My View From the Catbirds Seat

Matthew 13:31–32 (NKJV)

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

My View From the Catbird’s Seat

Spiritual Discipline

1 Corinthians 9:25 (ESV)

²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

It’s confession time. I might as well get it out in the open. We were flying back home after a wonderful vacation in Las Vegas and I was consumed with guilt. I had cheated. No, not on my wife. I would not do that. Not on my taxes. No, we are rendering unto Caesar over here. Not even at cards. They frown on that in Vegas. No, I cheated on my diet. Big time! It was not just once. It was several times.

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It was a well-earned diabetes. My not so secret love affair with Pop-tarts and Mountain Dew finally caught up with me. When the doctor showed me the numbers, they were dangerously high. He gave us a plan, and my wife and I went to work. All of my favorites were now off limits, or limited. I watched with great despair as a whole grocery bag of my life essentials walked out of our door in the hands of my nephew. My Pop-tarts, cookies, breakfast cereal, barbecue potato chips, gone, just like that.

A disciplined life was needed to overcome some real life issues. With the help of a determined wife and the Holy Spirit, we got to work. Thirty pounds came off of my six foot tall already slim one hundred sixty pound frame. I would look in the mirror and see a walking skeleton staring back at me. To be honest, it was quite disturbing. My doctor and the nutritionist assured me we were doing well.

After three months of hard work, it was time to get checked again. The numbers had dropped one hundred and forty points. I was still in the diabetic range, but out of the danger zone. I was ready to head back home and work even harder to get the number down another twenty points. I was ready to get out of diabetes. My doctor looked at me and said, “I can tell by the numbers you are serious about this. But don’t forget, you can have a cheat day every now and then.”

“Get thee behind me, Satan doctor. You are a hindrance to me!”

No, I didn’t say that. I took the news home to my wife and we allowed the occasional cheat day. I would have chocolate covered almonds. Two or three if Karen wasn’t watching. They were so good. I had a watered down cup of Coke at a baseball game. Nope, nope. We can’t do that. Too sweet. Pizza, two pieces every Friday. Yes I can do that. We have established the boundaries for our cheat day. Two pieces of pizza, dance, dance, dance. Three pieces and someone needs to roll me over. The carbs have taken over.

“Discipline, Allen. Discipline. Stay focused. We have a job to do.”

My next visit gave my doctor a smile. Four points. Four. That was all that stood between me and the diabetes line.

“If I can just avoid that occasional third almond, I know I can make it.”

My doctor laughed and said, “You really can take more cheat days.”

“Nope, nope, nope. My goal is in sight.”

My annual physical came around and I anxiously awaited the text message from my doctor. I had allowed myself a few extra cheat days. Now, I would see the damage.

I went to Hershey World with my grand kids and even built my own candy bar. That was vacation sugar. I don’t think that counts. Someone gave me a doughnut at work. You can’t hurt a doughnut giver’s feelings can you? There was the family holiday get-together. Karen made me get dessert. I’m sure that one doesn’t count. Still, the wait for my text message was excruciating.

Finally, there was the ding. My phone was telling me I had a text from my doctor. I took a breath and clicked on the text message.

“CONGRATULATIONS. GREAT JOB.”

I scanned the text. I found the line. I read the number. For the first time in two years, I was out of the diabetes category. I was right on the line between diabetes and prediabetic. One more chocolate covered almond and I would be diabetic. One more carrot stick and I would be under the line. I can hear my wife say “Allen, that’s not really how it works.” But here I was standing on Victory Mountain! I had made it.

As, “We are the champions, Weeee are the Champions. We are the Champions…..OF THE WORLD.” (Sorry Queen), played in my head, my phone dinged again. Just a few minutes after the victory text, another text came through. Not from my doctor. No, it was from a local ice cream place. Not just any ice cream place, no, “THE BEST ICE CREAM PLACE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE” ice cream place!

“Today only, come in for our $1.52 single scoop cone special. TODAY ONLY.”

How did they know?

Suddenly, “Cheat Day” hit my brain. What better way to celebrate getting out of diabetes than with a Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream cone? I deserve it. I earned it. We had our grandsons with us. I am a good PopPop. They “NEED” ice cream. All in favor? “Aye!” Cheat day it is!

It was so easy to justify. I enjoyed my “Get out of diabetes” ice cream cheat day. It was so good.

It was also becoming much easier to cheat. Nothing major. Nothing bad. It was just easier and more frequent. Nothing like fresh fruit in the summer time. It’s wonderful. If we don’t go through the fast food drive through we will be late getting to our destination. You understand. Sometimes you just need a doughnut.

Once the goal was met, the focus and motivation lifted a little.

That leads me back to my confession. I cheated. It was bad.

We were on vacation visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Las Vegas. Gambling wasn’t the problem. Raunchy shows were not the problem. The problem was eating. I don’t think there was a salad in the whole state. There, I said it out loud, “I eat salad. I eat chicken. I eat vegetables.”

It all came to a head in a wonderful restaurant in the New York, New York casino resort. I had fish and chips. Not Jesus saying, “Come, sit down. Have a piece of fresh, broiled fish I have prepared for you.” No. This was the largest piece of heavy beer battered, grease dripping, feel your heart bogging down fish and chips. Don’t forget the deep fried onion rings.

It was wonderful. Take a bite. Wipe the grease off of your hands. Grab an onion ring. Wipe the oil off of your beard. “Let me have a couple of those fries.” There was no turning back. I had crossed a line and it was so good, until a little later. “Excuse me while the self-inflicted food coma sets in.”

Over the last couple of years, out of necessity, I have re-trained my body to follow a more useful diet. On vacation and family get-togethers, I allow myself to “cheat” a little. Too much, and I pay for it later. I’m sluggish, tired and grumpy. You get the idea.

Our Christian walk requires discipline.

Titus 1:7–9 (ESV)

⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Take a look at the word translated “disciplined”.

ἐγκρατής ĕgkratēs, eng-krat-ace´; from 1722 and 2904; strong in a thing (masterful), i.e. (fig. and refl.) self-controlled (in appetite, etc.):— temperate.¹

Strong, masterful, self-controlled. I know Paul was addressing an overseer, but the scripture works for us as well. We need to exercise self-control.

Paul continues in the book of 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 9:25–27 (ESV)

²⁵ Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

I don’t want to overwhelm us with Greek definitions, but one more. “Disqualified”.

65.13 ἀδόκιμος^b, ον: pertaining to having been proven worthless—‘of no value, valueless, worth nothing.’ ²

Now this does not mean of no value as a human being. When we leave discipline out of our Christian walk, we are pretty much “winging it”.

“Allen, God understands. I am doing the best I can, Allen. I don’t have time for prayer. I don’t have time to read the Word. I don’t have time to worship.”

I love you, but without the Lord in your day, you will never walk out the plans and purposes God has for you. You will never walk the walk of victory Jesus paid for.

Is missing one day of prayer, or one day of fellowship with the Lord going to send you to Hell? No, but I have found, the more you miss, the easier it becomes. I remember one time having a financial need and finally going to the Lord in prayer. I saw myself in a vision walking up to the Lord and saying, “Jesus, I need x amount of dollars. I don’t have time to fellowship with you, but if you help me this one time, I promise I will spend time tomorrow.” In my vision I heard the Lord say, “Allen, I am not an ATM, but if you will spend time with me, I can show you how to handle the situation you are in.” He has meet our needs many times, but the vision stuck with me. He wants time with us. I need to make my relationship with the Lord top priority.

David wrote in Psalm 63,

Psalm 63:1 (ESV)

¹  O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

The Hebrew word translated “earnestly” carries the understanding of “at dawn”. David saw the importance of starting his day in the presence of God. I see great wisdom in that. Before my day even begins, God has wisdom for me for the day. I heard a minister say when he first gets up in the morning, he grabs a cup of coffee and his bible. He reads the word and prays before breakfast. He said, “If I don’t feed my spirit, I’m not going to feed my body.”

Radical? Maybe, but in closing, look with me at Jeremiah 29:12-13.

Jeremiah 29:12–13 (NIV)

¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I need the wisdom and presence of the Lord in my day more than I need anything else.

Until the next time,

God Bless,

Allen

1 James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).

2 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 621.

The Power of Integrity

Psalm 25:21 (NIV)

²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me,

because my hope, Lord, is in you.

I am mostly a conservative driver. I usually get in the right hand lane, turn on my cruise control and then try to mind my own business. I know in my mind I judge others as they speed past me. On occasion, I have laughed and made sarcastic remarks when I see someone who flew by me pulled over down the road. I know my attitude may be wrong, but why post a speed limit if it just gets ignored?

There have been many times when someone will get right on my bumper making me uncomfortable. Rather than speed up as they would like for me to, I just stare them down in the rear view mirror until they go around.

I have engaged with many friends and co-workers who have tried to convert me or at least get me to consider their arguments.

“Allen, you know THEY will give you five miles over the speed limit. No, wait, I am sure it is ten miles over the speed limit. THEY will give you ten. It might be fifteen. I have an uncle’s, neighbor’s son who is a highway patrolman and he said, “THEY will give you 15.” There you have it. THEY don’t care. In fact, THEY say you are most likely to cause an accident by driving the speed limit like you do.”

Maybe, but it says the speed limit on the sign. And by the way, I am not basing my decisions on what “THEY” say. I base it on the sign.

“Come on, what’s the harm? Everybody does it.”

Maybe, but it says the speed limit on the sign. And by the way, I am not basing my decision on what everybody else does. I base it on the sign.

Are there days I would like to throw all caution to the wind and let it rip? Of course, but I don’t. Are there times I look up and I am going a little over the speed limit? Again, of course, and then as safely as I can, ease my car back down to the speed limit.

Why make such a big deal over it? Because in my heart, it is not about driving. I am not trying to get everyone to see it my way. No one has to answer to me. I have to answer to me. I want to live by my convictions.

I was driving on a local highway at the posted 70 MPH. I was watching as most folks flew by me, casually drove by me, or even inched by me. It appeared to me that the 5 MPH, 10 Mph and 15 MPH rule was in affect. Up ahead, I noticed as brake lights started glowing everywhere. Within a few seconds, everyone was suddenly dropping back and driving according to my convictions. What brought about the change of heart? Was there suddenly a message in the clouds? “Allen is correct. Follow him?” No. There was a highway patrol car sitting in the median of the highway.

If I was certain “THEY” would give me 5 or 10 MPH over the posted speed limit, would I need to slow down? I don’t think so. I think it was a “I might not know what I think I know” moment. Maybe “THEY” really do expect me to drive according to the sign.

Once again this teaching is not about driving. It is about transferring the same thought patterns to the written Word of God.

2 Peter 1:1–4 (CSB)

GREETING

Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

GROWTH IN THE FAITH

³ His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

This scripture is fascinating to me. I am not going to expand on the scripture at this time, but allow me to summarize.

1. We have been given a faith equal to the faith of Peter. Think about that for a minute. That would be the water walking, dead raising, private meetings with Jesus himself, Peter. We have been given faith equal to THAT Peter.

2. Grace and peace are multiplied to us through the intimate knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

3. His divine power has given us EVERYTHING REQUIRED FOR LIFE AND GODLINESS. EVERYTHING.

4. He has given us very great and precious promises, so we can share in the divine nature.

How could we possibly lose? He has given us everything.

Now jump down to verse 8.

2 Peter 1:8–15 (CSB)

⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. ¹¹ For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

¹² Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

The highlighting is mine. I want you to notice, five times in eight verses Peter mentions “these things” or “qualities”. Read through the eight verses again. Notice the declarations connected to “these things.” I think it is pretty important to look back at what “these things” are.

We will look at one today.

2 Peter 1:5 (ESV)

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, ….

“Virtue” is defined as “the quality of moral excellence—‘outstanding goodness, virtue¹”

I like the way the New Living Translation puts it.

2 Peter 1:5 (NLT)

⁵ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,

I am not the morality police. I believe a big part of morality is personal integrity. Who am I when no one is watching? As verse eight says above. I should be tightening down the screws a little tighter on a regular basis. I should not be seeing how much I can get away with. In the same way, I want to obey the traffic sign just because it is the right thing for me to do, I want to obey God’s Word. I want to obey His Word, even if no one is around. I want to obey His Word even if I don’t see an obvious benefit. I want to obey His Word no matter what everyone else is doing.

During our prayer time before church this week, I heard a powerful woman of God pray, “Father forgive us for powering down from the giants you have called us to be.” Wow. I want to add my, “Me too, God.” Forgive me for powering down from the giant you have called me to be. Forgive me.

Watching another service on TV, I heard a powerful man of God remind us, “What you compromise to keep, you will eventually lose.” Does it feel like we are settling for less than verses one through four tell us we have. Maybe a compromise of our integrity is the problem.

Allow me to ramble for a moment. When I see the speed posted on the side of the road, it was posted for my good by someone who knows way more about the reason than I do. When I take it on myself to override the easy to read “absolute”, I begin to train my soul to compromise in a time of pressure. It might not seem like much, but little by little I begin to fine tune the rules. It says this, but it really means this. Or, maybe it says that, but everyone I know does that instead. It’s almost the same. It only means that if someone else is around.

God’s Word is filled with God’s expectation of me. Does He really mean it when He says, “Allen, love your enemies, and pray FOR those who despitefully use you?” (Matthew 5:44) He doesn’t really mean that does He?

How about,

Psalm 34:1 (ESV)

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Now wait, most times is okay, isn’t it, Lord? You can’t mean all times. Sometimes you just have to blow off some steam. Right?

This is not a one lesson fits all, or a one lesson fixes all, but if I am not walking in the power the Word says I should be walking in, maybe the problem is me. Allen, you have a bit of work to do.

Take a look with me at Luke 6:46–49 (ESV).

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

In both cases the flood came. We do not have a promise that things will be easy. We don’t have a promise that attacks won’t come. We have a promise that if we do the things He says to do, the house will not be shaken.

I preached at my church last month using the driving and speed limit example. The next week, Karen and I headed to Pennsylvania on vacation. At one point, Karen was resting her eyes while I drove. The thought occurred to me, I wonder how many other traffic signs I choose not to follow. As the miles began to pile up, I noticed a few.

“Keep right except to pass.” Not bad Allen. You drive in the right lane anyway. Well, except for that one part of the turnpike where everybody drives in the center section. You know, the part were the right lane is rough, and really, what does it matter if no one is around? Oops.

How about the “through traffic keep left”. Left? I don’t take the left lane. That’s just how I am. What if I put my speed limit obeying self in the left lane and one of the “THEY give you 15 miles over the speed limit” fellows comes up behind me? Nope, that one doesn’t work for me.

“Watch for fallen rocks.” Okay, but that just doesn’t make sense.

Over and over, I demonstrated to myself, even at my self-righteous best, I fall far short. In my Christian walk, where it really does matter, I am going to need some Holy Ghost help and some no compromise determination. How about you? As you read the Word this week, examine yourself in light of the Word. Take it personal. What does God really expect of you and me?

Until the next time.

God Bless,

Allen

1 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 743.

Repost from 04/2016

Why Do We Pray?

Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Why do we pray?

As I was getting ready to teach on a Wednesday night, I looked up and a gentleman was approaching me asking for the microphone. I did not know him but, I felt like I should allow him to speak. As he shared his testimony, the pieces began to come together. Several years ago, I received a phone call from his father asking for prayer. His son had been shot five times, at close range, with hollow point bullets and left for dead. If you are like me, I just lost you. Shot five times? What was he doing? I don’t remember. That’s not the point. The point is a father grabbed hold of the promises of God and refused to allow his son to die. We took the request to our body of believers. During the emergency surgery, the son received 2 ½ gallons of blood. The average body only holds 1 ½ gallons. Over the next couple of years, the father would keep us up to date and request prayer as needed. The process was slow by our “drive-thru, give it to me fast so I can get on with what’s important to me” mentality. Yet four years later, the man’s son stood before us, weeping as he thanked the Lord for his miracle and thanked us for praying for him. He said he still had trouble with his stamina, but everything else is perfect. What a privilege to be allowed to pray. What an honor to see the miracle-working power of God.

As I told you in the March teaching letter, we hold open the door for the Holy Spirit to move on a situation. It is not up to us to figure out how He is going to do it. We are the doormen. It is not up to us to tell him how long it should take. We are the doormen. My responsibility as a doorman, is to recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit, and through prayer, respond to Him. “You want healing in that situation? Here’s my voice, enter in.” “You want to bring peace? I will declare it.” Even when the situation looks too big for my mind, all I have to do is look at Ephesians 3:20.

Ephesians 3:20 (AMP)
²⁰ Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—

It’s time to admit it. GOD IS BIGGER THAN ME. He can do more than I can even ask. He can do more than I can even think, hope, or dream. Here’s the kicker. Not only can He, but HE WANTS TO. Look at 2 Corinthians 1:19-20.

2 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NIV)
¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”
²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Did you catch that? I have heard others say, “God always answers prayer. Sometimes He says yes and sometimes He says no.” That’s just human thinking. Scripture says if we pray according to His promises the answer is always yes. “Allen, I know someone who was believing God for healing and they died.” We all know someone like that. Are you going to put your faith in a person? I know that can sound a little harsh, but do you really know everything they were going through? I have seen people who say all the right things in church, but once they are outside, a different story comes out of their mouth. Yes, they are still saved. They will still go to heaven. We don’t know the pain and struggles someone is going through. We are not in their shoes. What I know is that God has invited us up to a higher level. As I pray, I have every reason to joyfully expect God’s promises to be true.

I often encourage people in our church to make a list of the times God has come through for them. Take time to do it. It will be an exercise in joy. It will also be a powerful reminder for you of the many times life seemed impossible, but God showed up big time. It is a great source of encouragement when times seem tough.

Why do we pray?

One time we received another prayer request from a member of our church. A friend’s two-year-old son was found in the family swimming pool. The family did not know how long he had been in the water. When we received the phone call, he was being life-flighted to the hospital showing no response. What do you do with that? Do you dwell on the image that is being imprinted on your mind? Do you build up a list of reasons why prayer will not work this time?

It’s too late. Take time to read John 11 and Luke 7:11-15 before declaring it is too late for God to do something.

The doctors have already said he is not responding. Even if he lives………….STOP IT.

You are not called to figure out how it is to work. You are to, by faith, open the door. DECLARE THE WILL OF THE FATHER. The next report that came in said He was still alive, but filled with water. Do we give up? Lower our expectations? NO. Increase them. Look at verse 20 again.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

The yes is in Christ, but the amen is spoken by us. What does that mean? Too many times we use “amen” without thinking on what it means. Amen is not just the way we let everyone know the prayer is over. Amen means “so be it.” When I have prayed the prayer of faith, amen is the opening into my life. “By HIS STRIPES, I AM HEALED” (1 Peter 2:24) The promise of God. AMEN! So be it in my life. “My God supplies all my needs.” (Philippians 4:19) The promise of God. AMEN! So be it in my life.

A little boy lies in a hospital struggling for life. Our thoughts are running rampant on us, but scripture says, My God can do above and beyond all I can ask or think. AMEN. SO BE IT. Holy Spirit, are you looking for a way in? I’ll be your doorkeeper. The next day, the little boy was home, playing in the back yard.

What a mighty God we serve! What a privilege to be allowed to pray. What an honor to see the miracle-working power of God. There is no room for pride on our part. I know it is the power of God. I know many were praying. Through prayer, I just chose to add my voice to the others who are faith-believing and willing for the Lord to use them.

One last time in closing. What a privilege to be allowed to pray. What an honor to see the miracle working power of God.

Psalm 84:10-11 (ESV)
¹⁰ For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

God Bless, Keep on Praying:

Allen