My neighbor helped me with a project we’ve been talking about for over a year. We rented a log splitter and split a number of logs from trees that had been cut down on both our properties. I wish I had a “before” picture of the unsplit logs. Below is a picture of the logs after we split them followed by a picture of the stacked logs.

There are some lessons, I think. The most obvious, of course, is: it’s nice to go from a mess to a non-mess. You can see on the left what the objective is, and there’s no doubt what you want the finished product to look like.

A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul… (Proverbs 13.19, NKJV)

But I’m trying for something deeper, and I don’t know if I’ve succeeded. I was thinking about the progression from the unsplit logs to the split logs to the stacked logs. It goes something like this:

• The unsplit logs were stacked but not usable.
• The split logs were usable but not stacked.
• Finally, the logs were usable and stacked.

What else is like that? I’m thinking that to the uninitiated, the seeker or new believer maybe, the scriptures could be like the stack of unsplit logs. Nice to look at but not usable.

One solution is to “split the logs:” divide the scripture up into accessible chunks. Children’s Sunday School is like that. We tell them the stories of Moses and the bulrushes, of Daniel in the lion’s den, of Jesus’ miracles, of Gideon and his 300, of Noah’s ark, Jesus’ resurrection, about Paul and Silas, Peter walking on water, etc. It’s like a scattered pile of split wood. There’s no connection to the larger story of the Bible, not even any historical order.

I believe for optimal discipleship training, the split logs should be stacked for easy accessibility in the right order. For example, I put my older, drier wood on top when I stacked the wood. When Wycliffe translates the Bible for jungle tribes, they start with the Gospel of Mark, the most accessible account of the life and work of Jesus. When we teach discipleship skills, we start with a simple system for time with God and encourage memorizing a few select verses. Appropriately accessible as I’ve written about before.

As I say, it’s a new word picture for me. What do you think?

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. (Isaiah 28.10, NKJV)

As I wrote yesterday, I try to learn from things I see. Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

What can we learn from the big fight at the end of the Browns-Steelers game Thursday night? In case you missed it (I only saw it on replay after the fact), Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns ripped the helmet off Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Mason Rudolph and clubbed him in the head with it in the final seconds of Thursday night’s game. The weird thing was that Cleveland was winning at the time and won the game 21 – 7. 

Garrett took responsibility for what he did as quoted on the ESPN web site:

Last night, I made a terrible mistake,” Garrett said in a statement issued Friday. “I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable. I know that we are all responsible for our actions, and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward. I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates, our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake, and I fully intend to do so.

I’m glad he’s taking responsibility, but I question his use of the word “mistake.” As my friend Joel, who teaches at the Air Force Academy sometimes says to a misbehaving cadet, “A mistake is when you misdial a phone number, hitting, say, a three instead of a two. What you did was a bad choice.” 

And for some reason, players instigating such egregious actions often say it’s not their true character. But it is their true character! We have it on video. And in this case, it’s not the first time: Garrett punched a player back in game 1.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray. (Proverbs 5.22, 23, ESV)

But there is always good news for Garrett and the rest of us!

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53.6, ESV)

Here’s a quick application from my reading in Jeremiah the other day.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. (Jeremiah 18.1 – 4, ESV)

The most obvious observation is that I can hear from God anywhere! I don’t have to be “in church” or even “having my prayer time,” as important as both of those things are. 

The second observation is that I should be observant, looking for lessons, looking for God’s truth wherever it is. (I have one in mind to share, maybe tomorrow.)

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns, the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (Proverbs 24.30 – 34, ESV)

We were at the YMCA of the Rockies this week for a (working) getaway, and I saw for the first time a little trail behind one of the chapels marked out with the familiar ACTS prayer acrostic: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. As I wrote yesterday, I’ve been meditating on our status as forgiven sinners. Here’s the trail sign with its exercise for Confession and forgiveness.

So I knelt in front of the sandbox, wrote some sins into the sand, confessed them to God, then erased them. Very profound if you think about it. There’s no technology that will restore writing in the sand that has been erased! 

My scripture reading for today was John 8.1 – 11, Jesus’ encounter with the woman taken in adultery. The obvious takeaway is “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” But here’s another. Much speculation has centered around what Jesus was writing in the sand. I’ve heard more than one preacher suggest that Jesus was writing the sins of the accusers, and that’s why they felt guilty and left. 

But the good news is, that if Jesus had written their sins in the sand, he was communicating, “You can be forgiven, too! It’s just sand.” Paul confessed in 1 Timothy 1.15, he was one of those kinds of guys! A judgmental Pharisee. And Jesus forgave his sins. And mine. And yours. 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace… (Ephesians 1.7, ESV)

Here’s something I’m still working on understanding and taking to heart…

I can testify that the Word is true and deserves to be received by all, for Jesus Christ came into the world to bring sinners back to life—even me, the worst sinner of all! (1 Timothy 1.15, Passion Translation)

Jesus died for sinners, even me! I read a long time ago that someone, thinking about this passage, wrote, “Paul said, ‘I am the chief of sinners.’ To which God replied, ‘O hush. You’re no such thing!’”

But it doesn’t matter whether I win the prize for being the greatest sinner or not. Jesus died for sinners. Last Sunday, our pastor quoted Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City:

The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

That’s powerful.

One of my favorite hymns is “It is well with my soul.” Stanza 3 goes:

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.8, ESV) 

It’s no secret that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer (the Our Father), there’s one point of uncertainty: do we say “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” or do we say, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” Presbyterians are among those who use “debts,” and most others seem to use “trespasses.”

In fact, “debts” is correct according to the source of the Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6.9 – 13. Look it up in almost any translation. The word translated “trespasses” is opheilema:

ὀφείλημα opheilēma; from (the alternate of) 3784; something owed, i.e. (figuratively) a due; morally, a fault: — debt.

It was William Tyndale who used the word “trespasses” in 1526. The very influential Anglican Book of Common Prayer used Tyndale’s “trespasses” when it was published in 1549, and it has stuck. Here’s an excellent article explaining the nuances.

But that’s not the point of this blog…

A few days ago I was at a memorial service, conducted by Presbyterian ministers in a Presbyterian church. At the end, one of the ministers said something like this. 

In a few minutes, we’re going to pray the Lord’s Prayer together. I’m aware that this is a mixed crowd. Not all of us are Presbyterians here; in fact, probably most of us are not Presbyterians. We say “debts,” but most traditions say “trespasses.” So let’s keep it simple, and we’ll say “trespasses.”

My first thought was, “Why? We’re Presbyterians for goodness sake, and “debts” is right!” But then I realized, “Saying ‘trespasses’ may not have been right, but it was certainly considerate.” 

Knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8.1, NIV)

Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up… Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15.2, 7, NIV)

I noticed something obvious in Paul’s testimony as recorded in Philippians 3. When we teach people to write their “testimony,” the story of how they met Jesus, we often use Paul’s example from Acts 26 where he has a “before,” a “how,” and an “after.” Here in Philippians 3, he omits the “how” story of the road to Damascus experience (Acts 9) and just has “before” (verses 5 and 6) and “after” (verse 7…)

5 I was born a true Hebrew of the heritage of Israel as the son of a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised eight days after my birth and was raised in the strict tradition of Orthodox Judaism, living a separated and devout life as a Pharisee. 6 And concerning the righteousness of the Torah, no one surpassed me; I was without a peer. Furthermore, as a fiery defender of the truth, I persecuted the messianic believers with religious zeal. 7 Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! (Philippians 3:5-7, Passion Translation)

Here’s what I noticed: when I am tempted to be “a fiery defender of the truth,” someone who puts others down for their theology or their practice or whatever, I need to remember that persecuting people “with religious zeal” is part of Paul’s “before”!

For the law was given through Moses; grace AND truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1.17, ESV, emphasis mine)

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4.15, ESV)

Our church likes to celebrate all kinds of work, and Sunday about 30 folks in our church of about 150 active members showed their art. it was great fun with art of all kinds on display: photography, painting, quilting, and wood-working were out there. One of this blog’s regular readers, Kathleen Krucoff, displayed the jewelry she creates. But the biggest surprise for many of us was several drawings done by our pastor, Dave Jordan-Irwin.

Who knew?! None of us, that’s who. And I’ve sat with Dave over coffee for hours and hours in the four years we’ve known each other. He knows I play the piano, but I didn’t know that he could draw. What are the lessons?

• Dave is a humble man, to be sure, and maybe that has something to do with it. He’s not one to talk about himself.
• Maybe he didn’t really value his art, but as a result of our working together on teaching our members the value of all kinds of work, he’s beginning to see it differently.
• Maybe I just didn’t ask! That’s something I’m going to try to work on: being more curious about other people. “What talent do you have that I don’t know about?” might be a good question.

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22.39, NIV)

Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.” (Exodus 31.1 – 5, NIV)

June was having lunch with a friend the other day when the friend said she had a Thanksgiving dilemma. “I’m going to be out of town with one of my (adult) children. The other one that lives here and her cousins want to use my house for Thanksgiving. I’ll let them of course, but I’ll be worried about my house!”

June replied, “It sounds as if you have an opportunity to practice Holy Indifference!”

This is something I’ve blogged about before, but this is another application. June explained that with God’s help her friend could be indifferent to the state of her house upon her return from out of town. Moreover, if she allowed herself to worry too much about the house, then the house would be what Ignatius of Loyola (who defined Holy Indifference) would call a “disordered attachment.”

It was a useful discussion, and our friend has two things she can pray:

• For Holy Indifference
• Against a disordered attachment

I like the practicality of what we’re learning lately, and the ease of sharing it with fellow believers in normal conversation. It’s what “frontline ministry” is about, a concept developed in my book Join the Adventure!. And the good news is, anyone can do it!

Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. (Hebrews 10.24, Passion Translation)

Would you like another uplifting story?

I was privileged to teach a 2-week course on discipleship to students at Emmaus Seminary, near Cap-Haitien in northern Haiti, in 2006, 2007, and 2008. The following story of God’s power over Satan was sent to me by one of my missionary friends there, Colleen Taylor. I know these people: Lucner was my student, and we’re still in touch. Stacy Ayers, who wrote the story, was in her first year in Haiti when I was there in 2008.

This is the abbreviated version. For the whole story, please click here–it’s worth it.

Lucner, now a pastor in a village called Vaudreil, called a 3-fast for Thursday, October 31 – Saturday, November 2, to claim God’s power over a nearby Voodoo stronghold, Bois-Caiman. On Sunday, Lucner led a 24-church march on the 3-mile walk to Bois-Caiman.

On the way they were told that rocks and bottles would be thrown at them and that when Lucner shook the Voodoo witch doctor’s hand, demons would kill Lucner on the spot. Lucner’s response:

Let’s see what God will do. Have faith.

As Stacy tells it,

The Church, our brothers and sisters, our family, your family, were so many that they surrounded the entire area in a huge circle, and for the first time in the history of Bois-Caiman, 200+ years, GOD’S praises rang out.

A sacrifice of faith was given Sunday, instead, communion was taken by hundreds of believers, the wine poured out in remembrance of the Great sacrifice that covers all.

And as they sang and prayed and gave the place to Jesus, the people of Bois-Caiman came out of their homes and celebrated…for they have lived in fear FOREVER. They have lost their children, one dying every time the demon descends and returns. They have lived in bondage, and the church had stayed away. Light had NEVER been brought.

A man far across the circle emerged…aggressively walking alone, hand out-stretched to Lucner. “When he finally got to me, I grabbed his hand like he was a dear friend I hadn’t seen in 20 years,” Lucner said. “I shook it in front of everyone like my grip would break his bones, and it was totally silent, as everyone waited.” “He finally let go, and stared at me,” Lucner said, “and I grinned at him and began to tell him about Jesus.”

Colleen closed her letter:

Pastor Lucner came to my home last evening and shared again of what happened.  He said, “Haiti will change!!  Haiti is changing!!”   Believe with us.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.10 – 12, ESV)

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4.4, ESV)