From April 1975 until September 1983 I managed two different Christian Bookstores; in Jackson, MS and then in Bloomington, IN. This was before personal computers and bar code reading cash registers. Knowing the value of the books, Bibles, gifts, and music in the store was particularly important and we attempted to do so using “ledger” systems.

At least once per year I hired RGIS, a company that specializes in inventory services, to come in and “take inventory.” Eight to ten “specialists” would spend 6-8 hours handling and counting every item. The result was a breakdown which revealed the value of every department in the store: children’s books, greeting cards, Sunday School curriculum, etc. There were times when we discovered more Bibles than usual had been lost to shoplifters (the most stolen item in the store) or that we had a lot of money tied up in slow-moving commentaries.

Taking inventory was paramount to staying in business. Without solid numbers, managing cash flow and planning future purchases was nothing more than a guessing game.

As leaders we must take an honest inventory of ourselves and the Kingdom responsibilities God has entrusted to us. Only people who don’t care fail to take inventory; to honestly look at themselves and evaluate their priorities, finances, time management, family, relationships – using the immutable template of God’s Word as the standard.

“The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.” Psalm 11:4-5 (NIV)

“Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” Psalm 26:1-3 (NIV)

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV)

“Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 (MSG)

Here are some practical suggestions for taking inventory:

1. Pray – spend more time listening to God rather than talking to Him.
2. Be honest.
3. Read the Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12) as if they are a personality profile. How are you doing?
4. Read the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) SLOWLY and reflect on how those attitudes and actions are at work in your own life.
5. Consider what a Spirit-led life produces (Gal 5:16-26) and determine what results are produced in your relationships.
6. Find at least three people and ask them to “take inventory” of your life using questions 3-5.
7. Do something about it.

This is a tough exercise; it reminds me of the discomfort I experienced when looking at the inventory totals in the store. One leader states it plainly: “facts are our friends.” Avoiding inventory only reinforces my assumptions and distorts any decisions I make based on my perceptions. Facing the realities revealed through evaluation always results in confession, repentance, changes, adjustments, and renewal.

Personal inventories are often painful but it’s a valuable pain – the kind that helps us avoid pain in the future that could be much worse.

”Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me . . . “ Psalm 139:23 (NIV)

Today the U.S. observes the 10^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks but I am rejoicing in the second anniversary of Lois arriving in Glory! Two years ago today at 11:50 am, Lois was completely healed; the cancer was gone, she received a perfect body, and joined the throngs in Heaven who arrived ahead of her.

I find it so ironic that we sing songs and talk about how much we long for heaven but then do everything we can to avoid getting there very soon.

If there is anything that I find upsetting about Lois’ death, it’s that she arrived in heaven before me! In our utopian expectations we were supposed to arrive together.

I did not lose Lois – I know exactly where she is. Her skin and bones were left on the couch in our living room where she took her last breath. Her soul, the real Lois, is with God the Father and His Son, Jesus. Fortunately we have the Holy Spirit here with us to bear witness to the reality of eternal life.

I was angry. I could blame it on the heat or lack of sleep or poor communication – but that would only be a lame attempt to deflect my personal responsibility. We could certainly analyze why I lost my cool. In psychology we learn that anger is a result of losing control, embarrassment, fear, pain, or deep disappointment. But again, we would only be trying to explain away the reality that I said things in anger and then slammed a door behind me as an explanation point.

I knew the second I heard the door slam that I would have to clean up the mess I made.

Within minutes I was talking to God. After all, as my Father, he saw and heard everything. I confessed my sin; that I’m not worthy to be called his child. I asked for and received forgiveness. Then came the hard part.

After I cooled down I found the person who had become the object of my anger. I confessed my sin to him. I asked for forgiveness. I tried not to explain away or deflect or blame something or someone else. The three of us: me, myself, and I, were fully and completely responsible for what was said and done.

To make matters even worse, several people witnessed my angry outburst. That meant I had to go to each of them and apologize. I felt like asking if anyone had some ketchup since I was eating so much crow!

There might be many ways to justify anger. Christians are especially good at claiming “righteous indignation” but anger is still anger and righteousness is rarely involved.

How about you? Have you “lost your cool” lately? Did you discuss it with your Heavenly Father and receive his forgiveness? Did you clean up the mess with the people involved? It may be hot outside, but you don’t have to be hot on the inside, too!

When I was a senior in high school there was a student, a girl, who disappeared after Thanksgiving. There were lots of rumors but all was confirmed when she showed up at graduation with a baby. That was 39 years ago when shame was heaped on unmarried, pregnant teens. Now attitudes have changed so dramatically that a senior in a Washington state high school faked a pregnancy because she wanted to expose the stereotypes and rumors associated with being an expectant teenage mom. (Read the story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379460/High-school-student-17-pretends-pregnant-senior-project.html)

Gaby Rodriguez convinced all her classmates, teachers, family, and even her boyfriend’s parents that she was expecting a baby in July. Only her mother, her boyfriend, her best friend, and the principal knew the truth. (That in itself ranks as an excellent experiment in successful lying and secret keeping!)

I have great respect for the maturity and poise this young lady showed in pulling off this project. There is little doubt that she will make a great social worker (her goal) or an accomplished actress. However, I would like to offer some observations:

1. The bias, discrimination, and mean-spirited whispering that Gaby experienced are wrong and should be exposed within the church as well. Once God has allowed life to begin, the baby should be respected, honored, and loved. No pregnancy is an accident since life begins in the mind of God before two people ever have intercourse.

2. Teenage fathers must be held accountable for their role and inability to control hormone-driven pleasure seeking. Too many fathers are nothing more than low-life sperm donors. More states should enact laws requiring a father’s Social Security number on the birth certificate in order to collect child support and private pay health insurance! There are even some states that require a teenage father’s parents to pay the child support until the father is 18 or 21 yrs old.

3. Sex is not a recreational activity! When adults quit treating it as such, teenagers will get the message. In the correct context, sexual activity is holy and belongs in marriage – a life-long, covenantal commitment between one man, one woman and God.

4. Parents and the church, in partnership, are the best educators for communicating and modeling the theology of sexuality to children and teens; not schools. The church must confess and repent of its abdication of the responsibility for teaching healthy guidelines for sexuality and immediately begin to take corrective action.

5. Teenage parenting is not cute nor should it be treated like a status symbol. Although it is tremendously difficult, it is possible for teens to successfully parent a child when they have the unconditional love and support of their parents and/or the household of Faith. However, adoption may be the better alternative. Either way, the church needs to embrace the responsibility to come alongside parents and grandparents.

We live in an increasingly sexualized world where few people understand the implications that sexuality is God created, God given – it was and is His idea! Contrary to conventional thinking, human beings are not animals in heat that cannot control themselves. All sexual fulfillment – before marriage, in marriage, and after a marriage ends, either due to the death of a spouse or divorce – all sexual fulfillment comes through self-control, self-sacrifice, and self-discipline.

The recent media coverage of “Love Wins,” a new book from Rob Bell, has produced a lot of emotion. It is interesting to read and listen to all the pundits pass judgment on the book and on the author. Is Bell a Universalist? He says he’s no, but the book leaves one with the opposite impression. Many pastors and leaders have expressed their own opinions and it’s fueled quite a debate among Evangelicals of all flavors. Time magazine even featured the controversy as its cover story.

I’ve read the book and also a score of blog posts and listened to or watched several interviews. It’s prompted me to refresh my memory of the definition of universalism as well as Christian Particularism. And books like “Love Wins” always help me review and renew why I believe – not just what.

This controversy and media attention has resulted in calls, emails, and text messages with the same general question, “Should I throw out all my Nooma videos?” My answer is, “No, but with this stipulation: Use them cautiously.”

If we screen everything from anyone we have a disagreement with on one point or another, there wouldn’t be much left. Just like any other resource, we must be vigilant when using Rob Bell’s material. And I would recommend that when it is used, we clearly state that we are not endorsing all of his views, especially his suspected universalism.

Twenty years ago, when our children were testing the limits of their parents’ patience, Lois and I would relieve the tension with the line, “Well, when you put two sinners together you get sinnerlings.” We would smile and go on with the work of parenting having reminded ourselves that we, too, tested our parents.

Sometimes we forget that sin is part of our DNA and how desperate our sin is and how much we need a Redeemer! Paul makes it clear in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned –.” It’s not a pleasant thought is it? And it certainly doesn’t seem fair to blame the entire human race for the sin of Adam and Eve. We can claim there is no connection but in so doing we act just like them. We bear the burden of sinfulness both as individuals and as humans. No one had to teach us how to sin; it was part of our nature as much as the color of our eyes or the size of our feet.

This week we humbly observe the death of Jesus Christ. His death is for all but it is also very personal. Admit it: “I have sinned. I do sin. I will sin again.” The Prophet expresses it well: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, and each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Christ died for me. His death is payment for your sin and mine. We are all responsible for His death. Our sin – my sin – caused Jesus to have spikes driven through his hands and feet.

That is a sobering truth.

But on Easter morning we will join with millions of brothers and sisters in Christ to rejoice because “just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) We have been liberated from the bondage of sin! We are bought with a terrible price. We have been redeemed!

Jesus, who died for our sin, is now alive. He is risen!

Rejoice!

The white stuff just keeps coming down. As it accumulates we use brooms and blowers and all shapes and sizes of shovels and plows to push it out of the way. Then the winds create new piles and drifts and we start all over again.

If we don’t move the snow at all we soon find ourselves unable to open the front door or get out of the driveway. Leave it unattended on a walkway and a few cycles of sunlight create a very icy surface. Fortunately we haven’t had so much snow to necessitate climbing on the roof to clear it off but we’ve watched the news stories of buildings collapsing from the weight.

It’s difficult to ignore all this snow.

And, just as it’s dangerous to disregard the snow, it is equally devastating to ignore sin.

Sin is anything we do, say, or think that’s displeasing to God and it’s a very uncomfortable subject. We prefer to ignore sin; pretend it doesn’t exist or even convince ourselves that we don’t have any. The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

You and I deal with sin on a daily basis; no one is without sin. Only Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, all the rest of us need to realize that blowers, shovels and plows aren’t going to succeed at pushing our sin out of the way. We can’t ignore it or else we will find our lives “high-centered” on the accumulation and unable to make progress. Deceiving ourselves into thinking the sin doesn’t matter will only result in falling flat on our faces.

Forgiveness, the cleansing of sin, is free. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And remember: genuine repentance always results in change.

All too often we fear the immediate consequences of our sin more than the eternal cost. As this is being written, New York Representative Christopher Lee has resigned because of sin. Of course, no one calls it that, but what a terrible price to pay for an “indiscretion.”

Pastors and church leaders have a unique opportunity to model confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Don’t allow the fear of consequences keep you from full fellowship with God. It’s just not worth it. Let’s not pretend that sin is like snow; it won’t melt away when it gets warm. Sin has a tendency to accumulate to dangerous levels and many a pastor and church leader has been crushed.

Forgiveness is a free gift from God; we don’t have to do anything to earn it. Its grace; just like when someone shows up with a snow blower and clears my driveway and won’t accept any pay. All they want is a “thank you.”

Thank You, God, for forgiveness.

Being alone is not a bad thing. Having time to oneself is not something to be avoided. Silence is a comfortable friend. Right now, in my house, the only thing I hear is my fingers on the keyboard and the blizzard outside. In seconds the furnace will probably kick in.

It’s in the silence that we have opportunity to clear our minds of all those things that so easily distract us; center on our thoughts on God through Jesus Christ, and listen. Do you hear Him? He cares about you; every detail of your life matters to Him. He speaks when we are still, silent and listening.

This is a real situation. The name of the pastor is disguised but everything else is true. We’ve all heard about this and maybe it’s even happened in your church. It would be a helpful exercise for us to share our reactions and responses.

It was a rough weekend for Pastor JD. One couple in the church waited until after the holidays to tell their family, friends, and church that they are getting a divorce after 17 years of marriage. They have two teenagers at home and in spite of hours of counseling with JD and multiple appointments with a Christian therapist, they are calling it quits. Legal papers have already been served.

From all outward appearances they are committed Christians; members of the church. No outsider would think anything but the best about this couple and their family.

Why is JD so upset? Neither the husband nor wife is having an affair or accused of unfaithfulness. There is no evidence or accusation of any addictive behavior or substance abuse. There are no huge debts.

This couple claims they have “fallen out of love.” They say, “Our marriage isn’t fun anymore” and “the fire has gone out.”

How sad.

They want to meet with the Pastor to talk about how to tell the church and to find out if the husband can continue as a Trustee. JD is wondering what to say; how should the church respond?

What would you say? Would you seize the opportunity to talk about the sanctity of marriage? Bless them both? How would your church respond? Would there be discipline? Could the husband stay on as a Trustee? What about the teenagers?

The other night I talked about God with Brady, my grandson who is in second grade. If you asked, Brady probably would not report that the conversation was about God – but it was. We talked about space; the earth and sun, the planets, galaxies, and the speed of light.

We live in a fascinating world which is just a speck in a massive galaxy and our galaxy is just one among many in a universe the size of which we cannot even fathom. God made all of it. Jesus holds it all together. (Colossians 2:15-17) And yet, God loves you; He knows everything about you even how many hairs are on your head, and He is concerned about you.

A huge concept for a second grader but one that is extremely important – for all us. Did he understand it? No. You and I can barely grasp the staggering enormity of Creator God caring for us like a father cares for a small child. There are many conversations yet to come. As adults we have a responsibility to talk about these things at every opportunity. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

In a world where Self seems to be the ultimate ruler, we are called to a counter-cultural message: This is God’s universe and although I am just a barely discernable speck God calls me into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.

God is not small but we have a way of continually reducing Him to fit in our world. That is why we are moved by David’s Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”