3.21.2020 - week 47
on the opportunity inside the calamity
proverbs 3:27
do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
right now so many things feel outside our power. i’m not a scientist or a doctor or a politician. i can’t preach to my normal crowds or lead a team to do great things. we mostly kinda feel stuck. if we aren’t careful, our ‘can’ts’ can blind us to our amazing ‘absolutely can’ opportunities right in front of us.
people have never been more receptive to a positive word of encouragement.
there’s never been more ways to give a few dollars to help people in hardship.
you have probably never had more time with your immediate family.
all those excuses you have had for not reading that book or not having that tough phone call or not doing those push-ups are gone.
we can’t control most of happens, but we can control what we call it.
the corona virus quarantine is an opportunity.
to grow in trust. to do more good. to love others like christ has loved us.
it’s easy to focus on the power we don’t have and not see the power we have. if you have your health and an internet connection and cell phone full of contacts, there is no end to the amount of good you can bring to the world today.
don’t withhold good. those phone calls and donations and that writing project.
start today.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
It’s like there was switch flipped this week, but for all of us. Instead of the solution being something as easy as a lightbulb to be replaced we are all in a conundrum of when normal can begin again or if this is going to be our new normal!! Some people love change but when it’s change that is out of your control and you don’t have the ability to fix it, it seems to me the one thing I can attempt at controlling is my attitude.
As these changes kept being unveiled this week I couldn’t help but think that God has been preparing each of us for this moment. He gives us what we need (not always what we want) in order to make it through what is in front of us. So even though most of the nation is now homeschooling and working from home I believe he was at work preparing us before this.
Then I got thinking about how there are examples all over God’s Word of people who He was preparing before a major shift in their life and how their attitude determined a lot in the process. Let’s look at Mary (the mother of Jesus) and how her life went from normal to turned upside down quite quickly. When you read through the first chapter of Matthew you can see that God was preserving Jesus’ lineage through his parent’s lines. God allowed Mary and Joseph to find each other and to possess certain qualities so that he wouldn’t divorce her or bring shame on her. Matthew 1:19 says that he was a just man. God also orchestrated Elizabeth to be a relative to Mary and for their pregnancies both miraculous in different ways to be simultaneous. If you have ever been pregnant (sorry men) at the same time as someone else there is a special camaraderie and bond that takes place {this must have been a great gift of grace for Mary}. Along with this, God had provided an upbringing for Mary that cultivated a servant’s heart of the Lord and that was especially revealed as she talked to Gabriel when he was unveiling this new role to her.
You and I can look at how it all panned out for Mary and think how awesome it was to have this responsibility and honor she was given to carry baby Jesus and care for him. But for her it was all happening in real time, she could have chosen fear over faith but instead she chose to trust! In that day and time it would be plausible for Joseph to divorce her and for her to fall into being shamed. How beautiful that through her Magnificat {v.46-56 of Luke 2:her song of praise} we get to hear her heart. She chose to praise, remembering who God is. She chose to see that He had a bigger purpose. She reminds herself that God’s ways are bigger than the world’s. She recognized that no matter her path, who God is never changes.
This is quite a new frontier we’re in. There are disappointments of opportunities. There are fears of what is to come. There is a lot of together time for some families and extreme loneliness for others. But I’m quite inspired by Mary’s attitude to trust when she couldn’t see the whole picture. Just think, the same God who met Mary in her new, unexpected circumstance is the same God that is with you and I in the midst of COVID-19. May our praise to him be louder than our fears. May we remember the mighty things he has done and will continue to do. And may we seek new mercies each day when our attitudes are in need of adjustment.
cup of leadership
a re-used cup from august 2019.
those who believe most certainly in god’s control and pre-deciding are not necessarily known for their gracious kindness. (or evangelism but that’s an argument for another day ;). sometimes that crew gets a bad rep, and i think it’s because they declare ‘sovereignty’ at the wrong time. not every truth is helpful or loving at a given time. ‘god is in control’ and ‘romans 8.28 brother!’ are super helpful during a grief process, but pretty out of place in the ambulance when outcomes are uncertain. an assurance of god’s presence might be more helpful.
sometimes the most loving thing isn’t to bring a message at all. listening without expressing an opinion is great grace, as is letting someone say things from feelings that they definitely don’t believe from facts.
if you believe strongly in god’s sovereignty (and you should, it’s biblical), maybe make sure you have some other cards to play so the people around you feel loved more than lectured.
proverbs 25:11 - a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
book review
a book i may not have read without quarantine, but am so glad i did. a thoughtful analysis of a large church movement a few decades ago, similar experiences and nuanced lessons abound. church politics can be so complex, and a generous explanation of them from another world served me well. the experiences shared really helped me get my head around many of my long term questions about charismatic experience. if you are a church leader, highly recommend.
2 for your trouble this week.
last summer during a disorienting time in my new surroundings in LA, i stumbled into pastor jentezen preaching the message this book is based on. it met me while on the elliptical at he gym in an incredibly powerful way. on my desk, i have this statement written right where i can’t miss it … ‘there’s acres of diamonds right where you are, right now.’ it’s a brilliant message to bring to the world during this season of quarantine. we simply must be willing to look for the opportunities in and around the difficulty around us. a simple book, with vivid examples. really recommend. what you are looking for isn’t out there, its right in front of you, if you choose to see it.
content this week
new welcome to the war episode – episode 7. only 2 left in this series, thanks so much for your kind words about it.
CLEAN YOUR HANDS: a sermon from james 4 is live on podcast / youtube. this message really encouraged me and i trust will do the same for you.
new mac pack whack world of sports episode – the boys took sports questions while there is no sports to watch. their irritation is palpable, you will enjoy it.
verse of the week
because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our god will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. if your life honors the name of jesus, he will honor you. grace is behind and through all of this, our god giving himself freely, the master, jesus christ, giving himself freely.
2 thessalonians 1:11-12 MSG
2 pieces of good news I saw this week
1. my friends from VDGN have put together an amazing clothing line for corona. ordered a couple things already, trust me, you will love it.
2. 20+ years ago, malcolm Gladwell wrote about the spanish flu outbreak of 1918, the last thing in our world that approximates corona. really interesting to read and understand..