when donkeys talk

in Numbers 22, there is a rather amusing story of balaam and his donkey. God used the donkey to get balaam's attention in a quite unusual way: talking. this is one of the 2 instances in the Bible where we see animals conversing with humans. the other was the serpent in the garden. as a minister, i am very humbled by the fact that God chooses to use me as a means of communicating His Word to His people. today, i had the honor and privilege of preaching at a local baptist church here in tupelo. this morning, i had clear direction from God concerning the message He would have me preach. i followed His direction and God blessed. however, tonight was a completely different story. 30 minutes before the evening service was to begin, my wife asked me what i was preaching on, to which i responded, "i haven't the foggiest." as i was driving to the church, praying for direction, i was beginning to get nervous. i had received numerous accolades from the members of the church as well as my wife on the sermon i delivered in the morning service. while all the glory goes to God, and i truly praise Him for using me this morning, i did not want the opposite to happen tonight. i have said it many times before, that chris west has nothing to offer in terms of spiritual wisdom or intellectual scholarship, and this echoed true tonight. as i was pulling up into the parking space in front of the church, God made it clear to me that i was to give my testimony. i at first balked at the idea, as i had already made up my mind that i was going to preach on a passage that i was familiar with, which made for a "good sermon". but He didn't let up. so my testimony it was going to be.

to make a long story short, God used the mouth of a donkey to speak to balaam, and he used the mouth of another kind of donkey tonight to purvey the truth to three people that were playing the religion game the same way that i did for so many years. tears welled up in my eyes as those three stood and yielded to the Lordship of Christ and subsequently had their names written in the Lamb's book of life! praise God that He still speaks to us, and pray that we will still have the sense to listen!

marines of God

it's been said by someone i know very well, "the reason the Bible says the army of God, is because the marines weren't here yet." (sorry jerms, but you know it's true!) i start my new unit with the 4th marine division, 4th anti-terrorism unit tomorrow in bessemer, al. i'll be leaving for there tonight. be in prayer as i attempt minister to my new command. marines are known for being able to take the "f" word and use it as an adjective, adverb, noun, pronoun, gerund, participle, and any other component of the english language. the marines have been my heart since i joined the chaplain corps, so i'm excited about this opportunity. not sure though, if i'm walking into jeremiah's jerusalem, or jonah's nineveh. i just hope and pray that Christ will use me to make an impact for the kingdom while i am there. oh, and as for an update on the church situation, i've been approached by two churches so far. i met with one earlier this week, and i am meeting with another next week. God is blessing. again, be in prayer for me to wait for the best, not the first or the best paying, etc. praise Him! He is in control, and i want to keep it that way, because when i am in control, i do a fairly sufficient job of royally jacking things up. so, in honor of my new position, i'd like to share with you the following poem that was on sam shaw's (my pastor) website.

I am a Soldier

author unknown

I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.

I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.

I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.

I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot handle me!

I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.

Aei Pistos!

who told you that you were naked?

being a parent is very rewarding. for those of you who have kids, you will understand what i am about to say. for those of you who don't, i hope you get the pleasure one day. one very important aspect of being a parent is that it teaches you about God's relationship with us on a daily basis. i'm just glad God is patient with us because i know how frustrated my sons make me.

while spending the fourth of july at my aunt's house and swimming in her pool, my oldest son, 4 year old Gavin, decided that he needed to go "tee-tee", so right there, in front of God and everybody, he drops his shorts to his ankles and procedes to water a shrub. while we all laughed at his innocence (and i took an opportunity to have a daddy-son moment of instruction on the wheres and where-nots of urination) it reminded me of the innocence that was lost at eden. adam and eve, if you recall the story, disobeyed God, ate the fruit, and saw their nakedness. they then proceded to cover themselves with the latest in fig-leaf fashions. when they ran into God that day, He asked them, "who told you that you were naked?" don't get me wrong here, it's not as if God didn't already know, but they gave themselves away with the fig leaves. but i love the way they start making excuses as soon as God asks them the question. "the woman YOU gave me" and "the serpent said". for those of you with kids, does that not sound familiar? they give themselves away by doing dumb things and saying dumb things, and when they are called on it, they begin to back-pedal. this turns into excuses. Gavin's excuses usually start with "but", usually followed by a person. for example, "but Nathan took my monster truck", or my favorite, "but mommy said". it's no wonder God calls us His children. we act just like children.

as for Gavin, i admire his innocence and his naivete' to the world. while his choice of bathrooms may not be socially adept, he knows no difference. maybe some of that innocence that was present in the garden, was given as a gift to us when we were children. as we get older, we lose it. perhaps that's why Jesus said that the attitude of little children was necessary to enter the kingdom of Heaven. once adam knew his sin, he was also told of the consequences of that sin. i heard it said once, that childhood's over the moment you know you are going to die. adam's innocence lost turned to the foreknowledge of physical death, and the impending doom of spiritual death. however, when we are born again, as the Bible calls it, we become as innocent as little children again. oh, to one day regain the innocence permanently and no longer remember what it is like to be separated from God! i look forward to it! so for now, i shall be watching out for Gavin's or Nathan's next reflection of my own relationship with my Heavenly Father!

they are so unlike your Christ

(note: this post was written earlier this week, but forgot to post it. better late than never)
not long ago, i saw a bumper sticker on a car that read, "i like your Christ. i do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ." this sticker at first angered me, as i saw it as another piece of propaganda designed to bash Christianity. however, as i have thought about that sticker over the last months, it has really challenged me more than it has angered me. in my recent bout with joblessness, i have been going through the routine of updating my resume' and beginning to seek out a ministry position that God has for me. i have a few leads on churches that i will be submitting my resume' to, as well as supply preaching at a local baptist church that recently lost their pastor. as of now, my search continues. in doing so, i have talked with many ministers that have been in my position. as i have talked with them, they have all told me of negative experiences that they have been through with churches. this honestly frightens me as i am possibly going from a non-traditional ministry position to a church position.

it is amazing to me how we as Christians can treat our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. most of the adverse treatment is due to our own selfishness and pride and the attitude that we deserve to have our desires fulfilled, even at the expense of others. countless pastors have been asked to resign over trivial issues such as the way he preaches, or because he decided to stop preaching in a tie. numerous other reasons, all equally as trivial, have been the cause of many pastors being forced out of their churches and out of their homes. all done by those who call themselves followers of Christ. i have heard of pastors chasing down youth ministers on their day off and finding them at a friend's house and yelling at them in the yard over a disagreement. this is the environment i find possibly awaiting me, and that makes me nervous. i can name one church right now that has gone through a pastor a year for the last decade. this is all because of a select family that rules that church.

in my own church, i have heard members, commenting on the current changes that the church was undergoing, say, "i feel like we are losing our church." our church? what happened to God's church? if it's our church, then it's not God's church, and i want no part of a church that is not God's as it is no different from the pagan temples in the ancient roman empire, set up to worship the god-emperor. after all, if it is our church, then we are worshipping ourselves, are we not?

i see Christians treating each other worse than sworn enemies on the battlefield. churches have split, relationships ruined, and lives even ended, all because of disagreements between professing Christians. are they Christians? i seriously doubt it. the Bible says that "by their fruits, you shall know them." if the fruit displayed is hate, anger, selfishness, and the like, then i question what kind of tree it is. an apple tree does not grow oranges, nor does a Christian produce these kinds of fruits. this does not mean that a Christian will not stumble occasionally and give in to anger, but it is not a pattern that is habitually repeated.

ghandi spent a year living with a Christian family. while there, the behaviour that he witnessed there repulsed him so much that he made the following statement: i would become a Christian, if it weren't for Christians. how reprehensible. pray for grace in dealing with church folk, should God call me to that arena. i'd almost rather take my chances with al qaeda.

prophets? today? hmmm. . .

i would like to comment on a topic that is widely debated among us fellow baptists. did you know that if you put 3 baptists in a room and asked them to discuss a topic, you would get 8 different views? crazy, huh? but i digress. somebody once told me that certain gifts of the apostles are no longer valid, or to put it bluntly, have gone away. one of these is the gift of prophecy. now, there are two different meanings to the word prophecy, both relating to the root definition of "telling". one is forth-telling, meaning that the prophet conveys a message from God. this one is generally accepted, but only in limited circumstances. the other is fore-telling. this is the definition we see evidence of in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament and the gospels. this literally means to tell of things to come. this one is the one that is specifically debated the most as being strictly a gift for biblical times. i, like many theologians, am not quite sure how i sit on this issue, and am convinced that it's not a hill worth dying on. however, i believe i recently saw evidence of both definitions of the gift of prophecy in two of my close friends.

ever since my recent job loss, i have talked with a few of my close friends about the situation and have gotten some wonderful support from them, for which i am extremely grateful. i mentioned one in my last post, who told me that he was praying for me that morning that i lost my job. thanks again, taz. moreover, he also told me that day after i called him and informed him of my job loss that i needed to wait on God and not jump on the first thing that came my way just because of the perceived need for a job and money. then, i talked with another very close friend in south carolina. mike told me that i did not need to put God in a box. he told me that he didn't know why, but God was saying to him to tell me to be open. he said if someone asks for your resume, give it to them. if you hear about a job, talk to them. "you can always come back and say, 'no!'"

"okay, chris," you're saying, "what's so odd about that?" well, if any of you were with me about 2 years ago when i was looking for a job in this area, you will remember that there was not much to be found. so i was expecting much of the same this time around. however, here are just a few of the things that have come my way since monday. i was offered active duty with the navy as a recruiter during my reserve weekend. this is very much a possibility. i was told about a youth pastor position at the big church down the road from us that recently came open. i was informed about another youth pastor position that is open at another church here in town. then, this morning, i was called by the chief of chaplains at comnavresforcom (military alphabet soup meaning reserve headquarters) and i am being offered two months active duty in yokusuka, japan. while this is not permanent, it would be a significant amount of money that would help take care of us while i look.

so i said all that to say this, i haven't even finished updating my resume yet and already, my prophets', er friends', words are already coming true. this means that i really need prayer as to where God is wanting me to go. the navy is VERY tempting, especially looking at the financial side of it and my enjoyment while serving. the negative is that with the two month stent, that's two months away from my family. for those of you who know me, that is very difficult. my family is a top priority in my life, and being without them is like having to go without water. there are positives and negatives on each one. so your prayers for discernment are especially needed right now. i want the best, not just the good, as i said before. i will keep you posted on any new developments.

along came chris walking on the . . . glub. . . glub

ever tried walking on water? i did one time. i was fishing with my uncle in one of the many backwaters of the mississippi river in the delta and hooked a good sized bass. when i got it close to the boat, i leaned over the side to grab him and unbeknownst to me, my uncle also leaned with me to look. and then, as i went headfirst out of the boat and into the water, i happened to catch out of the corner of my eye, the sight of a six foot gator gliding into the water from the bank. not eagerly wanting to stick around and find out where that gator was going, i made for the bank, which was about 15 yards away. i made it to the bank, pole in one hand, fish in other, and was dry from the waist up! this wouldn't seem too amazing except that we were fishing in about 7-8 feet of water! that was my only experience in walking on water, except for this weekend.

i know in my last post, it sounded like i was mr super-Christian, completely trusting in God and not being phased by the circumstances at hand. well, to tell the truth, it has been far from that this weekend. while making my two and a half hour trek to drill in meridian, ms, i found my mind wandering quite a bit. it typically followed this path: lori brings home x-amount of money on her check, we have bills a, b, c, d, e which total y. y is greater than x. panic. worry. knot in my stomach and lump in my throat. then, God would remind me that He's in control. this scenario played itself out numerous times throughout the weekend. it also did not help that i was alone in the evenings most of the time so i would have plenty of time to just think. my water walking quickly turned to water treading.

it reminds me of peter. peter is personally one of my heroes of the faith. perhaps because i relate to him the most. when we read the story of peter walking on the water, we tend to piously think, "come on, peter. how could you lose faith? you were on the water walking!" however, being a sailor, i have learned a few things about the sea. one, you get out to sea, and you can't see land, no matter how high you are. that can be unnerving in and of itself. two, the waves out at sea can get pretty large. our carriers' flight decks sit anywhere from 11-17 stories off of the water, depending on the size of the carrier. there are waves at sea that are higher than the flight deck when you sail into high seas. these weren't little choppy waves that peter was walking on. these were waves like you see in the movie "the perfect storm". monstrous walls of water that would capsize a small boat in no time. so before you start thinking that you would be dancing on the waves like gene kelly in "singing in the rain", ponder peter's predicament. he's not walking on a glass surfaced sea, he's climbing waves. it's no wonder he looked around and panicked. that's what i found myself doing this past weekend. i looked around at the seemingly insurmountable waves cresting over me, threatening to pound me to davy jones's locker, i got scared.

that leads me to my favorite part of the story. peter called out to Jesus to save him, and the Bible says that Jesus reached out and grabbed peter. it didn't say that Jesus "ran over, jumping waves, to get to peter just before he went under for the last time. it said that Jesus was already right there. he knew that peter would sink. i personally do not believe peter even got his neck wet, much less went under. it says he began to sink. Jesus caught him before he even was in imminent danger. and every time i started to go under this weekend, God would speak to me in that still small voice, saying "I gotcha." He would sometimes use a fellow brother or sister in Christ that would call me or text me during a low time to encourage me. what a wonderful God we serve! so thanks to all of you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your calls! God has used you in ways that you never realized! i thought back to friday morning, when my friend taz called and left a voice mail on my phone telling me that he was praying for me, because God had placed me heavy on his heart that day. even before i knew what was awaiting me at 1500 that day, God was already activating His prayer warriors to lift me up! thank you!

finally, to my amazing, beautiful, loving wife. you are my best friend. your support during these last few days has meant more and done more than you could ever know! i used to hear stories at behavioural health from men whose wives had left them because they had lost a job. you have shown amazing strength and have been an inspiration to me! i am truly blessed to have a wife as wonderful as you! thank you!

so to everyone out there who is venturing out over the side of the boat, remember to keep your eyes on Christ. do not rely on your own strength, for it will leave you sinking. speaking of which, does anyone have a life-jacket i can borrow for the next little while?

Going, going, gone . . .

time to put my money where my mouth, er fingers, are. in a previous post, i talked about trusting God. well, turns out life has a sense of irony, or God has a sense of humor, or maybe a little of both. either way, i am now without a job. i have done my grieving this afternoon, and the numbness has worn off, and now i am staring down reality barrelling down the tracks at me and wondering how God is going to derail that train before it hits me full force. regardless, God is in control and is sovereign, and He is going to provide for me. as i said before, my supply is God, not north mississippi medical center (all our best, right?) and He knows my situation even before it happened today and already has a plan in place. just wish i could get in on the joke.

the cherokee indians had a very interesting ritual of a boy becoming a man that comes to mind right now. when the time came for a boy to make the transition into a man, his father would take him out deep into the woods and would sit him on a stump blindfolded. the boy's instructions were simple: do not take the blindfold off, do not call out, and do not get off of the stump until morning, at which time his father would return. he then was left by his father to spend the night on that stump blindfolded. while there, he would hear all kind of sounds that were terrifying to the young boy away from the safety of his village. his mind would be filled with the images of wild animals surrounding him, savoring the easy meal to come. every ounce of his being wanted to take the blindfold off, get off of the stump, and run. but run where? it was dark and he had no idea where he was or how to get back. so he sat. by the time morning came, his skin was so sensitive to the atmosphere around him, that the warmth of the sun's rays could be felt, alerting him that morning had arrived. when he took the blindfold off, he would find that his father was sitting just behind him, having spent the entire night there. even though he felt as if he had been abandoned to the beasts of the forest, reality proved to be that he was being protected from them by a warrior far more skilled than he, one that loved him and would give his life to protect him. God is the same way.

right now i am being marched into the forest, blindfolded. i can already hear the strange sounds of unfamiliar territory. i know the one secret that the young cherokee lad did not, however: that my Father is there with me, protecting me, and has already given His life for me. i can only imagine what kind of warrior God is preparing me to be at the end of this test. what a wonderful God we serve!