The familiar sound

As I learned of the loss of yet another of the people I have admired in my life, I am reminded this morning of the moments we create each and every day. We have so much opportunity to do good, choosing to be a blessing in the lives of others, but do we always embrace those opportunities? I know I reference our choices so often, but we need to understand just how much each and every one of them matter. There really are NO insignificant choices in life. In fact, each one is noticed - each one is weighed in the balance of right or wrong. Those choices - those moments we create by the choices we make - they are our legacy. What is the legacy you will leave behind when you leave this earth?

A good person leaves what they own to their children and grandchildren. But a sinner’s wealth is stored up for those who do right. (Proverbs 13:22)

Some believe an inheritance is merely the 'goods' someone leaves behind when they exit this earth. I think it is much, much more. Our 'inheritance' - that which we leave behind - there isn't a 'value' to it that can be calculated in dollars and cents. In fact, our legacy is more than our bank accounts, status achieved in life, or even our collections of stuff we amass in life. Our legacy is made up of daily choices - moments created when we are with each other, doing things for others, loving with our hands and hearts. Lets be honest here - we let moments pass us by - we ALL do this. We never know what moment will be the one someone will hold onto long after we are gone, though. That moment we allowed to pass us by - would it have made a difference in the life of someone we leave behind? 

I read a post this morning by someone in one of my woodworking social media groups. His father was lost in a house fire, but do you know what this man sifted through the rubble of that house to find? His father's keys. Why? The doors were all gone, the vehicles all lost, everything seemingly left in a burnt pile of black char. Those keys were this man's memory of every day with his dad - the familiar 'jingle' of those keys on his dad's belt were what he remembered because he knew his dad was never without his keys. Rain or shine, going out or staying in, those keys were firmly attached to his belt. Those keys will always be that man's connection to his dad - memories will flood back into his mind as he holds those keys and hears that familiar 'jingle' of those charred keys.

The moment you stop to listen to your grandson tell you about his day at school - you are making a memory. The moment you don't reach into your wallet to buy that child something, but encourage him to work for it, to use his creative energies to achieve his goal of getting that thing he wants - those are memories that may not be realized as a 'transition point' in that child's life, but years from now, he will appreciate you encouraging him. The moment you sit across your desk, encouraging a young new 'lay person' in the ministry to pursue their passion, letting them know you see God's hand on their lives, and that you have confidence in their choice to pursue their calling - you are leaving a legacy. 

The choices we make leave a 'mark'. That 'mark' is our legacy. I don't always make right choices, but I am choosing to leave a legacy that I pray will be remembered as one that was worth more than silver or gold in this world. How about you? What is the legacy your are leaving as evidenced by the choices you are making today? It isn't too late to change the 'value' of your legacy, my friends. Just sayin!

What story?

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." (Maya Angelou)  As we draw our first breath at the moment of birth, we begin to lay out a legacy by which we will someday be remembered.  Some of us write our life story with glamour, goodness, or even humor. Others find their pages riddled with sadness, disappointment, and dismay. All of us have a "story", but some of us discount the value of the story we have within!

The memory of one who lived with integrity brings joy, but the legacy of a wrongdoer will rot away.  (Proverbs 10:7 VOICE)

Most of us think of integrity as honesty.  To live a life which bears the hallmark of honesty is truly a great thing, for way too many things in this world are fake.  To go through life unencumbered by the weight of being someone you are not is truly a gift and a legacy I think our youth of today need to see modeled.  There is so much vying for our hearts these days and so many things we can compare ourselves to which are not really accurate or righteous measurements by which we should draw any conclusions about our worth or value.  The worth of a man should be measured by one thing alone - the value of a life given on our behalf because God saw value in each of us as his own!

To some, a life of integrity may be living by "principles".  The rules one chooses to keep often determines the direction of one's life.  The right set of principles leads to better choices, but even the most principled life can be lacking in one thing which matters - relationship with Jesus.  You can never replace the value of being loved, cared for, and watched over. For those who think "principles" alone will be enough to say we have left a great legacy I'd like to throw out a little challenge for you.  Principled-living is good, but even the best of us violate a principle once in a while.  What we really need is a life of principle and grace - the combination is overwhelmingly awesome!

There are also those in the camp of saying a life of integrity is simply a life of purity.  Purity can be sought in many forms ranging from choosing to live a "purely vegan lifestyle" to dedicating one's self to the monastery.  Purity is an outcome of choices made, but even then purity is not something "mastered" on our own.  The life of purity is best "managed" by one who knows what purity really is - Jesus.  Purity suggests one is free of anything which "pollutes" or "corrupts".  Honestly, I haven't been able to live without those things apart from Jesus in my life.  Even with him in my life, I find I still struggle to avoid the things which pollute or corrupt!  I stand a better chance of avoiding them when I walk with him, but they are still there all around me.

The story we allow to come forth from our lives really takes form when Christ is at the center of it.  Just sayin!

Learning from others - we all do it

Although much of the Old Testament is written to the nation of Israel, the people God chose to rescue from Egypt and take into a land filled with all manner of blessing, we can learn much by the principles taught and the examples left us there.  It is kind of like hearing the stories of our own families from our grandparents and other elders.  We learn about their struggles, jumping into the midst of the stories with peaked interest, and come away with tidbits of information we only learn because they shared the story.  I kind of think the Old Testament is like that - we come away with peaked interest and tidbits of information which is only available to us because it was written down for our remembrance.  Through the combined "sharing" of the truths and historical accounts which are recorded for us in the books from Genesis to Malachi, we observe instruction in how God wants us live, truths about what is like when we do/don't choose to live this way, and what I will refer to as the "road back from wrong choices".  Maybe this is why the Old Testament is so rich of a source of learning - it paints the picture of what it is like to have made wrong choices and then the accompanying restoration which occurs when a people heeds the call to repent and return.  In fact, there are numerous accounts of Israel drifting away from what God asked of them only to find themselves miserable, in bondage, and wishing for the "good old days".  It is like we have the sharing of a legacy.  When we embrace the truth of repentance, we also embrace the truth of restoration!

After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you and accept your worship. (Jeremiah 29:10-14 CEV)

Some view failure as a stopping point - a place from which it is almost impossible to return.  Others see failure as a means to discovering what it is we will finally label as "success".  When I set out to learn to ride a two-wheel bicycle, there were lots and lots of failures.  I bear a few scars to prove that fact!  This is something we might just want to remember about our failures - they leave scars, but scars don't define who we are - they just remind us of where we have been.  Scars don't bind us to the past - they only point out how we have healed from the injuries we suffered there.  I barely remember the sting of hitting my chin on the ground as I turned that first corner, trying hard to navigate the turns on my sister's Schwinn two-wheeler.  I see evidence of the reality of having taken the tumble, but I don't any longer hold onto the initial pain, or even the loss of a little blood.  Sin's damage might hang around for a while in the form of a scar of sorts, but trust me on this - if we come to God with our sin, he won't have us focusing on the scar, but the health he "reworks" into that area of our lives by the touch of his hand!

This is a lesson we can take from the stories of the Old Testament - the reworking of our lives where once we pursued our own interests or found joy in the things which proved to be less than honoring of God in those choices. The stories recorded are chocked full of reminders of what sin does to us - taking a toll on family life, personal life, and even our work life.  The pursuit of those things God has asked us not to pursue will leave a mark - in the form of scars we might not want to have born in the first place.  Yet, we hold onto the hope of restoration - knowing God never takes his hands off those he has chosen to be his own.  Israel is a prime example of a people getting caught up in the hype around them - being a little too comfortable in the company of those who God said to be wary of in the first place.  They leave an example for us of the reminder to be aware of what it is we allow to influence our lives - for we cannot associate with something without it having an affect (good or bad) on our lives.

If you don't believe me, just think back to the last commercial you heard on TV or the radio.  If you don't listen to either of those, then think back to the last ad on the social media site, or perhaps in the magazine or newspaper you read, or the billboard on the side of the roadway.  Those short exposures to those ads left an impression of sorts.  There is something, even if it is ever so slight, which you remember about those ads.  This is the specific purpose of advertising in the first place - to create those memories and create somewhat of an appeal for the product being advertised.  The things which we are exposed to frequently enough will begin to leave an impression on our lives - good or bad.  Plain and simple, we cannot escape the affect of sin around us unless we keep our focus on the one who holds all truth and assists us to navigate through compromises.

If we have already made those compromises, we have the examples of those having made similar ones recorded for us in the scriptures.  We need only look at their accounts to see the way out of compromise.  The road is plainly marked as the one which leads us out of bondage and into rest once again.  The truth we must recognize is the road upon which we have chosen to travel.  Is it leaving us with scars and wounds too deep we don't imagine healing?  No scar is too deep or wound too ugly for God's hand to heal.  Is it one which we'd want to admit to having traveled?  Perhaps not, but even in the discovery of the awfulness of sin's journey we find lessons we can pass on to future generations. This is why I walk with others who have traveled their own journey with sin. I don't just look for those who present the image of a "perfect Christian".  I want to understand how those who struggle just like me have made it back into the arms of Jesus.  I want to learn about how it is we come into full restoration. I want the legacy they can give.

So, lest you think your failure is different from another's - it isn't, for we all sin and all fall short of what God intends for our lives.  We may call it by a different name, but it is still a struggle with the things God clearly knew would pull us away from his arms and send us down a road where the influences would be uglier than he'd ever want us to experience.  The way back into his arms isn't any different for either of us - it all begins with acknowledging we have been on the wrong path.  It all ends with us being secure in his arms once again and in his "nursing our wounds" back to health by his grace and love.  Just sayin!

A legacy awaits - what are you waiting for?

Legacy is really what some would refer to as having something to show for their life - their time, talent, and treasure revealing something which others will be able to remember them by after they are no longer walking this earth. If we were to truly examine the legacy we are creating, I wonder what we'd observe - we might just be a little surprised to see our legacy through the eyes of another, not just how we see ourselves!  If you have ever known someone with Alzheimer's Disease, or some other "memory-altering" affliction, you probably have sat contemplating how the person "used to be" - because that is the legacy you want to remember - not the wasting away of their lives after the disease begins to take them from you.  You want to remember them in their "previous state" because the present just doesn't account for their capabilities or their past experiences.  To the Alzheimer's patient, their world is the past - definitely not the present.  They cannot quite associate with any longer making a legacy, for they see themselves (and you) as somewhere in the past.  Those moments of breakthrough when there might just be a glimmer of "in the moment" recognition are few and far between.  Where their brain chooses to live is not always where their bodies presently dwell.  In a spiritual sense, where our minds choose to dwell may also not always be the place our bodies presently dwell.  Any disconnect between mind/body and spirit will often lead to a whole lot of unnecessary conflict in our lives.

“Seek me and live. Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel, don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal, and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.  Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow and Bethel is all show, no substance.  ”So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up with nothing to show for your life but a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground. For God will send just such a fire, and the firefighters will show up too late.  (Amos 5:4-6 MSG)

To really get the picture of why God focuses so much on seeking him first and foremost - each and every day - we must see this connection between mind/body and spirit.  Seeking is both an action of the mind and the spirit. If the mind and spirit are engaged in seeking, it is reasonable to assume the body will follow.  What we seek to dwell upon becomes the gateway to our present, and possibly our future actions.  Seek God and live - this is pointed out a couple of times - action which produces something of value and gives us a lasting legacy.  To understand what or who we seek is to open the door to recognizing the "legacy path" we are on.  

For Israel, they were on a path of which allowed for quite a bit of "drift" in their focus and in the legacy they were choosing to leave for a generation to come.  What had started out well, through a series of compromising actions, became a pathway which would leave them with a life as insignificant as a pile of ashes.  None of us wants to be left with ashes - in fact, we are hoping desperately that God will take our ashes and turn them into creations of glory! Gilgal was a place which started out as a place of worship - the first place Israel camped after crossing over the Jordan River into their quest to take the Promised Land.  Twelve large stones were placed in a circle - a memorial of how God had promised to lead them into this land.  Yet, it was also a place of memorial because of what occurred there - they dedicated themselves afresh to their Lord.

At Gilgal, those who had wandered in the desert wilderness for forty years, mumbling and grumbling about how God had brought them out of Egypt, but how difficult it would be to ever "come into" the Land of Promise simply because there were "giants in the land" had a mindset change - and with the change of their mindset came a change of heart - affecting their actions in every respect.  At Gilgal, the men were circumcised - indicating their separation with the old and their dedication to living as "set apart" for God. There the Feast of Passover was celebrated - indicating their reliance upon God as their protector and salvation in all things.  Also noteworthy is the cessation of the daily provision of manna from heaven - even this symbolized the separation from the old and the entry into the new.  Old had been put in its place, new lay ahead - God's work at Gilgal in the hearts of those who chose to dedicate to his purposes was begun.

Over the years, Gilgal became a place of "distant memory".  Yes, it still held the connotation of being a "holy place" for Israel, but it faded in significance as they became more "settled" and self-reliant in their new homes.  Gilgal went from being a place of "dedication" and "commitment" to being a place of idolatrous worship - allowing for the invading of compromising beliefs and practices to take the place of God at the central part of their lives.  No wonder God reminds them (and us) of the foolishness and extreme waste of time "visiting Gilgal"!  What once held the potential of an excellent legacy had become a place of compromise. 

Bethel was first mentioned in the Book of Genesis, when Jacob flees Esau, coming to a place of sheer exhaustion - having used all his energies to escape his past manipulative deeds.  In his utter exhaustion and loneliness, he falls into a deep sleep and sees a vision of a ladder leading straight into the presence of God.  The significance of this place cannot be overlooked, for it began as a place where God would transform a life - a place of new beginnings.  There Jacob received his new name (Israel), and he began to form a new legacy.  Who knew this place would ultimately end up as a place of cultic worship many years later.  Surely the place of "new beginnings" - the place where the exchange of heart meant the end of one's energies and manipulative ways - would never become a place of cultic worship!  Yep!  In the "drift" of the years, the distant memory of the life-transforming place faded - leaving it a place of cultural diversity and compromising worship practices.

Both suggest a good beginning - both have the potential for a disappointing end.  Life's legacy is indeed a matter of focus - for where the mind settles, the heart follows - where the mind and heart choose to dwell most often becomes the place practice is formed.  Ashes piled high, or lives on fire for Jesus - you choose.  Your legacy awaits!

The next generation - A Year in Review

Legacy:  Anything handed down from the past; something handed down from one period of time to another period of time.  Legacy can be some "thing" such as property; but most importantly, it can be what an individual passes down to the next generation.  There are both good and bad legacies.  Sometimes people call the good legacy an inheritance.  They often call a bad legacy a curse.  

Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10 MSG)

Eventually...the word which describes the obvious, doesn't it?  We all die - none is immune to the pull of the aging of the body and wearing out of the parts.  The point between birth and death is what determines what we leave when we depart this earth.  It isn't what we leave in a will to the next generation, but what we leave in their heart which really matters.  Yet, it amazes me how much we focus on the "stuff" we leave to another instead of the real legacy they need to actually do well in their lifetimes.

Our passage today seems a little morose, but let me take a moment to "unpack" it a little for you.  Joshua lived to the age of 110.  If you don't know anything about Joshua, you might not see the significance of his death.  Moses recruited a few spies to go into Canaan when Israel was crossing through the wilderness as they were coming out of their bondage in Israel.  Joshua was one of those original spies.  He went boldly into the land of giants, seeing what God had promised to the people - a land flowing with all they needed for life!  This is the beginning of the story of Joshua's heritage - he was a faithful witness of the truth of God's possibilities in the midst of what others thought was impossible.  Throughout his life, he stood alongside Moses as the right hand to Moses.  When Moses passed, Joshua assumed the leadership role in Israel.  He ruled well, taking the people into their inheritance - allotting each of the twelve tribes their portion of the land and helping to get them settled.

He lived well, did he not?  He was there leading the people around the impenetrable walls of Jericho, urging them to obedience before God.  He wasn't afraid to ask God for the impossible - asking God for time to "stand still" as he fought an alliance of Amorite kings in the land of Gibeon.  In fact, God took his request so literally as to make the sun stand still - giving Israel the ability to defeat the kings and their armies.  In fact, not only did the sun stand still, but hailstones big enough to kill the Amorite armies were also added to the mix.  His greatest legacy was his constant dedication to the God of his forefathers - Jehovah.  He stood many times before the assembly of Israel, urging them to live well in the presence of their great God.  To do so, they were to remain loyal to the things God taught - especially the "rule" about having no other god before HIM.  Yes, he left a legacy, indeed.

Now, as we see our passage unfolding, Joshua has died and the generation after him has now also lived out their life.  The sad statement above comes after not only Joshua had passed, but those who were the recipients of his "legacy".  The problem - it does not appear any were as concerned with the legacy they'd pass on as was Joshua!  You see, the statement, "...another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel" says it all.  Another generation - one who did not have a faithful witness to the possibilities of what God could do when given his rightful place in their lives - grew up.  But...they grew up without their God at the center of their lives, leaving them devoid of the very thing they needed.

I have to take a moment to pause at the end of this year to ask some tough questions, not only of myself, but I am encouraging you to consider them, as well.  What legacy will we leave?  When others look upon our lives, do they see the possibilities of the God of the Universe in the midst of the impossibilities of our circumstances?  Do they hear clearly the message of hope and love which only God can speak through the human heart?  Is there an urgency in our message - a challenge to remain holy, to rise above, and to seek God with all we are?  This is our legacy - to be the light of the world in a time of darkness.  This is our heritage - to pass on the light!  

Wouldn't it be a sad state of affairs to discover that our next generation knows nothing about God because we were too afraid to speak up, to intimidated to live the example we are called to live, or too focused on other things to really see the value of passing on the hope we've been given?  It is a usual "custom" to look back over the year that has passed, seeing what has been accomplished.  We publish books - "A Year in Review" - accounting for both the good and the ugly of our year.  I wonder who among us has the passion and purpose of standing before God, in the midst of the battle, to request his intervention?  Maybe it will be me - perhaps it will be you.  Either way, it takes us realizing the potential we have of keeping the "next generation" from losing the connection with God!  Just sayin!