Being Willing to be Interrupted

It’s been a long, tiring day. You’re almost to the end of it and you just want to chill – flip on the television to escape to another world. Aw! It feels so good to get off your feet when — just like that — the phone rings. The caller ID tells you that it’s that one friend who always seems to have a pressing issue. Do you answer the phone? Or do you let it go to voicemail?

There may be good reasons to disregard the call. It may be that you need to be able to clear your mind and you had reserved this time for quiet prayer and meditation. You just want to steal away with Jesus. After all, who should take priority over Him?

I think you know where I’m going with this. If we purpose to follow Jesus’ lead, we’ll say a quick prayer -- and take the call. Isn’t that what Jesus did? “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.” (Mark 6:34) He was always allowing needy people to interrupt His plans.

Jesus’ plan had been for the disciples to rest after returning from their preaching mission. He wanted them to get away from the crowds and recharge. But when he saw the crowd awaiting them on the shore, “He had compassion on them” and He changed plans. His “time off” became an opportunity to teach the crowd. And everytime -- there were miracles that took place.

The fact is – we are little Jesuses if His light shines brightly in us. First we read that "He is the light of the world" (John 8:12), but He boomeranged that back at us when He said "You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14). Like Jesus, we should all get in the habit of choosing compassion. Like Jesus, we should be open to the possibility that some-thing or some-one will come along and disrupt our plans. Jesus' example for us is to stay flexible and open to the Holy Spirit, no matter what we have planned or scheduled for any day. It’s this openness of heart that allowed Jesus to feed the five thousand on His day off, and it’s the same openness that will make us more available to the people around us who need our attention and care.

We all make plans. Our lives are busy, and we often feel annoyed by interruptions. But Jesus wasn’t annoyed. “His heart was moved” with compassion. Our plans should always take second place to God's plans. It can be tempting to deflect interruptions or brush people aside because we want to guard our private time or finish our to-do list. But if we do that, we could end up missing an opportunity to make a difference—even a dramatic one—in someone’s life.

So go ahead, and make your plans! Just don’t be surprised when God interrupts you with an invitation to love. “Holy Spirit, move my heart with Jesus’ compassion so that I can respond with love at any moment.”

The Older Teaching the Younger has its Rewards

The last several days, my family and I have been at Beavers Bend in Broken Bow, OK. We’ve had plenty to eat--all the cargo I brought with us and the best of all -- the trout meal we had last night from our big haul of fish. Beer-batter rainbow trout! One of the great rewards of our labors, rather Larry, Staci and Payton’s lab
Alexia and I are two free spirits: fish a little, take care of the meals, and capture lots of sweet moments in photos. We are fair-weather fisher-girls. The others--rain or shine--are after a haul. Patient, diligent, and unrelenting. There are so many things that inspire me on a trip like this. This time I was so impressed by how Larry was an amazing, tender-hearted image of what Jesus must have been like as he kept instructing the disciples in the way they should go.

We learned our best fishing skills years ago from Papa and he learned them from old fishermen. They were happy to tell their favorite fishing tips--the best spots to fish, what to fish with, (the best bait), how to hold the rod and reel that causes the fish to chase after the lure, and how to fillet and cook the fish. The older taught the younger. Now I’m watching Larry and Payton pass it on.

A single mom had her 13-year-old son here from Dallas, spent the night in their van, and was desperately wanting her son to catch at least one fish. He was rigged up for a bass (big hook and big lure). Larry not only told him how to best catch trout, he hooked his line up exactly the way to make it happen. Small hook and small power bait. Immediately he caught a small trout and then a larger one.

Yesterday, again, Larry was showing a man and his son how to rig up their lines. I saw Payton taking a young boy under his wing and showing him step-by-step what to do and how to do it. I can’t help but think about Jesus and His disciples and teaching them.

The fishing they did wasn’t a sport or a fish for a day fishing excursion. Fishing was what they had been trying to do, what they did for a living. So, when Jesus came walking by the seaside and said to them, follow Me and I will show you how to fish for people, why did they go with Him? The Bible doesn’t tell us but I just wonder......

Had the fishing been so lousy that day for Peter, Andrew, James and John that it was a no-brained to give up fishing and follow a man they had never met before? Maybe on this day their nets kept coming up empty, maybe the net-mending was especially monotonous, maybe the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. Were they looking for a good excuse to change occupations — from fishermen to anything-could-be-better-than- this! Had they heard reports about Jesus and His powerful ways enough to pull them away from their nets, their boat, and follow Him?

Why did Andrew, Peter, John and James follow Jesus that day? Did they have any idea that following Him would mean a radical change in their lives? Maybe they thought “Follow Me” simply meant “You deserve a break today.” Maybe they figured they deserved a holiday and tomorrow be back to fishing again. Surely, they couldn’t have guessed what lie I had for them — the excitement, the fun, the grief, and the joy of it all.

We don’t know why they followed Jesus. But we do know that immediately they left their nets and followed Him. To follow Jesus means that we cannot predict what that decision will lead to. Is Jesus calling you to leave your nets? Sometimes the call to follow Jesus Jesus is as loud and clear as a fire siren. Sometimes, His call is more like a still, small voice.

One thing the Bible makes clear is that the call of Christ is the same One who calls us is the strength, the resources, to follow. Maybe, after all, that was the decisive factor for the four fishermen who left their nets and their boats to follow Jesus. Maybe they sensed at some deep, unconscious level, that this was Someone who could be trusted; Someone who, if he asked much, would give even more.

When the disciples followed Jesus instructions (John 20:6), they caught so many fish that the net could not be brought in. That great catch of fish gave the disciples a foretaste of what God was going to do through them as “fishers of men.”

Just imagine the possibilities of what God could do for us if we will faithfully follow Him! Are you ready to do some fishing? Grab your pole. Get your tackle ready. Set some priority time aside. Follow Jesus to the river and expect a great catch! “Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

I've Arrived!

I had such a sweet, tender encounter with Jesus when I was eight-years-old at a Christian youth camp. I remember it so well. We were singing “Kumbaya” and “I have decided to follow Jesus” around the campfire. The camp director invited those of us to raise our hand if we wanted a personal relationship with Jesus. I did. I believed. I received. I became a follower of Christ and our love story will continue through all eternity.

My sweet and tender story pales in comparison to the Apostle Paul’s (formerly called Saul) conversion story and experience. Paul had been persecuting Christians. A light from heaven blinded him and he heard the voice of Jesus saying "Saul, why do you persecute me?" We know the rest of the story where he came to believe in Jesus and became the notorious apostle who wrote nearly one-third of the New Testament.

So what did my young 8-year-old experience and St. Paul’s Damascus Road have in common? Like that song, we decided to follow Jesus. We could almost hear the choirs of angels singing in unison “You have arrived!” Now our lives were changed for so much good. We’re God’s, so NO problems. We’re born again, so LIFE will be a bed of roses. We know the truth, so NO more mistakes. God’s got our backs, so NO longer will people annoy us. Easy, peasy Christianity! Let's do this!

And the well-seasoned soldiers of faith say “Oh my dear, you have such a great imagination!" It is much more like being on an elite training team, like learning to be a Navy Seal (not that I really know what that is like – except for the movies where they nearly die from the training). There are grueling tests and drills. There’s an arch-enemy who wants, more than anything, to cause us to cave under the mere weight of it all. There are loads of bone-tired days and wrenching hard work. There is sweat, grit, and perseverance. It almost seems like we picked the wrong team to be on!

Oh, but there are so many reasons to say “WHY NOT?” There is heart. There is passion. There is dedication. There is vision. There is comfort. There is joy. There is peace. There is unexplainable love. And, I wouldn’t have it any other way, because, no matter what – with Jesus, there is always hope. Jesus delivers BIG TIME. Not just for eternity either. I confess there are times I need a deliverer right this minute! Jesus holds me. He relieves the pressure. Jesus is so…good. He surpasses easy. He is that good. And, so, our battle is good.

It makes us warriors. As crazy as it seems, our battles are good for us. They are conqueror-makers. It’s hardly about arriving, but all about journeying to touch the hem of His garment, pouring a bottle of perfume on His feet, reaching out to touch the nail scars in His hands. It’s grabbing hold of His hand and never letting go. It is walking in His footprints and sometimes letting Him carry us when we’re worn and tired. We become the most radiant and dedicated warriors ever. Deep in our hearts, we know, what He’s given us, is truly – the very best. When we understand that, we really have ARRIVED!