Author Archives: Wes Dudley

What’s Stirring You Up?

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“Many people will spend the summer occupied with fishing and politics. In fishing you use a worm, and in politics a worm uses you.”  -unknown

Well, it’s election season here in the US, and emotions seem to be running high, just like every other election year. It is fascinating to observe how politics quite often brings out the worst in many people. The political jokes start flying around, the other party and person that you disagree with gets demonized, and many people can’t stop thinking about how the world will end if the other guy wins the election.

I can’t help but wonder, as I’ve observed the madness of this election season, that many of us Christians really are consumed with the wrong things. Do elections matter? Oh, you had better believe that they do. Does God care who gets elected? Considering the references in Scripture about government, it would be foolish to say that God doesn’t care. Yet my struggle comes down to how obsessed God’s people are with the election process and the final outcome.

So what’s the big deal? Isaiah 64:7 says “There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.” Many of us Christians (myself included) get “stirred up” quite easily. Our heart gets pumping, our energy skyrockets, and our mind races when it comes to numerous topics – especially elections. We stir ourselves up with so much, but are we stirring ourselves up to take hold of our King? Most people who know me will agree that I am one who gets passionate about various subjects – and in many ways, that’s not a bad thing. The problem occurs, however, when that passion takes over and we get so consumed with a particular interest that we put off striving to live out the Greatest Commandments: to love our God with our whole hearts and to love our fellow citizens. I can’t help but wonder if God’s people lived like He is real in every way, then how might the political landscape be transformed in ways that it never has before?

 

Carbon Monoxide of Sin

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So, I had the privilege of meeting a moderately influential individual a couple of months ago. However, what impressed me more than who he knew was the attitude he displayed in connecting God’s people with some of his influential/prominent friends. If you happened to share with him your vision to, let’s say, head to Africa to be involved in missions trips, or even look for a new area of the country to hold the VOICE Conference, he would immediately begin thinking of ways to link you with one of his other friends who would be able to help you with your vision.

Why was this so noticeable to me? Mainly because his example of humility to bless God’s people helped reveal some of the pride that was hidden in my own heart. You see, this man lived life with the perspective that what is good for the Kingdom is good for him. Meaning, his personal agenda was not going to get in the way of advancing God’s Kingdom. Can I say that about myself? How often have I wanted to hold onto my friends, so that I could keep my cool connections to myself? How many times do I live life with the outlook to advance my own selfish “spiritual” ambitions?

A pastor I listened to the other day stated that it isn’t very difficult to uncover the majority of sins that lie deep in our heart…except for pride. Pride is the carbon monoxide of sin – it virtually is impossible to discover on our own – we need the Holy Spirit’s help! It’s a silent killer and it works its way into every area of our life – especially in our spiritual interaction. Can you honestly say that what is good for the Kingdom is good enough for you?

One Wrong Choice

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He coached 409 games over a span of 46 years. From 1966 until 2011, he invested in the lives of thousands of young men, challenged them to succeed in academics and football, and he even equipped many to play in the National Football League. While many of you may not know who he was, Joe Paterno, the football (美式足球) coach at Penn State University, was a man who was well recognized and respected by many people in America. Joe Paterno died last Sunday at the age of 85 from lung cancer. Although more than 100,000 people showed up at his funeral, sadly, most individuals will probably not remember him for the great things he did – but for the one thing he didn’t do.

© flickr.com/photos/88031594@N00/

You see, back in 2002, an assistant came to Joe Paterno and told him that he had just witnessed another assistant abusing a young boy. Joe told his superior what had happened, and allegedly nothing else was done. The authorities were not called, nor did Joe follow up about what happened. Now, nine years later, it had been revealed that the assistant abusing the young boy had been allegedly abusing many boys, and the conversation between Joe Paterno and his assistant finally came to light. Penn State University believed that their response had to be strict, so in November 2011 they fired their hall-of-fame coach because Joe had not done more to stop the abuse that he heard about firsthand.

Now, how does this relate to us? God has been impressing on me how critical it is that I live above reproach – meaning, that every area of my life is being lived out with a clear conscience and in complete purity. Part of that comes down to what true character really is: who I am when no one but God is watching. Whereas the other part is striving to walk in integrity no matter the cost.

Although I’m not sure about whether or not Joe Paterno was a Christian, my heart aches for him just the same. His entire life, legacy, and integrity were thrust to the ground all because of one mistake. While that may not be fair to him or his family, that’s the sad truth: our choices do matter. I’m convinced that Joe Paterno did not just die from lung cancer, but also from a grieving heart.

If our God is alive and real in our lives, what are we doing to ensure that our decisions are not bringing damage to His great name?

Drowsy Soldiers

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Like most people, I thrive on mountaintop experiences. That’s to say, I always feel very close to God and enjoy renewed hope and vision whenever I encounter spiritual refreshment. Conferences like VOICE always do wonders in challenging my faith and creating a passion in my heart that feels like it will last forever. The problem, however, is when reality sets in and I return back to the “valley” from my mountaintop experience. Instead of jumping into daily life with the same spiritual strength, I often find myself slipping into spiritual drowsiness.

Have you ever taken the time to look through Scripture to see the kinds of problems that popped up for those who slept? Noah fell asleep and his son came into his tent and brought shame to the family. While Samson slept, Delilah cut his hair which took away his strength. King Saul slept and David took his spear away from him. Sleepy Eutychus went to sleep and fell out of the window.

I’m realizing more and more that sleep can creep into our soul just as easily and quietly as it does to our body. My decision is that I can either give in to spiritual laziness, or I can be “sober and vigilant”—recognizing that the Enemy is waiting to pounce as soon as I indulge myself in spiritual sleep. Soldiers of Jesus Christ are faithful to stand fast even when things are boring and their spiritual life isn’t very exciting—especially a couple of months after VOICE when everything is back to normal!

While God never intended us to live life constantly within those spiritual mountaintop experiences, He also never intended for us to walk through life drowsily and halfheartedly. Jesus came so that we would “have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s kind of hard to experience that abundant life when I’m fighting off drowsiness day after day. William Gurnall, a pastor who lived over 400 years ago, challenged Christians to “busy yourselves in your Christian duties and spiritual drowsiness will flee.” Pretty good advice, huh?

The Fear of the Lord

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How well do you understand the fear of the Lord? What does it involve? Is it really that important? Does it mean actually being afraid of God? While I necessarily don’t have all the answers about what the fear of the Lord may entail completely, I am convinced that God expects His people to come before Him with fear.

Throughout the last few months, I’ve been looking at a few different passages in God’s Word with my church small group that have been giving me a better understanding of how important it is to come before God in complete and total fear. Look at Leviticus 10:1, where Aaron’s sons simply came into God’s house with irreverence and God killed them on the spot. Consider also Acts 5, where Ananias and Sapphira didn’t respect a Holy and Awesome God, and were also killed immediately.

It is amazing to see how quickly God’s judgment fell on those who walked before Him without the fear of the Lord, especially during the times where God’s glory was present (which is a topic for another day). Have you ever considered how you treat your Heavenly Father? I don’t deny for one second that we have the ability to come boldly before the throne of grace because of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16); however, it is vital that each one of us walk carefully in the fear of the Lord. The Old and New Testament both declare that our God is a consuming fire, and deserves the utmost respect and fear. But that’s not all: we also have the confidence in knowing that there is tremendous blessing and the power to be kept from sin when we walk within the fear of the Lord.

We have gotten away from revering our Holy God. But if we truly do believe that our God is alive and real, we have got to be living like it: especially when it comes to fearing Him. I would highly encourage you to dive into God’s Word and see all that He has to say about fear and reverence. You will come away with a greater awe for your King.

The Potential of Persistence

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“But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees. He said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look toward the sea.’ So he went up and looked and said, ‘There is nothing.’ And he said, ‘Go back’ seven times. It came about at the seventh time, that he said, ‘Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.’ And he said, ‘Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.'”

1 Kings 18:42-44

I’ve been chewing on this passage over the last few weeks and I find it amazing to not only see the perseverance of Elijah in praying for rain, but also to observe his faith when the only sign he had was a small cloud way off in the distance. I know it’s so easy for my heart to give up, especially when it comes to crying out to God and asking Him to show His power in a certain area and I don’t see an answer right away.

Recently, I’ve been challenged to take on the heart of Elijah as it pertains to prayer. It’s been an exciting journey, mainly because I’ve been looking for situations to come up in my life where either something seems impossible, or I pray right away and don’t see a result. I have come away amazed and have seen some miraculous displays of God’s power as I merely have been persistent (feel free to let me know if you want to hear some testimonies). Although I believe with all my heart that God is Sovereign and that His plan is still in place even when I don’t see results, I also think that we as Christians miss out on an extra blessing when we fail to be persistent in prayer.

The Christian faith is all about pursuing God with our whole heart, but isn’t it sad to see how often we seek our Savior half-heartedly and just give up after saying a little prayer? Let’s boldly and persistently live for Christ!

 

Is Jesus Christ Good Enough?

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How many of you take Jesus at His words? I don’t mean with just the promises and the sayings that make us feel good, but I mean the really hard words. Let’s look at Luke 9:57-62. A guy came up to Jesus and said something like, “I’m going to go wherever you go, Jesus.” And what did Jesus say? He bluntly told him to expect homelessness! Picture the next verse, where another guy wanted to go bury his father before he followed Jesus. Can you imagine Jesus telling you to not go to your mom or dad’s funeral?! But that’s what Jesus did say, and if we look closely at the words of Jesus throughout the entire four gospels, you’ll see that Jesus said extremely difficult things time and time again.

Now, although following Jesus hasn’t really put many of us into hard situations, this is reality for many around the world, especially in countries where they don’t have the freedom to become a Christian. Has living in a free country like Taiwan, America, or even Hong Kong made us not understand what the gospel is all about? I don’t really have a solid answer for that. But what I am chewing on is this: is Jesus Christ enough for me? I mean, if He did tell me point blank to become homeless (Luke 9:58), not go to my father’s funeral (vs. 60), and not even say goodbye to my family (vs. 62) and to just follow Him, would I, or could I do it?


Our beloved Father
Please come down and meet us
We are waiting on Your touch
Open up the heavens
Shower down Your presence
We respond to Your great love


We won’t be satisfied with anything ordinary
We won’t be satisfied at all


Open up the sky
Fall down like rain
We don’t want blessings
We want you
Open up the sky
Fall down like fire
We don’t want anything but you

(Deluge Worship, 2008)

Your Last Breath

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OK, I have a confession to make. I’m a hypochondriac – meaning, that I always think I’m getting sick, and I get worried easily the minute I get sick with something. This doesn’t come as a surprise for those who know me really well, but hey, it’s not easy to admit something like this.

My eyes have been opened up in some new ways, however, as mainly because over the last few months, I’ve been experiencing some consistent headaches. What made it even more upsetting was that after I went to the doctor for a simple consultation, he was very concerned about the headaches and wanted me to have some tests done – even mentioning the possibility of a brain tumor. Now, I know that would scare anyone, but for a hypochondriac like me, this freaked me out. Although I got some tests done, and everything appears to be normal (doctors still can’t explain why I’m having the headaches), God used the whole experience to pound into me the whole area of sacrifice and surrender.

I know many of us take our health for granted, but when the doctor initially shared with me some of that scary stuff, I had an extremely hard time not allowing my mind run wild about the whole concept of death. For a couple of weeks I really struggled with the fear of dying and leaving behind my wife and daughter. It was during that time that I was listening to a song that really convicted me. “All that we have; all that we are; all that we hope to be we give to You” said the song, and as I thought through those words I realized that although I’ve given my life to God, I never considered that that even means giving up my last breath to God if He sees fit to call me away from this world. Would you feel cheated if you found out that you were going to die tomorrow? Every part of my life should be an offering, and if my King will get more glory by ending it, I will gladly give up all that I “hope to be,” knowing that He knows exactly what He’s doing.

The Rebel Inside Us

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“Hi!” The response sounds innocent enough, but it is quickly becoming the statement of choice by my one-year-old little girl, Savannah, whenever she is doing something that she’s not allowed to and she realizes that she has been caught in the act.

Fatherhood has taught me many different things, but one of the most obvious to me right now relates to human nature. There are arguments out there that suggest that people are inherently good, or that human nature isn’t all that bad and we should believe that people will only try to do bad things when they are absolutely forced to.

However, being a dad and watching Savannah grow and develop tells me the exact opposite. I’ve never once taught her how to disobey, deceive, or manipulate me or others, but I’m constantly amazed, and even shocked, at how often those bad qualities come out of my little girl, and she’s only 14 months old!

A sin nature is embedded deeply within each of us – and if you don’t believe me, just come spend a day at my house. It is the natural inclination of everyone to rebel against God’s Law. We know that Isaiah understood that too when he stated that “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). We want to do what we want to do, but isn’t it awesome that in spite of our rebellion we have a Savior who has not only set us free from that sin nature, but has also given us the power to choose daily to live a life of victory?!

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-6