Monthly Archives: December 2009

When Jesus Stands to See

Dec 14, 2009 9:30 am by Paul Jenkins in Culture, Evangelism, Evotions

Acts 7:56
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Have you ever attended a sporting event and watched the crowd interact with the action? If they’re bored, they’ll start the wave. If they’re excited, they’ll scream. If they’re mad, they’ll boo. And numerous times during the event, they will stand. Now, some will stand to cheer after their team scores, and some will stand to go to the concession or the restroom. But sometimes at very critical moments, they will stand in silent expectation.

The best place to experience that type of standing, in my opinion, is Knoxville, Tennessee, at Neyland Stadium. Having been to numerous Tennessee Volunteer football games there, I can assure you that whenever a big play is coming up, the crowd stands. Sure, if we all sat down we’d still see the play, but it’s the intensity of the moment that makes sitting no longer an option. We stand in anticipation of what is coming next.

I love the thought that Stephen’s actions caused the same reaction in Jesus. Here is a man who has served faithfully and is now standing boldly for his faith, and the last thing he sees before he’s martyred is His Savior standing. It was a sign of the moment’s passion and intensity, and it is a challenge to you and I. When was the last time we did something so faithful and courageous for the Kingdom of God that it would cause our Savior to stand to see?

How do we do that? I don’t think it was so much the dying that made Jesus stand as much as it was the bold witness of Stephen that caused Him to rise. I’ve got to believe that our testimony of who Jesus is to our culture will do the same, and perhaps today, as you faithfully share the faith you have in Christ with others who need Him, your Savior will stand to see you, too.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Dec 9, 2009 1:21 pm by Paul Jenkins in Evotions

Evotions Forgiveness sin snow White Christmas

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”

Like most people who live in the South, I dream of white Christmases. Of course, I’d settle for cold ones because I can count on no fingers the number of actual snowy holidays I’ve experienced during my lifetime. Maybe if I lived in a colder part of the country and actually had them each year I wouldn’t dream about them. But I don’t, and so I do. You understand.

I don’t know what power the white stuff has over me, but there is nothing as magical as looking out in the evening and seeing it falling without making a sound. There’s something very fresh and new and clean about snow, at least until the kids get in it, and then it’s more of a muddy mess. But the point here is that each one of us, regardless of the climate in which we live, has the promise of a white Christmas. The promise that God wants to sit down and have a chat with us about what an awful mess we’ve made of things and yet about what an awesome gift He has for us. He created snow and I have to believe that He designed it to be peaceful, clean, and fresh so that it would remind us of how He sees us when we have accepted the sacrifice of His Son.

Christmas is when He came. In a sense, it was the first real snowfall because it brought to that manger the sacrifice that would eventually cover the mess that we had made, and for all who call on His name, this Christmas will be a white one. Pure, fresh, clean.

And who knows that we won’t wake up to the beautiful sound of silent snowflakes falling? We’ll look out the window, sip our coffee, and remember the Son who made it snow in our souls.

Hot or cold, I’m having a white Christmas this year. How about you?

From Poo to Paper

Dec 8, 2009 7:06 am by Paul Jenkins in Culture, Evotions

Evotions Poo Transformation Trials Trouble

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

The world is good at copying and taking credit. Case in point: Poo Poo Paper. In case you’ve not heard of it, this product line takes the poo from animals and, well, turns it into paper. Their marketing slogan says it all – “We’re Number One at Number Two.” On their website they say that Poo Poo Paper is “Inspirational, innovative and sustainable.” I agree, but would add “late to the game” and “imitation” to the description as well. You see, God has been turning poo into something useful for years.

I don’t know how He does it, but I can’t argue with the results. In fact, I guess I’d have the same reaction if I were to write on some of that Poo Poo Paper. At some point, I would probably chuckle and mutter something to myself like, “I can’t believe I’m writing on this! It used to be poo!!” At times now, I find myself looking at my life and thinking the same type of thoughts. After all that I have seen and been through in this life, I am amazed that God has turned it around to make it useful for His glory. He has been able to not just make it good, but transform it in such a way that it is completely different from what it seemed it would have been.

The great news of this passage is that this supernatural ability of God’s to take something messy and stinky and turn it into something amazing that brings Him glory is not limited to my situations or a few others from a handful of other lives. Nope, He made sure that He included that short but powerful word “all” in this promise, and that means that no matter what you’re facing today – financial struggle, the sudden loss of a loved one, relationship pain – it qualifies as a candidate to go from poo to powerful. All you’ve got to do is hang on for the ride and give God time to work. He’s done this before, and He’s actually quite good at it.

He did it long before those great innovative people down at Poo Poo Paper and will do it long after they stop.

Onionless Onion Rings

Dec 4, 2009 10:31 pm by Paul Jenkins in Evotions, Family

Evotions Perseverance Suffering

Romans 5:3
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance…

Tonight as my family and I ordered our meal at a local restaurant, Sydney leaned in and asked me if I would order her some onion rings without onions. Yes, I just about spewed what was in my mouth, too. At least I wasn’t in front of a computer monitor!

It really was a great moment, because I could relate to exactly what she was feeling. She had just heard her brothers order onion rings, and she loves the smell of them but hates onions. Her unusual request was really her wishing she liked onions because they sounded – and smelled – so good. Of course, she wasn’t happy when I told her that onion rings were called that because, well, they’ve got onions. But let’s peel back the layers of this innocent moment for a minute and see what Sydney revealed about all of us.

I have to admit that I have heard very strong believers tell very strong stories of faith and have been enamored with the thought of having those same stories in my life. As I listen to them tell motivating story after motivating story, I want to be that close to the Lord, too. The bad news is that they usually paid quite a price in suffering to get there, and as our verse says, you can’t have one without the other.

The good news is that when we suffer, we can know that good will come of it. That’s not a reason to seek suffering, but it is a great reason to have hope in it. Soon, we, too, will speak of the faithfulness and miraculous work of our Lord in such a way that others will want what we have, too.

Of course, we’ll just smile and lovingly tell them to order the onion rings.

Walking Towards the Desert

Dec 3, 2009 7:30 am by Paul Jenkins in Culture, Evangelism, Evotions

Acts 8:26
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

I sat in a youth service last night and heard a young man say something brilliant (shout out to J Wil, oh yeah!). He was speaking about overcoming obstacles in life and faith, and at one point he told the students that Christianity isn’t easy. It was simple, honest, full of truth, and was a great explanation of why our faith is often so lacking. We really do, at our core, expect this walk with Jesus to be roses and butterflies.

More than likely, you’re already trying to think about how to prove that statement wrong, but I firmly believe that the cultural expectation (dare we say, demand) of ease and comfort has become so engrained in us that we can’t even see it. Words like sacrifice and cost don’t really ring true with us because we’ve placed them next to the wrong word. Instead of being willing to sacrifice “everything,” we sacrifice “something” and feel that we’ve done the Christian duty. We’re at peace with the idea that our faith might cost us something, and so we’ve convinced ourselves that we are willing for it to cost us everything. It is the call to the desert that reveals whether or not we really are.

Philip answered that call and found an amazing story waiting for him on a road that led to a desert. The Lord told him to leave Jerusalem and walk towards the desert region of Gaza, some 60 miles away. At times, I find myself in places like this, too, where it’s hard to write, to think, to move. Where it feels that every day takes you closer to a place that holds no refreshment and comfort. We’ve all been there and found the road to be hard, long, and lonely.

And yet that is exactly where Philip was supposed to be! If ever an encounter proved the perfection of God’s direction and timing, this is the one. Philip, walking towards a desert, meets a man in charge of all the queen’s gold who has just read a passage in Isaiah about Jesus, but he doesn’t know it until Philip explains it to him. Then, he tells Philip to baptize him and when he came up out of the water, Philip was gone. Gone, as in vanished, vaporized, the whole “Star Trek” thing. According to the Bible, he suddenly appeared in Azotus, which could have been 20-40 miles away. Instantly. Wow.

This whole amazing story boils down to one simple question: if the Lord tells you and I to leave what is comfortable and walk towards the desert, will we?

It may be exactly where we’ll find the next amazing thing.