Please No Salvage!

Earlier today I toured the Ike stricken city of San Leon. A quaint little community located on the south east coast of Texas just miles from Galveston Island.

I grew up in Galveston County and have lived here all my life. I’ve weathered a few storms, but never in my life have I seen the type of devastation that has befallen the Texas coast.

Homes destroyed…

Possessions lost…

Lives overturned…

When you see the aftermath of such a massive storm as Ike, it reminds you that in many ways mankind is still insignificant. In the reality of it all we are powerless to resist the hand of God.

It’s as the psalmist said,

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”
-Psalm 8:4-

There is something humbling about a storm.

Storms are powerful things. They have the power to alter your life immeasurably and leave behind something completely different than what had existed before.

They have the power to tear down…

Root up…

Uncover things hidden beneath the surface that have lied dormant and unnoticed for years…

Ike was such a storm physically - blowing through the continental United States tearing down structures, uprooting trees, and uncovering treasures of antiquity lying beneath the sand and sea.

But there exists a greater storm; a spiritual one that comes not to mess up your stuff, but to change your life.

When the former passes it tears down homes, buildings, and structures. When the latter passes it tears down resolve, arrogance, and humanity.

The former uproots trees. The latter uproots conditions of the heart.

The former uncovers things hidden in the earth. The latter uncovers things hidden in the spirit.

The former leaves you destitute…

The latter leaves you reborn.

Job experienced this kind of storm. It came upon him suddenly and unannounced. He was going about his day as normal and then was sideswiped by a trial that would leave him broken, humble, and blessed.

At the start of the story Job is seen offering sacrifices for his sons in the event they had sinned that day. We never read of Job offering a sacrifice for his own sins.

At the start of the story Job is seen standing resolute and firm in his own righteousness.

At the start of the story Job is confident and sure of his deliverance.

At the start of the story Job is strong.

Then the storm came…

First it knocked over his stuff. It killed his family. It struck his body, and it left him in dust. Then it struck his mind and heart bringing rejection, condemnation, and rebuke.

It was meant to challenge his integrity and expose his unfaithfulness. Yet, what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.

God used the storm to expose the self righteousness and arrogance in Job’s heart. He never doubted his faithfulness and integrity. He didn’t agree to allow Satan to touch him in order to prove a point.

No, he saw the sin creeping into Job’s heart and sent a storm to purge his child.

At the end of the storm Job stands before God and abhors his own righteousness (Job 42:6).

At the end of the storm Job weeps at the thought of his own arrogance.

At the end of the storm Job sees what was hidden for so long under the surface. He sees what was made manifest by the storm. He now understood the purpose of the trial, and he recognized what God was doing with the wind and the rain.

He was arrogant and self righteous (Job 32:1) and he now realized that God had sent the storm to destroy his self reliance, uproot his pride, and uncover his sin (Job 34:5, 9,35, 37).

Before the storm Job stood absolute in his own self righteousness, but the storm shook up his serenity and exposed what lied deep within his heart.

Job realized something very important about a storm,

“I was at ease, but he hath broken me…”
-Job 12:16-

Job realized that the storms in our lives have the power to change us. The spiritual storms we face are used by God to bring us to a place of brokenness and anointing.

As one man said, “Before God can greatly use a man - he has to greatly hurt him.”

Hurricane Ike has come and gone. The devastation he left was tremendous. Galveston is in shambles – San Leon ruined. Dickinson, Bacliff, Texas City, Orange, Houston, Santa Fe, Alvin, etc have all felt the damaging affects of a more powerful than normal Cat 2 Hurricane with a 13 ½ storm surge.

Yet we will rebuild…

We will recover…

But we will never be the same…

That is the purpose of the storm; to bring us to a place of brokenness and humility so that God can reveal himself to us in a greater light.

When we allow the winds and waves to crash against us and we bow under the pain of the storm it is then that we can lift our burdened eyes and claim with great revelation,

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.”
-Job 42:5-

The storm comes to diminish us and to reveal him. God uses the storm to change us, break us, and rebuild us. Let us never fear the storm. Let us never curse its coming.

Instead, when I consider the purpose of the storm...

My prayer is the echo of a paint stained board.

“Lord, please no salvage. Leave nothing of my humanity behind. Destroy me, tear me down, uproot my heart, and uncover my sins.

Break me Lord...

Then build me up again.”

Better Than Spiderman!

Growing up my favorite super hero was Spiderman. The reason I liked Spiderman wasn't because of his web slinging abilities, his keen sense of discernment, his knack for sarcasm, or his insanely scientific brain. No, the reason I liked Spiderman was because he was real.

Now don't get me wrong - I don't really believe there exists a radiation induced human arachnid swinging above New York in blue & red tights. When I say he's real, I'm referring to the struggles he faced in his stories; the obstacles, conflicts, and emotional barriers he was forced to overcome on an almost daily basis.

Take Superman for example, he is the man of steel. The champion of truth, justice, and the American way. He is a model of self sacrifice and servitude. However, he is practically invincible; and the only internal conflict we see in him is his indecisiveness over whether or not he should reveal his identity to Lois Lane.

Peter Parker (Spiderman) is an average kid - nothing special about him. He wasn't popular, he wasn't an athlete, scholar, or Mr. outgoing. He faced low self - esteem, guilt, insecurities, grief, pain, etc. Every emotion that real humans feel day after day. What made him a hero was that he always overcame them - no matter how strong the temptation was to give into himself - and did what was good, decent, and right.

Even Stan Lee - the creator of Spiderman - admitted that when he created the character he intentionally left out all the pizzazz commonly found in comic book super heroes.

The reason...

He wanted to make a character real humans could relate to. That is the charm of Spiderman, he is someone who faces ordinary stuff and overcomes them with the help of extraordinary abilities.
Ok - enough about comics, let's get to the real issue.

Our kid's today look for heroes.

Unfortunately far too many of our children seek their examples out of the pit of pop culture. The role models found there are molded in the image of Hollywood, the music industry, or the sports arena. As a result our children grow up seeking to fit those images. I see it every day in the lives of children I work with. They've made heroes out of Harry Potter, Hannah Montana, Jamie Lynn Spears, etc.

The problem is that these role models do not portray how a person should deal with life. They present a picture perfect world where no rules apply and no consequences exist. They portray a lifestyle of promiscuity, drug abuse, rebelliousness, irresponsibility, and unaccountability.

In the world of Hollywood there are no real problems, and no real need for heroes....

However in this world troubles come. Pain comes, insecurity comes, and we are ultimately accountable for the consequences of our decisions. For these reasons - and others - it is important for our children to have real heroes who can give them an example of how to overcome this world.

Now I'm not preaching that we should turn our kids toward Spiderman, but there is another hero that we can relate to. In fact, I read somewhere that this hero has the ability to be touched by our infirmities. His x-ray vision sees the thoughts and the intents of our hearts. His super human strength is greatest when we are weak. He is faster than a speeding bullet when it comes to delivering us; and his grace is able to leap and cover the tallest trash heap of sin.

This hero is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ!

Our kid's need to be shown that Christ is the only true hero worthy of admiration. I know that is a simple statement,

But the fact is....

A lot of children fail to look at Christ in such a manner.

They know about Christ, and they even know they are supposed to love him - they have listened in Sunday school - but for a lot of kid's the truth of Christ never hits home.

I'm always amazed when I ask kid's why they should love Jesus, or why they should worship Jesus, and their responses are stares of confusion. Some just don't know why they ought to love Christ.

However, you ask them why they like "so and so" and they can identify the aspect of that person that appeals to them.

Two years ago at South Texas Kidz Kamp our theme was "The Real Super Heroes." It was incredible to see 9, 10, & 11 year olds responding to the idea of Jesus being more than just an awesome God - he is a real life hero that knows what we face and has the power to deliver us from our real life junk!

We showed them that their pastors, their moms & dads, their Sunday school teachers, children's pastors, elders, etc are real heroes with real abilities to show them the way! When they understood that they had real "flesh and blood" heroes at their disposal it changed the way they interacted with God. On the third night the power of God was so strong that we never reached the preaching!

Why?

Because when these children realized they had a hero with real powers to help them, they sought him with all their hearts!

For HOURS these kids prayed!

We saw a repeat the next weekend at a Holy Ghost rally; and again a few weeks later at our district family camp! The kids were presented with the ultimate super hero and they responded with heart felt love and adoration - which is the definition of worship. Why am I saying all this? It's not to belittle, criticize, or lecture. Rather, it is to illustrate that if we take the eyes of our children off this world and focus them on the aspect that God is not just God...

But is THEIR God...

Their own personal hero with the ability to help them...

Then our children will respond with worship and a deep devotion to God.

How do we instill true affection for Christ in the hearts of our sons and daughters? By making Christ relevant to their lives & needs. By exposing the fallacy of pop culture and showing them that true heroes don't prance around on stages, or dunk winning goals.

Instead, the only true hero in this world suffered death so they wouldn't have to. He took nails so they could have life. He took strips for when they got sick. He took chastisement for their peace. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief so that he could help them with their hurts and their sorrows.

Jesus Christ...

He's more than a God...

He's our super hero!

Daddy, I'm a princess.

“Daddy, I’m a princess….”

Were the words she spoke as she walked up to the couch were I lay. She had on a beautiful dress and play shoes. Her little purse dangled from her left elbow as she brushed away the blonde bang that covered her eyes.

“That means I have to use this!” she said bright eyed and smiling as she held up a plastic credit card she recently discovered tucked away in the pocket of the previously noted purse.

Both amazement and trepidation swept over my heart when I realized what she was alluding to. I quickly swept her up in my arms – at the same time swiping the plastic card and tossing it under the couch – and gave her a quick tickling storm.

“You’re a princess huh?” I asked as I grabbed a finger full of “turkey leg.”

I gave her enough pause to catch a breath and respond. She nodded her head with a huge smile.

She was my princess.

She is my princess.

Today she turns three. It is so young, yet it seems so old. Where did the days go? What happened to the nights? One moment I’m cradling a tiny baby wrapped in a blue, pink, and white hospital blanket and the next moment I’m sitting on the couch with Cinderella.

I’m looking at her now,

Playing with her princess book,

Wearing her princess pajamas.

Scolding the dog…. :)

Oh what wonderful years the last three have been; truly a blessing from the Lord. It amazes me when I see how fast kids grown.

One day she’ll be all grown up, she’ll meet some guy who will never be good enough and he’ll take her away from me.

But today she is three…

Today she is mine…

So I think I’ll turn of the computer now and dance with a princess tonight….