Held by but a handful of pioneers, Fort Beeler - - just a few miles from the Ohio River - - found itself under a furious Indian attack. Two of their chiefs had approached on horseback for what in today’s corporate jargon would be euphemistically referred to as “leveraged negotiations”. But, before their moccasins hit the ground, a solitary shot rang out from the rifle of Lewis Wetzel. That shot separated one of the chiefs from the land of the living.
Negotiations closed. The attack was on. The Shawnee braves quickly reverted to the strategy of digging under the fort's walls. However, Lewis & his brother Martin happened to see the dirt moving and – standing with their own tomahawks poised above the spot – they waited and watched.
Suddenly, a plumed head appeared & the owner tried to squeeze through. Immediately, Wetzel’s weapon swung down, & making good it’s mark, the brothers pulled the lifeless body on through. Now, a second brave – thinking his comrade to be safely inside – stuck his head through the hole and met the same fate.
So, it continued in that manner: 3,4,5, then 6 Indians met their maker in succession. Finally, the 7th Warrior – realizing that (tho’ the others were inside) no headway seemed to be made – cautiously peeped in before trying to crawl thru. What he saw was the business end of Lewis Wetzel’s tomahawk swinging downward.
Dodging the blow – that 7th Shawnee warrior made his escape and lived to fight another day.
Too often, God’s church is like those first 6 Warriors. We dig a hole of good intentions – founded on strategies that – in times past – have proved productive in winning ground from the enemy of our souls. Then, we watch as men are dragged thru it and we wait to do the same – without ever stopping to wonder why we are making no headway in our present struggle. If we are to be wise stewards of the life, minds, & energy our King has granted us – to fight & win the battles for the very spirits of men & women in our community – we must adapt & adopt new & productive tactics to fit our present times & struggles.
Jesus spoke about this (tho’ we often miss the significance of his teaching) in a familiar story that he told to his followers in the first century and is needed as much or more by his followers in this 21st century. And it’s recorded for us by Luke in what is the 15th chapter. Jesus said:
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (15:4-7)
What We Learn from Jesus:
1. Strike Out From the Comfortable - (v.4a) - It seems like so much of the time you can either be comfortable or adventurous. Jesus calls us out of our comfortable zone to a life of adventure.
2. Search for the Effective - (v.4b) - The shepherd searched until he found this sheep. He didn't just strike out in one familiar direction and keep going. We need to find what is effective and go there.
3. Save the Lost Ones - (v.5) - He did find it. And He brought it home. This isn't about going through the motions, it's about saving the sheep.
Here's the Plan: To start a church, a group of believers, that is effective in reaching MEN and their families. I do not mean a ministry just for men, but rather a church that is intentionally & purposefully designed to reach the least represented segment of our population in U.S. churches today: MEN.
I do not know exactly how this will pan out or what it will look like. But I do know that if I go out to hunt deer, I don't go out with #12 shot in the gun.
Some of my current thoughts are:
1. Messages will be intentionally short (15-20 minutes), moving, and to the point.
2. Teaching will be biblical, not shying from the tough issues. Questions will be welcomed.
3. Our setting will lean toward the rustic, rather than the posh.
4. Our ministry will be highly-participatory and active.
5. Gatherings may be on Sunday evenings most of the time, to allow men & their families a chance to get away together on a weekend, without having to miss the gathering.
6. The church will be called Challenge Pointe Church.
7. Challenge Pointe Church will meet somewhere within the triangle formed by Lebanon, Springboro, and Waynesville, Ohio.
I think if we reach the men, we reach their families.
If you have something you would like to say on this matter, I welcome your comments. Please email me at: challengepointe@aol.com.
This is a Challenge.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
"The Funerals End Today"
Men, we are to blame. We have allowed the freedom that God created us for to be slowly whittled away until it is now but a faint, foggy, and fleeting image that resides only in those moments as sleep skips away and waking drags itself upon us. It is as if we have died - - yet, somehow, the days trudge on. We have become as dead men walking. And life, it seems, one long, slow funeral procession.
This should not be. This cannot be. This shall not be. By the grace of God, this shall not be!
Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."
The LORD God created you to be free. But we have come to accept, in our hearts, the bondage as it is. Dreams have been drowned. Hope has been smothered. A new day begins and we wonder why.
Hear me now: This is not about shirking responsibilities. This is about taking responsibility - - for our families, for our finances, for our futures. There is hope and that hope is found in Jesus Christ. Not just the hope of heaven instead of hell, but the hope of a life characterized by liberty and love - - here and now.
On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight #932 collided with a hill less than a mile from the end of the runway in Huntington, West Virgina. It was 7:35 on a Saturday evening. The chartered DC-9 was carrying 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team from Marshall University, 33 members of the coaching staff & boosters, and five Southern Airway employees.
Their team was gone. Their town was devastated. It seemed as if life, itself, had been snatched from that entire college community. Something had to change. And it did. The university applied for and received special permission to play freshmen for the 1971 season, and a new coach named Jack Lengyel took over.
As they prepared for their first game, Coach Lengyel took his team to a memorial for six of the deceased players. Matthew McConaughey portrays Coach Lengyel in the 2006 movie "We Are Marshall":
Dream, again.
Hope, again.
"For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." (paraphrase of Prov. 23:7 KJV).
Do not give up.
Do not give in.
"The funerals end today!"
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
This should not be. This cannot be. This shall not be. By the grace of God, this shall not be!
Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."
The LORD God created you to be free. But we have come to accept, in our hearts, the bondage as it is. Dreams have been drowned. Hope has been smothered. A new day begins and we wonder why.
Hear me now: This is not about shirking responsibilities. This is about taking responsibility - - for our families, for our finances, for our futures. There is hope and that hope is found in Jesus Christ. Not just the hope of heaven instead of hell, but the hope of a life characterized by liberty and love - - here and now.
On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight #932 collided with a hill less than a mile from the end of the runway in Huntington, West Virgina. It was 7:35 on a Saturday evening. The chartered DC-9 was carrying 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team from Marshall University, 33 members of the coaching staff & boosters, and five Southern Airway employees.
Their team was gone. Their town was devastated. It seemed as if life, itself, had been snatched from that entire college community. Something had to change. And it did. The university applied for and received special permission to play freshmen for the 1971 season, and a new coach named Jack Lengyel took over.
As they prepared for their first game, Coach Lengyel took his team to a memorial for six of the deceased players. Matthew McConaughey portrays Coach Lengyel in the 2006 movie "We Are Marshall":
Dream, again.
Hope, again.
"For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." (paraphrase of Prov. 23:7 KJV).
Do not give up.
Do not give in.
"The funerals end today!"
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Friday, January 21, 2011
God's Spurs
In the 2010 adaptation of Charles Portis' novel "True Grit" which is set in the decade following our country's Civil War, 14 year-old Mattie Ross, from Yell County, Arkansas sets out to get justice done upon Tom Chaney - - the man who shot & killed her father. To do so, she seeks out a U.S. Marshall named Rooster Cogburn (played by Jeff Bridges) because she has heard that he has "grit" and would be the man who would, if any man could, see the job through.
Mattie confronts the marshall in the corridor of the courthouse in Fort Smith. Though she halts him in the hall and explains her purpose for seeking his assistance, Cogburn brushes her aside and strides away, leaving the girl standing.
I wondered today if, perhaps, God's people experienced similar disheartenment in the days & years leading up to their exodus from the land of Egypt. God had used Egypt as a sort of giant incubator to grow his people from a family of 70 to a nation of about 2.5 million in a little more than four centuries. But in the last years, fear directed a new Pharaoh's treatment of God's people and they were increasingly oppressed, hindered, and hand-cuffed. They confronted God in the hall of His justice and, it must have seemed, He brushed them aside and strode away.
But, as we learn in Exodus 3:7-10, that is not the case. God finds a fugitive named Moses on the other side of the desert and lays out His plan:
The truths found in this brief, yet powerful, assertion not only apply to those thwarted in Egypt more than two thousand years back, but are relevant to you and me on this day. Five of them:
1. God Sees - verse 7a - You may be going though some awful things. The Israelites were and it crushed their hearts. But remember, there is no place we can go, there is nothing that can be forced upon us, nor is there anything dark or devastating enough to be able to be hidden or to hide us from our Creator.
2. God Hears - verse 7b - Have you ever had a bad connection on your phone and, thinking the call may have dropped, you asked (perhaps repeatedly), "Are you there? Can you hear me, 'cause I can't hear you?" - - only later to find out that the person on the other end was able to hear your questions even though their responses were never audible to you? I know it seems like that with God a lot of times. I have said so publicly on numerous occasions. Doesn't matter. Keep talking to Him.
3. God Cares - verse 7c - "Concerned" sounds a little distant to me. But the Hebrew word that God spoke to Moses is a word that can carry a very high level of passion. You see, God hates it when we ourselves, or anyone else, shackles and enslaves you and me.
4. God Delivers - verse 8a - God's love for you goes beyond liberating you. He also wants to transport you to a place where you can really live.
5. God Blesses - verse 8b - The "milk and honey" imply a place where there is abundant water and rich, fertile soil that would produce the green pastures and sweet, aromatic flowers necessary for each item. God wants you there - - in that place - - where He will quench your thirst and make you productive and fulfilled.
Mattie Ross rides with Cogburn as they track Chaney. After much adventure, they stumble upon him and bring justice upon him. However, in doing so, Mattie is bitten by a poisonous snake and it appears all will end in tragedy. It is in this moment that the old "one-eyed fat man" of a marshall scoops the girl into his arms, mounts their only remaining horse (Blacky), puts the spurs to the animal, and rides.
They race through the morning. The lathered horse pushes on through afternoon and evening. Non-stop, both riders and steed are propelled through the dark, cold night until the cadence of Blacky's hooves slows, then falters - - then stops. In a distant, isolated, and barren meadow, horse and riders collapse to the ground. So it is.
But it is not.
The marshall lifts the child into his arms and, again, begins the race against time - - the race for Mattie's life. But now, rather than the clomping of horses hooves, it is the clinging of an old man's spurs that penetrates the darkness until the outpost is finally spotted and Mattie is saved - - by the very one she thought had ignored her and brushed her aside.
Haven't seen the movie? I'd recommend it. I don't think I've told you anything that would spoil it.
Haven't been delivered from that which threatens to suck the life out of you? Remember this: God sees right where you are and He hears you when you call out to Him. He cares - - very deeply - - about you. He wants to deliver you and bless you.
Listen! That's the sound of God's spurs.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Mattie confronts the marshall in the corridor of the courthouse in Fort Smith. Though she halts him in the hall and explains her purpose for seeking his assistance, Cogburn brushes her aside and strides away, leaving the girl standing.
I wondered today if, perhaps, God's people experienced similar disheartenment in the days & years leading up to their exodus from the land of Egypt. God had used Egypt as a sort of giant incubator to grow his people from a family of 70 to a nation of about 2.5 million in a little more than four centuries. But in the last years, fear directed a new Pharaoh's treatment of God's people and they were increasingly oppressed, hindered, and hand-cuffed. They confronted God in the hall of His justice and, it must have seemed, He brushed them aside and strode away.
But, as we learn in Exodus 3:7-10, that is not the case. God finds a fugitive named Moses on the other side of the desert and lays out His plan:
The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey... And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
The truths found in this brief, yet powerful, assertion not only apply to those thwarted in Egypt more than two thousand years back, but are relevant to you and me on this day. Five of them:
1. God Sees - verse 7a - You may be going though some awful things. The Israelites were and it crushed their hearts. But remember, there is no place we can go, there is nothing that can be forced upon us, nor is there anything dark or devastating enough to be able to be hidden or to hide us from our Creator.
2. God Hears - verse 7b - Have you ever had a bad connection on your phone and, thinking the call may have dropped, you asked (perhaps repeatedly), "Are you there? Can you hear me, 'cause I can't hear you?" - - only later to find out that the person on the other end was able to hear your questions even though their responses were never audible to you? I know it seems like that with God a lot of times. I have said so publicly on numerous occasions. Doesn't matter. Keep talking to Him.
3. God Cares - verse 7c - "Concerned" sounds a little distant to me. But the Hebrew word that God spoke to Moses is a word that can carry a very high level of passion. You see, God hates it when we ourselves, or anyone else, shackles and enslaves you and me.
4. God Delivers - verse 8a - God's love for you goes beyond liberating you. He also wants to transport you to a place where you can really live.
5. God Blesses - verse 8b - The "milk and honey" imply a place where there is abundant water and rich, fertile soil that would produce the green pastures and sweet, aromatic flowers necessary for each item. God wants you there - - in that place - - where He will quench your thirst and make you productive and fulfilled.
Mattie Ross rides with Cogburn as they track Chaney. After much adventure, they stumble upon him and bring justice upon him. However, in doing so, Mattie is bitten by a poisonous snake and it appears all will end in tragedy. It is in this moment that the old "one-eyed fat man" of a marshall scoops the girl into his arms, mounts their only remaining horse (Blacky), puts the spurs to the animal, and rides.
They race through the morning. The lathered horse pushes on through afternoon and evening. Non-stop, both riders and steed are propelled through the dark, cold night until the cadence of Blacky's hooves slows, then falters - - then stops. In a distant, isolated, and barren meadow, horse and riders collapse to the ground. So it is.
But it is not.
The marshall lifts the child into his arms and, again, begins the race against time - - the race for Mattie's life. But now, rather than the clomping of horses hooves, it is the clinging of an old man's spurs that penetrates the darkness until the outpost is finally spotted and Mattie is saved - - by the very one she thought had ignored her and brushed her aside.
Haven't seen the movie? I'd recommend it. I don't think I've told you anything that would spoil it.
Haven't been delivered from that which threatens to suck the life out of you? Remember this: God sees right where you are and He hears you when you call out to Him. He cares - - very deeply - - about you. He wants to deliver you and bless you.
Listen! That's the sound of God's spurs.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Saturday, January 15, 2011
"Uncommon Men"
In my last post, "Living Large" (check it out, now, if you've not already), I mentioned God's description of the man Caleb - - and I've been unable to pry myself away from God's evaluation of this man. In Numbers 14, God's people had obediently traveled to the edge of fulfilling His promise to them. Then, due to the emergence of opposition, they lose heart. The only reasonable thing to do, they rationalize, is to find new leadership to take them back to Egypt -- and to the captivity that has sucked every hope & dream from their lives for generations. Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb plead with the people to trust God and seize His Promise. The response of the people is astonishingly succinct, "Let's stone them."
(Please watch this. All of it. From the 2004 Movie "Miracle" about 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team)
In the last 31 years, this kind of Life-Effusing accomplishment has become very rare in our culture.
In our "enlightened", 21st century, somebody's mom would've pulled their son off the ice before someone got hurt. Or, the players would've walked off threatening a law-suit. And the whole thing would've landed as a "barbaric source of outrage" for some talk-radio hack within two days.
It seems the only discipline we endure is discipline that is inflicted upon us when we simply cannot, in any manner, avoid it. In this day, it is indeed an uncommon man, who willfully embraces discipline in certain anticipation of the battles that he knows must be fought in order to experience victory.
Not much does this kind of thing - - this kind of LIFE - - happen. And it will not happen, for you or for me...
Unless...
That's All, Gentlemen.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
God steps in.
Perturbed.
Hacked.
Wits end.
Wipe them from the earth.
Start over with you, Moses.
Moses pleads.
You, Lord God, will look incapable...
To those You rescued them from...
To those You rescued them for...
Display Your strength.
God forgives.
Yet, consequences remain.
"Not one of the men...who disobeyed me...will ever see the land I promised...to their forefathers."
"But Caleb has a different spirit..."
He was an Uncommon Man.
(Please watch this. All of it. From the 2004 Movie "Miracle" about 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team)
From 1963 to 1980 the Soviet Hockey Team won 15 of 18 World Championships.
Between 1961 and 1980 the Soviets won every single Olympic Gold Medal.
They were Giants.
Unbeatable.
Were.
In the last 31 years, this kind of Life-Effusing accomplishment has become very rare in our culture.
In our "enlightened", 21st century, somebody's mom would've pulled their son off the ice before someone got hurt. Or, the players would've walked off threatening a law-suit. And the whole thing would've landed as a "barbaric source of outrage" for some talk-radio hack within two days.
It seems the only discipline we endure is discipline that is inflicted upon us when we simply cannot, in any manner, avoid it. In this day, it is indeed an uncommon man, who willfully embraces discipline in certain anticipation of the battles that he knows must be fought in order to experience victory.
Victory is a stranger to the one who will not Fight.
Common Men Go Nowhere.
Caleb was an Uncommon Man.
Caleb was an Uncommon Man.
Caleb took hold of the Promise of God.
Not much does this kind of thing - - this kind of LIFE - - happen. And it will not happen, for you or for me...
Unless...
That's All, Gentlemen.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Living Large
The first Caleb I ever knew was the son of a godly man in my home church named C.H. Todd. I'm not 100% sure what C.H.'s real name was. I've always assumed it was Caleb, since that was the name that he & Marie gave to their first-born son. Even so, he was always C.H. to me and everyone else who loved the man.
Anyway, C.H. had a son named Caleb. Caleb was a good bit older than I (he graduated while I was still in junior high), so I really didn't know him very well, but one thing I did know about Caleb was that he was a BIG MAN. Caleb didn't always make it to the church meetings, and when he did he was often tired and not very sociable with us junior high boys. Besides that, I think Caleb just had a quiet turn to his personality. So, for all these reasons, and maybe others, I never did really get to know Caleb very well, but what I do remember is that Caleb was a BIG MAN.
He wasn't just tall (at least to a 7th grader), he was BIG. But he wasn't one of those big Sta-Puf looking type guys. He was BIG and TOUGH LOOKING, with biceps that were probably larger than my adolescent thighs. Now, I don't want to paint a picture of an undiscovered Mr. Universe here, though, because that wasn't Caleb. He wasn't flashy. He wasn't chiseled. He wasn't looking to be glistening in any spotlights. He was just BIG. Caleb was a BIG MAN.
Well, I thought of C.H.'s son, Caleb, as I read the account of another Caleb recorded in God's Word in Joshua 14:6-15. If you recall the story of God's people, the Israelites, you'll remember that they were enslaved in Egypt, but were delivered from Pharoah by Moses. Then, when the Egyptians decided to pursue them, they watched the entire army, & Pharoah himself, perish in the sea they had just walked across.
Once on the other side, Moses sends out 12 spies to scope things out and they find fantastic fertile lands but with a catch. Giants, called Anakites, lived there. So, because they were afraid, ten of the spies came back and stole the courage from the people by focusing on the giants and discounting God's promise. Two spies, however, stand their ground, tell the people the truth, and trust God. One of those two is a man named Caleb.
Unfortunately, the people side with the ten cowards and, therefore, the entire nation endures 40 years of aimless wandering. Now, as we come to Joshua 14:6-15, Moses has died and Joshua (the other courageous spy) has been leading God's people for about 5 years in the promised land:
Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’[a]
In these words we discover a man who knew how to live large, as God desired. In doing so, he not only achieved God's intended purpose, but he received God's best blessings. Very quickly, I notice Three Characteristics that set Caleb apart and allowed him to Live Large for God:
1. He Was a Man of Convictions - In verse 7, Caleb states that his report was brought back "according to my convictions". His convictions were built on a commitment to honesty and a trust in God. How do we know this? Because he didn't just talk about them - - He acted on them even when faced with strong opposition.
2. He Was a Man Who Was Consecrated - We don't use the word "consecrated" alot outside of the church walls. It is one word that comes from two Latin words - - "com" means together and "sacrare" means sacred. So, more fully defined, "consecrated" means to be "altogether set apart as sacred for God's use". Caleb says it this way, "I followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly" (v.8). Life gets complicated sometimes and we don't know what to do. But Caleb understood the eternal truth that if we focus on doing just one thing - - living to please God - -it will always be what's best for those we love.
3. He Was a Man of Courage - You see, even though God had already promised Caleb that specific portion of land: With big cities. With big walls around those big cities. And big giants living inside those big walls around those cities. Caleb still had to drive them out. Let's face it. When we seek God's gifts, we'd really prefer that He just drop them in our laps. We don't want to have to do anything, much less face strong opposition to receive what He wills for us. It was the same for men in Caleb's day, but God said, "Caleb has a different spirit." (Numbers 14:24) Courage is rare, but it is necessary for a man or woman of God who longs to Live Large in their Faith.
What God did in Caleb's life He wants to do in yours & mine. God wants us to live large like Caleb, who was:
1. A Man of Convictions
2. A Man Who was Consecrated
3. A Man of Courage
Now that's a Challenge.
And this is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis!
Doug
Anyway, C.H. had a son named Caleb. Caleb was a good bit older than I (he graduated while I was still in junior high), so I really didn't know him very well, but one thing I did know about Caleb was that he was a BIG MAN. Caleb didn't always make it to the church meetings, and when he did he was often tired and not very sociable with us junior high boys. Besides that, I think Caleb just had a quiet turn to his personality. So, for all these reasons, and maybe others, I never did really get to know Caleb very well, but what I do remember is that Caleb was a BIG MAN.
He wasn't just tall (at least to a 7th grader), he was BIG. But he wasn't one of those big Sta-Puf looking type guys. He was BIG and TOUGH LOOKING, with biceps that were probably larger than my adolescent thighs. Now, I don't want to paint a picture of an undiscovered Mr. Universe here, though, because that wasn't Caleb. He wasn't flashy. He wasn't chiseled. He wasn't looking to be glistening in any spotlights. He was just BIG. Caleb was a BIG MAN.
Well, I thought of C.H.'s son, Caleb, as I read the account of another Caleb recorded in God's Word in Joshua 14:6-15. If you recall the story of God's people, the Israelites, you'll remember that they were enslaved in Egypt, but were delivered from Pharoah by Moses. Then, when the Egyptians decided to pursue them, they watched the entire army, & Pharoah himself, perish in the sea they had just walked across.
Once on the other side, Moses sends out 12 spies to scope things out and they find fantastic fertile lands but with a catch. Giants, called Anakites, lived there. So, because they were afraid, ten of the spies came back and stole the courage from the people by focusing on the giants and discounting God's promise. Two spies, however, stand their ground, tell the people the truth, and trust God. One of those two is a man named Caleb.
Unfortunately, the people side with the ten cowards and, therefore, the entire nation endures 40 years of aimless wandering. Now, as we come to Joshua 14:6-15, Moses has died and Joshua (the other courageous spy) has been leading God's people for about 5 years in the promised land:
Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’[a]
10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.) Then the land had rest from war.
In these words we discover a man who knew how to live large, as God desired. In doing so, he not only achieved God's intended purpose, but he received God's best blessings. Very quickly, I notice Three Characteristics that set Caleb apart and allowed him to Live Large for God:
1. He Was a Man of Convictions - In verse 7, Caleb states that his report was brought back "according to my convictions". His convictions were built on a commitment to honesty and a trust in God. How do we know this? Because he didn't just talk about them - - He acted on them even when faced with strong opposition.
2. He Was a Man Who Was Consecrated - We don't use the word "consecrated" alot outside of the church walls. It is one word that comes from two Latin words - - "com" means together and "sacrare" means sacred. So, more fully defined, "consecrated" means to be "altogether set apart as sacred for God's use". Caleb says it this way, "I followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly" (v.8). Life gets complicated sometimes and we don't know what to do. But Caleb understood the eternal truth that if we focus on doing just one thing - - living to please God - -it will always be what's best for those we love.
3. He Was a Man of Courage - You see, even though God had already promised Caleb that specific portion of land: With big cities. With big walls around those big cities. And big giants living inside those big walls around those cities. Caleb still had to drive them out. Let's face it. When we seek God's gifts, we'd really prefer that He just drop them in our laps. We don't want to have to do anything, much less face strong opposition to receive what He wills for us. It was the same for men in Caleb's day, but God said, "Caleb has a different spirit." (Numbers 14:24) Courage is rare, but it is necessary for a man or woman of God who longs to Live Large in their Faith.
What God did in Caleb's life He wants to do in yours & mine. God wants us to live large like Caleb, who was:
1. A Man of Convictions
2. A Man Who was Consecrated
3. A Man of Courage
Now that's a Challenge.
And this is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis!
Doug
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Biblical Anger Management
I've never seen this movie, and I don't think I'd recommend it, but there is a lot of really funny truth in this short trailer. Not so funny, is our culture careening toward destruction on the path of laziness and apathy. And anyone who dares to confront these twin icons of tolerance is vilified. Sandler's character not only had a right, but even a loving responsibility, to ask the flight attendant to do what she was being paid to do. By ignoring him, she was dishonoring him, dishonoring her employer, and in doing so, she was bringing dishonor upon herself.
You ask, "But doesn't Jesus want us to be peacemakers?" Yes, but history provides us a World War and a holocaust as evidence that should help us grasp the difference between a peacemaker and an appeaser. Real peace can never be purchased by selling off virtue, justice, or truth.
So, what does God have to say about this? I find 3 main principles that apply:
1. Be Angry Seldom - The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the believers in Corinth, gives the quintessential description of love. Sandwiched in the middle of that description, the apostle proclaims the truth that love "is not easily angered" (1 Cor. 13:5). He doesn't say that love doesn't get angry. In fact, implied in his statement is this fundamental and crucial element: Love does get angry.
The Enemy has heavily infiltrated and influenced our culture so that what is peddled as "enlightened" civility is really the foundation that is being laid for a society of milk-toast citizens - - people who will not stand up to the attitudes, actions, and apathy that are destroying our country & all of mankind - - one purpose-starved life at a time. What God tells us in His Word is this: In Order To Really Love, You Will Get Angry.
However, you cannot allow anger to be your main source of energy in life. Paul writes, once again, to believers: "In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26-27)
2. Control Your Anger - King Solomon, in Proverbs 29:11, teaches us that "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control". Here, God draws a stark contrast between a fool and a wise man. A fool just lets go with everything. In the original language you get the picture of one who loses his mind (Been there, unfortunately). By contrast, a man of wisdom controls his anger. This doesn't mean that he doesn't get angry, but just that the man is in control, not the anger. The wise man gets angry on purpose. This purpose is to accomplish good (See #3).
3. Get Angry Over What Makes God Angry - Psalm 7:11 tells us that "God expresses his wrath (anger) every day". Having acknowledged that, if you take a look at what His Word tells us makes Him angry, you will find that God is angered when men do not tell the truth, when men take advantage of those unable to stand for themselves, when men do not make God their priority. It is when men ignore Him and His Word that God is angered. And by doing these things, we are dishonoring ourselves and everyone around us. That makes God angry and it should make us angry, too.
Though certainly not an exhaustive exploration, we have more than enough to show us that God does not expect us to sit idly by and watch the enemy take men, women, and their families captive into his stronghold of lies without being confronted. Confrontations may not ever be pleasant, and they will seldom be neat & tidy, but they are always necessary when right and wrong meet. And if those of us who follow Jesus really believe that He is The Way (i.e. the right way) we had better practice the biblically correct - - and jettison the politically correct - - way to deal with and handle anger and confrontation in our culture. And, also, within the church.
That is a real Challenge.
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fidelis.
Doug
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
"If We Lose This Fight"
In the early days of the summer of 1863, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was not far removed from the Bowdoin College classrooms where he taught modern languages. In those same halls, Chamberlain had studied logic & natural theology at the feet of Calvin Stowe and had, most assuredly, read the contemporary work of Professor Stowe's wife, Harriet Beecher. Having graduated from Bowdoin with a Bachelors of Divinity, this 33 year-old father of three was not a prime candidate for the military but, in the conflict at hand, Chamberlain considered it his duty to fight.
Late in 1862, Chamberlain sought and secured a position as an officer in the 20th Maine. Now, the beginning of July found Joshua just a short march away from the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg and confronted with a touchy problem within the ranks of his own little part of the Union Army.
It seems that just a short time ago, a group of 120 Maine soldiers had been delivered at bayonet-point to Chamberlain's command. Soldiers who were described as "mutinous" and had refused to continue to fight - - having been led to believe by an unscrupulous recruiter that their enlistment was for two years, while getting their signatures on 3-year papers. Now, the two years were up and, understandably, the soldiers were in no way receptive to explanations.
And so they were marched to Chamberlain's 20th Maine with specific instruction that any of them, refusing to do his duty, could be summarily executed. The 1993 movie, "Gettysburg", based on Michael Shaara's novel and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, accurately captures the message and manners of Chamberlain in the following clip. Take a look:
At Gettysburg, Chamberlain's 20th Maine goes on to defend the Union Army's left flank on Little Round Top while being decidedly outnumbered. And, having expended their ammunition while repelling repeated attacks, they finally secured that position with a nearly suicidal bayonet charge to chase the Rebel attackers from the field. Oh! As for the deserters - - all but two picked up their muskets and fought. And it is for this stand on that hill that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is most remembered. But there is much more to this man.
Chamberlain would finish out the war as a brigadier general, a field promotion given by Ulysses S. Grant himself - - so that Joshua could die at that rank after having been shot through both hips at Petersburg in June of 1864. But Chamberlain recovered from that wound to lead his men through a total of 20 battles and numerous other skirmishes, hit six times by bullets or shell fragments, having his horse shot under him five times. His final battle wound was on March 29, 1865, when he was shot just below the heart, having the bullet deflect off a leather case of field orders in his breast pocket, crack two ribs and bruise his arm as it left his body. Chamberlain continued to lead his men and, two days later, drove a wedge into the Confederate line that permitted Union forces to fold back Robert E. Lee's flank and, eventually force the southern general to flee westward in an attempt to save his army. Then, although exhausted by four days of fighting in the mud, Chamberlain and his men out-marched the Rebels to reinforce Union cavalry and cut off any hope of Confederate escape. So impressed was Grant by this Professor/General's leadership in this final scene of this epic war, that Grant selected Chamberlain, though he was out-ranked by many others, to receive the official Confederate surrender on April 12 at Appomattox Court House.
Here's how Civil War Historian, James M. McPherson, describes it in the introduction to Chamberlain's book, "Passing of the Armies":
"Mindful of the symbolic significance of this ceremony, Chamberlain determined to make a gesture that turned out to be of equal importance to Grant's generous surrender terms in binding up the nation's wounds... Chamberlain had placed his division of Union veterans in three lines to receive the surrender. Leading the Confederate troops as they approached these lines was John B. Gordon of Georgia,... First in line of march behind Gordon was the famed Stonewall Brigade, five regiments with 210 ragged survivors of four years' carnage. As Gordon approached at the the head of these men with "his chin drooped to his breast, down-hearted and dejected in appearance," Chamberlain gave a brief order, a bugle call rang out, and the Union soldiers shifted their rifles from "order arms" to "carry arms" - the salute of honor."
Though criticized in the North for this show of respect, Chamberlain recognized "the embodiment of manhood" in these ragged brothers of battle "with eyes looking level into ours"... and asked "Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into the Union so tested and assured?"
And so began the reconciliation of our nation.
We can learn much from godly men like Chamberlain. But, to keep it simple, I want to pull out just four biblical principles, displayed in our short biography this day:
1. Compassion - He could shoot them "but you know I won't do that." Chamberlain felt for these men and wanted to help them.
2. Fortitude - Don't ever mistake compassion for weakness. "Whether you fight or not is up to you. Whether you come along, well...you're coming."
3. Self-Sacrifice - He recognized that their purpose was not for themselves but "to set other men free."
4. Forgiveness - Chamberlain told the men that if they joined in the fight "nothing more will be said."
These are not virtues that come naturally to us - - they come supernaturally, through the power of a personal walk with God, through Jesus Christ.
Paul calls it "The Ministry of Reconciliation" in his second letter to the Corinthians (5:18). The Apostle alludes to these qualities in verses 11 - 21 of that same chapter. As we grow as men & women, according to God's design, let's make it our goal, enabled by God, to display these traits.
That's the Challenge!
And
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fi!
Doug
Late in 1862, Chamberlain sought and secured a position as an officer in the 20th Maine. Now, the beginning of July found Joshua just a short march away from the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg and confronted with a touchy problem within the ranks of his own little part of the Union Army.
It seems that just a short time ago, a group of 120 Maine soldiers had been delivered at bayonet-point to Chamberlain's command. Soldiers who were described as "mutinous" and had refused to continue to fight - - having been led to believe by an unscrupulous recruiter that their enlistment was for two years, while getting their signatures on 3-year papers. Now, the two years were up and, understandably, the soldiers were in no way receptive to explanations.
And so they were marched to Chamberlain's 20th Maine with specific instruction that any of them, refusing to do his duty, could be summarily executed. The 1993 movie, "Gettysburg", based on Michael Shaara's novel and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, accurately captures the message and manners of Chamberlain in the following clip. Take a look:
At Gettysburg, Chamberlain's 20th Maine goes on to defend the Union Army's left flank on Little Round Top while being decidedly outnumbered. And, having expended their ammunition while repelling repeated attacks, they finally secured that position with a nearly suicidal bayonet charge to chase the Rebel attackers from the field. Oh! As for the deserters - - all but two picked up their muskets and fought. And it is for this stand on that hill that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is most remembered. But there is much more to this man.
Chamberlain would finish out the war as a brigadier general, a field promotion given by Ulysses S. Grant himself - - so that Joshua could die at that rank after having been shot through both hips at Petersburg in June of 1864. But Chamberlain recovered from that wound to lead his men through a total of 20 battles and numerous other skirmishes, hit six times by bullets or shell fragments, having his horse shot under him five times. His final battle wound was on March 29, 1865, when he was shot just below the heart, having the bullet deflect off a leather case of field orders in his breast pocket, crack two ribs and bruise his arm as it left his body. Chamberlain continued to lead his men and, two days later, drove a wedge into the Confederate line that permitted Union forces to fold back Robert E. Lee's flank and, eventually force the southern general to flee westward in an attempt to save his army. Then, although exhausted by four days of fighting in the mud, Chamberlain and his men out-marched the Rebels to reinforce Union cavalry and cut off any hope of Confederate escape. So impressed was Grant by this Professor/General's leadership in this final scene of this epic war, that Grant selected Chamberlain, though he was out-ranked by many others, to receive the official Confederate surrender on April 12 at Appomattox Court House.
Here's how Civil War Historian, James M. McPherson, describes it in the introduction to Chamberlain's book, "Passing of the Armies":
"Mindful of the symbolic significance of this ceremony, Chamberlain determined to make a gesture that turned out to be of equal importance to Grant's generous surrender terms in binding up the nation's wounds... Chamberlain had placed his division of Union veterans in three lines to receive the surrender. Leading the Confederate troops as they approached these lines was John B. Gordon of Georgia,... First in line of march behind Gordon was the famed Stonewall Brigade, five regiments with 210 ragged survivors of four years' carnage. As Gordon approached at the the head of these men with "his chin drooped to his breast, down-hearted and dejected in appearance," Chamberlain gave a brief order, a bugle call rang out, and the Union soldiers shifted their rifles from "order arms" to "carry arms" - the salute of honor."
Though criticized in the North for this show of respect, Chamberlain recognized "the embodiment of manhood" in these ragged brothers of battle "with eyes looking level into ours"... and asked "Was not such manhood to be welcomed back into the Union so tested and assured?"
And so began the reconciliation of our nation.
We can learn much from godly men like Chamberlain. But, to keep it simple, I want to pull out just four biblical principles, displayed in our short biography this day:
1. Compassion - He could shoot them "but you know I won't do that." Chamberlain felt for these men and wanted to help them.
2. Fortitude - Don't ever mistake compassion for weakness. "Whether you fight or not is up to you. Whether you come along, well...you're coming."
3. Self-Sacrifice - He recognized that their purpose was not for themselves but "to set other men free."
4. Forgiveness - Chamberlain told the men that if they joined in the fight "nothing more will be said."
These are not virtues that come naturally to us - - they come supernaturally, through the power of a personal walk with God, through Jesus Christ.
Paul calls it "The Ministry of Reconciliation" in his second letter to the Corinthians (5:18). The Apostle alludes to these qualities in verses 11 - 21 of that same chapter. As we grow as men & women, according to God's design, let's make it our goal, enabled by God, to display these traits.
That's the Challenge!
And
This is Challenge Pointe.
Semper Fi!
Doug
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