John 19:22 Pilate answered "What I have written, I have written."
Pilate, who earlier asked the Christ "What is Truth?" and then did all he could to stop Christ from being crucified, stood firm on the truth he had discovered. So firm, that he put it in writing, in three languages and publicly displayed it so all could see: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
This made many people upset but Pilate stood firm. If he could have elaborated he might have said "Let the record show and let history record this truth: Here is the King of the Jews".
There is something about the written word. It's permanence. It's transparency. I have always preferred the written word over the spoken word. Every day, it seems, the media has a retraction from a politician, a celebrity or a sports star that what they had said was not what they had said or meant. This is why I believe it takes more courage, more thought to put to paper what could be read by thousands. It is rare a retraction is made for the written word because once it is on paper it might as well be writ in stone.
When I peruse my journals, most that will never see the eyes of others, I am taken back to the foolishness and seriousness of those moments. The schmaltzy teen-age love poems; the paragraphs of hurt and rejection; the elation of that first kiss and the confusion of what I would be doing with the rest of my life. As I have matured, my journals have matured but I still find solace in those written expressions of my life-in-the-moment. I think it is safe to say that of all the things I have carried with me through life it is the written word that has consoled me, inspired me, enlightened me, enraged me and carried me. The written word has been the constant, be it my own words or the words of others.
I am a lover of the binded book. I look warily on the e-book revolution that has taken place. I like the feel of a book in my hands, the antiseptic smell of a book just off the bookstore shelf or the musty odor of a book found at a yard sale. I like walking through an airport and being able to spy what other people are reading. Can't do that with an e-book.
I like walking into a Barnes and Noble to see the vast kingdom of books before me. I like the time it takes to hit all the stacks and try to find the I-never-would-have-thought-to-buy-that-book-unless-I-saw-it book. I find no romance or intrigue in scrolling down a computer screen to pick out a book.
I also desecrate books. I write in them, I underline the thoughts and the passages that strike me. There are very few books in my library that have not been cut by my ink sword. In fact, I have purchased borrowed books when I have become so lost in the words I forgot the book was not mine and marked it as if it were. I like the motion and the familiarity of turning the page and of dog-earing the page when finished for the moment. Can't do that with an e-book.
Trust me, I catch the irony in expressing these thoughts in a paperless blog.
I understand the new technology. I use the new technology. The new technology has made my job easier in preparing sermons, in counseling people, in growing in Christ. Yet, nothing compares to my first preaching Bible that sits in a box in my office. The binding is tore from use and the pages are stained with tears and coffee. Margins are filled with my scrawled observations and God's prodding. Exclamation points and question marks abound after certain passages. The Bible I preach out of now will soon be boxed and soon I will get to break in a new one. I love those old Bibles that chart my growth and history as a Pastor.
I could get the new E-Bible. Many preachers are reading off of I-Pads and I-Phones. It would be convenient. It would be quicker. It would be totally up-to-date and relevant to the congregation. Yet, I think I will stick with the binded Bible.
Whether you are an old nostalgic soul like me or a cutting edge techno-geek we must understand that God understands the power of the written word. If there is one book we must read it would be His Word. E-Bible or Old-musty Bible the Truth of the written word stays the same and continues to impact lives: Christ became one of us, lived like us, died for us, and rose again so that we might have a restored relationship with God. He put it in writing. God has written what He has written. And I am forever thankful for His Written Word.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Fall
Psalm 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."
I am not what you would call an outdoorsman. Any voluntary activity out-of-doors usually includes a golf club or a softball bat. Any activity I am forced to do out-of-doors is with a shovel, a mower or a woodpile.
Fall, though, is my favorite season of the year. If I am going to be outside just to be outside, it will be now, as the smell of wood burning stoves being stoked mix with the fermentation of the leaves that have fallen early. The sun does not burn, but warms and brings light and shadow to the dawn as the fog curls off the lake. The last ray of light is a visual Taps, warning at dusk:
For me, Fall is when I hear the heavens declare the glory of God the loudest. It is the time I am more likely to stop from the activity of the day and just revel in the beauty that is creation. I am more likely to take a walk in the fall, breathe in the morning air in the fall, and meander until it is dark. There is peace, I think, in the Fall. God is nigh.
Too often we overlook the beauty of God's creation and do not hear the declaration of his glory because the day has gotten ahead of us. There are things to do. People to see. Fires to put out. Meetings to attend.
Even if we are outside surrounded by the wonder of God's creation we may be pre-occupied with our cell-phone, reflexively grabbing it at any vibration, and grabbing it again when we feel it has not vibrated frequently enough. Even if we have left the cell behind, our mind races and runs to the hours and the days ahead. It is somehow ironic that in the midst of God's beauty we do not heed one of his commands: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
I am going to take a walk, today. I will do my best to clear my head and open my heart to the call of nature singing out the glory of my God. I hope someone has a fire burning and enough leaves are on the ground that will "rustle" as I walk through them. May be in the silence of an Autumn sunset I will allow God to speak to me in that still small voice that has so encouraged me and instructed me in the past.
As I go, this I know, God is nigh.
Psalm 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."
I am not what you would call an outdoorsman. Any voluntary activity out-of-doors usually includes a golf club or a softball bat. Any activity I am forced to do out-of-doors is with a shovel, a mower or a woodpile.
Fall, though, is my favorite season of the year. If I am going to be outside just to be outside, it will be now, as the smell of wood burning stoves being stoked mix with the fermentation of the leaves that have fallen early. The sun does not burn, but warms and brings light and shadow to the dawn as the fog curls off the lake. The last ray of light is a visual Taps, warning at dusk:
"Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh.
Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar, drawing near
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise for our days
Neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky
As we go, this we know
God is nigh."
For me, Fall is when I hear the heavens declare the glory of God the loudest. It is the time I am more likely to stop from the activity of the day and just revel in the beauty that is creation. I am more likely to take a walk in the fall, breathe in the morning air in the fall, and meander until it is dark. There is peace, I think, in the Fall. God is nigh.
Too often we overlook the beauty of God's creation and do not hear the declaration of his glory because the day has gotten ahead of us. There are things to do. People to see. Fires to put out. Meetings to attend.
Even if we are outside surrounded by the wonder of God's creation we may be pre-occupied with our cell-phone, reflexively grabbing it at any vibration, and grabbing it again when we feel it has not vibrated frequently enough. Even if we have left the cell behind, our mind races and runs to the hours and the days ahead. It is somehow ironic that in the midst of God's beauty we do not heed one of his commands: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
I am going to take a walk, today. I will do my best to clear my head and open my heart to the call of nature singing out the glory of my God. I hope someone has a fire burning and enough leaves are on the ground that will "rustle" as I walk through them. May be in the silence of an Autumn sunset I will allow God to speak to me in that still small voice that has so encouraged me and instructed me in the past.
As I go, this I know, God is nigh.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Train
Proverbs 22:6- "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
It was the end of July 1995. My wife and I, two kids-Morgan age 7 and Jordan age 4-pulled out of the driveway of our Pastor's home in Portland, Maine headed for Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend North Central University. This was the journey of all journeys as I finally followed through on God's call on my life to enter ministry full-time. I would receive my schooling and return to Maine. That was the plan.
To help on the trip was my Mom and Dad and my oldest brother. We had borrowed another brother's truck, an uncle's trailer, packed up everything we owned, had said our good-byes to our church family, blood family and friends and off we went. By August 2nd 1995 we were moved in to our apartment in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. By August 5th Mom and Dad were gone and our connection to Maine would be by telephone, the postal service and the fledgling internet.
The decision to make such a life altering move was not simple, nor easy. The full story takes more time than you are willing to read in a blog, but let me say that it could not have been done without Mom and Dad. And I am not just talking about the physical move, but the spiritual move.
Mom and Dad brought me up in church. They instilled in me the routine of faith until I could determine the depth of faith for myself. They were not just Sunday Christians as I witnessed them living out their faith in every way imaginable. They dealt with sickness, disappointment, prosperity, and poverty the same way: with God. I caught them praying for us kids at the house, saw Mom reading her Bible while having a cup of tea at the kitchen table. I marveled at the offering check they would put in the plate every week, even though some weeks the money was tight. I listened to them sing during worship, saw Dad usher and take the offering. Mom and Dad taught Sunday School, served on various boards, helped people in time of need. The lived their faith.
As I grew to have kids of my own I began to realize that the above verse is not just about the rote of Scripture, prayers and creeds. It was not just about the obligation of attending church services. Every time my Mom let me put the offering in the offering plate she was training me to be generous to God. Every time Mom and Dad went out of their way to pick someone else for church they were teaching me to serve others. Every time I caught them praying and reading the Bible they were re-enforcing the importance of such disciplines. All along, intentional or not, they were training me on the way I should go with God.
The choice to serve God, of course, has been mine. The choice to heed God's call to be a minister has been mine, as well. Yet I had role models in my parents that whatever I should choose to do, it is possible and always better to do it with God.
I cringe, as a Pastor, when someone tells me that they were so burned by the church when they were young that they would not force God or church on their kids. Instead, they will let their children make that decision on their own as they get older. I understand the sentiment and the abuses of the church in the past, but by not giving our kids a faith foundation or a model of what a healthy relationship with God and the church looks like, we are training them that life is lived without God. I am not sure that is anyone's intent.
Training anyone in anything takes modeling. If we do not model the life of faith to our kids, what are we modeling?
As I write this I am sitting in a Panera Bread in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My wife and I have just moved our daughter and our soon-to-be son-in-law from Minneapolis for them to begin their ministry as youth and worship pastors at Central Church. We borrowed someone's truck and someone's trailer, packed it up and made the trip to Packer land.
When they expressed thanks, I said to my daughter "Don't you remember when Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Kent helped us move out here? I am just doing what they did. And with pleasure."
I hope my daughter and son will be able to write the words I have written about my parents, some day. I hope they caught me praying, reading the Bible and serving others. I hope and pray that I have trained them as my parents trained me, not just with words but with actions.
The fact my daughter has entered the "family business" is not proof I have trained her well. How she lives her life and makes her decisions with God as her foundation is. I am doubly blessed, with parents that followed God's command to train me, and with children who took to that training I learned from Mom and Dad. Thank you, God.
It was the end of July 1995. My wife and I, two kids-Morgan age 7 and Jordan age 4-pulled out of the driveway of our Pastor's home in Portland, Maine headed for Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend North Central University. This was the journey of all journeys as I finally followed through on God's call on my life to enter ministry full-time. I would receive my schooling and return to Maine. That was the plan.
To help on the trip was my Mom and Dad and my oldest brother. We had borrowed another brother's truck, an uncle's trailer, packed up everything we owned, had said our good-byes to our church family, blood family and friends and off we went. By August 2nd 1995 we were moved in to our apartment in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. By August 5th Mom and Dad were gone and our connection to Maine would be by telephone, the postal service and the fledgling internet.
The decision to make such a life altering move was not simple, nor easy. The full story takes more time than you are willing to read in a blog, but let me say that it could not have been done without Mom and Dad. And I am not just talking about the physical move, but the spiritual move.
Mom and Dad brought me up in church. They instilled in me the routine of faith until I could determine the depth of faith for myself. They were not just Sunday Christians as I witnessed them living out their faith in every way imaginable. They dealt with sickness, disappointment, prosperity, and poverty the same way: with God. I caught them praying for us kids at the house, saw Mom reading her Bible while having a cup of tea at the kitchen table. I marveled at the offering check they would put in the plate every week, even though some weeks the money was tight. I listened to them sing during worship, saw Dad usher and take the offering. Mom and Dad taught Sunday School, served on various boards, helped people in time of need. The lived their faith.
As I grew to have kids of my own I began to realize that the above verse is not just about the rote of Scripture, prayers and creeds. It was not just about the obligation of attending church services. Every time my Mom let me put the offering in the offering plate she was training me to be generous to God. Every time Mom and Dad went out of their way to pick someone else for church they were teaching me to serve others. Every time I caught them praying and reading the Bible they were re-enforcing the importance of such disciplines. All along, intentional or not, they were training me on the way I should go with God.
The choice to serve God, of course, has been mine. The choice to heed God's call to be a minister has been mine, as well. Yet I had role models in my parents that whatever I should choose to do, it is possible and always better to do it with God.
I cringe, as a Pastor, when someone tells me that they were so burned by the church when they were young that they would not force God or church on their kids. Instead, they will let their children make that decision on their own as they get older. I understand the sentiment and the abuses of the church in the past, but by not giving our kids a faith foundation or a model of what a healthy relationship with God and the church looks like, we are training them that life is lived without God. I am not sure that is anyone's intent.
Training anyone in anything takes modeling. If we do not model the life of faith to our kids, what are we modeling?
As I write this I am sitting in a Panera Bread in Green Bay, Wisconsin. My wife and I have just moved our daughter and our soon-to-be son-in-law from Minneapolis for them to begin their ministry as youth and worship pastors at Central Church. We borrowed someone's truck and someone's trailer, packed it up and made the trip to Packer land.
When they expressed thanks, I said to my daughter "Don't you remember when Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Kent helped us move out here? I am just doing what they did. And with pleasure."
I hope my daughter and son will be able to write the words I have written about my parents, some day. I hope they caught me praying, reading the Bible and serving others. I hope and pray that I have trained them as my parents trained me, not just with words but with actions.
The fact my daughter has entered the "family business" is not proof I have trained her well. How she lives her life and makes her decisions with God as her foundation is. I am doubly blessed, with parents that followed God's command to train me, and with children who took to that training I learned from Mom and Dad. Thank you, God.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Rest
Mark 6:31
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
As I basked in the beautiful Minnesota weather that has settled between the heat of Summer and the Cool of early Autumn, my heart, my eyes and ears were attuned to the havoc Irene was causing on the East Coast. One of the quotes that stuck in my mind was this "Irene may not be a big one, but she is a mean one." And that proved to be true as stories of death and destruction came pouring in along with the wind and the rain.
Having grown up on the East Coast I have experienced the forces of the hurricane. For Minnesotans the only comparison can be an oncoming blizzard or cold snap. Like a hurricane, Minnesotans usually have sufficient warning and time to prepare for the pending onslaught from nature. And prepare we do. But at some point, preparing is done and all we can do is wait out whatever is coming our way. We stop. We rest. We wait.
In general, I do not like to stop, rest, or wait. It is bred in the American culture to always be moving, to be always taking action. If we are standing still, a popular motivational saying goes, then we are going backwards. We feel guilty, even in the midst of great pain and trial and obstacles if we do not continue to fight whatever battle has been sent our way.
But at some point, after preparing for the oncoming storm clouds of life, we must stop. We must rest. We must wait.
We must not overlook this important instruction that is vital to our survival. Go find a quiet place to rest, hunker down with Christ until the storm passes over.
Many times Scripture tells us to "wait". Other times, Scripture exhorts us to "stand firm". Sometimes that is all we can do, and we need not feel guilty about it.
I do not predispose knowing what any of you may be going through as I write this piece. But I do know that if you are slugging it out, putting your head into the wind and trying to move forward, or lashing out at the darkness of whatever it is that besets you, may be it would be better to rest. To wait. To stand firm.
Because once the storm is over we will need our strength to recover, to move forward and to help others who may have gone through the storm as well.As I basked in the beautiful Minnesota weather that has settled between the heat of Summer and the Cool of early Autumn, my heart, my eyes and ears were attuned to the havoc Irene was causing on the East Coast. One of the quotes that stuck in my mind was this "Irene may not be a big one, but she is a mean one." And that proved to be true as stories of death and destruction came pouring in along with the wind and the rain.
Having grown up on the East Coast I have experienced the forces of the hurricane. For Minnesotans the only comparison can be an oncoming blizzard or cold snap. Like a hurricane, Minnesotans usually have sufficient warning and time to prepare for the pending onslaught from nature. And prepare we do. But at some point, preparing is done and all we can do is wait out whatever is coming our way. We stop. We rest. We wait.
In general, I do not like to stop, rest, or wait. It is bred in the American culture to always be moving, to be always taking action. If we are standing still, a popular motivational saying goes, then we are going backwards. We feel guilty, even in the midst of great pain and trial and obstacles if we do not continue to fight whatever battle has been sent our way.
But at some point, after preparing for the oncoming storm clouds of life, we must stop. We must rest. We must wait.
We must not overlook this important instruction that is vital to our survival. Go find a quiet place to rest, hunker down with Christ until the storm passes over.
Many times Scripture tells us to "wait". Other times, Scripture exhorts us to "stand firm". Sometimes that is all we can do, and we need not feel guilty about it.
I do not predispose knowing what any of you may be going through as I write this piece. But I do know that if you are slugging it out, putting your head into the wind and trying to move forward, or lashing out at the darkness of whatever it is that besets you, may be it would be better to rest. To wait. To stand firm.
There is no shame in resting, waiting and standing firm. Christ said to "Go rest" so go rest. It's OK.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Whatever you do...
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Steve Jobs resigned yesterday. It was the headline on the front page of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and maybe it was for your newspaper as well (if any of you are still reading newspapers). Reports of sadness in the industry and accolades for an impact on all of society across the world have poured in. His infrequent appearances have been called "cult-like" and a simple announcement by Jobs about Apple and its next product would send the markets up or down depending on the tone of said announcement.
As I sit and write from my MacBook Pro, I realize the impact Jobs has had on the way I do things. Multiply that by millions and you get the idea. And though Jobs cannot take all the credit, he can take credit for being the visionary that has put all of this at our hands. It is not Jobs' skill at engineering or his leadership ability that will be missed the most but his ability to visualize, communicate that vision and then make that vision a reality. Steve Jobs gave his company something to shoot for and, more often than not, they hit the target.
This morning there are millions of people as well who are having an impact on this society. They will not receive headlines or accolades on a world wide level. They may not even receive a simple thank you. They are young and old. Men and women. Some possess great skill and others are more challenged. You will meet these people on the street, in the store, at your workplace. And you, yourself, may be one of these world changers that take the Scripture at the top of this page to heart.
We are followers of Christ who sincerely do all that we do as if we are doing it for Christ himself. The vision Paul puts before us is of a people that will do the best job possible, to the highest quality available, not for personal gain or accolades, but just for the fact that we are doing it for Christ. The goal is quality all across the board, at all levels of life.
Whatever we do, Paul says, do it for the Master. So I strive to be the best husband I can be to please Christ. If I can do that, my wife receives the greatest benefit. If I Pastor to please Christ then my congregation and community receive the greatest benefit. Our employers will receive great benefit if we work the assembly line, teach our students, fix the cars as if we are serving Christ.
A better society does not come out of serving ourselves but, as Paul says, doing all things as service to Christ. Our society may reward us for this or not. Paychecks or a thank you or recognition may be forthcoming, or not. And though the Bible promises us an inheritance for such actions, that is still not the motivating factor we should have in doing the best in all we do. We do all things, from the majestic to the mundane, to please Christ.
Try it and see how your family and friends will benefit, your employer will benefit, your community will benefit and how you will benefit. Visualize serving Christ in all things, communicate that vision to yourself and, then, make it happen. It will change the world.
Steve Jobs resigned yesterday. It was the headline on the front page of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and maybe it was for your newspaper as well (if any of you are still reading newspapers). Reports of sadness in the industry and accolades for an impact on all of society across the world have poured in. His infrequent appearances have been called "cult-like" and a simple announcement by Jobs about Apple and its next product would send the markets up or down depending on the tone of said announcement.
As I sit and write from my MacBook Pro, I realize the impact Jobs has had on the way I do things. Multiply that by millions and you get the idea. And though Jobs cannot take all the credit, he can take credit for being the visionary that has put all of this at our hands. It is not Jobs' skill at engineering or his leadership ability that will be missed the most but his ability to visualize, communicate that vision and then make that vision a reality. Steve Jobs gave his company something to shoot for and, more often than not, they hit the target.
This morning there are millions of people as well who are having an impact on this society. They will not receive headlines or accolades on a world wide level. They may not even receive a simple thank you. They are young and old. Men and women. Some possess great skill and others are more challenged. You will meet these people on the street, in the store, at your workplace. And you, yourself, may be one of these world changers that take the Scripture at the top of this page to heart.
We are followers of Christ who sincerely do all that we do as if we are doing it for Christ himself. The vision Paul puts before us is of a people that will do the best job possible, to the highest quality available, not for personal gain or accolades, but just for the fact that we are doing it for Christ. The goal is quality all across the board, at all levels of life.
Whatever we do, Paul says, do it for the Master. So I strive to be the best husband I can be to please Christ. If I can do that, my wife receives the greatest benefit. If I Pastor to please Christ then my congregation and community receive the greatest benefit. Our employers will receive great benefit if we work the assembly line, teach our students, fix the cars as if we are serving Christ.
A better society does not come out of serving ourselves but, as Paul says, doing all things as service to Christ. Our society may reward us for this or not. Paychecks or a thank you or recognition may be forthcoming, or not. And though the Bible promises us an inheritance for such actions, that is still not the motivating factor we should have in doing the best in all we do. We do all things, from the majestic to the mundane, to please Christ.
Try it and see how your family and friends will benefit, your employer will benefit, your community will benefit and how you will benefit. Visualize serving Christ in all things, communicate that vision to yourself and, then, make it happen. It will change the world.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Vacation Edition: Stones
Joshua 4:1-7
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
When we had first moved to Minnesota in 1995 our stated goal was to take a vacation every two years back home to Maine. That is a tradition we kept to until the last four or five years as both sets of our parents continue to age anddeal with various health issues. Now we come home every summer and one week of the winter Patty heads to her parents and I to mine.
Every year we go home we always think it is the last year the kids will come home with us. Yet this year was more of the same. Morgan, recent graduate from college, recently licensed as a minister with the Assemblies of God, and recently engaged, wanted to bring her fiancee, Levi, home to meet the family and to see the sights. Jordan, entering his final year of college, brought his girlfriend, Abby, home for the same reason. (Let me say before going further my children have chosen well).
There is something about going back home and every year we hit the same places: the beach, the mountain, Queechee Gorge, the golf courses, Martell's Ice Cream, Two Lights and on and on. We never get bored when coming home.
This year we all attended service at Emmanuel Assembly of God in Portland. Emmanuel Assembly holds a special place in my heart for it is there that God dealt with my me and persuaded me to enter the ministry full-time. It is also there that God gave Patty and I Pastor Ken and Beth Wilcox who invested in us, helped us grow in our faith and prepared us for what lie ahead in ministry. My "pastor template" is fashioned after the care, compassion and sense of duty Pastor Wilcox displayed in front of me. It is no mistake that I still call him Pastor because, in many ways, he still remains so.
We head back to Emmanuel Assembly every year not just to visit old friends. In all honesty, not many of the people we fellowshiped with from 1990-1995 are still there. Many have passed away, many have moved on to other churches. But I can go to Emmanuel Assembly of God and go to the spot at the altar I had knelt one Sunday night and I finally gave in to God's call on my life.
The passage from Joshua is important because God instructed Joshua to put up a reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness and provision in getting to the Promised Land. This pile of stones was not to be placed there for that generation but for the future generations who would see the stones and ask "What is that?" And the response would be the wonderful story of God leading them out of Egypt.
All of us have stones in our life that we can take our children, our grandchildren, our friends to see. It may be a picture, it may be a place, it may be a building but it will be a reminder of when God was faithful to us and a reminder that he will be faithful again. It will also instill in the future generation the truth that if God spoke to Dad, provided for Dad, healed Dad then God will be there to do the same for them.
This is why it was important to bring Levi and Abby to Emmanuel Assembly, for it is there it all started. If Emmanuel Assembly never happened, we would never have moved to Minnesota and Morgan would have never met Levi and Jordan never would have met Abby.
Thank God for the stones that bring back not just the memory of his faithfulness but the hope of who He still is.
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
When we had first moved to Minnesota in 1995 our stated goal was to take a vacation every two years back home to Maine. That is a tradition we kept to until the last four or five years as both sets of our parents continue to age anddeal with various health issues. Now we come home every summer and one week of the winter Patty heads to her parents and I to mine.
Every year we go home we always think it is the last year the kids will come home with us. Yet this year was more of the same. Morgan, recent graduate from college, recently licensed as a minister with the Assemblies of God, and recently engaged, wanted to bring her fiancee, Levi, home to meet the family and to see the sights. Jordan, entering his final year of college, brought his girlfriend, Abby, home for the same reason. (Let me say before going further my children have chosen well).
There is something about going back home and every year we hit the same places: the beach, the mountain, Queechee Gorge, the golf courses, Martell's Ice Cream, Two Lights and on and on. We never get bored when coming home.
This year we all attended service at Emmanuel Assembly of God in Portland. Emmanuel Assembly holds a special place in my heart for it is there that God dealt with my me and persuaded me to enter the ministry full-time. It is also there that God gave Patty and I Pastor Ken and Beth Wilcox who invested in us, helped us grow in our faith and prepared us for what lie ahead in ministry. My "pastor template" is fashioned after the care, compassion and sense of duty Pastor Wilcox displayed in front of me. It is no mistake that I still call him Pastor because, in many ways, he still remains so.
We head back to Emmanuel Assembly every year not just to visit old friends. In all honesty, not many of the people we fellowshiped with from 1990-1995 are still there. Many have passed away, many have moved on to other churches. But I can go to Emmanuel Assembly of God and go to the spot at the altar I had knelt one Sunday night and I finally gave in to God's call on my life.
The passage from Joshua is important because God instructed Joshua to put up a reminder of God's goodness and faithfulness and provision in getting to the Promised Land. This pile of stones was not to be placed there for that generation but for the future generations who would see the stones and ask "What is that?" And the response would be the wonderful story of God leading them out of Egypt.
All of us have stones in our life that we can take our children, our grandchildren, our friends to see. It may be a picture, it may be a place, it may be a building but it will be a reminder of when God was faithful to us and a reminder that he will be faithful again. It will also instill in the future generation the truth that if God spoke to Dad, provided for Dad, healed Dad then God will be there to do the same for them.
This is why it was important to bring Levi and Abby to Emmanuel Assembly, for it is there it all started. If Emmanuel Assembly never happened, we would never have moved to Minnesota and Morgan would have never met Levi and Jordan never would have met Abby.
Thank God for the stones that bring back not just the memory of his faithfulness but the hope of who He still is.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Vacation Edition: Re-writing History
John 8:31-33 "To the Jews that believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?
As I sit in the Appalachian Trail Cafe in downtown Millinocket, my vacation has officially started. I have treated myself to a helping of chopped tots and onions, a cup of coffee, and the buzz and murmur that is the hometown diner. And with it come memories.
I love my hometown, as any other person does. The memories are as strong as the coffee, but like a good cup of coffee does from time to time, memories can give me heartburn and keep me up at night. Not all the memories of growing up in the Magic City are magical yet they are part of my heritage, a part of my past, a part of the legacy I pass on to my kids.
It is interesting looking back on my youth. Most of the memories that keep me up at night are now seen through adult eyes and with adult sensibilities. I realize now the moments when I was a jerk, the people I hurt, and the true motives behind some of my actions as a youth. Some of them are particularly cringe-inducing. If one of my kids had acted like I did growing up, I would have slapped them into the next week.
We all have memories we would change if we could.Yet, mingled with those memories are the things that I would never change. The memories that keep me up at night for a good reason. The ones that bring a smile and a laugh and pride in accomplishment.
Good, bad or indifferent my history plays a key role in what I pass onto my kids. My legacy includes both the good and bad memories and the lessons learned from both. To re-write my history to ignore the more painful parts would diminish what I have become today. To ignore the moments I was less than perfect or to explain away certain actions because of "youth" would dishonor God and the place he has brought me thus far.
Christ's famous "...and the truth shall set you free" is spoken in the above passage. But the reaction of those listening is what catches my imagination. They are re-writing their past. "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone!" is a statement both true and untrue at the same time.
Though it is likely this particularly group of men listening to Christ have never been slaves to anyone (though they find themselves under Roman rule) they changed the perspective when they bring up their heritage. Their people certainly were slaves to the Egyptians. And the story of God's provision and escape at that time has carried the Hebrew nation through thick and thin. To forget that particular past, no matter how painful, means to forget where God stepped in and that is a dangerous thing.
Somewhere along the line these group of men lost the correlation of the God of their past with the God of their present. To forget they were slaves at one time and God set them free means they have forgotten the God that set people free be it from tyranny or sin. The Hebrew nation could have been long forgotten if not for God's intervention.
To re-write our history, no matter how painful the history might be, means we may write out God in the process. When we wipe God from our past it means we do not pass on to our children the God who has changed us, set us free and intervened in the worse moments of our life. To re-write our past means we re-write God to being only an icon in a stained-glass window or a bed-time story on par with the Easter Bunny or Good Night, Moon.
To re-write our history means our children do not see the God who is active in all parts of our lives. To tell the story that God saved me, delivered me, or changed me means, at one point, I needed saving, delivering and changing. And though those things may be painful to dredge up, it is also a testimony of a great God who is there not just when things are going well, but is there, ready to free me in my times of slavery.
I can think of no better legacy to pass on than what God has done for me in my past. Faithful in my past, God has proven faithful in my present and will prove faithful in my future.
I encourage you to embrace your past in full, even the painful parts, and look back on it with adult eyes and sensibilities. If we do so we will see how God has changed us, where God has intervened for us, and has shaped us to be who we are in Him.
As I sit in the Appalachian Trail Cafe in downtown Millinocket, my vacation has officially started. I have treated myself to a helping of chopped tots and onions, a cup of coffee, and the buzz and murmur that is the hometown diner. And with it come memories.
I love my hometown, as any other person does. The memories are as strong as the coffee, but like a good cup of coffee does from time to time, memories can give me heartburn and keep me up at night. Not all the memories of growing up in the Magic City are magical yet they are part of my heritage, a part of my past, a part of the legacy I pass on to my kids.
It is interesting looking back on my youth. Most of the memories that keep me up at night are now seen through adult eyes and with adult sensibilities. I realize now the moments when I was a jerk, the people I hurt, and the true motives behind some of my actions as a youth. Some of them are particularly cringe-inducing. If one of my kids had acted like I did growing up, I would have slapped them into the next week.
We all have memories we would change if we could.Yet, mingled with those memories are the things that I would never change. The memories that keep me up at night for a good reason. The ones that bring a smile and a laugh and pride in accomplishment.
Good, bad or indifferent my history plays a key role in what I pass onto my kids. My legacy includes both the good and bad memories and the lessons learned from both. To re-write my history to ignore the more painful parts would diminish what I have become today. To ignore the moments I was less than perfect or to explain away certain actions because of "youth" would dishonor God and the place he has brought me thus far.
Christ's famous "...and the truth shall set you free" is spoken in the above passage. But the reaction of those listening is what catches my imagination. They are re-writing their past. "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone!" is a statement both true and untrue at the same time.
Though it is likely this particularly group of men listening to Christ have never been slaves to anyone (though they find themselves under Roman rule) they changed the perspective when they bring up their heritage. Their people certainly were slaves to the Egyptians. And the story of God's provision and escape at that time has carried the Hebrew nation through thick and thin. To forget that particular past, no matter how painful, means to forget where God stepped in and that is a dangerous thing.
Somewhere along the line these group of men lost the correlation of the God of their past with the God of their present. To forget they were slaves at one time and God set them free means they have forgotten the God that set people free be it from tyranny or sin. The Hebrew nation could have been long forgotten if not for God's intervention.
To re-write our history, no matter how painful the history might be, means we may write out God in the process. When we wipe God from our past it means we do not pass on to our children the God who has changed us, set us free and intervened in the worse moments of our life. To re-write our past means we re-write God to being only an icon in a stained-glass window or a bed-time story on par with the Easter Bunny or Good Night, Moon.
To re-write our history means our children do not see the God who is active in all parts of our lives. To tell the story that God saved me, delivered me, or changed me means, at one point, I needed saving, delivering and changing. And though those things may be painful to dredge up, it is also a testimony of a great God who is there not just when things are going well, but is there, ready to free me in my times of slavery.
I can think of no better legacy to pass on than what God has done for me in my past. Faithful in my past, God has proven faithful in my present and will prove faithful in my future.
I encourage you to embrace your past in full, even the painful parts, and look back on it with adult eyes and sensibilities. If we do so we will see how God has changed us, where God has intervened for us, and has shaped us to be who we are in Him.
Friday, July 8, 2011
AMEN....
If you were to attend Hill City Assembly of God this weekend, you would see a new addition to the interior decoration. Above our main doors is a cut slab of wood engraved with the word "amen". This piece of wood came from a sawmill one of my parishioners frequented and it hung in his home for many, many years. For the 10 years I knew Wayne, I never noticed it in the house.
Wayne passed away a couple years ago and my memories of him are fond. There is a significance to the "amen", which we added to the wood. Wayne was afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome and was diagnosed when he was nine. He lived to the age of 70.
One of the characteristics of Tourette's is the vocal outbursts that take place. Usually they are vulgar and filled with profanity, but not with Wayne. When he had an outburst the words "That's right!" or "Praise the Lord!" or "Amen" would be expressed. It was quite encouraging to a young picture to be "amen-ed" so vociferously.
Amen is an interesting word. Many of us think of it as a word that connotes the end, or a finish because we relate it to the end of our prayers. But I would say that Amen is more a beginning than an end.
Amen means "So be it." It is a word of affirmation that what has been said is true. This is why Amen is shouted out as encouragement to preachers. It is saying "That is good!" or "That is right!"
Amen is also a word of faith. When we pray and finish with Amen, we are stating that what has been prayed to God has been heard by God and God will answer. We pray "Thy will be done" and finish with "So be it."
I like to relate amen to Jean-Luc Picard's catch-phrase. For those of you who do not know, Picard is the captain of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and is the best of all the captains run out during the franchise. (FYI: Picard, Kirk, Janeway make the top three)
After Picard would gather information and assess the situation he would ask opinions of Ryker, Worf, Data or Laforge and when he came upon a solution he would bark this command: "Make it so." The crew had to take some responsibility in "making it so."
So it is with prayer. If we were to pray for the poor we must take some responsibility for the poor. If I am to pray to become more devout in study, I must take some responsibility in becoming more devout. Pray to be a better husband? I must take some responsibility for that improvement.
Obviously, there are some prayers that only God can make so. But even as we pray for the healing of a small child, can't we do our part to encourage and affirm the child and the family that not only have we prayed but we care?
Amen does not end the discussion, it is the beginning of God's action and our responsibility.
So when the people of my church see the piece of wood with Amen on it, I hope they will remember Wayne. I also hope they will take what they heard from God that day and take responsibility for it and apply it to their hearts and lives.
When we say "Amen" we are partnering with God to "make it so."
Wayne passed away a couple years ago and my memories of him are fond. There is a significance to the "amen", which we added to the wood. Wayne was afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome and was diagnosed when he was nine. He lived to the age of 70.
One of the characteristics of Tourette's is the vocal outbursts that take place. Usually they are vulgar and filled with profanity, but not with Wayne. When he had an outburst the words "That's right!" or "Praise the Lord!" or "Amen" would be expressed. It was quite encouraging to a young picture to be "amen-ed" so vociferously.
Amen is an interesting word. Many of us think of it as a word that connotes the end, or a finish because we relate it to the end of our prayers. But I would say that Amen is more a beginning than an end.
Amen means "So be it." It is a word of affirmation that what has been said is true. This is why Amen is shouted out as encouragement to preachers. It is saying "That is good!" or "That is right!"
Amen is also a word of faith. When we pray and finish with Amen, we are stating that what has been prayed to God has been heard by God and God will answer. We pray "Thy will be done" and finish with "So be it."
I like to relate amen to Jean-Luc Picard's catch-phrase. For those of you who do not know, Picard is the captain of the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and is the best of all the captains run out during the franchise. (FYI: Picard, Kirk, Janeway make the top three)
After Picard would gather information and assess the situation he would ask opinions of Ryker, Worf, Data or Laforge and when he came upon a solution he would bark this command: "Make it so." The crew had to take some responsibility in "making it so."
So it is with prayer. If we were to pray for the poor we must take some responsibility for the poor. If I am to pray to become more devout in study, I must take some responsibility in becoming more devout. Pray to be a better husband? I must take some responsibility for that improvement.
Obviously, there are some prayers that only God can make so. But even as we pray for the healing of a small child, can't we do our part to encourage and affirm the child and the family that not only have we prayed but we care?
Amen does not end the discussion, it is the beginning of God's action and our responsibility.
So when the people of my church see the piece of wood with Amen on it, I hope they will remember Wayne. I also hope they will take what they heard from God that day and take responsibility for it and apply it to their hearts and lives.
When we say "Amen" we are partnering with God to "make it so."
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
What God has joined together...
Matthew 19:6
King James Version (KJV)
6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Tonight, a young man asked for my daughter's hand in marriage. I was not surprised because both Morgan and Levi have been talking in "we" terms for quite awhile; they have explored ministry positions as a couple and have been planning their future together.
Yet it was a wonderful moment. Again, I knew this day was coming and had planned all sorts of witty rejoinders to make Levi sweat a little. But in the moment none of those came to mind. All that I could say is "Yes." And in the end I said, "All I ask is that you take care of her."
Levi may not know it but he is an answer to prayer. Ever since Morgan was a little girl my wife and I have prayed for the man she would marry. We have prayed that he would be a strong man of God. We have prayed that he would complement Morgan and that the two would have a strong impact for God, whether full-time ministry would be in the works or not. We prayed for a man who would be strong enough for Morgan, who is a strong person in her own right. We prayed for a man that would have a heart for God and a heart for our daughter.
Levi is that and more, by all accounts. He has a great sense of humor that is dry and sarcastic, which should serve him well with both the Valley and Wilson side of the families. He loves sports. He is a musician. I have yet to hear him preach, so I will hold off giving him an A-plus until then (or until he takes me to Wrigley, then I don't care how he preaches).
Here is the one thing that clinched it for me: Whenever Morgan is with Levi she has the look about her that she is safe. A father could ask for nothing more than that his little girl will be safe.
As perfect as Levi is, he and Morgan will have their share of rough moments. Moments when they will have to choose to love when they do not feel like love is in the air. Ministry can bring a couple closer but it can also drive a wedge between two. They will learn the ups and downs and the balance that will be needed to sustain a marriage, a family and a life together. A lot of things will try to "asunder" them, but the key will be the first part of the verse.
Morgan and Levi have an advantage because God has joined them together. They both are seekers of God and in turn, God has sought them out and put them in the place they are today. I do not believe they are together by chance or circumstance but they are together because a loving God has put them together and they were both sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit to listen when He spoke.
As kids are wont to do, they will forge ahead with the life that is ahead of them-with the life that God has for them. I could give them plenty of advice and let them reap from the harvest of my experience, but that would be slim picking indeed. Knowing the plans they have already, they will be moving even farther away from us which makes Dad excited for what is ahead but a little melancholy.
But now my task is to pray not just for Morgan but for Morgan and Levi (and any little grandkids that may come along---hint, hint). I am pleased. God has answered my prayer.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
"Hammy"
Most Monday night's this Summer finds me playing softball for our church in a church softball league. Some of our younger, lady members call it "Old Man Softball" and to that there is some truth. It is good that us "old guys" have those young whippersnappers to rely on or it would be a very long night.
Anyone who knows me understands that sports has been a huge part of my life. I am one of those sappy old-timers that thinks sports is a great analogy for life and we can learn many things about living from the playing field.
This has been an interesting softball season for me. Mentally, I am still that young kid that can make all the plays and run the bases with reckless abandon. Realistically, I have pulled my hamstring in both legs this Summer trying to make all the plays and run the bases with reckless abandon.
After the latest "hammy"I whined to my wife as we were driving home from the ball field "I don't understand? This has never happened to me. I have never had these leg issues!" And she placed her hand gently on my leg and said "But, honey. You are getting older."
Which bring the older me back to the softball field this past Monday. My legs felt fine, not great, and I determined to use wisdom as I played. Of course, my wife is in the stands saying "Be careful, Babe." One of my younger friends says "Hey now, don't run too fast today. One base at a time."
Old Man Softball.
Well, I do hit and I hit well. Hit line drives all night with a couple towards the fence that in my younger days would have been triples but this night they were just jogging-stand-up-doubles. As they replaced me with a faster, younger runner I come into the dug-out.
"Hey, Pastor, nice wheels" one of the young wisenheimers smirks at me. I laugh. And then Z chirps in"You gotta run for Jesus!" Laugher all around. It really is a great bunch of guys and gals.
But in that slightly sarcastic, little dig at his pastor there is a lot of truth.
Christ would say about his mission to this planet "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." John 4:34.
Paul would tell the Colossians "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." 3:23
In other words, run for Jesus. We need teachers, doctors, actors, housewives, administrators, plumbers, and (you fill in the blank) who do the things they do as if they were doing them for God. Because in the end, we are. God has created us with talents and gifts not to keep them to ourselves selfishly, but to allow others to benefit and enjoy our gifts as well. We glorify God by doing well what God has put us on this planet to do.
So run for Jesus. Even with a pulled hammy.
Anyone who knows me understands that sports has been a huge part of my life. I am one of those sappy old-timers that thinks sports is a great analogy for life and we can learn many things about living from the playing field.
This has been an interesting softball season for me. Mentally, I am still that young kid that can make all the plays and run the bases with reckless abandon. Realistically, I have pulled my hamstring in both legs this Summer trying to make all the plays and run the bases with reckless abandon.
After the latest "hammy"I whined to my wife as we were driving home from the ball field "I don't understand? This has never happened to me. I have never had these leg issues!" And she placed her hand gently on my leg and said "But, honey. You are getting older."
Which bring the older me back to the softball field this past Monday. My legs felt fine, not great, and I determined to use wisdom as I played. Of course, my wife is in the stands saying "Be careful, Babe." One of my younger friends says "Hey now, don't run too fast today. One base at a time."
Old Man Softball.
Well, I do hit and I hit well. Hit line drives all night with a couple towards the fence that in my younger days would have been triples but this night they were just jogging-stand-up-doubles. As they replaced me with a faster, younger runner I come into the dug-out.
"Hey, Pastor, nice wheels" one of the young wisenheimers smirks at me. I laugh. And then Z chirps in"You gotta run for Jesus!" Laugher all around. It really is a great bunch of guys and gals.
But in that slightly sarcastic, little dig at his pastor there is a lot of truth.
Christ would say about his mission to this planet "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." John 4:34.
Paul would tell the Colossians "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." 3:23
In other words, run for Jesus. We need teachers, doctors, actors, housewives, administrators, plumbers, and (you fill in the blank) who do the things they do as if they were doing them for God. Because in the end, we are. God has created us with talents and gifts not to keep them to ourselves selfishly, but to allow others to benefit and enjoy our gifts as well. We glorify God by doing well what God has put us on this planet to do.
So run for Jesus. Even with a pulled hammy.
Monday, June 20, 2011
SEEK
I needed a gallon of milk the other day. Skim. So I waited. The gallon of milk never showed up. Eventually I had to get up, head on over to the store and get that gallon of milk. What an inconvenience!
So, I bought a cow. Kept her in a cool place so my milk would be chilled. The first morning after I bought old Bessie I ran out to the barn to pick up my milk. And there she was, chewing and drooling and looking at me with that stupid cow expression.And even though I had the forethought to put a gallon jug out with her, and since I knew she could not read, I put next to it the pink cap so she knew I would want skim, still nothing.
So off to the store again. How frustrating!
John Chapter 4 gives us the great passage of Christ meeting up with the woman at the well. The woman at the well had no idea who this man was or all the speculation surrounding him. She was not aware that over in Jerusalem the signs were pointing to the fact that this man was the Christ. People were conjecturing, gossiping, and talking about Jesus being the Messiah.
John the Baptist had testified to it, proclaiming him the lamb of God, the one whose sandals he was not worthy to untie, the one who would baptize in the Holy Spirit, but Jesus neither confirmed or denied it.
Mary knew her son was the Messiah. She tried to get him to "show it off" by asking him to take care of the lack of wine at the wedding they were attending. Christ would perform the miracle, but no one would know but Mary and his disciples, as Jesus would tell his mother beforehand "My time has not yet come."
The disciples followed Jesus on the strength of his personality, the force of his miracles and the hope that this could be the Messiah after a slew of self-proclaimed messiahs had come across the their path.
Despite all of this, Christ never made a verbal proclamation of his being the Messiah until he makes it to the woman at the well.
The woman at the well?! The women who had had five husbands and now was living with a man who wasn't her husband? A woman who was a Samaritan: a cultural McCoy to Christ's Jewish Hatfield?
Would it not have been best to shout it out at his baptism or at the wedding or to his disciples? Obviously not. How come?
I think the clue is found in verse 23 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."
I will make this supposition: The woman at the well, despite her reputation and background, must have been an honest and open seeker of the truth. And Christ spends time with honest, seekers of Truth.
He does not waste his breath or time on those people who are just in it for the show. He does not open up to those who come seeking self-gratification or that attainment of spiritual stature. He seeks out those who seek the truth. And since Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, he seeks out those who are seeking him.
Think of Nicodemus. As a whole the Pharisees were a dastardly lot but Nicodemus came seeking the Truth and Christ opened up to him the plan that God the Father had put in place: "For God so loved the world...".
Zaccheus was given an audience with Christ for one simple reason. He so wanted to just see Jesus that he climbed into a tree. Christ sought out the seeker.
When Christ says that he comes to seek and save the lost, we understand that he comes to seek and save all the lost. But those who get found by him are those who realize they are lost. He seeks out the seeker.
Too often we treat Christ like the cow in the barn. We expect the milk to be waiting for us when we get there. We expect the milk to pop up on our door step, ring the bell, come into the kitchen, pour itself in a glass and say "Drink me." Yet there is a condition to finding Christ, and growing in Christ...we must seek him.
We must seek him for the Truth. We must seek him to worship the Truth.
We must not just sit and wait. We must seek. Christ says to seek the kingdom of God. Scripture says when we run to him he runs towards us and when we call to him he answers us. James says "We have not because we ask not."
So let us be seekers of Christ. Scripture shows us that as we seek we shall also be found by whom we are seeking.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
WISDOM
ACTS 5:17-41 (Read this whole passage to get the full effect)34. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men [Peter and John] be put aside for a little while. Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men..."
Gamaliel, was not a follower of Christ. Far from it and he did not hold much respect for those who were. Yet he was a student of God and God's ways. Gamaliel had wisdom and he used it here.
Wisdom is a rare commodity. Wisdom calms a heart, slows down a rushing brain. Wisdom does not use force, but it is powerful. Wisdom is not all dressed up, but it is attractive. Wisdom does not cajole, but it does persuade.
As you read through this passage, look at the counsel of Gamaliel.
1. Think before you act.
Gamaliel has seen rabble rousers before. He has seen things done in the name of God that were not of God at all. Gamaliel advises to wait it out... 36."Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing."
So wait.
2. Know the pattern, know the precedence
There are patterns. There is precedence. Gamaliel reminds them they have seen this all before. And it died out as the leader died out. Since Christ has just been crucified, Gamaliel says "See if the pattern we know continues. This may die out with out us lifting a finger." Remember Theudas and Judas.
3. Understand God will not fail
38-39 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
For the moment, the Council listened. But as a whole the religious class did not. They fought the disciples tooth and nail. Martyred them. Did all they could around the region to stamp out Christ but the words of Gamaliel proved true: They found themselves fighting God, and God does not lose.
I find myself in the position of relying on the wisdom of God and it finds its way into my prayers with phrases like "Your will be done." and "Lord, I leave it in your hands." When I pray this, I have had to learn God's will and mine may not be one and the same; Leaving it in God's hands is harder than I think when things do not turn out the way I would like. The question I have to ask myself is do I Trust God or not? Do I rely on the wisdom of God or not? As painful as it sometime is...I must.
Oh Lord, help me to rely on your wisdom, not just when it suits me, but because you have declared it so. Help me to search your Scripture and your precepts as I traverse this life for you. Help me to keep the things I have put in your hands, in your hands. Amen.
Gamaliel, was not a follower of Christ. Far from it and he did not hold much respect for those who were. Yet he was a student of God and God's ways. Gamaliel had wisdom and he used it here.
Wisdom is a rare commodity. Wisdom calms a heart, slows down a rushing brain. Wisdom does not use force, but it is powerful. Wisdom is not all dressed up, but it is attractive. Wisdom does not cajole, but it does persuade.
As you read through this passage, look at the counsel of Gamaliel.
1. Think before you act.
Gamaliel has seen rabble rousers before. He has seen things done in the name of God that were not of God at all. Gamaliel advises to wait it out... 36."Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing."
So wait.
2. Know the pattern, know the precedence
There are patterns. There is precedence. Gamaliel reminds them they have seen this all before. And it died out as the leader died out. Since Christ has just been crucified, Gamaliel says "See if the pattern we know continues. This may die out with out us lifting a finger." Remember Theudas and Judas.
3. Understand God will not fail
38-39 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
For the moment, the Council listened. But as a whole the religious class did not. They fought the disciples tooth and nail. Martyred them. Did all they could around the region to stamp out Christ but the words of Gamaliel proved true: They found themselves fighting God, and God does not lose.
I find myself in the position of relying on the wisdom of God and it finds its way into my prayers with phrases like "Your will be done." and "Lord, I leave it in your hands." When I pray this, I have had to learn God's will and mine may not be one and the same; Leaving it in God's hands is harder than I think when things do not turn out the way I would like. The question I have to ask myself is do I Trust God or not? Do I rely on the wisdom of God or not? As painful as it sometime is...I must.
Oh Lord, help me to rely on your wisdom, not just when it suits me, but because you have declared it so. Help me to search your Scripture and your precepts as I traverse this life for you. Help me to keep the things I have put in your hands, in your hands. Amen.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
OUT OF DARKNESS
2 SAMUEL 22:29 OR PSALM 18:28 "You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light."
I try not to write anything in the darkness.
You know the darkness. For some it may be depression. For others it may be a spiritual battle or a time when life has been harsh. It is amazing how we can function just enough in the darkness to get by but not enough to get out.
My recent bout of darkness left me unable to sleep. Sundays, as a rule, drain me. I am not sure those who do not stand behind the pulpit on a weekly basis understand the battle that goes on spiritually when one preaches. And the battle always takes its toll on the body.
The fact I love to preach does not mean it is any less draining. It is even more so if you are carrying the darkness with you.
There is something awesome that happens when I preach. The darkness lifts for that 30 minute window. I feel the best I feel all week, darkness or without darkness, in the pulpit.
But if you are battling the darkness it returns, for me, one step from behind the pulpit. And it did so in full force this past Sunday.
But God turns my darkness into light! This is my testimony today.
I woke up Monday from a fitful night. The darkness kept me awake, I slept in fits. My mind racing, my heart heavy. Today was going to be a dark day. So dark that I did not have the strength to apply God's Word; so dark that my journal for the day consisted with one sentence about how dark it is. I get through the day, trying to be as normal as possible but the darkness prevails.
Finally, as I crash into bed at 6:00, I find I can't even read the darkness is so heavy. And then I do the first right thing all day. Instead of lamenting the darkness, I pray to God to take the darkness. Why didn't I think of that before? I prayed for the cause of my darkness. And then I slept the heaviest sleep in years. It was three hours of dreamless sleep, awakened by the phone as it rang and rang.
It was then 9:00. I had slept so hard I did not notice my wife had gone out of bed and to the store. But I did notice my darkness was turned into light. I was a totally different person. After a weekend of darkness, God's lamp was before me.
It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my walk with Christ. I am not prone to darkness, you see and so I rarely experience the light that comes after the darkness. Everything had changed. I was assured of God's love and strength. I was ready for the day ahead. And now I have written out of darkness.
Those who read this and suffer from depression, please do not think I am making light of depression or implying that all it takes is a simple prayer and all is well. I know that is not the case. My darkness was more oppressive than depressive. The source was well known to me.
I only know that God again made his word true, to me. The source of darkness still exists. I will still have to deal with what brought the darkness on. But God has turned my own personal darkness into light. Amen.
I try not to write anything in the darkness.
You know the darkness. For some it may be depression. For others it may be a spiritual battle or a time when life has been harsh. It is amazing how we can function just enough in the darkness to get by but not enough to get out.
My recent bout of darkness left me unable to sleep. Sundays, as a rule, drain me. I am not sure those who do not stand behind the pulpit on a weekly basis understand the battle that goes on spiritually when one preaches. And the battle always takes its toll on the body.
The fact I love to preach does not mean it is any less draining. It is even more so if you are carrying the darkness with you.
There is something awesome that happens when I preach. The darkness lifts for that 30 minute window. I feel the best I feel all week, darkness or without darkness, in the pulpit.
But if you are battling the darkness it returns, for me, one step from behind the pulpit. And it did so in full force this past Sunday.
But God turns my darkness into light! This is my testimony today.
I woke up Monday from a fitful night. The darkness kept me awake, I slept in fits. My mind racing, my heart heavy. Today was going to be a dark day. So dark that I did not have the strength to apply God's Word; so dark that my journal for the day consisted with one sentence about how dark it is. I get through the day, trying to be as normal as possible but the darkness prevails.
Finally, as I crash into bed at 6:00, I find I can't even read the darkness is so heavy. And then I do the first right thing all day. Instead of lamenting the darkness, I pray to God to take the darkness. Why didn't I think of that before? I prayed for the cause of my darkness. And then I slept the heaviest sleep in years. It was three hours of dreamless sleep, awakened by the phone as it rang and rang.
It was then 9:00. I had slept so hard I did not notice my wife had gone out of bed and to the store. But I did notice my darkness was turned into light. I was a totally different person. After a weekend of darkness, God's lamp was before me.
It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my walk with Christ. I am not prone to darkness, you see and so I rarely experience the light that comes after the darkness. Everything had changed. I was assured of God's love and strength. I was ready for the day ahead. And now I have written out of darkness.
Those who read this and suffer from depression, please do not think I am making light of depression or implying that all it takes is a simple prayer and all is well. I know that is not the case. My darkness was more oppressive than depressive. The source was well known to me.
I only know that God again made his word true, to me. The source of darkness still exists. I will still have to deal with what brought the darkness on. But God has turned my own personal darkness into light. Amen.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Finish the race. Complete the task.
ACTS 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Paul is saying good-bye to the Ephesian church after having been ministering to them for three years. His purpose, his goal is quite clear. Finish the race. Complete the task.
Everyone one of us has a race to run and a task to complete. Both given and ordained by God. In the course of life we may run many mini-races with God or perform many small tasks for God but we also have the race that does not end until we see Christ and the task that is never finished but passed on to someone else.
Big or small, finish the race. Complete the task.
I look at the task of raising my kids. A God-ordained task if there ever was one. It was not the easiest of tasks but I look at my kids today and I can say the task has been completed. They have a lot of growing to do but it is no longer my task to raise them. Now I get to run the race alongside of them.
I look at the task of being a Pastor. Planted our church in 1997 and more than once I thought our time was done, the task complete and ready to move onto another place of ministry. But God continues to give me new tasks in the same place. In some ways, I am running this race in place. And what a race it is as God continues to make it exciting and new despite coming close to 15 years here.
I wonder what it would have been like in those very dark moments if I had chosen to not finish the task: The Sundays when it was just my family and I and the kids asking if I had to preach. The days as I cut my teeth in ministry I inadvertently bit some of the very flock I am called to shepherd. The times when the money was low and I was even lower. I could have quit before the task was done and no one would have blamed me. Yet I did not, thanks to the strength of a very wise wife and the patience of a very wise God.
If I quit the task too early I would never have seen the blessing of those who have come to know Christ as Savior. I would not have seen God move in miraculous ways in regards to buildings and facilities. I would not have grown as a preacher, a man, a husband and father.
I have come to the conclusion that any task God gives us, he equips us with what is needed to finish the task. Or at least our part of the task. There will come a day I leave this church. It may be feet first, it may not be. But I hope I can say I have been faithful to the task that God has given me.
Paul would use the race metaphor more than once in his teaching and ministry. He uses it last in his famous passage in 2 Timothy 4:6-7 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.
By all accounts I have years of ministry for God ahead of me. So do many of you reading this blog. There will be formal ministry tasks to finish and life tasks to complete. Paul's good-bye to the Ephesians gave seed to his good-bye to Timothy and us all. In Acts he hopes to run the race and complete the task God has set before him. In Timothy he can look back with assurance that he has done just that.
O Lord, my God, help us to finish the race and complete the task. Amen.
Paul is saying good-bye to the Ephesian church after having been ministering to them for three years. His purpose, his goal is quite clear. Finish the race. Complete the task.
Everyone one of us has a race to run and a task to complete. Both given and ordained by God. In the course of life we may run many mini-races with God or perform many small tasks for God but we also have the race that does not end until we see Christ and the task that is never finished but passed on to someone else.
Big or small, finish the race. Complete the task.
I look at the task of raising my kids. A God-ordained task if there ever was one. It was not the easiest of tasks but I look at my kids today and I can say the task has been completed. They have a lot of growing to do but it is no longer my task to raise them. Now I get to run the race alongside of them.
I look at the task of being a Pastor. Planted our church in 1997 and more than once I thought our time was done, the task complete and ready to move onto another place of ministry. But God continues to give me new tasks in the same place. In some ways, I am running this race in place. And what a race it is as God continues to make it exciting and new despite coming close to 15 years here.
I wonder what it would have been like in those very dark moments if I had chosen to not finish the task: The Sundays when it was just my family and I and the kids asking if I had to preach. The days as I cut my teeth in ministry I inadvertently bit some of the very flock I am called to shepherd. The times when the money was low and I was even lower. I could have quit before the task was done and no one would have blamed me. Yet I did not, thanks to the strength of a very wise wife and the patience of a very wise God.
If I quit the task too early I would never have seen the blessing of those who have come to know Christ as Savior. I would not have seen God move in miraculous ways in regards to buildings and facilities. I would not have grown as a preacher, a man, a husband and father.
I have come to the conclusion that any task God gives us, he equips us with what is needed to finish the task. Or at least our part of the task. There will come a day I leave this church. It may be feet first, it may not be. But I hope I can say I have been faithful to the task that God has given me.
Paul would use the race metaphor more than once in his teaching and ministry. He uses it last in his famous passage in 2 Timothy 4:6-7 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.
By all accounts I have years of ministry for God ahead of me. So do many of you reading this blog. There will be formal ministry tasks to finish and life tasks to complete. Paul's good-bye to the Ephesians gave seed to his good-bye to Timothy and us all. In Acts he hopes to run the race and complete the task God has set before him. In Timothy he can look back with assurance that he has done just that.
O Lord, my God, help us to finish the race and complete the task. Amen.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Little old ordinary me
ACTS 20:9-12 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed" he said. "He's alive!" Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Despite the obvious miracle here, I am hard-pressed to understand why God would put such a passage in Acts. It is transitional and does not seem to hold any great theological nugget that we can chew on. Until I got to thinking that this might be another passage that God shows that his people are just ordinary, every day people.
Paul is speaking at this house because he is going to leave the next day. They have broken bread together, which can mean one of two things: They shared Communion, or they shared a meal and fellowship. Or both.
Paul is speaking very late because of his departure. People want to hear everything they can from their teacher and friend. Haven't you done this at the end of a vacation or a visit with family? You try to squeeze in as much time as possible, spend as much time with family before you leave?
I love the verse that says Paul "talked on and on". Even Paul gets infected by the preacher's disease of going on and on. Even Paul talks enough that it might bore someone. Though I have never killed anyone by my preaching, I have certainly had people fall asleep on me.
God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary.
Sometimes, I get stuck in my ordinariness. God wants to use me for some extraordinary things but I get a little Moses syndrome going: "Lord, send someone else." The reality is if we were capable, we would not need God. If it is something that we could do without God's intervention and power, may be it is not something God wants done in the first place.
Being next to Christ means we get to go on some terrific adventures. Adventures we would not go on if we were to lag behind out of fear or uncertainty or jumped ahead out of pride. It is Christ and the power of his Holy Spirit that does the extraordinary through us.
Paul has been elevated in our minds as extraordinary. Rightly so. Yet he is extraordinary because of Christ. Paul was ordinary in many ways: He was stubborn at times. Got into arguments with his friends. Was rash in some of his decision making. He enjoyed the company of friends. He was hurt when people would say things against him. He expressed thanks and disappointment. At times, when he prayed, God did not answer the way Paul would have wanted. Ordinary. But he allowed God to use him extraordinarily.
So it is important that I do not say "Lord send some one else" like Moses initially did but to have the response of Isaiah: "Lord send me!" To put it in a more modern vernacular "Lord, send little old ordinary me!" If we do that, get ready for the extraordinary.
Despite the obvious miracle here, I am hard-pressed to understand why God would put such a passage in Acts. It is transitional and does not seem to hold any great theological nugget that we can chew on. Until I got to thinking that this might be another passage that God shows that his people are just ordinary, every day people.
Paul is speaking at this house because he is going to leave the next day. They have broken bread together, which can mean one of two things: They shared Communion, or they shared a meal and fellowship. Or both.
Paul is speaking very late because of his departure. People want to hear everything they can from their teacher and friend. Haven't you done this at the end of a vacation or a visit with family? You try to squeeze in as much time as possible, spend as much time with family before you leave?
I love the verse that says Paul "talked on and on". Even Paul gets infected by the preacher's disease of going on and on. Even Paul talks enough that it might bore someone. Though I have never killed anyone by my preaching, I have certainly had people fall asleep on me.
God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary.
Sometimes, I get stuck in my ordinariness. God wants to use me for some extraordinary things but I get a little Moses syndrome going: "Lord, send someone else." The reality is if we were capable, we would not need God. If it is something that we could do without God's intervention and power, may be it is not something God wants done in the first place.
Being next to Christ means we get to go on some terrific adventures. Adventures we would not go on if we were to lag behind out of fear or uncertainty or jumped ahead out of pride. It is Christ and the power of his Holy Spirit that does the extraordinary through us.
Paul has been elevated in our minds as extraordinary. Rightly so. Yet he is extraordinary because of Christ. Paul was ordinary in many ways: He was stubborn at times. Got into arguments with his friends. Was rash in some of his decision making. He enjoyed the company of friends. He was hurt when people would say things against him. He expressed thanks and disappointment. At times, when he prayed, God did not answer the way Paul would have wanted. Ordinary. But he allowed God to use him extraordinarily.
So it is important that I do not say "Lord send some one else" like Moses initially did but to have the response of Isaiah: "Lord send me!" To put it in a more modern vernacular "Lord, send little old ordinary me!" If we do that, get ready for the extraordinary.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Christ is Risen....Still!
Easter is over. Church Services Are Done. Ham has been eaten, eggs have been found, candy will continue to be eaten. The Easter Holiday is done...but Easter is not.
Easter, and what it stands for and what it means for us, is an everyday thing. Easter is not something to commemorate, it is something to live everyday!
Every morning I wake up I should wake up to the thought "He Is Risen!" His promises, His mercy His grace, His love, His wisdom, His counsel, His correction is still available to us. Those things have no expiration date. In fact, Scripture tells us this:
Lamentations 3:22-24 (The Message)
22-24God's Loyal Love Couldn't Have Run Out,
His Merciful Love Couldn't Have Dried Up.
They're Created New Every Morning.
How Great Your Faithfulness!
I'm Sticking With God (I Say It Over And Over).
He's All I've Got Left.
So we need to live Easter everyday in our hearts because Christ is Risen....Still!
Easter, and what it stands for and what it means for us, is an everyday thing. Easter is not something to commemorate, it is something to live everyday!
Every morning I wake up I should wake up to the thought "He Is Risen!" His promises, His mercy His grace, His love, His wisdom, His counsel, His correction is still available to us. Those things have no expiration date. In fact, Scripture tells us this:
Lamentations 3:22-24 (The Message)
22-24God's Loyal Love Couldn't Have Run Out,
His Merciful Love Couldn't Have Dried Up.
They're Created New Every Morning.
How Great Your Faithfulness!
I'm Sticking With God (I Say It Over And Over).
He's All I've Got Left.
So we need to live Easter everyday in our hearts because Christ is Risen....Still!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Meanwhile...
Acts 18:24-25 "Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and spoke with great fervor, and taught about Jesus accurately..."
The set-up for this passage is as follows: Paul has gone on to teach the people of Ephesus. He stays for a short time, and though they beg him to stay longer he does not. Instead he leaves, saying "I will return, if it is God's will."
This is where Apollos steps in. He comes into Ephesus and becomes a great teacher for the church for awhile. He inspires the people, convinces many of the Jews that Christ is the Son of God and the small church began to grow. It is as if God had it all planned.
It is the word "meanwhile" that catches my attention. Paul would return and teach again to the church in Ephesus, but in the meanwhile, God used Apollos to be the next influence for the people of Ephesus.
This may be a strange passage to talk about parenting but I think there are some parallels to the church in Ephesus and our work as parents. Hear me out.
We spend, as followers of Christ, the first 18 years of the lives of our children pouring into them the precepts, the love, the life that it is to be a follower of Christ. We influence their thoughts, their habits, their attitudes with God's Word. We try to be a good role model of the things of God. We take to heart the promise of God found in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." And then they are gone. Off to college. Moved out of the house. Getting married. Getting jobs. For 18 years we are the most consistent influence on their life and then we take a back seat to the next influence.
This is why I like the word "meanwhile". The church in Ephesus is no longer under the direct influence of Paul, but meanwhile, God sends Apollos. Things go well. Things grow. Things change.
When our sons and daughters step out our front door into life, they will no longer be under our direct influence. We can no longer protect them; monitor their behavior; correct them. This is a "meanwhile" time of life for them and us. And we have to hold on to this: In the meanwhile, God will provide and send the next influence, the next Apollos, so that our kids can continue to grow.
I thank God for the next influence that God provided for my daughter as she headed off to North Central University. She found a church that encouraged her and mentored her and gave her a place to grow and stay involved in ministry. She found pastors that took her under their wing. She found professors that brought out the best in her. She has grown, in the meanwhile.
When my son followed two years later, he found a similar experience. He, too, became involved in church and ministry. He, too, found mentors and pastors and professors that have encouraged him and helped him grow in Christ and in life. Because of these men and women, my son has discovered leadership abilities that none of us knew he had possessed.
The next influence is in place for your sons and daughters. God already has a plan for the meanwhile. Take heart.
Of course, just as Ephesus got to glean from the wisdom of Paul time and time again, my kids come and ask advice from Mom and Dad. Since both are headed into ministry, the subject of God comes up quite often. We share resources, speak of the practics of ministry, talk about the crafting of sermons and prayer and God's Word. The other issues of life come up as well: Relationships, jobs, money, how to handle disappointment. My wife and I still have influence, but in turn my kids bring back to us things I can learn. It is a great time of life.
I thank God for providing for my kids in the "meanwhile". I thank God for the Apolloses that He put in their path to be the next influence. I will never stop being Dad but I can rest better knowing that God has the "meanwhile" all set up for my kids, wherever that may take them.
The set-up for this passage is as follows: Paul has gone on to teach the people of Ephesus. He stays for a short time, and though they beg him to stay longer he does not. Instead he leaves, saying "I will return, if it is God's will."
This is where Apollos steps in. He comes into Ephesus and becomes a great teacher for the church for awhile. He inspires the people, convinces many of the Jews that Christ is the Son of God and the small church began to grow. It is as if God had it all planned.
It is the word "meanwhile" that catches my attention. Paul would return and teach again to the church in Ephesus, but in the meanwhile, God used Apollos to be the next influence for the people of Ephesus.
This may be a strange passage to talk about parenting but I think there are some parallels to the church in Ephesus and our work as parents. Hear me out.
We spend, as followers of Christ, the first 18 years of the lives of our children pouring into them the precepts, the love, the life that it is to be a follower of Christ. We influence their thoughts, their habits, their attitudes with God's Word. We try to be a good role model of the things of God. We take to heart the promise of God found in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." And then they are gone. Off to college. Moved out of the house. Getting married. Getting jobs. For 18 years we are the most consistent influence on their life and then we take a back seat to the next influence.
This is why I like the word "meanwhile". The church in Ephesus is no longer under the direct influence of Paul, but meanwhile, God sends Apollos. Things go well. Things grow. Things change.
When our sons and daughters step out our front door into life, they will no longer be under our direct influence. We can no longer protect them; monitor their behavior; correct them. This is a "meanwhile" time of life for them and us. And we have to hold on to this: In the meanwhile, God will provide and send the next influence, the next Apollos, so that our kids can continue to grow.
I thank God for the next influence that God provided for my daughter as she headed off to North Central University. She found a church that encouraged her and mentored her and gave her a place to grow and stay involved in ministry. She found pastors that took her under their wing. She found professors that brought out the best in her. She has grown, in the meanwhile.
When my son followed two years later, he found a similar experience. He, too, became involved in church and ministry. He, too, found mentors and pastors and professors that have encouraged him and helped him grow in Christ and in life. Because of these men and women, my son has discovered leadership abilities that none of us knew he had possessed.
The next influence is in place for your sons and daughters. God already has a plan for the meanwhile. Take heart.
Of course, just as Ephesus got to glean from the wisdom of Paul time and time again, my kids come and ask advice from Mom and Dad. Since both are headed into ministry, the subject of God comes up quite often. We share resources, speak of the practics of ministry, talk about the crafting of sermons and prayer and God's Word. The other issues of life come up as well: Relationships, jobs, money, how to handle disappointment. My wife and I still have influence, but in turn my kids bring back to us things I can learn. It is a great time of life.
I thank God for providing for my kids in the "meanwhile". I thank God for the Apolloses that He put in their path to be the next influence. I will never stop being Dad but I can rest better knowing that God has the "meanwhile" all set up for my kids, wherever that may take them.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
No need to be alone
ACTS 18:9-10 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
I have always thought of Paul as this singular, and solitary person. The circumstances surrounding his conversion and the 3 years he spent in training were so unique that no one else could hold a candle to his experiences.
Yet Paul was never alone. Ever. It was Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Silas. Paul and Timothy. At the beginning of Acts 18 Paul meets Priscilla and Aquilla in Corinth and they become important travelers with Paul during his missions trips. The book of Acts was written in such detail by Luke and focused much on Paul because Luke was with Paul on these journeys.
Even in prison, Paul was not alone. Read the end of his Prison Epistles and he lists a number of people that are there with him. Friends who had come to visit. Paul was never alone.
By the time Paul reaches Corinth in Acts 18 he has had enough. At his previous stops he had been harassed, persecuted, stoned, chased out of town, talked down at and made to feel very unwelcome. It continued in Corinth and Paul said "Enough! I will take my message to the Gentiles, then."
Paul probably had a fitful night's sleep that brought about the Lord coming to him in a vision and encouraging him. Two things God says that give us hope and instruction are this:
"I am with you" and "I have many people in this city."
As we walk with Christ in the 21st Century we must come to the understanding that we are not alone. Our relationship with God should be deeply personal and private but it also should be corporate and public. All the men and women of faith, though deeply intense with God, shared the journey with others.
I have always thought of Paul as this singular, and solitary person. The circumstances surrounding his conversion and the 3 years he spent in training were so unique that no one else could hold a candle to his experiences.
Yet Paul was never alone. Ever. It was Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Silas. Paul and Timothy. At the beginning of Acts 18 Paul meets Priscilla and Aquilla in Corinth and they become important travelers with Paul during his missions trips. The book of Acts was written in such detail by Luke and focused much on Paul because Luke was with Paul on these journeys.
Even in prison, Paul was not alone. Read the end of his Prison Epistles and he lists a number of people that are there with him. Friends who had come to visit. Paul was never alone.
By the time Paul reaches Corinth in Acts 18 he has had enough. At his previous stops he had been harassed, persecuted, stoned, chased out of town, talked down at and made to feel very unwelcome. It continued in Corinth and Paul said "Enough! I will take my message to the Gentiles, then."
Paul probably had a fitful night's sleep that brought about the Lord coming to him in a vision and encouraging him. Two things God says that give us hope and instruction are this:
"I am with you" and "I have many people in this city."
As we walk with Christ in the 21st Century we must come to the understanding that we are not alone. Our relationship with God should be deeply personal and private but it also should be corporate and public. All the men and women of faith, though deeply intense with God, shared the journey with others.
- When God created Adam he realized that it was not good for him to be alone. He then created Eve. (Genesis 2:18)
- When Moses took leadership of the people of the Hebrew nation, his brother Aaron and Miriam shared the load.
- David had Jonathan.
- Elijah had his own pity party when he cried out "I am the only one left." And God said "Don't be ridiculous, I have another 7000 in Israel." (1 Kings 19:18). It wasn't long after that Elisha came on board.
- Even Christ needed the disciples. He called them his friends.
Though the old chorus is correct when we sing "He is all I need, He is all I need, Jesus is all I need", God provides other people in the city, as well. It is imperative as a follower of Christ that you find a place in a body of believers. We are gifts to one another to help us grow in Christ.
The Biblical pattern is set. In Acts 2: 42 the believers "devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
It is important that you do not go it alone. God has provided not just Himself but has provided many in the city. If you are opposed to organized religion, you still need to find people you can fellowship with and sharpen your walk with God. I recommend church because it is a proven connection area for people with like faith. You can find iron at a church. You can find friends at church.
Look for a church that preaches God's Word faithfully and true. You will be encouraged and you will grow.
Paul was ready to leave Corinth but once God had told him "I am with you" and "I have many people in the city" he stayed 18 months establishing the church there. I think it was important to Paul to have Priscilla and Aquilla but also to know there were many others. He was not alone.
You do not need to go it alone. Don't go it alone. Christ is all we need, but in proof of his generosity, he has for us many people that will help us in our desire to be next to Christ.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
god vs. God
Acts 17:22-23 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Aeropagus and said "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."
And that is exactly what Paul does.
The men of Athens were just covering their bases. They had a god for everything.They built an altar or a temple for each and every god for everything and just in case they missed something, they created the unknown god.
I am not sure we would have that problem, today. Just look on the internet and you can find most any god feasible. Did you know there is a tribe that worships Prince Philip? That there is another religion based on Star Wars called Jediism? Every god has a name nowadays.
The issue today is not that one does not know the name of a god, it is that many do not even know they have made the god which they are worshipping. But I would contend that any thing that commands the top priority in our lives has become our god.
For some this is their job. The majority of moments are spent pleasing the demands of the job, working up the ladder of success. Families are neglected. Our own health takes a back seat at the altar of our job.
Be it money, addictions, family, or even good works...if these things take priority they become our god.
Some even make their church their god. Figure that one out.
We all have a god. We should all have God.
What I have noticed when people serve other gods than God is that every other facet of life declines and takes a back seat to the god. Families fall apart or become dysfunctional. Relationships are strained. Jobs are lost. When serving a god there is nothing left for anything else.
But when we choose to serve God, he supplies us the means to not only enjoy everything else but to have those things in a much better way. Servants of God become better Fathers and Husbands. Servant of God become better employees and employers. Servants of God become better managers of money and resources.
Every god asks us to give all we got. Even Christ says we must take up our cross and follow him (Mark 8:34-35). Only serving God gives us the promise of "life to the full" (John 10:10). This is not a promise of riches untold, the best car, the corner office of the corporation. This does not guarantee a trophy wife, perfect kids, or a stress-free existence. He promises a full life, meaning putting God first allows us to have the job, the family, the meaningful relationships, the purpose, the joy and the love without sacrificing one over the other.
Serving God expands our ability to live life. Serve any other god and it minimizes what we could be and could attain.
The following words of Christ are not a threat but a promise:"But seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
Inherently all of us know the important things in life. Serving God brings those things to bear.
And that is exactly what Paul does.
The men of Athens were just covering their bases. They had a god for everything.They built an altar or a temple for each and every god for everything and just in case they missed something, they created the unknown god.
I am not sure we would have that problem, today. Just look on the internet and you can find most any god feasible. Did you know there is a tribe that worships Prince Philip? That there is another religion based on Star Wars called Jediism? Every god has a name nowadays.
The issue today is not that one does not know the name of a god, it is that many do not even know they have made the god which they are worshipping. But I would contend that any thing that commands the top priority in our lives has become our god.
For some this is their job. The majority of moments are spent pleasing the demands of the job, working up the ladder of success. Families are neglected. Our own health takes a back seat at the altar of our job.
Be it money, addictions, family, or even good works...if these things take priority they become our god.
Some even make their church their god. Figure that one out.
We all have a god. We should all have God.
What I have noticed when people serve other gods than God is that every other facet of life declines and takes a back seat to the god. Families fall apart or become dysfunctional. Relationships are strained. Jobs are lost. When serving a god there is nothing left for anything else.
But when we choose to serve God, he supplies us the means to not only enjoy everything else but to have those things in a much better way. Servants of God become better Fathers and Husbands. Servant of God become better employees and employers. Servants of God become better managers of money and resources.
Every god asks us to give all we got. Even Christ says we must take up our cross and follow him (Mark 8:34-35). Only serving God gives us the promise of "life to the full" (John 10:10). This is not a promise of riches untold, the best car, the corner office of the corporation. This does not guarantee a trophy wife, perfect kids, or a stress-free existence. He promises a full life, meaning putting God first allows us to have the job, the family, the meaningful relationships, the purpose, the joy and the love without sacrificing one over the other.
Serving God expands our ability to live life. Serve any other god and it minimizes what we could be and could attain.
The following words of Christ are not a threat but a promise:"But seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
Inherently all of us know the important things in life. Serving God brings those things to bear.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Evangelistically Speaking
Acts 17 5-9 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying there is another king, one called Jesus." When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.
Nothing like a little exaggeration to handle a situation. Paul and Silas have caused trouble "all over the world"? They should be proud to be considered such world beaters! And though it is true that they are claiming there is another king called Jesus, they never said Caesar was not a king. It is highly unlikely that the Roman government, let alone Caesar, cared about Paul and Silas. They didn't even know Paul and Silas were Roman citizens when they were imprisoned unjustly in Philippi and if they were such a threat to Rome, why allow them to leave in the first place?
It was the world of the Jews in Thessalonica that was being threatened. But in order to achieve their goal of ousting Paul and Silas and the followers, they exaggerated a bit to get the point across. And people fell for the exaggeration to the point of arresting Jason and chasing Paul and Silas.
We have all exaggerated but let's call exaggeration what it is: It is the Truth compounded with a Lie.
The church exaggerates, too. Jokingly we say someone is speaking "evangelistically" when they tweak the Sunday Morning attendance a bit. In order to lift ourselves up in the eyes of our fellow ministers we may add a little bit to our missions giving total.
There was a church I knew of that claimed terrific numbers for a Vacation Bible School. 1200 was the number given for the outreach in the small town. Church officials were impressed and fellow ministers "oohed and awed." Until the exaggeration came to light. Yes, there were 1200 in attendance but that represented 300 on average a day. Impressive numbers at any rate but the Pastor sensed the need to exaggerate in order to build up his own reputation. Instead, his reputation was sullied.
Why must we compound a truth with a lie? What is so insecure about us and our call that we can't just say it like it is? Why exaggerate? Why speak evangelistically? Isn't it up to God to decide if we have been successful or not? For that matter, does success have anything to do with numbers at all? Isn't it more about being obedient to what God has called us?
I have been guilty of exaggeration. And I feel awful everytime. If the Truth is not enough how could a lie added to it make it any better?
I have determined to not exaggerate, be it about my golf game (woefully inadequate) or the numbers that fill the chairs on Sunday morning (sometimes woefully inadequate, as well). I have chosen not to speak "evangelistically" but to speak as an evangelist. Surely, if more people come to know Christ the numbers will take care of themselves.
Nothing like a little exaggeration to handle a situation. Paul and Silas have caused trouble "all over the world"? They should be proud to be considered such world beaters! And though it is true that they are claiming there is another king called Jesus, they never said Caesar was not a king. It is highly unlikely that the Roman government, let alone Caesar, cared about Paul and Silas. They didn't even know Paul and Silas were Roman citizens when they were imprisoned unjustly in Philippi and if they were such a threat to Rome, why allow them to leave in the first place?
It was the world of the Jews in Thessalonica that was being threatened. But in order to achieve their goal of ousting Paul and Silas and the followers, they exaggerated a bit to get the point across. And people fell for the exaggeration to the point of arresting Jason and chasing Paul and Silas.
We have all exaggerated but let's call exaggeration what it is: It is the Truth compounded with a Lie.
The church exaggerates, too. Jokingly we say someone is speaking "evangelistically" when they tweak the Sunday Morning attendance a bit. In order to lift ourselves up in the eyes of our fellow ministers we may add a little bit to our missions giving total.
There was a church I knew of that claimed terrific numbers for a Vacation Bible School. 1200 was the number given for the outreach in the small town. Church officials were impressed and fellow ministers "oohed and awed." Until the exaggeration came to light. Yes, there were 1200 in attendance but that represented 300 on average a day. Impressive numbers at any rate but the Pastor sensed the need to exaggerate in order to build up his own reputation. Instead, his reputation was sullied.
Why must we compound a truth with a lie? What is so insecure about us and our call that we can't just say it like it is? Why exaggerate? Why speak evangelistically? Isn't it up to God to decide if we have been successful or not? For that matter, does success have anything to do with numbers at all? Isn't it more about being obedient to what God has called us?
I have been guilty of exaggeration. And I feel awful everytime. If the Truth is not enough how could a lie added to it make it any better?
I have determined to not exaggerate, be it about my golf game (woefully inadequate) or the numbers that fill the chairs on Sunday morning (sometimes woefully inadequate, as well). I have chosen not to speak "evangelistically" but to speak as an evangelist. Surely, if more people come to know Christ the numbers will take care of themselves.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Prison Attitude
Acts 16:29-31 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your whole household."
This is a familiar story in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are jailed because they exorcised from a young girl a demon that was making her master loads of money. Paul and Silas were severely flogged, they were thrown into prison and shackled, their feet put in stocks.
What could have happened in the hours between Paul and Silas being placed in the hands of the jailer and the moment the jailer was trembling on his knees before Paul and Silas wondering what it would take to be saved? What could turn a man indebted to the the Roman Government into a man who turns his life over to Christ?
Paul and Silas happened, that's what.
Consider you are the jailer and possibly you have been doing this job for a long time. You have seen every type of criminal and miscreant imaginable in your cells. You have heard all their stories, most of them beginning with "I was framed!" or "I am innocent." After awhile you would turn a deaf ear to the complaints and pleas of the crooks.
But the jailer couldn't turn a deaf ear to Paul and Silas because instead of complaints, he heard prayers. Instead of cursing he heard hymns of praise. This had to pique his interest.
And when the earthquake came and all the doors opened, the jailer supspected the worst: all the prisoners would have fled and the Roman government would have his head. And just as he was going to do the job himself, Paul cried out,"We are all here! Don't do it!"
There was something different about these guys. Paul and Silas had even convinced the other prisoners to stay where they were. Though the end event is what is celebrated (a whole household getting saved), the jailer never would have responded without Paul and Silas living out their faith in the harshest of times.
So that is the challenge. Everyone lives a great faith when things are going well. It is not hard to put on a happy face when things are going all smiley for you. But what happens when we are thrown into the prison of life? How do we live out our faith when life is at its harshest?
Earthquakes help, but the short time of exposure the jailer had to Paul and Silas was more than enough to convince him that they had the answer to whatever the question would be. Because, in the worst possible moment: beaten, scourged, imprisoned, in stocks, Paul and Silas lived like the followers of Christ they proclaimed to be.
I cringe at some of the moments in my life when I did not walk the faith I had so proudly proclaimed. That at times when the pressure was on, I wilted. And though this only attests to my humanity and that I am a work in progress, how many saw my spiritual hissy fit or self-righteous pouting and concluded that following Christ makes no difference in a life.
Paul and Silas could have written the words to this popular worship song:
Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful,
when the streams of abundance flow, Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name, when I'm found in the desert place.
though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed be your name.
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
So the key is to respond to the hardships in similar manner as to when life is going well. I should be consistent in my reaction. And this comes by being next to Christ in prayer, in His word, and in fellowship with others who share your faith in Christ. If I have truly ceded my life to God, then when certain things happen as a result of my faith, I will just have to trust God has got it figured out. And I should go on praying and praising in the darkest of moments.
Who knows? Someone may be watching and decide to follow Christ. That would be alright.
This is a familiar story in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are jailed because they exorcised from a young girl a demon that was making her master loads of money. Paul and Silas were severely flogged, they were thrown into prison and shackled, their feet put in stocks.
What could have happened in the hours between Paul and Silas being placed in the hands of the jailer and the moment the jailer was trembling on his knees before Paul and Silas wondering what it would take to be saved? What could turn a man indebted to the the Roman Government into a man who turns his life over to Christ?
Paul and Silas happened, that's what.
Consider you are the jailer and possibly you have been doing this job for a long time. You have seen every type of criminal and miscreant imaginable in your cells. You have heard all their stories, most of them beginning with "I was framed!" or "I am innocent." After awhile you would turn a deaf ear to the complaints and pleas of the crooks.
But the jailer couldn't turn a deaf ear to Paul and Silas because instead of complaints, he heard prayers. Instead of cursing he heard hymns of praise. This had to pique his interest.
And when the earthquake came and all the doors opened, the jailer supspected the worst: all the prisoners would have fled and the Roman government would have his head. And just as he was going to do the job himself, Paul cried out,"We are all here! Don't do it!"
There was something different about these guys. Paul and Silas had even convinced the other prisoners to stay where they were. Though the end event is what is celebrated (a whole household getting saved), the jailer never would have responded without Paul and Silas living out their faith in the harshest of times.
So that is the challenge. Everyone lives a great faith when things are going well. It is not hard to put on a happy face when things are going all smiley for you. But what happens when we are thrown into the prison of life? How do we live out our faith when life is at its harshest?
Earthquakes help, but the short time of exposure the jailer had to Paul and Silas was more than enough to convince him that they had the answer to whatever the question would be. Because, in the worst possible moment: beaten, scourged, imprisoned, in stocks, Paul and Silas lived like the followers of Christ they proclaimed to be.
I cringe at some of the moments in my life when I did not walk the faith I had so proudly proclaimed. That at times when the pressure was on, I wilted. And though this only attests to my humanity and that I am a work in progress, how many saw my spiritual hissy fit or self-righteous pouting and concluded that following Christ makes no difference in a life.
Paul and Silas could have written the words to this popular worship song:
Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful,
when the streams of abundance flow, Blessed be your name.
Blessed be your name, when I'm found in the desert place.
though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed be your name.
Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
So the key is to respond to the hardships in similar manner as to when life is going well. I should be consistent in my reaction. And this comes by being next to Christ in prayer, in His word, and in fellowship with others who share your faith in Christ. If I have truly ceded my life to God, then when certain things happen as a result of my faith, I will just have to trust God has got it figured out. And I should go on praying and praising in the darkest of moments.
Who knows? Someone may be watching and decide to follow Christ. That would be alright.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A God that wants to be next to me.
It is precocious, I think, to title a blog "Next2Christ".
Such a title implies that I am next to Jesus, keeping in step with Him and His desire for my life. It all sounds so simple in a Christian-cliche sort of way, as if Christ and I are holding hands and skipping down the yellow brick road of life until I reach heaven.
The fact is, my walk with Christ sometimes displays a lack of heart, courage, and a brain. Even as a Pastor.
"Next2Christ", then, is not a statement of fact, but an expression of desire. I would like to be, every moment, next to Jesus. I would like to always have the heart of compassion that Christ displays, the courage of my convictions that Christ voices,and a brain not just to understand that "the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sided" but to understand the best way to apply God's Word to my life and how to communicate that to others.
Actually, the blog could easily be called "Next2Gerard" because it is Christ who promises to never leave me nor forsake me. It is Christ who has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort, instruct and guide. It is Christ who draws near to me as I draw near to Him. Too often I am lagging behind or going on ahead of Christ and it is He who waits for me to catch up or to call me back.
So, "Next2Christ" will serve as a travelogue of my journey with Christ through God's Word. It is devotional in nature, personal by design. I hope that I spend more time next to Jesus rather than catching up or falling behind. And if any part of my walk can help your walk, that will work for me.
Such a title implies that I am next to Jesus, keeping in step with Him and His desire for my life. It all sounds so simple in a Christian-cliche sort of way, as if Christ and I are holding hands and skipping down the yellow brick road of life until I reach heaven.
The fact is, my walk with Christ sometimes displays a lack of heart, courage, and a brain. Even as a Pastor.
"Next2Christ", then, is not a statement of fact, but an expression of desire. I would like to be, every moment, next to Jesus. I would like to always have the heart of compassion that Christ displays, the courage of my convictions that Christ voices,and a brain not just to understand that "the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle equals the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sided" but to understand the best way to apply God's Word to my life and how to communicate that to others.
Actually, the blog could easily be called "Next2Gerard" because it is Christ who promises to never leave me nor forsake me. It is Christ who has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort, instruct and guide. It is Christ who draws near to me as I draw near to Him. Too often I am lagging behind or going on ahead of Christ and it is He who waits for me to catch up or to call me back.
So, "Next2Christ" will serve as a travelogue of my journey with Christ through God's Word. It is devotional in nature, personal by design. I hope that I spend more time next to Jesus rather than catching up or falling behind. And if any part of my walk can help your walk, that will work for me.
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