“Special Honor” Parts
If you’re a guy & if you’ve ever played baseball or softball, you probably share a common fear with other men…taking a hard grounder to your “special” parts.
Just thinking about it is enough to make most men wince.
I’m not the world’s greatest baseball fan (forgive me, Pastor Andy) but I remember Adrián Beltré (who refuses to wear a cup because it’s uncomfortable) taking a one-hopper to the groin in 2009.
Ouch!
Maybe he should have worn the Nutty Buddy (video).
You’ll never catch me without a cup on a baseball field.
Why? Because sometimes the parts that are seen the least are the most important & need extra care & protection (if you know what I mean).
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. (1 Corinthians 12.22-24, NLT)
As a matter of fact, it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. (1 Corinthians 12.22, MSG)
What’s that look like in the church?
Well, to be as minimally vulgar as possible, sometimes the “uglies”, & the “special honor” parts in the church are what we need the most—they reproduce & bring new life.
When unchurched people show up on Sunday morning, sometimes they’re in pretty rough shape—not exactly the kind of people that make it on the cover of the church bulletin.
Just like the “special honor” parts of our physical bodies, a lot of new Christians need to be “covered up” & protected a lot of the time.
Instead of exposing them & bringing shame, we cover them up & give them extra honor—they need us!
Funny thing about it is that those new Christians are some of the most important parts of the church, inviting & bringing more unchurched people—we need them!
The “special honor” parts need us & we need them.
We’re better together.
Consensus Conundrum
“If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” — Stereotypical “concerned” mom or dad
Ugh! Are you serious?!
Parents ask this question because there’s only one obvious answer, “No!”
When did that question usually come up?
For me, it was whenever my parents would question the logical reasoning behind an action they didn’t quite approve of, when my go-to answer was, “But everyone’s doing it!”
While the cliché “jump-off-a-bridge” quip drives kids across the world utterly insane, parents ask it for a good reason.
Why are you about to do what you’re about to do?
Why do you do what you are doing right now?
Why do you think the way you think?
Why do you act the way you act?
Author Jim Collins says that, “consensus decisions are often at odds with intelligent decisions.” (Good to Great, 116)
The Bible tells us to think differently.
“The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. (Isaiah 8.11, NLT)
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12.2, NLT)
“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” (Ephesians 4.23, NLT)
It turns out that mom & dad might know something you didn’t.
Mom & dad know that “group think stinks.”
Next time you find everyone doing/thinking it, stop & question if you should be doing it too.
Don’t fall pretty to the consensus conundrum. Sometimes groupthink stinks.
Qualified by God
1 Corinthians 12.12-26 makes me laugh.
Paul’s got the imagination of an elementary school kid.
Body parts talking to & comparing themselves to each other? Really?
If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid & expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? (1 Corinthians 12.15-16 MSG)
Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? (1 Corinthians 12.21 MSG)
I’ve gotta know…if Foot is comparing itself to Hand & Ear is comparing itself to Eye, what would Butt & Armpits say about Tongue?
We can all agree it’s ridiculous for body parts to compare themselves to each other, making certain parts more important or less important than the others. (Unless you’re talking about Appendix. Let’s be honest…nobody likes that guy.)
What the Bible tells us is it’s just as absurd for people in the church to do what Paul’s imaginary body parts were doing: disqualifying themselves or others.
The Bible tells us that God put each one of us together, right where He wanted to & form-fitted us each to work perfectly with the other “parts” of the church “body”.
But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation. (1 Corinthians 12.18 AMP)
God has put you right where He wants you for a special purpose in the church.
God has designed you to fit perfectly in the church.
The church is better with you & you’re better with the church.
We’re better TOGETHER.
Stop disqualifying yourself or others by comparing.
Don’t disqualify what God has qualified — God has qualified each of us for a special purpose.
Strength to Stand
A final word: Be strong in the Lord & in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6.10 NLT)
Has life ever knocked you down?
Two months after my 19th birthday, I found myself in Ramadi, Iraq, being drug out from underneath an overturned Humvee after I was assumed to be dead.
A set of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) had thrown my vehicle into the air, killing the driver, wounding myself & two others…yeah, life’s knocked me down before.
I remember being confined to that hospital bed for weeks that seemed like years, finally graduating to a wheel chair.
I remember wanting more than anything to get up on my own two legs, willing my body just to stand, knowing I didn’t have the strength to do it on my own.
Over the course of several months, I started to walk again with the help of my physical therapists.
The hardest part: learning to stand.
I couldn’t stand for extended periods of time at first. The pain was too intense, my body was weak & I couldn’t balance myself.
I fell on my butt too many times to count, relying on my physical therapists to hold me up & to steady me — I needed their strength to stand.
Paul wrote a letter to the church in Ephesus to remind them of just how blessed they are in Jesus.
Knowing that there would be times they’d be tempted & tried, Paul told the Ephesians to find their strength in God so that they would be able to stand firmly against the devil.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil… put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Ephesians 6.11, 13 NLT)
I think Paul was a smart guy.
What I mean is, he knew that we couldn’t stand on our own. He knew we needed help to stand, & he knew that we’d make mistakes, stumble, fall on our butts & need to help to stand back up again.
Spiritually, we are all what I was physically after I was injured by the IED explosion.
We think we’re doing well, we’re “walking with Jesus” & then life happens.
We get tempted & lose sight of Jesus. We stumble. We land on our spiritual butts & stay there, unable to get back up.
The good news is, when we stumble, when we realize we’re weak & can’t stand on our own, Jesus is standing nearby, ready to lift us up & give us strength to stand.
Just then a hand touched me & lifted me, still trembling, to my hands & knees. And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. (Daniel 10.10, 11 NLT)
Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, & I felt my strength returning. “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”
As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger & said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.” (Daniel 10.18-20 NLT)
If life’s knocked you down, if you’ve had some setbacks, if you’ve made some bad choices, know that you are very precious to God & He is ready to pull you up & give you the strength to stand again.
You have not been defeated. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong in the Lord & in his mighty power.
In Jesus, you have been blessed with the strength to stand — no matter what.
Relationships 101
How do you measure the value of your relationships?
Are your relationships valued positively or negatively based on what you can get out of the other person, or are they based on what you can give?
When we base relationships on what we can get out of another person (manipulation disguised as “friendship” or “love”), our relationships are doomed — we set ourselves up for failure & frustration.
But if our relationships are based on how much we can give of ourselves with the sole purpose of making the other person’s life better (real love), our relationships are strengthened.
Ephesians 5.1-6.9 is all about earthly relationships modeled after our relationship to God. Our relationship with Jesus is supposed to be the model of our relationships with other people.
Watch what God does, & then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him & learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5.1-2, MSG)
Simply put, what Jesus did for us, we should do for others.
This reminds me of another few verses on relationships that might be somewhat familiar to you:
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5.14, NLT)
What does that even mean?!
I think Jesus does a pretty good job explaining it.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law & the Prophets.” —Jesus (Matthew 7.12, NLT)
When we really love someone else:
- We celebrate their victories…as if they were our own
- We want the best for them…just like we want for ourselves
- We put just as much effort into making their lives better…as we do our own
Ultimately, you’ve got to make the choice.
Will you let your relationships be marked by manipulation disguised as love & friendship, or will you put in the work to really love people?
I promise you, it’s worth it.
Faith For More Than This Life
Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. (Hebrews 11.4, NLT)
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. (Hebrews 11.13, NLT)
All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. (Hebrews 11.39, NLT)
Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the “Hall of Faith” — a shining example of some of the heroes in the Bible.
I love that all of these long dead heroes still speak to us today by their examples recorded in Scripture, showing us that true faith is found in confident expectation & hope that results in action, knowing that ultimately, faith isn’t about the individual who possesses it — it’s about generations who are yet to come.
True faith doesn’t stop in our heads or our hands, it’s passed on to the next generation who will pass it on down the line, continuing until all we have hoped for so confidently comes to pass.
These heroes of the faith saw what God had promised while it was still far off & ultimately unobtainable for them.
While they never fully experienced all of what was promised by God in their lifetimes, they helped bring those promises to life by being obedient to God & by passing that same life-giving faith & those same promises of God on to the next generation.
Do you have a faith that is ok with passing promises on to the next generation?
Do you have a life-giving faith that will speak to future generations by your example?
You Don’t Know Your Own Strength!
After I was injured in Iraq, I went through multiple surgeries & needed to do both inpatient & outpatient occupational & physical therapy for almost a year. I was a mess.
As I started to figure out what I should do with my life, I decided to take a few classes at Green River Community College. One day as I was heading through an intersection by the school, two cars crashed right in front of me. BOOM!
Without having time to think about it, I reacted on my military & paramedic training, assessing the situation & responding to the crisis. Still limping when I walked, I sprinted from my car to the site of the crash, making sure the first driver was fine. Turning my attention to the second vehicle, I noticed smoke starting to come out of the hood & gasoline dripping onto the asphalt…not good.
Completely expecting to see a lifeless body slumped over the steering wheel of the metallic blue 1980’s Toyota Tercel hatchback that had been ripped open like a tin can, I wrenched frantically on the driver’s door…no luck. The motion of the car shaking woke the driver up, dazed & confused.
Instructing him to pull the reclining lever on his seat, I pulled the 300+ pounds man out of the wreckage where the entire back half of the car was shredded off & had been peeled around to the opposite side. As we ran away from the vehicle, the local fire department hosed the car off before the gasoline caught fire.
Crazy!
There’s no way that I, a 150lbs, limping, occupational & physical therapy patient, slated for rotator cuff surgery, should have been able to lift a man over twice my size from a wrecked car.
I’ve realized that when I push myself to do things I normally wouldn’t think I could do, I tend to find I don’t know my own strength. I sell myself short.
I believe that the same is true for you. Not just physically, but spiritually too.
Just like a pulled that man from the car, finding some hidden strength within me, you have an immense strength living within you.
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit…Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3.16, 20, NLT)
Did you know that as a Christian you have access to a power greater than yourself? That you’re capable of infinitely more than you might ever dare to dream?
Inside of you lives the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8.11)!
When the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within you is working in & through you, you are empowered with an inner strength that is able to accomplish infinitely more than you might dare ask, think or dream!
You don’t know your own strength—you are capable of infinitely more in God!
You Are Called & You Are Blessed
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, & you will bring me glory.”
I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing & to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” (Isaiah 49.3-4, NLT)
Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation. (Isaiah 51.2b, NLT)
God blessed Abraham the moment he called him. When he was called, he was only one man, without hope of descendants. But when God called him, God also blessed him & he became a great nation.
At that moment, right there, before the first child was born, Abraham became a great nation because God had called him & blessed him.
Just like Abraham who had nothing when he was called, I’ve felt as thought I don’t have what it takes at times.
Without the blessing of God on my life, that’s reality.
There have been times where I felt like I had the call without the blessing—like my work seemed so useless & I was spending my strength for nothing & to no purpose.
But when the Lord called me, He also blessed me by His grace & made great what was hopeless.
Remember Abraham’s full story? How he & his wife were too old to have children?
God said he would bless Abraham & he would become a great nation. (Genesis 12.2)
The “great nation” didn’t even start for years, but when God blessed Abraham, at that moment, Abraham was a great nation in the making—because of the blessing God had graced him with when he was called.
Because of His blessing on the call He’s graced me with, because I am blessed, I am something great in the making—& so are you.
God makes something great from nothing.
God takes hopeless & makes it magnificent.
If you feel called but not blessed, realize that the moment God called you, He blessed you & graced you for that call—you’re blessed!
You have been called by God & you are blessed—you are something great in the making!
Show & Tell
I hated lecture-style classes in college. I’m a visual leaner—a hands-on kind of guy.
Whenever a professor would tell me something, I tended to tune out.
I always wanted them to show me—“the proof’s in the pudding,” right?
(I hate that saying by the way…I don’t want anything in my pudding unless it’s tapioca.)
Remember show & tell day at school? I do. Loved it.
I brought my pet iguana to class one day.
Best show & tell that day. Hands down.
See, the thing about show & tell is that you actually have to show something.
Telling isn’t enough, you have to show it.
The same is true for leaders—don’t just tell me, show me.
When a leader (or anyone for that matter) tells me they’ll be there to serve or that they’ll start something new, truth is I mentally dismiss it most of the time unless they’ve proven themselves before.
Anyone can tell me they’ll be there to serve or start something new—it’s an entirely different thing to show it.
Stop telling people & start showing them. It builds your cred & people notice.
Lead by example—don’t just tell, show.
Mirrors Don’t Lie
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are (Romans 3.20, NLT).
But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent & exciting opposition] (Romans 5.20a, AMP).
My mirror & I have a love/hate relationship.
When I think I’m looking downright sexy, I love my mirror.
Most of the time though, I’m afraid to look at it because I know what I’m going to find…I’ve got less hair than the day before, a few more lines, & I’m sure I have some new blemishes.
The problem isn’t the mirror…it’s me.
My mirror serves its purpose well.
I don’t own a carnival mirror.
Mirrors don’t lie.
The mirror does a great job at pointing out my imperfections & my flaws.
A mirror shows what’s on the outside, not what’s hidden underneath.
Biblical law is a lot like one of those 10x1 makeup mirrors my wife has.
Any imperfection you have gets pointed out & magnified so much its impossible to ignore (scary).
But where sin increased & abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more & superabounded (Romans 5.20b, AMP).
For you died to this life, & your real life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3.3, NLT).
Apart from the loving grace of God in Jesus Christ, we’re stuck looking into the makeup mirror of the law where we see ourselves busted, crusted & downright haggard.
Once we’ve accepted forgiveness & right standing with God through faith in Jesus’ finished, once & for all sacrifice on the cross, the Bible says that we are “hidden with God in Christ.”
When you’re hidden in & belong to Jesus, that mirror isn’t so scary anymore – it actually builds your confidence & reliance in the grace of God.
I no longer see myself as busted, crusted & haggard when I stare into the makeup mirror of the law – I see Jesus’ perfection because I’m hidden in Him…& God sees the same thing.
Mirrors don’t lie.
