PARKS BROWN

On June 21, 2017 we will celebrate the summer solstice. Maybe celebrate isn’t an accurate word, but this will be the longest day of the year. After June 21 the sun will start to follow a lower and lower path through the sky and each day will become shorter in length. That almost seems like a metaphor for life. For me, the winter and summer solstice are two lines of demarcation in each year. These dates signify a lap around the sun like the leg of a trip on a journey. Each of us only have so many laps. When the sun is at it’s peak, it’s a good idea to look around and see with clarity.

In past times the summer and winter solstice were celebrations, think Stonehenge or Christmas in the southern hemisphere. The seasons united cultures and still today this date reminds us we are all on the same planet taking the same trip around the same star…a road-trip in the same car if you will. What have you noticed that is different during this past lap? Are you looking at the world around you or are you looking in the mirror? The days will be getting shorter but will you notice?

The longest day of the year is a time for celebrating and coming together, a time of unity. Christ knew unity was a cornerstone for thriving and surviving each trip around the sun. Right before He left this world, Jesus prayed for unity for His followers. “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23. When we unite, the world takes notice. When we are divided it does as well. With anywhere from 75% to 80% of Americans identifying as ‘Christian’ you would think the country would be much more united. What are Christians “letting the world know” this time around the sun?

So, how can we be united? “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have with one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14. Holy mackerel, no wonder there is such little unity. Most people think humility is not trumping themselves up or getting recognition for what they’ve done instead of it being a heart condition. Believers can spell forgiveness, compassion and patience but are they putting it into practice? Are we even ‘bearing’ with each other?

Take a minute or two and read the 17th chapter in John. Christ was talking to those 75% in America when He said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” John 17:9. With all of the anger, hurt and disunity we face in the world, Christ didn’t ask God to relieve us of another trip around the sun, only to protect us during the trip. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” John 17:15. He constantly talks about unity when speaking to Christians. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name -the name you gave me- so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:11.

I think it’s critical for Christians to pay more attention when Jesus calls us by name to the Father. He reminds us each loop around the sun is an intentional journey with a purpose. He doesn’t want us to ignore the trip or get off the ride. Christ knows we need shelter from the storms we face. He wants us to know He has the power to protect us from our enemy during the long days of summer. Each lap we take leads us closer to our destination, but the decisions we make on the journey define that destination.

Calling yourself a Christian without living out those virtues doesn’t make you a Christ follower or get you to heaven. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. In simple terms, it’s easy to talk the talk but not many walk the walk. What good is it to forgive, show kindness or compassion if you don’t unite it all with love? The ride we’re on is pretty short and the means of our transportation on this journey is pretty small. Love intentionally and live with a sense of urgency each day. On June 21st it’s a fact, the days are getting shorter.

Tomorrow marks another lap in the race around the sun. Whether it’s a political race, road race or ethnic race we are all one human race. Christ followers must set the pace with virtues that unite us and not divide us. Don’t vote with anger and disunity today. Walk the walk. Make this next lap around the sun your personal best. Let your unity draw others to the Son.

St. Augustine wrote, “We must care for our bodies as though we were going to live forever, but we must care for our souls as if we were going to die tomorrow.” Too often believers try to simultaneously pursue the things of the world and God-at any point one or the other will prevail. While we try to balance our time and lives, we need to ask the question, “Am I growing closer towards Christ, or further away?” The question is predicated on the fact there is no middle ground or standing still. The writer of Hebrews put it plainly. “We must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Hebrews 2:1. Grow towards or drift away, but you will move one way or the other.

A.W. Tozier said, “Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down. There is simply not enough time to think, to become, to perform what the constitution of our natures indicate we are capable of.” Where we spend our time and energy gaining proficiency will tell if we are growing towards Jesus or away. The writer of Psalms encouraged us to seek God’s face. John the Baptist proclaimed Christ must increase while he must decrease. What does your daily life show about your direction and your hearts profession?

Regardless of when and how much you sleep, what is the first thing you think of when you awake? You won’t become more Christ-like if He’s not at the forefront of your thoughts. Do you leave the house each day without talking to Him? Treat your wife that way and see what happens. You won’t grow towards Him if you don’t desire Him in your heart. No one on Earth can measure your heart’s desire but yourself. Make sure you take the time to judge which direction your heart and actions are leading. Make sure you have a correct assessment as well.

There is a growing prevalence to the belief that good people go to heaven. Life is not an animated film about dogs but a real test of where your hearts devotion is fixed. You need to know if you are growing closer to God and not just talking a good game. Christ gave the example all believers need to remember. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.'” Sounds like a good person with good deeds and fruit to prove it, but it didn’t get them into heaven. Were their hearts growing towards God? Is yours?

My purpose is not to confuse or confound, but to wake us up. Believing in one omnipotent, omnipresent omniscient God doesn’t do it people. “Even the demons believe that-and shudder.” James 2:19. Your life should scream what your heart believes. The CEO for Starbucks told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in January of this year, “If you support traditional marriage we don’t want your business.” Is there any doubt about his heart? He seems like a really good guy with a really good heart, but… I’ve stopped going to Starbucks because my actions need to support my heart’s conviction. Each time I turn away from a Starbucks it helps me to know what direction my heart is growing.

God isn’t looking at your Facebook profile, your Tweets, the number of jobs you create or your attendance at church on Sunday. God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13. There it is; a day of reckoning, account and judgement based on our heart growing closer to Him.

Maybe you can’t answer the question about growing towards Him, so let me help. Have you been suffering for doing what is right? Not suffering because you’re trying to do too much, not sleeping enough, not eating right or haven’t exercised in forever. Children of God will suffer. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may share in his glory.” Romans 8:17.

The end of all things is near and that should give you a dose of fear. A little fear is a good thing and the lack of might indicate where your heart is today. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7. I’m afraid we will not grow towards Him if we don’t ask for His help. The most frightening prayer I can think of is the most worth while. “Father, change in me whatever you need to change to mold me more into the image of your Son, so that I may be pleasing to you, fulfill my purpose and inherit all that you have for me.” Now is the best time to get back on the right track.

Outwardly I am wasting away more every day, but inwardly I AM being renewed. I am consciously trying to grow towards Him because I know this body might fail tomorrow, but my soul will last forever. It takes an intentional effort and courage. Join me in the effort.

My first recollection of learning to balance came courtesy of Karl Wallenda walking across Tallulah Gorge in 1970. I had been to the edge of the gorge numerous times and gazed across the 1250 foot expanse with a 750 foot drop. Someone who tries to balance such a feat on a 2 inch wide cable is referred to as a high wire artist and a daredevil. We called the Great Wallenda flat out crazy. The biggest question we asked each other was pretty simple, “Why even try to do it?” The same question is applicable in trying to balance our lives in 2017.

Balance is a state of equilibrium where there is an equal distribution. Balance no longer makes me think about Wallenda. Today balance is more an act of diversification and time management. The world is obsessed with diversifying in the name of reducing risk and maximizing return. Jesus applied the concept of diversification, risk and reward to the Kingdom of Heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matthew 13:44. In simple terms, when you find what is valuable, don’t balance it with anything else. Go all in.

A key takeaway is having wisdom and discernment to recognize value. The clock is ticking while we try to balance a lifetime of activities at the risk of losing eternity. Christ destroyed the concept of balance in another parable. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45. God didn’t try to balance anything but paid the ultimate price. The object of OUR balance can be misplaced. We need to stop trying to balance our time at the expense of our souls. The application in our day to day might dictate a few changes.

Everyone is trying to balance their physical, spiritual and mental lives. The list is exhausting. Social life, time with the wife and kids, time for me, a job that demands more hours each year, e-mails and texts, instant messages, social media, old friends, new friends, working out, hobbies, time to relax, prayer and meditation, reading and study, contemplative prayer, corporate worship, small group fellowship, accountability partners. “Why even try to do it?” Too much balance can take away true reward. Where IS your reward?

When times get hard, when things crash, when the tide pulls back, it’s easier to see what is valuable. After the stock market crash in 1987, Warren Buffet started buying Coca-Cola stock. Buffet’s purchase marked a departure from his previous protocol. Buffet accumulated more than $1 billion worth of stock that represented 25% of the total value of his company. I heard him interviewed one day and he was questioned why he was making such a large investment. The response has been lost in the clutter over the years. Warren said it plainly, “Diversification is for the dumb.” He went on to exclaim why he shouldn’t try to find more investments (balance) when Coke represented such an opportunity. Coke was not a cheap stock and Warren paid relatively more for this company than he had ever paid for an investment. It might have been the first and only time Warren and Christ preached the same sermon.

How we try to balance our time and activities shows where our heart and mind are focused. Christians know where that balance should be. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3. Trying to balance too many things is trying to live ‘your best life now.’ We are dead to this world but are trying to balance life with death. This is impossible folks.

In the game of poker you can go all in. Christ followers don’t have a choice. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. It’s a promise that we don’t have to balance the pursuits of our heart. We serve a God who actually commands us NOT to balance Him with anything. What part of “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind” speaks to balance?

We mistakenly focus too much on balancing the hours of the day and don’t realize by doing so we are balancing the world with God. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” 1st John 2:15. There is no room to balance love for God with anything. Our time is one of our true treasures. Our treasure shows where our heart is. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. Does your balance reveal your treasure?

Balance is not a hopeless endeavor but the way we try to juggle our lives is wrong. Check your actions with your words. How we try to balance our time is a way to check our hearts. “All these things” will be added to us if we make sure balancing life comes AFTER we go all in with Him in our hearts.

Your best life is not supposed to be here and now. That is flat out crazy. It’s the same high wire act as Karl Wallenda. “Why even try to do it?”

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This sophomoric philosophical question about the definition of sound begs for a deeper dive in shallow water. If the tree fell while you were standing in your backyard and watching it, would you understand what you just heard?

Can I get a witness to the fact there is more noise today than there has been in all recorded history? Because of this fact, we desire and seek more silence. Our world has become so loud we have moved beyond understanding what we hear in the race to escape the noise. We want to get away, quiet ourselves and have time to decompress from everything we hear. In turn we are blocking out the voice of God along with everything else.

We can over rate silence when we don’t understand what we hear. We talk about the use of silence in motion pictures, the art of silence, the secret of silence, the practice of silence and silent retreats. We need to focus on listening and UNDERSTANDING what the heck we are hearing. James said, “Dear brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19.

Prophets in the Bible were an interesting group of guys. Prophets had to be right 100% of the time or they weren’t a prophet…AND they got stoned to death when they were wrong the first time. Isaiah is a big name among the prophets. Christ quoted Isaiah in Matthew 13:14-15, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” When you don’t listen and understand what you hear, your heart becomes hardened.

The Son of God used parables as his listeners eyes glazed over. They heard what He said but they didn’t understand what He was saying. Do you hear God’s voice today? Ask your friends if they hear Him. No, Christ isn’t walking around in person, but according to Him, we have an even better way to hear the Creator of the universe.

Jesus told his followers it was good he was going away because only then would the Father send the Holy Spirit. In talking about the Holy Spirit, Christ said “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement:” Matthew 16:8. The Holy Spirit guides into truth, repeats only what He hears God say and tells us what is yet to come. Anyone who can convict the entire world can be heard by the entire world. If the Holy Spirit has the power to convict the entire planet, I can only imagine Satan would try to create enough noise to drown out His voice. Again, you have to hear to understand.

The gospels are replete with examples of Christ repeating himself. “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:23. If you are a Christ follower, you HAVE ears to hear. Do you have a heart that listens? Do you understand what you are hearing? You HAVE been told the truth. Mark 4:9-12: ‘Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’

So, the piecing question haunts some of us as to why they don’t hear the voice of God today. Maybe we are too busy listening to the demands of a 12 hour work day, the voice of that new car you saw or the desire to move into a bigger house. Does the voice you hear come from the prince of the world or from heaven? Maybe John’s words are appropriate. “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47. If you’re not hearing the Holy Spirit, make sure your first love is Christ Jesus. The voices you hear, the thoughts you have, come from the Holy Spirit or the evil one. When your heart puts Jesus first, His voice is loud and clear.

Right now most folks are scratching their heads because they can’t remember the last time they “thought” they heard the voice of God. Make sure you are listening for His voice. If you have accepted the fact a holy Creator made you, sent his Son, Jesus, to pay for your sinful self and you seek forgiveness through Christ’s death as payment for those wrongs, then you CAN hear God. Don’t doubt it. “..because he who doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man…is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:6-7. If a Christ follower doubts the ability to hear the voice of God he will be unstable in everything he does. We need to hit our knees right here and now to get rid of any doubt.

When your life is more noisy odds favor the noise is meant to distract you from what the Holy Spirit is saying. God is calling out His people and we need to listen more now than ever. Believers CAN hear His voice IF they will listen. If Christ is not your savior, all you will hear is noise. But, you can change that in about 30 seconds.

Forget the tree in the woods. Listen to the voice in your heart and head. Understand what you are hearing and where the message is coming from. Use the ears God gave you to hear the Holy Spirit he sent. Then respond before the tree falls on your head.

I remember when Tide detergent started advertising their product was new and improved. At first, I thought changing something was a great way to increase market share and attract new customers. As the years passed, Tide continued to advertise improvements but the marketing department dropped the spin of it being a new product. The boys upstairs realized people bought the idea of improvements more than they wanted a new product. I think the human race has more in common with Tide than we know.

People want improvements more than they want a new product. Our society wants improved living standards, not new ones. Businesses want an improved bottom line to support an improved stock price that facilitates an improved bonus structure. Christians can fall into the same Madison Avenue trap with their spiritual lives. Our churches can add to the problem by encouraging us to be better husbands and wives, better friends and better parents. The problem is, God is not interested in improvements to make us better. God sent his Son to make all things new. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Search for the word ‘new’ in the New Testament. Look for the numerous ways and times Christ and the disciples emphasized the focus on making things new and NOT improved. Let me highlight the word ‘new’ and give a few examples…

– “…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a NEW life.” Romans 6:4

– when believers take communion “This cup is the NEW covenant in my blood;” 1st Cor. 11:25

– “His purpose was to create in himself one NEW humanity out of the two..” Ephesians 2:15

– “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by it’s evil desires; to be made NEW in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the NEW self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-23.

The last example from scripture in Ephesians drills home the point. Do you really believe you can make improvements and fulfill God’s purpose for your life? Will improvements in your prayer life from 10 to 20 minutes make you more righteous? Will not looking at porn for 2 months instead of 2 days make you holy? Will improving the way you show respect to your husband really make you the wife Christ wants you to be?

People let me confess. I am twerked beyond recognition to be performance oriented. I lived in a profession for 30 years that just reinforced and quantified being better and improving service and performance. God in His mercy showed me that unless I allowed Him to change everything in me that He wanted and needed to make new, I was wasting my time. Only by allowing Him to change EVERYTHING, including my job, could He make me the new creature He desired.

The truth is, we don’t want to allow Him to make us new because there’s a lot about ourselves we like too much to give Him free reign to change what HE wants. We not only like ourselves, we trust ourselves and think we need ourselves. Proverbs 3:5-7 commands us to “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding…Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” He wants and NEEDS to wreck our lives because otherwise we will lean on the way we’ve seen it done, the way we know it has worked in the past. We will only make improvements to a structure we mistakenly believe is sound.

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with it’s practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of it’s creator.” Colossians 3:9-10. A NEW you is risky. Your old self may have provided well. Your old self may have lots of friends. Your old self may have a good reputation and track record. All of this sounds safe and good, but your old self is fighting against the will of God and the inner working of the Holy Spirit to make you new. Down deep we think the old self just needs to be improved and made better. Better is only a derivative of good and Christ set that straight in Mark 10:18, “‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good-except God alone.'”

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'” Revelation 21:5. The God who created all that was and is to come is into new construction, not renovation. Jesus Christ came to destroy the past work of the devil and give us new life. Jesus’ life and ministry is a NEW covenant not an improved one. Believers are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, not a renovated one.

Are you allowing God to change you and make your operating system new each day or are you denying the work He needs to do? It may take a wrecking ball to clear out the old self, but He is either trustworthy or not. If it scares you what He might want to do, good. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7. Lean INTO Him.

The question you have to answer is ‘Do you want to be improved or made new?’ Are you trusting Him or yourself? Your eternity is in the balance and time waits on no man.