Not Under the Law

Before going any further, I recommend that you (re)read the Ten Commandments.

A few weeks ago, someone asked Carla a question about generational sin. We've been memorizing the Ten Commandments at home, so she was ready with an answer (it's in #2). As soon as she said, "Let's look in the Ten Commandments," the person sitting next to her said, "Yes, but we're not under the law any more." Carla told me that she just kind of ignored the person who made the statement and went on to answer the inmate's question.

I wasn't quite sure what to think when Carla told me about this. I just knew that it felt wrong, but a year or two ago, I might have said the same thing.

I can tell you one thing for sure; after going over the Ten Commandments for three weeks, I'm having trouble finding any that I am exempt from...

So let's go through the list. Each one is paraphrased.:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
   
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
   
5. Honor your father and your mother.
   
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

It may sound like I'm being facetious, but I'm not. Which of these commands given by God is it OK for me and you to ignore?

I hope the obvious answer is 'none.'

The next question is; which of these commandments do we choose to ignore? The reason I ask it this way is because I don't think it's possible for us to accidentally break one of them. Not after reading the list at least. Also, I'm not sure if they go in order of importance (surely murder is worse than not honoring one's parents...), but misusing the name of the Lord and remembering the Sabbath are three and four, respectively. I break number three more than I care to admit and I'm not even sure how to properly remember the Sabbath. I make idols out of myself, money, leisure, and status. In turn, I put other gods first all the time; I don't just elevate myself to the role of god by making myself the center of the universe, but I make the other items I listed into gods as well.

I try to honor my parents. They're both dead but I still catch myself saying negative things about them. I have to stop and ask "does this honor my parents." I'm 43. Am I exempt from this command?

As for the rest, if I use Jesus's standards, I'm guilty. Murder = hatred. Adultery = lust.

I'm not sure how to describe stealing and false testimony. I think these might be the ones I have the least trouble with (did you hear that? Jaws music in the background...), but I'm not always diligent with my time and I embellish stories all the time. How's that for a wimpy admission?

Don't even get me started with coveting. I just got a beautiful new TV and am already wanting a HD recording. Somebody stop me!

I know that the New Testament says we are not under the law; Romans 6:14 says "For sin shall not be your master, for you are not under the law, but under grace."

Georgia

I'm in the Atlanta airport, waiting to be picked up. I'm sitting next to a store completely dedicated to the Georgia Lottery. Since I've been here, there has been a constant line of people purchasing tickets. I can't help but remember what my friend, Jennifer Francis, used to say about the lottery. She called it, "A tax on people who are bad at math." It should come as no surprise that she is a math teacher.

Anyway, I'm going to be at AIM headquarters this whole week. I'll be attending a staff conference and then spending some time doing web work. Please pray for my girls as they are home all week and for me as I catch up with stuff in Gainesville.

Dawson State Day Two

I spent Saturday talking with some different people than the ones I met on Friday.

We got into the dorm at about 9:15 and almost everyone was still in bed. There were two guys with cleaning duty sitting at a table, so we sat down and started talking with them. They were both Christians, but, as is typical, were struggling with doing well in prison, but failing on the outside. If you think about it, we all have this problem, it's just that most of us don't go to prison because of our mistakes. Either our sins/failings aren't illegal or we just don't get caught.

I showed both men a chart that Josh Proctor showed me about four years ago. It talks about self-reliance, self-condemnation, and self-indulgence. God used it to change my life and I've been able to share it with lots of people; not all of them in prison... If you want me to show you, let me know.

After a while, Jon Kregel came in to speak. He's a former NASL soccer star who actually played with Pele and ended up doing time in Texas for cocaine possession. He's also a polyglot who speaks six languages fluently (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese.) and is a translator for the Federal Courts in Dallas; he thought this was quite funny - a convicted felon, translating in the courts. When he was done with his story, I was able to talk with two guys, Randy and Richard, from Fort Worth who were doing time for driving a stolen car and drug possession respectively. Richard was already a Christian and Randy was not interested. He said that he didn't want to lie to me and pretend that he was interested when he knew that he would just go back to his old ways when he got out. He also said that he just wanted to do what he wanted to do and didn't want to change. I said that I understood and that he was in good company because that is exactly what Lucifer said.

I don't normally say things like that, but it was obvious to me that it needed to be said. He looked at me kind of funny, but seemed to accept the truth of my statement. At least we continued our conversation and Richard commented that he was suprised that Randy stayed and talked. Apparently, he usually just walks away. Nothing immediate came of that conversation, but God's word does not return void.

We had lunch again - not quite up to the level of day one - and I spent most of the rest of the day talking with Keith, my friend that is getting out next week and is scared spitless that he'll be back. He was very concerned about the tattoos on his arms and how they would keep him from getting a good job. I tried to encourage him to try to get the best work he could, but I was having trouble not agreeing with his logic regarding the tattoos.

Right before I left, I went over to the corner to a guy I had met at lunch, Devon. He was a Jehovah's Witness and my conversation with him is fodder for another blog...

Prison

Hey all,

Carla and I are heading to Dawson State Prison tomorrow, 11/14/08, in downtown Dallas. We'll be going both Friday and Saturday from 8 to 3 with 900 other volunteers. We are spread out all over the Metroplex and as far away as Mineral Wells and Venus (not the planet).

Please pray for us whenever we come to mind. Our girls are staying with friends until Saturday so we would appreciate it if you would keep them in your prayers also.

I'm trying to think of words to describe what I saw tonight at the Arlington Hilton; the DFW Headquarters for the Bill Glass Weekend of Champions (WOC).

We walked into the lobby and I immediately started seeing people that I haven't seen in two years. Oddly enough, I don't remember all of their names, I just remember them from previous weekends. I hate to use cliches, but it was great to greet them like old friends; checking their name tags and making sure they could see mine.

I saw Lowell Curtis, James Curtis' father. He told me he's been on sixty six weekends. I ran into George; a guy that I met when he was a freshman (first time teammate) here in Dallas at Hutchins State Prison. He was scared but had a "damn the torpedoes" attitude. I was his prayer partner/buddy because he was a freshman. He left me after about five minutes and ended up leading six people to faith (I had nothing to do with it, I just got to pray for him). We saw Lori, Donna, Leesa, Scott, and David; all people we met in Huntsville, TX. I saw Alan Orr, Jack Murphy, Tully Blanchard (yeah, the guy from the Four Horsemen), and Bill Glass.

There were bikers in full leather, bankers in polos, cowboys, moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, kids from DBU, and LOTS of old men making up for lost time. I smelled cigarette smoke, saw lots of tats and earrings.

We were in a room with 600 Christians singing praise to God the Father. What a weird bunch they were. I felt very much at home.

It's been two+ years since I have done a WOC. I miss it more than I can say. I miss being with people who are totally sold out and willing to give up a weekend to go to prison. Tomorrow, at the banquet, I promise that some old man is going to cry in front of everyone because God has broken his heart. I don't think I've been to a banquet where it didn't happen. The other cool thing is the freshman. Most of them will tell the same story; "I was scared to death. I couldn't believe I let him/her talk me into doing this. I really went just to get him/her to shut up and leave me alone. Then, when I went out on the floor/into the pod/out into the yard, I saw this guy and God told me to go talk to him. I talked with him for a little while and then got to lead him in a pray of salvation. I'm 40 years old and that's the first time I've every done that. I can't believe how good this feels and I can't wait to do it again."

I want you to come with me. Just try it one time. I haven't heard one single person say, "I never should have done that." I'm going to start praying that God would start working on some people's hearts. I will do my best to be the guy that you say, "I just went so he would leave me alone!" I know you're busy. Make it happen.

One thing I can tell you for sure; it's not Prison Break. I have
met very few beautiful people in prison and the prisons usually smell
like an elementary school right after recess... Also, the people that
you meet in prison are real people, not images or caricatures. The
problem is that they don't become real until you meet them; in prison. Come with Carla and me on a WOC.

My Other gods

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Yesterday, I spent some time with some of my other gods.

I didn't really have a tough day, it was more a draining day. At the end of the day, I was going to eat dinner and then go meet the girls at church. I wrapped up my work, made dinner, and sat down to watch part of a movie on my new, fancy-schmancy TV while I ate.

Ironically, I didn't eat too much and the movie wasn't anything subversive.

But, I was counting on them to make me feel better.

As I was driving to church, I was thinking about why I didn't feel more at ease after a day of work. I had had a good dinner and relaxed with a cool movie. No big deal, right? The problem is that I was counting on something temporal to give me satisfaction and it didn't work.

Just like I want to live for Him right now, I want to only go to him for my satisfaction. Food, relaxation, leisure, entertainment, etc. are cool and, I believe, gifts from God. Unfortunately, I sometimes use them to replace God.

Exodus 20:4-5 'You shall not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the Earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,...'

When Do You Live?

Yes, the gas leak in Arlington is right by our house; about a block away. Even I can hear it leaking. I asked the police/fire dude standing in the road if he would leave if it was his house. He said no...I'm trusting so far. The kids are understandably freaked out. Rusty, if the place blows up, you can have our Mac.

So, anyway.

Is it possible to live in the future? How about living in the past? Can it be done?

Have you ever met someone who is always looking back to the past? Always going over regrets of mistakes they've made? What about someone who constantly lives for when things will get better. They're not happy now or doing the right thing now, but they will be...

I was speaking in a nursing home this last weekend and was talking about God's plans. I gave them the ol' Jeremiah 29:11 passage, but was struggling with how to apply it to people who may think of themselves as at the end of their lives*.

I asked them to think back over their lives: the good, bad, and seemingly insignificant things they had done. I talked about how God used every part of their lives to make them into the person they are RIGHT NOW. Then I said, "You aren't at the end of your life, you're at the same time you've always been - right now."

After I said this, I stopped and stared at them, thinking over the words that had come unexpectedly from my mouth.

Let's think about this; have you ever really lived in a time other than right now? No, of course not. It isn't possible. But we all know or are people who live like they're in the past or the future. Try as we might, we'll never live any time except for right now.

I'm a future guy. I'm always expecting things to get better or change. This can be good, because I tend to be optimistic. But I also can be discontent in my current circumstances - whatever they may be. When routine sets in, it is difficult for me to not look expectantly to the future for some exciting, but non-existent change. I think that God is trying to teach me to live now. To be content now. To do the right thing now. To serve Him now. To be the person I'm supposed to be right now.

*My father lived in different nursing homes the last ten years of his life. They can be hopeless places. I'm generalizing. Not all nursing homes are like this. Work with me here.

Technorati Tags: life, missions, time

You Never Know...

My friend, Jessica Kaylor, died yesterday. She was 33, a wife and mother, and had been battling breast cancer for about four years.

I showed up at Jake and Jessica's house yesterday about 10:00 am. I was there to get pictures from their computer so that I could start working on the slideshow for her funeral (at Jake's request). When I saw all the cars parked around the house, my heart sank. I asked someone standing outside if she had died, and he said no. When I went in, most of her family was standing around her bed in the living room. She was still alive, but they were grieving as it was plain she would not last long. I felt weird being there, so I kind of hid in the kitchen, standing where no one could see me. All I could do was pray for the family and Jake specifically.

As I was standing there, Jessica's grandfather walked into the dining area and sat down. He noticed me and said, "How are you today, sir?" I said, "I'm fine and I'm sorry you're not." He sort of lost his composure and said, "When you wake up in the morning, you never know what's going to happen before you go to bed at night."

I didn't know what else to say, so I just stood there in silence, thinking about what he had said.

You never know.

I am, of course, reassured that God the Father DOES know what will happen before I go to bed tonight. But I do not know. I think I need to stop acting like I do know or like I should know or like I should be prepared for everything and anything that comes down the pipe. Maybe it's OK to not know what's going to happen and to not even be ready for it, but to rest in the fact that He knows.

I hope and pray that this statement will stick with me for the rest of my life.

I pray blessing and peace on my brother-in-Christ, Jake Kaylor. He has soldiered long and hard; fighting for his wife, caring for her, sacrificing everything in his care and devotion to her. I know that he has a hard three and half years and that things are not necessarily going to get any easier as he now has three girls to raise without their mother.

He has been a tremendous example to me of what a husband should be.

The Guy Behind Me

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I'm going to anyway. You're going to think I'm really weird and maybe even consider not hanging out with me after this admission, but I hope that doesn't happen. If it does, I guess I'll just have to live with it. I can take it.

Here goes; I go the speed limit. I use my cruise control all the time. That way, I can set it and know that I'm OK. (I'm sure there is a metaphor with the whole cruise control thing, but I'm working another angle.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I did get a speeding ticket about six years ago. I was going from 360 to Broad and I missed the 40 MPH sign. Fortunately, the officer had a smidgen of mercy on me and the ticket was only for 19 miles over. woo hoo... There have also been a few times the last months that I have convinced myself that I needed to speed. Part of the reason I'm writing this is to make sure I don't do that anymore. It really helps to be accountable...

OK, enough of the mea culpa, let me tell you about the guy behind me.

I don't have a problem with people who go faster than me. You know, the guy who does 75+ all the time because he's late to something. All the time. Yes, it can be dangerous, but at least he's honest about it. "I'm going fast, get out of the way!"

As for people who go slower than the limit, I'm not really sure what to think. Tori calls it "My own personal speed limit." Maybe they're scared, talking on the phone, unaware of the speed limit, have a crummy car, etc. I just hope they don't expect me to go that slow...

It's the guy behind me that really drives me crazy. I'll be cruising along, I'll look behind me and there he is, going the speed limit. I could be on a five lane highway and this dude will stay right behind me, not necessarily tailgating, but never changing lanes. But, if I change lanes (which I usually do), he will speed up and start doing the same speed as the traffic. That's when it hits me. I think "Wait, were you only going the speed limit because I was in the way??"

Yeah, it's "Markie is way too judgmental day." Don't even get me started on how the entire freeway suddenly knows exactly what the speed limit is and how fast they're going as soon as someone spots a cop.

Sculpture of You

So, just pretend that you're a gifted sculptor. You know, one of those people who can chip away everything that doesn't look like David...

Can you imagine what it would be like to put so much work into such a sculpture and then, when you were finished, people did nothing but point out its flaws? I suppose that I might be able to deal with this, but what if the sculpture itself started to say "why is my nose so big?" "Why did you make me with such a bad temper?" "Why is my hair this color?" "Why do I have this blemish?"

You, as the master sculptor, would respond by smashing the thing...OK, that's how I would respond. You would probably say, "I made your nose like that on purpose." "Yes, you have a fiery temper, but you also have passion. I gave you passion, but you channel it through your anger." "I like that color on you." "I put that blemish there on purpose."

This is starting to sound dangerously like one of those "Footprints in the Sand" kind of things...so let's go to the meat.

I'm constantly bothered by the thought that I am not where I am supposed to be. Yes, I understand that it is important to strive to improve myself, but that is not what I'm talking about. At no time in my life have I EVER thought "wow, I'm exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing." I always feel guilty about things that are not being done, attitudes that I should change, and the mistakes that shape my life.

Could it be that if I am submitted to God and am following his ways, that I AM exactly where I should be? Could it be that the place I am in now is not a surprise to God and is, therefore, where he wants me to be?

Before you reject that idea and/or start to add all the qualifiers, chew on it for a bit.

What if you, in all your inadequacies, faults, sins, failures, and triumphs, are where God intended you to be all along? What if he actually made you for this insignificant moment? You with your divorce, the damage you've caused to the people around you, the mistakes you made in college that forced you to take seven years instead of four (guilty), the child you gave up for adoption, the people who have hurt/used you, the parents that made your life hard because of their many mistakes.

What if God is using all the clay, mud, dirt, marble, straw, gold, and diamonds that are your life to make you into the person you are right now. What if God doesn't worry about the person you're going to be or that you were, but instead focuses on the person that you are.

Wow, what a weight off...