Godonomics

A few weeks ago, our church went to the birds, including me wearing a bird brain head.   We spoke about how the birds from how to trust in God better than we humans do.  

When I was around 10, I went to a Safari type animal place called Alligator Land in Florida. While we were there, I had one of the most worrisome moments of my life.   We had just purchased our first VHS video recorder and I was in charge of the camera.   My dad, who always wears a hat, brought us over to the ostrich area.  These two ostriches were running around in the enclosed area, but it was not “caged.”   Meaning, that the only thing between us and them was a three rail, split rail fence.   So, if you got too close, the Ostriches could not only reach you, but “Grab” your shirt… or  even, your hat… One of the Ostriches jumped at my father and tried to grab his hat… He successfully avoided the “attack”… Then he decided to “egg them on” by tossing his hat from hand to hand… He was whining for a while, then one of the Ostriches snapped into the air, grabbed his hat and ran it deep into the back of the Ostrich cage….   The ostrich threw it on the floor and stomped on it… Almost to “show my dad”.   This was my dad’s FAVORITE hat… He  couldn’t live without it… SO he decided to jump into the Ostrich cage (Don’t try this at home, this is highly irregular and not recommended…. )   Dad quickly says, “Chad, roll the videotape…”  Before my mom or I could tell him to “STOP” he jumped the fence, grabbed the hat and then tried to OUTRUN the Ostriches…   Mom and I were worried sick!!!   My video camera work looked like this… (Nice and steady) and then (Drop camera to the ground) Dad, watch out for the Ostrich…!!!  Dad!! Dad…  seconds later, he jumped back over the fence with his hat safe and sound… The video I shot only showed my right knee cap… I am convinced that video would have either won us $1 million dollars on America’s Home Video or landed my father in prison.  After he returned to safety, my mom and I informed him how worried he made us and how unsafe it was to try to outrun one of God’s fastest birds…

The connection between worry and birds is mentioned several times in the Bible.    The connection between Ostriches and God’s care is also in the Bible… You see God teaches us that…

WORRY IS FOR THE BIRDS

Let’s look at Ostriches, Sparrows, and Parrots

1. Ostriches Run Under God’s Care

In Job, God describes an Ostrich that forgets to watch over her young… and yet He, the heavenly Father watches over her.  And though the Ostrich is not wise… God watches over her and God loves to watch her run… she runs so fast she can scorn the horse and it’s rider with her speed.

Job 39:13-17 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s? 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust; 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them. 16 She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern,

Ostriches Don’t Watch Over Their Young. Ostriches live in family groups consisting of one cock and several hens. During breeding season, the male will mate with the dominant female and one to four other hens. Each hen lays between two and eleven creamy white eggs in a communal nest which can be nearly 10 ft (3 m) across and is simply a hollow in the ground formed by scraping and body weight. When egg laying is complete there are usually ten to forty or more eggs in the nest; the most ever recorded was seventy-eight. Only about twenty can be incubated, however, so the dominant hen will reject any surplus eggs by pushing them out of the nest. She always ensures, however, that her own eggs remain. Note that what we have here is a perfect example of the ostrich leaving — indeed, forsaking — the eggs “belonging” to her as dominant hen of the communal group, to the dust out where they can be trod upon. The cocks and the hens take it in turns to incubate the eggs; the hens sit on them during the day and the cocks at night. This shift system lasts for an average of forty-two days until the eggs hatch. When the chicks emerge into the world, it is the male who cares for them. So it seems momma is “hardened” against her young ones after all — Dad is the one who does the job of parenting after hatching.

The behavior with eggs is even further confirmed by Brian C. R. Bertram’s The Ostrich Communal Nesting System (1992).

17 Because God deprived her of wisdom, and did not endow her with understanding. 18 When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.

God notes that she lacks wisdom… and yet, God notes that what He did give her was the ability to run.   God tells Job that he watches over her as she runs… When she lifts herself on high, she scorns the horse and its rider…. God is bragging on the ostrich. He tells Job how much he loves to WATCH her run. WATCH her do what she was meant to do.   God WATCHES over his creation.

Last month, we had one of our first Saturday worship services for the year.  I shared some insights from my trip to Israel.   And talked about trusting God — even in the face of worries.  As the service finished, Mark WHitacre was sitting in the audience.   I had heard the name.  He was the man who the movie THE INFORMANT, with Matt Damon was based on.   He shared with me how God helped him during one of the most anxious times in his life.    Since he has agreed to come to Horizon and speak at our next series, I won’t tell you the whole story, but just this.   He was responsible for one of the biggest corporate price fixing frauds in US history.   He went undercover with the FBI for two years after turning himself in.  Months before going to prison, he tried to commit suicide multiple times.  A man from a Christian group called CBMC came to his house and offered to lead him in a Bible study — to show how Christ could help him in the midst of his losing his freedom, his family, his marriage, his 13 million dollar a year salary, and spending 7-10 years in prison.   Mark shared with me how real and powerful the peace he received from God in the midst of the most anxious and worrisome time in his life.     Though he was functionally alone, he knew he was not truly alone anymore, and suddenly understood what Jesus is saying, “Worry is for the birds…”  And the birds know something he needed.. God watches over them.

For more information, check our www.godonomics.com

A few weeks ago, Josh McDowell spoke at our church.  he shared how his research and journey from Atheist to Christ-follower began as he engaged his mind in the undeniable facts of history regarding the predictions and fulfillment of prophecy regarding the Messiah.    He also spoke of why his difficulty trusting in God as father was partly intellectual and partly emotional.  He shared a painful story of sexual abuse and spiritual fortitude that led him to trust in Christ

To listen to the MP3, click here

Here’s a photo of Josh and I after services goofing around.  For more information, check out www.godonomics.com

I recently read the massive book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.   It was an amazing read.  It inspired a new teaching technique at our church where we took 500 slides of his life and put them to video.  As a life presentation, I spoke about his life all synched to  a moving video of his family photo album.  From his grandmother and family influence to his courageous attempts to kill Adolf Hitler.   He is a man of conviction, peace, and principle living in difficult times.  Here is a video clip of the talk:

For more information, check out Godonomics.com

A Roman centurion -a skeptic and questioner- watches Jesus Christ die on a Roman cross.   This man has seen a lot of death in his day — a lot of pain and a lot of men die pleading and crying for their life.

1. The Scorching Post

Jesus was placed on a scorching post, imagine a post like this, only 10 foot tall.  The subject being whipped would have his hands tied and a rope would be strung through a ring on the top of the post so the victim could be “stretched” upward on his tiptoes for the beating.  Then a short whip would be held by the Roman executioner and the whip strands would contain pieces of metal and bone that would literally rip into the flesh and meat of the prisoner.   Most men didn’t survive the beating…  Jesus did.  Jesus survived it, but was left in barely human condition.

In Isaiah 53: God says that Jesus was Smited or Beaten By God Himself.

    Why would God allow himself to be beaten?   Some of us in this room beat ourselves up all the time through guilt, condemnation, shame, or perfectionism.    For others, it’s self-hatred and trying to punish ourselves for what we’ve done wrong.. as a dad, as a son, as a mom, or by wrecking a marriage or business.     Here at the scourging post, Jesus is beaten thoroughly and completely… so you and I don’t have to beat ourselves.  Is what we’ve done bad? Yes.  Really bad? Yes.   But, when you see how he was beaten, you realize that he took the blows, the hits, and pains for you.  You can now be free.  Free from perfectionism… Only he was perfect and He makes you perfect in God’s eyes. Free from self-hatred, because he was beaten enough, you don’t need to add to his punishment.  You can instead thank him for taking the hits and freeing you from self-hatred to Unconditional love.

2. The Cross

The Romans invented a word: “Excruciating”  It literally meant, “out of the cross’  The pain and cries were so bad from those on the cross that they invented a word for what came out of people..As nails were pounded into his hands and feet, screams came from the prisoner.  His beard is ripped out. His friends leave him.  A nation turns against him.  A Crown of Thorns are jammed into his skull.  (Stop pounding, pick up the piece of metal that I was pounding on)  Out of the fire and pounding of the anvil came cursing against the Rome, against the soldiers, and even against God….  But that’s not what came out of Jesus.  (PAUSE)

This Roman is ready to hear it….   Every man placed on the cross, might as well be thrown into a fire.  The furnace of the cross was so blazing because the prisoner would eventually die of suffocation when he lost the will to push himself up on the nail in his feet to get more air.   With nails pounded into his arms and feet, Jesus pushes up to let out one of those blood-curdling  screams, but instead… Out of the fire of pain… comes a cry of love. This Roman hears Jesus cry out -to his executioners- “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”   What kind of a man is this?      When he is placed into the fiery torture of a cross… out comes a beautiful instrument of love.  The Great Blacksmith of God had come to earth, and pull out of the fire the greatest demonstration of love.

 This Roman skeptic is stunned by the Honor, power and toughness of Jesus Christ. This irreligious commander proclaims, “Surely this was the Son of God”, even before he saw Christ’s final act. (Mark 15:39)

3. The Resurrection

But The Blacksmith wasn’t done.  He was about to pull the ultimate beautiful instrument out of the fire.   Three days later, when everyone had given up hope.  When the fires of hopelessness had seemingly one.  Jesus came out of the fire of death itself.  He burst onto the scene overwhelming four Roman guards, pushing back a several hundred pound boulder in front of the tomb.   Jesus appeared as a beautiful instrument with a real body, a overcoming power.    AS he revealed himself in all his beauty, skeptical disciples, doubting Roman commanders, and Jewish traditionalists chose to believe

Any man or any God who could take on the fire of deaths and come out victorious was worthy of giving your life too.  God tells us that Jesus, who was the perfect God man was made more beautiful through the fires of the cross.

Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

How could he be more perfect?  If Jesus was the perfect God, how could suffering make him more perfect?   His overcoming the fire allowed him to identify with us.   His overcoming the fire revealed his power and love in a way comfort never could.  His suffering IN THE fire made him worthy as a captain or commander.   His suffering created a beautiful instrument that could “bring sons to glory.”   Out of the fire of death, the Blacksmith made a way to offer a confident, guaranteed entrance to Heaven for anyone who trusted Him

And to those who trust in Christ, he offers this promise…. “I will work all things together for good for those who love me.”  I will use any and every fire in your life to bring forth instruments of beauty.

Max Lucado has a little book called On the Anvil.  He says: All of us are in the blacksmith shop.

Some of us of broken tools in the corner. Some of us are in the fire.   Some of us are in the blacksmith’s hand as he pounds out the imperfections on the Anvil of life.

Others of us are formed tools in his hand being used to change the world all sitting in the hands of a trustworthy blacksmith.

Where are you in a blacksmith shop?   Blaming the blacksmith for the fires of the furnace?  Sitting in the corner, withdrawn from a blacksmith you cannot and will not trust?, patiently but fearfully waiting on the anvil -as he pounds out your imperfections?, or fully formed into a tool created to accomplish all purpose in this life?

A few years ago, I lost my Craftsman hand drill.   My kids had my drill in a boat as we were doing some work.  As we made our way back across the lake, my tool feel into the bottom of the lake.    I was mad.  Mad at the kids, “I just said, ‘be careful!’”  I was mad at myself, “Why didn’t I just put the tool away.”  That evening, I came back to the lake with a snorkel and goggles, there was a man and his son watching this crazy guy wade out into the lake.  I dove deeply into the lake looking for my lost tool.   It had fallen somewhere in the midst of a giant forest of seaweed.  I would come up for air and get very weird looks from the fisherman and his son.  I would dive down again, and then… Suddenly, I felt my hand grasp the handle.  I pushed my way back up to the surface.  As I burst through the surface of the water, I screamed, “I found it!! It was lost, but I found it!!!”  Then I pulled the trigger, and… “IT WORKED!!!”  I yelled out, “I LOVE CRAFTSMAN!!  What was lost has now been found…”  The fisherman and his son looked very nervous now!      I loved this tool enough to go after it when it was lost.  Easter is the same.  God made you and I, but we were lost, he dove down into our world and searched for us, died for us, and when we are found and choose to trust Him, God cheers and celebrates that you are “back” with him, in relationship with him.

It all comes down to 1 question, “Can I trust the blacksmith with my life?”  Do I trust him knowing he’s been in the fire with me? Do I trust him to use the fire and pounding of this life how to make me into a beautifully crafted tool of purpose?  Will I admit that I was a tool that was lost, but he found?    The Blacksmith pulls Beautiful Things out of the fire… and out of the water?