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Today Brett’s rescued buddy Trigger joined my usual canine companion Hannah for the daily walk. Actually with Trig the routine is a bit different. He drags me for the first mile and I drag him for the second mile. It is the balance of nature at work. As usual the iPod was cranked up when I took the dogs for a walk. I have over 1700 songs on my iPod. My taste in music is to be kind, eclectic. The less kind would call my blend of music weird.

So it was interesting when a couple of songs came up randomly that hit me right where I am living today. The first was a song called “Gotta Serve Somebody” from Bob Dylan. Dylan lists a number of professions, interests and traits that define how we are labeled by our culture. But then he cuts to the chase and observes that those things are not who we are. We are defined by who or what we serve.

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Yes indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the Devil
Or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

I have been a follower of Jesus for nearly forty years. I agree with Dylan’s lyrics that you will serve somebody. Who you serve will be reflected in how you spend your time and treasure. Your calendar and checkbook will starkly reveal who you are serving. I had a desire to serve God but also a deep seated fear of what that might look like if I made that commitment. That fear came from a wrong view of God and of His grace that had been reinforced by bad theology and some really bad experiences.

I reflected on how I am beginning to understand what it means to trust Jesus as Lord and not just as my Savior. The next song that popped up was from Chris Rice and the lyrics reflected my journey.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe
And blessed are the hands that keep givin’ but never receive
Blessed is the heart that gets broken but keeps holdin’ on

Holdin’ on for another day
‘Cause that’s what it means…it means holdin’ on for another day
‘Cause that’s what it means to live by faith.

Years spent trying to do enough to prove my service and devotion have been replaced by simple trust and faith. I can already hear the objections from some. “But what about the things that need to get done? Your “faith” won’t change diapers in the nursery and your “trust” won’t set up chairs.” I would have been singing in your choir just a few years ago. I would now argue that understanding who you are in Christ and how much you have been forgiven will cause you serve more, not less. And a better attitude is a lovely side benefit. At least that has been my story.

In Hebrews we read these words: And without faith it is impossible to please God…

He is not pleased by my talent or deeds or striving for righteousness. God is pleased by my simple faith and trust. I can do that! And out of that trust comes my service based on gratitude and joy. So my iPod daily double meditation was simple. I will serve God. And I will live that out by faith.

My profession is television sports directing. I will be doing that until more of you people buy my books and read my blogs. I direct games for the Texas Rangers baseball team and the last two games have been a director’s dream. The Rangers had “walk-off” wins in both games. That means they score the winning run in the last at bat and the game is over. Both teams “walk-off” the field but with very different body languages.

Yesterday a 9^th inning home run by Ranger first baseman Chris Davis gave Texas an amazing win. The moment was so much fun to direct. The shots of the intense concentration by Davis. The Seattle pitcher trying to save the game. Ranger players hanging on the dugout rail praying for a miracle. And then it happens. The ball flies deep toward center. The Ranger player start to jump up and down as they try to will the ball out of the park. The ball clears the fence and pandemonium ensues.

Ranger players Ian Kinsler, Hank Blalock and others leap the rail and sprint toward home plate to greet the hero of the moment. I grab a shot of the devastated Mariner pitcher walking off with shoulders slumped. Chris Davis rounds third, flips his helmet in the air with joy and heads toward a throng of teammates encircling home plate. They are smiling and waiting with unbridled excitement for Chris to get “home” so they can celebrate. As he nears home plate Davis makes a gigantic leap into the throng and the mayhem and joy continues. The dogpile absorbs Davis. What a picture. Back in the Mariner dugout I show the Mariner catcher sitting alone and staring into space. That is drama of sports and it was described eloquently during the famous open of Wide World of Sports.

The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.

Paul often used sports as an analogy for spiritual things.

I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. (I Cor.9, NLT)

Today I reflected on that passage and the thrilling finish yesterday. As much fun as that moment was yesterday the Rangers will play another game tonight. It may be an exciting win. It may be a disappointing loss. But the thrill of yesterday is just a memory. I thought about  the parallels of sports and living out our faith. How I need to be faithful and just show up everyday and doing everything I can to spread the Good News and its blessings. I thought about the eternal prize that will not fade away when I finish this race. I began to imagine my heavenly homecoming and how it might resemble that moment from yesterday. I saw myself “rounding third” and heading toward all of the loved ones who had gone ahead. I saw them smiling with unbridled joy as I moved toward them. I imagined that I jumped into a dogpile of dear friends and family who had shared my journey. I saw my Dad jumping the rail as I approach so he can be there I as cross to home. My wonderful nephew, precious daughter and my Mom are waiting at home. Incredible friends who had a big part of me staying within the basepaths over the many years jump with joy. And then I picture emerging from the dogpile of family and friends and seeing Jesus. He hugs me warmly. I am safe at home.

I have rediscovered the music of Keith Green. I absolutely loved his songs when I was a young follower of Jesus. Green was killed in a small plane crash in 1982. Recently I downloaded some of his tunes to the iPod and this morning one of them randomly (?) popped up during the morning walk. Keith Green’s song of worship “Oh Lord You’re Beautiful was just what I needed to hear this morning.  

Oh Lord, You’re beautiful,
Your face is all I seek.
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

My heart aches for the angry, frustrated, tired and discouraged Christians who live the Christian version of Henry David Thoreau’s quote.

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

I think that describes the spiritual experience of too many followers of Christ. We make it about right actions instead of realizing our righteousness is only because of Christ. We seek to impress instead of seeking His face. And I too often forget that His eye is always on me and His grace always abounds to me. That happened when I believed in Christ.

Keith Green’s song continues…

I want to take Your love and shine it all around,
But first help me just to love it, Lord.
And if I’m doing well help me never seek a crown,
For my reward is giving glory to You!

I want to reflect His love but first I have to let Him love me. That sounds so elementary. But I spent decades trying to earn His love when all I had to do was receive it. Now as I receive His love I can live in gratitude as I understand His unmerited favor that was extended to me. And I realize that both my salvation and my journey with Him are all because of grace. I cannot do either on my own.

If you are living a Christian life of quiet desperation I pray that you will trust the truths of the Gospel. That you are righteous. Yep. You. Righteous. Not because of your discipline or begrudging compliance or stiff upper lip right actions. You are righteous because of Jesus. As my friends at Truefaced so eloquently say…

Maturing in Christ is simply growing into what is already true about you. You are righteous. You are a saint. Not because of a single thing you did or can do. Because of Christ.

If you find yourself tired and angry and frustrated I pray that you will trust these truths. Don’t go to the grave with your song still in you. One of my favorite quotes comes from Keith Green.

“It’s time to quit playing church and start being the Church”.

Amen.

I have had the privilege of being the warm-up act for my friend John Lynch at some TrueFaced Worldview nights. It is always fun because neither John nor I have any clue what we might say. To paraphrase comedian Mike Birbiglia: “Our thoughts have no on-deck circle. They go straight to the plate and it is batter up!”

Recently I got to join John close to home at an event in Ft.Worth. John does part of the “Two Roads, Two Rooms” message and I add my 2 cents along the way (adjusted for inflation). I am totally energized and blessed when I see people understand grace and what that means in their relationship with God. Can I make a plea to my tens of readers? If you have not heard the “Two Roads” message please go straight to their website and order a CD and/or DVD today. Next to the Gospel this has been the most powerful message that I have ever heard. That message was the beginning of my understanding about why I had been flatlined for so many years in journey with Jesus.

Even as I am energized by seeing people understand the truths of grace and identity I am saddened and, to be honest, frustrated by those who push back against this message. I want them to feel the freedom and joy that I have experienced over the past eighteen months. I wonder why anyone would hold on to a theology that produces hiddenness and tiredness? Recently I began a series about living out the Christian life in the workplace and secular world. I wrote a column about language and responding with grace to those who use obscenities. One commenter made this observation about my article.

“A true Christian will morn their sin and experience anguish when thinking of it.”

Immediately the old tapes of my legalistic upbringing were cued up. Who knew that 8–tracks could still be played? In one fell swoop this person had questioned my salvation, theology and demonstrated that spell check doesn’t catch everything. I had spent decades wrestling with sin and wondering if I was a true Christian. I would mourn my sin but then I would do it again. I experienced anguish but little joy. So if mourning sin and anguishing in thought made me a true Christian I was doing just fine. But I wasn’t.

It wasn’t until I really began to understand the truths of identity and grace that I began to resolve my sin. I am still a work in progress and will remain so. But now I actually am learning how to address sin in ways other than hiddenness and begrudging compliance to try by my own mad skills to do the right thing. I wore masks because I was too proud to admit that I was no where near the together guy I wanted to be. During a recent walk Country singer Keith Urban brought me back to the pride thing with his song “Tonight I Wanna Cry”. His song is not written about spiritual things but the lyrics describe how guys (the species I kind of understand) deal with emotion.

Cause I’ve never been the kind to ever let my feelings show
And I thought that bein’ strong meant never losin’ your self-control
But I’m just drunk enough to let go of my pain
To hell with my pride
Let it fall like rain, from my eyes
Tonight I wanna cry.

While I am not advocating the getting “just drunk enough” to let go of my pride part I am suggesting that I need to be willing to say to “hell with my pride“. And I do want to let go of my pain and give it to God. The Apostle Peter writes these words to the young men and those seeking to be elders but they certainly apply to all of us.

And all of you, serve each other in humility, for

   “God opposes the proud
      but favors the humble.”

 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (I Pet 5, NLT)

As I write this this morning I am not “just drunk” enough to let go of my pain. But I am “just tired” enough of it to give the pain to Him. I am tired enough to trust Him in humility. He cares about me. He sees me as righteous because of Christ. I have been changed into a new spiritual being. Incredible.

I am beginning to wonder if pride is not the enemy of this message of grace. It is tough to let go of your control and simply trust God. Humility is the hallmark of a Christian that is growing in grace and understanding. The question is very simple. Would I rather save face than see His face?

Because my ministry is to make other Christians feel superior I am excited to expand that outreach. Please check out the new weekly blog at World Magazine.

(Welcome to the experiment known as the iPod devotional series. I am posting these gently read golden oldies while working on a book rewrite). So far in the series we have had songs from the Undisputed Truth, Chris Rice, The Youngbloods, Alison Krause and Union Station and Willie Nelson. I would call that blend eclectic. You probably call it weird. Today’s edition of “As the iPod Turns” lands us on a song by Percy Sledge. I loved Motown music as a teen and I still do. My secret desire was to perform as the bass singer with the Temptations. Remember the song “Papa was a Rolling Stone”?  I wanted to be the guy that said “and that ain’t right” in that deep, deep bass voice. But my lack of talent, dancing ability and the general composition of the group precluded that dream from becoming reality.

The tune that came up today is a classic. “When a Man Loves a Woman” reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts in 1966. The song was number 54 in the 500 best songs of all time in a poll by Rolling Stone Magazine. Anyone who has ever been in love can feel these lyrics deep in your soul. I remember when I fell in love with the stunning Mrs.Burchett. I could have written these lyrics in those halcyon days of young love.

When a man loves a woman
Can’t keep his mind on nothin’ else
He’d trade the world
For a good thing he’s found
If she is bad, he can’t see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend If he puts her down

When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He’d give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that’s the way
It ought to be

I give you everything I’ve got (yeah)
Trying to hold on
To your precious love

Could there be a more powerful description of how it feels to be giddy in love? You really can’t think of anything else but your new love. I couldn’t help but reflect about this song in the context of my relationship with God. When I first became a Christian I was so happy, so relieved and so grateful for forgiveness. I really couldn’t keep my mind on nothin’ else except this new relationship with Jesus. I was so sold out to my relationship with God that I believe I would have traded the whole world for the good thing I’d found. But, much like romantic love, things change over time if you are not careful.

It happened, sadly, with my romantic love. I am not proud to admit that I forgot for a few years how much this man loved his wife. The pursuit of career and status changed how I approached my marriage and it was a rocky time. Fortunately I realized what God had given me and I changed my ways. Thank God we hung tough and I love Joni more today than I did over thirty-three years ago.

The same thing happens at times with my relationship with God. I say I love Jesus but there are days that I can hardly force myself to think of spiritual things. There are times when talking to God and praying feels like a burden. And I wonder if I would trade the world now for the good thing I’ve found in Jesus? My pew-litically correct answer is of course I would. Then why can it be so difficult to sacrifice even a little bit of my comfort for others? If I am truly willing to trade the whole world maybe I should have a few less possessions and and a lot more giving. Wouldn’t that be a true indicator of my love for God? Would I give my last dime (or at least more of my dimes) for Jesus? Or would I be like the rich young man of the Bible and turn away sadly at the cost He demands? Would I give up all my comforts if God called me to do that? Or would I rationalize that I can “do more” where I am? Do I give Him everything I’ve got?

But here is where this love relationship with Jesus is so different from the romantic love that Percy Sledge describes. I don’t have to do those things and give everything I’ve got to try and hold on to His precious love. That is already done.  God’s love is always there. It was signed, sealed, and delivered at Calvary. When I accepted that gift of mercy I no longer had to try to hold on or earn that love. When a man loves God he does so out of gratitude. Because God extended grace to a person who did not deserve it. When a man (or woman) loves God there is nothing you can do to earn that love. But there is much that you can do to show it. “You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving.” That was the insightful quote from Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India. That is true when a man loves a woman. And also when a man or woman loves God.

Today’s spin of the shuffle wheel pulled up a little tune from Willie Nelson. The song is titled “Funny How Time Slips Away” and it is one of his signature songs. I realize that Willie is, for some, an acquired taste. I do not endorse Willie’s recreational choices but I do like his ability to make lyrics real. In this song he laments the loss of a love.

Well hello there my it’s been a long long time
How am I doin’ oh I guess that I’m doin’ fine
It’s been so long now but it seems now it was only yesterday
Gee ain’t it funny how time slips away

It is not really funny how time slips away. It is scary. I am now past the halfway mark toward becoming a centenarian although I have a much better shot at being a contrarian than living a century. It seems like yesterday that I was playing sandlot baseball as a kid. Moments ago I was in high school being ADD before ADD was cool. Just yesterday I met the stunning Joni Banks and somehow conned her into dating me. Couldn’t have been too long ago that I donned the hideous baby blue tux to wed my beloved. Wasn’t it just weeks ago that three adorable baby boys came into our lives? How is it possible that I am now directing the baseball exploits of athletes that were not even born when I started this gig?

Time does slip away. The best line on parenting I have heard is that the days are long but the years are short. Amen. I now am the father of a 30 year old, a 28 year old, and a 23 year old. When did that happen? Married almost 33 years. Are you kidding me?

I have had, if I may borrow the franchise of Frank Capra, a wonderful life. Not devoid of tragedy and trouble to be sure. I have lost a very dear nephew to leukemia, a daughter to terminal birth defects, my father and mother, and many other family members and friends. My bride has battled breast cancer and is currently winning. Despite the heartache I believe that we are blessed beyond comprehension. And I believe that is because we have found our reason for being here. Rick Warren summed it up nicely in a recent interview.

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond, In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body – but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillion of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life: The goal is to grow in character, In Christ-likeness.

If this is the warm-up act for my eternity gig on the main stage then all of this is merely preparation. Football players hate the two-a-day practices in the brutal heat. But they love the exhilaration of victory that the difficult preparation allows for during the season. Sometimes the two-a-days of life seem cruel and without purpose. But my understanding of the God who made me and His purpose for me allows me to believe there is purpose and design. I don’t always see it. I love being happy and carefree. But if my purpose is preparation for my real gig then I had better be a little more interested in being holy. Paul wrote this in the book of Colossians.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. (Col 3, NLT)

The song continues…

I gotta go now I guess I’ll see you around
Don’t know when though never know when I’ll be back in town
But remember what I tell you in time you’re gonna pay
And it’s surprising how time slips away

The songwriter is correct. In time you’re gonna pay. But not in the sense that the lyric implies. And not in the heavy handed way that too many Christians threaten eternal damnation to those who oppose them. We are created to be in fellowship with our Creator and you will pay a price if you ignore that truth. I believe we were created to be in eternal fellowship with God. This very brief time on earth is slipping away for all of us. Set your sights on eternity and enjoy the journey of preparation.