STORY TELLING: WHAT SEED DO YOU SOW AT HOME?.

Gentlemen, as the old saying goes, “If Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” WE CAN save a lot of heartache IF WE DO IT RIGHT!!! 

So many Christian men get the cart before the horse. Doing so will always have a negative effect on everything at home, at work, in ministry, or anything a married man tries to do. Ladies are welcome to read this and click the comment word at the end of the blog, but please pass this along to your husband, your friend’s husband, and any guy you know who aspires to be a husband. Understanding God’s principles about the role of husbands, as portrayed in this week’s characters and scripture verses, will save a lot of heartache.

Husband “A”

Joe has hard a killer day at work. The pressure has been on to get his project in on time and

“Murphy’s law“ has been in effect all week. The customer has called to check up on his progress. Joe’s boss is constantly asking for progress reports. It just doesn’t look like his usual great work is going to be accomplished with the perfection expected by the due date. Exhausted, stressed out, he pulls the car into the driveway and hears the kids screaming. It sounds like utter chaos coming through the walls. Joe’s blood begins to boil, he angrily mutters to himself, “Why can’t that women keep those kids in line and she better have dinner ready because I’m starving!!” Joe grabs his laptop, opens the door as the kids come running to him, all loudly battering him with a string of complaints about each other.

Joe’s wife Ann emerges. She is a mess, her hair uncombed, some liquid spilled on her blouse, no make-up and her glasses on crooked. She hands him the baby who’s diaper is rather in need of changing and says, here, he’s yours. I know you want me to start cooking dinner while you change that stinky diaper and spend time with the kids. Joe loses his cool at this point, yelling at her, “Ann, you knew when I would be home and that I expected dinner ready. What have you been doing all day? I know other guy’s wives who don’t work from home and they get it all done!!.” If you were the submissive wife you’re supposed to be than you would have judged your time all day in order to meet my expectations of dinner ready, the kids calmed down, ______ (fill in the blanks yourself) when I got home!!”

Ann yells back, “they’re your kids too!” and tearfully goes to the kitchen. Walking from the refrigerator to the stove she stops and cries to the Lord, “What happened to that sweet caring guy I married 10 years ago?”

§  Was there heartache in this home?    Considerable

§  Was Joe the kind of dad he would want his future son-in-laws to be?   No way.

§  Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Husband “B”

Juan also has a high pressure job, owning and managing a construction company. Dates for sub-contractors to be there and materials to arrive were on a very tight schedule because the customer needed to move quickly. The weather didn’t cooperate, causing a week delay on getting the shell up. A sub-contractor finished late and did a horrible job. It didn’t look like it would be possible for his client to move into the new offices on time and that would cause penalty fees to kick in. Juan was tempted to be worried. The stress was high but was learning to deal with it, trusting in the Lord.

When Juan got home, his wife Susanna was with him. She was the logistics coordinator. They worked in the same office so she was well aware of the stress her husband was under. Susanna’s mother watched the kids for the few hours between school and when Juan and Susanna got home each night. Juan had no expectations of dinner when he got home so he ate a snack in the afternoon knowing it would be a while until he had a meal. This couple determined not to talk about work on the way home so that the stresses there would not adversely affect the peace they desperately wanted at home. When they got home Juan thanked his mother-in-law for watching the kids. When she left he spent time with the kids while Susanna washed up and got ready to fix dinner.

·         Where Juan & Susanna perfect?     No.

·         Did they lose their tempers sometimes?    Sure.

·         Did they have disagreements and heated discussions?    Of course.

·         Did Juan open the door for his wife?     Most of the time.

·         Where Juan’s expectations of his wife reasonable, taking her side of the story very seriously?    Most of the time.

·         Was the atmosphere of Juan and Susanna’s bedroom what they wanted?   

Lessons to Learn

A few verses prior to this following verse women are instructed to be submissive to their own husbands. Their having this condition of heart however, almost never happens unless their husband grasps the ramifications of Eph. 5:25-28 and, with God’s help continuously, works at becoming this kind of a husband. The Message Bible beautifully paraphrases these verses:

Eph. 5:25-28    Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. (MSG)

The need for all of us husbands to grow to become like this transcends all times, nations and cultures. Being a Christian involves a daily death to the “self” life, living for God instead – Jesus is Lord of all and we are included in the word “all.” We continually exchange our old dying existence on the planet for His eternal and wonderful life. Once we get married, this principle gets kicked up to a whole new level.

·         Is it easy? Now way!

·         Is it possible? Absolutely!

·         How long will it take? Your whole life on Earth.

·         Don’t worry about dazzling white silk, most of us could never afford that. Just make sure she’s clothed nicely

Test yourselves Gentlemen:

1.    What seeds are you sowing in your relationships at home?

2.    Do you care for your wife as a garden needs continual care?

3.    Does your wife know to wait for you to open the door for her?

4.    Are you the kind of husband you would want your daughters to marry?

If you feel like you can’t pass this test that’s fantastic. It brings us to dependence on Jesus to help us. We can’t earn salvation and neither can we work ourselves into who we are not – That’s God’s job and all it takes is continual surrender. He loves His Bride (the church) and gave Himself for her. My life and 39 years of marriage to Johanna is a testament to the possibility of making the transition from Husband A to Husband B.  

STORY TELLING: RELATIONSHIPS IN A BUSINESS & LIFE. Being a person of value will always precede doing what is valuable.

If the right ethical principles are part of everybody’s character than each customer, internal and external, will be satisfied. Jesus said many things appropriate to the work place. Let’s continue the same theme with a story based on the following Biblical quote that clearly identifies character aspects desperately needed in the workplace for people at all levels of the company.

Thanks to all those who referred my last blog to others. There were three times as many page views as any previous blog, reaching countries all over the world.

I have, and no doubt, most people who have had more than just a couple of years, experienced numerous management styles and have had coworkers with a wide range of attitudes and work ethics. The Bible clearly defines the attitude that drives the correct behavior and approach we should maintain in the workplace in order to be of real value.

As you read the following Bible verse, you can replace the word “Master” with customer (including internal customers), supervisor or any management position you want. “Servants” can be replaced with anyone who has a superior or a customer.

Ephesians 6:5-8   Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real MASTER, CHRIST. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the MASTER, regardless of whether you are slave or free.

9   Masters, it’s the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same MASTER in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them. (MSG Bible)

With that in mind, how many wrong things can you find in the following true story?

When I started my first job in a machine shop, I was very young and very naïve about working in a union shop. I ran a first piece on a CNC machining center and was waiting for it to be inspected. Not knowing any better, I leaned on the machine and began to read a little pocket Bible. It didn’t take long before my supervisor was reading me the riot act.

OK, I perhaps could have found something constructive to do.

The union president came over later and taught me the lesson of what to do. He said, “You should have a rag in your hand so it looks like you just finished doing something.” He also told me how to use a push broom, “Put the brush against the wall, put your elbow on the top of the handle and your hand on your chin.” ………. OK, you can stop laughing, that really happened back in 1975. I spent 10 years in that shop learning from negative example.

On another occasion in that factory, I was machining a high precision hole in an aluminum casting for a bearing to be installed. It measured too small. The inspector put his cigarette on it and told me if I came back in a few minutes the hole would be just fine. 5 minutes later the aluminum was hot enough to swell, expanding the hole so that it measured exactly to size. Would you call that integrity? 5 minutes later it would cool and be undersized again.

Have you ever had a supervisor that was constantly looking to find fault, always yelling and belittling everyone? I’ve had a few and they make for a very ugly, non-productive work environment. How much better it would have been for everyone if they concentrated on training, coaching and doing everything possible to help the workers get better at what they had to do, with a right attitude? If you are in a management role do you consider yourself a leader or a manager? The spectrum goes from oppressive cattle drivers desperately trying to get more out of people than they can do to wise shepherds who understand how to lead people so that they have their heart in their work. If one has honor and respect for someone he will move mountains, without it he’ll have a rag in his hand to look like he just finished doing something. Honor and respect are earned, most importantly by showing that you have it for those you lead.

So now I hope you say, “OK Andy, you’re right. That can really work, even on the home front.” If you’re honest with yourself you have probably realized that hard as you may try to be like this you frequently blow it. The problem is that in most situations, just 1 serious mistake undoes 100 “atta boys.” Dealing with ourselves in tough situations can get very frustrating, especially when there is someone, like a spouse or a boss, getting on our case for every mess-up, every word spoken in the “wrong tone of voice.” Change has to happen from the inside out and it is a life-long process. Have you come to that place in life where you understand that you can never make yourself good enough? That’s the most important place in life to come to.

You can become a person of value, in terms of the value that matters much more than earthly riches. From the book of Romans, chapter 10 (from The Message) we see the answer to all the frustration:

It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—“Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!”

Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

If something has stirred in your heart or mind, put a comment below. It is completely confidential unless you ask me to publish it. 

STORY TELLING: WHO ARE THE BEST EMPLOYEES?

In a business we look at employee performance in terms of corporate objectives as they in Action Plans down the whole corporate ladder. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to do this analysis without the cart before the horse? Acceptable and especially excellent outputs of people are more related to their character, their work ethic and their attitude to the other people they interact with within and outside the company. The company has external suppliers and customers; each individual on the company is an internal supplier and an internal customer. After a lifetime in manufacturing this author is convinced that if the right ethical principles are part of everybody’s character than each customer, internal and external, will be satisfied.

Let’s set the stage for this story that illustrates the contrast of these principles. Chuck and Jack were two receiving clerks in a midsize company. They were responsible to take care of all the paperwork for incoming parts for the assembly line and to inspect incoming material for defects. Charley and Joe were their internal customer, working on that assembly line, using parts and tooling that Chuck and Jack received.

Chuck was meticulous, almost to a fault. He learned to enjoy what he did and took pride in his work, no matter how menial it was. He was cheerful, not complaining and took note of the people he worked with. He aimed to please everybody. When he found out that Joe’s wife gave birth to a premature baby, and they were having a rough go of it, he stopped at the hospital on his way home to check on them, at least weekly during the months the baby was in trouble. He found out they were having financial trouble because of this he took up a collection for them. When Charley’s car broke down he picked him up to get him to work.

 

Jack’s emphasis was on speed, he worked hard to get more stuff out to the line than any of the other receivers. Jack was also a chronic complainer with no cheese to go with his whine. For some unknown reason, he always had it in for Charley. He would intentionally not deliver crucial parts to him so that Charley would have to go after them, loosing time and slowing down the line. When a defective tool came through he was sure to pass that Charley. When they passed out the envelope to collect money for Joe he put in a playing card with the note, “Here, have fun.” When Charley’s car broke down Jack snickered, “The dumb jerk.”

When it came time for annual evaluations who do you think got rewarded for a job well done?

Matthew 34-36   “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40   “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ (The Message Bible)

Moral of the story:

The cart before the horse is look at Jack’s output without regard to character. His internal customers, especially Charley, were not happy customers and because their work was impeded by things Jack did, there may have been late deliveries, adversely effecting external customer delight. Do the leaders of this company take more note of character and work ethic than at the surface measurements of an employee’s output?

PLEASE DEAR READERS, BE A BLESSING. No, don’t send me any money. If you are blessed by this way of telling a familiar story, if your creative juices are sparked about how to share God’s heart, or any meaningful reaction, please do more than click the like button on LinkedIn or Facebook. Your input is as important to the other readers all over the world as the words that I write. Write your comments in the box at the end so that I can easily publish them for all to see regardless of the source of the link.

STORY TELLING: THE RELEVANCE OF FINANCIAL WEALTH IN THE BIG PICTURE.

Jesus always used parables and He will help us to do so we can communicate in a way people can relate to without feeling like you are "preaching at them"

If you have never been to a third world country, and not the nice tourist places, your life is missing a dimension in terms of understanding real poverty. I highly recommend everyone take a short term missions trip to places where poverty is extreme. The poorest of the poor in the United States live better than the people in many parts of the world. Attitudes and the outlook on life vary just as drastically no matter where you go or who you meet. This story takes place in a land where there is that severe extreme between rich and poor, perhaps where there is a caste system creating continuous and extreme poverty for many. Any similarity to real names is purely coincidental, these characters are factious and no reference to ethnicity is inferred no intended. The life lesson is perhaps the most important lesson one can ever learn.

PLEASE DEAR READERS, BE A BLESSING. No, don’t send me any money. If you are blessed by this way of telling a familiar story, if your creative juices are sparked about how to share God’s heart, or any meaningful reaction, please do more than click the like button on LinkedIn or Facebook. Your input is as important to the other readers all over the world as the words that I write. Write your comments in the box at the end so that I can easily publish them for all to see regardless of the source of the link.

Ethan Rom was an extremely wealthy CEO of a gigantic industrial construction company. His company built the complexes for oil wells, pipelines, natural gas and also the buildings used for power generation throughout the world. He had a big car, beautiful wife and three spoiled brat kids. He was a ruthless business man, using every trick, legal or not, to get jobs and build without regard to codes by bribery. Although he travelled much of the time, his office was in a classic building that had once been a castle on the outskirts of the city.

Every time Ethan drove through the gates leading to his office building, he would stop to wait for the gate to open, lower his window and spit his chewing tobacco at Lazzitt Burk. Lazzitt had been crippled while working on one of Ethan’s construction projects and, unable to work again, lost everything. Lazzitt sat at the gate playing his mandolin, case open in from of him, hoping people passing by would throw him some money so he could buy food for himself and his family. Sometimes his young daughter Shamie would accompany him, singing with the sweetest voice and dancing. Although her clothes were worn out and dirty by upper class standards, to Shamie her dress was the prettiest dress in the world.

Years went by and nothing changed, except that Ethan’s attitude got worse and Lazzitt mellowed with age. Lazzitt always had a certain calm about him, an inner strength that was a source of encouragement to his family and friends. Day after day, year after year Lazzitt would see that fancy car come to the gate, listen to the obscene put-downs and see the spit hurled his way. Ethan’s language got worse in his later years, he was a bitter, grumpy old man not content with anything and disliked by most. One day there was a massive earthquake. Thousands perished, many more than would have if Ethan built those building to code. Lazzitt and Ethan were among the dead. The day of reckoning for these men had come. The sources of their attitudes became apparent.

 

Face to face with eternity, Ethan panicked. He pushed God away all his life and now he was facing the consequences. He saw an eternity before him that was so much worse than the conditions Lazzitt lived in, no one can imagine such eternal horror. He cried out to God to send Lazzitt with something for him to drink, even one sip of water to give him some relief from the heat and stench. The response was a resounding “NO WAY, you had everything you wanted before and Lazzitt had absolutely nothing. You gave him spit and obscenity for his great music and warm smile every day, you complained about him to everyone you talked to day after day, after day, after day. Worse than that, you pushed me away all your life. I tried to reach you with My love day after day, after day, after day for many years. I took it personally every time you spit at Lazzitt. Now you want me to help you? Sorry, it’s too late for that, you ignored thousands of chances.”

“OK God,” Ethan pleaded, “I understand but how about sending Lazzitt to warn my family. My kids are just like I was, my brother is worse. “

God’s response scared Ethan even more when HE said, “I’ve been reaching out to them all their lives just like I did you, let’s see if they ever respond and accept MY love and let ME help them turn their lives around.”

“Oh, but, but, but, God, surely if someone came back from death and told them they would get the message.”

Again, God’s response further crushed Ethan when HE said, “If they won’t listen to what God loving people say, if they don’t recognize MY glory in creation, if they never respond to my loving arms stretched out to them they will not respond even if a dead man comes to life and talks to them face to face.”

Face to face with eternity, Lazzitt was overwhelmed with joy. Lazzitt had walked with God since his brush with death in the accident and his nurse introduced him to the Lover of His Soul. Lazzitt’s daughter also died in the earthquake. Now she was beautifully clothed in the whitest white dress, adorned with jewels and gold, as they joined with the angels singing and dancing before their Heavenly Father.

CHRISTIANESE AVOIDANCE – COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL IN THE RIGHT CULTURAL CONTEXT: USE PARABLES TO TELL BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES.

Here is my take on the famous “Prodigal Son” parable and put it into a current, western cultural context. Please add your comments in the box at the end of this blog; feedback is important that is the best way for me to share your comments with others. Names used are made up; any resemblance to a real person’s name is coincidental.

Jack Cohen never graduated High School but inherited his dad’s farm. He was able, through hard work, diligence and support of his lovely wife Lisa, to build it into a very large enterprise. He was a God fearing man and the blessings from above were obviously on this business. Jack and Lisa had two sons. Michael had a BA in agriculture and an MBA. He was working for his dad, helping run the farm. Jake was the younger brother, hanging out in the dorm at college, studying Liberal Arts, in other words he had no idea of what he wanted to do with his life. Like so many of us in the late 1960’s his mantra was “sex, drugs and rockin’ roll.”

With failing grades and a really bad attitude, Jake decided to quit school and “go find himself.” When he gets home for Christmas break he tells his parents his hair brained plan, “Mom & Dad, please give me whatever money you would leave me in your wills right now. I want to go out on my own and see what I can find for my miserable life. College was just not for me.” Sadly, his parents give in to him and say, “OK Jake, if that’s what you are sure you want, here you go. I think you are making a big mistake but we will give you $500,000 to invest in your life. Let’s see what you can do with it.”

Jake takes off for the city. With that much money he rents an expensive apartment, connects with drug dealers and pimps and stumbles into a destructive lifestyle, very different than how he was raised. Not wanting to lie to his parents about what he was doing he never, contacts them. They have no idea where he is. He even blocked their numbers from is iPhone. Between the drugs, women and some gambling the money runs out in about a year. Jake gets evicted and finds himself homeless. He is now holding up the “Will work for food” sign and freezing his butt off on the cold northern city sidewalk. Another homeless guy offers to share some pickled pig’s

feet and half a cigarette he found in the gutter.

"What am I doin'?" Jake exclaims, my daddy has more than 1,000 cows on our big farm, what am I doin' eating this deadly Yuck and begging for liqueur money? I guess I found myself and I stink. I wasted a fortune and feel so ashamed and miserable. It's time to stick out my thumb, hitchhike home and become a farm hand for my dad; at least I’ll eat good while taking care of those stinkin’ cows. I don't know what he will say but there is nothing to loose.

While Jake was throwing is life and money away, Jack and Lisa were heartbroken and praying most of the time. Michael married and built his large nice house very close to his parents' place.

After a few days on the road Jake was tired, hungry, dirty and smelly, but for the first time in his life he was confident he made the right decision, no matter what would happen.

Lisa was working in the kitchen, fixing dinner and, as she did continuously since Jake left, was looking out the window for her son. Jack was out in the barn, finishing up and for waiting for dinner. His cell phone goes off, Lisa is yelling, Jack! Jack!! Jack!!! Look down the road, look down the road!! Jack walks out of the barn, and starts running as fast as his old body could move. Lisa starts calling all the family and farm hands, soon there's a crowd of people running to the road.

Jack gets to Jake first and doesn't give Jake a chance to speak; he is so excited to see his boy. He is just hugging his tight and telling him how much he missed him. Lisa joins them in the long embrace then calls the best restaurant in town to make reservations for a big party.

After the long walk down the lane to the house, Jake goes up to his old room and finds it just as he left it, only cleaned up. He sits on the bed and starts crying his eyes out. Such undeserved love and welcome blows his mind and touches a deep place in his heart that he hid from for a few years. Jack struggles to regain enough composure to get a shower and clean clothes on for this big dinner in a fancy restaurant. On the way there Jake finally gets to work through his tears and say what has been on his heart since that evening at the gutter. His dad assures him of love and forgiveness, and not to worry about where we go from here, we'll deal with that latter. Jake feels the weight of all his "young and dumb screw ups” fall off his back.

They all were having a great time at the restaurant, everyone excited to see “the kid” back and

all kind of awe struck at the love and forgiveness shown by Jack. Jack suddenly realizes there is no sign of Michael or Carry, Michael’s wife. Lisa calls him and gets a gruff "I'll talk to dad latter."

Michael's discussion with Jack was not too pleasant. Michael felt slighted and unappreciated. His father's attitude towards his brother really bothered him, after all his efforts and education did a great deal to build the business and he was never celebrated like this. Jack's response was so perfect, "son, in all this time, anything you've wanted could have been yours. You're brother was really messed up and now it looks like he wants to get right and become part of the family again and you complain? God has answered our prayers for Jake and you should have enjoyed the celebration with us. I suggest you get over it and learn to love your brother again

CHRISTIANESE AVOIDANCE – COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL IN THE RIGHT CULTURAL CONTEXT

Use Parables in to tell biblical principles: Part 01

This is the first lesson about telling parables, putting those stories in our own words in such a way. Putting these stories in my own words I hope to stimulate God’s creativity in you. Ask yourself how you might tell that story so that the people you are telling, or writing, to will really get the message. Jesus did this so effectively and I am sure He will lead you to do likewise. What awesome results can we expect when we do what Jesus did? You can put His stories in your culture, in your time, framed for your audience. Be careful to never stray so far from the Word that you misconstrue God’s message, we are not writing a new “translation” or even a paraphrase for publication, just sharing the Gospel in our own words. The stories about the people in the Bible really lend themselves to this approach, as do the Parables where I will be starting. Feel free to add any comments in the box below so that I can share your insights with readers all over the world.

Mark 4:34   In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

Jesus used parables almost always. This verse stresses their importance and our need to do likewise. I am convinced that if we are committed to doing what Jesus did, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so, the Lord will inspire us to use the practical things of life as tools to share Biblical principles with un-churched people or those with a , "don't preach at me" attitude.

Here is an example of how I once used a parable in a practical way. Many years ago we lived in Cortland, NY, apple country. A couple of men I worked with had had a life changing experience with the Lord but were not plugged into a church. I was praying for them and as I was getting ready to leave for work one day I just knew exactly what to say. I drew the analogy of an apple in spring. The apple is small, very green with lots of potential. By October it will develop into a large, delicious fruit if it stays connected to the tree. If the little apple decides to jump down to the ground its future is not going to be good. The men listened, they were given many opportunities and numerous invitations to church. Sadly they never connected to the tree and the enemy of their souls snatched them into some cult.

Now lets look at a  personalization  of the parable of the lost coin (see Luke:8,9). It is short, simple and simply profound.

When I was 13 my parents gave me a very expensive, beautiful ring for my Bar Mitzvah. It had a large black sapphire surrounded by several small diamonds. It was made of white Gold. We lived at the beach and on eday I left the ring with my friends mother while I went swimming. When I got out of the water she had moved her spot and my ring was nowhere to be found, it fell in the sand somewhere along their move. We all were very distressed and I was glad my parents were understanding when I got home. I spent most of the summer wondering if it could ever be found. I was not a Christian, did not hear the Gospel until many years later, but looking back I see that The Lord was showing me His goodness even then. Towards the end of the summer I was digging in the sand near the water, far from where the ring was lost. Suddenly, I felt something round and smooth. I grabbed it, held it tightly as I washed it off in the water. That same friend was with me and we ran to his mother with great excitement.
 Nice story but let's bring it home. Have you lost something very valuable that you thought you could never find again? What in life could be more valuable than an ever growing relationship with God? If you have ever experienced Jesus like this you know what I mean. He is waiting for you to put your hand in the sand, to wash the stains of all your screw ups and heal the scars of rotten attitudes. Once done it is time for more excitement than you could ever experience.

Preface Christianese Avoidance – Communicating the Gospel in the right cultural context:

I want to express a heartfelt thank you to all those who have been reading the blog, “Life Lessons from Revelation.” (See www.andy-levine.blogspot.com for 64 lessons on this topic). I started writing on that theme in Oct. of 2011 and since then it has been read around the world with just shy of 5,500 page views in many nations. Praise God. At this point, I’ve enter a new season with a new burden. The purpose of this new series of blog posts is to equip the Body of Christ to communicate basic truths of what Christians believe without speaking in “Christianese.” I’ve seen how turned off non-believers can get to the language that is typically heard in churches. Let’s get in the habit of speaking in the language and culture of your hearers, minus any profanity of course. I make no attempt to create another Biblical translation or paraphrase, we already have an abundance in English.

Any discussion, presentation or whatever you want to call a Christian witness, must be done in such a way that it is understood by the people being addressed. This involves cultural sensitivity as much as linguistics. I live in the south eastern US, an area known as the Bible Belt. There is a tremendous Christian influence in the culture. Most people from this part of the world have some understanding of the Gospel, a great many attend church and grew up going Sunday School. They have a basic understanding of Biblical principles whether they live it or not. Unfortunately, many use the excuse of other people’s hypocrisy as their excuse to leave those roots. Now there are many moving to the south for work and/or the lower cost of living from other cultural environments, from Mexico and many other nations. In a very real sense, the foreign mission field has come to us.

In the following weeks I will be sharing about the Parables, putting those stories in my own words in such a way as to stimulate your thinking. Ask yourself how you might tell that story in so that the people you are talking, or writing, to will really get the message. Jesus did this so effectively and I am sure He will lead you to do likewise. What awesome results can we expect when we do what Jesus did? Let’s put His stories in our culture, in our time, framed for our audience. Be careful to never stray so far from the Word that you misconstrue God’s message, we are not writing a new “translation” or even a paraphrase for publication, just sharing the Gospel in our own words. The stories about the people in the Bible really lend themselves to this approach, as do the Parables where I will be starting. 

Overcoming The Human Condition

Many people are “Turned Off” to anything said in Churchianity language. Effective communication of Biblical principles to this large number of people must be done in their language but without vulgarity. The concept of the Human Condition is well understood and I recently took this approach, although abbreviated, in such a conversation. I felt it would be good to share This Evangelistic message with my readers so I pray you come away with a great understanding of a back door approach to reaching people who “don’t want to be preached at.”

Origin of the Human Condition: Eden

Did you ever think of what it could have it been like if the 1st couple on this planet had not blown it so badly?! Hasn't mankind be trying to get back to Eden ever since they were thrown out? They may call it “Paradise,” Utopia,” Nirvana,” or something like that but let’s stick to Eden for now. People go exploring the frontiers for two reasons, their quest for wealth or Eden. That original state we were created for motivates many to search for the way back. So many others are short sighted and are driven by lust, greed, gold fever or whatever else you want to call it. And the worst motivation is self centered pride. Well have I summed up what is called the Human Condition? Let's add one more, something social studies called "Man's inhumanity to man."

Years ago I was in a conversation with some people who were talking about Communism vs. Capitalism. The root cause of every socio-economic or political system failure to create the Utopia it is designed to establish over time is because of greed. Greed, arrogance, self centeredness are nothing new, they started in Eden. The enemy of our souls touched that nerve and persuaded Adam and Eve to go after the one thing they were told not to do. Oh if they only took a second to consider the cost!! Everyone faces that same moment with every temptation. That cost for those two in Eden was exile, the eventual removal of Eden from Earth but worst off all was death and separation from the incredible presence and communication level they had with God the Father. This was further compounded in that they now had to work for their food, Eve had to have painful child birth and all of creation was corrupted. All this and more just because they listened to the enemy of our soul and opened their hearts to doubt God, to yield to the all the bad character traits mentioned above.

Examples of the Human Condition: brothers in contrast

The story of Adam and Eve’s sons, Cain and Able, further illustrate the out workings of

what happened in Eden. Able was doing what he was supposed to do the way they both were instructed to do it. He understood what was expected to get the job done and to gain the approval for a job well done. His brother, on the other hand, did things his own way, like his parents he thought he was smarter than to have to follow the Master's instructions. Not getting the approval for his "excellent alternative "Cain got jealous, so worked about it that he killed his brother. This was the first physical death of a human on the planet. This was the first example of "man's inhumanity to man." So many bad character traits were manifested in Cain, so many bad motives were allowed to flow through his blind rage.

Fast forward in time to Noah's era in our history. From time to time the glaciers of Mt. Ararat have shifted and people have seen he ark. The character traits we saw in Cain had spread like a cancer through the generations. Man's inhumanity to man had become so grotesque that the creator of the universe had to intervene or there would be nothing left. I wonder if the consequences of the lack of God's intervention would have been as drastic as all out nuclear war. Violence was the norm, life was not precious and life on Earth must have been horrific. There are man places in the world today that must resemble what all the world may have been like and we should pray for God to be merciful and step into those situations. I always remember the stories of Jewish life under Hitler. The list of horrific tyrants that slaughtered millions is lengthy in our history. They’ve answered to God for their actions and consequences I am sure are eternally horrific. These examples show the extreme dark side of the human condition. Unfortunately, no matter how “good” or “nice” or even “Christ like” someone may be, we all suffer the consequence of what happened in Eden in that we do not have the level of access to God people had before the screw-up in Eden. We suffer with imperfect bodies and minds, we get sick, we die physically. The first people were created so perfectly that they nd their descendants for a few generations had such great bodies that they lived more than 800 years. There is a remedy and we will get to that later.

Another couple of brothers exemplify the progression of the consequence of the fall Eden, Jacob and Esau. By any account of Jacob he was a greedy, self centered, conniving scoundrel. Even at birth he had it in for his twin brother who was born 1st but Jacob had a hold of his heel on the way out of the womb. As a young man Jacob is sitting at a fire cooking a fine pot of soup. His brother comes in from the field starving and the smell of that soup has him captured. Instead of being a nice guy and offering his brother some, he hooks that baited fish with a proposition. He says something like, "Bro you are the first born so you will inherit everything. I'll give you some soup in exchange for that." Esau isn't thinking straight or he doesn't take his brother seriously, he is so hungry eating is all he cares about at the moment so he says, “Ya right, sure, whatever you want just fork over some food.

            Esau didn’t take Jacob seriously but he was. When their father was blind and dyeing, Esau goes hunting to fix his dad a feast of fresh meat that he knows Dad loves, then receive the blessing of the first born. Jacob, motivated by his greed, plots with Mom (obviously he was her favorite and Esau was Dad’s), disguises himself as Esau and brings Dad that feast, only cooked by Mom. Dad enjoys the food then gives the blessing of the first born to Jacob. Can’t you hear him saying, “Mom, it worked.” Then Esau goes to see Dad and the jig is up. Dad can not bless Esau as he did Jacob. Jacob stole the blessing of the first born. Esau was so angry he was ready to kill Jacob so Jacob runs away Uncle Laban’s, his mother’s brother who lives a long way away.

         Well we all know that “what goes around, comes around.” Uncle Laban was better at the selfish deception game than Jacob. Basically Jacob got the worst end of the deal for fourteen plus years. He had to be married Leah, the ugly older sister for seven years before he could marry Rachel, the beautiful love of his life. Uncle Laban worked the young man’s butt off for many years until finally Jacob’s had enough. He gather’s up his wives, his 12 kids and a vast herd of sheep he grew during all those years and decides on head on home. Jacob thinks that Esau is still carrying the grudge and is petrified of what his brother will do when he hears that Esau is heading his way with a small army. Jacob thinks he needs to appease his brother so he divides his resources and family into droves as peace offerings to Esau. Jacob had now conception that Esau could have, “gotten over it.” Well Esau had, and had also become very wealthy so he didn’t accept these peace offerings. He was just very glad to be reunited with his long lost brother.

The keys to getting beyond this Human Condition

Something amazing happened to Jacob shortly before he sees his brother, something life changing. Jacob had a personal confrontation with God. Have you ever had a mental and emotional wrestling match when facing a crisis? Jacob still thought Esau might kill him and all his family in order to regain the birth right. Jacob wrestled with God all night. Jacob emerged from this night with a permanent limp and a changed heart, so changed that his name changed from Jacob to Israel, from Deceiver \ Supplanter to Prince. The scoundrel is now a mature man who understands that God is the King. So many Jewish prayers begin with the phrase, “Blessed art thou oh Lord our God, King of the universe…” It is that understanding that begins the process of overcoming the human condition. In order to follow His ways we all need this change of heart that is special, personal and life changing.

The second key is to understand that the screw up Eden has been passed down genetically into every person ever born on the planet. We all recognize that, ”nobody’s perfect” and use that as an excuse. The expression, “my bad” is often a ticket from consequences of messing up, of making mistakes. But mistakes are cost somebody something every time. How many families do you know of that are not al all dysfunctional? How many companies can produce 100% perfect product 100% of the time? How many people never suffer the slightest physical malady? How many women give birth with no pain? Why are there wars? Why is the earth so messed up as to have famines, earthquakes, tornadoes, deserts or floods? Why has no one created an eternal utopia?

The answer to all these questions is that humans, as a race, messed up so badly way back in the beginning. There is a cure, there is a remedy to the situation but is must be a personal, special thing for every person. Just like Jacob, we need that confrontation with God where we surrender to God and accept that He did something so significant, so drastic, that was such a dramatic show if His loving character as to demand a response. What I am about to say can not be intellectually grasped in such a way as to change your life. What God did was to come to Earth as a person, He sent His son as a perfect person who never screwed up because He was born without the bad gene. It was a miracle, something that no man could make happen. He was conceived by God in the womb of a woman without having sex. He broke her membrane on the way out. He lived a perfect life, He taught us how to live and love one another. Then He paid the ultimate price of love, taking the Human Condition and allowing men to kill him in the most horrible, painful way ever devised. He paid the cost of our screw-ups. Then, as He said He would, He only stayed dead for three days. He walked out of the grave, showed himself to over 500 people, taught us some more then went up to heaven.

JESUS IS THE REMEDY, HE DID ALL THAT BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU.

JOHN 3:16 IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH, that God loved all mankind so much that He sent His only Son to pay the price for our screw-ups and that whoever believes on Him will not suffer the consequences of the Human Condition. Eternal life can be a reality for anyone through surrender to the King of the universe and acceptance of what Jesus did for us.

ASK GOD FOR THAT SPECIAL, PESONAL CONFRONTATION WITH HIM THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER, ASK HIM TO RESCUE YOU FROM THE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE HUMAN CONDITION.