it.  But, he’s never concerned himself with that in the least, and I respect the heck out of him for that.  His concern is the truth.  And, there are a whole, whole lot of folks/churches in this day and age, it seems, that can’t say as much.  At least in his view (and mine).

So many churches today see their congregations as consumers.  Why is that dangerous? I’ll let him tell you.  He does a much better job than I ever could.

The first role of successful merchandising is to give consumers what they want.  If they want bigger burgers, make their burgers bigger.  Designer bottled water in six fruit flavors? Done.  Minivans with ten cupholders?  Give ‘em twenty.  You’ve got to keep the customer satisfied.  You’ve got to modify your product and your m want to build a market and get ahead of the competition.

Today, this same mindset has invaded Christianity.  The service is too long, you say? We’ll shorten it.  Too formal? Wear your sweatsuit! Too boring? Wait ’till you hear our band!   And, if the message is too confrontational, judgmental, exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand or too much of anything else, churches everywhere are eager to adjust their message to make you more comfortable.  This new version of Christianity makes you a partner on the team, a design consultant on church life and does away with old-fashioned authority, guilt trips, accountability and moral absolutes.

It’s Christianity for consumers:  Christianity Lite, the redirection, watering down and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable and popular.  It tastes great going down and settles light.  It seems to salve your feelings and scratch your itch.  It’s custom-tailored to your preferences.  But, that lightness will never fill you up with the true saving gospel of Jesus Christ, because it’s designed by man and not God.  It’s hollow and worthless.  In fact, it’s worse than worthless, because the people who hear only the “feel good” message of Christianity-Lite think they’re hearing the gospel – think they’re being rescued from eternal judgment – when in fact, they’re being tragically and dangerously misled.

Tough to hear.  And, before we go any further, I’ll not be a hypocrite and condemn bands, coffee and jeans in church.  I’ve done it myself many, many, many times and enjoy it to this day.  Those things, in and of themselves, don’t take away from the gospel, provided what you’re hearing is the truth.  Give me all those things, sure.  They’re enjoyable.  God doesn’t care what I’m wearing and boy, do I love my coffee.  But, don’t water down the message.  Give it to me straight and give me all of it.  I think it’s important to note that that’s what I believe MacArthur to be saying here.  Just don’t compromise the message and understand that the job of the church is not to make me feel good every Sunday.  It’s to give me the truth and lead me to salvation (which, of course, is ultimately up to me to ask for).  Mac Arthur continues, commenting on Robert Schuller’s Self Esteem: The New Reformation :

Maybe the most amazing statement in Self Esteem: The New Reformation is the following: “Once a person believes he is an ‘unworthy sinner’, it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ.”  So, if you want to be saved, according to this new gospel, you cannot believe yourself to be an unworthy sinner? How twisted is that?  How contrary to the truth is that? But, it is just the sort of man-centered, self-esteem gospel that eventually became the seeker-friendly movement, which has hijacked so many churches.  It’s a kind of quasi-Christian narcissism, of self-love, that is characteristic of false teachers: according to 2 Timothy 3, which reminds us “Dangerous times will come, for men will be lovers of themselves.”

Christianity, in the hands of some seeker-sensitive church leaders, has become a “get what you want” rather than a “give up everything” movement.  These leaders have prostituted the divine intention of the gospel.  They have replaced the glory of God with the satisfaction of man.  They have traded the concept of abandoning our lives to honor Christ for Christ honoring us.  As such, our submission to His will is replaced by His submission to ours.   Since people usually reject the real gospel … modern evangelicals have simply changed the message.

To wrap this up for now, what is the true gospel, according to MacArthur (with whom I agree)? No to put too fine a point on it, but it’s this:

… Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley, thy life in my death.     “Thy life in my death”?  That’s the true gospel.   Jesus said it unmistakably and inescapably, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whomever desires to save his own life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for My sake, will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).  It’s not about exalting me, it’s about slaying me.    It’s the death of self.  You win by losing; you live by dying.  And that is the heart of the gospel.  That is the essence of discipleship.    The passage mentions nothing about improving your self-esteem, being rich or successful, feeling good about yourself or having your “felt needs” met – which is what so many churches are preaching these days in order to sugarcoat the truth.

I have no idea how the fans of Christianity Lite reconcile their approach to religion with the teaching of Jesus, or how they become comfortable ignoring what He said.  But, the only acceptable approach – for me and you – is to take our Lord at His word in the single, solitary source of truth for every authentic Christian – the word of God revealed in the Bible.  Luke 9 cuts pretty much right to the core.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man, will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

It’s pretty simple.  Anyone who wants to come after Jesus – anyone who wants to be a Christian – has to face three commands: 1) deny (refuse to associate with) himself  2) take up his cross daily, and 3) follow Him.  These words are hard to believe.  They’re not consumer-friendly or seeker-sensitive.  Christianity-Lite is nowhere to be found here.  But this is not an obscure passage.  These are the principles He taught over and over and over again.

Anyhow … this is all on pages 5 and 6.  It’s drawn me in.  We can get into more and more on this in the coming days, and I plan to.  I’m sure there are plenty of you out there with plenty to say about this new “reformation” and the seeker-sensitive and/or gospel-compromising, consumer-friendly churches that seem to be popping up on absolutely every corner.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts …

McNair: A Legacy Spiraling Downward?

Steve McNair was a player.  And now we know it.

Oh, sure, he was a gritty, gifted leader on the field.  The kind of QB you’d want in your huddle most any day.  And, for the most part, to anyone who wasn’t an absolute insider, a pretty good guy in the community, too.   A good guy, who kept his nose clean and was an asset to the community.  At least, that’s what I hear most of my colleagues and friends here in Nashville say (I moved here only a year ago).   And, I won’t deny that someone who makes a mistake now and again can’t be a great person or an asset to a community.  They absolutely can and in a big way.  We all make mistakes.  It’s important that you hear me say that.   I’m not here to judge McNair, and God knows I’m a flawed son of a gun, myself …  as depraved and sinful as anyone else.  And, he probably was, in all likelihood, a great guy to be around … unless you were his wife or kids – in which case, he wasn’t (around, that is).

Alright.  Maybe that’s not fair.  Maybe he was around alot … except when he was off running around with one of, what appears to be, numerous girlfriends he’d had over the years.

And, I agree that it’s no one’s place to question a man’s love for his children, right?  But, the question has got to be asked, doesn’t it? … if you really love your children, do you cheat on their mother? For years? Do you spend the money that could secure not only their futures, but the futures of their children and grandchildren on Cadillac Escalades for cheap sex with 20-year old girls?  Are those the lessons that fathers whose children are truly their first priority teach them?

I don’t know …  I mean, a man was brutally murdered and four children have lost their father.  A woman has lost her husband.  I really, really am not here to disparage the guy.  And God knows, I’m NOT getting around to saying “he had it comin’”.  But, it’s disheartening, to a degree, to see what really happened get glossed over or flat-out dismissed by so many because the man was a great football player.

When you get right down to it, I mean, when you really boil it down, I guess what wins out, for me, is this:  If he’d been at home, being a husband to his wife and a father to his children, and not running around with a 20-year old girl, he’d still be alive.

I know that sounds harsh.  And, I’m really sad that this has happened, just like everyone else …  But, I can’t shake that thought.

What are yours?

The Science of God

Like alot of you, I’d seen the last of these Louie Giglio clips before.   But, never the entire sermon.  And, I know these have been around the block a time or two.  So, forgive me for perhaps being a bit late to the game.  But, after seeing this in its entirety last week, I just had to post each of the five segments here together.   They’re worth watching again, even if you have seen them.  And, for those of you who haven’t, turn up the volume on your computer a bit, sit back and prepare for your mind to be blown.   I’m tellin’ ya – if you start watching this, you won’t stop.

And, when you’re done, tell me … how big do you feel? How big do your worries feel? And, how absolutely UNBELIEVABLE is our God?  Do ya think, just maybe, that a God that can do all of this, can hold you together? 

 

 

 

 

 

Are we there yet?

About a year ago, I was back in Memphis on business and had a few hours to spare.   And, being only a few minutes from the first house I remember living in as a child, thought I’d swing by.  

The old neighborhood is, unfortunately, no longer the safest part of town to visit.

I  pulled up in front and, for as long as I could do so without being reported to the police or putting the very life I was reflecting on in danger, just stared. 

(Heck, thanks to the magic of Google Maps, I can literally show it to you.  Yep … that’s it, just above … on Penwood Cove, in area of Memphis known as Whitehaven - a few miles from Graceland and a stone’s throw from Memphis International Airport.   I was five.)

I remembered watching the big kids build ramps on the sidewalk out front, speed down the mountainside that was our street and jump them on their dirt bikes … the neighbor lady with the greenhouse in her living room … the boys next door, Randy and Butch … and the kids across the street who set their house on fire when a frog they’d poured gasoline on and set ablaze hopped into the storage room and got lost under a can or two of paint thinner (now THAT, my friends, is what you call going out in a “blaze of glory” …  good for you, frog). 

Most importantly, I just remembered it being so much bigger.  The house, the yard, the block … and those boys? who seemed to be all but grown at the time? they were probably all of 12.  And, I thought of how long ago that all seems to have been.  Literally, it feels like a lifetime. 

It’s incredible, between then and now, how much life I’ve lived.  How much things have changed.  How much I’ve changed.   There have been countless moves.  Elementary, Junior High and High School.  Friends.  Girls.  Divorces.  College.  Jobs.  Marriage.  Children …

In fact, it’s been 31 years since I’ve lived in that house.  And, when all of that life met up, face to face, with all of those memories, I realized that so many of the things I thought I remembered, had been, over the years, built up in such magnificent ways in my mind.  I’d made them into so much more than they were.  From the house, to those kids and, in all likelihood, that frog.  The world just seemed so big then.  

But, here I was … across the same street that years earlier I couldn’t cross by myself, with my car windows down, smelling smells, hearing sounds (it’s absolutely incredible how those things stay with you) and experiencing those days all over again …  and I realized that some day, I’m going to revisit my current season of life.  And (God willing), that 60, 70 or 80 year-old man will laugh at what this 36-year-old kid once called troubles.  Those things that he’d made into giants … they’re 12-year-old boys on dirt bikes,  in front of a tiny house, at the bottom of a hill that ain’t so big.

I think we’re all guilty of doing this, by the way.  Creating these giants of things – particularly our problems - these mountains for ourselves to climb.  And, I think we’d do ourselves good to realize now what we one day surely will … that things just aren’t as big a deal as we’re makin’ ‘em out to be. 

One day, in fact, we’ll long – in a powerful way – to return to these days.  To our youth.  To the days when we had our health. To the days our kids wanted to spend time with us.  To the days when we had our whole lives – whatever they may have looked like at the time – in front of us. 

To which I say … We’re there.  Right now … we’re there.

So, wake up.  Relax.  Enjoy.  Live.

Take CHARGE

I blogged a couple of weeks ago about a young King David.  With Goliath, an army and certain death in front of him – and armed with only a few stones, a sling, a ragtag group of outmanned misfits and, of course, the God of the universe – he attacked.   He didn’t walk cautiously towards his enemy … which, when considering who/what was in front of him, would have been impressive enough, no?  But to think that he RAN to meet them?  Incredible.  How many of us would have stood up to such a challenge at all?  Much less welcomed it?  Without hesitation or fear? I can’t imagine a more perfect example of how, with God at our side, we should approach the obstacles and fears in our own lives.

That said, when I came across this video, I just had to share it.  Talk about someone who, like David, CHARGED his fears – sword at the ready.  Take a minute and check this out.   Ya gotta hear what he says towards the end …

So … how are you approaching your fears?

Are you on a stepladder in your wife’s closet, changin’ bulbs?

Or – are you strapped to the landing gear of a helicopter, climbing around on a half million volts, twenty stories off the ground?

How big are YOUR stones?

Still trying to re-engage after my latest withdrawal into myself (despite my own best advice … you remember it, right? Talk? Engage? Share? Do as I say, not as I do, eh?),  I was about 50 pages into another good book from Gordon Dalbey (No Small Snakes – A Journey Into Spiritual Warfare) when I ran across something pretty powerful.  And, I wanted to share it, as it relates to the combat (spiritual warfare) that we, as believers, are called to engage in every day.

But, let me preface it with this – I agree with alot of what John Eldredge says about men.  Particularly, that we all desperately need to believe that we have what it takes (and that most of us don’t believe that).  That we are, indeed, men, in the strongest sense of the word.  That we (and pardon the connotation) have, you know … stones.

And, this passage has got to be as powerful an example of that as exists.

Reading from 1 Samuel 17:45-47:   “You are coming against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defiled.  This very day the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head.  And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat.  Then, the whole world will know that Israel has a God – and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save His people.  He is victorious in battle, and He will put all of you in our power.”

This rather, well, bold proclamation – i.e. “you’re twice my size, three times as strong, have a spear, a sword, a javelin and an enormous army at your side … but, I’m not only gonna whip you right here in front of God and everybody (despite what many across the South may believe, this HAS to be the most appropriate use of that saying of all time, no?), I’m gonna take your head off.  And then, I’m gonna feed your army to the birds” – was made by  a young shepherd boy to Goliath – a giant of a Philistine soldier … a man of enormous size and strength and unparalleled combat skill.  A killing machine.

It’s nearly incomprehensible to most of us … to stand in front of such a seemingly impossible challenge.  Much less, to do it with such bravado.  But, then again, David had those stones … and, more importantly, an immovable faith in his God.  There was absolutely nothing that could stand in his way with God at his side.

So, imagine if you can, standing there, as David.

And then, tell me, why we can’t stand up to an envelope that comes in the mail.  To our boss.  To our circumstances.   Tell me why, when we have the same God at our side that David had on that day, we can’t swallow our pride?  Save our marriages? Reclaim our hearts? Defeat our giants?

But, you know what? That David strode into battle proclaiming victory wasn’t what hit me between the eyes.  It was what came next.  What came after David told Goliath just how far he was about to fall.

Continuing in 1 Samuel 17:48:   So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet him.

He ran toward the army to meet him.  He didn’t play 18 holes, go fishing, or turn on the game.  He didn’t ignore his wife. He didn’t toss the bill on the counter or in the trash.

He ran.

Towards an army.

Towards a giant.

He had what it takes.

… He had GOD.

Big lesson to be learned in that … no?