I have a friend who’s living in-between. He once had a position of ministry and fulfilled calling, and believes he’ll have another one again. In between, he waits – preparing for the day of the Second House.
I have another friend who was blindsided by an unwanted divorce. He has suffered the loss of a family, a vision, and a sense of being at home. Still, he waits – convinced that he will see, in some measure, the day of the Second House.
I can relate to both, but for different reasons. More than 10 years ago, I began a Second-House journey of my own – explainable only by the stunning grace of God. I have watched in awe as dreams I had given up on, callings I had once felt, and opportunities I once squandered began to be fulfilled. More than a God of second chances (which He is), He has shown me that He is a God of second seasons, second lives, sometimes second families, and even second callings.
He’s the God of the Second House. [click to continue…]
(How to Restore Your Losses, Part 2)
Ground Zero Construction Site, New York
In the previous post I talked about the fact that at the end of Job’s saga, the Lord restored his losses. For most of this righteous man’s painful episode, the end of the story was yet to be told about him… an important thing to remember when we encounter seasons of great loss.
One thing I left hanging was that Job was required to participate the process. Make no mistake about it: this was a man who was intimate enough with God to be honest with Him about his feelings and pain. But something changed between the ranting and the receiving. I have a feeling the same may be true of you and me, too, if we want to see our losses restored.
1. Recognize God as a God of purpose.
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted,” Job said (Job 42:2, ESV). Job acknowledged not just that God had a plan, but that His intentions and purposes are good. He also submitted to that purpose – even when he didn’t have answers. [click to continue…]
(Note: I make no claims to be a prophet, so I write this with a bit of fear and trembling. But I believe a day of restoration and change is coming to a significant number people worldwide. Pardon the timing, but it has little-to-nothing to do with the upcoming elections. I haven’t had a stirring in my spirit on this level in more than 10 years. For reasons I’ll explain next week, all I know to call it is the day of the Second House. Make no mistake about it – these are heady, often stressful times. Things that can be shaken will be, so that the things that can’t be shaken will remain. But those who hear God’s call, trust God’s heart, and courageously obey God’s direction will enter into a season, like Israel, when their latter glory will be greater than the former. This post and the next one will serve as an introduction to that.)
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It was January 3, 1993 – more than 15 years ago – and it remains the greatest comeback in NFL history. At halftime the Buffalo Bills, their starting quarterback injured, trailed the Houston Oilers with mighty quarterback Warren Moon by a score of 35-3 in an American Conference playoff game. Backup Frank Reich led the team to a stunning upset. The score: 41-38.
Most of us aren’t football players, professional or otherwise. But we all experience adversity when, like the Bills, our backs are pressed against the wall. Sometimes we’re beyond distress; we’re beaten. These times of adversity almost always involve losses of some kind:
- money (how ‘bout them markets?)
- friendships
- joy
- health
- dreams
- family
LifeVesting? Designing your future? Ha! To quote the pained psalmist in slavery, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4). [click to continue…]
Imagine you’re through the pearly gates, roaming the streets of gold getting the lay of the land. It’s heaven, baby! Not a concept or a wish, but the real deal.
There are people there – some you know, many more you’re still meeting. Famous people and unknowns. A few claims to fame; myriads upon myriads of testimonies of God’s grace and love. Names from every tongue and tribe known to man.
Let me tell about an introduction you’ll never hear:
“Hi! I’m the woman caught in adultery.”
On this side, that’s all we know to call her.
On this side, that or something like it may be all somebody may be able to say about you.
Reputations and memories can be brutal, unforgiving things. But the one thing more relentless than a disgraceful legacy is the scandalous grace of God.
This nameless woman had a name her parents had given her. Maybe it was Ruth or Mary, Joanna or Phoebe. But she had one, and used it.
She’ll also have a new name written down in glory. One known only to her, fresh from the whisper of God.
This was a woman whose world was rocked and life was changed by five words: [click to continue…]
(Click photo to enlarge)
This is what hurricanes do.
On September 13, this street in Gilchrist, Texas was lined with homes and probably some businesses.
One Ike later, one house still stands.
This, to me, is a symbol of what life can do.
The winds begin to blow, the floods and storm surge begin to rise, and once-beautiful lives turn to random sticks and bricks.
I want to be the last house standing.
I want to be the one who can prevail, even if all others fall to the ferocious winds.
I just don’t want to have to face any storms to prove it.
(Image by David J. Phillip/Getty Images. For more Hurricane Ike images, click here)
As you can probably tell from here and here, I’m a big fan of Winnie the Pooh. I pretty well ignored him during my first childhood, but in my second – with my own children – he and his friends became some of my favorite characters.
There in the Hundred Acre Wood, Pooh is a model of contentment. He helps his friends, enjoys the outdoors, doesn’t fret about his weight, and never loses his patience. He loves his honey, and his only real worry is seeing to it he has a plentiful supply. His friends are high-strung (Rabbit), insecure (Piglet), maternal (Kanga), and playful (Roo), gloomy (Eeyore), egotistical (Owl), and irresponsible (Tigger).
Winnie the Pooh? He’s just proud to be here.
I think I may have found the secret to the chubby cub’s contentment. Just outside the hollow tree where he lives is a log that is used for sitting. Beside the log is a sign that reads, “The Thotful Spot.” Being a Bear of Very Little Brain, Pooh must think hard, and think often. Whenever there is a problem or a confusing question, or practically any occasion that requires a brain, he returns to the Thotful Spot to think. He doesn’t always come up with the right answers. But he always comes away with an idea. And he always comes away happy.
Everybody needs a Thoughtful Spot. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on September 15, 2008
in 100 Words
I live in a town that prays for rain.
Not with superstition or religious sophistry, but with humble, believing cries to Jesus Christ.
Averaging 14-plus inches annually, our ag-based economy depends on rain.
I also live in a town that educates students.
Lots of them.
Sometimes educated people scoff at people who pray for rain.
They’re embarrassed to live in the same town with such backwards people.
In this town, there is one place where the praying people and the educated people gather in the same spot.
Thursday it rained. More than six inches, to be exact.
Gimme a “J”!
Imagine for a minute that you lived in a world where you were the only one who ever told the truth. A world of random mirrors where you never knew whether someone else’s “yes” meant “yes” or “no.” How would you get a loan at the bank? How would you get directions to the nearest gas station? How would you fall in love or have meaningful family relationships? How could you ever function, much less be happy?
Imagine getting up every day and telling yourself and everybody around you how badly your life is going. Have a cough? It’s probably pneumonia. Surprise bill in the mail? You’re going broke. Get a compliment on your appearance? You mumble something about needing new clothes or not feeling well lately. Receive a major blessing? It’s just a matter of time until the other shoe drops.
By now I’m sure you have an image of somebody in mind (certainly not you, of course). I’m thinking of a girl I once knew named Kim. She was a twin; her sister Kay was pretty much an optimist. Kim? Winnie the Pooh’s friend Eeyore had nothing on her. The only seventh grade girl I’ve ever met who was completely dreary.
I made an amazing discovery the other day. Kim (and whoever you’re thinking about) has a soul mate in the Bible. [click to continue…]
Soon we’ll be electing a new president, and get all those changes we’ve been hoping for. Gas prices are coming down. Congress will soon have – I mean, give us – some more of our money to spend. The economy is going up, or down, depending on who you listen to. The Iraq war is getting better, and troops are coming home. The Dallas Cowboys (plus Jessica) are America’s Team again. I guess there’s nothing left to worry about, right?
Wrong.
Not long ago I was in a public restroom that still had one of those pull-down linen hand towels. Somebody left the front panel off, and there for all to see were these emboldened words:
FAILURE TO LOAD PROPERLY COULD RESULT IN INJURY OR DEATH!
I dried my hands on my jeans. I mean, you never know! I could just see my tombstone now:
“Here the body of Andy lies,
He pulled on a towel, and found a surprise.
He lived life well, and we’ll never forget –
Now his soul’s with God, but his hands are still wet.”
I was eating at a world-famous restaurant that will go unnamed. As I walked beneath its arches (oops!) and ordered a burger, I grabbed a few napkins. There in beautiful print were these words: [click to continue…]
“We have a problem,” Perry said. Thus began the conversation the led to my first senior pastorate. The problem he alluded to was an open church conflict that led to a lot of angry words at a time when the church Perry attended was without a pastor.
He was asking me to come and preach (I was the associate pastor at a nearby church). I did, and the rest, as they say….
As long as businesses, churches, and other types of organizations are comprised of humans, they will eventually experience setbacks, upsets, dysfunction, and problems. Nobody gets it right all the time, and even healthy organizations must confront serious problems.
Broken organizations, however, are different. [click to continue…]
