Screenagers.

I saw my nephew reading HOMER PRICE and had a flashback of my ten-year-old self crawling under the covers with a flashlight to read that hilarious book!  Did you ever read a book when you were supposed to be asleep?  —It is one of those odd infractions parents can be ambivalent about: sure, he’s staying up too late, but hey, he’s READING! 

But if you let your phone, iPad, laptop, or television keep you up when you should be sleeping, you are foolish.  As a night owl, I fight these battles daily.  But I do respect “SLEEP HYGIENE.”  When I enter my bedroom, the light stays off, the phone goes on the charger (flipped over so no light escapes), and I go to bed and forget about screens. In bed, I cannot be distracted. 

Teenagers do not respect sleep hygiene.  Nor do twenty-somethings.  One pediatric sleep specialist calls them “screenagers,” because they have a powerful addiction to screens.  They feel a constant pull to check the phone, check social media, get a few more likes, and be sure they’re not missing out. The problem is rampant, and every night the average teen sleeps THREE HOURS LESS than he should. Are you a screenager?

Ask yourself: WWJD?

David Mathis paraphrases John 1: “The Word became flesh and slept among us.”  Mathis argues Jesus was GOOD AT SLEEPING.  He could shut out distractions (like screens), shut off his mind, and go to sleep.  He even slept during a storm—a storm so bad, waves were coming over the side of the boat.  “But he was in the stern, asleep on a cushion” Mark 4:38.  Jesus did not resent sleep or consider it wasteful as we are tempted to.  He respected sleep.

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, and to eat the bread of painful labors, for the Lord gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalm 127:2.

What does Psalm 127 mean?  It means GET SOME SLEEP!  God will take care of you while you are sleeping—and often THROUGH your sleeping.

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Is God in This?

I memorized these beautiful words years ago:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Psalm 127:1-2.

If God is not in it, you will fail, so don’t waste your time. Why get up early, stay up late, and work hard all day long, if God is not in it? And if you ARE in the will of God—go to bed! He will bless you even while you are sleeping. Rest and trust Him.

The Chronological Bible places this psalm just after the story of David planning to build a temple. David says to Nathan the Prophet, “Why should I live in a palace with cedar walls while the ark of God sits in a tent?” But God says that He never asked for a temple. God reminds David of all that He has done for him:

“I took you from the pasture and from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel…. [And David recognizes that he was a nobody until God blessed him]: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?… But now You regard me as a man of distinction…. Lord, there is no one like You, and there is no God besides You.” 1 Chronicles 17:7,16-17,20.

Two truths:

God can choose anyone, no matter how humble the beginnings. Are you a failure, a loser, a flunkie, unloved, and unskilled? David was at the bottom: a shepherd. Talk about unskilled labor. But God made him KING! And David knows that—it was all God, not David.

Second, David gives up his idea of building a temple. He knows God is not in it. So he lets it go. If your plan is not God’s will, why waste your time? He will NOT bless it.

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Dream Deferred.

I had a mid-life crisis yesterday. I remembered things I hope to do, places I hope to visit, dreams I hope to accomplish, and thought “I’ll never make it.”  The year 2002 seems like yesterday—time has FLOWN! In another twenty years, I’ll be in my 70s.  That’s discouraging.  I have served God faithfully, but I’m broke.  I never published a book.  I never went to England. I’ve worked hard and done good things—even great things.  I’ve remained in God’s will.  But my dreams are postponed, unfulfilled, deferred.

DREAM DEFERRED

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

—Langston Hughes.

What an achingly sad poem; I know the feeling.

David’s dreams came true: giant killer, national hero, ladies man(×1,000), poet-songwriter-musician, Biblical author (including the wildly popular 23rd Psalm), warrior, king, sire of a line of kings including the King of Kings.  But God deferred one of his dreams, telling him—NO, you will NOT build my temple.  When did I ask you for a house? Who do you think you are?  You are a man of bloodshed, not suited to building a place of worship.

“But I will raise up your descendant who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. HE WILL BUILD A HOUSE FOR MY NAME” 2 Samuel 7:12-13.

This passage gave me hope today.  If David could not do it all, why should I? David had to let one dream go—but I know it comforted him that his son would achieve it.  After all—Solomon needed his own challenges, as my children need theirs.  I don’t have to do everything.  It’s not about me. 

God, we are here to fulfill YOUR plans, not our own.  Fill us with passion for YOUR dreams.

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Self-Help Overkill.

Publishers have made a mint on the self-help market.  People anxious to “help themselves” spend millions annually on books covering: 1) money management, 2) dieting, 3) following your dreams, 4) “mindfulness,” 5) healing, 6) reaching goals and being organized, 7) reducing worry, 8) handling change, 9) new age/ the “law of attraction,” 10) family and relationships.

There are thousands of books promoting a million ideas.  But is life that complicated?  Is success so elusive that you need to study book after book to get there? Self-help books clearly work and I have read a dozen or more myself.[1] 

But I believe a few principles can guide you to success in all these areas if you simply follow them. 

Here’s my list, in no particular order:  1) Be honest—and be honest with yourself, 2) Work hard, 3) Never give up, 4) Be humble and teachable, 5) Treat people well, 6) Forgive—and forgive yourself, 7) Never be distracted by perfectionism, because you will not achieve it—and it was never the point, 8) Be grateful every day—look for reasons to be thankful, 9) Make choices you will be proud of, and 10) Love God by loving God’s word.

The Bible explains success the same way: obey the word. 

“This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it DAY AND NIGHT, being careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success” Joshua 1:8.

“How blessed is the man … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates DAY AND NIGHT.  He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers” Psalm 1:1-3.

Study the word in the morning.  Study the word in the evening.  Do those two things, and YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.

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[1] Not to mention, writing one: How to Make A’s: My Journey from Flunky to College Professor and What I Learned Along the Way.

You Can’t Unsee It.

‘IMPRINTING’ describes what happens to birds when they first hatch.  Their minds are particularly fresh, like camera film that has never seen the light.  So if their first moments are with their mother, the chicks are drawn to her instantly. But if their first moments are with someone else—a scientist, perhaps—they may be drawn to him.  There is a film showing baby ducklings following an Austrian scientist around—because his image was “imprinted” on their brains when they hatched.

Human brains are likewise impressionable.  We are drawn to things we see.  And the younger we are—the stronger the attraction.  Why? Because there is so little in our personal history to compete.  If I look at candy in the grocery store, I can summon 50 years of junk food memories to shake off the temptation.  But when a tiny child sees candy, her experience provides much less perspective. 

(1) What we see entices and influences us.  And (2) it impacts us more powerfully in our youth.  And (3) repeated viewings for many hours draw us more powerfully than a single viewing that is very brief.  It adds up.  And finally, (4) YOU CAN’T UNSEE IT. Researchers say that what you see stays in your mind forever.  The question is whether you will be able to summon the memory at will.  Perhaps not.  Yet new events often call to mind forgotten memories.  You never know when things you wanted to forget will come back to you. What you put into your head has consequences. King David understood this:

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.  I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me!” Psalm 101:3.

Let me challenge you.  Yes, avoid the super-bad, horrible, evil, disgusting, satanic, and immoral.  But let’s also protect our minds from things that are mild, even morally neutral, but simply worthless.  Why waste your time?

Dear God, speak to us.  Give us insight. Help us not to put anything worthless before our eyes. Show us if there are things we should give up.

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You Are Not Your Own.

“I hate my calves.”

“I’m too fat.”

“I’m too skinny.”

“I’m too stupid.”

“I’m too short.”

Have you ever heard a parent tell their child not to talk bad about himself?  Kids always argue: “I can say it, because I’m talking about myself, not someone else.” (But you’re hurting MY child.)

Is it acceptable to insult a person if that person happens to be you?

No.  Insulting ANYONE is insulting God’s creation.  Are you a better designer than God? Or does He agree with you?  If you insult yourself, will He look over and nod, as if to say “yep, you should have been taller.” 

Because get this—IF GOD DOES NOT AGREE WITH YOU, THEN ONE OF YOU IS WRONG.  And it’s not Him.

If God got out oils paints and painted a landscape, would you critique it?  If God sculpted a figure on horseback, would you grade Him, maybe knock points off for things He got wrong? If God wrote a novel, would you be willing to give it only four stars out of five?

Well, BEING one of God’s MASTERPIECES does not change the rules.  Just because you ARE you, does not give you the right to pass judgment on you.  You belong to HIM.  Only God has the authority to judge you.  I don’t have that authority—and NEITHER DO YOU.  We do not have the authority to judge another person’s servant.  Only the Master of the servant can judge the servant.

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls, and stand he will, for God is able to make him stand” Romans 14:4.

“It is HE who has made us, and not we ourselves.  We are HIS PEOPLE and the sheep of His pasture” Psalm 100:3.

If you did not MAKE yourself, then you have NO AUTHORITY to judge yourself.  God is your Master, and God will make you stand. Romans 14:4.

God, help us to give ourselves GRACE and leave the judgment up to YOU!

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God Can Use You in Your Final Days.

We recently moved my father into a memory care center because of Alzheimer’s disease.  I found it difficult to watch him leave his home and his wife and move alone into the equivalent of a college dormitory—where he knows no one and, as independent as he is, will certainly be confused at first. 

But God’s got this, right? God is still on His throne. And my dad remains one of the strongest men I ever met. He suffered through hepatitis alone in a 3rd-world country (6’4” and 120 pounds!). He can handle this. And he’s not “mine” to protect and care for, or my mom’s. He belongs to God, first, and God won’t give him too much. God knows how strong a man he is, and even with dementia, he will be okay.

That night, I opened my Bible and God brought scripture to my attention:

“Know that the Lord, He is God. It is HE who has made us and not we ourselves.  We are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture.” Psalm 100:3-4.

My dad belongs to God, and walking with God can be a tough calling—because God calls us to be men of courage and faith, facing hard things with our eyes fixed on Jesus.  And Daddy remains strong. After a lifetime with Jesus, his faith is so ingrained that even in dementia he won’t feel abandoned by God.

“Listen to Me … you who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. I will be the same in your old age. I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and save you.” Isaiah 46:3-4

God cares for us—and even uses us—as we age. He always has an encouraging word if you are reading His word every day. Grandpa read the Bible every day for at least 30 years. I know God is blessing him even now, using these last tough days like an athlete working the hardest at the end of the marathon. Great rewards are coming, and I know he’s earning more with each day. And God is with him every minute that we can’t be. Blessing him and using him. But how—how does God use a man in his condition? Is that even possible?

There is scripture that says God uses even the sick to remind the devil that only God has the power of life and death—so in dementia, an old, faithful saint may do his life’s greatest work as proof of God’s great sovereignty over life and death and all things.[1] 

Imagine that: disease may leave a man blind and mute, but his every breath preaches a sermon to the spiritual forces all around us. Isn’t that amazing? Praise God.

[1] See the screen clip above from a Google Books search of Joni’s work, HEAVEN: YOUR REAL HOME.

Do You Need God to Lead You?

When does God speak? If you need His wisdom and direction, when can you get it? Can you do anything to “encourage” God to speak to you?

David commented on this in Psalm 25.

“When people choose to follow the Lord—to fear and obey the Lord—He shows them the best way to live.… The Lord gives His secret counsel to those who obey Him.” Psalm 25:12,14.

God speaks to us when we FEAR and OBEY Him.

I have always experienced God’s voice this way: when I am ready to obey Him, no matter what He asks—THEN He will speak to me. He never speaks to me when there is a chance I might say no to Him.

It is only after I have prayed and laid down ALL the options, surrendered every possible choice to God that He speaks to me and lets me know which choice is His choice.

Does that make sense? In other words, if I have three choices, but I am secretly clinging desperately to one of those choices—holding on because I want it so badly—then God will remain silent. I will pray and it will feel like my prayers are stopping at the ceiling.

But when I realize what I am doing and I let go and lay down ALL my options—when I truly surrender 100% and am ready to pick up any option—THEN God speaks to me. Never before.

God speaks to us when He knows we are ready to obey.

If you need God’s wisdom, pray about it. Tell God all your options—and tell Him you will choose any option He has for you. Ask Him to help you release your grip on the things that YOU want, and to make your mind truly open to His will. Ask Him to give you a heart of total surrender. Then once you have surrendered, keep surrendering, and keep listening, because you have reached the place where God may speak.

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The Voice of God.

Does God speak to people today? If He does, how can you know His voice? 

I believe God speaks not only through His word, but also through our hearts, circumstances, and other people.  Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me” John 10:27. Isaiah wrote, “Your ears will hear a word behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it” Isaiah 30:21.  David said it over and over: God will lead His people.

“He LEADS me in the paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake” Psalm 23:3.  “Make Your ways known to me, Lord. TEACH me Your paths. GUIDE me in Your truth and teach me” Psalm 25:4-5.  “Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will SHOW him the way he should choose” Psalm 25:12.  “The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them” Psalm 25:14.

Here’s an interesting point:  not only does God speak to His children.  He also speaks to the lost.

“He shows sinners the way” Psalm 25:8. 

If you believe God will speak to you, then you face the second question: how do you know what He is saying?  You GROW to know His voice through experience.  When I was a child, we fought to answer the phone. If I picked it up and a stranger was on the line, I would not recognize the voice.  But if my father was calling, I would recognize the voice instantly. 

The first time God speaks, you may be like young Samuel who heard God calling, but did not know His voice, 1 Samuel 3.  But by spending time with God every day—and reading His word, which means listening to His “still, small voice,”—you will begin to recognize God’s voice.  Remember, He will not contradict His word; check everything against scripture.  Finally, I have often prayed this prayer:

God, it is my job to listen to You, but it is Your job to make it clear.  Right now, I’m not sure this is You.  If you are leading me in this way, please help me to be sure.

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Obedience, Holiness, Glory.

Do you remember Uzzah? He touched the ark of the covenant and died.

“Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord burned and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died” 2 Samuel 6:6-7.

Why did he die?  Because he forgot the rule—you must not touch the ark. But the oxen stumbled and the ark might have fallen. Wasn’t it better for Uzzah to stop the ark from falling? No.  God warned them NEVER to touch the holy ark.

But what about those who made it?

“Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood… and he overlaid it with pure gold inside and out…” Exodus 37:1-5.

So one day it’s wood and gold and Bezalel’s expert craftsmanship.  The next day, it’s holy and cannot be touched—even Bezalel would have been struck dead for touching it.  What made the things suddenly so special?

GOD’S GLORY.  God tells Moses to anoint everything they had built, Ex. 40:9-11.  Once that was done, “The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” 40:34.

After everything was done according to God’s instructions, God descended with His glory—and after His glory descended, everything became HOLY.

But so what? Today, the blood of Christ makes US holy—we could touch the ark and NOT be struck down.  But the point to this story is OBEDIENCE.  Moses and the craftsmen built everything according to God’s specifications, they anointed it as instructed. Then GOD BLESSED IT. 

God will bless our work the same way—He will pour His glory on our efforts—IF WE OBEY HIM.  But we must submit to God and OBEY HIS PLANS.  Then He will pour out his glory on our work, making it more special, more “holy” than it could ever be otherwise.

God, thank you for the thrill of serving you! Help us obey in every detail!

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