THE VISIT I AM PREPARING FOR

It is amazing and concerning to me to watch the preparation for the Pope’s visit to the United States.  People are planning to crowd into the cities he is planning to parade through.  The cities are making security plans that will put the daily activity of people who live and work in these cities come to a stop.  Stores will be closed, public transportation will not be available, even wedding plans need to be changed for some.  Millions of dollars will be spent just so people can get a glimpse of this man.  It baffles me because most of the people making these plans pretty much disagree and even hate everything he stands for.  According to the news reports his popularity points are down, which in American seems to matter for something.

What will the Pope actually see while he is here?  Will he see the slums that many poor, hungry, and homeless people call home?  Will he hear their cries among the shouts of excitement of those deemed worthy to be allowed any where near him?  Will he hear the anger and frustration that fills these cities every day threatening to erupt into riots at the drop of a hat?  I suspect not.  Security measures will prepare a way for him that will cover up the true state of being and present a cleaned up and righteous version of life in these places.

I guess one could hope that his visit would resemble the visit of a former “man of God” and that he would come and over turn the money changer’s tables in our churches; that he would speak sobering words to this nation and the church about repentance and the consequences of rebelling against God; that he would call forth the poor, the hungry, and the homeless and give them front row seats on the parade route.  One could hope he would speak the words of his name sake, the first St. Francis, and admonish our love of money and position and call for a return to the true Gospel.  One could hope for a spirit of repentance and revival to fall upon these cities, these important cities that rule this nation and that we as a nation would call out to God for deliverance from our greed and our wrongdoing.  One could hope.

At some point in time this entire world will be visited by the true representative from God, the truly anointed King of Kings.  We don’t know the day of his arrival but we have been told to prepare for that return.  That visit will have great significance in the lives of all people.  Is preparation being made?  Are people looking forward to that time?  Are the ways being prepared?  Are the hearts of the people being prepared?

This visit will be to the weak, the poor, the lowly, and despised people in the world.  This visit will be to those who are looking to God for their very being, who have suffered and sacrificed for His name.  This visit will be for the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the persecuted, and the peacemakers.   This visit will be for those who have been watching and waiting.  This is the visit I am looking forward to.

When All Is Said And Done

When all is said and done I will stand before God with empty hands

All I have is a life covered by His forgiveness, grace, and mercy

I wish I could say I was blameless, but I’m not

I wish I could say I have always done what is right, but I haven’t

I wish I could say I have never done wrong to my neighbor, but I can’t

But even though I have failed, God has remained faithful to me

He sees my desire and He knows my heart

I come to Him with unclean hands, unclean thoughts, and unclean deeds

And He washes them with the blood shed by His Son

I come to Him in my emptiness, my despair, and my unworthiness

And He fills me and makes me whole

He is the forever flowing fountain of living water that flows, giving me life

He clothes me and covers me with His love, His peace, and His joy

He invites me to sojourn with Him in His tent and sit in His Presence

When all is said and done He is all that matters to me.

THE ONE WITHOUT SIN THROWS THE STONE

John 8: 1- 12

There are so many lessons in this story.  The verse that spoke to me today

“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”  These were scribes and Pharisees that he was speaking to, the ones who are strict followers of the Law of God and were following him around picking out everything he did wrong.  It was a pretty risky move on Jesus’ part.  But whatever he wrote in the sand put a damper on the stoning, and they all left one by one, the oldest to the youngest.  Of course he could have thrown the first stone; but he didn’t.  He didn’t even condemn her for the wrong she had done.  He simply said, “Go and sin no more.”

I stand guilty as I read these verses.  There are times when I am dragging people and circumstances to the Lord in prayer and wanting to be justified for being wronged.  There are times when I sit self righteously in the seat of judgment, waiting for God to avenge me.  But when I sit and reflect on the wrong doing I discover that there isn’t much that I look at through my judgmental eyes that I am not guilty of myself or that I have received the mercy that was given to this woman by Jesus.  “Let she who is without sin throw the first stone” is a good mantra for me to keep in mind when my self righteousness makes itself visible.

It makes me wonder what it is that I should do when I see something wrong.  Is it possible to make an assessment of the situation or circumstances without a side order of judgment?  Jesus did say “Go and sin no more”.  That would tell me that somehow that which is not in line with what is right is to be pointed out.  God used Nathan to point out David’s sin with Bathsheba.  It caused David to realize he was wrong in what he did and confess his wrongdoing to God and receive the forgiveness that God desires to give to all who stray from the path.

I believe it is God’s place to deal with the lives of people.  Only He knows the heart of the individual and only He can transform that heart.  So what is my part in helping others to see that God is a loving God who does want to be obeyed and obeying God is the best thing any and all of us can do so that people will be healthy and whole?  Maybe that’s it; making the love and beauty of God’s grace and mercy known to others, through my behavior towards them, and with the words that I speak to them.  I can look back in my life when that worked for me; so surely it will work for others.

THE HARMONY OF KNOWLEDGE & LOVE

It’s the wonder and mystery that draws me to the knowledge about God.  It’s the knowledge about God that increases my wonder and mystery of God.  They both work together in harmony to cause me to love Him more.  It’s the balance that brings the blessing in my relationship with Him.

Loving God simply remains a commandment, not a commitment, if you don’t know Him.  How can I love what I do not know?  How can I know and not love?  God chooses to reveal Himself to all of creation in the wonder and mystery of nature.  He also reveals Himself in the Scriptures that have been recorded down through time that tell His Story.  As a final and fulfilled revelation of Himself He sent His Son in the flesh, to be among us face to face.  It is obvious to me that God wants to be known and fully accessible to all people everywhere.  I have only to receive and believe in the wonder, in the mystery, and in the name of Jesus Christ to know and secure the right to become His child.  And I do.

Infants are born with that pure and innocent sense of wonder and mystery.  As they grow their sense of adventure and imagination exceeds their knowledge so they do unconventional things like draw pictures on walls with crayons or see empty boxes as toys rather than the toy that came in the box.  They run freely in every direction when they discover what legs are for.  They see life through the eyes of wonder and mystery and want to take part in it all.  Then as they grow older knowledge increases, as it must, to teach, to correct, and to train.  They learn walls are not the medium for their coloring, boxes are containers for the toy not the toy itself, and streets are not to be freely run across.  They learn boundaries that will keep them safe and well, and barriers that they need to heed.  These are necessary and worthy lessons but they should never replace or destroy the sense of wonder and mystery that brings life to these lessons.   The same hold true in my quest to know God; I must look for Him in nature and in the Scriptures through eyes of wonder and mystery.  My knowledge will increase my desire to love Him and my love will increase my desire to know Him.

BUT YOU, O LORD

BUT YOU, O LORD…

No matter what anyone says I believe you.

Let them say what they will

Let them do as they please

BUT YOU, O LORD

I believe you.

YOU

Who formed my inward parts

YOU

Who knitted me together in my mother’s womb

YOU

Who has searched me and known me

YOU

Who are acquainted with all my ways

YOU

Who hems me in, behind and before

YOU

Who lay your hand upon me

YOU

Who approached me in my time of despair and depression

And gave me the right to become your child

YOU

Who has come and made your home in me

YOU

Who will never leave me or forsake me

YOU

Who are preparing a place for me to come and be with you

YOU

Who are coming again for me so I can be with you forever

YOU

Who I love with all my heart, all my soul, all my might

Let them say what they will

Let them think what they will

Let them do what they will

BUT YOU, O LORD

Are the One I believe

The One I live my life for

The One I give my life to

Forever and ever

Amen

A REFLECTION OF GOD

God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM.”  It was enough for God to simply BE.  Jesus amplifies the attributes of God recorded in the Gospel of John.  I AM

The bread of life; I AM the light of the world; I AM the good shepherd; I AM the Resurrection and the life; I AM the true vine; I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus brought form to the BEING and reflected who God was and is to the world.  God is seen in other ways as well; the Law reflects God; nature reflects God; in a sense we reflect God to one another when we are living as His children, in His will, and in His obedience.

When I think about how I see God I think about my Grandpa DeWitt.  He is one of the most important people in my life, the one I looked up to and respected the most.  In many ways he personifies my image of God.  He was a big man who carried a presence of sternness and one who is to be obeyed, and yet was the most kind and loving men I know.  He silently commanded respect when he walked into a room; and he got it.  I learned that healthy feeling of fear and reverence by knowing him and spending time with him.  I never wanted to displease him, not out of being afraid of him, but by loving him so very much.

That special bond between us started even before I was born.  My mom’s stories are full of times with him while she was pregnant.  My dad was in the Navy and overseas, so Grandpa spent a lot of time with my mom.  After I was born he kept both of us company.  I had colic as an infant and he would hold me on his big belly to keep me from crying; I spent many hours nestled in his arms next to his heart, as he let my mom have some time alone or to do things that needed to be done. 

When I got old enough to know him I spent many hours just hanging out with him.  He would take me with him when he ran errands; we would sit on the couch in his house and play Bear Hunt, or sing silly songs; he would let me sit with him while he played the piano; we would walk around his back yard and in the grape arbor, where he showed me how to peel and eat concord grapes right off the vine.  I simply loved being with him and I knew he felt the same.  But, in all that love and laughter I also knew he was to be listened to, respected, and obeyed.

I received his “famous” flick of his finger on my hand if I did something wrong at the dinner table.  One day he caught me and my friend throwing stones down on the train as it went under the bridge where we were standing.  He happened to be driving over the bridge at the exact moment we were doing something we knew we shouldn’t be doing.  He stopped, put me in his car and took me home where I sat before him as he scolded me for my behavior and told me why it was wrong.  In the end the main concern was not my behavior but that I had displeased him.  I cried and told him how truly sorry I was and he took me up onto his lap, hugged me, and said, “It’s ok, but don’t do it again.”  That was the only time I ever displeased him.  He died when I was nine years old.  I am sorry that I didn’t have him around in my life longer.  But my memories of our times together and the impact he had on my life keep him very present to me.

He is the prototype of God the Father to me.  The absolute love and the awe and reverence I feel for God came from my relationship I had with my Grandpa DeWitt.  I am blessed to have known him and loved him and I am grateful for the reflection of God that he was to me.

This is a poem I wrote 54 years after my Grandpa died.  I could still feel the hurt in my heart that I experienced during that sad time.

SOMETHING WAS WRONG

Something was wrong.

An early morning phone call

The chaplain in the living room

Mom crying and my father telling us to stay in our rooms

As he shut the doors.

The car ride was eerie.

Not our usual joy at taking a trip

Just a cold empty silence

I kept watching mom trying to see some sign of life

There was none.

We arrived at grandpas.

All my aunts and uncles and cousins were there

My parents went silently into the house, tears and hugs

My brother and I were told to go play out in the yard with our cousins

Something was missing.

The grown ups were gathered.

The kids went into the kitchen

The counters were piled high with casseroles, cakes, and cookies

We knew not to touch them, went back outside of the house that was

Filled but empty.

We slept in the living room.

The morning brought light into the house

All the grown ups left, dressed in black

The kids stayed to play and simply told to behave

Hide and go seek.

The grown ups returned

The air was heavy

Their faces were tear stained and pale, no joy in their eyes

The food was put out and filled the house with wonderful aromas

Where was grandpa?

May 2010

GOD SPEAKS... WE LISTEN

When all is said and done by Job and Job’s friends to figure out what was happening in his life and where God was in all of it, GOD speaks…

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question YOU, and you make it known to ME.  Where were you when…?” (Job 38:2,3)

In the end God silences all discussion, all the opinions, all the human understanding and wisdom with the Truth that He alone is wise.  There will come a time possibly in this generation, when God will do this again.  Like Job and his friends we will stand before Him in silence.  We as a nation and as a Church are guilty of thinking our own thoughts and making our own ways,

re-imaging and revising truths that were established at the beginning of time.  We are continually recreating a world that suits us and meets our needs; recreating a church that suits us and meets our needs.  In our arrogance we have taken rights and responsibilities that are not ours to take.  In our arrogance we have created God in our own image and in boldness ask and expect God to bless us for our well doing.

This is not new behavior.  It has been occurring since the beginning of time and recorded for us in the Scriptures, to make us aware of the behavior and alert us of the failure and the consequences that will follow.  We have no excuse for our rebellion no matter how righteous it appears to ourselves and to others.

Through it all God has remained faithful in His love for us.  He gave us the Law; He gave us the Prophets; He gave us His Son.  What more can He give; what more can He do?  The ball is in our court.  Do we continue to speak in the wisdom of our own understanding; questioning God’s thoughts and ways and coming to our own conclusions?  Or do we repent of our arrogance and submit ourselves to God’s questions, God’s thoughts, and God’s ways that are much higher than ours?

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  To draw near to listen…Do not be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth, therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)

I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY

For several years now writing has been a spiritual discipline for me.  Most of the time I don’t even think of it as a discipline because I enjoy the processing of my thoughts and pondering so much that it seems more like a joy than a discipline.  But every once in awhile I run dry and it is a discipline to write; fortunately that isn’t often.

These past few weeks it wasn’t a draught of thoughts but too many that made my writing an effort.  There are so many things to think about and write about these days.  There is a lot happening in the physical world and the spiritual world; things to know about, be concerned about, warn others about, and be in prayer about.  Words and opinions are flying all around trying to capture my attention.  It becomes overwhelming to my mind and my spirit.  I find as I grow older I can’t handle all the information that is bombarding me every minute of every day.  I just want to sit in my chair, cover my head, and shout, “Stop the world I want to get off!”

I was at that point this morning as I opened my Bible to where my trusty bookmark was.  I picked the bookmark up to set it aside and begin my reading, but I stopped and actually read the bookmark.  I smiled because it was an old hymn that I remember singing when I was a kid.  As I read it my mind and heart settled into its words and came to a sense of rest.

“I love to tell the Story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and He’s Glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the Story, because I know ‘tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

I love to tell the Story, ‘twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old Story, of Jesus and His love.”

This is what needs to be shared with every person in this world today; the Story of Jesus and His love.  In this Story are the seeds of eternal hope, eternal joy, eternal love, and eternal life.  Those seeds have the power of God’s authority and transformation in them, to change and to heal people’s lives.  It is the truest method of evangelism and discipleship, the method Jesus gave His disciples directly with the most beautiful promise ever given.

“Behold I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

In these days of darkness and difficulty; in these days of pain and suffering; in these days of rebelliousness and selfishness; in these days that many believe are the “Last Days”; this is the simple Story, the only Story that will bring light to the darkness, ease to the suffering, submission to the rebellion, and hope to those who are waiting for Jesus’ return.

I can see nothing more worthwhile to think about, to talk about, and to write about.  It was God’s plea to His people after He brought them out of slavery and into the Promise Land. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)  It was Jesus’ plea to His disciples after completing His work of bringing God’s people out of the slavery to sin and making the promise of a New Promised Land. (John 14:1-4 and Revelations 21 and 22.)  I can see nothing more worthwhile to have as my message, my mission, and the story that I tell.

WALKING A RAZOR'S EDGGE

Following Jesus and walking with God is like walking on a razor’s edge.  There is a beautiful intimacy that is developed between God and me.  But there is a danger of being too familiar with God that I forget that He is God Almighty, the Creator of the universe. Jesus came to earth to make an intimate relationship with himself and with God possible and he lovingly invites all people into that place of friendship.  That is why he ate and spent time with folks that the Pharisees wouldn’t be caught dead in the company of.  When asked, he told them he came for the sick and for the sinners of this world, to reconcile them with God. 

The danger is a misinterpretation of Jesus’ actions, and we begin to see him as just “one of the good guys”.  Jesus didn’t come to earth just to be cool and hang out down here.  He came with a clear mission; to tell people to repent and to obey God.  He was gentle, fun, and loving, not condemning or judgmental.  But he had an agenda and he stayed true to his mission.   He requires repentance and obedience.  He requires that we die to our selfish ways of living.  He requires that we not be a part of this sinful world.

Jesus didn’t come to be cool.  He came to be Lord.

SOBERING JOY

Sobering joy;

That is what the Christian enjoys in this life time.

Knowing the dark days and yet also knowing

That the sun is still shining on the other side of the clouds;

That is what keeps the joy in sobering times.

The clouds are but midst and are temporary.

They always yield to the light of the sun.

Jesus’ disciples went through that transition moment

Of transitory to eternity;

One side of the cross to the other;

One side of death to the other.

Going through the veil is something we all will do.

Christians have the advantage of knowing what’s on the other side;

Not all the details, but the truth that it is there.

That assurance is where the hope comes from;

That is where our joy comes from.

The times are sobering but the joy is serene.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING OUT

Hebrews 11

Once I realized that the things I was looking for to make me feel happy and at home were not things here on earth but in the life beyond, it gave me a sense of peace and contentment.  I ceased the continuous effort to fit into the perceived mold of behavior, the constant battles to control my destiny, and the consistent reaching out for love and acceptance from others.  I was able to stop, be still, and simply be me.

I always felt like I was on the outside looking in; but the times that I did get inside it wasn’t at all what I wanted it to be, so I would turn around and leave, returning to my place outside because that was where I was really who I was.  I continually bought into the deception that things were better on the inside.  Most, if not all of the time they weren’t.

God made me in His image; that means I am who I am already from the start.  I don’t have to do anything other than be me.  The tempter told Eve that when she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree she would be like God, able to know what God knew and be wise.  But it was a lie.  She became disobedient and self centered; certainly not what God is like.  The tempter showed her an illusion of who she was, placed her in front of a mirror that reflected her image, not God’s.  It’s the same mirror and illusion humans have continued to look at themselves, generation after generation; creating ourselves in our own image, developing what we perceive as our authentic self. 

Somehow that sounds like a good and worthy goal…”Be all that you can be!”  But it is a lie.  I found that in the end it’s exhausting and it always leads to a dead end.  It was never God’s intention for us.  The tempter did the same thing with Jesus.  But Jesus was well aware of who he was and that what he was being offered was a lie.  He dismissed the tempter with a quick, “Be gone Satan”, and that was that. 

The world is caught up in self image; self development, self enhancement, self esteem, and self help techniques all have Self at the center.  It stands in the way of the image we were created to reflect.  The people God gathers together as His people, His treasured possession, are not found in the Who’s Who of self fulfilled people.  They are the nobody special people who remain nameless to most of the world.  They are the failures by this world’s standards.  They are the people who live their lives on the outside looking in at what the world calls popular and successful.  They are people who know they are nothing without the love, grace, and mercy of God, and in that they are content, fulfilled, and at peace.

This world is not their home.  They are strangers, exiles, and aliens living in the knowledge that they are residents of a better place, a homeland that God Himself has prepared for them, where they will dwell with God forever.

That is their authentic destiny.  These are the folks I want to know as friends and hang out with as we wait together on the outside, with our backs to the windows of this world’s delights and offerings.

WHAT DOES MY LIFE COST OTHERS?

It’s difficult to protest against something when you are benefiting from it.  We benefit from the war in the Middle East because it gives us cheap oil; we benefit from fracking because it gives us low gas prices; we benefit from GMOs because the process gives us cheap food whatever season it is.  We have lifestyles that support the war while we shout against it.  That is hypocritical.  Where is John Woolman when we need him?  He encouraged us to look for the things that seed war and stop doing them.

True protest is more than just holding up signs, posting on facebook, or marching in the street.  It is changing your lifestyle, becoming less selfish, and learning what it means to sacrifice our wants and desires.  Maybe a good litmus test for what we do is to consider what it cost others and not do anything at the expense of others.  That alone would have a huge impact.

I don’t think I would enjoy things as much if I really considered the cost of others to do or to have the things I have.  Making my life easier at the expense of others is a crime because it’s stealing life from others.

Jesus is the perfect example.  He was crucified for my sins.  Knowing that and really considering that, how can I enjoy a life of sin?  He made the ultimate sacrifice; but others make sacrifices to.  My father gave up twenty years of his life to be in the military to protect the freedoms of people in this country.  It was hard on him; it was hard on my mom; it was hard on us kids.  The cost was high.  It makes me angry to hear people dissing military personnel and seeing them as the enemies to peace in this world.  The true enemies to peace in this world are everyone who lives selfishly with our natural resources and feels that they need every new technological toy in order to live.  That is the seed that John Woolman would speak to today.

I am not perfect in all of this.  I like my comforts as well as the next person.  But I don’t like being preached to about the problems of the world by the ones that are in reality the causes.  I want to become responsible for what I do and what I own, considering the cost to others.  It seems only right.

QUERY

What do my life style and life choices cost others?

WE NEED OUR HEROES

I grew up in a world that still had heroes to look up to.  Their stories were read and then played out in the backyard with friends as we became Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone, Geronimo, Annie Oakley, and many more.  They taught us to have adventures in the wilderness, not to be afraid of it, or see it as a “cash cow”.  Then came space heroes, men and women who put themselves into rocket ships and went for a walk on the moon; sports heroes and music heroes that make their way to various Halls of Fame; military heroes who sacrificed and fought for our freedom, now have monuments to remind us to appreciate our freedom.  Even politics had heroes as anyone who lives or visits DC will see as larger than life.

Things are different now.  In our zealousness to be reasonable and factual the idea of heroes has all but disappeared.  Thanks to those who do their homework and looked beyond the stories our teachers told us, we discovered that these elevated heroes were people who, as Jimmy Buffett would say, “Are flawed individuals”.  Certainly we can’t elevate these flawed individuals to the rank of hero!  Besides, they’re people just like me.

I think that we need heroes in our lives; I know I benefited from them.  Maybe instead of defrocking our heroes we should redefine our concept of hero and what their role in our lives should be.

The Bible is packed full of heroes but is clear about one of them being perfect.  The Bible doesn’t hide the flaws of its heroes, it accents them.  The Bible heroes are indeed, people like me, flawed individuals.  That is what makes me want to know theses men and women better, learn from them and the ways they lived their lives, and overcame their adversities.

The Bible’s Hall of Fame is impressive and inspiring, well worth a visit.  Walking with God through the Bible is an adventure.  I have also found some friends who have walked the same road I am walking, people who have become heroes to me and found their way into my personal Hall of Fame.  It enriches my life and enhances my devotion to God, who works in the lives of all human beings, no matter how flawed they are.

It is a beautiful thing to be impacted in a special way by others.  There are many potential heroes in the Bible and in this life to look up to and learn from.  It is good to take time to remember them, honor them, and be inspired by them. 

QUERY

Who Are the Bible heroes you look up to?

Who are the people in your life you look up to?

THE WHYS & WHEREFORES ARE THERE FOR A REASON

The temple was the place people went to acknowledge and deal with their sin against God.  They would bring their offerings to be sacrificed and receive God’s forgiveness.  It was a place of meeting with God and give praise and worship to Him for all of His love and care for them.  He was at the center in the Holy of Holies and they were on their knees.  They knew their position as sinners before a Holy God and when they left they knew His love and His forgiveness.  It was not a social club.  It was not a debate forum.  It was a meeting with God and it was sacred.

The temple was a copy of things to come, things that would be revealed and fulfilled by Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  His offering for sin was once and for all; he himself became the sacrifice, a single offering.  God made a new and final covenant with His people in the person of Jesus Christ.  Next time he comes he will come not to die, but to take God’s people home with him, to dwell with God forever. He will take those who are eagerly waiting for him where we God will be our God and the Lamb and the Lord God Almighty will be our temple, not to deal with sin but simply to worship Him for who He is.  Oh, how I look forward to that day!

My path to this place of assurance and confidence in faith has not been without pain and suffering.  Death to the flesh is always bloody; it doesn’t die easily and it doesn’t die instantaneously.  It comes down to making choices, moment to moment, day by day, and year after year.  I was given the right to become a child of God by receiving and believing in the name of His Son.  But with rights come responsibilities.  I have to make the choice to listen and to obey Him. 

The flesh dies hard; its desires and will are strong and persistent.  But it must die to allow the Spirit to have the freedom to move and fill my heart, mind, and life.  My way, truth, and life must succumb and submit to His Way, Truth, and Life.  That takes time and sacrifice, but standing on this side of it, it is truly worth it.

After forty plus years I can look back and I wonder what the big deal was about.  What I thought was so important to fight and keep proved itself inferior and worthless in the end.  Even the good stuff proved not to be the best.  I battled for my way until I was weary; I hung onto the cliff of self defiance until my hands were bloody, and then I just gave up, only to find my feet were only inches away from a solid foundation of rock.

The self berating and condemnation questions and the regrets filled my head but quickly they ceased as I looked at the stories of many others just like me in the Bible and in the lives of others who came to see how truly stunning God is and how much He loves us.  Now I see it all as part of the growth process.  All those battles and experiences were like compost, that enriches the soil and helps produce strong roots.  I still have my moments of tripping up along the way, but the choices are now made with haste, knowing there is really no choice, simply obedience, and that makes me eternally grateful. 

GOD'S WINNING TEAM

I grew up playing team sports.  I loved being part of a team of people who worked together under the direction of one coach who called all the shots, and with a group of people who had the same goal; to play well and to win.  We were all individuals but our unity came together when we were on the field or on the court.  We were as different as could be but when we played the game we were one.

I carried that team concept into my work at Camp, in the churches I worked at, and in my various jobs.  I miss being part of a team, working together with one message and mission.  The world has become a mass of individuals.  It has been difficult, if not impossible, to find a place that even has or knows its message or mission.  Everybody has their own thing going, in the midst of others who have their own thing going, and everybody wants things their way.  That is not a team.  I think that’s why there are so many divisions and ruptures in groups these days; we don’t become unified in our message and mission so they get muddied and confusing.  People are no longer wanting and willing to become loyal to a cause or a coach anymore.  There is a lack of leadership and a lack of team sensibility, so the problems of the world continue to grow.  Everybody wants to do their own thing, have there own way, and when they are thwarted they throw in their gloves and stop playing.  That doesn’t work on a ball field and it certainly won’t work in a needy world.  Nobody wins and everybody loses.

So what is the answer?  I have a Biblical Christian worldview so I would say looking to God and to the Bible for the answer.  I would say that Jesus shows us a pattern to follow that just might work if allowed to.  It’s not a new plan; it’s been in existence since the beginning of time and found its fulfillment two thousand plus years ago.  I suggest we accept Jesus’ invitation to “Come and see”, and to follow him as he revels his pattern of becoming a team, under a good coach, digesting the play book, and knowing what our united message and mission is.  Let the team be developed, let’s practice and work out the plays together as one, and let the game begin.

OUR HERITAGE IS CLOTHED IN HUMILITY

Jeremiah 3:13

Humility is not a product of beating oneself up, berating oneself, succumbing to low self esteem, or seeing oneself as weak.  That is a false humility in that it depends on me and is perceived in a fleshly way.  Jesus was humble because he was obedient, willingly submitting himself to his Father, and seeing himself as a servant to the will of God.  In his humility he stood strong; in his humility he acted wisely; in his humility he demonstrated the love and grace of God to the entire world.  He knew who he was because he knew who God was.

Submission and servant hood are not weak positions.  They make me strong in my faith as I am obedient to God in all I do and think.  It is saying that God knows best and it is good to follow His lead.  He knows the final destination and all the bumps in the road that are good to avoid.  He has the big picture and sees what I cannot see at times.

Submission and servant hood are not popular standards or positions in the world.  There is a belief that human beings have evolved and have been enlightened and are therefore able to be our own masters of our own lives and our own destinies.  One look at the world today should show us the futility of that thinking.

God made us with an inner sense of obedience and enlightenment placed within each one of us.  He made us with an innate sense of servant hood as well.  We were made in His image and obedience, enlightenment, and servant hood are truly the image of a Triune God.  I see these qualities demonstrated as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to one another throughout time.  The three are one, loving and serving one another.

Bob Dylan prophetically wrote and sang, “You’re gonna serve somebody.  It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve somebody.”

Humanity’s problem is that we made the wrong choice in the beginning by listening to a voice other than God’s voice, and have continued in that wrong choice down through time and generations. 

Disobedience to the simple and sufficient word of God is the root of all our problems and strife we experience in this life in the world today.  When we see that Truth we must acknowledge it, take responsibility for it, repent of it, and change our ways.  Through obedience and submission to God we will grow into our right state of being; we will be enlightened by the True light who came into the world; we will know and receive our True rights, to become children of God and have a Father who cares for us, directs us, and walks with us along the path.  We will know the beauty of True humility and servant hood.  We will know what it’s like to be forever in the fountain of living waters and drink from the spring of the water of life without payment.  We will dwell with God and He will BE our God.

THE LESSON THAT UNDERGIRDS ALL LESSONS

Philippians 2:6-9

Jesus took three years to lay a firm foundation for his disciples.  His Presence, his teaching, and his demonstration of the power of God were to act as the strong beams to be built on as he was preparing them for the message and mission they would continue after he returned to his Father.  The final lesson for these disciples was a large dose of helplessness, hopelessness, and humility as they all failed there final exam.  In the end Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, and all abandoned him in his hour of need in the garden and at his death.  It was over for them, or so they thought.

All of their work for nothing; their vision had died with their Master.  Their perception of power had filled their heads so they missed the final teaching of Jesus that he so thoroughly taught their last night together.  They were still operating out of the fleshly ways of the world.  The pride of their relationship with him would be their downfall.  He was gone and they were now hated and hunted by his enemies.  In reality this was the best lesson of all.

He had not prepared them to take the world on by themselves, in their own worldly wisdom and understanding.  They would be required to follow in the footsteps of their Master, the very thing that is required of all who truly follow Jesus.  “Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-9). 

Jesus maintained that position even after he was raised from the dead.  The event of all time was not broadcasted around the world.  Jesus appeared to his disciples behind closed doors in the upper room, on the uncrowded road to Emmaus, and on a beach, simply making breakfast. He had returned from the dead as silently and indiscrete as he had come into this world.  He refused to have his resurrection be a sign and wonder and simply returned to his disciples for one more reason.  He renewed their vision, reminding them of the message and mission he had chosen them for.  And he came to impart to them the power to perform it, not their own power that they now knew was ineffective, but the absolute power of the Holy Spirit.

There is no room for arrogance, pride, or self sufficiency in the lives of those who follow Jesus and walk with God.  There can be only humility, obedience, and submission to Him, whose name is above all names.

CALLED TO LOVE, NOT JUDGE OR CONDEMN

John 21:19-23

I have come to the realization that it is not my business to judge or even have an opinion about other people and the way they live their lives.  That is God’s business and He is far better suited to the task.  With that understanding under my belt I am better able to interact with others the way I see Jesus interact with others as he walked through his life here on earth.  He loved all people and gave them respect for who they were regardless of their “station in life”.  With that understanding under my belt I can spend my time conforming my life into all God wants it to be.

Jesus called me to love everyone, even those who are my enemies.  I can’t do that if I am judging or criticizing them.  Only God knows what is in the hearts of people.  He knows the whys and wherefores of all of our lives.  He alone knows where these people are with Him and He is working in their lives in ways I cannot see or comprehend.  He looks beyond their faults and pours out love on their needs, and I believe He expects that kindness from me as well.  It is not an easy task but often obedience is not an easy task, and that is what I believe I am called to do.  I cannot do this in my flesh.  I can only do this by the assistance of the Holy Spirit living within me.

I feel better when I am more loving than judging.  There is a hardness in heart that I feel when I am condemning or critical of others, even when in my self righteousness I think they deserve it.  I believe that is due to the fact that my self is not righteous when I am behaving in a way that God doesn’t honor and doesn’t honor God.  My righteousness is only in Him and that means obedience to him in all I think and do.  It is a simple formula that He gave Cain. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). 

I live in a condemning and critical world that is full of judgment and opinions about other people.  I believe that God’s love trumps all of that.  When I am walking in that Spirit and in that frame of mind I can do what I am called to do.  I hold to the example that Jesus set forth and then I am able to do well.

WHERE ELSE WOULD I GO?

John 6:60-69

I love to read the Bible because it gives me a sense of connection and communion that I don’t find any where else.  I feel a connection with the Creator of the world and with all that He created.  I don’t have to do anything to participate in that connection except believe it is there and receive it in all of its splendor and simplicity.   In that connection a communion comes, a sense of oneness with God and all His creation.  There is never a feeling of being alone, abandoned, or left out of the circle of life that is often felt in the flesh oriented world today.  The best people are but people at best.  They will always disappoint and disillusion one another.

This is one thing the stories in the Bible clearly demonstrate.  Human beings are flesh and bones, made of dust and are frail and weak in their lives and intentions.  But beyond all of that, in the regenerate heart, lives the Spirit of God who is anything but frail and weak, who never disappoints or disillusions one, who gives life and hope to those who yield to his reign in their heart, mind, and will.  This is the other thing the stories in the Bible clearly demonstrate.

I consider myself a Universalist, believing that God wants all people to participate in the eternal life that He created for them to live in.  But God created human beings with a free will and the ability to choose who they would obey and serve.  He encourages but never forces.  The stories in the Bible clearly demonstrate the consequences of one’s choice. 

It is beyond my understanding why people would choose anything other than the connection and communion with the loving God who created them.  I echo Peter when given the choice to leave or to continue following Jesus.  “Where else would we go?  You have the words of eternal Life.”

RETURN TO THE SOURCE

THE FIRST CHOICE, THE SOURCE OF ALL CHOICES

It is easy to major in the minor; to concentrate on the result rather than the cause.  The things that are thought of and attacked as sins are really the fruit of sin, the sin of the world that Jesus came and died to release us from.  The acts of the flesh are the fruits of the root of a Spiritual misalignment; unbelief in God.  Unbelief in God will lead to disobedience which leads to a hardened heart which in the end separates us from God, which is the sin of the world.  Jesus came to lay an axe at the root of unbelief and with a winnowing fork to clear the threshing floor of the chaff of the deeds of flesh.  There can be no unbelief in the kingdom of God where He ultimately rules and reigns.

Unbelief caused Adam and Eve to disobey God.  Unbelief caused the Israelites to provoke God with their disobedience in the wilderness.  Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden.  The Israelites were forbidden to enter the Land of Promise.  Those who harden their hearts with unbelief will not enter into the Presence of God where He offers His rest.

Sin is deceitful.  It can play tricks with our minds and eyes.  At its root is unbelief in God.  “Has God said?”  That is why it is important to know what God said and to believe in what God said with all your heart, mind, and strength.  God’s words are clear.  God’s choices are clear; DO or DO NOT.  There are no shades of gray in God. 

The first choice that is the source of every other choice is to “choose this day whom you will serve.”  God sets before all of us life or death.  It is His hope and desire that we choose life, “that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him.”  (Deuteronomy 30:11-20).  That choice continues throughout the generations; it is still the choice offered today, through His Son.  “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12,13).  God has freely offered us all He has to give, including Himself.  But the choice to receive or reject him is always ours.

RETURN TO THE SOURCE VIII

THE PERILS OF A PROVIDED FOR PEOPLE

I sent a copy of the Bible Study I developed, Following Jesus & Walking With God: A Year’s Journey Through the Gospels to a friend of mine.  When I spoke to her after she had received it she said she didn’t realize she would have to do the work required in it; she thought she would just read it.  I laughed and said, “Clearly you don’t know me very well”.  I thought about that phone encounter this week as I had two of those “cringe” moments at what I heard coming out of the mouths of people who I would describe as mature Christians.

The first “cringe” moment came when a Pastor friend of mine, who I watch over the internet on Sundays, began his sermon with these words:  “I realize how spoiled you are as a congregation.  You don’t have to bring your Bibles to church because we put the scriptures up on the overhead screen; you don’t have to take notes because I have prepared a study sheet and it is in the bulletin; I spoil you because I love you.”  CRINGE!  Twenty or so years ago when he was my Pastor he would tell us to “be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who ‘received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily

to find out whether these things were true.”  I hold those words to heart and have continued to exercise my Bearean spirit daily.

The second “cringe” moment was while watching a group of Bible scholars from a Bible School I study at online as they were being interview concerning the importance of knowing the Scriptures.  After the hour interview the moderator said these words:  “I am glad I don’t have to know everything because you all are so well informed”.  CRINGE!

I once wrote an essay on The Perils of a Provided For People and realized that I was hearing the roots of that condition from mature Christians and began to wonder if they are not also the roots of the condition of too many Christians and Churches today.  I learned in my Behavioral Science studies that over protective parents of children can be just as harmful as under protective parents.  It seems the over protective ways of the world have snuck into the Church as well, and we are suffering the perils of that.

The person who gets the most out of a class, a workshop, or a sermon, is the one who did all the work in preparing it; the reading, researching, working it through, kneading it, and getting it ready to present.  The material has gotten deep into the mind, heart, and soul of the preparer.  Those who attend and listen to the finished product may get temporarily inspired and may learn the surface of the topic; but until they work it all out for themselves they will not benefit as much as the preparer.  That material is theirs and so is the transformation that comes from it.  Predigested food loses most if not all of its nutrients, so I would suspect that predigested thoughts and ideas do the same.  It will not produce a satisfied or sustainable growth. 

Each of us must do the work.  Classes, workshops, and sermons are all fine, but each of us is responsible and will benefit greatly from doing the work just as the teacher, workshop leader, and Pastor must do.  I have benefited most from teachers, workshop leaders, and Pastors who teach me how to do the work rather than simply presenting the results of their work.  This is especially true in the Spiritual life where transformation of the heart is the goal of all we learn with our mind.

QUERY

Do I have a Bearean spirit?  Do I examine for myself with the help of the Spirit of Truth all that is told to me by my teachers?

Am I aware of the perils of a provided for people and therefore be willing to do the work necessary to fully and personally understand what I am taught?

RETURN TO THE SOURCE VII

FOREVER FRIENDS IN LOVE

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.

John 15:13-15

There is a lot of theological and scholarly activity around the death of Jesus.  We have big words to describe it and books upon books to explain it.  We have become a people full of theological and scholarly debates about God, Jesus, and all that concern them.  Our libraries and book stores are overflowing with information and knowledge about God, as are out seminaries and churches.  If that is what it is all about, then why are we not a better people, better Church, better world?

I honor and respect theologians and biblical scholars.  I admire the time and energy they put into their work.  But it doesn’t satisfy me to have a full mind but an empty heart and a lonely life.  I don’t want to just know about God.  I want to know God in an intimate and personal way.  I want to be known by God as an intimate and personal friend.  That goes way beyond information; that goes to the heart of love.

When I read John 15:13 this morning a light went on in my heart.  Jesus believed he was laying down his life for his friends; simple as that.  Not for our Atonement, Substitutionary Atonement, Propitiation for Sin, or any other label. He loved the people he died for and saw them as friends.  The simplicity of that overwhelms me.  He believes we are friends and that touches my heart and fills it to overflowing with love.

Some would say it is pretentious to believe I am friends God; that is bringing the Almighty God down to a human level.  I used to be intimidated by people who sat in their theological and scholarly offices and their places of prestige and power.  I am no longer intimidated; now I simply feel sad for them.  I wonder how they read their Bibles and not see that God walked and talked with the saints of old and indeed, He did come down to human level to dwell with us and to be with us as friends.

Some would say it’s disrespectful to God to believe I am in an intimate friendship with the God who created and rules the world; who do I think I am?  Well, according to God who created and rules the world I am His child, a right He Himself gave to me because I received and believed in the name of His Son Jesus.  Children have intimate and friendly relationships with their parents.

God has always come and spoken with common ordinary people who would take the time to walk with Him and listen to Him.  Jesus came down and dwelt among us revealing a relationship of friendship and love with God.  The Bible is clear as it records story after story of how much God loves His people and wants to be friends with us.  That kind of love makes me want to obey Him and want to trust Him and look to Him as my Lord and Master.  How can I not submit to that kind of love with all of my heart, mind, and strength?

RETURN TO THE SOURCE VI

CULTIVATING A TEACHABLE SPIRIT

“The best of human beings are human beings at best.”  We come into this world with nothing, clothed only in humility and innocence.  As we grow we begin to gather things unto ourselves; knowledge, position, reputation.  Eventually our humility changes into pride and our innocence into a sense of entitlement.  As I read the Gospels I can see that transition slowly sneak into the lives of the disciples.  Jesus chose ordinary people of the day to teach and train to carry out the message and the mission that he was sent to give to the world.  Over the three years of being with Jesus their humility slowly changed into pride and their innocence into entitlement.  Several times Peter started stepping in and telling Jesus what he should and shouldn’t do.  James and John started putting in their bid to sit in a place of power when the kingdom came forth.  Judas got a little money hungry and rebuked Jesus for wasting money on perfume.  I imagine the others did things to strut their stuff as special men who hung out with the Messiah.

When Jesus was crucified and died on the cross all that changed.

The disciples were not viewed as ‘special’ anymore.  Now they were viewed as suspect because of their association with Jesus; they were afraid of the Roman authorities and the Jewish authorities; they were discouraged with Jesus and disappointed with God’s message and mission that they now saw as ended.  “I’m going fishing” said Peter.  He was going back to who he was and what he did before he met this man whom he had given everything up for and followed for three years.  I can only imagine that the others had similar feelings and plans. In the end this was a good move for Peter, for the other disciples, and for me, as a present day follower of Jesus.

I remember going for a job interview after I finished college.  I sat across from Dee Goldberg, the manager of the Finance Department at the Potomac Foundation for Mental Health.  He kept asking me if I had any experience in this and that, had ever worked with this and that?  I answered no to all of his inquiries. I left that room knowing I would never be hired.  A few days later I got a phone call from Dee, telling me I had indeed gotten the job and told me when to report to work.  That first day I walked into his office and he handed me all my paper work and asked me if I had any questions before he would take me to my new office and introduce me to my new co-workers.

I said I had one question; how in the world did I get this job when I didn’t know how to do anything it required?  He looked at me and smiled.  Then he said, “Because you don’t know anything, that means I can train and teach you the ways I want things done, not have to compete with the way you think they should be done.”  He was one of the best bosses I ever worked for; he was patient, kind, thoughtful, a good teacher, and a trust worthy authority I could easily submit to.

The deflation of the disciples after they had failed Jesus during his hardest hour was actually a good and necessary thing for them.  They needed to know that they in themselves were nothing; it was and would continue to be Jesus and the Spirit of God within them that would make their lives and work productive. 

One of Jesus’ last times with them recorded in John 21 was a restorative time for all of them, especially Peter.  He took them back to the beginning, telling them to cast their nets on the right side and providing them with fish and bread to eat.  Then he reminded them as he spoke to Peter of the summation of all he had taught them.  “Love me, tend and feed my sheep.”

A few days later the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as Jesus had promised, clothing them once again with humility and innocence.  Now they would be fully prepared to speak the message and fulfill the mission they were chosen to speak and fulfill by God.

QUERY:

How can I keep myself ever mindful that I am clay in the hands

of an excellent Master Potter?

     How can I remain clothed in humility and innocence so that I

     totally trust and submit to the touch of the Master Potter’s

     hands rather than strive against it, wanting my own way?

RETURN TO THE SOURCE V

PRESENCE NOT PROGRAMS

I have come to realize and accept that I am an “outside of the camp” Christian.  I worked in various churches in my life and enjoyed what I was doing with the people, especially the young people.  But even then I busied myself more with the presence of the people than developing and working the programs.  I could spend hours talking with the kids about spiritual matters and about their lives as we meet together, either formally or informally.  There was an aliveness about those times, both in the church or at their ball games or other activities we share together.  Two one hour meetings sitting on the church Board, talking about the size of the offering envelopes did me in.  It was then that that I blurred the difference between the words Board and bored.  I honor and respect the people who work many hours to put together programs every week to present to the church on Sundays.  I just prefer working with individuals, being present with them, and hanging “outside the camp” with them, sharing in their lives.

It is also “outside the camp” that I find myself in God’s Presence in a precious and enriching way for me.  I find precedence for my preference in the lives of the people who followed God recorded in the Bible.  “Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp and called it the tent of meeting…that is where the Lord would speak with Moses face to face, as with a friend.  Joshua used to follow Moses and remain at the tent even after Moses left.”

(Exodus 33:7-11). Elijah was alone, lodging in a cave when God came and spoke to him. (I Kings 19:9).  Jesus was always going off to a place far from the crowd to be alone.  Paul was alone, abandoned by others and in prison as he wrote his letters.  John was in exile on the island of Patmos when he received his great revelation of end times.

Presence with God and presence with one another seems to be a priority for God.  He took Presence to an extreme by becoming flesh and dwelling among us. (John 1:14).

I wonder what would happen if there were less programs and more Presence in the religious lives of people; if living out our programs we work so hard to plan and execute 24/7, not just for an hour a week.  Usually the purpose of developing good programs is to bring people into the church, entice them by entertaining them, and hoping they will stay and join in with us.  That is not a bad motive but is the best and most sustainable?  What if the time and energy developing programs was put into developing actual relationships, first with God and then with one another?  What if we would actually BE the program?  It would be the fruit of our Presence with God rather than the product of a lot of activity.  I have heard and experienced for myself the burnout that comes when folks get so busy working for God that their relationship with God suffers by being put on hold.

Jesus didn’t present programs to his disciples or to those who followed him. He came and simply dwelt among us.  There was something in him that made his disciples want to give up everything to follow him and be with him.  There was something in him that made people from all walks of life want to eat and drink with him and be with him.  His work was “outside of the camp”, outside of the Temple, where the lives of the people were being lived.  Is that true of those today who work so hard in religious and church life?

What if the Presence of God was so strong and so observable in those who love and follow God that people would come and see not a program but a person who loves God with all his or her heart, mind, and strength?  Then we could ask them “what are you seeking?” and simply invite them to come and walk with us.  Presence is inviting and it is contagious.  Time and energy spent on cultivating Presence with God and with one another will produce good and everlasting fruit.