Broken

There is a story of a shepherd that was observed feeding a lamb with a broken leg. Someone asked him how the lamb managed to break its leg.  The shepherd commented, “I broke the lamb’s leg myself”. 

“The lamb would not stay with the flock and frequently wandered away.  When I called it, it would not come.  When I went after it, it would run away and would do its best to avoid me.  So I broke its leg so it would learn to rely on me, the shepherd to provide everything it needed.  The broken leg taught the lamb to trust me.  Now it knows that I am its shepherd and will take care of whatever it needs.” 

 
Sometimes, when we insist of going our own stubborn way and leading others astray, the good Shepherd will have to "break our leg" for our own good. The broken leg restricts our decision making and ability to run into trouble.  And it forces us to focus on the good Shepherd who loves and cares for us. 

 “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” Hebrews 12:11

Many people are under the impression that once they are saved, they will instantly be free of all problems. 

Truth is, there will be problems, every day there will be problems…. but you will not be facing them alone. 

The Bible teaches us that Satan is the “Father of lies” (John 8:44).  This means he is on a mission to convince you that you can do it on your own – you don’t need anyone or anything.  Satan will tell you that you have everything you need to succeed, without submitting to God. 

Satan wants you to believe that God is the cosmic kill-joy and He will do everything possible to hold you back and keep you from having fun. 

“Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me—
now let me rejoice”

Psalm 51:8
                                                                                                
Today’s Prayer: "Dear God, please give me the good sense to recognize You as my good Shepherd.  I need You to provide me the wisdom I need to submit to Your leadership and plan. Help me understand that Your discipline in my life is assurance that You are my Shepherd. Thank you for loving me enough to correct what displeases You. "

I Declare Winter OVER

Today I declare that winter was over.

It is official, don't try to fight it, resistance is futile.

So, part of my "process" of decommissioning winter is to get my motorcycle out of mothballs and put the snowblower away.

This proved easier said than done.

The large door going into the shed where I winter store my motorcycle had an imposing ice dam blocking it. Which required 30 minutes of picking before the door would swing open far enough to get the bike out. Then there was the 6" of snow to contend with.

I unplugged the battery from the tender and fired up my motorcycle in the shed and let it warm up while I worked on the ice dam.

For the record, I am further out of shape than expected. Yes I have a shape, "round" is a shape. And the whole ice picking thing wasn't near the fun I expected it to be. My unused back muscles are filing a letter of protest and will be sore tomorrow.

Note to self -- letting the motorcycle idle in an enclosed garage for an extended period of time without proper ventilation is.... unhealthy.

So the door is open, I am seated on my stallion and out the door I ride.... until I hit the ice dam. Apparently there was enough of a wrinkle left to spin out on and I was stuck.

Yea, I made it almost 2 feet before spinning out on the ice dam. CRUD!

After getting "unstuck" from the ice dam obstacle, my bike launched off into the 6" of compact snow. No, I didn't get very far, thank you for asking.

After grunting and groaning and pushing for another 30 minutes, the bike was free and clear. I went for a short ride just to erase any doubt as to whether or not it was worth all the hard work and grief. Without a doubt, I am the happiest boy in school.

Look out 60 mpg and no more seatbelt. Life is good.

By now you must be wondering what spiritual application could possibly be taken from this half baked adventure.

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. Mark 6:31

I am the first to admit that I am not very skilled at relaxing. Everyone is different, but for me, doing nothing is quite stressful. I am always working on some level or another.

Then my wife bought me a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle requires a great deal of concentration. If you ride a motorcycle and get distracted, accidents happen very quickly. So I found that my bike forces me to discipline my thoughts and focus on keeping the bike "shiny side up".

This may sound trivial to you, but for me, every time I get on the bike, it is a mini vacation. And I spend all summer on it. I use it for general transportation getting to appointments and speaking obligations. But each and every ride is a "road trip" and gives my mind a vacation from the pressures and "workaholic" tendencies that come so naturally to me.

So when I read about Jesus and His disciples working themselves to a frazzle and "unplugging" for a time of R&R -- it warmed my heart.

So my spiritual take away for today is, "Are you getting close to burn out and need to unplug?"

One of the most familiar chapters in the Bible is Psalm 23. In verse 3 it says, "He restores my soul". THAT my friend, is a promise you need to take Him up on.

How do you do that? Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God".

James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you".

How long has it been since you drew near to God and spent time with Him?

This Pastor's Perspective.... Rod & Staff Comfort Me

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" Psalm 23:4

The whole "rod & staff" thing has always left me twisting in the wind. I get what the "rod" does. We will call the rod PROTECTION. When the sheep are threatened by a predictor, the alert shepherd grabs his bat and charges in swinging.

However, the "staff" is for sheep.

When the shepherd wants to move the sheep, he uses the staff to poke and prod, to move the sheep out of their comfort zone. Some sheep need a more assertive prod than others. And some sheep just never seem to learn and the shepherd can anticipate which hammerheaded sheep will give him grief.

Since the shepherd knows the sheep better than anyone, he is well aware of how much prodding each sheep will require. In human terms, God uses circumstances, events, and people to prod us out of our comfort zone. If we do what we have always done, we will always get what we have always gotten. So God nudges us out of our comfort zone and into the light of His perfect plan for our life.

What determines how you respond to God's nudges, is determined by what you believe. If you believe God is good and always has your best interest at heart, then you take a leap of faith. If you doubt that God is good, then you rebel and impose your will. This requires God to use the Tazer end of His staff to get your attention.

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lse heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son". Hebrews 12:5-6

Our Journey Through Proverbs 3

"My child, don't reject the Lords discipline, and don't be upset when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a Father corrects a child in whom He delights" Proverbs 3:10-11

Yesterday an old army buddy I served with in Panama contacted me on FaceBook. When he stumbled on my name, his thoughts traveled down paths of mistakes long forgotten. When I told him I was a pastor and happily married, he immediately apologized for bringing up memories of partying and foolishness that revealed our immaturity.
My initial reaction was to laugh it off and chalk it up to stupidity run amuck. However as we talked and I reflected on my life journey, I realized that no matter how far I wandered, I never escaped Gods love. Suddenly I was not proud of my immature behavior, but I was honored by the work God accomplished in my life. The Apostle Paul said, "In my weakness, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). God took the problematic areas in my life that brought me shame and heartache and transformed those areas into attributes that bring Him delight. How cool is that?
God loves me enough to use circumstances, events and people to transform me into the very best model of me that He designed me to be. And God will continue to transform me (Philippians 1:6) into a person that lives a life that gives Him delight.