Flung

"But they were disobedient and rebelled against You. They flung Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who warned them in order to turn them back to You. They committed terrible blasphemies." Nehemiah 9:26 HCSB

I grew up in Texas. Not the South. Texas. There is a difference. If you have to ask, then you’ve never been to Texas. Or met a true Texan.

As a Texan, and particularly as a man Texan, I like the idea of flingin’ things. Like, “That fella flung the ball downfield for a touchdown on the very next play.” Or, “During the county fair cow chip toss, one gal flung a fresh one right into one of the judges.” Flung sorta sounds like fun.

That's why “flung” caught my attention in the verse above. Not your average Bible word. Here is a test: Worshiped; Sanctified; Flung. Which one of these three does not belong here? Which one of these three is not the same?

It is translated as the not so colorful “cast... behind” in the ESV and NASB and the really looses it’s umph, “turned their backs on” in the NIV. This Hebrew word, transliterated shalak, is most often translated as “throw” or “hurl” or “scatter.” The word implies intensity or violence. In the phrase of Nehemiah 9:26, it literally means “to thrust behind one’s back” or formally reject someone or something. Ouch. Like the New Testament, “Get behind me Satan,” flipped to become, “Get behind me God.” Sounds like trouble.

Not a fun flung that one. 

Toward a God who chose them, loved them, and provided for them, rebellious and disobedient is what they had been. They had fling off God’s Word. They had turned their backs on God. But here in this one chapter that captures their history, Nehemiah 9, they are turning back. Humbled and repentant.

Led by the Levites, priests chosen by God to intercede for the people, the Israelites confessed their sins. Confession leads to blessing.

Thank God for his magnificent mercy.

Thank God for His longsuffering lovingkindness. 

Try Psalm 16:8 instead, “I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” 

Footballs and cowchips can be flung. Not God’s Word or His love for you. 

(In case you are wondering, shalak is pronounced SHAY-lak in Texas or shaw-lawk for the rest of us. And, in case you wanna share this or comment, use the tools below. Thanks, Dear Readers.)

Mowing Lessons

My oldest. A son. Near 11 years old. Motivated by money. With dreams of countless Lego sets. That change every day. Wanted to earn more money.

Mow the lawn. His Mama says. But you gotta get Daddy to teach you. 

So. We’ve had mowing lessons. While mowing. He’s learning lawn mowing. I’m learning patience. There is so much more to learn. 

Four weeks now. And at least four lessons.

First week, he missed a spot. He quit. Discouraged. As if he’d failed. It’s not the end of the world. Definitely not the end of mowing. Go back. Do it again.

Next week, he couldn’t go around a tree. Again he quit. It’s just a tree. Go around. You can’t let an obstacle overcome you. You overcome the obstacle. Find a way. Go around.

Third week, he didn’t feel like mowing. He wouldn’t even come outside. The grass doesn’t care if you feel like it. Or not. It just grows. You cut it. Feeling it or not. Cut it.

Fourth week, he did good. No complaints. Listening to instruction. Then with just a small patch left. He quit. He was tired. But you gotta job to do. Tired is not done. Done is done.

Mow on, My Friends.

Live on.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23

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How You Run the Race

Had my fifth kidney stone recently. Painful may be too merciful a description. I've written about the nasty little boogers previously.

This one hung on longer than any predecessors. Five days. It was either delusions from pain or delusions from pain meds. At least I had an excuse for my delusions. Those five days.

It took five days for that stone to move one inch. I'm no longer using, "Slower than molasses in January." My now ultimate slowness quip is, "Slower than a kidney stone in a preacher."

With the dawning of day five, however, I was just tired of it. Nasty little booger wouldn't move an inch. So I made a decision that morning. No matter the pain. No matter the drag of the pain meds. I was going to choose to have a good attitude that day. I was going to be an overcomer even as I was feeling beaten. I was going to be focused even though I was wrung out tired.

Not being able to run while on the ropes with a stone, my thoughts turned to running. Running marathons. Brutal self-torture as my wife sees it. And then a thought came to this mid-pack marathoner, kidney stone sufferer, everyday philosopher's mind: It's not where you finish; it's how you run the race.

What about you, Dear Reader?

What are you dealing with right now that you wish was just flat done over? 

What are your greatest challenges? To your strength? Your perseverance? Your grace? Your faith?

An illness. A person. Your past. Your future. You name it.

And then you choose. Choose to run the race differently.

You still may finish mid-pack or back. Your finish may even come before the finish line.

It's not where you finish. It's how you run the race.

My five day stone got the message. Within hours of that decision. It passed. The pain was gone. And this stone prone preacher boy had learned a lesson.

It's how you run the race.

I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. My friends, I don't feel I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. Philippians 3:12-14, CEV

And all God's people - with all our struggles - said, "Amen."

Run on, Dear Reader.

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Weight Limit

"It doesn't take a theological degree to win someone for Christ. It takes love willing to build a bridge sufficient to bear the weight of the Gospel." - Clarence Gillett

A retired missionary and current friendship partner sharing the love of Jesus Christ with international students, Clarence knows what he is talking about. If you took a snapshot of Clarence, he'd look like your average American fella. But to meet him, observe him, and hear him speak you'd perceive much more.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," states Colossians 3:12.

Had Clarence memorized that verse? Had he decided to make it the hallmark of his life? Or had he walked so closely with Jesus that the character of our Lord just shown through?

Clarence lives his words. Walks the talk. Living as a loving Christ follower. Sharing that love by his actions from his character.

Colossians 3 continues its challenge in verses 13-14, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Clarence made me think.

He should make you think, Christ follower.

Am I sharing the good news of new life in Jesus?

Am I loving others like Jesus as I share?

Are compassion and kindness traits I am known for?

Would my friends call me humble and gentle?

Am I patient?

Does my family know me as forbearing and forgiving?

And what about love. 

Do I love like Jesus?

Freely. Passionately. Winsomely.

It takes God-powered, other-centered love to build a bridge that will bear the weight of the Gospel.

The bridges I build will be limited by love I give.

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Contains: Peanuts.

If you were to open the middle, right drawer of my office desk you would find among other items a 16.3 ounce jar of Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter. For emergency purposes.

When my I get the shakes because my blood sugar drops, when I forget my lunch, or when I just need a little more fuel to make it through the race, I grab my trusty peanut butter.

Call me weird. Be a PB hater. Won't bother me, because it works for me. Protein & carbs with a bit of fat. Peanut butter is cheap fuel to run on.

Interestingly enough, under the ingredients on the right side of the label, just above the ConAgra Foods logo you'll notice the bold print phrase, "CONTAINS: PEANUTS."

It's an anomaly of our country's food safety labeling. If you have a nut allergy - those can be scary & severe - then you want to know about even a trace of nuts in any food. You, the mindfully allergic consumer, would skip the peanut butter altogether. But not the FDA. Or deep pocket liable ConAgra. If any product has got peanuts in it, "CONTAINS: PEANUTS," goes on the label. Even in peanut butter.

So, yes, thank you, for labeling for safety's sake that peanut butter CONTAINS: PEANUTS.

The Bible, when it comes its doctrines, contains teachings that seem to cause allergies.

Like stewardship.

If the FDA regulated Bibles, I'm sure each copy would come with a warning label - maybe even embossed nicely into the back cover of leather-bound copies - of all the potentially allergic teachings.

Stewardship - the concept of giving back to God a portion of what He has given us since He is the Owner & Provider & we are only stewards or caretakers of all He has entrusted - is in the Bible.

So, yes, thank you, for Christ-follower's giving sake that the Bible CONTAINS: STEWARDSHIP.

But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness & in your love for us - see that you also excel in the grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV