The Opportunity of a Lifetime

I had two tickets left.  Two tickets to the opportunity of a lifetime.  Coming to my very own town was none other than Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Forbes, and Michael Phelps.  They were coming to "Motivate America" on a national speaking tour.  

I convinced my parents to allow me to skip the entire tuesday of school in order to attend the seminar.  My four friends also persuaded their personal authorities to do the same.  We got to Arco arena just in time to get seats, or so we thought.  As my friends and I sat down in the perfectly positioned bleachers that were nearly 10th row center, we heard a voice.  "Hey kid! Lemme see your ticket!" Damn. Why does this happen? Why must I be hassled with every step I take, each and every day of my nearly adult life? No one knows. "What? Why?" "Just give it to me." I was sick of this. Was the world really so cruel? "Kid you and your friends gotta move." "Why? I thought this was general admission"..... "Nope....these tickets will get you to...eh....over there." The lady pointed to what appeared to be the armpit of the stadium. I looked at the unattractive woman in disgust.  "Fine!" 

As my friends and I climbed the mountain of seating that is Arco Arena, we saw fewer and fewer options.  Finally we settled into what seemed like some of the worst seats in the place. I was just happy to be situated and sitting down.  

As the show began to start I could tell that there was some level of Christian influence within the production. I wasn't sure how well that would play out with the particularly secular audience, but I was nonetheless encouraged already. The first speaker was non other than Colin Powell.  His speech was entertaining, but it lacked any real motivational content (at least for me.) 

Next up was Steve Forbes- relatively interesting, yet he also was just encouraging me to go do things I already knew I should do. His only help was "Try Harder!"  

Finally, Rudy Giuliani arrived on stage.  I was really excited for this one.  But guess what? Just more of the same, "Have a Plan! Try Harder! Get an Education!" I had heard it all before. I had been hearing it all my life. None of these successful men had any success in motivating me.

The last speaker arrived on the platform around 3 in the afternoon. I was tired, hungry, and mildly nauseous, but there she was. Tamara Low was her name and terrible speeches were her game.

My friends and I squirmed in our seats as she began the corniest speech any of us had ever heard.  From one liners that didn't work, to a rap that embarrassed the entire race of caucasian americans, this speech had it all.  It was only missing one thing, an insensitive religious reference.

And then it came.  The woman's incoherent rap began to steadily slow down and become more and more of a normal oration.  Then she began to drop the sacrificial metaphors, and before you knew it the arena was silent.  I was stunned. The woman's demeanor had changed from bubbly and shallow to deep and divine.  Something happened to Tamara as she began to preach the one true Gospel in all boldness and power.  Her words began to synchronize and her body stood erect.  The message that she was delivering was one that everyone really needed to understand, and she knew it.  

In front of 20,000 people Tamara Low delivered one of the most powerful presentations of the Gospel I had ever witnessed.  She spoke of Jesus and of sins forgiven, she spoke of His power over death and hell. She spoke of a God that loved those people in the bleachers. A God that gave His only Son for the chance to save them.  By the end of her speech the arena was silent. My stomach was turning and there were tears in my eyes.

As she began to walk off the stage the crowd seemed to gasp for air, and then it exploded into cheering that would have rivaled the return of Led Zeppelin. People stood and clapped, but I couldn't.  My body was trembling at what I had just witnessed; the greatest act of bravery for the sake of the Gospel that I had ever seen.  In a secular business conference of 20,000 men and women, the message of Jesus had been preached in boldness and in power. I was humbled by Tamara Low and her commitment for the cause of Christ.  

Tamara Low understood that these people were coming for the opportunity of a lifetime.  She was there to tell them that Jesus is the only one who could give them the opportunity of an eternity. 

Tamara Low did what none of the men before her could do; she inspired me.  I came to the conference expecting tips on how to die the slow and painless death we all hope for, but she gave me a lesson on how to live.  She taught me that my only valuable opportunity in life is to preach unto the salvation of lost men. She taught me that boldness is not suicide. 

 She taught me that the Truth still sells.  

Promises

Do you ever just look yourself in the face and ask "what am I doing?" That seems to be the situation more and more for me these days.  I have been sick once again this past week, but yesterday was wonderful because the flu symptoms seemed to let up for a few hours.  

If you know me, you know that I used what little strength I had to eat as much food as possible. So I got in my truck and I just drove. I didn't really know where I was going or what I planned on eating, but I knew that I had to start looking if I was ever going to find anything that would satisfy the beast within me.  I arrived at a place called Lenny's Sub Shop.  Now I work at a sandwich deli, so I know what Im doing when I order my food.  

As I took my sandwich back to my seat, I noticed that I was the only customer in the place.  It remained that way until I left.  As I sat in my truck out front of the deli, I began to ponder the fate of this delectable establishment (yes, it was good).  As I sat there I began to think of how risky it was to be an independent deli in this economy.  

It got me asking questions like "How does the owner of this place know that he will survive?" and "What does the future hold for this deli?" I sat there long enough to where I began to ask the questions of myself. "What does the end hold for me?" 

Sometimes life just moves too fast. I wish it would just slow down for minute so that I could take a harder look at what Im doing.  As a follower of Christ I have been promised that the end of it all is Glory.  Yet so often I feel as though everything amounts to nothing more than mediocrity.  

I believe that the end is Glory because all the evidence I can find supports a glorious purpose. Just as a duck is born away from water, yet it knows that water must exist so that it can fulfill its desire to swim, likewise I have a spirit that hungers and thirsts for Righteousness beyond any that could be attained by man.  I also have an insatiable desire for Justice beyond any level of human judicial power or ability. 

The structure of things, the evidence points to purpose and to Glory, yet the daily grind of experience often points to meaninglessness.

You see, the deli shop had all the reasons in the world to believe that it would be successful.  It was in a prime location, had a great product, and had friendly people.  Yet there it was, empty.  

Many times in my life I feel the same way about God and His promises.  Where is my relief God? Where is my easy life? Where is the Glory? 

The owner of Lenny's Sub Shop are most likely asking the same questions "Where are the customers?" Sometimes life just feels as though it is not working, as though God will not help. 

But we have made a major mistake in judgement.  Unlike Lenny, our hope lies in something infinitely greater than a human business plan.  In the Old Testament, a boy named David was promised the throne over Gods people, by God Himself.   But David did not reach the throne easily, far from it, he was hunted as a fugitive for the better half of his life before God's promise even began to take shape.  

Yet sure enough, there David sat, King of Israel.  30 years of trial and tribulation was what he had to endure before God placed him upon the seat that had been promised so long ago.  

And so we are reminded of the Divine Assurance that we have in the Lord.  Throughout all of his time in exile and tribulation, David never gave up his faith.  With each day that passed he pressed deeper into the promises of his Lord.  

Now when I look myself in the face and ask the question "what am I doing?" And when it feels as though nothing God has said is true, I remember David.  I remember that the one thing God wants from us is faith in His Promises. Faith in His Son.  

Faith in His coming Glory.

Next?

Anyone dislike school? I swear, I have been going to this government run nuthouse for as long as I can remember, yet I cant remember the last time I learned anything.  Sure, I go everyday and I do the work that those fools give me to do each night, yet the whole experience continues to be more and more draining as time goes on.  

Whether it is the english classes that miss the point, or the psychology classes that look in all the wrong places, the whole system is run by baffoons. 

For instance, I have this one teacher that is so lost that she simply forces students to talk about a book all period.  She does not provide a basic structure for the conversations, nor does she criticize or analyze any of the blatantly erroneous comments or questions that the students come up with. She does not teach, she acts as though there is no set reality to the plot of the stories we read.  It is just whatever we think.  

Second of all, I daily endure the rabbit hole to nowhere that is a modern psychology class.  From why we do what we do, to how and when, this field of study misses the big picture.  They refuse to accept anything as true, and in so doing create a system of thinking that is self defeating.  Psychology simply reminds us of our horrible meaninglessness and inability to act in a way that could be perceived as honorable.  When one constantly views the world through the eyes of finite human frailty, it does not take long to become hopelessly depressed.  Psychology offers no substantial answers.  It only raises frivolous questions of individual depravity and meaninglessness.  

I already knew that.  Next?

I recently spent some time on the campus of one of the finest universities in the world. Yet even there, I could smell the terrible stench of "knowledge" all around me.  

You see I believe that the more we learn the less we know.  All our lives we focus on gaining as much knowledge as possible. Facts and figures, theories and tests.  The result is that I go to school each day only to see hundreds of faces that have no level of understanding at all.

Knowledge, sure.  Grades, you bet. Potential, nothing but.  Yet, when I talk to these kids I can see that they have no bearing in life at all.  No concept of what they realistically should or should not do with their short little lives.  

The teachers are even worse.  They actually believe that all this stuff they know will one day translate to some kind of true value.  I find the whole delusion terribly sad.  

Now that we have identified the problem, lets take a look at the solution. Lets take a look at the goal.

The goal is a True Understanding of our world.  If we are going to achieve that, we must start with the basics. Wrong and right, up and down, left and right. The blatant laws of reality. The Absolute Truths. The amazing part? Its all intuitive!!! Its as simple as your gut feeling.   No degree needed.  

If this is our goal, then obviously we should pursue it in the same manner by which we initially reckon ourselves with reality.  Each of us knows what is wrong and what is right, justifications aside, everyone knows the rules of fair play.  

We know what we should  do, lets just do it.  Lets not say there is no such thing as absolute truth, simply to justify our own foolish and guilt ridden behavior.  No level of education or knowledge can solve that problem.  Only an understanding of the cross of Christ.  Only in Him is our foolishness paid for, our guilt wiped away.  

This has been a rant no doubt, yet the whole idea that "education" is paramount was getting to me.  Above all, let us have understanding.  Understanding that He is the answer that we have all been looking for.

Keep Swimming

I saw a great movie a little while back called The Guardian.  It starred Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher as rescue swimmers for the coast guard.  During one scene in the movie, Ashton Kutcher looks up at Kevin Costner as he is about to head out to save the crew of a sinking ship, he looks up and asks Kevin "What if I can't save them all? Who do I choose?"  

The older, wiser, more experienced rescue swimmer looks Ashton in the eyes and says "You don't. You keep swimming as hard as you can, for as long as you can, and you don't stop until its all over."

That really struck me.  Many times in my life I make decisions, whether conscious or not, to focus the Gospel on certain people. Sometimes I look at those around me with eyes that judge, and a heart that hardens toward those who seem less "likely" to receive the message.   

I know that I focus my teaching moments and my preaching moments on certain people.  Sometimes I focus on people who I believe might actually respond positively.  Thats the kind of ministry that you see yourself doing in your head.  I always picture myself presenting the message to these people only to see them awaken and respond to Christ immediately.  These are often the "good" people that I somehow think would just love Jesus if they could just meet Him.

For Ashton, these would be the easy ones to save.  These would be the guys who were just floating on their backs, calmly waiting for him to scoop them up out of the ocean.  

The harder ones to save are the guys trapped inside the sinking boat.  The people trapped deeply within the confines of wretched and blatant sin.  Those are the people I often shy away from when looking for Gospel candidates.  

It would seem logical.  Why waste time on people who most likely will not listen, people who will not make it? 

It may seem logical, but only so long as we forget that God is in control of the operation. Jesus told us in the great commission to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations."  When God is the one who saves and redeems, I do not need to worry about targeting His message.  

Nothing I can say will make it more or less attractive to any one person, so long as I tell it accurately. But I must keep telling it, no matter who is listening.  

This is why Costner replies to Ashton's question "What if I can't save them all? Who do I choose?" with "You don't".  

I don't choose who is saved and who is not.  God chooses that. My job is simply to keep swimming as hard as I can, for as long as I can, and not to stop until its all over.