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Shark Bite

9/24/2012

    My boys and I love watching the Discovery Channel program, “Man
vs. Wild,” with Bear Grylls. If you’ve never seen it, British born Grylls was
part of the UK Special Forces, climbed Mount Everest, and is an all around stud when it comes to outdoor survival. Andy and Brady love watching Bear climb up mountains, jump out of helicopters, eat bizarre insects, and climb through ice caves.Watching together is a wonderful time for us to share.

     One episode featured Bear swimming through a stretch of water between two  islands that contained sharks. This got the attention of my two little guys. “Oh no, is he gonna get eaten?”

     “Of course not,” I calmly replied, praying that we were not all in for a
gory and tragic surprise. In the midst of the intensity, Brady asked a serious question. He turned away from the action, looked me in the eye and said, “Daddy, would a shark bite hurt?”

     Not a crazy question from a three year old, and definitely one I thought
I could handle. “Yes Brady, a shark bite would hurt, at least for a little
while.” Without missing a beat he followed with, “Would it hurt even if we put a Band-Aid on it right away?”

     I laughed. Then I put my arm around him and told him it would indeed
still hurt even with a Band-Aid. But I began to think. (I assume Bear made it across the water to the other island without being attacked, but I didn’t really notice). I continued thinking about Brady’s question, which, upon consideration  is a good one.

     Would a shark bite hurt? Of course. But applying a Band-Aid? That’s
ridiculous. We can’t put a Band-Aid on a shark bite…or can we? Better
question…do we? I think I’ve done that before. Like most people, I’ve been hurt by others. Sometimes hurt pretty badly. Usually its something someone says about me behind my back. Of course, the size of the bite is determined by who is swimming nearby. When it’s family, or a close friend, the bite seems more intense, especially when they quickly swim away.

    So, how have I handled it? With a Band-Aid sized remedy. Have
you ever done this? Maybe we swim to shore and dry off, glance at the wound and assume it will heal. Perhaps we never address the wound at all, we just pretend it isn’t there. Sometimes the last thing we consider is confronting the shark, and may never even bother to stop the bleeding. We just peek at it once in a while to see if any healing has taken place. Have you ever just kept on swimming, ignoring the bite, getting more hostile toward the sharks, and
resentful toward the one who created the sharks and the sea we all swim in?

     So the wound never heals, while our blood keeps seeping out past that
tiny, soaked, pathetic Band-Aid that covers a small portion of a deep wound.
What does God want us to do? Certainly not apply a Band-Aid to a shark bite.

     It hurts to be fired from a job, left at home to raise the kids
alone, be abandoned by rotten parents, be talked about by a close friend, or be sexually abused by someone we thought we could trust. So looking for a Band-Aid to apply to a vicious wound is going to allow the infection to spread and blood keeps flowing out. According to the Bible, the best thing for us to do after the bite is raise our hands right where we swim and cry for help:

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his
ear too dull to hear,” (Isaiah 59:1).

      That should be our very first reaction; an instinct really. He is a God who rescues. I suppose its admirable to swim to shore, but wouldn’t you rather climb into a rescue basket being lowered from a helicopter if it was on the
scene? The 55th Psalm teaches us to cast our cares on the Lord, so he can sustain us. The Psalmist also speaks of the Lord’s merciful manner in addressing the wound: “O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me...He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
(Psalm 30:2 & 147:3).

     Our heavenly father desires to reach down, pull us from the water, and
size up our wound. He knows exactly the way to treat it. And sometimes, we may find he first lets us cry in his arms for a while before he starts to bandage us up. Do shark bites hurt? You bet.  Put a Band-Aid on it? Seems that’s the worst thing we can do.

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The Enemy Creeps In

9/16/2012

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    It's fun to watch my boys team up against me, wrestling them is a blast. One particular night we were finished rough-housing and they were now enjoying keeping daddy out of their room. Of course I would have no problem barging the door open against two little boys both under five years old, but it was fun to pretend I had to struggle to fight my way in. We did the routine quite a few times: I would hide down the hall, while they peeked out the bedroom door. I would then crawl a few feet at a time, inching closer, until they finally spotted me and they would yell, “Ahh!” slam the door and giggle. Then as I neared the door I would hear, “Keep out the monster.” Time after time I would gently nudge the door, pretending I could not get through, and all the while I could hear their confidence rise each time they pushed back and proclaimed, “You can’t get in.”
     But one time was different. It started as usual, as I pushed on the door they followed the pattern and pushed with all their might back against me. I pushed, they pushed back and so on. However, I tried a different strategy this time…I waited, quietly. Then I heard something I had not heard before. Fighting.
     It started as bickering, and being on the other side of the door on my belly, I don’t know how it started. All I know is I began hearing things like:
“Brady, stop pushing me, get off.”

“No Andy you pushed me, and you pinched me too, leave me alone.”

“Brady you always try to get in front, stay behind me, I’m older.”

“No, its my turn Andy, I'm the stronger one.”

     I didn’t make a sound. I waited. I kept silent. I was patient. They yelled. I was patient. They quarreled. I was quiet. They fought. I was patient...and quiet. As I kept still, instead of pushing against that door, they pushed
against each other. Instead of using their combined strength to keep me out,
they drew on the strength they each had and used it against each other. On the other side of that door was yelling, and pushing, and whining, and anger, and hurt feelings.

     I no longer waited.

     I ever so gently pushed on the door with my finger. It slowly opened an
inch. Next, I pushed with every finger except my thumb. It opened some more.

     I kept waiting for Andy to notice, or Brady to get a glimpse, but neither
did. They kept fighting, even more intensely now. Funny thing, they weren’t even looking in my direction anymore. They seemed to forget all about me, and the door, and the fact that a few minutes ago they were working together to keep me out, but now they were furious with each other and just plain distracted. So, I kept pushing.

     By this time the door was nearly all the way open, so I gave it a final push and it swung back against the wall. There was nothing but some dirty underoos on the floor between the boys and me. They kept fighting. So, I rose up and got on my knees. Still, they didn’t catch a glimpse. By this time they’re
facing the opposite direction. I could see the sweat on the back of their heads.

     So, all that was left for me to do was stand-up. I did. Still, nothing. So, I did what any dad would do in this situation. I stood as tall as I could, raised my arms high in the air, and yelled, “Ahhh, got you!”

     To say they screamed at the top of their little lungs is indeed an
understatement. They literally jumped into the air, froze for a second, then ran behind a chair and huddled together. While it was nice to see them reunited, it taught me a valuable lesson. Bottom-line, when we bicker, argue and fight, our enemy creeps in and we don’t even see it coming.

     The Bible says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter
5:7-9).

     Let’s say we have a group of people working together, even
praying hard for something. They pray that their enemy, the devil, has no
authority to enter, no power to get involved, no ability to poke around in the
plans of this people. They work together, combine strength, prayer, resources, and energy to fight him off. But someone says something
hurtful to another.

     Maybe someone says something mean, or abusive. Someone steals
from the other. Or more likely, the gossip starts. No one asks for forgiveness
and certainly no one would grant it. And while the bickering occurs, the
yelling ensues, and the distractions begin, that enemy they fought so hard
against pokes his finger on the door. No one notices, no one stops him, so he
uses more of those long, creepy fingers. He must chuckle to himself as he peeks inside to see people giving him an open door...one guarded so weakly he can easily push it open. This enemy the Bible says prowls like a lion, has crept his way inches into the camp. So now he can have fun. As the fighting continues he can stand on two legs, and roar so loudly they quake in their shoes. And as they freeze, he may bite if he wants, or simply stand inside the camp and gleefully watch the panic and frenzy unfold.

     We’re human, it’s natural for us to be weak and just plain mess-up. We get distracted, selfish, prideful, and egocentric, and our unity crumbles. That’s when focus turns from God to self. We must be wary of giving the enemy any foothold into our lives, and a breakdown of unity is the quickest way to invite the devil in.
    Here's something worth remembering if you've never noticed it before: Right before Jesus was arrested he prayed for 3 things: First for Himself, then for His disciples...and then for us (you and me). He didn't pray that we would be rich, powerful, obedient, or even faithful to Him. Of all things what did he pray for us? Unity. That we would be "one." Pretty remarkable this was His prayer (John 17).
    Together we can stand firm against the door and keep our enemy at bay. Let’s respond with grace, not react in a rage, the next time we are poked, pulled, punched or spit-on while guarding the door. We need all our energy to fight what’s on the other side.

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Let It Go & Let It Grow

9/6/2012

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It is a precious time when the boys are calm and finally ready for bed. Andy loves to cuddle with his “puppy” and always asks me to tell him a story before he goes to sleep. After I finished the story one evening, he said the following, which really just came out of nowhere:

“Daddy, I like the way God and Jesus made you.” I melted. Wow, what a wonderful and encouraging remark from my four year old. I was feeling so good about myself, until he said, “Daddy, I like the way God and Jesus made you, I like you with no hair.”

Was he kidding? I wish he had stopped with the first line, but he added
the hair part. Then, as I lay there shocked and a bit offended in the dark of
his room, he summarized by adding some more.

“Daddy, I like the way God and Jesus made you. I like you with no hair. I
think God and Jesus gave you a haircut.”

This was a lot to digest. I was half asleep when this all started, having
just finished what I thought was a fairly creative bedtime story, and then Andy hits me with all this. A compliment (I like how they made you), an insult (no hair), followed by a four year old’s reflection on creation (God and Jesus cut your hair).

I said thank you, and Andy shortly thereafter drifted off to sleep. But I
continued to lie there, pondering what he said. It led me to think of my Holy
Haircut, and then I considered the most famous haircut in history: Samson.

God had big plans for Samson. He was to free Israel from 40 years of
bondage to the Philistines. He not only had a purpose, but many spiritual highs and lows. We have many of those in our lives too. How is this for a high? Samson tore a lion apart with his bare hands as a result of the, “Spirit of the Lord coming upon him in power” (Judges 14:6). That was nothing compared to Samson killing 1000, yes 1000, Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone. I think it is safe to assert Samson knew what it was like to
hit a spiritual highpoint and truly understand the anointing of the Lord’s power and might.

He also knew spiritual low points. Remember when he scooped honey out of
the Lion’s carcass? In this act, he specifically violated the promise not to
touch the body of a dead animal. You may recall, things would get much
worse. Samson had a weakness for women. The Bible states he spent the night with a prostitute, but that is not what he's famous for. One can’t mention Samson without thinking about Delilah. The 16th chapter of Judges
features the game between the two of them, as Delilah tries three times to lure him into revealing the secret of his great strength. Three times he lies to her, but finally breaks down and speaks the truth as a result of her, “nagging and prodding.”

“So he told her everything,” (verse 17). He admitted no razor has ever
touched his head because he has been set apart to God. He reveals, “If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me and I would become as weak as any other man.”

That was it. I wonder if there was a thunderbolt in the sky, or the
weeping of an angel, as the heavens witnessed the weakness of Samson? Or was there laughter from the pit of hell, as one of Lucifer’s demons brought him the good news of Samson’s admission?

After he fell asleep, likely relieved from finally spilling his big
secret and overjoyed the nagging was over, Samson snored through the world’s most famous shear. Tragically, his “strength left him,”and when he woke up and attempted to fight back, “He did not know that the Lord had left him.” How tragic the shame and sorrow of Samson in that moment when he realized he had failed his God.

However in my view, the most important part of this story is often
overlooked. If we never remember another thing about Samson, I hope we’ll recall verse 22. Don’t miss what it says: “But the hair on his head began
to grow again after it had been shaved.” Notice the incredible grace of God.
The Bible never mentions Samson even seeking forgiveness. He never said, “Lord I have really messed-up and let you down. I am so sorry.” No. But even in spite of Samson’s lack of repentance toward a Holy God, his hair begins to grow back. This is indeed the mercy and grace of the Lord. So how much more will God show mercy as we actively seek forgiveness from him?

Two things are crucial to note. First, after the haircut and loss of
strength, the hair grows back because God allows it to. Does Samson still
deal with the consequences of his sin? Absolutely, he is blinded and sent to
prison. But the very thing God took away from Samson, he returned to him…his strength.

Second, Samson allowed his hair to grow back. Well, that’s silly you say? Is it? Samson could have said, “I am unworthy to regain my God given strength. I will not allow myself restoration. I will not allow my hair to grow back.” Still sound absurd? Don't we constantly give ourselves haircuts? We sin, we mess-up, we seek forgiveness and are blessed to receive God’s mercy, and what do we often do next? We keep focusing on the sin experience. Once we bring it to the throne of God and repent, it is done, thanks to the work of Jesus. So why keep focusing on it? When your sin is addressed with God, move forward, and stop cutting your own hair. Must we seek humility? Yes. But we must stop condemning ourselves. We have an enemy that loves to do this and makes a full-time job out of it. We should not continue telling ourselves how unworthy we are for sin that has already been confessed and addressed. Scripture shouts this to us. There is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1).

That night lying in Andy’s bed after his remarks about the way God
created me and how Andy loved me for it, I felt the Holy Spirit say, “Andrew,
let Jesus down from the cross.” Meaning, I am not living like Christ rose from
the dead and conquered sin and death for someone like me. He is no longer
hanging on that cross...He lives. Why don't I live in celebration of that?
The Bible says we “are salt and light.” Not should be, could be, may be with
enough knowledge, or can be by being in church every Sunday. We are salt and light now, already, if we have Christ as our savior. Consider these promises:

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool” (Isaiah
1:18).

“As far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our
transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

“You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the
depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

With promises like these, is there really any reason for us to keep
cutting our own hair? God is willing to let it grow back…are
we?

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Shark Bite

The Enemy Creeps In

Let It Go & Let It Grow

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