I was reading where author and poet Maya Angelou was talking about the history of slavery in this country. She said that on many of the plantations the slaves were not allowed to laugh. There was a rule against laughing. She said that the reason behind this strange rule was fear. The plantation owners feared that laughter would tear down their system of injustice.

See if slaves were allowed to laugh, they might laugh at the masters. Or worse, you know how laughter is infectious, and the masters might start laughing with the slaves. How can you laugh with one person one day and then have that person be a slave the next?

That was the rule, so the slaves developed what they called “the laughter barrel.” At the moment when they couldn’t hold it in any longer, they would under the excuse of getting something out of the barrel, lean way down inside and let it all out. They would laugh and laugh and laugh.

One of the chief byproducts of joy is laughter.  It has this inherent capacity to build a sense of community. When you are at a table or in a room with a bunch of other people and you share moments of laughter…there’s just this undeniable connection that happens. This is a sacred connection that levels the cultural caste systems of cool and status. It kind of subversively whittles things down to the common denominator of humanity.

This has me thinking. When I am unable to laugh at myself – is it because I am enslaved to something? Maybe my pride, taking myself too seriously, pretense, religion, being “un-human.” Is it because I am burdened down, burnt out, worn out, or just tired.

In Jesus day ever Rabbi would have a set of rules and lists that they had developed to help people live out Torah properly. These lists and rules were called a Rabbi’s “yoke.”

Now listen to Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Jesus invites us to take his yoke: to take on his way of understanding and living out the way of God. Here’s what I’m learning, living freely with Jesus means taking myself lightly. In the “unforced rhythms of grace” there are moments to just stop and laugh at myself. So if you are carrying a spiritual life that is ill fitting, forced, heavy, chances are you are carrying some other Rabbi’s yoke. So examine your yoke. Your yoke will reveal who your Rabbi is.

How often did you laugh last week?

How much fun did you have?

How irritable would people say you are?

Did you find yourself justifying a lack of joy?

Remember: When the world sees your yoke…they will know who your Rabbi is. 

On Monday I was running the trails at Mulberry Park, getting ready for a 10K this weekend. Most everyday I run on the equestrian trails and very rarely do I see a horse. Monday was different. About thirty minutes into my run, I looked over my shoulder and saw two horses and their riders about 50 yards behind me. Quickly I noticed that these horses weren’t trotting, they were running. The riders had these horses opened up into a full sprint up the trail. They were trying to run me down.

Now I was faced with a decision: Do I run as fast as I can up the trail and see if the horses can keep up? Or do I step into the woods and let them pass?

After I climbed out of the woods I could see the horses up ahead. I had a great view. I believe that horse relieved himself on the trail on purpose. I could see the horses rear end trailing off into the distance. Then I had an idea….I’m going to chase down that horse. Since the horse caught up with me, I’m going to catch it.

Endorphins are stupid little things. So I set out in a full sprint up the trail, winding and bending through the woods. I’m going to catch the horse. I can catch the horse. I’m catching that horse. For quite some time I chased that horse. Then the thought occurred to me, I wasn’t made to run with horses, I was made to run 10Ks with other humans. As humans, we weren’t made to compete with horses.

Then I remembered a passage from the book of Jeremiah and about a year ago reading Eugene Peterson’s Run with Horses:

Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV) 5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

God spoke this to Jeremiah when he was at the end of himself. He was worn down, worn out, drowning in self-pity. He had pulled off the path, ducked into the woods. The opposition is fierce and he is contemplating death. Not the kind where they bury you, but the premature kind, like Gardavsky writes,

“The terrible threat against life is not death, nor pain, nor any variation on the disasters that we so obsessively try to protect ourselves against with our social systems and personal stratagems. The terrible threat is that we might die earlier than we really do die, before death has become a natural necessity. The real horror lies in just such a premature death, a death after which we go on living for many years.”

Jeremiah is contemplating trading in God’s call on his life for something easy and safe.

Life is difficult Jeremiah, are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to hang it up because it gets hard? Are you going to settle for the easy life?

It’s always easier to be a parasite. It’s easier to be self-absorbed and siphon off of everyone else. It’s easier to settle for status quo and the arms of average. It’s easier, but not better.

God called Jeremiah to live a life of purpose far beyond what he thought he was capable of living and promised him adequate strength to fulfill that destiny.

He had the choice to make, would he shuffle with the crowd of apathetic mediocrities or run with the horses? From God’s perspective, if here he was tripping up on safe, secure, flat ground… how would he ever be able to run in the jungle?

God has designed us to live at the next level of living (excellence), he has placed a specific calling on our lives that no one else can fulfill. Your calling will not be fulfilled with a Xerox. As my friend Cash says, you were born an original, why would you want to die a copy. No one can fulfill that call like you can. But you can’t reach this destiny by duplicating someone else’s call or by competing with other humans.

Today don’t settle with competing with men, run with the horses. If you’ve stopped sprinting, pick back up. Rise to the next level, you were made to live for more. 

Every Sunday a lady from our campus fills up a large blue cooler with bottled water and takes it to the skatepark across the street on her way to church. After the service she goes back and picks up the empty cooler. It’s crazy how fast a park full of thirsty teenage boys can consume those waters. She doesn’t expect a thank you, doesn’t seek to be noticed…she just does it because Jesus put it on her heart to go to the other side of the road and take care of those skaters.

The coolest thing happened yesterday. We had a boy commute to church riding a skateboard. He rode across the street, showed up a couple of songs into the 11AM service. He said it was his first time and he wanted to come check it out. One of our amazing ushers asked if he’d like him to take care of his board while he enjoyed the service, the boy liked that idea. So he came in, dialed into the music, the teaching, and the response time…then he got on his skate board and rode back across the street. 

bottled water to living water…I love it! That’s the church.

Every person following Jesus and obeying when he prompts them to go to the other side. 

What’s the “other side” Jesus is prompting you to go to? 

Other side of the classroom? office? restaurant? neighborhood? city? country?

I am a hoper. It’s how I’m wired. You are wired to hope too. We live by hope. When I was engaged I hoped for a wedding day. Now married I hope for two rocking chairs, two sets dentures, and to die Rea’s husband. When Rea is pregnant, I hope for a baby. When those children come into the world, I hope to dance at their weddings. (Rea hopes I don’t dance, because it’s a trainwreck when that happens). Everyone hopes; it’s universal.

Hope is the theme I find most riveting in the movie Gladiator. It’s the idea that closes the move and carries into the credits…Juba the slave says, “and now we are free. I will see you again…but not yet…not yet!”

Romans 8:24 Paul says that In this hope we are saved. This is not just optimism or wishful thinking, Paul is talking about a conviction that because God invaded the world in the person of Jesus Christ the best is yet to come. In verse 18 he says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. There is a greater glory that is to be revealed…but not yet.

While we live in the ‘not yet,’ Paul reminds us that there will be present sufferings. We suffer. We get fired. We get sick. We go bankrupt. We get dumped. We get hurt. Salvation does not a eradicate suffering. Our salvation came through the suffering of Christ and suffering will come to us; but hope in Christ is what keeps us going through our suffering. The flame of hope is what makes it possible to prevail in the darkest night of disappointment.  

It’s in the dark night of disappointment that….

a person loses hope that God can use them and they can have joy.

a parent loses hope that God can rescue their child from rebellion.

a spouse loses hope that the marriage can improve.

a church loses hope that they can ever have better days.

When disappointment comes, we groan. Groaning with the whole of creation that has been groaning from the fall right up to this present time…as in the pains of childbirth.(v.22) Even we ourselves who have the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for…redemption.(v.23) Having the Spirit of God, following Jesus, doesn’t mean we are exempted from groaning, not in this world. But as we groan we wait eagerly with a perseverance that can’t be snuffed out. 

I think Paul would tell us, be very careful where you place your hope. When things are difficult, when you face suffering and disappointment, there is only one hope that is secure. Don’t place your hope in a man, political ideologies, a campaign, a government. The ability to face the future with great confidence doesn’t rest on who is in the oval office. It doesn’t rest in a strong economic forcast. It doesn’t even rest on the strength of your character, or your righteousness, how good or gifted you are. It does not rest on you at all.

Our hoping and groaning rests in a Jewish Rabbi and what happened to him two thousand years ago. The Romans arrested him, tried him, convicted him, sentenced him, stripped him, mocked him, whipped him, beat him, and stretched his arms out on a cross. And as he suffered their execution, they heard beautiful words of hope tangled with the groaning of a dying man. These disciples who for three years had hoped with him, now watching their hero die, they all groaned. When he died, their hope died with him. The stone in front of a tomb stood as a symbol of the conclusion of the story. 

    For

            three

                        days

                                    they

                                                thought

                                                                it

                                                                  was

                                                                            the

                                                                                 end.

Until early on that third day, when they saw that stone that had been rolled away. The stone wasn’t rolled away so that Jesus could get out. The stone was moved so that the world could see in. The grave was opened up that a groaning world could take a long look inside and see, for the one who had died was dead no more. Inside of that empty tomb the words of Jesus echo, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! [have hope] For I have overcome the world.

He is alive, hope is alive, and we have the Spirit of Jesus inside of us so that we can be hopers. There is a future glory coming; now we are free, and we will see him…but not yet…not yet! 

My friend jason sebren (wordpress.sebren.com) put this together. God shaped memories attached.

Guatemala Mission Trip from sebren on Vimeo.

I was at a conference a couple of years back when author Reggie McNeal asked everyone to name their greatest fear. He gave us an uncomfortable 10 minutes of silence to dig it up and write it down on a piece of paper. Then he did the unthinkable, he asked us to share that fear with one of the strangers sitting around us. It was a strange mix of humiliating and liberating…after the sharing he said these words in almost a whisper, words I’ll never forget… “Fear is a dragon…but once you name the dragon, you’ve pulled it’s teeth. Once you call the dragon out, it looses the power to intimidate.”

Earlier this week I read where Jesus said, Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to be afraid? Because they were and they would be in the future. Jesus echoes the most common command in Scripture. Over 366 times in the Bible, God tells his people “fear not.” As author Lloyd Ogilvie has pointed out, that’s one for every day of the year, including leap year.

We need to be reminded today, because fear is the number one threat to your best life in Christ. Fear is the number one reason that we are tempted to take a detour and bypass God’s interruptions, assignments, and prompts. Jesus tells us “don’t be afraid,” not because the things you’ll end up doing out of fear, but because of all the things that you won’t do.

It’s the relationships that you never deepen. It’s the people you never serve. It’s the spiritual conversations you never have. It’s the gifts that you never give. The spiritual gifts you never exercise. The spiritual battles you never fight. The victories that you never win. The tears that you never weep. The open doors that you never walk through. The challenges you never step up to. Fear is the reason that so many people arrive short of their potential; leave destinies untouched, and dreams un-chased.

What is the fear that is holding you back? Name the dragon.

Fear of moving, fear of losing income, fear of losing a job, fear of losing favor, fear of not realizing dreams, fear of death, fear of being overlooked, fear of not knowing what to say…

In Luke 12, Jesus pulls some teeth from the dragons that stalk many of us…Death? ^v.4 I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. Overlooked, Forgotten? ^v.6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows. Speaking? ^v.11 When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at the time what you should say.

Identify your greatest fear today, name the dragon and take it to the Father. When you hand that fear to him; you’ll find that it is his pleasure to give you the Kingdom in exchange for what you were holding. It brings him delight to pull you up close into His sovereign rule and reign and give you direct access to his power and presence (which since his presence is perfect love, it casts out fear.)  It brings him great delight to pull the teeth of the dragon. 

“God engineers everything; and wherever he places us our supreme desire should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion.” – Oswald Chambers

His father named him Caleb. Some scholars have said that the name means dog, I’ve read others that have suggested that the word was formed after the sound that the dog makes, the Israelite’s equivalent of ‘woof!’ A little Hebrew onomatopoeia. Can you imagine being known as dog-boy?

Caleb and his friend Joshua were selected with ten other spies to scope out the land that God had promised to the nation of Israel. Joshua’s name means savior, deliverer; the Greek translation of this name is Jesus.

Can you imagine being Caleb? An Israelite kid named dog wandering around the desert with your best friend named deliverer? Add to it that in the Old Testament days dogs weren’t popular animals, the name would be completely negative. Dogs were vile, aggressive, worthless, and worthy of distrust. (Proverbs 26:11; Jeremiah 15:3; 1 Samuel 17:43; Psalm 59:6). That’s his name. He did nothing do earn it; given at birth.

Caleb’s name may have been of low esteem among men, but Caleb had a reputation with God that stood above the rest. I don’t believe that God called, worked through, used Caleb in spite of who he was but because of who he was. Listen to how God talks about Caleb in Numbers 14:24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

Caleb was wholehearted. There was nothing held back. No plan B being formed behind the scenes. He wasn’t deriving a backup plan. He was all in. Because of that, he was marked before God as a man of unconditional commitment, bountiful devotion, and unreserved passion.  Caleb was wholehearted and God noticed the difference.

This got me thinking this morning, what is my reputation before God? How does God think of me? What would God say is different about my spirit?

The enemy wants us captivated by what others think of us. He wants us to focus on things that we can’t change – names that were given to us, our appearance, our failures, our family of origin, past events that haunt us. God wants to give our hearts to him so he can heal the wounds and turn us into wholehearted warriors.

See, Caleb had a reputation in heaven that prevailed over his name among men. Six times in the Scriptures God tells us that t Caleb obeyed the Lord fully. Even at age 85 Joshua tells us that Caleb followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.”(Joshua 14:14)

God translates Caleb as wholehearted. While God loves us all the same, he has made us all differently. There are things I cannot change, but one thing I can determine is the depth of my obedience level. God loves me the same regardless of my disobedience/obedience, but my reputation before him is a product of the choices that I make.

Through wholehearted living, Caleb redefined his name….to the degree that parents thousands of years later will give that name to their boys. Caleb means “courage/heart” 

Lord, It’s my heart’s desire to be 85 years old one day and still following wholeheartedly. 

May we work today in the places He has placed us; caring more for what God thinks of our hearts than what men think of our names, pouring out our lives in wholehearted devotion to him – whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.

A promoter is the person who makes it their business to market concerts, festivals, raves, or nightclubs. Their pay is a percentage of what comes in at the door, that’s why these folks are relentless in their guerrilla marketing. They plaster posters on the walls, hand out rave cards, send emails, facebook invites, and text messages. The best promoters are the one’s who have a following and deliver multiple impressions (keep the event in front of the people) and who have consistency, the ones who have a strong reputation for throwing the best parties.

In 1st Timothy 1:3-7, Paul the Apostle tells his young protégé, Timothy, that the reason he’s stuck where he is, is to be a promoter.  He said there would be many people around him who would be focused on promoting controversies, myths, meaningless dialogue, and trivial speculation – people claim Christ but seem to have wandered away from love and find themselves stuck in insignificant conversation. It’s Timothy’s job to remain among the wanderers and be a promoter of love.

God has put us where we are on the planet to be promoters of love. You are stuck in your cube, in your neighborhood, at your table, to encourage love. The goal of our conversation should be to promote love of God and love of others. 

Love is a lifestyle not a marketing technique. While living a life of love, we promote love with our lips. Paul says that love promotion comes from “pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith.” It seems that he’s saying that love promotion begins at a place deeper than the grassroots – first you’ve got to allow the Father to access and examine the depths of your heart, give yourself to pursuing moral integrity, and authentically trust God.

So our calling is to promote love today in our conversations. Let’s not waste words. Remember, the best promoters are the ones who deliver multiple impressions and are consistent with their delivery. I’m thinking to do that, you’ve got to keep you heart pure, your conscience clean, and your faith real.

By promoting love with our lifestyle and lips we are really promoting the privilege of encounters with the immortal, eternal, invisible, eternal King. One day we’ll step into a party in his honor and for his glory that wiil go on forever and ever.

Promote love.

PS: What if Christians were the one’s who were known for throwing the best parties? 

Psalm 38:9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.

God knows everything that I long for. My desires, my longings lie open before you, O Lord; they are laid out before him like a well-worn recipe book, resting on heaven’s kitchen counter. As He imagines the possiblity and cooks up the future, it brings me comfort to know that he is well aware of everything I long for. Not one desire has gotten past Him. There is no such thing as a secret desire before the Lord. Just desires that haven’t been articulated in prayer.

But I live with constant reminders that every desire in my heart has not been met. There are things that I long for, that are locked up inside my soul and ache every now and then. Every once and a while these disapointments leak out with a sigh. The psalmist tells us that, “my sighing is not hidden from you.”  God is aware of every frustration and broken dream, desires that have yet to come to fruition.

If God knows every desire, why are there disappointments? Does God withhold some of the things I long for? Yes. Scripture tells me that he’s a good father, a perfect father. I’ve learned that good fathers don’t go to the freezer and give their kids Ben and Jerry’s before every meal (Rea told me this). Just because my toddlers are convinced that ice cream would be something that they need, that they want, that they would enjoy, wisdom doesn’t allow me to put it in their hands. God gives us what we need, when we need it. There are things that I am convinced should come now, and God’s perspectiveve is that waiting would be better. Besides, if I was to have it now, it may ruin my appetite.

As God cooks up the future, he takes into account our desires, but that’s not the reason for the meal. The feast of the future is for his glory. His glory often times has a different pace.  Our soverign God cooks up the future, and he is so secure in his sovereignty that he invites his toddlers into the kitchen to help him cook. Because of love, he invites his children to stand on the stool and help him shape the future.

God help me work with you today to expand your glory and goodness in the earth, trusting that my desires and disappointments don’t escape your attention.