Chris Little

Imagine with me for a moment that you really want someone to create a sculpture of you to stand for eternity. I know it sounds very narcissistic, but just pretend. Who would you choose? You have all the great master sculptors throughout history at your disposal. Who would want to be the one to “interpret” you and create the image of you that others would see and get their perspective of who you were from that one piece of art?
In case you did not know, you are already a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10 describes you as a unique poem – one that has never been before or will ever be written again – you are a masterpiece of the Creator of all art. The One who inspires all art.
However, many times we are too embarrassed by the original art work that we are, and decide to allow other artists to shape and mold us. We allow these other artists to shape and mold us because we want to be liked by the masses, we want to fit in, we do not want to be too original. Who are these other “artists”? Our culture – the voices of the day.
Who would dare walk up to “The Mona Lisa” and attempt to make it better? Only fools . . .

As a Christ follower, you have been made into a new creation by the Master Artist. You are unique. Why do you allow other “artists” to dictate to you what you are to be? Why do you allow them to chisel away at what is already been completed and determined to be a masterpiece? It is because you have chosen to listen to the wrong critics. You desire the applause from the masses, instead of the one who knows you best.
Take a moment a remind yourself – you are a one-of-a-kind, cherished, priceless creation of the Master Artist. Ask yourself, “Whose applause am I pursuing?”

What a wonderful Easter weekend! As I was contemplating Easter and all that it means for me, the Spirit orchestrated this “thought” in me. “Chris, where do you still need God’s resurrection power in your life?”

Easter is a wonderful time of celebration, but sometimes I wonder if it becomes “another holiday” for us as Christians? I must admit, it started out that way for me this year. My prayer for myself, and you, coming out of this Easter is, “Where do I still need God’s resurrection power?” I do not want a better life just because of a more disciplined life, but because God’s resurrection power has and is transforming my heart/will/mind.

How did God speak to you this week(end)? Where do you still need the resurrection power of Jesus in your life?

God’s love for His people never withers away. It is always spring time. His love for us is like a 24/7, 365 days a year for the rest of our lifetime honeymoon! Who would not sign up for that?
God is love (1 John 4:16). It is his character, his makeup, his nature. If you were to squeeze God like a sponge – love would ooze out. If you were to squeeze some of us – “stuff” other than love would ooze out. How do I know that God is love (1 John 4:7-10)? I know because I have experienced his love. My words are inadequate to describe it – you just have to experience it for yourself.
God’s love motivated him to offer us a gift, a great sacrifice on his part, himself. He literally gave his life so that I could be bought from the marketplace of slavery (Rom. 3:23-25). Real love always leads to sacrifice at some level (1 John 3:16a).
His love and sacrifice has guaranteed us the greatest life. It’s actually a pretty easy life too – love God with every part of your being and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). I got the loving God down most of the time. I am also really good at loving myself – I will go to no amount of expense or inconvenience to show myself love. My neighbor? God, do you know them? Then, it hit me. God is in the same marketplace where he “bought” me ready to buy them too.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) because the people did not understand how much he loved them. Jesus counted the cost (his love persevered) and he still gave his life for mine. God wants me to love others like he has loved me. When was the last time I wept over my neighbors? My kids’ school? The people at the grocery store?
I want to love my neighbor…God, grant me the heart that weeps over them!

Or does it not fail all the time? It seems that way. As I was reading through the 1 Corinthians 13 passage these three words, “Love never fails,” are stuck right in the middle. At first I thought, “Aw! That’s neat.” Then I began to let that settle on me a little bit and thought, “Well, that’s not always true.” I know I’ve failed at loving well and I know others who have experienced the same type of failure. None of us are perfect right? Then I tried to put myself in the shoes of others and it hit me. Anyone who says “Love never fails” is naive and seriously mistaken.
So, how in the world does Paul say “Love never fails?” He says it in full view of the cross. There is no other way to say it and understand it. Love does fail – we have all experienced the pain of love gone bad. Does that make us give up on love? I hope not.
In view of the cross love never fails. Will I ever love anyone like that? Maybe. Can I ever love anyone like that? In view of the cross, yes.

I have been contemplating this over the past weeks and months in a variety of contexts – personal life, church life, and the “world”. Of course, everyone has a different opinion about what is going on. You look at the world (earthquakes, wars, etc.) and you hear people say “it’s the end times!” Well, yes, and Paul said that too over 2,000 years ago. You can look at the statistics surrounding the universal church and see that it looks like we are losing ground and not gaining ground – especially in the U.S. I have found that just because I am a “professional Christian” doesn’t mean that my personal life will always be perfect either.
As I thought about all this, I was drawn back to the early church in Acts. The reason I was drawn there, I believe, is because God is rooting around in my soul and asking, “What does it really mean to be a disciple of Jesus these days?”
Here are a few items that caught my attention:
1) The Gospel was being preached (Acts 2:38; 5:42; 8:4; 10:34-8). The early church (disciples) were telling people about Jesus everywhere they went, even when they were in a situation that was inconvenient and not of their choosing.
2) People were responding to the gospel (Acts 2:41; Acts 8, & more). The people heard the truth and responded to it. Why?
3) There was outward evidence of the people’s internal transformation (Acts. 2:42-6). They were radically different people after their conversion.
4) Their lifestyle drew others to Jesus (Acts 4:47; 5:41, & more). People were drawn to these new believers because of the way they were living.
So, I am doing a “gut check” right now. Am I preaching the gospel (words are necessary)? Am I seeing people respond to the gospel? If not, rethink question #1 again. Is there outward evidence in my life that I am a follower of Jesus? If I were in court, how easy would it be to find evidence (other than I am a pastor)? Does my lifestyle draw people to Jesus or repel them from Jesus?
I’m pretty sure God is up to all kinds of stuff around the world, & in my church, but what is doing in me? What is he doing in you? Could you be convicted of being a Jesus follower?

I was listening to someone speak the other day and it was painfully obvious to me that they were thirsty, or at least in need of something to solve the dry mouth issue. It was obvious because I have been in that same spot – dry mouth and no water. As I was listening to the speaker I began thinking about water and I made a little note to do some research on water. Well, I did, and I was reminded of how fortunate that I am to have water available when I am thirsty. That there are plenty of people around the world who go without water or who do not have clean water to drink. I looked at the statistics of water from around the world and was astonished.
Here are a few:
* 3.6 million deaths from water-related disease.
* 84% of those deaths are children (0-14 years.)
* 1 in 8 do not have safe water to drink.
* An American taking a 5 minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country does all day.*
Wow! Those are some sobering statistics. We have become so accustomed to clean water in the U.S. that it does not always cross our minds how fortunate we are.
As I was thinking about those stats my spirit kept tugging at me. It kept leading me back to John 7:37-39. It is where Jesus says to the Temple goers, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Jesus’ audience would have been watching someone carry water from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple as a symbolic reminder of Moses striking the rock in the desert to provide water for the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites were thirsty.
I have been thirsty too. I remember “all-a-days” football practices in South Texas (100 degrees & 100% humidity). It was hot and you got thirsty. I remember standing over the water trough thinking I was never going to get enough to drink. Have you ever felt that thirsty?
Have ever been really thirsty and got something to drink and something was wrong with it and you spit it out or it just did not satisfy your thirst? Once, on a trip to Latvia, we had been running around and gotten hot and thirsty. We had these huge water bottles that we had bought for just this occasion. We hadn’t paid close attention to them when we bought them (cause we didn’t know we had to) and when we took a drink expecting satisfying water and we got mineral water…we spewed in unison! Nasty!
(The next time we went to the store to buy water we studied the bottles to ensure that we bought the right water.)
Jesus tells us that he will satisfy our thirst. I have run after other drinks over the years hoping that they will satisfy – they have promised me better taste, that I would look cooler, or quick, big returns – but they didn’t ever fulfill on their promise. I went back to the “boring” water of Jesus…it satisfies.
So, what you been drinking? Is it satisfying your thirst or leaving you wanting more? Do yourself a favor…drink some water.
*(www.water.org)

Love is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. The root idea behind that word angered is “dynamite.” Paul is telling his readers that love is not easily angered because anger, when unleashed, is like dynamite exploding. I have seen some of the devastation that dynamite can do when they use it to blow up buildings. It carries a “whallop!” Anger spewed from our hearts and mouths carries the same type of impact. If a fuse goes off too soon in a stick of dynamite, people get hurt. The same is true with our anger. If our fuse is too short and we explode in anger, people get hurt. Unfortunately, it is usually those we love. May you have an anger that is slow to burn down the fuse. May your fuse burn out before you explode on others.
Paul also speaks of love as an accountant who does not keep record of the wrongs. His account book is weighted in our favor. (Sounds like a good accountant to me!) This word is used to describe God’s transactions with our sin throughout the New Testament. Our sins are as far as the East is from the West…that’s pretty far in case you’re trying to calculate that in your head. In other words, love doesn’t try to keep score and base its love on your worth or merit. If that were the case, none of us would merit God’s love.
So, keep your fuse extra long and your account book closed…and you will begin to love better…

Love is patient. Well, that cuts me out of the “love”. Patience is a virtue that is, and has been, difficult for me to perfect. I want to move on already! It does not help that the culture we live in applauds “instant.” We have instant everything – potatoes, popcorn, news, movies, money. You name it and I bet someone has come up with a way to make it instant! (That reminds me. I LOVE coffee! Which probably does not help with my patience. However, instant coffee is NOT as a good as real brewed coffee. It’s not. Yes, I’ve tried Starbucks’ Via(r) coffee. It’s good for instant, it’s not as good as the brewed. Just a side note…to the young man at Starbucks who tried to convince me it was the same. I appreciate your passion – but, you’re wrong.)
Anyway, a way to assist in being patient is to ask yourself, “Do I have a tendency to be a thermometer or a thermostat?” A thermometer reacts to the temperature. It responds to the heat that is generated and gives a reading accordingly. You know your kid has a temp by checking it with a thermometer. Many times in life, our impatience is due to our living life as a thermometer. We react to the “heat” of life – the situations, circumstances, relationships, etc. – that cause us to get stirred up inside. Then, in a split moment, we spew the stuff inside of us on the “lucky ones” who were present when we couldn’t handle the heat anymore. Unfortunately, too many times it is the ones we love the most – family and friends. They get it because they are “safe”. They can handle the “love” we are giving them.
However, to be a thermostat is a better way to “love” those around us. When we sense life “heating up” we choose to change the temperature. We manipulate the climate by cooling off. How do you cool off? I workout. When I go workout, it relieves stress and allows me to work through life and spew my frustrations on the weights or treadmill. I can tell when I’ve missed a day or two because I start becoming more like a thermometer than a thermostat.
In Proverbs 30: 32-33 it says, “If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth! For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting a nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” In other words, before you spew on the ones you love…cover your mouth. You can’t get those words back.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:1,4) This is what it looks like to be a thermostat – to cover your mouth, change the temperature, and then speak words that are life-giving. We all know the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a bunch of crock. How do we know that? We know it, because we have been recipients of words from those that love us the most that were not life-giving…and the searing pain they have caused. If only our loved ones had covered their mouth?!?
Love is… being a thermostat more than a thermometer. What’s the temperature at your house?

Deep Preaching is a call to remember the source of depth beyond the use of commentaries, dictionaries, and all the other resources we have available at our fingertips in our technology driven world. Edwards states, “Deep sermons are an overflow of deep communion with God who wrote the book we preach. Superficial sermons result when truth is spooned from shallow hearts.”
Edwards reminds the readers of the power of the apostles’ teaching and asks if preachers are too busy doing “good stuff” that does not enhance their main tasks – prayer and preaching (Acts 6:24). He shares the story of cowboy Jim White, the individual who discovered Carlsbad Caverns on his land. Mr. White, after stumbling upon the caverns, began to explore them. Over the years people began to hear about Mr. White’s find and would ask him to see them. He would willingly take each inquisitive person down into the depths of the earth that he had discovered. He shared his “find” with great passion. As preachers, that is our task as well. We are to spend time spelunking the deep wells of God’s Word so that we can share with every inquisitive soul we come in contact with – go deep!
I have read many books on preaching and this is not going to go down as groundbreaking. However, it is a refreshing read and a wonderful reminder of the responsibility that we have to preach. It is a call “back to the basics” for the lead disciple of the church. Take a moment and be reminded why and what God has you to do.

It was 1986, and the world was crashing around David Green. In the offices of his multimillion dollar hobby and craft business, Hobby Lobby, he read the bad news: the bank was ready to foreclose on the product of years of his life and labor. He wasn’t alone. The oil boom in Oklahoma had gone bust, and the over-extended banks were failing. Many business owners in Oklahoma City had already closed their doors in defeat and declared bankruptcy.

But the Green family knew where to turn for help in a crisis. Although the foreclosure of the business was the worst thing they could imagine, they came to see it as a defining moment in their business and spiritual lives. “I know I prayed prior to that time,” David Green says, “but that’s when I got really serious about it.”

He tells how the space beneath his desk became his prayer closet. He would crawl under his desk in his corporate office and seek God’s help. And God gave it. It was God’s response to those prayers for their business that the family believes pulled the company out from under looming bankruptcy and set it on its feet again.

Hobby Lobby was projected to produce more than $1.5 billion in sales throughout 2006, and Forbes magazine listed Green as one of the 400 wealthiest men in the United States in 2005.*

Prayer works…it’s hard to describe how, it just does! How many of us really know how a computer works? Better yet, how many of us even know how an Etch-A-Sketch(r) works? Prayer is kind of like that too.

In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus’ disciples had asked him how to pray and he offers a short prayer lesson.
9″This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ (NIV)

In this brief prayer several things jump out at me. First, “our Father” is a statement of intimacy. We are to call out to dad. I imagine my kids crawling up in my lap and saying, “Dad?” Second, I see exclusiveness. “Our” means that he is not everyone’s Father. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To call him “Dad” you have to have his name.
The next part is “hallowed be your name”. When you hear my name, “Chris” (and you know me) you are immediately given to think of my character and personality. My name equals who you think I am. The same is true for God. God’s name is his reputation. In Exodus 20:7 we see how seriously he takes his name. No one wants people to defame their name. God does not like it when we defame his name either.
Maybe the most difficult part of the prayer for me is “your kingdom come, your will be done.” It is the most difficult because I honestly want my own kingdom and my own will to be done most of the time. I am selfish and self-absorbed. However, God is not concerned about my image as much as he concerned with my transformation. In Kubler-Ross’ book On Death and Dying she states that there are several stages of dealing with death: denial, anger, bargain, depression, and acceptance. I have been through this process in my own life when there are times of “death”. It hurts to allow God to prune you. In Matthew 10:38-39 we see that through death comes life. “Death” allows God’s kingdom to reign.
What about the phrase, “give us this day our daily bread?” I don’t know about you, but I have rarely been hungry due to missing meals. Most Americans have not, and will not, experience hunger as other parts of the world do. A crazy thought – maybe we are to be the answer to prayers here…maybe we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and be like Teflon and let our wealth be passed on to share with others (Prov. 30:8-9).
Another phrase is “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Confession is soul-shaping. It requires transparency and moves us into intimacy. Think of intimacy this way – “Into-Me-See.” In other words, see the real me. A little scary I know.
I love getting forgiveness, but I’m not so good at handing it out. If you hurt me, I am not excited about removing guilt from you. I want you to hurt a little too! However, I am required to be a forgiver. That means that I will no longer use the memory of the hurt against the offender (Richard Foster). As Jesus says, “seventy times seven” is how many times I should forgive…a lot!
Finally, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Temptation is better translated “testing.” Jesus was led to a test in Matthew 4. He had just been baptized and was ready to begin his public ministry and his first assignment was a “test.” For us “regular people” we are tested too. The prayer is that we be found to not have too little gumption for the test or that the test is too much for us (1 Cor. 10:13). Unfortunately, too many times we try to live life in our “natural” abilities instead of the “supernatural” abilities that are “ours” because of the Holy Spirit in us.
Prayer works. Find your “closet” and watch God do what He does.

*Suzanne Jordan Brown, “Prayer-Driven Enterprise,” Pray! magazine (July/August 2006), p. 26.