Speak Life ~Toby Mac Style

Last weekend I had the opportunity to hear one of my favorite Christian Contemporary artists (again) speak words of life at his concert in Baltimore. The more I see Toby, the more I like him and appreciate what he is doing to build the Kingdom of God. I attended the concert after a very busy day at our TUMC bazaar. Under normal circumstances one would have been too tired to attend such an event after a very busy week. But I know that Toby’s music lifts me up, so I made the extra effort to attend, and to take along some friends.

This time, his very short testimony of one of his songs truly spoke to my heart in a new way. I have been enjoying his song entitled “Speak Life,” but during this concert he told us the story behind the writing of the song. Toby had read the Raggamuffin Gospel when he was younger. He says he remembers reading Mannings words, “When you speak to someone you either speak life or you drain life, there are no neutral exchanges.” Hence, the song that Toby wrote was birthed.

I’ve been thinking of this quote all week, “There are no neutral exchanges.” What about me and my words? Sure it is easy for me to speak life when I am doing the work of the church, that is easy. But what about when I am running into the grocery store to buy something quickly or as I move about my busy day in the world? When I am doing errands I have a purpose and I move through that purpose quickly. To be honest, people who are serving who are not on my same page when I am rushing around irritate me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not mean, I am not impolite; but I don’t speak words of life. I thought these were neutral exchanges. Toby’s words, “There are no neutral exchanges” have been haunting me. I can do better, I can be better. Maybe these exchanges have a divine appointment for me or for someone else. Maybe I am the one to speak life into someone else’s life who is drowning. After all, I know the Good News, and maybe I can speak enough life to allow a person to trust me so that I can share that Good News which is what really matters.

Meanwhile, this week I have been practicing speaking life into the lives of those who would otherwise be “incidental” in my day. They have been wonderful exchanges. I am learning and growing.

How about you? Do you speak life or do you drain life? Are you the one from which someone will remember the conversation or are you the one they wish they will never wait on again? As for me, I am trying to practice new habits.

Thanks Toby, for giving me a new perspective on the way I speak in common everyday exchanges of words.

Youth Mission Camp

The first thing I noticed was the old white fence that was about to fall down. Our TUMC in house Youth Mission camp was partnering for the day with a sister group called the Baltimore County Christian Work Camp and we were there to build a ramp and fix a shed, but the old rickety fence stood out to me. We easily had enough youth to complete the 12 foot ramp, the shed AND paint a fence. The “J” in me, (Meyers -Briggs stuff) would not be able to take standing around waiting for a turn to help while there was a fence to paint. So, off I went to buy a few cans of paint, and once again, launch us into a new painting project, even though none of us had our painting clothes.

After receiving joy-filled permission from the owners we began our painting project, even as others of our team were completing the tasks of fixing the shed and making the ramp. The owner came out and the story came tumbling out–his wife had cancer, it was terminal; at first there was remission, now it was everywhere. Then he had been in the hospital; and her elderly mother lived with them. Life was overwhelming. I offered to pray with them, which we did do and will continue to do.

But meanwhile, we were giving that place an overhaul. A new coat of paint dresses up everything. A new coat of paint gives fresh vision out of which to look at life. A new coat of paint takes off the weariness and, if just for a moment, allows fresh air to come into the room. A new coat of paint gives the eyes something new to look at as they stare out of the window from a home that used to be the place of joy, and has become a prison of disease. A new coat of paint……

I wish the new coat of paint could take away the cancer. I wish we could slap a new coat of paint onto the organs of the woman that were covered by disease. I wish we could erase the disease by our work and our actions. Just for a day, we helped them smile.

But we are covered with a new coat of paint in a different kind of way. Jesus covers us with his blood, bought on a cross for your sins and mine, so that when we enter into eternity, we are like the picket fence that had the new coat of paint. We are covered in the blood of a savior who cares for us enough to redeem us with a different kind of a “new coat of paint.” Our new coat of paint brings us to the place where Holiness resides, and we can only stand there before the savior because we have been offered that new coat of paint. Like the owner of the house, we have to receive the offer of being painted with a resounding “yes.”

A ramp, a fixed shed and a new coat of paint will bring temporary smiles to those who have received. We were honored to be the servants for a day. Yet we have One who offers us a fresh coat of paint on a daily basis. One who is overjoyed to serve us. How will we respond when asked if we would like a new coat of paint?

Nehemiah Chapter 1~Casting Vision with Nehemiah

I was cup bearer to the king! Nehemiah chapter one paints a picture for us of who this man was, and who God was calling him to be. The fact that he was the cup bearer to the king is very significant for us, for it gives us a clue to his status.

The cup bearer had access: It was as if he had an “all access backstage pass” to an event that is monumental in history. The cup bearer also had “top secret security clearance.” He had been through all the lie detector tests and passed all the questionnaires. After all, the cup bearer was also the one who would take a hit for the king, for often he might have to taste the wine first to ensure it had not been tampered with.

Nehemiah as the cup bearer had a good life; he had all that he needed. Why then should he bother to get involved with something that clearly was not his business? The answer to that question is three fold:

1) He got involved because God broke his heart. In the beginning we see him weep over the news that he received.

2) He got involved because God called him out. Through fervent prayer and fasting God began to reveal a plan, and that plan involved a huge change and a willingness for Nehemiah to risk it all.

3) Finally, Nehemiah was willing to risk it all because through his fervent prayer and time of fasting Nehemiah saw a vision, cast by God, for God’s people. This vision was bigger than he was and it was more than he could handle on his own. In his prayer Nehemiah admitted that God could do anything, that anything included a plan that would take Nehemiah to far away places. Like James Bond, it would lead him into danger and possible death, yet he said yes. Nehemiah moved forward to risk it all. Nehemiah asked God’s favor upon the request he was about to make to the king. We hear the end of his prayer, “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was the cup bearer to the king.”

When are we willing to risk it all? When are we willing to live into God’s vision that is bigger than anything we could ever imagine? When do we experience “hearts that can break?”

This week at TUMC we begin a five week sermon series on Nehemiah entitled, “Casting Vision with Nehemiah.” I pray you can reflect on these questions this week as we prepare to dig deeper.

Personally, I have been asking God to give me a heart that can break, and I have failed miserably. We will talk more about that on Sunday. I am praying for another chance. How about you?