July 2023 – Jerry Lout ⚬ Writer ⚬ Speaker ⚬ Mobilizer

July 27, 2023July 26, 2023

Thirst Quenching

“When I grow up, I wanna be like _____ !”

What gives rise to this sentiment that one hears spoken at times even by grown-ups? An inner hope to become a better whomever.

The individual disciple and the gathered community of the like-minded have a thing in common – they wish to grow to be like Christ. Some groups voice it openly, “Our aim is to be. like. Jesus.” Others may signal the appetite in more reserved tones, yet their hearts yearn to grow, to mature with a character of the kind displayed in Jesus.

Apprentices to Jesus like what they see in his manner of being and doing. They long to take on those qualities more and more, to the point really of being defined by them.

The carefree farm kid is at home in the company of the good daddy. A particular setting doesn’t so much matter. Whether frolicking about barefoot on fresh-turned sod or rallying his young muscles to move a lawnmower through a stretch of Bermuda grass, he knows he is never left entirely on his own. A strong, assuring presence dwells there with him, near at hand.

An inner appetite of every Jesus-apprentice – even when not always conscious of it – is their longing for nearness. The good rabbi’s band of followers are pulled along by an inner tug to follow him closely – not letting him ‘much out of their sight’.

Not every earthly dad mirrors well the endearing qualities seen in the one Jesus called “my Father”. Yet, each person living is welcomed by him into just such a father-child closeness. We move that direction through Christ Jesus.

Whether a veteran disciple or a newly signed-on apprentice, the person choosing Christlikeness is growing in the work of training their eyes on this one whom they worship. They are finding, too, that a good beginning point is at the coming of every morning.

“O God, you are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, in a dry and thirsty land with no water.”*

July 20, 2023July 20, 2023

A Family Of Words

Closing my eyes, the simple, melodic sounds of kindergartener voices waft in from a season of long ago. I ponder particular bundle of lyrics we Sunday School kids belted out lots of times in those early years. Intuitively we somehow knew that the lines carried life-altering truth – “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.

A phrase or two follows the first. Today I realize that way back then I had started a lifelong journey affirming a profound truth drawn from those stanzas.

I am weak but he is strong.

Piano keys sounded in the modest sanctuary on Oklahoma Street. Vacation Bible School Week had arrived!

For the first time most kids in the room are catching glimpses into a brand new kind of worldview, Jesus loves (all) the little children of the world. They are – every one of them – precious in his sight.

Hans Christian Andersen treasured music’s power, “Where words fail, music speaks.”

Yet, one specially-compiled family of words does not fail. Not to the person whose mind and spirit are open to take them in. The words of scripture. Although ancient in origin, this unique collection of prophetic, historical, poetic works embody a power. A power which today and throughout history transforms people. . . and even times and cultures.

As I (among the millions of others) undertook memorizing Bible verses in my early years and following, I became struck by its life-changing power from the inside out. Not by any magical quality or spooky spell, but because its content is traced not to mere human origin.

I have always been an amateur memorizer at best. But scripture concepts like, I hide your words in my heart so that I may not be habitually given to wrongdoing, find a way of sticking. I find that such passages transport power straight into the soul that chooses to marinate within the ancient text. Inspiration bubbles up of the kind beyond the sheer rah-rahs of the athletic court or stadium. The ancients, I believe, had it profoundly right.

May I encourage the reader. Pursue the Bible. Seek out a community (if it is not currently your practice) that loves God. A gaggle of imperfect seekers, hungry and thirsty, strong after his Word.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thought and intentions of the heart.*

July 14, 2023July 20, 2023

Additives

Petroleum Scholar Zhang went to work hammering out his PhD dissertation. Its premise centered on the task of increasing smoother, more efficient liquid flow through the interior chambers of miles and miles of pipeline.

Tackling bothersome culprits that stifle free flow of a thing seems generally worthwhile. Like reducing buildup of sludge along the interior surface of oil pipes.

Hinderances – Blockages – Sludge. Such terms don’t call to mind the most endearing images. As my plumber-dad’s gofer long ago, I was sometimes assigned the task of guiding a long flat metal ‘snake’ into and along the Log Cabin Restaurant’s stopped-up waste line. It was there I began coming to terms with two things:

#1 Sludgy, stinky blockages in any form are not my cup of tea

#2 A professional future following the career path of my father’s own carried slim likelihood of getting realized.

But, stewarding a vessel’s inner workings well – whether cardio arteries or water pumps or fuel lines – calls for wise and careful attention. The more so when the well-being of a person’s heart and soul is the aim.

A main element in oil pipeline care involves additives. I am told that feeding the just-right blend of purifying elements into a line, can serve as a remarkable game-changer. This action results in the free, unimpeded movement of a product that may afterward propel numberless ‘people-ferrying birds’ across the friendly skies.

So what additives might be called for in your soul and mine? What Spirit-fueled practices does God prescribe in the very middle of our daily routines of eating and sleeping and working and playing and resting? What can we do to keep the pipes open, our minds and hearts purer – freer – Better?

The eternal creator (our cosmic Chemist if you will) sets before us, for the mere receiving, one of his own tested-and-proven additives. This ‘additive’ cuts through the choking fog of a toxic world and its many contaminants swirling about us. It is at various times labeled, the Bible – the Word – the Sacred Scripture. Wonderfully supplied among its holy elements are ingredients to ensure a new kind of life – a good and pure and honorable life – well lived.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you*

July 6, 2023July 5, 2023

In Pursuit

The engineer-scholar approached research like an Alaskan sled driver tackling the Iditarod. Body and soul, his mind’s eye trained on a distant finish line. Tenacious all the way.

Once he defined his project, goals were set, objectives clarified, laboratory testing undertaken. The box-checking tasks were diverse and many, yet specific. The scholar took care not to diminish the value of each component. Pressing forward, Dr. Zhang* ‘leaned in’ day after day. His primary aim – to find a way of enhancing flow, of transporting liquids through pipelines by speedier, more efficient means.

As with Mr. Zhang, the Christ-follower’s journey moving forward calls for engaging his “want-to”. Simply ‘wanting to want to’ qualifies as the starting point for many. They begin employing efforts that any thoughtful person might bring to the table. As practices, i. e. holy habits, get embraced and take root along the way, the faith walk assumes more and more uplifting elements. A garment of praise displaces a spirit of heaviness. To his delight, the disciple discovers his own heart-driven quest – to know and to live and to love like God.

Hungering for God grows in the person who wants to want to.

The petroleum engineer embraces a vision that, if realized, may (who knows?) revolutionize a whole industry. But his aim is simply to see a meaningful difference come about. The point all along is in bringing positive change.

The Christian, viewing himself rightly as a follower and apprentice to the Lord Jesus, is poised to learn. Positive change is in the air. The starting point upon rising day by day is to posture himself to hear from Jesus. Doing so, he discovers Jesus afresh as the amazing savior and brilliant person he is – the one who, more than any other person, knows best just how to live the human life. The new apprentice realizes he has been forever changed. . . yet not enough. Like a child’s kite on a breezy day, the currents beckon to the beyond. Lifting higher and further into God’s spacious goodness.

Knowing (really getting to know) God’s Son brings with it transformative workings. Such knowing gives rise to a lifetime of thoughtful, heart-hungering pursuit.

Whether an engineer, a homemaker, a CNA, a student – simply any and every person whose aim is growth – a common thread is witnessed. Effective training and mentoring are hallmarks of change. And how much so, for the happy members of the family – those self-aware and Christ-aware “unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe”*

These are those who take up a lifestyle patterned closely after their teacher and redeemer friend – their ever-living mentor.