Living Sacrifice… (by Mel McGuire)

When I think of a sacrifice, the image in my mind is usually an animal, but in some instances, a young woman, brought to an altar, secured, and then sacrificed to some deity.

In my mind, the actual sacrifice is consumed, either by death, fire, or both. The idea of bringing say, a lamb to be sacrificed and then leaving with the same lamb…doesn’t ring as a true sacrifice to me.

The concept of sacrifice is aptly described in its definition: the act of giving something up that you want to keep…biblical sacrifices were to be of pure or unblemished animals for example. Those that would hold the most value are the ones suitable for sacrifice.

When the bible implores us to present ourselves as a “living sacrifice”, the image that came to mind was a person…willingly putting themselves on the altar and staying there until they are consumed!

If you can imagine someone presenting themselves to the Lord, by choice…willingly climbing onto the altar and submitting themselves to whatever process God desires and remaining on the altar, again by choice, until He is satisfied.

The pictures I see of lambs being sacrificed usually include the feet being bound, the mouth muzzled, and the body secured to the altar. This ensures the lamb remains in place during the process of sacrifice is complete.

I think of Jesus, the lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. On the cross…nailed in place. Armed with the knowledge that He was there willingly, and He remained there until the process was complete.

When I think of a living sacrifice, I think of a person, submitted to God, choosing to lay down their life in exchange for His. They willingly get on the altar, they are bound and secured by choice, by obedience, by faith, and by love. And they remain there, while the process of sacrifice consumes them…their agenda, their ways and means, their strength, their identity, their very life is consumed and replaced by His nature.

Whether that consumption is a crucifixion of the flesh, or being consumed by Holy Ghost fire…exchanging death for new life is not quick, nor easy.

I literally see bands around my wrists that say “choice”, “love”, “obedience”, or “faith”. And while they encompass me, they are not tethered to the altar in any way. Therefore, us living sacrifices get up and leave the altar in much the same way we came.

We allow pain, discomfort, inconvenience, fear, and all their flesh feeding companions call us from the altar of sacrifice. Our desire to end up different is overwhelmed by our disdain for being made different. We want change without being changed.

At the end of every service, we have an “altar call”. God is now calling us to be true living sacrifices. Choosing to come, stay, and be consumed on the altar. Exchanging our life for His, a “win-win” if ever there was one. Be a living sacrifice, choose to be changed, to allow God’s process to work until He is satisfied!

“Traffic Reports…” (by Mel McGuire)

I drove my family to a friend’s house for a birthday party recently Now this friend lives about eighty miles away, and our trip involved driving in parts of three or four counties.

As a result, I was concerned about the status of the freeways along our route.  To insure a safe, and uninterrupted trip, I monitored the traffic reports along the way.

We eventually drove on nine (yeah, I said nine) different freeways to arrive at our destination. We could have used just three, but because of the traffic reports, we used nine…this time.

We never backtracked or went out of our way, and every freeway we got on was moving at or near the legal limit, (Modesty and common sense prohibit me from saying how “near”) because I heeded (acted on what I heard) the traffic reports.

Now to take advantage of traffic reports (of delays, closures, accidents and congestion), I needed to know three things; where I was, where I was going, and how I could get there.

When I heard a report of a delay on the road ahead of me, I would alter our route, but we never got off track, we kept going in our intended direction. The other thing I do is this, I have the stations that give traffic reports preset on my radio, and I know how often they give updates, so I don’t miss them.

That is how our walk with God is sometimes.  You need to know where you are (not where you should be or want to be), where you are going, and how you can get there.

Then you need to monitor God’s frequency for “traffic reports”.  You need to know where others have been delayed, had accidents, or where the “road is closed”.  This way, you don’t waste time and energy backtracking, getting lost, or getting stuck along your way.

Now some folks check in with God at the beginning of their journey.  Then they pop in a CD or a cassette and off they go, not thinking about the trouble they could avoid, if they would monitor the “traffic reports”.

Then once they get caught up in some congestion, they are scrambling to get some information on why they are stopped, how long they are going to be delayed, and what is an alternate route they can take (could have taken?).

There are few things as frustrating as sitting in a traffic jam, listening to the traffic report, and hearing about everybody else’s freeway but yours! Because now you have no answer to your questions, “What is the holdup? Why the delay? How much more of this must I endure?”

Theology lesson: Sometimes you just have to sit and wait, or go real slow.  See an overturned car or an ambulance taking away an accident victim.It could remind you to slow down, watch out for others, or obey the laws, so that the same thing doesn’t happen to you.

But not us, as soon as we clear the scene, we are flexing that right foot. (Hey, all the Highway Patrol officers are dealing with the accident, and I have to make up for lost time!)

God uses delays, and will even have you stop from time to time. You may not ever see the reason for it.  He has a purpose in it, even if it’s as simple as reminding us to keep Him tuned in, so we can get updated “traffic reports” and arrive at our final destination safely.

Tune Him in, you may be due for an update…

                                                                                     Psalms 32:8   (God is our “eye in the sky”)

“Plain Car…” (by Mel McGuire)

A previous work assignment allowed me to drive an unmarked police car, what we officially call a “dual purpose” vehicle, or in common terms, a plain car.

It is a police car, a bonafide emergency vehicle, equipped with lights and siren and all the things that make a police car a police car…except it’s not black and white.

I was giving a presentation to a group of elementary students and one of them commented, “That doesn’t look like a police car.”

I turned on all the lights…then the siren, and then used the loudspeaker to ask them, “Does it look like police car now?” They all yelled, “Yes!” And I got a message from the Lord about my “plain car”.

First, if the person inside the car is a police officer, that kind of makes the car a police car…there is a policeman in it, and the police come out of it. Just because it doesn’t look like what you’d expect doesn’t mean it isn’t genuine or official. It’s who is inside which matters.

Secondly, some of us are spiritual “plain cars”…we don’t look like believers. We fit in with normal traffic; people say and do things around us not knowing we are children of God.

Then they cross a line, break a rule, and we turn on our lights and sirens. Then they know we belong to God, get convicted, and they watch themselves around us. It’s easier to catch people slipping when you are in a plain car.

Finally, it is okay to be a “dual purpose” vehicle for the Lord. I’m not talking about living a double life, or having two separate identities (you know, the Sunday you, and the “rest of the week” you), but I do believe God has not called all of us to be “black and whites”. You can tell a black and white from a great distance, and sometimes God needs to catch people “in the act”, so they will repent and not deny.

Pastors and other spiritual leaders are called to be the black and whites, to obviously stand out, at all times in all situations. That is why they wear collars, and robes and vestments…to signify their place and role as spiritual leaders. But most of us need to work regular jobs, and go to school, and shop, and live “normal” lives…we need to fit in a variety of places.

We are plain cars. But when the situation calls for it, we are equipped with lights and sirens and a loudspeaker. We let it be known that the kingdom of God is present, because God lives in us and comes out of us.

We should be encouraged that while we are all not meant to be pastors, we all can minister. We can get closer to people, fit into more situations, and have a more intimate impact than the “official God representative”.

If people look closely, you can see the lights and other things that indicate a plain car is much more than that. The same is true with your life and lifestyle. If others look close enough, they can see the differences. Just because a light is not obvious, doesn’t mean it is hidden.

Being in the presence of a police car should make people want to do right. Being in your presence should make people want to live right…because you are living right…as a plain car. God’s plain car…Him in you, and jumping out of you!

“Deposition…” (by Mel McGuire)

Heard a great sermon entitled, “Can I Get a Witness” by Senior Pastor Charles Humphrey Jr. of Hope’s House Christian Ministries. The subject was evangelism and he used courtroom vernacular to drive home his points about our testimony.

One of the things he discussed is pre-trial testimony, which is referred to as a “deposition” or “being deposed”. This is normally done in private, outside of a courtroom with no judge or jury. Attorneys ask questions and a court reporter records and transcribes the testimony.

To question a witness in a court proceeding is referred to as an “examination” of the witness and their testimony. There is direct examination where your attorney asks questions to elicit your testimony, and cross examination where the opposing attorney tries to impeach or discredit you and/or your testimony.

In a deposition, even though there is no judge or jury, you still must tell the truth. Remember it is pre-trial testimony.

You will be asked the same questions or similar questions in the actual trial, so before the trial it is best to prepare by reviewing your testimony. Selah.

I equate a deposition to a good church service, a good sermon, an effective personal devotion or bible study, and even a healthy, uplifting interaction with a fellow believer. In those times, we are saying what we believe, what we have seen, witnessed, experienced, and know to be true.

There is a spiritual “court reporter” who is transcribing and recording all we say. The cross examination should give us a clue as to what will happen when the real trial begins.

During our deposition, we say things like we trust God, we love Him and He is the head of my life. We promise to serve Him, to love like Him, and to walk in mercy and extend grace and forgiveness, like it has been extended to us.

We promise to pray, to study the word, to share the gospel, to be a guiding light in a lost and dying world. We say that God is good all the time…and all the time, God is good. This is our pre-trial testimony.

Then when the real trial starts, we tend to forget what we said in our deposition! We panic, try to operate from memory, and say something that contradicts our prior testimony.

Since we do not want our advocate treating us like a hostile witness, we should know we can always ask to have our deposition transcript read back to us!

You can refresh your memory by reading your own testimony! When the opposition tries to discredit or impeach you by bringing up “prior bad acts”, we can plead the blood and our advocate will remind the judge our past is irrelevant!

The image of the witness stand includes a microphone. This aids in the recording of your testimony and allows for amplification so all who are present can hear your testimony.

We are living epistles, known and read of all men. Be a great witness. Give unimpeachable testimony about what God has done for you!

You have been deposed. Now prepare for the trial to come. Speak boldly and proclaim the Good News and the good things God has done for you! Your testimony can provide the evidence to set someone else free!

“Shellfish…” (by Mel McGuire)

I was recently challenged by good friends to write on this subject. They sent me a video of a rabbi explaining how a lobster becomes uncomfortable in its shell as it grows and thus, develops a new shell, shedding the old one in a process called molting.

Crabs do this as well, and I used the image of a crab because quite frankly, it was easier to look at and distinguish between the old and the new. Molting is simply a process by which the old is removed so the new can take its place.

Like the lobster, the crab outgrows it shell. It becomes uncomfortable and begins to take on water so the old shell will swell. Meanwhile, the new shell, in the form of an exoskeleton, is formed underneath the old one.

Whereas the old shell is hard, the new one is soft and flexible. At some point, the process of molting begins and as the picture sequence illustrates, the old is replaced by the new. Notice however, that the new shell is larger than the one it replaced, the one it came out of.

Often God uses a similar growth process with His children. We become uncomfortable with certain areas of our life because we simply out grow them. It could be a relationship, a job, a lifestyle choice, or even a church or ministry.

Most shellfish, once the new soft skin is revealed, hide under a rock and stay there for a few weeks until their new shell is hard enough to provide protection against predators and their environment. Lobsters will eat the old shell, benefiting from the calcium it contains to speed up the hardening process of the new shell. Selah.

Instinctively, they understand that as a larger crab, they will face larger predators. And some of the predators they used to fear they can now ignore, because they have outgrown them. At the same time, places they used to fit in…they no longer can. BOOM.

As we grow in Christ, we also need to understand, “new level, new devil”, which technically is not true (the devil is the same old vile rascal), but the point being that as you mature, you must be able to deal with a different kind of spiritual attack.

You must take what you can, lessons learned for example, from the old to the new place, so you can become fully functional faster. Don’t reinvent every wheel.

As with the crab, some of the places you used to go and hide, will no longer protect you. You just don’t fit in there anymore! Don’t be afraid to hide “in the Rock” (that would be Jesus), until you are fully prepared to walk in your new station in life.

Understanding the process of molting will help us change our perspective on being uncomfortable. We will not automatically just seek to ease the pain, for doing so might stunt or restrict your growth!

God can use discomfort to prepare you for your next place. Leaders, for example, need to have thicker skin to deal with the criticism and judgment from subordinates. Sometimes the things that bother you are signs that you need to molt; shed the old and welcome the new.

Learn from the shellfish, and be willing to grow by replacing the old with something bigger, stronger, safer…something new.

“Dipstick…” (by Mel McGuire)

I had the oil in my car changed recently and when the technician (whatever happened to mechanics?) was finished, he told me I had been about one half a quart low. I had to take his word for it because I cannot remember the last time I have looked at a dipstick.

Back in the day, before I was gainfully employed with benefits and a pension plan, I used to change my own oil. Now, a technician does it for me, but I digress. When you check the oil in an engine, you need to know how to read the dipstick.

First you remove it and wipe it off. Then once it is clean you re-insert it, pull it out and then read it to see how much oil is in the engine. There is usually two marks on the stick, one for “add” and one for “full”. You want the dipstick to read close to “full”.

If you do not wipe the oil off first, you will get a reading that is too high, because the engine is normally hot and the oil level appears above the “full” line. This is where the Lord got me. He told me I was reading my spiritual dipstick only when I was running hot.

During worship service, or at the end (or middle) of a great sermon, is NOT the optimal time to check your dipstick and measure your relationship with the Lord. Of course, this is when most of us “check ourselves”, when we are at our high point.

At those times our “oil level” reads high, usually well above “full”, and we think we are alright. And we probably are, for the moment. But when we check in on Tuesday or Thursday…that is like wiping the dipstick clean, and then putting it back in, to see the true oil level.

Reading a dipstick is more than just looking at level of the oil. It also requires an assessment of the quality of the oil. Fresh oil has a caramel transparent color to it, and is thick and weighty. When you rub it between your fingers, it is smooth for it has viscosity. That viscosity is what allows it to lubricate the moving parts of the motor.

Used oil is dark, almost black in color. It is thin and when you rub it between your fingers, you can feel the grit and dirt, it is not smooth at all. If you do not check your oil, much less change it, it will lose its viscosity and create undue friction inside your engine.

Dirty oil is only slightly better than oil that gets mixed with other engine fluids, like water. Too often we mix the oil of the spirit with the water of the world. Have you not heard? Oil and water don’t mix! When we are tired, drained, weary or fatigued…we should seek fresh oil, not cheap tap water.

If you check your dipstick and you see oil AND water on it, you have a major problem! The world, its comforts and pleasures, is no substitute for the oil of the presence of God. Check your dipstick, read it properly…add oil as needed.

If your daily life feels like a grind, you could be running dirty oil. If you are lacking power, things are breaking down and there is constant friction, you may have water mixed in with your oil. Check your dipstick, you may need an oil change: drain the old, replace the filter and add new fresh oil.

Check your dipstick. It can give you confidence and it can give you a spiritual “heads up”.

“Stingy…” (by Mel McGuire)

One of the challenges of being a parent is teaching your children not to be stingy. We want them to learn how to share, even from a young age, and to know when to be generous. Some of us know full grown adults who struggle with this concept.

As believers, we serve a generous God. Too often however, we equate generosity only in monetary terms, and use our lack of surplus as an excuse to be stingy. If we are honest with ourselves, we can always think of something “important” we can use that money for. We justify being stingy.

My pastor shares a story of buying his toddler a bag of chips. As they were driving, he in the front, her in her child safety seat secure in the back, she was enjoying her chips. He calmly, rather nonchalantly asked her for a chip. “NO” was her immediate reply!

Again, he asked, this time more insistently, and again was rebuffed. The child safety seat, designed to protect our precious cargo in the unforeseen event of a crash, may have saved that young girl from a hostile takeover of her chips!

He shared the frustration of providing her the chips (generosity) only to be denied access to even ONE of the chips he had bought and paid for! Parents can relate to this scenario, played out over a wide variety of locations, times, and food items.

But it made me realize that we do our Heavenly Father the exact same way. How many things has He given to us, that we are then unwilling to share with Him? We gladly receive His generosity and then reject any attempt to share it with Him or others.

He gives us time, and we use it all on ourselves. We ignore His promptings to pray, or study the word, or just sit quietly in His presence. “I don’t have time!” we think, or “I don’t have enough time!” we say…but all the time we have, He gave it to us. We are stingy.

When God blesses us financially, we can get tight fisted. “I ain’t giving MY money to no preacher, or no church, or no charity!” “I already pay taxes, bills, and I need to put gas in my car and food in my fridge…I don’t have enough to pay tithes too!”

But if we remember, that every good thing comes from the Father, our Father, and He gives it to us generously, we do not have to be stingy…even with His money…especially with His money. As if the same one who gave it, could not give it.

Don’t be stingy. There are blessings for being generous. There is the blessing of obedience. There is the law of sowing and reaping. There is the promise of God that if you provide for His house, He will provide for yours. Don’t be stingy.

Just like a parent expects a child to share what the parent has provided, so God expects us to share (with Him and others) what He has provided. Most gifts are best enjoyed when shared with others. Stop being stingy. Be generous and be blessed!

 

“Switchbacks…” (by Mel McGuire)

I came across this image and it immediately spoke to me. I have done some hiking in my lifetime and I used to wonder about the purpose of the winding, back and forth nature of the trail or path used to reach new heights called a switchback.

As the name implies, you literally switch back and forth in horizontal direction to gain ground vertically. As you study the photo, you realize it would literally be impossible to climb straight up the terrain in question. Thank God for switchbacks.

A switchback allows you to continue walking. If you had to climb, you would be on all fours, exerting a lot of energy and requiring a skill level most of us do not possess. The switchback effectively takes the steepness and breaks it up into manageable steps.

When using a switchback, you will see the same obstacle again and again, but each time you will be slightly further removed from it, or slightly closer to it as you climb. The switchback allows you to keep making progress, either away from an obstacle or closer to a goal.

When you reach the top, using switchbacks, you still have energy left to appreciate the view, the effort it took to attain it, and the strength to go on. God uses switchbacks.

How many times have we been frustrated at the pace of our progress? Just keep walking. God may not tell you that He has you on a switchback. He just tells you to keep moving.

The mundane back and forth, repetitious, daily grind of life can often blind us to the progress we are making. When walking uphill, the tendency is to keep your head down and focus on your next step. The switchback gives you time to check your progress.

Remember when we were little and we had to ride our bikes up a steep hill? The smart kids would weave back and forth, spending most of their time going across the slope and very little time climbing directly up the slope.

This technique, a switchback, allows you to continue to maintain momentum and forward motion. It wasn’t easy, but it was easier than trying to power directly up the slope.

God gives us directions for daily life…prayer, time in the word, devotion, reflection, repentance, kindness, temperance, moderation, generosity, and love. These are the things that act like a switchback, keeping us moving forward while steadfastly moving us upwards as well.

Breaking a habit, changing a mentality, or loving your neighbor can often seem like insurmountable mountains. Use the switchback God provides.

Don’t fret about the height, just start, and then keep…walking. Back and forth, back and forth, getting closer to your goal and further from your past.

Thank God for switchbacks, a spiritual ladder that leads to success in Him.

“Redacted…” (by Mel McGuire)

Have you ever noticed whenever government agencies release documents that they don’t allow everyone to see everything in the document? They put the documents through a process that eliminates “sensitive” information. It has been redacted.

Redaction is a term used when things are covered or hidden for legal or security reasons. Confidential information that may include names, addresses or certain behaviors get redacted.

When a document is redacted, they don’t just re-write it without the sensitive information, they block out the stuff they don’t want you to see. The point is they are showing you what you are missing, so you know certain things have been redacted.

I believe that is how our lives are in Christ. Certain things have been redacted. The bible teaches us that when we call our sin what it is: SIN, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. Our sins are redacted.

As we live out our lives, others may know we said or did certain things…but they cannot see the consequences because of the redacting power of the blood. IF we confess our sins, they will be redacted.

This is genuine Christianity, lived out as true witnesses of the grace and mercy of our Lord. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. We do stupid stuff. But we have an advocate who goes before the Highest Authority and intercedes on our behalf. When He says, “they have confessed that, it is under the blood”, it gets redacted!

My problem, and maybe yours, is that I too often continue to live as if my sins are exposed for all to see. I know what is under the blood, even if you don’t. But God only “releases” the redacted version, which is known as the “official version”.

Everyone does not need to know all your information. As T.D. Jakes so famously said, “Nobody has seen your WHOLE testimony!” I thank God He has redacted my sins! For legal (we have a covenant with God) and security (some folks are agents of your enemy) reasons, God limits what others can see or know about us.

Do you confess your sins? Have they been redacted? If yes, then YES!! When the bible says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”, it is talking about living a redacted life! A new life, a holy, righteous, sanctified life.

Living a redacted life is like having evidence of sin, without the conviction of sin. We can see something has been removed, or covered, and all that is left glorifies God! We can be free from the guilt of sin when we confess it as instructed.

Call it what it is, don’t sugarcoat it, downplay it, or ignore it. Confess it, receive forgiveness, and repent! THAT is how you live in the redacted. Do what you know is right. Stop doing what you know is not right. Let God redact it.

Our life story should look like a government document…it has been redacted by the blood of the Lamb!

“Net Worth…” (by Mel McGuire)

 

One of my favorite bible passages is the recounting of Jesus, a carpenter by trade, telling professional fishermen when and where to cast their nets to catch a tremendous supply of fish.

While I used to focus on the word “nevertheless”, which indicated an obedience to God’s word despite natural circumstances, personal experience, and conventional wisdom, I recently turned my attention to the actual net used to capture the fish.

Professional fishermen take care of and value their net. They understand what their net is worth. So, my question has now become, “what is YOUR net worth?” To be clear, I am NOT talking about an accumulation of wealth or assets.

My “net” is simply obedience to what God told me. It starts with obeying His word and extends to following the promptings and “nudges” He gives me throughout the day. What is my net worth?

If my net is the tool that allows me to capture and contain God’s blessings, in every form they manifest (including monetary), surely it has great value. Or does it? In the bible story, the net is the thing that allows for the capture, containment, and distribution of the fish.

In my life, and maybe yours, it is obedience and faith that allows us to receive what God has for us. I am talking about blessings that go beyond, grace, favor, and mercy. So, understanding that, what is your net worth?

To be honest, when I looked at my “net”, I realized it had not been tended to or cared for properly lately. There where holes in my net. Places in my life where I had allowed blessings to escape or never be received in the first place.

Like the image of a fisherman repairing his net, I need to inspect my net and begin to fix those places where it is weak, torn, or missing. What am I talking about exactly?

Watching TV when I need to pray. Sleeping when I need to be in the word. Eating when I am supposed to be fasting. Fantasizing when I should be seeking vision. Anytime I put my fleshly desires ahead of spiritual matters, I am not tending to my net.

Many of us have not received the blessings of God promised to us simply because we are not ready to capture, contain, and distribute them. Our nets are shoddy and weak. Our obedience is spotty and our faith is not active in the areas it should be.

Sit down and inspect your net. Get out the materials and tools needed to fix it. Know that your net is valuable and necessary. Before you ask for a bigger net, make sure the one you have now is whole, sturdy, and functioning.

Then when God says, “Let out your net”, you will have the faith and obedience to do it and receive the blessing that comes along with it. What is your net worth now?