Graduation Speech: When All Is Said and Done

Graduation Speech: When All Is Said and Done

There are, of course, times in your life when the glory of the appointment will slip to the far recesses of your mind. You will hide your calling under a basket and become merely another man in the room. Been there, done that. There will be times when irrationally the moth and rust of earthly riches will seduce you into pursuing them. You will make ungodly decisions and wonder why your life is contemptible instead of content. Been there, done that. There will be times in your life when you will rationalize the erasure of, or at least the smudging of, the periods behind His commands. Your love will become cold-hearted. Been there, done that. And sadly there will be times in your life when the difficulty of the journey will make you doubt that following Him is worth the wilderness.  Been there, done that.
Have you ever read the Garfield comic strip in the newspaper. (If you're not sure what a newspaper is, talk to me later.) Garfield is the typical cat--arrogant, aloof at times, convinced he is smarter than his master, beauty personified. Well, living right next door to Garfield is a huge ferocious dog--but he's securely chained. And Garfield knows exactly how long the chain is. So he goes and sits right outside the reach of the dog. The dog will see him and charge full speed ahead convinced that getting that cat will make life worth the living. But, of course, at just the last minute--JOLT. The farther he ran and the longer he ran, the bigger the JOLT at the end. I have been that dog too many times in my life in pursuit of the one thing that I am convinced will bring me satisfaction and meaning--besides Christ. He lets me run for awhile, but then He rescues me with that jolt at the end. His holy love will not let me escape His loyal love--His lovingkindness--in pursuit of emptiness. He brings me back to His embrace--to my calling, to spiritual riches, to loving obedience, to loyal love to Him. I have never enjoyed the jolts. But, oh, am I thankful for them!
Our appointment is coming. My prayer for you is that on that day, He will pull out your "exam paper," and write the following: Fulfilled the calling--Christ in the room wherever I sent him--A; richest man or woman in the world--A. Punctuation--A. Lovingkindness--jolts and all--A. Then, He will write across the top of the paper--"Well done, good and faithful servant." And He'll take you in His arms of lovingkindness and whisper, "Thank you." (Mind-boggling that He who gave us His Spirit that we might be faithful to Him will thank us) And then He will tell you, "I went to the cross willingly, gladly, in anticipation of this moment, of this appointment I would have with you."
And after His glorious smile and hug, look behind Him all of us who are already Home--grandparents, parents, siblings. relatives, pastors and youth pastors who immersed you in the love of God will be waiting. I mean, we'll want our hug too. You who are, as the Thessalonians were to Paul, the crown of our rejoicing.
So when all is said and done . . . Class of 2019 we love you, and we will miss you. And we will be waiting for our hug. Go be Jesus.

Graduation Speech Part IV

Graduation Speech Part IV

One final thing. There's at attribute of God's love that we don't talk about much: lovingkindness. In Hosea God defines His holy love and one of the characteristics is "lovingkindness." There are some psalms in the Bible where the second half of every verse ends with "for His lovingkindness is everlasting." What is lovingkindness? Put simply it means "loyal love." God's holy love for us is a loyal love. We, then, must love with a loyal love. An example: Caleb. You know one of the spies who came back and exclaimed, "The land is just as God promised! And there are giants in the land! God has promised us victory over giants--let's go!" And the people responded, "Caleb, sit down and shut up." But he wouldn't. "Trust in God. Believe His promises--the land is ours for the taking with His help." Response: "Caleb, shut up or we will kill you." At that point, God intervened with their punishment for not trusting Him--forty years in the wilderness until you die. And guess what? Caleb had to wander in the wilderness too. Think of it--he had been faithful, defended God, was eager to trust in His promises, risked his life for God--and forty years in the wilderness still. I confess, I would be wondering if it's really worth it to follow God? In today's world--I'd be thinking of changing churches. But not Caleb. After the forty years and a few more years of warfare, the people gathered to give each person his inheritance in the land. And God said, "Caleb for your faithfulness, you get first choice." What an opportunity! All those places already conquered--his for the asking. But what did he ask for? With his arm around his nephew Othniel (no doubt his father had died in the wilderness, and Caleb had raised him), he told Joshua, "there's this hill country over here inhabited by giants, that's the land I want. With God's help will drive them out--just like He promised." He had been waiting for over forty years to get his hands on those giants--to "prove" the faithfulness of God's promises. He loved his God with a loyal love--with lovingkindness. God making him wander for those forty years unfair? No, he trusted His Lord to give him the victory when the time was right. And He did. And he taught his nephew to be loyal to God as well. Guess who was the first judge after Joshua died? And a good judge he was. Love with a loyal love!

Graduation Speech Part Three

Graduation Speech Part III--hey, I'm long-winded

The Christian walk demands that you pay attention to the punctuation. What do I mean by that? Let me recall for you some of God's commandments--and their punctuation:

Honor your father and mother PERIOD
In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus your Lord PERIOD
Pray without ceasing PERIOD
Be tender-hearted, kind, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you PERIOD
If you love Me, keep My commandments PERIOD

He doesn't say, honor your father and mother, unless . . .
In everything give thanks, unless . . .
If you love Me, keep My commandments, unless . . .

The faithful walk demands that we embrace the PERIOD that follows His commandments. No exceptions. One of the sad realities of teaching is knowing that some of you have no intention of following Him. You are going to turn away from Him and go your own way--refuse to follow Him in obedience. We all know friends and family who have made that choice. And it breaks our hearts. At their appointment He will only be able to say, "It would have been better if you had never known." If I can be personal for a moment, at this point in my life, the six human beings that I love most deeply have made that choice. I tearfully pray for them every day. But the Spirit also continues to remind me of a chorus I used to sing as a young boy, "Though none go with me, still I must follow; though none go with me, still I must follow, though none go with me still I must follow, no turning back, no turning back. PERIOD.

Graduation Speech Part Two

Graduation speech Part Two:

In preparation for the appointment, you need to work on becoming rich. No, you know I don't mean monetarily. Some of the people in this world who have lots of money or extremely poor. No, there is a spiritually rich life that God wants you to pursue. Paul told his son in the Spirit, Timothy, the definition of being rich. So, since you are my sons and daughters in the Spirit, I will pass along the definition. "Godliness with contentment is great gain." You can enrich your lives spiritually, be the richest man or woman in the world, by cultivating godliness and contentment.
What is godliness? Ungodliness literally means without a fear or reverence for God. Godliness then is a reverence for the heart of our Savior. Paul also said in Romans that when he meditates on his coming appointment, he does so with "fear and trembling." Now, was Paul in dread of seeing His Savior? No, he claims that to depart--to go to his appointment--is the "far better" thing. A "fear and trembling" attitude toward God is to have a deep desire to never do or say anything that would grieve--break--the heart of the Savior. Godliness is to have such a fear of hurting His heart that I never say or do anything that will do so--I always ask myself, "How will this choice affect my loving Savior's heart?" That motivation keeps me faithfully and lovingly serving Him.
But in order to be rich, I need to learn contentment as well. Let me tell your a story. I had a friend whose father was a bush pilot somewhere in the Northwest--Idaho, one of the Dakota's, Wyoming--I can never remember which. So every time I tell this story I pick a different state. At least once in awhile I'll have it right. Let's go with Wyoming this time. Anyway, one time Dan's father asked him if he wanted to go along on one of his flights. Of course, he was thrilled to do so. They got to the little airport, and Dad started loading the small plane for their journey. And load it he did. Every time Dan thought that that had to be "full enough," Dad would add more until the plane was indeed "full--heavy-laden, no room for more. Then, off they went. Down the runway. And down the runway. And down the runway. Dan was thinking, "planes have breaks, don't they?'' Finally, Dan looks up, and they are almost out of runway--and there is a huge plane-eating fence at the very end. But just at the last second, up they flew, no problem. Dan took a deep sigh, looked up--and there were a whole line of huge trestles--you know, those kinds with high voltage wires stretched between them! Giants! All along the horizon. Was Dad going to go under them or over them? Was there time to turn around? But Dad just rose above them and on they went. When Dan asked his father if he wasn't afraid on that takeoff? The response was eloquently simple, "Son, why would I be afraid? I was always in complete control." That's contentment. No matter how heavy-laden I feel, how long the runway, how many obstacles suddenly loom in front of me, I live a life that reflects my complete confidence that Father is in complete control. Every step of the journey.
Godliness--a deep reverence for the heart of God--plus contentment--a deep confidence in the wisdom of God that He is always in control--will make you the richest man or woman in the world.

Graduation Speech Part I

Graduation Speech Part I--pretend you're a senior in high school.

This is a time in the year when we tend to focus on the past--what has got us to where we are today. But I want to talk to you this afternoon about your future. There is a dynamic truth about our future that we don't focus on as often as we should. It's a truth that if we really embraced it, contemplated it, it would change our lives. I have an appointment. I don't know when. I don't where I'll be when the time comes to meet. When I reflect on it, there is a certain fear and trembling--not dread, but a reverential fear and trembling. More on that later. And whether you are 18, 35, 50, 73--focusing on the appointment is essential. It changes everything. You can't escape it. The appointment ?--I don't know if I can speak it without weeping: one day I will meet my Savior face-to-face. I will see Him. God plan is that this appointment be the most marvelous, joy-filled moment in my eternal existence.
And there are four truths that if I embrace them will make it such a moment. The first is being sure of my calling. And every child of God has the same calling--to be an image bearer of Christ wherever He sends you. I am not a teacher who happens to be a Christian. No, even in a Christian school, I am called to be a Christian who happens to be a teacher, not a teacher who happens to be a Christian. You are not called to be a businessman who happens to be a Christian, a doctor who happens to be a Christian, a nurse, lawyer, farmer, mechanic or any other vocation but to be a Christian who happens to be one of those things. You are called to a Christian--a little Christ wherever He places you. Why? Because Christ desires to be in each of those places--the classroom, the doctor's office, the hospital room, the business office, the lawyer's office. And how does He make His presence known in each of those locations--through you. You are called to be Christ-in-the-room wherever He sends you. And each decision that you make in those professions must reflect Christ in all things. One of my favorite choruses should daily be my prayer and yours: "Oh, to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer; O to be like Thee, pure as Thou art. Come in Thy fullness, come in Thy sweetness, stamp Thine own image, deep on my heart." To be ready for the appointment, you must embrace your calling--to be the image bearer of the Son of God wherever He sends you.

Busy Times

It's a busy time of year. Exams. Turning in grades. Senior graduation parties. Difficult to believe that another year of school has come to an end. I've been doing this awhile! And, Lord willing, a few more years to go. Crop rotation is the essence of education. One "crop" moves on to what He has prepared for them, and another "crop" gets planted for WC to nurture and prepare for their turn to go out into the world and be Jesus.
There are tons of stuff to do at The... Acres as well--all of which will have to wait until next week. Still have to get that mower out of the mud. The back of The Acres is disappearing. Anyone need some hay? Of course, it will all work out, but busy I will be. The good thing is that the iris are really starting to bloom!!! Tune in Saturday, and I'll post some pictures of iris time at The Acres. May is the busiest time of the year for this old man. Maybe I can convince Buzz to put me on an eight month teaching contract. Teach till May and then take the year off until August. No, I'm not holding my breath. Still adjusting at 73. Rather enjoyable actually. Have a great day. It's a gift from Him to you. Don't lose sight of Him in the busyness. Don't let busy become hectic!!

Hate

The sin in the world should break our hearts. People with eternal souls are seeking something or someone that will give their life meaning and purpose. Such a pursuit always leads to desperation. They do not need our hate or vitriol; they need to see the love and grace of God at work in our lives. The prophets wept over the heart condition of those to whom they were sent. The Father looked at the world filled with the wickedness of the Roman Empire--and wicked it was!!--and so loved the world that He sent His Son to provide for them access to Him--forgiveness--through His sacrificial death. The only set of people that Jesus condemned were those who prayed, "I thank God that I am not like those sinners." Why? Because unless His grace reached into their hearts and transformed them, they were just like those sinners. They were desperately pursuing meaning in life by the exhibition of self-righteousness. Which, of course, is no more fulfilling then any other Christ-less pursuit. How sobering are our Savior's words, "I did not come into the world to save the righteous but to bring sinners to repentance" Do you and I look at the world and hate or do we look at the world and love it as God did? Do we look and the world and fail to see our own unrighteousness apart from Christ? Is drawing men to Him the motivation of our words and actions? Or is the parading of our own self-righteousness the motivation of our hearts? Are we standing on the corner crying out "thank you, God, that I'm not like one of those sinners." Or are we crying out, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing"? May our self-righteousness and condemnation of those without Christ be swallowed up in a broken-hearted love and pursuit of the lost.

"God be merciful to me a sinner.

Finish Strong

Perhaps the greatest challenge in life is to finish strong. For my seniors at WC, it's the latest challenge--with many more to come. To a senior like this old man it will be the last challenge. For both of us "seniors," our prayer should be "Lord, empower me to glorify you to the very end."
It's so easy--maybe not the right word--to tell ourselves we've done enough. We've been faithful, we've been diligent, we've nothing left to do that matters. But His glory always matters. And my love for Him should permeate every aspect of my life. For my seniors they have to realize that they need to love Him through obedience in every aspect of their lives--in relationships with their fellow seniors, with that boyfriend or girlfriend, with the honor they show their parents, with the school work and classroom behavior that is asked of them. Unless my love for Him is reflected in all those areas, then it's not love at all. What it is is selective self-worship. I'll love Him in those areas I want to; but, the rest of my life belongs to me. That's a subtle form of idolatry. Such a one is not in love with Jesus; he or she is still in love with themselves.

For this senior my struggle to finish strong is self-serving as well. "I've been faithful do I have to lose more things that I love? I've been faithful do I have to endure a painful dying. I've been faithful, do I have to go Home with unanswered prayers concerning those I love. I've been faithful do I . . .

The solution is always the same. Continued obedience no matter what. Continued love for Him no matter what. Continued desire to have my understanding of His promises made real knowledge--experiential knowledge. Is having a relationship with the God of my salvation enough? Is resting on His promises of strength and joy and loyal love for me enough? Is my confidence in His wisdom and His will for me enough? Is He able to use me--use my loving obedience and submission to His will--to glorify Him in every circumstance?

If the answer is "yes." "Yes." "Yes." Yes"--then this is what I've found to be true--He is even a more awesome God than I knew Him to be before. And I can sense His loyal love for me at depths I never imagined to be possible before. May the song of my life to the end--to the finish--be by the Spirit's power and affirmation "To Jesus every day I find my heart is closer drawn. He's brighter than the glory of the gold and purple dawn. He's all my fancy pictures and its fairest dreams and more. Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before."

Fight the good fight. Finish strong. Rest in His unchanging promises. Submit to His will in every aspect of your life through loving obedience and joyful thanksgiving. And you will find in the latest challenge to finish strong--and in the last challenge to finish strong--that you serve an awesome God.

In All Things

I have found in those times of greatest testing that my greatest struggle is with self-absorption. (See "self-worship" in the dictionary.) My thinking becomes centered on me and my needs and wants. I believe that I am the center of the universe and that what matters most is what I'm going through. What could be more arrogant and foolish than that?
At such times I must remind myself of what is actually of the greatest importance. His glory. I must be sure to continue to live a life that reflects my confidence in His love and His wisdom. I must say what I know to be true about who He is no matter what my sight may seem to be claiming. Temporary circumstances no matter how trying or heart breaking do not undermine the eternal promises of God or detract from His immutable character: faithful, merciful, gracious, loyal, true, wise. He is always those things--always. And so I must live and testify to His majesty and to my humble trust in who He is and in what He is doing in my life--no matter how deep the struggle and pain. They are always "growing pains." When all is "said and done," I will know Him more fully, trust Him more completely, be in awe of His wisdom, loyal love, and care for His child.
And I must pray that God will give me the power to put those impacted by the struggle and their needs above my own. There relationship with me is not important. Their relationship with Him is the only one that matters. And so my prayers for them and my actions toward them must be designed to focus their eyes and hearts on the Savior--the Lover of their souls. I cannot do that unless my eyes and heart are focused on Him and His glory in all things. The weight of His presence, the significance of His character as the God full of grace and truth must resonate in all I say and do. My life must speak for me: "I am the least important person in this struggle. His glory is the one and only thing that matters." In all things Christ.

Reflections from April 2019

Sruggling to see His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine attributes? Get out of the house. His symphonic Creation reverberates with His beauty, power, and divinity. Take a slow walk--there is no other kind of walk--and bask in the invisible. You will see Him if you look for Him there. You will be surrounded by His invisible presence. His ways are everlasting.
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Praise Him--or the stones will drown you out.
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God created music so He could put a song in your heart.  There is great strength in a singing heart--the Spirit's strength.  Sing. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.
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Don't tell people you'll pray for their needs to be met when the resources to meet those needs are in your wallet.  Be the answer to your prayers--they--nor God--have any use for empty words.
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Home. Hope. Synonyms.  I will see Him face-to-face.
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Your strength for each day is only as deep and unshakeable as your joy in who He is--the God of your salvation.
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Revival: One man or woman faithfully following God no matter the circumstances.
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Yes, He is working.  Wait and see.
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Who is like Jehovah--the God who pardons iniquities and forgives transgressions, delights in His loyal love for His children, lavishes them with compassion, buries their sins in the deepest sea, and always keeps His promises?
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The Spirit gives us a heart for justice and the courage to pursuit it.  We worship God by acting justly, by loving loyally--fidelity, and by walking humbly.
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Christian maturity is not measured by how much you know, but by how faithfully you obey what you know.
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The most beautiful people in the world--full of grace and truth, living a life that radiates a compassion that acts--are the sons and daughters of the Living God.
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His return is closer than it has ever been before.  Will He find us watching--living a life of earnest expectation, worthy of His presence?
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To deny the bodily resurrection of our Savior is to be lost in your sins.
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We are the children of God.  When we see Him, we will be like Him for we will see Him as He is.
Each day we should "narrow the gap" between who we are and who we will be.  "More like the Master I would ever be."
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When He returns, it will be as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah--King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and dominion.
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For those who put their faith in Him, death and sin have been defeated.  Death is dead.  The tomb is empty.
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When everything around you changes . . . When people around you change . . . When your circumstances suddenly change . . . All for the worst--
Then remember: Jesus never changes. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."




Will.
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God has given us new life in Christ. A life empowered by the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit. We must as His new creations put off the old robes of the flesh and put on the new robes of His character day by day. Everyone we interact with moment-by-moment should see Him in us. That will be the undeniable proof that our Savior lives. Today.
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The reason why everything in our lives is out of our control is to remind us Who is in control. Praise the Lord it's not you or me.