My Book...

For years now, I have been toying around the idea of writing a book.  So, after putting it off for some time and setting aside all the excuses that have been holding me back, I decided to go ahead and put pen to paper and see what comes of it.  

I am going to publish the book here in chapters as I get them written, however long that takes.   I would appreciate your feedback, your edits, and your comments so that I can make this book better than it would have been alone.

Hopefully, you will get something out of this that will help you on your journey with Christ, and together we can produce a text that is beneficial to others.

So, with that said, here is the first installment of my draft book, "Get Off Your Buts."  

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Chapter 1

            Not long after I was married, it was pointed out to me that I was a “but” guy.  You see, there are different types of people in the world.  There are the “actually” people, the ones who inject into any conversation the statement, “Yes, I understand.  But actually…” and who proceed to explain why what you just said was incorrect. 

            There are the “really” people.  The people who follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Thomas and who doubt anything someone tells them.  “Really?  That really happened?  I don’t believe it.”

            There are the “prove it” people, from the heart of the state of Missouri, who have to see for themselves the veracity of whatever is being told.  “Prove it,” they say.  “Show me.  Unless I see it for myself, I will never believe.”

            There are the show-offs, the prideful, the deniers, and the detractors.  And then there are the “but” people.  These are the people who listen to reasonable suggestions on how to do something or how to solve a problem, and then follow up with, “but,” and any number of reasons why this is impossible.  I never knew I was such a person, until my wife shared that I would always answer, “but,” to any of her plans or ideas.

            “But” people are more common than you think.  They’re all around you.  They’re the pragmatists, the realists, the ones who stomp on the dreamer’s plans and ideas and ground them in reality.  “But” people are the reason so many good ideas never see the light of day.

            They’re also in the Bible.  The most famous “but” person of all was the Apostle Andrew.   Let’s look at an example of where Andrew tried to explain why the impossible just could not be done.  We find his story in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6.  It is better known as the “feeding of the multitudes” or “Jesus feeds the five thousand.”

            “Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberius), and a great crowd of people followed Him because they saw the miraculous signs He had performed on the sick.  Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with His disciples.  The Jewish Passover Feast was near.

            “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’  He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.

            “Philip answered Him, “Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!

            “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’

            “Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’  There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish.” John 6:1-11, New International Version.

            There will be times in our lives and in our churches when God is going to speak, when He is going to call us to a task that is greater than ourselves, a task that seems impossible.

            In this case, Jesus had been teaching a multitude from a mountainside, and the time was getting late, and the people were getting hungry.  So, Jesus turned to Philip and said, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  John points out that there was a sizable crowd gathered that Jesus was wanting to feed.  The text tells us there were five thousand men there, but we don't know how many women and children were with them.  There could easily have been over 10,000 people there that day.  We don't know for sure.

            But Jesus looked out over this crowd of hungry men, women, and children, and His heart was stirred to compassion, and He planned on feeding them.  An impossible task, for sure.

            When Jesus turned to Philip and asked, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat,” this was more than just a question of practicality.  It was even more than just a test of faith.  It was a call to mission.  Jesus was telling Philip, "I want you to feed this people -- now how will you do it?"

            Take a moment and just think about what Philip was just asked.  This was an impossible task.  There was no way that Philip could do it, none, and yet Jesus was asking him how it could be done.  Philip looked at the crowd.  He looked at Jesus.  And he said, “It’s impossible.  There’s no way.  It would take over eight months’ wages to buy enough bread just for each one of them to have a bite!” 

            Philip tried to solve the problem on his own.  He looked at the crowd, he figured up the cost it would take to feed them, and then he turned to Jesus and said, "It can't be done"

            We do that too, don't we?  God calls us to do something and we immediately start coming up with reasons why we can't do it.  We don't have the money.  We don't have the people.  We don't have the resources.  We don't have the programs in place.  We don't have the time.  We don't have the talent.  We can’t.

            Philip missed the point of this whole exercise.  Jesus was testing his faith.  When Jesus asked Philip to feed the crowd, Jesus wanted Philip to say, "I can't do this, but You can."  When Jesus asked Philip, "Where do we go to feed these people," He wanted Philip to say, "To You!"

            When God calls us to an impossible task, to something that we know we can't do, this is the type of response He wants.  He longs for us to turn to Him and say, "We can't do it -- will you do it through us?"

            And now we get to Andrew.  After Philip failed the test, Andrew speaks up.  “Jesus, here’s a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish…”  Don't you just feel like encouraging Andrew along?   He has the right idea.  He is looking at the possibilities.  He knows that the only way these people are going to get fed is going to happen is through Jesus.  So, he turns to Jesus and even goes so far as to say, "Here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish..." and you just know that he's going to go all the way and tell Jesus, "multiply them and feed the crowd!  Do a miracle and feed everyone here!"

            You read these verses and you just want to stand back and say, "Yes! Yes, you're going the right way, Andrew, you're responding in faith!  You're not letting the size of the task keep you from moving forward.  Now just ask Jesus to do something."

            Keep in mind that Andrew had been with Jesus from the start.  He was one of the first two disciples who left John the Baptist to follow Jesus.  Andrew was there when the water was turned to wine.  Andrew was there when the sick were healed and the people released from demonic possession.  Andrew had been around long enough to know that miracles happened when Jesus was around.

            Andrew starts out well, “Jesus, here’s a little boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish,” and then he says that little three-letter word that changes everything, “but.”  Here’s the bread and the fish, but…  Andrew is a “but” guy, too.

            He falls into the same trap of the impossible that caused Philip to flounder.  In this case, Andrew is limiting God's ability to work because of his unbelief.  He got so close.  He knew where to turn when you needed a miracle.  But truth be told, Andrew's conception of God was too small.

            In essence, Andrew was saying, "We've got these five loaves of bread and two fish, but not even You can do anything with them."

            The word, “but,” is a ministry killer.  “But” is keeping our churches from being faithful to God's calling.  “But” is keeping us from doing the impossible through God.

            I was leading a Bible study one time, when a new Christian turned to me and asked, “If this is all true, then why don't we see miracles like the Bible describes?  If God is real, then why don't we see miracles all over the place?"

            The answer is because of our “buts.”  The reason miracles aren’t commonplace any longer has nothing to do with God.  The Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The God who fed the multitude and healed the sick and lame and released captives from the devil hasn’t changed.  He can still do so today.  If He doesn’t, it’s likely because of us.

            Jesus said that God is always at work around us and He is always calling us to join Him in His work.  He is always calling us to do the impossible.  But when we hear His call to join Him in ministry, we add up our money.  We count up our loaves and fishes, and we say, "This is all we have.  We'd like to help, BUT it's not enough."

            We limit God because of our limited faith, and so we limit His ability to do miracles through us.  Not because God can't do them, but because He only works through our faith.  What does this tell us?  If we want to live lives of faith, if we want to experience the miracle of God doing the impossible through us, then we've got to get off our "buts" and start trusting God, even if all we have are five small loaves of barley and two small fish.

            In Mark 8, after Jesus had fed seven thousand people in a similar way, Mark tells us that the Pharisees came up to Jesus and asked Him for a miraculous sign.  Immediately after He had fed the seven thousand.  Jesus looked at them, and Mark says, "Jesus sighed deeply"

            I just love the realness of that moment.  I think that's probably what Jesus did after testing Philip and Andrew in this passage from John 6.  I think Jesus listened to them and heard their doubts and their lack of faith, and just sighed deeply.  You see, Jesus knew what He wanted to do.  He knew how He was going to do.  He just wanted Philip and Andrew to be the ones who trusted in Him enough to suggest it.

            And when it didn't happen, when their doubts overcame their faith, I think Jesus sighed.  I think He does that with us, too.  I think when He calls us to do something impossible, when He calls us to a new task or a new ministry, and all we do is say, "but,” I think He sighs.  And then He either turns to someone else or He does it on His own, and we're the ones who miss out on the blessing.

            In this case, Jesus took over and fed the crowd Himself.  He took the loaves and the fish, blessed them, and divided them among the people.  And no one left hungry.  Jesus showed us what could have been.

            Jesus wasn't asking Philip and Andrew to feed the people on their own.  He knew they didn't have the resources.  He knew they didn't have the ability.  He knew it was impossible for them.

            What Jesus wanted was for Philip and Andrew to come to Him with what they had and to say, "This is it.  This is all we have.  It's not enough.  We're not enough.  But we know that you can take what we have to offer and multiply it and do a miracle through us."

            That’s what Jesus does.  Jesus takes what we have and multiplies it by faith and produces a miracle every time.  To see God move in this way, there are three things we have to bring:  our resources, limited though they may be; our faith, even if it’s as small as a mustard seed; and ourselves.  On our own, we will never have enough.  We need faith, too.

            On the other hand, our faith is not enough by itself.  God wants us to offer ourselves to His service, along with whatever resources we might have -- our time and our money and our gifts and our talents.

            Think about it like this:  Why do you think God asks us to tithe?  Why does God ask for your money?  He doesn't need it.  He gave it to you in the first place.  In fact, He owns everything, so why does He tell us to bring it to Him as an offering?  Because He wants you invested.  He wants you to offer your money and your time and your talents and your gifts as a sacrifice of faith.  It takes our resources, our faith, and the sacrifice of ourselves to produce a miracle.  And when these come together, when we get off our “buts” and believe in God’s ability to do the impossible, the world changes and the multitudes go home fed.