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!

Foot Wedge…(by Mel McGuire)

There is a concept in golf that mirrors real life, not that golf isn’t real life, it is. For some people golf is life, but that is another subject entirely. I am talking about the concept of “improving your lie”. By lie, I do not mean an untruth, but your situation. In golf this often calls for the “foot wedge”.

One of the fundamental rules of golf is that you must, in most cases, play your ball as it lies. One of the challenges of golf is to matriculate your ball around the course from a variety of lies. On a typical golf course, in a typical round of golf, you will need to hit your ball from thin grass (fairways and greens), thick grass (the rough), no grass (hard pan), sand (bunkers), and negotiate obstacles (usually trees).

Often amateur golfers playing a casual round, will ignore the rules about improving their lie and will incorporate the “foot wedge”. The foot wedge is not an actual golf club, but as the name implies, a technique whereby you move your ball to a better spot by using your foot.

Why a foot? Because it is easier to disguise what you are doing with your ball if you do not have to bend over to pick it up with your hand, or use a real golf club and take a real stroke. Thus, the foot wedge. Golfers justify it all the time, I know I do when I hit a perfect drive in the middle of the fairway and my ball comes to rest…in a divot. Foot wedge it an inch or so and presto! A perfect lie.

Many Christians incorporate this same concept in their walk with God. They are always trying, legally and otherwise to “improve their lie” and will use a spiritual equivalent of a foot wedge if they can.

There are times in life that are difficult, when things may not seem fair (like divots in the fairway), when your approach is blocked, and you are tempted to foot wedge yourself to a better spot. Do not do it! Like in golf, a foot wedge is not playing by the rules.

Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer I have ever seen, would play practice rounds and many times he would intentionally step on his ball to make his lie worse. He did this, so he could practice more difficult shots, knowing that in a tournament, not every lie would be perfect.

Believers need to take heed to that mindset. He was not afraid of tough lies, difficult situations, or uncomfortable circumstances. We cannot fear them either. They are promised to us and with those promises come opportunities for victory!

Persecution will come. Offenses will come. Your faith, and patience, and love, and kindness will be challenged. Play it as it lies. It will make you better. As they say in the military, “embrace the suck”. Yeah, it might hurt. Your score may not be as great as someone else, but you will be better for staying within the rules, and keeping your integrity.

Lose the foot wedge, play it as it lies. Spiritual strength comes from overcoming tough times. Don’t be like the golfer who relies on the foot wedge and deceives themselves into believing they are better than they truly are. God loves you will give you victory without you having to ignore, bend, or break His rules. When He is your waymaker, you don’t need a foot wedge.

“Broadsided…” (by Mel McGuire)

I witnessed an accident once where a driver was waiting at a stop sign. She was on a side street waiting to merge onto a much larger, much busier highway. The traffic on the street she was wanting to join was non-stop, and she eventually just pulled out into traffic…and got broadsided.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but it could have been a true tragedy. As I began my investigation, I asked her, “Why did you go? You had a stop sign. They had the right of way.”

Her answer was, at the time, incredulous to me. She said, “I wanted to go, and I had waited long enough, so I went.” True story, THAT is what she said. I didn’t see the need to explain to her, or remind her, that merging is legal only when it is safe to do so.

I must admit, her answer and attitude broadsided me. I quickly let go of my indignation and judgment once I realized that I too, at intersections of life, had waited long enough and just decided to go. You ever create havoc because you moved before it was safe to do so?

A stop sign, or red light, means just that…STOP. Implied in the stopping is that you will eventually get to go…but only when it is safe to do so. How many times have we wanted to move onto our “next”, demonstrate an area of growth, take something we either want or have been promised, and come to a stop sign?

How long do we wait? You might be single and you are tired of being single. But you have a red light, or a stop sign. You see couple after couple whizzing by on the highway of life, and you are ready to merge. How long must you wait? You could very well be a broadside waiting to happen!

Determining when it is “safe to do so” is not up to you! It is not based on your impatience or tolerance for staying in place. God has a plan for you and it involves multiple factors, one of which is timing. Wait on the Lord. Don’t get broadsided.

When this lady decided to go, she not only caused an accident for her and the person she hit, she also created a significant delay for all those around her. Many teams and organizations (read churches) have been slowed or diverted because somebody didn’t wait. The ensuing crash slowed all the traffic on the “highway to heaven”.

The body of Christ is one. He has one body. Just one. When all the members are operating as they should, there is a natural flow and like a well-planned intersection, things move in an orderly fashion.

Don’t be the source of a broadside. Wait until the time is right. His time, not yours. Stop signs and red lights are not always only about you. Others need to get to their “next” as well. Wait on the Lord and only move when He says it is safe to do so.

“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”)

“Pound Cake…” (by Mel McGuire)

 

I recently took on the challenge of making a pound cake from scratch. I am an avid baker, but I stick to what I know. I enjoy eating pound cake, but had never made one. I decided to do my research and found no shortage of recipes. Everyone loves pound cake.

I finally decided on a recipe, but I will admit up front, I saw some things in other recipes I also wanted to try so…I ended up creating my own recipe. As you might suspect, the cake did not turn out right.

The problem was I didn’t cook it long enough. It looked great, it smelled even better, but when I cut into it… (yes, the toothpick came out clean!) it was not cooked all the way through. It never occurred to me that the changes I had made to the recipe added to the cooking time.

I messed up two cakes (and wasted quite a bit of butter, sugar, flour and eggs) trying to get this “recipe” to work. It did not. I finally decided to consult with a pound cake guru and after taking their advice, and following their recipe to the “T”, I finally found success.

How many “extra” things have we decided to add to the process God gives us? We start messing with His recipe trying to make it better, or put our own individual spin on it? We think we can give it more flavor, more whatever, and all we do is change the ingredients to the point they will not mix properly, as He intended.

How much longer do we need to stay in process, like a cake in the oven, because we are doing extra? How many lives are not being impacted for His purpose because we need more cooking time?

In the case of my pound cake, I added more liquid ingredients in search of a better tasting cake. Mind you, I had never eaten or tasted the recipe I was using as a foundation. Why do we think we can make God’s process turn out better?

I added a couple of tablespoons of stuff, in my mind, not enough to make a difference…but it did. It had too, because when I used the same pan, same oven, set at the same temperature, and cooked the cake as directed…it came out perfectly.

God said He knows the plans He has for us. It is His recipe for our success. He defines success as obedience to His will. We must avoid the temptation to make His plan work better, faster, or more conveniently. He is the master baker, follow His recipe and then taste and see that the Lord, He is good.

Be aware, like a good pound cake, the ingredients are basic and not very numerous. Mixed together in the right amount and the right manner, they produce a great product.

God’s instructions are the same…basic and not overwhelming in number. But timing and attention to detail, like any good recipe, will yield predictable results.

Follow the recipe. Whether pound cake or God’s purpose. Trust the process and enjoy!

“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.

“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.

“Clinch…” (by Mel McGuire)

During boxing matches, from time to time, the fighters will stop punching and use a tactic known as the “clinch”. This is basically a hug, that prevents or limits the ability to throw effective punches.

Boxers use this when they are tired, or when they are trying to break their opponent’s momentum. Since the point of the match is to fight, the referee usually will eventually step in and separate the fighters, so they can begin punching again.

But there are also times when the referee, for a couple of different reasons, will tell the fighters to “punch their way out” of a clinch. This means he will NOT break it up, or separate them, they have to fight their way clear.

When you are winning a fight, a clinch can be frustrating, for it calls for a different strategy than what was probably working for you. If you are not careful, fighting out of a clinch can give your opponent an easy shot at you.

From time to time in my spiritual battle, I have felt like I was in a clinch. I was still in a fight, but there seemed to be a lull in the action. To be honest, most of the time I felt I was so close to a sin habit or destructive lifestyle pattern, I needed the referee to come in and separate me from it.

God, being faithful, especially early in my walk, would show up and push me away, protecting me in the process. Then the fight would resume. And before I knew it, I was in another clinch.

Eventually God stays back…He is close, but He does not step in. I can hear Him, like a referee tells a fighter, “fight your way out”. He expects me to break the clinch myself…by punching my way clear.

Repetitive or habitual sins are usually the ones with which we battle and wind up in a clinch. Whether we are winning or losing, it does not matter it seems. We are in a clinch and we must fight our way out.

We must keep our spiritual guard up lest we take an unsuspecting close range shot, and allow the momentum of the battle to swing against us.

Even though we are tired of the fight, and would love to “rest in the clinch”, boxers know clinching takes a lot of energy, it’s just used differently that actively punching. So even though you are not punching, you are not resting either!

Fight the good fight. Stay active as you battle in the spirit. Resist the temptation to rest in a clinch. Keep punching, keep moving, stay aggressive. Doing so makes it hard to “tie up your hands” and makes a clinch less likely.

But if you do find yourself in a clinch, don’t wait for God to break you free…punch your way out, fight your way clear.

Our battle is in the spirit; our weapons are not carnal. Protect yourself at all times. Stick and move…and avoid the clinch.

“Hover…” (by Mel McGuire)

Those who know me well recognize my love and affinity for military aircraft, specifically jets. When I saw “Top Gun”, I was done. I didn’t even realize there was an annoying love story unfolding…I just wanted to see the planes doing what they do…turning and burning. “I feel the need…the need for speed!”

Anyway, this is not about that…not directly anyway. I have been thinking about helicopters lately (job related, too much to go into…trust me.) and I remember as a rookie going up in our helicopter several times. When we would get on scene to assist ground units, we would go into this orbit around the area…I’m sure you’ve seen this in your own lifetime.

We have special binoculars that are gyroscopically balanced (Lord, I hope that is a word) to allow the observer to maintain focus without getting dizzy from going in circles. I asked the pilot, “Why don’t we just hover?” It seemed like a reasonable question to me (the rookie), since we have all seen and heard news helicopters parked in place in the sky for what seems like an eternity.

The pilot told me that it takes much more fuel to hover than to orbit. He also pointed out the better perspective we get when we are orbiting as opposed to staying in one place and having only one viewpoint.

God has been reminding me to get back into orbit and to stop trying to hover in place. My Christian life should be about moving (forward), not staying stagnant or stationary. Too often we limit our perspectives, we can’t see the other side of a problem or the onset of a solution, because we are hovering…we say we are waiting on God, we are looking for His hand to move. But we are stressed and worried, and we are burning precious emotional and spiritual fuel, trying to stay in place.

Athletes will tell you it is easier to react when you are already in motion, as opposed to moving from a standstill or stationary position. Look at tennis players waiting to receive a serve, or baseball players just as the ball is pitched…they are in motion…they are not hovering.

Stop wasting fuel. Get moving and begin to survey your situations from different angles and perspectives. God will be better able to show you what He sees because eventually you will come around to His viewpoint. Hovering can be annoying to others too. The news chopper over your neighborhood for extended periods of time can be a nuisance. So too some of us are hovering in place and hindering others around us. They need you to move so they can keep moving (forward)!

We are designed to be in motion, our growth depends on it. Staying in place takes as much energy as moving forward, and sometimes more. So stop hovering and get back into your orbit around the Son. Keep Him in the center of your life so you can maintain proper perspective and not just keep “going around in circles”