CAN – WILL – NOW

More than sixteen years ago a little magazine called “Bits and Pieces” (Published every four weeks by The Economics Press of Fairfield, NJ) contained a note of encouragement focusing on three words: can, will, now. The one-page article was entitled “The Three-Word Success Course”. (January 30, 1997) Though many of the “bits and pieces” of wisdom come from business sources, nearly all are applicable to daily life. Such is the case with these three words.

As individuals most of us have dreams of what could be or at least wish might be. Some dreams are of the fantasy type such as traveling to a distant star. Other dreams are of the get down and get dirty kinds. We look at their possibility and then at the price we would have to pay to make those dreams come true. We decide that the price is too high.

Some dreams are impossibilities. Others are possible but come with too high a price. Then there are those dreams that await our decision to follow that “Three-Word Success Course.” We can. We will. We will do it now.

Learning a foreign language is an example. Writing a book that will make a child’s eyes sparkle with pleasure is one of mine. Such dreams only await the can-will-now attitude.

Then the scenario develops. I know I can do it, but there are other things I want to do more. I will do it, but not right now. Our dreams get pushed to the back until finally we give up and they slip into oblivion.

A church often operates with the same mindset. The Great Commission tells us what we ought to be doing. Too often the first response is that’s impossible. The congregation looks at its setting, its family make-up, its facilities, its material resources, and all the other excuses it can conjure. The conclusion is what God wants us to do is impossible. Let someone else handle it.

A church might go as far as the next step and say the task is possible, but God gave it to someone else. “Not my job” is a commonly heard phrase from both church leaders and the general church membership. The need for the task is recognized. The personal responsibility for getting it done is not.

The procrastination path is what will stop many churches in their tracks. The thinking goes something like this. We know we have been commanded by God to carry out the Great Commission (or whatever other command) and he will meet all our needs. When we feel the time is right, then we will make it a priority.

Why would God ever give us a task for which we are not equipped? Making us look foolish in his eyes because we depended upon him is not God’s modus operandi. The world may laugh at us, but God will only be pleased. No, if God gives us a task to accomplish, he will also have given us all necessary resources. If God says we can, then we can. (Philippians 4:13)

A slogan I love is “If we make ourselves available, God will make us able.” Our lack of availability becomes a challenge for him. We let our agendas get in the way. We let someone else’s agenda get in the way. We let everything else dictate our actions EXCEPT God’s plan. When we decide we will do what God desires, we see his power flow. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“Never do today what you can get someone else to do tomorrow.” Personal dreams have no hope of coming true if we emphasize procrastination. Buenos dias is not such a hard phrase to learn. Having learned it you can congratulate yourself for having started to learn a foreign language. The book is started with the first sentence put on paper. The horticultural hobby begins with a packet of seed and a single flower pot. (Luke 9:59-62)

You can. You will. You will do it now. When you do it for his glory, you just put a big smile on God’s face.

Taking Necessary Risks

Recently I watched the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors. When a person realizes time is a limited commodity, using it well should become a priority. Unfortunately what all too many don’t seem to realize is that time is always a limited commodity. We shouldn’t have to be told we have six to twelve months to live to understand every moment is precious and should be used accordingly.

When does life become so precious it can be filled only with the events that make it worth living? Only when we reach a point where we no longer fear death can we truly begin to live. Only those who have faced death seem able to value the important things of life such as family, friendship, and self-sacrificing love, relationships and not materials objects.

A follower of Jesus Christ more than any other person should see the importance of living each moment to its fullest. The gift of life assumes its greatest power as it is given back to its Giver in service that glorifies its origin. Life reaches its pinnacle of value as it is used for the glory of God and his Kingdom. A believer’s bucket list has this purpose as its priority.

When we read the story of the three servants in the Parables of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the response of the master of the house to the three is what grabs our attention. We dream of hearing the response of “Well done” to our own lives. None of us want to hear, “you wicked and lazy servant.”

Looking closer at the story, we note the servants were given no instructions on how to use the money placed in their responsibility. They were told to go and make more money! This was at a time when there were no loan guarantees, no investment insurance, and little recourse to civil suits in case of fraud. They were on their own.

Perhaps the greatest difference in the three servants was the level of risk they were willing to take. Two stepped out and doubled their money. The third buried his responsibility fearful that he would lose what he had. We can say his bucket list, if he had had one, would not have included sky diving or muscle car racing!

Those first disciples of Jesus were faced more than once with the choice of playing it safe and walking away from Jesus. In the end we know of the eleven who remained faithful, ten were martyred and one endured only through a long exile. Their bucket list contained one primary item, remain faithful through death itself.

On one occasion, as the crowds decided the message of Jesus was too costly, he asked his close associates of their plans. (John 6:66-69, also consider Luke 18:28) Their response was to say they had nowhere else to go to find the words of life. In spite of his reputation as the Doubter, it was Thomas who said as the brave band faced that last trip to Jerusalem, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16)

A bucket list for a believer should begin and end with the effort to fulfill one great command from God, “Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness.” That will include seeking to reflect the nature of Christ and serving as a member of his Body. There will be no easy path to follow, no social acceptance, no praise from the world, no masses of adoring followers. To place the Kingdom of God and living according to his holy righteousness above all else is to face a life of high risk and potentially deadly confrontation with the world. And there is no vacation from it once the decision is made. (Luke 9:61-62)

Does your bucket list contain dreams involving risks, or does it consist of watching paint dry and grass grow? If you had hours or decades left to live, when it was over, would the Lord of life say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

Revival Time Again

Among Baptists the autumn months often bring several special events. Fall festivals get people in the mood for the bounty represented by Thanksgiving. Many churches plan homecoming or anniversary celebrations when the weather begins to show signs of cooling off. Then there are the fall revivals.

These annual events serve to aid in focusing the resources of the local congregation upon spiritual self-evaluation, a reemphasis upon the gospel proclamation, and it even gives the local pastor a chance to hear someone else preach.

If to revive means “to return or restore to consciousness or life: become or make active or flourishing again” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), then there must be preparation made to have hope that revival will take place. When we acknowledge the miracle of revival is not in our hands but is an act of God in the life of an individual and a congregation, then the best we can do is try to make ourselves available for such divine action.

What is valid preparation for revival? II Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.

The opening phrase makes the whole concept of being revived a conditional event. “If my people, who are called by my name…” gives the strong implication that God waits for the cooperation of those who have identified with him as their God in the sense of the Covenant Statement: I will be their God and they will be my people. Only if we as his people are willing to receive the results of revival will we see God’s hand in action.

What does God require his people to do? Four ideas are mentioned in this verse. The first is self-humiliation. God finds it difficult to work his miracles in us if we feel we don’t need him. A recognition must be present we are not what we ought to be and we cannot get there on our own. We need God. Honesty can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is required medicine.

Prayer that is effective is always two-way. We talk to God. We listen to God. He speaks through his written word. He speaks through fellow pilgrims on the Way. He speaks through life experiences in which we are sensitive to his nature being revealed. When we are honest before God in prayer, we begin to see ourselves as God sees us.

When Adam and Eve made the decision they no longer needed God to direct their lives (Genesis 3), they also discovered they could not rest easy in his presence. They felt compelled to hide. To seek the face of God is to acknowledge who he is, who we are, and how much we need him. With the reestablished relationship, God can do wonderful things in our lives.

The biblical concept of repent comes from the image of a journey in which the traveler is heading in one direction and then makes a 180 degree turn. God calls his people to reject evil and wickedness. He does not recognize a gray area in the decision-making system of his followers. Right and wrong are distinguished. Our confusion comes when we are reluctant to pay the price for being right. We seek a compromise, a gray area. That 180 degree turn demands confession of sin and the request for forgiveness with no compromise. That means recognizing, acknowledging, and regretting we are sinners.

These revival meetings offer one more source of strength – The Body of Christ united. We encourage one another. There is strength in numbers. Christians alone become lonely Christians who become weak Christians. Satan does not like Christians claiming victory. He will throw cold water on the revival fires if possible. Christians revived are a threat to the wickedness of the world. This twelfth anniversary of a major sign of evil in our world should urge all of us to seek to have our relationship with God strengthened. May we see real revival take place.

Got Friendships?

I have a tendency to categorize people into groups defined by conversational comfort level. The more I trust an individual with my thoughts, faults, dreams, and failures, the higher the level on the chart they get placed. We all do this to some extent. We may just use different names for our groups.

A name in the news lets you know the person exists. That is the extent of the relationship. You pass someone on the sidewalk or in the car beside you. You make eye contact and then it’s all history. You meet someone and exchange names. Now there is a name with a face. A meeting with someone involves a conversation about a current event. Multiple meetings transform the stranger into an acquaintance. Conversations move to include experiences held in common. Reflections on life become a common topic. Shared experiences become something sought rather than just memories. An investment is made by both into the life of the other. A relationship has become a friendship.

Jesus placed a great deal of emphasis upon friendship. (John 15:13-15) He valued it. He depended upon it. His humanity came through as he sought to share his life with his closest set of followers. At times they disappointed him and deserted him when he needed them most. Yet his friendship with them never faltered, and he welcomed them back with a word of forgiveness and acceptance.

His circle of friends was never large, maybe no more than fifteen or twenty counting men and women. That group was even smaller if you count those in whom he invested the greatest amount of time and energy, only twelve. Then there was that inner circle who shared his most private and revealing moments: Peter, James, and John. (Matthew 17:1-9; 26:36-46)

Friendships require a major investment. Friendships are worth a major investment. Like a precious stone, they begin rough and common. With time and effort they reveal their deepest glory, bringing beauty and light to their setting. That, however, does not happen overnight. The heart must see the potential. The head must make decisions. The life must make the investment that often involves sacrifice of lesser things in order to focus on the more valuable. In the end friendships add value, richness, and a new vision to life. To make someone a friend is to bring a blessing into the lives of both.

This fall a special event is coming to our country. It’s called My Hope with Billy Graham. Its foundation is made up of friendships. These are relationships that have been built over months or maybe longer to enrich the lives of each other and also with the intention of creating an opportunity to share a message of hope. It involves hearing a message coming from both Billy Graham through national television and someone in their living room sharing their own experience with Jesus Christ.

This is not mass evangelism. This is not street corner witnessing to passing strangers. This is opening up your home to people whom you know and who know you. This is creating an opportunity for those who have felt your friendship to meet your friend Jesus.

When Matthew heard the call from Jesus to follow him, one of the first things he did was invite all his tax collector friends to come to his house for a banquet. (Luke 5:27-29) There he introduced them to Jesus, the honored guest. Matthew wanted his friends, his fellow outcasts and social rejects, to meet the man who had accepted him and called him to be his friend.

You can be a Matthew. You can introduce your friends to your very best friend in the familiarity of your own home. I won’t offer many commercials on this blog, but this one I urge you to consider. Go to www.myhopewithbillygraham.org. Get the details on how you and your faith family can be involved.