Tense Truths

Christmas in Stereo

by Andy Wood on December 22, 2008

in Tense Truths

Ever since there was something called “The Christmas Story,” the birth of Jesus has been a two-sided event.  In the familiar stories found in Luke’s and Matthew’s gospels, you read of shepherds and prophets, wise men and kings, Mary and Joseph.  It’s written from man’s perspective.  When the angels announced to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” that gives us Christmas from the human side.

Left there (which we usually do), Christmas is all about us.  But there is a different story – one that’s told from the counsel of Heaven itself.  You find it in the gospel of John.

“In the beginning was the Word… And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

That’s an eternal picture.  That’s God’s picture.  And perhaps the best description of Christmas from God’s perspective is the most familiar verse in the Bible:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….”

This Christmas, celebrate Christmas in stereo.  Take the time to recognize the full picture.  In the words of Charlie Brown and millions before and after him, “Linus, what is Christmas all about?” [click to continue…]

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Who Are YOU Connected To?

by Andy Wood on October 29, 2008

in Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Protecting Your Investment, Tense Truths

Tense truth:  We are individually accountable to God for what we have done with the death and resurrection of His Son and with the life He has given us.  However, we are completely dependent on a community of relationships, and cannot survive or thrive in isolation.  Our community won’t be there when we stand before the Lord, but they must be connected to us until we get there.

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From the genius of David Hayward comes this funny/sad characterization of a lot of people I have known (and one or two I have been).

No coincidence that David posted this on the same day I made this statement:  There is not enough of you available to live all your life.  You’re a fool to try…

Ever see a sequoia tree?  Fantastic piece of God’s creation.  An awesome living structure that can reach as high as 300 feet.

Ever see a sequoia tree standing by itself?

Chances are, you won’t.  Strange thing, this tree – to be so tall, it has a very shallow root system.  If it stood alone, it couldn’t make it; when the wind grew strong, it wouldn’t take it.  So the sequoias build a network of root systems and together they flourish, side by side.

You and I were designed to function like the sequoia tree. [click to continue…]

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Can You Be Content AND Change the World?

by Andy Wood on August 18, 2008

in Tense Truths

Tense Truth:  I must learn to accept the world and its circumstances as it is, not as I would have it.  I must also learn to take courageous action to be an agent of change.  The wisdom to know the difference is found in the discipline of hearing God’s voice.

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Contentment and Change decided to play table tennis one day.  I was the ball.  Can you relate?

Serve:  Be grateful for all you have.

Return:  Do something to change the world!

Rest in the Lord.  Wait quietly for Him.

Press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ.

Be still.

Get off your butt.

Surrender.

Seize every opportunity.

Be content!

Don’t be complacent!

Don’t be covetous.

Be courageous.

Wow.  I’m tired, and I’m not ever keeping score.  I’ve never bothered to even count the number of times I’ve zigged (tried to change something) when I should have zagged (been content with the situation).  Or vice-versa – when the call was to hit the ground running, I hit the hay. [click to continue…]

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Are You Too “Safe” to be Secure?

by Andy Wood on August 6, 2008

in LV Cycle, Protecting Your Investment, Tense Truths

House Fortress 2Tense Truth:  God promises a life of genuine security for His children.  But those who seek security by hiding behind what is “safe” have no security at all.  Security only comes as a result of bold obedience and courageous faith.

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Want to experience real security?  Live dangerously.  Seriously.

No, I don’t mean being a reckless gambler.  But I do mean living with purposeful boldness and courageous faith.

Who was the guy who talked about the Lord being his shepherd, or who said with such confidence,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalm 27:1)?

It was David, the giant killer.  A simple look at his life, especially the younger years, reveals a life constantly protected, and amazingly powerful.  A closer look also reveals that he seemed to skip from one dangerous situation to the next.  He didn’t always go looking for trouble, but he never backed down from it, either.

Contrast that with somebody who so focuses on risk avoidance that they never really live.  Like the guy (true story) who left California to avoid earthquakes and settled in Ohio – where his house was promptly leveled by a tornado.  Or the wealthy Australian who foresaw global trouble brewing in the 1930s and decided to move to a safe place.  So he settled on a tiny island called Guadalcanal!

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Who Leads the Sheep to the Scary Places?

by Andy Wood on July 23, 2008

in Insight, Life Currency, Tense Truths

ShepherdTense Truth: Because every human has a great need for guidance and care, God promises to personally meet the need of every Christ follower, as a shepherd would his sheep.  Yet as our Shepherd, He will lead us directly to hostile or dangerous places, into the very presence of our enemies and death.  Nevertheless, my safety and peace are not found in where I lie down, but in Who stays awake when I’m resting.

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Give your heart to Jesus, and it will be the end of all your trouble.

The front end.

Just remember as you’re bumping along the road to eternal bliss, you have a Shepherd, and He has committed Himself to meet all your needs.  Of course, if He’s the Shepherd, what does that make you and me?

Sheep.  The stupidest, most defenseless animal in the world.

But we’re sheep with a Shepherd, and we can rest in that.  It never ceases to amaze me how those inspired words of David, so comforting for centuries, continue to work their magic today.  I witnessed it again last week, as a grieving family said good-bye to their mother/grandmother.

I love how practical the Lord is when He meets our needs.  When God finds you hungry, He gives you food.  When God finds you with a broken heart, He’s not going to come and ask you if you’ve read the Four Spiritual Laws. He’s going to attend to your broken heart.  Whether the need is for strength to keep going, direction for decision making, encouragement along the way, or something more tangible, our Shepherd delights in solutions to the real problems in your life.

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Oh, Those Golden Lippers

by Andy Wood on July 10, 2008

in Consumers, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, Money, Principle of Abundance, Tense Truths

RollsTense Truth:  God has established clearly-defined principles of life management that can make me prosper, and my tomorrow better than today.  Yet for his own good purposes, God will allow me to suffer in order to further the gospel, transform my character, and mature my faith. Regardless of the what the circumstances of the moment suggest, God is for me, and will reward faithfulness, to some degree in this life, and to a much greater degree in the next.

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Mention the word “prosperity” to American Evangelical Christians and you’ll get one of two responses.  The first is a kind of entranced smile – a brightened countenance very similar to the sheer delight we used to see from people at an Amway meeting.

The second is that uncomfortable, “what do you mean by that?” kind of look, suggesting that money is the world’s curse, and that people who have it must be materialistic swine or should somehow apologize or feel guilty.

So which are you?  “Amen?”  Or “Oh me?”  Or maybe, like me, you vacillate from one to the other.

The challenge with all this is that the Bible categorically promises success to people who live according to principles or laws that God has established.  “Everything he does will prosper,” the psalmist said in Psalm 1.  And check out those blessings mentioned by Moses in Deuteronomy.

That said, the Bible also deals with the apparent contradiction of that – the prosperity of the wicked.  Those mirroring psalms – 37 and 73 – both deal with that.  The wicked does have his day, the psalmist concludes, but God has a way of sorting things out in the end, when it matters most.

Meanwhile, in the New Testament, Jesus didn’t promise a life without tribulation.  On the contrary, He said we would have it, despite what people uniquely in America sometimes promise.  Our rewards are presented mostly as heavenly, post-life promises.  But even in places, such as here, there is the declaration that God has obligated Himself to meet all our needs.

So which is it?  Suffering in this age, followed by our eternal treasure in heaven?  Or timeless principles that work in the age to come, but also may be claimed, believed, and acted on here?

Yes.

Does God want you and me to be rich?

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Prayer – Is it Really That Simple?

by Andy Wood on June 4, 2008

in Tense Truths

PrayerTense Truth:  For every big answered prayer you experience, you can find some trivial something God chose not to say “yes” to.  For every simple request He responds to, you can find some issue of global significance or suffering that He appears oblivious to.  Regardless, the Kingdom of God moves forward on that praying of its people, and when we don’t ask, we don’t receive.

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Did you ever dissect a rose or a tulip or something in biology class?  You know – where you learned about those parts, like the pistil, the anvil, the stirrup, the air ducts, the seaman, and all that stuff?  Did the thought ever occur to you that no matter how interesting the inner understanding may be, what makes the flower beautiful is the whole?

A lot of people approach prayer the same way.  They feel compelled to slice it, dice it, dissect it, analyze it.  They ask “Why?” and “How?” questions a lot.  I’ll confess, those kinds of thoughts rattle around in my head.  My wife, the faith warrior, will talk about some simple thing the Lord wonderfully gave her, like a parking place or a sale at Kirkland’s or a thought to call somebody.  And I’ll be thinking, “Okay, but really…”  Or I’ll go off on a riff like I did last week about praying for the economy or gas prices (are they really slipping?) or the environment, and the whole time I’m opining, I’m thinking, “People are going to think I’m nuts.”

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I May As Well Be Dead

by Andy Wood on April 29, 2008

in Tense Truths

Message from God(Note: I’m starting a new category today I call “tense truths.” Truth because it’s, well, true! Tense because it’s often misunderstood or has other balancing truths that need to be considered.)

Tense Truth: God still speaks to those who will listen. True, people sometimes misunderstand, misuse, or manipulate others with “messages from God.” Regardless, God is willingly and faithfully engaged in the pursuit of communicating with His people.

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I may as well be dead.

That’s the way David put it.

Ask anybody on the street about getting messages from God; nine out of ten of them will assume you’re joking or clinically nuts.

Ask George Strait about messages from God, and he’ll sing to you about seeing flowers growing in the sidewalk at just the right time, or in the miracle of seeing his baby girl born.

Ask theologians, pastors, and writers about hearing from God, at least in somewhat-Evangelical circles, and you’ll get two kinds of responses. One is something of a mystical free-for-all – sort of like a friend of mine I’ll call Weird Wally. [click to continue…]

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