The Dream Factory

Living Justly in an Unjust World

The blog I've not written, but know that I must has a title and a theme thus, a thrust ... to be just. In a word it is to love that which is above us, surrounds us, envelops us, has created and is creating us and to love those who also are created and are being created ... But it is an unjust world, you cry, protest, and flail. We can try, resist, and ultimately fail to live justly in such a world ... and I say, "Hogwash!" If it were not possible to swim against the tide, there would be no more salmon on the planet. Grant it, it is hard and our charred, scarred, burned and battered selves must energize, prioritize, and optimize, but we can live justly in an unjust world. In the end (and at the beginning), it is all we can do ... and what we cannot be stopped from doing.

Reflections on Following Jesus, Culture Wars, Loving People, and Radical Discipleship

Today, I am renewed in the knowledge that my steps are ordered of the Lord. I am in covenant with Him and with His people. I have been called to be peculiar and I have no higher calling than to follow Jesus. That is the choice I make by grace and the identity I bear through faith. I honor those who follow other paths, but this is mine and the call to come along is ever on my lips. I would love to have the company and God is waiting to welcome you at any moment.

I desire no power to coerce, shape, or regulate you. If you come into covenant with God through Jesus and with me in koinonia, we shall then hold each other accountable to a higher standard that may, at times, seem severe, demanding, and constraining. Yet, it shall always be bathed in grace and infused with joy. That covenant shall shape us and prepare us to be light in the world and salt in the earth. It will form us into the image of Jesus that we might be His presence in the world - He, who sought no earthly Kingdom and exercised none of His rights to silence His enemies.

The kingdoms of this world are what they are, agents of civil order. I owe them whatever loyalty they require and the influence of my presence and participation; but they do not define my life, my discipleship, or my calling. They are incidental and contextual. Those of us who choose to follow Jesus live by the Kingdom ethic and behave counter-intuitively, governed by the law of love for God and for others. We live in the culture, but the culture does not ultimately shape, govern, threaten, or limit us. We can expect to be considered odd; let us rejoice when that happens!

Culture wars? That is not our calling. The church of Jesus has always been counter-cultural. There has never been a truly "Christian" culture. We are always amongst and against the tide. If we do not stand out, we cannot be seen. Ours is the culture of radical grace, radical love, and radical discipleship. It cannot be imposed on others; it can be witnessed, testified, and consistently lived in public, but it can never be imposed through cultural warfare.

Our warfare is spiritual and it is against spiritual forces, never people.

The bigest problem with the whole issue of sexuality in our society is that we have allowed it to become so central, so public, so pervasive, so out of proportion, and so defining. We are bombarded with images and ideas that titilate our sense, but they cannot become central to our thinking. It is all part of the backdrop against which we bear witness to Jesus. It is part of our challenge not to be shaped by our surroundings. Sexuality is part of our lives that we bring into submission to God in discipleship and He blesses that part of our being. We seek to live our lives in a state of purity, not out of pride, bigotry, or arrogance, but simplicity, devotion, and witness. If we can have integrity in our private lives, without flaunting or imposing our values, we can be more useful to God and others.

We are called to love people and reflect God's presence in whatever culture surrounds us. Love often involves accepting people where they are, in what they believe, and in how they live because that is where God meets each of us and calls us.  That means being with and among the people, bearing their suffering, hearing their cries, celebrating their successes, laughing and rejoicing with them, and weeping with them in their pain. I will not meet a single individual today who is not precious to God.

He knows each soul with whom I will connect. He knows them well. He loves them deeply. He is already at work in their lives. He is drawing them to Himself and He may have even given them an insight that I need to hear --- whter or not they are aware of it.

I must listen to each voice I hear because God speaks where He will and through anyone or anything He chooses. If I do not hear you, I might miss something God is saying to me. Therefore, I shall not compartmentalize you, marginalize you, or label you. You are an intricately woven tapestry of God's creativity. You are loved. You are invited to an eternal feast of grace.

I am a Jesus follower. That is who and what I am. I am many other things as well, but their significance pales by comparison. Whatever my political leanings, personal interests, life choices, affiliations, denominations, or opinions are secondary and being formed and informed by this high calling -- to simply follow Jesus.

Jesus saved me. This I believe... from my sin, my narcissistic inclinations, by abject poverty of meaning, the vacuum of purpose, my sensual obsessions, and my wandering lostness. He rescued me from the eternal abyss of empty despair, the eternal void of loneliness, and the eternal torment of separation from the True Source of my being, His Father and mine. This, He accomplished through personal sacrifice and life giving death.  I trust this reality and I trust Him. I proclaim this message as the good news of the cross.

"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." I must die daily in Him who died for me. I cannot ask for the culture or the kingdoms of the world to support me in this decision to follow. I cannot expect special treatment from the world or a comfortable path. I appreciate, but cannot demand any consideration given along the way, but I cannot expect it. I am a servant in this world. I show God's love by doing what loving people do.

So I need to be more concerned about the things that concerned (and concern) Jesus and, with no ulterior motive by love, feed the hungry, heal the sick, raise the dead, speak hope into the ears of the hopeless, visit the imprisoned, work for peace, and live a life above reproach.

I did not intend to write all of this, but I felt such clamor and concern over issues that divide our society today. I do not believe that, as a Jesus follower, I can side with any faction in any ultimate or defining manner. I must walk in the midst as a witness to truth and grace. There will always be a separation that results and it will be the only one that counts. At times I will sympathize with one cause or another and work for righteousness and truth in the midst of that cause, working along side others who do not share my specific faith ... But I must guard against the temptation to be defined by the cause or the "party," or the "movements" with which I find some sympathy. My marching orders come through the Kingdom of Love and, to that extent, I accept the role of outsider.

I am a servant. I am a citizen of another Kingdom and am living here for now, working for the shalom of the city, representing my King, enjoying the good things of the earth, and making precious friends among the people down here.

I am a servant to you, your cause, your need, and your deepest aspirations to be all you were made to be .... because I am a servant of God.

So, that is my refelction. I am neither overly exhuberant nor profoundly distressed by what transpires in society. I expect a bumpy road. I enjoy the ride. But mostly, I walk.

God, help me to walk in the steps You have ordered for me, to think the thoughts you have for me to think, to feel the pain and the joy You have ordained for me to experience. Give me strength, wisdom, and grace for the day. I am Your servant. Help me to represent You fairly and to show Your love too people. I have as much capacity to be angry, bitter, discouraged, obstinate, and obnoxious as anyone. I have been known to exercise that caacity. Forgive me and renew me in Your grace that You might shape me into something more, something that more faithfully represents who You are. Love people through me today.  Help me to serve You by serving them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

God in the Garden

It is planting season again.

It is my third year of gardening and I keep expanding, experimenting, and extending my faith.

I find that I pray differently while tending my garden, planting my seeds, pulling my weeds - Yes, MY weeds, breaking the soil, and watering, watering, watering.

I look and listen more and talk less.

My hands are too dirty to take notes, so I just try to remember the lessons and ask God to remind me later. Some things are not so much for remembering and teaching as they are for transforming us... transforming me.

As a pastor, I am sort of a gardener.

As a person, I am sort of a crop ... and sometimes a weed ... and sometimes a seed or the soil into which the seed goes.

Lord, help me not to be a weed to often and, when I am, make me good fertilizer as the weediness in me composts into something useful.

I really should be taking more notes, but I get dirty and tired and invigorated and cleansed all at the same time.

I used to hate dirt, but I just did not understand.

And this gets me on my knees, literally and figuratively.

I do pray. I pray for guidance, because this is tricky stuff. I pray for miracles because I have no idea what is happening underground. I pray for patience and patient faith because there are somethings I just cannot make happen.

I pray for seeds to grow and for myself to plant seeds in people's lives that will  grow.

I pray constantly in that dirt and it is pretty earthy prayer.

More to come ... I suppose.

This sort of comes out of it ... sort of .... but it really is a different post:

A Non-Believeing Pastor in the News

Here are some thoughts from a discussion initiated by my friend, Mark Jackson in response to the story of a pastor who declared herself an atheist. The store is HERE.

There are other good comments, including Mark's excellent observations, but they are not mine and you can read them here:  Mark's Discussion on Facebook 

Very interesting story and it will come up and be utilized as an argument. There probably needs to be a "safe zone" to discuss doubts before they develop into unbelief. "I believe; help Thou my unbelief," is a useful prayer. Also, Thomas, who would not believe "until ..." was the first to utter, "My Lord and my God." This is a very sad story. She has taken the path of least resistance. I sense that someday she may return to faith.

I could have, at times, almost abandoned my belief in deity ... but only briefly. Like Job, I have seen too much "face to face." However, what really clings to me and draws me back is my love for Jesus. If I were an atheist, I think I would still love Jesus and aspire to the Sermon on the Mount.

The problem is that without God, I would fail every time.

The things that fascinate my atheist friends, who are many and who are largely wonderful and ethical people - often very, very generous, those things that create a sense of wonder in them, touch my "God-gene," the "imageness (my word) of God in me," distorted, fallen, latent, but alive. I could not live without the sense of awe and wonder and for me, everything that baffles and boggles deepens my faith in God.

I feel for this woman, but I agree with you that the community that loved and nurtured her should have heard her confession before the world did.

Another thought ... there is an option - believing agnosticism. The agnostic is one who does not know -a(not)-gnostic (knowing). And that is fine! We don't know much about God compared to all there is to know about God. We know enough to know Him experimentally, redemptively, and salvifically. But not enough to discern His ways and cease wondering. In order for us to know Him, He had to take on skin and bone. It was a rarity in the Hebrew scriptures for a man to see and know God. It becomes common place in Jesus.

Yet, the not knowing agnosticism lingers and propels. I just think that many do not realize the worshipful power of it.

I believe. That is experiential knowledge, faith (without which it is impossible to know, please, or come to Him), and awe. Gnosticism is empirical. With Abraham Heschell, I choose wonder. With Martin Buber, I embrace a holy/wholly "Other." With Rudolf Otto, I resonate with "The Idea of the Holy."

I have no room for personal a-theism because I don't know enough to declare there is no God ... and I know too much to suspect it.

So, when Jesus comes to me and says that when I see Him, I see the Father, I am convinced enough to follow ... and have ... and will.

The "a-gnostic" part of me is pretty excited about the gnosis that will eventually get dumped on me and is drizzling in little by little.
In the meantime, for the next few months, I will be accumulating insights from the soil and having some pretty amazing two way conversations with God. I really, truly look forward to the process and to the harvest.

Bearing His Cross - Part 1

I have been preaching a series of series(es), progressing through a continuum of red words that I have called The Red Zone. They are the words of Jesus in the Gospels (and most likely those quoted in Acts and the Epistles). I have come to the Crucifixion and will break it into three or four parts. Today, I will preach from Luke 23:26-43. Jesus speaks three times in this passage ...

Once, he speaks, on the road to Calvary, to sympathize with the pain of the women who are weeping. He adjures them not to weep for Him, but for themselves. He enters into the pain that He knows they will experience in the future. It is an outward focus. He is bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows.

Then, He speaks of His tormentors and asks the Father to forgive them. He says, "They know not what they do." He enters into their hearts and seeks to view their reality. It is an outward focus. He is bearing the sins of the world and speaking forgiveness. "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him."

Finally, He speaks to the thief on the cross who has taken responsibility for his own sins and chosen to identify with Jesus. Out of His own agony, He again has an outward focus and He speaks hope, embracing the one hangs on the cross next to Him, He includes Him and says, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." The focus is outward and redemptive. He is bringing another along with Him beyond the suffering, beyond the condemnation, beyond the indignity, and even beyond the grave.

The question is, how does this apply to us? This is what Jesus did and it is done. He identified with us to redeem us. He denied Himself as He declared each of His followers must do. Then, He took up the cross as He said we must do. This self-denial, for us, is a sort of forgetfulness, leaving behind our petty concerns and egocentricity.

But, to take up my cross with the words and sentiments of Jesus? What is it to me? Outwardly focusing, I stop weeping for myself and weep for the suffering of the world. I must bear the griefs and sorrows of others.

Outwardly focusing, I must forgive and ask God to forgive all who have sinned against me or who are trapped in a cycle of ignorance and addiction to anything that oppresses the human spirit. I must stand with them in a priestly garb to speak words of liberation, grace and mercy. The cross is not merely an historical event or a metaphorical icon, it is a living, vicarious reality into which I have entered by faith. It is present in me, in you, and in all who so identify.

Finally, if I will identify with Jesus and bear, by His example, my own cross, whatever the cost, I must bear the burden of hope and speak the word of hope. I must embrace the thief who is next to me and welcome him into Paradise. His cross has been his own burden, his own guilt, his own shame, his own earthly concerns. We have died to that already and Jesus has born it. Our cross now, is to take his and invite him to be our brother. Our cross is momentary because we known that the outcome is resurrection and life. Our cross becomes a cross of joy that transcends pain and disgrace.

These are my thoughts entering into this season of remembering His words. He is inviting me to speak those words as well and stand with Him, bearing the pain of the world, announcing forgiveness, and inviting thieves and outcasts to His grace party.

I'm in!

--------------------------------

Luke 23:26-43

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁶And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

 ²⁷And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

 ²⁸But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

 ²⁹For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

 ³⁰Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

 ³¹For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

 ³²And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.

 ³³And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

 ³⁴Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 ³⁵And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

 ³⁶And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

 ³⁷And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

 ³⁸And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁹And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

 ⁴⁰But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

 ⁴¹And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

 ⁴²And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

 ⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Access

During the Reagan years, some economists attributed a much older aphorism to John F. Kennedy who said, in a speech about a dam project in Arkansas, "A rising tide lifts all boats."

They, in turn, used it to emphasize that a healthy economy helps all people. Therefore, we ought to build the economy and let the economy take care of the people who are at the bottom of the heap.

There is truth in the fragment. A rising tide, does indeed float all boats .. all boats in the water. Here is the problem. Not all boats are in the water. If one is disenfranchised or marginalized, that one may not even be able to get to the pond.

Our great challenge is not charity. It is certainly not to provide an ongoing system of dependency. Our challenge, as a society, is access. Access is a justice and fairness issue. Sure, we might need to help people learn what to do with their access and provide sustaining support while their boats are getting seaworthy and ready to launch, but the idea is to get everyone in the water ...

OR ... at the very least, to remove obstacles to the point of entry.

The ancient Hebrews understood it. It was written into the Torah. It was reflected in the laws of gleaning and the years of Jubilee.

People need access and many do not have it. There is no point of entry to healthy and affordable food, to business and job opportunities and to adequate, quality, efficient, and economically sound health care.

Access takes up-front investment of money, time, energy, and, most of all, imagination. It requires engagement at all levels of society, preferably from local upward and outward. it requires collaboration, cooperation, and a degree of collegiality.

Access can open doors to sustainability. It takes a while, but with access to ideas, services, products, and people, individuals and communities can assume more and more personal responsibility for their own sustainability.

People can agree about access. I live in a community where left wing political types have joined hands with right wing political types to fight hunger. We all agree on the project. It is non-partisan. There are many opportunities for our ideological paths to part, but when they intersect, access happens.

People can grow some of their own food in the inner city, but sometimes they come up against local ordinances that restrict their ability to sustain themselves.

Hospital emergency rooms are nightmares. People are crowded into waiting rooms hoping to get expensive treatment for ailments that could be treated better by a nurse practitioner during normal business hours. Our policies and business models, however, restrict access and all of society pays more than fair market value for the product delivered.

Providing access can look like charity at first, but if it leads to empowerment, it can be as self-serving a deed as the best supply-side economist could desire. In the long view, building productive, sustainable citizens rises the tide as well, and floats even more boats.

What floats your boat?

I participate in several community benefit organizations. I sit on the board of some. Most are faith-based. Our supporters are motivated by many factors, but primarily by stories. The stories are those vignettes about what happens when people can get good boats to the water.  Many give back. Stronger families make stronger communities. Stronger communities mean greater productivity and fewer remedial supportive services.

Do all give back? No. Out of ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one came back even to say, "thank you." But one can make a huge difference. Our volunteers do not primarily work for the thanks or the recognition, but for the results. The same is true with donors. They want to make a difference with their efforts and with their dollars.

Access is a justice issue, but it is also a pragmatic way of looking at the world.

It takes patience to create entry points and then to help people realize that gates which were previously closed are now open. Some people have been trained on dry land and, even though they long for the pond to fish and float, they need some guidance and encouragement to get there and to do the things that  must be done to be successful.

The stereotype of the poor is that they are lazy and want handouts. I don't see much of that. I see generous people who want an opportunity. Yet, they are so accustomed to doors being closed or blocked that they have learned survival skills that sustain them, but keep them from thriving. If a crack opens in a door, some of the more energetic and motivated souls may find it and excel. Others just will not see it. They have been conditioned to exclusion and they are conditioning the next generation the same way.

We have ongoing issues, but even in these, an access-oriented approach can be pragmatically and compassionately effective. We will always have people with "disabilities." They will need special access. Children cannot make their own way in the world and some will, through no fault of their own, have parents with "grown-up problems." We will, most likely always have to deal with mental illness, addiction, and people in society who refuse to cooperate or help themselves. But we can create entry points for them as well.  However, my focus here is on the majority who simply need for us to stop blocking the entry points.

How do we create access? That is the question and if it was an easy question to answer, I would not take your help in figuring it out. But it is not easy and it does require your help. It requires all of us, asking hard questions and working together to build bridges, on-ramps, and launching points for those who are disengaged, disenfranchised, and discouraged.

For my Christian friends, be motivated by this. Access is a big deal too God who invested everything to give people access to Himself.

    " ...through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:2, NIV)

    "For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." (Ephesians 2:18, NIV)

President Carter's Interview

I appreciated hearing this interview with Jimmy Carter and offer it simply as a resource for some of my friends who collect such things. You can use it to refute or embrace. It is your choice. I have a deep admiration for President Carter's integrity, faith, humility, and commitment to peace. No two people on earth will agree about everything ... nor should they

President Carter addresses many of the issues with which church and society wrestle here. Whether or not you agree with him on each point, this is offered as a reference for those who want his views in his own words. One of the points of view he offers is one with which I was raised as a "traditional" Baptist from Virginia. It has to do with how we reconcile a cosmic world-view represented in scripture with the insights and evidences of modern science. Essentially, the point we learned in our Sunday Schools was that it was no big deal. The scriptures were not written to define or deny the scientific understanding of any people at any specific time in history, but to enlighten us to the larger and deeper issues of what God was up to in creating the heavens, the earth, and us and His purposes in history pointing to eternity.

"The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork."

Jesus knew what we should learn ... We can start an argument on any good point, but we can only be effective in a few areas of attention. If we let others set the agenda of our attention, we will soon be diverted from the key points we need to make. So, God does not always call His messengers, the prophets, or His Son, to clarify our misconceptions about cosmology. He calls us to follow Him and to keep our hearts and minds open to Him.

Jesus came "to seek and to save that which was lost."

In our lives, we have a lifetime to develop our understanding of whatever is in our capacity to understand, but we need to get the big things right first. And the development of understanding will extend far beyond our time and generation. It will continue.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth ... my thoughts are not your thoughts."

For me, every unfolding of history and scientific understanding, is a confirmation of the goodness, grace, glory, and wisdom of God.

In this interview, Carter, whether or not you agree, connects the dots of his public, private, and spiritual views back to his basic commitments to Jesus. He is deeply rooted in Baptist tradition in his approach and he remains a Baptist, though not identified with Southern Baptists any longer. He expresses his personal and spiritual opposition to abortion, while explaining how he focused on trying to prevent the "need" for abortions as president.

He also draws a line of separation between civil marriage and policy and the church's role in marriage , affirming that his church does not participate in same sex marriages, and that he believes that all churches should be autonomous and none compelled by government or any other entity to perform any marriage ceremony that violates their convictions.

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's"

He answers criticisms on the authority of scripture. I am not sure that what he allows others to characterize about his views is correct. He allows the use of the term "errors" to describe his understanding that "stars do not fall." I think it would be safe to refer to that as metaphor.

He handles the criticism that he is a "universalist" directly and makes it clear that universalism is not his theological position. Rather, he states that people come to God through faith in Jesus and that God knows and handles the fate of those who do not reject Him, but simply have never heard of Him. Baptists have never come to a common agreement or understanding of this point in hundreds of years of seminary and Sunday school discussions.

After listening to the interview, you can click the full text and save and a PDF file. It is well worth having on your hard drive.

This is a very simple presentation of some very complex issues. It should be helpful to many.

Go to the interview.

My Interview with Director Julie Andrews (of Clovis)

Our communities need Cinderella stories. Here in Clovis, CA., we get to see one staged next week at the Mercedes Edwards theater, directed by Julie Andrews. For more information, see this coming Saturday's edition of Kings River Life Magazine. Below is an interview with Mrs. Andrews.

What was it about Cinderella that attracted you to choose it?

1. Buchanan High had not performed a Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical in many years. I felt it was important for our musical theater students to experience their style.
2. It is a great show for families to attend.
3. My name is Julie Andrews.  No really, we have some phenomenal legitimate voices this year that are perfect for this style of musical.

What would you like for people to know about this production and cast?

When we say that this is a Buchanan Performing Arts Production, we really mean it. We have a full orchestra in the pit, being conducted by Mr. Matt Dean and all of our musicians are Buchanan High School Symphony members. The staging is great, and the Mercedes Edwards Theater staff is really enjoying creating the Fairy Godmother’s magical effects. Our cast is predominantly pulled from the Buchanan Choir and Theater Departments. Mr. Roger Bergman is our choir director at BHS, and he is also the vocal director for the show. The Ball Room dance sequences should be very fun for our audiences now that “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” have educated American audiences regarding the difference between the Fox Trot and the Viennese Waltz. (Both of these make an appearance in the show.) Our choreographer is Mr. Derek Goldstien, who is also the Buchanan Color Guard Choreographer.

How do you cope with the grueling schedule during rehearsals? What are the challenges and rewards?

I must say that it is much easier to direct, costume, or do props for a show when you aren’t teaching a full load of high school theater classes and trying to do all three jobs. My technical theater students have taken on a huge part of the prop construction and costume pulling for the show so that has definitely made it easier.  My Buchanan performing arts colleagues are also shouldering a good portion of the creative work as well.

The challenges are that most high school students don’t have enough hours in the day to truly be trained triple threats. Singing, Dancing, and Acting, are all dependent on technique. With today’s academic requirements, it is very difficult for students for take all three electives and a full load of college prep academics. Although, for many of these students, their performance classes are college prep. So some of the greatest enjoyment for me as a director is helping these incredibly talented young specialists develop their other talents for musical theater performance. I think the audience will be very pleasantly surprised by the performance abilities of all of our actors. Our step-mother and step-sisters are very beautiful girls, so it took quite a bit of work by our costume and make-up crew to get the appropriate look for these very talented actresses.

Do you perceive that there is a message, lesson, or "take-away" in the story of Cinderella?

 I think that during our current economic situation in Fresno County, it is very easy to see the dark side. Cinderella has a pretty tough life, yet she knows that good things eventually come to good people. I think the idea that “Impossible things are happening every day” is something we all need to be reminded of from time to time. It is also an iconic American Musical Theater production that can be shared by many generations. This is a great opportunity for my generation who remembers those first couple of television productions of R& H Cinderella to share this cultural experience live with our youngsters.

Is this production appropriate for families and children?

Definitely!  The show is one of the all-time favorite Fairytales and runs 1 hour and 45 minutes with the intermission. We start at 7:30 so the show is done by 9:15. Of course if you want a picture with the Prince or Cinderella, you might be waiting around a bit longer.

What are the greatest challenges that you have in directing a production like Cinderella?

The magical elements are probably the most challenging, but having  a great creative team at the Mercedes Edwards Theater in CUSD to help, really took that off my to do list. Everyone always thinks of Sports when they hear the name Clovis Unified, but the Theater Production team here is just as excellent.

What are the greatest rewards that you have in directing a production like Cinderella? 

Taking a show from the page and bringing it to life, so an audience gets to experience this fairytale world come to life. And maybe, just maybe, there will be a new person who sees live theater as a really cool experience and something they want to have regularly for the rest of their lives.  After all, as Cinderella says, “If you wish hard enough, and believe in what you’re wishing, even foolish dreams come true.” --

Joseph in the School of Life and Ministry

Genesis 35:16-18: Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.(NIV)

Background: Genesis 35-41

Benjamin was Joseph’s little brother, but in many ways, his name was a template for Joseph’s life. The sons of our sorrow become the sons of our strength through the transforming power of God in our lives. In his father’s house, Joseph learned these lessons:

1. To shepherd sheep – Thus he learned the basic laws of leadership.

2. To dream great dreams … and yet, one more …

3. To be in the pits of rejection and despair … and still not to surrender ones dreams.

In Potipher’s House, he learned these lessons:

1. To manage a great business and the people in that business.

2. Agricultural principles which would later be employed to save an entire region from famine.

3. To resist temptation with integrity and yet, one more …

4. Not to be concerned that someone else received the credit and benefits of his work.

In jail, he used and developed all the lessons he had previously learned and more:

1. To manage people who did not want to be managed.

2. To make the best of a bad situation without growing bitter.

3. To help other people understand their dreams, and yet, one more …

4. To deliver bad news honestly and promptly.

All of these lessons brought him to Pharaoh’s house where God could use all these lessons and here he learned one more:

• How to speak truth to power with courage.

As a result, he was able to exercise the greatest leadership skill of his life: INFUENCE! And, by exercising influence, he was able to lead a nation and, indeed, many nations, through a time of famine.

© 2012, Thomas B. Sims

A Prayer

Brightest Brilliance,
    Breathtaking Vision,
    Expanding across a grey sky
    Dispelling darkness in a
Festival of spectral colors.

Shine unfiltered
Into these eyes dimmed and
Heart quenched in the
Calcifying hardness of my
Stubborn stillness and
Persistent self-interests.

Disturb me, God of Light.
Trouble my soul from false and
Superficial peace and
Pastel imitations of Light
Until I ...
    Desperately
        Earnestly
            Eagerly
Seek and Find ...
   
    LIGHT
           in Thee.

Thanksgiving Message

I have been negligent about posting, but I intend to come back. Here is my message to you.

 

 

Neigborhood Thrift - Kings River Life Article

Anthony “Ap” Armour, Bryan Feil, and Garth Richards cannot tell you who “runs” Neighborhood Thrift. What runs the organization is a sense of mission and a vision for what the ministry can and does accomplish in people’s lives.  Read More

Coming to Terms with Not Having All the Answers

There are several bald spots on my metaphorical head from metaphysical head scratching. Mind baffles have frequently made me drowsy to the point of stupor. Not everything adds up because, to embrace everything, one must also embrace unknowns and unknowns challenge our sense of control and self-sufficiency.

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." - Psalm 139:6

"Yet in the midst of my madness, God had been making himself known to me in profound ways. In my drunken prayers, God's presence was ever-captivating. My journal would reveal tears of desperation and longing for God. I couldn't reconcile the fact that I was doing something wrong and the fact that God  was showering me with love. I have a tendency to view life in terms of black and white, good and bad, happy and unhappy.. I was finding life to be filled with shades of grey and God ruled over it all. I was starting to come to terms with the fact that I didn't  have all the answers." - Nathan Foster, "Wisdom Chaser - Finding My Father at 14,000 Feet" (IVP - ISBN 978-0-8308-3630-7)

I am captivated by Foster's story of hiking high peaks with his famous father and spiritual "giant," Richard Foster. The authenticity and raw honesty have drawn me into his story of hiking 14,000 foot peaks with his dad and the lessons both were learning. I was drawn into the story of this young man's  spiritual growth ... gradual and steady ascent.

I was not prepared for turning the page to 105, chapter 13. You'll have to read it yourself, but you may find your story there. You didn't know anyone else had lived it. You were making such progress with God, in so many areas, but there was something, a drag, more than a drag, something yanking you down.

Not all progress is steady and it is seldom neat ... usually very messy.

Mystery. What sort of  God is this? Job thought he knew Him but realized he knew only OF Him. When they finally met "face to face," it was not to impart all the answers to this faithful servant. The truth was in the encounter. The reconciliation was in the relationship.

Every day of our lives, we are surrounded on all sides by knowledge we do not possess, swimming in a sea of wonder, marinating in questions we do not know to ask. We possess less understanding than we will have tomorrow, but vastly less than the universe holds -- much less the God of the universe.

We can skip some steps and slip through a spiritual wormhole emerging, through folds in space-time continua to that lace on the other side of the creation where we can meet the God who knows and bends reality to His own purpose.

But we still won't know everything.

And cllimbing willl still involve struggle.

And we will have some bad days, some very bad days ... and some good days ... and some that don't seem to fit any category at all.

But if we keep climbing we will find we are going somewhere. Along the way, some of the answers will be clearer. At the summit, there willl be a very clear perspective.

I am convinced that the Somewhere and Someone of it all are worth the climb and I have chosen to continue. Who will go with me?

Psalm 19:1-2

Psalm 19:1-2

The heavens tell the glory of God.

Tom Sims

via www.facebook.com

Though I write and post daily on Facebook, I have not blogged since June. I know my blog posts end up on Facebook. This is an experiment to see if it can work both ways. Check out my profile.

Some Thoughts on Laughter

Laughter us a great gift for celebration, not a weapon of denigration.

It is the natural spill-over of the joy that wells up inside of us and in response to surprise, absurdity, and silly wonder.

It can be an offering of praise or a response to relief.

It is something to be cherished and employed wisely.

It is an activity in which our Father participates, with us and which we can enjoy together.

Here are some reflections on laughter from The Message.

Genesis 17:19

 ¹⁹ But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.''

Genesis 21:5

 ^5-6 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born.

   Sarah said,

      God has blessed me with laughter
      and all who get the news will laugh with me!

1 Samuel 2

 ¹ Hannah prayed: I'm bursting with God-news! I'm walking on air.
    I'm laughing at my rivals. I'm dancing my salvation.

Esther 8:15

 ^15-17 Mordecai walked out of the king's presence wearing a royal robe of violet and white, a huge gold crown, and a purple cape of fine linen. The city of Susa exploded with joy. For Jews it was all sunshine and laughter: they celebrated, they were honored. It was that way all over the country, in every province, every city when the king's bulletin was posted: the Jews took to the streets in celebration, cheering, and feasting. Not only that, but many non-Jews became Jews—now it was dangerous not to be a Jew!

Psalm 100

 ^1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
      sing yourselves into his presence.

Psalm 85:4

^4-7 Help us again, God of our help;

      don't hold a grudge against us forever.
   You aren't going to keep this up, are you?
      scowling and angry, year after year?
   Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
      Then your people will laugh and sing!
   Show us how much you love us, God!
      Give us the salvation we need!

Proverbs 24:17

 ^17-18 Don't laugh when your enemy falls;
   don't crow over his collapse.
God might see, and become very provoked,
   and then take pity on his plight.

from The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

“I personally believe that each of us was put here for a purpose -- to build not to destroy. If I can make people smile, then I have served my purpose for God.” - Red Skelton

So let's take a few moments for a smile and a belly laugh. We are never poor if we have laughter in our lives. That is especially true if we can learn to laugh at ourselves.

http://youtu.be/Um08hUHX7uk

 

"Teach me to pray," is also a prayer.

The longer I live, the more, not less, I make the same request to the Master, "Teach me to pray," sometimes realizing that such a request is also a prayer. If I can pray no other in the moment, for ignorance or willfulness, it is a place of meeting and if a place of meeting, a place of instruction, and if a place of instruction, a time of listening and increasing.

This year, as I intentionally pray this prayer, the Master is teaching me the prayer He gave His disciples in response.

He is teaching me daily.

I am the guy who squeezed 4 years of college into 6 and 3 years of seminary into 5 and a half. I need a lot of schooling and am like Andrew Murray, "With Christ in the School of Prayer."

No need to graduate until I stand in His unfiltered presence.   

A Review of the Preview and Presented Premise of "A Madman or Something Worse."

Peter Brietbart, of Brighton, in England, is a writer for the Freethinker Magazine and a self described, skeptic, atheist, humanist, secularist and President of Sussex University Secular Society."

That is fine.

He is also a budding film make on a shoestring budget.I complement him for his entrepreneurship.

He has zeroed in on a quote from C.S.Lewis in his soon-to-be-released film, "Madman or Something Else."

Here is the quote (and I have used it often to call people to faith):

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell."

"You must make your choice"

"Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

As much as I respect C.S. Lewis, to allow this quote of his to define the entire debate over the ethics of the Kingdom of God that Jesus summarized in the Sermon on the Mount is faulty (even though I may have used the argument myself a time or two).  Peter Brietbart does. 

Even if I were not a Jesus follower, I believe I would be attracted to what I intrinsically perceive as true in principles of fidelity, non-violence, heart-origin of violence, forgiveness, and the other issues addressed there.

Brietbart says, "Jesus of Nazareth was an awful moral philosopher. He compares badly to such modern greats such as Mill, Rawls or Ross and also to historical thinkers such as Aristotle, Diogenes or Plato."

I never got the same sense of intrinsic truth and balance from these other great thinkers. Why I perceive tJesus' teachings as intrinsically true and truth is another discussion. Why did Ghandi?  I sense that it has something to do with an implanted seed of response-capacity within us .... but there I go getting all spiritual.

All that aside, Peter Brietbart, producer of the film, in the trailer (which, in all fairness, is all I can evaluate at this point), zeroes in on the issue of mortality and immortality while proposing to criticize Jesus' ethics. That seems a tad incongruous to me. Jesus' teachings on immortality were quite clearly not a denial of death, but a defiance of death while confronting it, validating its reality, and experiencing its pain fully. He never minimized its impact or taught His followers to devalue the reality that we must live with a sense of the finite nature of time.

The teachings on eternal life, namely that one aspect of eternal life that speaks to life beyond death, is an encouragement to live and love morally, but not the only reason He gave for doing so.

Perhaps I have played into the usual strategy of film-makers to get free publicity by creating controversy before the release of their films. I am neither encouraging nor discouraging viewing of this one. I am merely pointing to what I see as flaws on the front end.

To quote from the web site, "God is little more than a pleasant fable for adults, a pacifier for the mind that quells the nervous forebodings of death. "

I find that simplistic and uninformed. Jesus wept and agonized over death. He was not pacified.

Nothing in the God-message of the Bible has ever pacified me within my soul. To the contrary, divine comfort has tended to stir me, move me, and motivate me to disturb the status quo and keep questioning myself.

"His moral contributions are not original, and his original contributions are not moral. "

I am curious to see which teachings the producers are referring to here:

Love your neighbor?

Forgive and keep forgiving?

Your sins are forgiven; go and sin no more?

Love one another?

Perhaps he is speaking of the call to give, be peacemakers, live non-violently, welcome children or Jesus' example of treating women with dignity and respect. I am not sure.

Had no one ever hinted at these things before? Maybe. Certainly some of the prophets did.  Had anyone embodied or clearly presented them as a whole with such impact? Who? When? Where?

In an out--take frame on the web site, a character is viewing a book with a chapter title, "The Law of Reciprocity," which we have come to know as "the Golden Rule."

Was it original to Jesus' teaching? No. We do not claim it to be so. If is in the Hebrew scriptures. It has its versions in other religious traditions. It is a universal truth, not a hidden mystery.

I applaud Peter Brietbart for getting down and dirty with the debate. At least he is honestly disclosing his  position and his influences. I have read some of his Twitter and blog posts. He is not a light-weight thinker, but he frames the arguments selectively and, I believe, erroneously. Perhaps this is the next and last arena of debate and maybe Lewis is keeping us all honest.

Yet, I think it is still possible for those who struggle with the claims of Jesus with regard to immortality and the nature of God, to stick their feet in the cooling waters of His moral teachings and find something refreshing that rings true. That is what Brietbart is questioning here and I believe he is on shaky philosophical ground in doing so.

You can make up your own mind, but I am sticking with the skeptics of Jesus' day who said, "No one ever spokethe way man does." Bible Gateway passage: John 7:46 - New International Version.

I can hear a storm coming :) I encourage my friends who jump in on this to be respectful of each other. I have no quarrel with honest skeptics.

See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sZBgdGRhDQ

Pentecost

Tongues of fire descended ...

and something individual happened.

Lighting upon each ...dividing ...

They united all in one Spirit.

A paradoxical contradiction connected multiple languages,traditions, and customs

into curious Oneness.

What could not be achieved by ingenuity,invention, or inquisitive cogitations became

Obvious in a Divine Moment.

One Divine Moment of Descent.

One Holy Moment of Movement.

One Direct Intervention of Eternal Fire.

Pentecost!

Welcome Holy Spirit!

We welcome You!

God's Not Finished

I see that Harold Camping, a man for whom I experienced a couple of days of deep sympathy, is at it again - revising his dates, missing the point (The point being that this is not about points, that the kingdom of God is more analogue than digital), and hoping that he can get the same momentum behind him that he had last week.

In the meantime, we have wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in diverse places, and all the other sorts of trouble we've been having for the last 2000 years since Jesus predicted it and admonished us not to be disturbed -- or impatient.

We may not be able to expect Camping to relinquish his stubbornness or his board to fire him. We may not be able to rescue those who will continue to follow him or those who have lost their faith as a result of doing so. We may not be able to stop all the prognosticators, usurpers, or manipulators of the world, but we can keep on keeping on.

We can be assured that God is still as present among us as always, that God is still working in this world, that good news is still good news, and the kingdom of God is still about light penetrating darkness, good overcoming evil, grace winning over judgment, love conquering hate, and God's Messiah being Lord of All.

It is still about bearing a cross by bearing the burdens of others. It is still about proclaiming a righteousness that comes through faith, and it is still about serving the poor in spirit and in this world's goods.

We are called to live in compassion and integrity and to bear witness without asking for special favors or preference. We are called to be the people of God.

And some day, in His own time, and His own way, in a way we can neither predict nor prevent, God will bring all of this to the appropriate fruition and evaluation when the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of of his Christ and He shall reign forever and ever - King of Kings and Lord of Lords ... forever and ever.

 

http://youtu.be/76RrdwElnTU

Divided Amercia

There is much talk about the rift in American life - left and right - blue and red - on and on.

I was watching a report from a major news source where the commentators were suggesting that it is irreparable and deep. Furthermore, according to them, it goes to our deepest values so that we have no more shared values, principles, and worldview.

Right AND wrong.

In one sense, it has always been so. Jesus Himself said that the good news of His kingdom was divisive - but that is not what is dividing America at the moment. This is no God versus the world thing. The division between light and darkness has always been present -- but there is light on both sides of this rift. There is also darkness.

This is a division of perceptions, politcal philosophies, and priorities. Some are profound. Some are vital. Some are not. Some breaches can be mended. Some can be tolerated. Some can be celebrated. Some must be endured.

It is also a wrong assessment to say that we are divided on every crucial concern. Since the rift in American political philosophy cuts across religious convictions (perhaps not evenly, but nevertheless, genuinely), it is not an ultimate rift. One cannot identify God's Kingdom with either "side" of this division. At least I cannot.

Who says we are two Americas? I have dear friends who are Democrats and dear friends who are Republicans. We can talk. We agree on many, many important things. We all love our families. Many of us love God and embrace the same moral values. We all value honesty, integrity, kindness, concern for broken people, and many other things.

We may differ in implementation or perspective, but we differ without being all that different.

Likewise, I have valued friendships across the lines of faith and non-faith. While my faith is an ultimate value in my life - actually THE ultimate value in my life, it touches to commonalities of humanity that I share with all humans. From my perspective, each of us is made in the image of God and thereby reflect common questions and yearnings. From the perspective of my non-believing friends, the cause for our commonality is described differently, but acknowledged nevertheless.

Why can most of us get along with people who differ in opinions from ours and our leaders find it so difficult - at least publicly?

While I believe that common folk drive culture in our world (or should), leaders have the high profile positions that enable them to set the pace by setting examples.

I probably cannot influence representatives of  an opposing party as well as those of my own, but I can influence whatever party with which I affiliate. So, here is my challenge:

Forget the nastiness, unfairness, and unwillingness of the other side for a while and reach out. Insist that your representatives in Congress and Senate, those of your own party, reach out to the other side in friendship.

Reach out and keep reaching out. Reach out when the reach is rejected. Reach out when the criticism is unfair. Reach out when the issues are deep, divisive, and bitter. Reach out when the other side is perceived as uncooperative, unbending, and ruthless. Reach out and don't stop reaching out. Make friends with your opponents.

Don't look for the speck in your neighbor's eye. Look for planks in your own.

Make friends with your opponents "on the way to court."

Jesus said to do it.

You can do it, as He did, without backing down from principle, without compromising truth, and without losing your negotiating edge.

Here's where I would start if I were king of the legislative universe: Reorganize the seats! End this custom of parties sittting together. Mix and match. How riddiculous to institutionalize a divide like that.  There are no parties in the Constitution. We should not be organizing the seats that way.

I expect our leaders to set an example to heal this artificial divide. If they don't, we'll start moving into red and blue neighborhoods and shopping at red and blue stores.

If we can be friends on Facebook, Congress can make friends in Washington!

Let's insist on it.

Prayers for the President

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

I am praying for our President this morning. I am also praying for governors, mayors, and all elected and appointed officials.

I am pulling out all the stops and utilizing all means to lift this leader: supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanks.

This is the same prayer arsenal that Paul urges first, for all people.

Peterson translates it this way, "Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know."

Barack Obama, a man vilified by so many of my brethren, would come under the category of "kings and all who are in authority." Kings included Nero who was running rampant persecuting the church, burning Rome, and blaming Christians. Our President is no Nero. In fact, he is a brother in Christ.

It included all in authority, (και παντων των εν υπεροχη), "and all them that are in high place."

It is for these that Paul gives us a reason to pray. The rationale is:

• That we might live a quiet life, literally, "tranquil" - and that is without "tranquilizers."  Our goal is not to be caught up in a whirlwind of human turmoil and political animosity. Our goal is not to stirring up trouble in the worldly sense or to be stirred up. It is to lead a quiet, simple life. It is to have inner tranquility amidst any turbulence than may come.
• That we might live a peaceable life is also part of the rationale for prayer. This has to do with stillness. One cannot contemplate when one is caught up in contention. We are not ultimately subject to outer circumstances, but they can disturb us. Prayer for all people and those in authority can often still the storms.
• Godliness is is the goal of the quiet and peaceable life. In classical Greek, it is "personal piety in the fulfillment of human relationships." It comes to mean, in the New Testament, the inner piety that is due to God. While our inner life is not subject to outside circumstances, those circumstances can sometimes shake and startle us. We can pray for these circumstances and those who influence them.
• Finally, we pray for others that we might be freer to practice reverence. σεμνοτητι is derived from the word for gravity, but can be translated "dignity." what we get out of this kind of praying is dignity.

Politics is becoming less dignified in some circles by the minute. Popular commentary has become strongly influenced by the forces of entertainment and bombastic outcry. Assumptions are exaggerated; pretensions are generalized; vitriol is homogenized - and let loose on the Internet.

We lamblast Congress, the Supreme Court, the President, the military, the police, the mayor, the governor, the legislature, and our next door neighbors. Seldom is there heard a clear and compassionate call for prayer. Our excuse for criticizing is often rooted in a sense of threat to our lifestyle and our ability to live out our piety in peace.

Paul says that living out our piety in peace is a worthy goal ... but that the means to that end is prayer. If we pray two things may change, first our circumstances, but more importantly, ourselves.

 

This Isn't All

I've posted this before, but you and I need it today as we often do. Be encouraged by this scripture set to music. Whatever you are going through, remember that the key word is the preposition, "through!" It is not your destination; it is a passage. The resurrection says, no, shouts, "This isn't all! God gets the last word!"

So keep on keeping on.

 

http://youtu.be/L2P70a7S4ks

Focus on the "to" and not the "through.:"

"I remembered you, God, and I groaned. I meditated and my spirit grew faint." - Psalm 77:3 (NIV)

What about the comfort, assurance, and peace pour quiet times are supposed to give us?

What aboout the nurturing, loving, contemplative moments that we are told we will experience daily through the spiritual disciplines?

This sounds like work. It sounds soul-wrenching, agonizing, and spiritually surgical? Groaning? Fainting?

Read on to see doubting, complaining, and restlessness.

The psalmist wrestled with his heart in prayer to God. He went deeper. He dug into the rocky soil of his soul and extracted  ... dirt!

But every geologist knows that dirt isn't just dirt. it is minerals and organic material. It is microscopic life. It is nutrients.

You can't grow much of a garden in a sanitized pool of water.

So, the question is: Do you want to grow something inside of you, and thus, grow yourself or do you want to lulled, rocked, and soothed?What do you want from your quiet time? If you meet God, you muight also bump into yourself. There might be a collision. There might even be a transofrmation.

I don't often call it a "quiet time" any more. It is a devotional time. It is "dropping anchor." It is a meeting with God. It is all those things, but it is nbot always quiet within me. I get disturbed, shaken, rattled, and inspired. I also get shaped and encouraged.

Read on. Read the whole psalm. God wins and the psalmist is ultimately comforted and encouraged.

But it wasn't easy.

 

    For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm. ¹ I cried out to God for help;
   I cried out to God to hear me.
² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
   at night I stretched out untiring hands,
   and I would not be comforted.  ³ I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
   I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
⁴ You kept my eyes from closing;
   I was too troubled to speak.
⁵ I thought about the former days,
   the years of long ago;
⁶ I remembered my songs in the night.
   My heart meditated and my spirit asked:  ⁷ “Will the Lord reject forever?
   Will he never show his favor again?
⁸ Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
   Has his promise failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?
   Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”  ¹⁰ Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
   the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
   yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
¹² I will consider all your works
   and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”  ¹³ Your ways, God, are holy.
   What god is as great as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles;
   you display your power among the peoples.
¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
   the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.  ¹⁶ The waters saw you, God,
   the waters saw you and writhed;
   the very depths were convulsed.
¹⁷ The clouds poured down water,
   the heavens resounded with thunder;
   your arrows flashed back and forth.
¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
   your lightning lit up the world;
   the earth trembled and quaked.
¹⁹ Your path led through the sea,
   your way through the mighty waters,
   though your footprints were not seen.  ²⁰ You led your people like a flock
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77, New International Version, ©2011)

A note; It is Palm Sunday. On the outside, it seemed that everything was affirmative and welcoming for Jesus. i suspect even He enjoyed the moment. But He also knew what lay ahead and that it wasn't going to be an easy week ... but it would be a transforming week ... and what would be acccomplished would change everything forever.

 

Seeking the Peace of the City

⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7, New International Version, ©2011)

If only for selfish reasons, let us seek a pray for even the cities where we are exiled.

So often, we have this stranger-exile complex that separates us from the daily concerns of the people of the cities where we dwell. After all, we are "pilgrims and strangers" in the earth, a holy people, a kingdom of priests. All these things we are as God's people, but they are reasons for engagement rather than isolation.

Here is a key phrase:

"... to which I have carried you."

We are here, in this time, in this place, for a purpose higher than we can know.

The cities where we live are our own. Our lives, prosperity, well-being, and peace are intimately interwoven into the same fabric as our neighbor's. We are people of God, but we are also people of the city. Incarnational witness means that we rise or fall with the tide that moves all ships.

We shall transcend and we shall rise, but, in the meantime, we sink or swim with the poor, downtrodden, oppressed, and repressed people around us at every place on the social or economic strata.

All the people around us are our people.

We must seek the peace of the city and pray for it. Notice in the text how seeking comes before praying. This may be merely a literary device or it may be an intentional reminder that the prayers of those engaged in active seeking are more heartfelt, specific, and effective than those of the passive and unconcerned. Our passion arises from our engagement.

Our involvement is our witness as much as and, probably more than, our words. Let us present ourselves to God during this season of Lent, and always, as instruments

through which our prayers for peace can be used to bring shalom to our cities.

“We are a colony of heaven on earth.” (Philippians 3:20a, Moffatt translation)

 

 

" Let the poor and helpless praise you."

 ²⁰ Remember the agreement you made with us,
       because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
 ²¹ Do not let your suffering people be disgraced.
       Let the poor and helpless praise you. (Psalm 74:20-21, New Century Version)

There is this recurring theme in the scripture of justice for the poor.  We are called to be fair and compassionate in our attitudes and actions toward the downtrodden and marginalized. This is the work of God and God works through us. At the same time, there is a theme of acknowledgement that we are all, somehow, in some way, poor ourselves. So, what we wish for them, we wish for ourselves.

This prayer, possibly from the days of exile, intermingles praise and lament in a cry of hope for the oppressed.

Tables turn, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. It is crucial that we invest our confidence in what is worthy of our confidence.

Real estate, once thought to only increase in value, can become a bottomless pit of devaluation. Stock markets fluctuate and individual stocks in companies with great assets and greater possibilities, can plummet to near zero. People may fail us; they may move away; they may die. Careers may crumble. Our carefully honed skills may become obsolete. Guarantees made my insolvent guarantors gravitate downward to an abyss of worthless promises.

But there is a covenant that is sustaining and sustainable. There is a guarantor that will never lose power, authority, and ability to remember that covenant of love. There is One who is faithful and whose providence emerges amidst a backdrop of hopelessness to lighten our loads and lift our broken souls. The poor and helpless join the chorus of praise because they are not disgraced.

Violence fills the dark corners of our planet and seeps into hamlets of perceived safety and isolation. There is no isolation from the decadence of our day, only insulation. Our bodies may be bruised; our purses may be emptied; our homes may crumble with our false securities, but the covenant of hope and grace continues because the One who made it is strong and faithful.

Great is God's faithfulness. This season of lent lengthens our perception of the degree to which our God will go to reach us, teach us, and redeem us from destruction. God descends into the darkness and illuminates our spaces and places with abundant graces. Like the psalmist, we are invited to cry our in utter honesty, but also to affirm faith - audacious and irrational - the kind that activates our side of the covenant, reis thy faithfulnesswhich is to receive with gratitude, the gift. of hope.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

 

Just Get on the Bus

It was 1961. Laws were different then. Some were inherently wicked because their sole intent was to keep people down. That is happening all over the world today. Jim Crow had a franchise on the South. Businesses could decide, based upon genetics, whom they would serve and whom they would exclude. To defy these laws and break these barriers was risky. It would require some folks standing together, sitting together, and moving together. It would require some blood, some bruises, some jail, even some death mingled with a lot of uncertainty, much fear, and even more faith.

It would require getting on a bus and riding in the freedom ride to the heart of darkness, deep into Alabama.

There would be joy and singing on the bus, but the looming reality of danger was always present. It would change the lives of those who took the ride, but the courage it took to get on is beyond imagination!

It took a decision. Once the decision was made, that decision informed a person's feet and one got on the bus. Then the bus itself moved the travelers along.

But they had to get on ... and many did.

Recently, an historical researcher asked the question of some students, "Would you have gotten on the bus?"

The answers were mixed.

I heard this report in those moments between sleep and awakening with the news in the background and they startled me to wakefulness. The question was personal and much in line with the season of Lent.

Would I get on the bus?

Will I get on the bus?

Jesus got on the bus.

 ⁵¹And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, (Luke 9:51, King James Version)

What is the bus I need to board today? What sort of courage and resolve will it take? What will be the risks? What will be the joy of it? What songs will I sing? Who will be on the bus to share the ride? What will it change in me?

Will I get on the bus?

Will you?

 

Sufficiency to Abound

^"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."   (2 Corinthians 9:8, New International Version, ©2011)

In the KJV, this verse reads that  folks, blessed by God will have "sufficiency in all things" so that they may "abound to every good work."

In these days of perceived deprivation and desperate anxiety over economic concerns, one takes comfort in knowing that God always resources His mission. That includes His calling for you and mission for your life, for His church, for His sacred work in the "secular" arena, and for the totality of His Kingdom enterprise.

"Thy Kingdom come" is shortly followed by, "Give us this day our daily bread."

The sufficiency promised was an assurance given to a group of poor but generous believers whose hearts were touched by the needs of their starving spiritual siblings separated by miles, language, and culture. They begged to give and the Apostle Paul encouraged them that God would supply them with that ability and with their own needs.

In fact, they would abound. Sufficiency is one thing, but abundance is a step beyond.

At energy's end, resource depletion, and the deserts where new ideas are like dry river beds, God is able.

At the end of the road, there is an unexpected bend and the road continues.

At the intersection of hopelessness and despair, there is an encouraging word.

In the pits of despondency, the caves of darkness, and on the very gallows of death, God shows up with something new to renew us.

Lent comes, etymologically, in the lengthening of days when the doors seemed to be closing on the life, mission, and ministry of Jesus - when in reality, His reach was extending. Things are not always as they seem. When our own capacity is spent, God is only beginning to reach into His wallet of possibilities to supply His sufficiency to abound.

My God is Able

 

Killing Birds

Let's start with this: I like birds and I don't want to kill them. So, "killing two birds with one stone" is a metaphor that is unfortunate, but descriptive.

I also like to multitask and I plan certain things in life to maximize effort by combining task and building multiple purposes into one activity.

Yet, it seems, without a primary focus, it is very easy to lose all sense of purpose and the activity itself becomes primary rather than what it is, a tool.

I can't find the word "focus" in the bible translations I normally use, but the word "seek" is very prominent.

So, I have spent some time seeking this morning. It may seem that I've been playing on Facebook and Twitter, but those activities have been peripheral to the primary focus. (I also PRAY on Facebook - I have found it a powerful too-l for intercessory ministry without getting in anyone's face about it).

I am seeking through the things I read, through prayer, through meditation, through what I write, and through thinking. 

I woke up with all of this on my mind because there is so much to do and so little time. Because of the rush, I felt led and compelled to slow down and build this space into my day. I am expecting lots of birds to fall - poor little birds.

I am not sure we often have the luxury of doing one thing at as time with full concentration. When those times come, savor them and embrace them. In the meantime, we need to focus on the primary and include the peripheral. That is life.

Take comfort, birds, I am not going to kill you. It is just an unfortunate expression.

In the meantime, we have to find the One thing of the moment and let that be our compass.

 

 

 

 

Repent or Die

 ¹ Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? ³ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  ⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’    ⁸ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:1-9, New International Version, ©2011)

Jesus is confronted with the deaths of some people that His countrymen assumed were evil. They wanted to know if it was God’s judgment. He read the intent of their questions and replied that they were no worse sinners than the other Galileans, but cautioned the folks that unless they changed their living and thinking (repentance), they would die like the others.

Notice how he is always personalizing things, taking the onus off of the “other guy” and bringing it back to our choices.

Then He ups the ante and refers to some very fine people who had died. The question is rhetorical. Of course these did not have tragedy come into their lives because they were worse sinners than anyone else. That is not the meaning of tragedy – then or now.

Trouble comes to everyone, sometimes it just seems random.

Again, He points back to them with a life lesson – Indeed, however, lack of change (movement, repentance, elasticity in our lives) will lead to death. Here, He refers to death in the spiritual dimension whether He is referring to a last judgment or just to death for all intents and purposes in this life. In either and both cases, the loss is great to ourselves and to others who would benefit from our living. Above all, as He will indicate, the loss is greatest to god Himself.

REPENTANCE:

R – Resiliency in the face of tragedy.

E – Effort extended when ease is expected.

P – Progress when it is easier to sit, wait, and let the world pass you by.

E - Exiting the arena of negative habits and entering the realm of new possibilities.

N – Nagging the part of ourselves that drifts into routine ruts of negative thinking.

T – Tickling and teasing our thinking so that we are always moving to the edge.

A – Accepting diversity and ambiguity as part of life.

N – Noticing the changes around us as the signs that call for adjustments of our courses and the urges through which God may be speaking.

C – Calling on God in confession and contrition for constant conversion to His image and purposes.

E – Ever energizing ourselves in the power of the Holy Spirit to be stirred, moved, disturbed and empowered to LIVE (opposite of DIE!) as people who make a difference …

OR .. we can …

DIE – We can die through …

D – Decline. We just die a little at a time, drifting away from the source of life and vitality into a dark abyss of disconnected despair.

I – Inactivity, irrelevance, inertia, or inward focus. These sap our lives in an endless loop of selfish hum-drum-ness.

E – Extinction of all that makes us alive to God, ourselves, and others.

BUT – Then He tells us a parable of a farmer and a fig tree. The fig tree story reminds us that God takes no joy in our death and has not given up on us. He is extremely reluctant to do so and stalls to give us ample opportunity to find the place of repentance (life and mind change).

We can change or die, but to change is far better. The resources are available. The grace is free. The power is abundant. The choice is ours … daily.

Hard Times

Hard times are creeping all over.

Everyone looking for a four leafed clover.

Life as we know it isn't so easy.

Verses like this getting mighty cheesy,

Days are long. Rewards come slowly.

More time to waste, less time to be holy.

Everywhere I go, huddled masses huddling

Folks talking about hard times and muddling.

They're just trying to make it, fake it,

Shake it, bake it, and rake it in.

Preoccupation with lack of occupation

Lots of people on a forced vacation.

Where two are three assembled be

There's an "Ain't It Awful" assemble-ly.

(or a discussion of the economy

with a large dose of "woe-is-me")

Here's the challenge as I see it play out.

And you can either agree of call it way out.

When hard times come, we can let them define us ...

Or ... we can lean in, leap forward, and let them refine us.

( http://youtu.be/4n9mCcpatig )

Isaiah 48:10
"See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction."

 

 

 

Stumbling onto Humility

Yesterday, I wrote about foolishness ... the good kind and the bad kind.

I posed the question, "What kind of fool am I?"

I feel most foolish when I make pronouncements, applications, and pontifications on faulty premises that time, memory, and mush have mixed into one cognitive soup that has hardened into a slab of concrete assumption over the years.

It is the dark side of getting older and wiser.

Alas, I have become my own illustration and I find it humbling.

Indeed, I did become pastor of my current church on April 1, 1996. Indeed it was April Fool's Day. Not so indeed, it was not Easter Sunday. That was a week later. Thanks to a new friend for pointing this out. Thanks to wonderful internet sources for confirming it.

I am humbled. I didn't seek humility. I stumbled onto it. I suppose that is a good thing.

Apologies.

 

Proverbs 11:2
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." (New International Version (c) 2011)

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April Fools

It is April 1, 2011. That means it has been 15 years to the day since I became officially the pastor of Baptist Temple, now the Fellowship of Joy and 4141 Ministries in Fresno, CA.

It was Easter Sunday, but it has never escaped my attention that it was also April Fool's Day.

Proverbs 1:7b says, " fools despise wisdom and instruction."

I am not there, and I have not said in my heart that there is no God.

So, what kind of fool am I (Not even considering the possibility that those who invited me were ... no, not that!)?

Of course, I have also read these:

 1 Corinthians 3:18 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.” 1 Corinthians 3:19  “ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.”

1 Corinthians 4:10 “We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.”

And then, there is, II Corinthians 11:16, "I say again, let no man think me a fool ..."

The deal is that there is foolishness and then, there is foolishness. We want to shun moral-ethical foolishness and willful ignorance and avoidance of knowledge and counsel. We do well to embrace wisdom and pursue understanding.

What we can't afford to care about is the evaluation of the masses, especially if the masses are wearing glasses of distortion, limited thinking, and extreme conventional "wisdom" that discourages all innovation, introspection, and reflection.

I am OK with any implication that April Fool's Day marks my anniversary in Fresno and defines some dimension of my ministry if what is really being said is that I make it difficult to enforce categories on myself and the work of the kingdom here. No problem. If that is what it is, fine ...

But I'd do well to keep everything under constant evaluation.

 

 

Plans

I make plans and I plan things to make.

Sometimes I follow through.

Sometimes circumstances cooperate.

Sometimes it all seems to fall apart.

I am reading family history. Some folks had plans go terribly awry. In fact, their lives fell apart ... or so it seemed.

But if they hadn't, I would not have been here.

Personally, I am glad to be as long as I can be useful.

Use me, Lord. Here are my plans. Here is my life. Take me; make me; shake me; make me pliable and reliable.

Amen.

 

New Living Translation (©2007) Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

 

 

Notes to Myself

Do you make notes to yourself?

I do and sometimes I read them.

Then, sometimes, I respond.

Sometimes I dispute, but the act of writing things down has always been helpful to me. It clariies things. Scattered thoughts come together. Extraneous ideas are filtered. It works for me.

There are many biblical examples of a person receiving an insight or even a revelation and writing it down. Sometimes, it is is even a command. One example, however, stands out.

Jesus was being manipulated ... or at least they tried ... by detractors and critics. They were trying to control His agenda in order to discredit Him. He took His time, made the dirt His paper and His finger a pen. Then He wrote. We don't know what. It is fun to speculate. Maybe folks could read His writing; maybe not. It possibly wasn't for them.

John 8:6: " They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger."

The fact is that when He was done, He knew what to say and what to do.

I can't think of a better endorsement for making notes to myself in all of history, literature, or scripture.

Make a note of that!

Airports and Access

I am at the Richmond International Airport transitioning back to California time, which is frightening because it is 2:50 A.M. there and I have been up for hours.

What is nice is that we have internet access. We have grown so accustomed to that convenience of modern times -- and we like it free and fast.

Free and fast access -- to information, news, email, friend updates ... the world.

I like it, but what I really like is the access I had at 3:00  A.M. EST before I even thought abvout turning on the laptop. That was the access I enjoyed as I sat on the side of the bed with an open bible and an open heart. It is the access I had as I laid my head on the pillow last night and all through the night.

It is the access that continually transitions and transports me beyond time and space. It is the access that I have had fpor so many years to One who knows me, accepts me, loves me, and walks alongside me.

" ¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body ... " - Hebrews 10:19-20

 

Vacations

I have been on vacation and, according to the purpose of such, I have been reviewing and renewing my life, my goals, my routines, and my activities. I've been getting up early - just like at home. I've been reading, walking, praying, preparing, visiting, and refreshing, but without hurry or expectations.

Reviewing, renewing, and refreshing - sounds like a pretty good sermon or something.

Maybe I will work on that.

 

 

Intercession with the Lord's Prayer

Just a thought - The model prayer is inclusive.

"Our Father" is an invitation to invite all for whom we intercede, with whom we are concerned, and for whom we deeply care to be included in our prayer for kingdom come, the benevolent will of God, the generous provision of God, the gracious forgiveness of God, and the overcoming power of God.

Perhaps the next time you pray the prayer, you will pause and specifically, intentionally, and lovingly include some friends and family scattered and gathered in your own prayer time before God.

 

 

We Have Worked All Night

"Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." - Luke 5:5 (NIV)

Been there!

I've done my best. I am sure I've exhausted all the possibilities, expended all the energy, and exercised all the faithfulness possible with no results.

It is as if reciprocity has evaded us and the laws of nature have been suspended to deny us just recompense for our efforts.

It is the dark side of light, the defining moment of discouragement. We have worked all night for nothing and we are ready to quit. We could not muster another moment except ... and then ... and until ...

...comes Jesus ...

Infuriating and inspiring Jesus comes and bids us cast our nets one more time.

One more time!

We would not do it for anyone else, even ourselves. We don't want to try again. We don't even really believe ...

But your word!

At your word, if you say so, we will.

And that is all it takes!'

We let down the nets one more time and this time, only this time, they are filled.

What will we do today, with feeble hands, faltering faith, and failing history, simply and wearily at the word of the Master? Even if we have no hope of success, we will drop our nets and let Him fill them as He will.

Amen.

 

Coffee and Community

As I was despairing that my old neighborhood was being neglected by businesses and forgotten by the world, I made a wonderful discovery - Taza Coffee 'n Creme . I am encouraged. The neighborhood can come back because these folks are offering a place, a hangout.

I had been getting a Nehemiah complex, but it looks like there are some Nehemiahs already here - and some Josephs!

I've been walking around looking at empty buildings that once buzzed with neighbohood commerce, a park where Curly Neal of the Harlem Globetortters played basketball, A library that has kept community alive and where I learned to love books, a school that has survived, reinvented itself, and thrived, and neighborhoods that have continued to house and nurture people. It is the empty stores that bug me. I wonder why they are empty. There was such a village here.

Why do people drive outside their neighborhoods to do business?

Taza is making a difference, Ben and Mary, Avian, and Jackie welcomed me, engaged me in conversation, and shared their vision which is a wonderful encouragement to what we are doing in Fresno at 4141 Ministries.

I can't do anything about my hometown, but it is good to know people are. This place is busy and you have to work hard to find it! It is the same way, almost with Joseph's Java Junction and Caryl's Cottage. But clearly, for all, once found, folks keep comin g back.

I am encouraged and inspired - not just for Westover Hills, but more so, for 4141 N. Fresno Street and our neighborhood as we live out our 21st century expression of Genesis 41:41, the commission to BLESS our communities. My walks are solidifying my vision for where we are called and my understanding of the larger mission when we export our influence and develop a reproducing, organic, life-force in the Kingdom.

I have been inspired by Harold Schultz in many ways with his Starbucks implementation of the 3rd place concept. If anyone is called to bless and build communities and people, empower, and encourage, it is the church. It is Joseph and Nehemiah - rebuilding walls, strengthening infratsructures, setting tables, creating entrepreneurial initiatives, developing leaders, and feeding their communities - thus and through these things, announcing the kingdom of hope, the presence of Jesus, and the possib ility of metanoia (life-change, possibilities, hope).

I have watched lots of folks come in during the last hour as I have been here using the free internet and delicious coffee. All have been warmly greeted. I am renewed to get back the Joseph's Java Junction.

I am supposed to be on vacation, but this is better.

 

Be Still

"Peace! Be still!"

Matthew 8:23-37

Lots of trouble in the world ...
Lots of turmoil ...
Soil of fear ...
Toil of tears ...
But my soul can be still,
...Sided with by the One who walks beside.
When I cried, He heard.
When I sighed, He spoke the Word.
Nothing has changed.
I am not shaken.
These are days of grace. - Tom Sims

Mahalia Jackson - Be still my soul

www.youtube.com

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.


Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

(The melody is Finlandia by Sibelius, and the words are translated from the German work of Catharina von Schlegel, a Lutheran who wrote during the Pietist period of the 18th century.)

Also ...

 

Hand Me a Trumpet

"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;" - Joel 1:1

I don't own a trumpet; I don't play a trumpet; I can't actually, literally follow this directive.
But I do love the sound of trumpets and this trumpet sounds like one I can relate to.

The "day of the Lord!"

It is a day of judgment and that can be terrifying ... but it can also be comforting.

It all depends on how one aligns oneself.

For instance, if you are protesting an evil repressive regime and calling for justice, the trumpet might sound quite appealing. If you are suffering under the weight of that oppression, you may long for the trumpet to sound.

It is the day of setting things right.

But it is also a day of great mercy.

Trumpets sound

Ifyou are suffering under the weight of debilitating disease, the weight of a persistent addiction, the weight of depression, guilt, shame, or financial worries, you long for the sound of the trumpet. If you wake up pondering and mourning the state of the world, you dance to the sound of the trumpet.

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"

You are looking, longing, and languishing for a new day. The trumpet lets us know that the day is here and now ... even as a greater day is coming.

But we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves.

These days of Lenten preparation begin with the ashes of grief, sorrow, penitence, and pain, but they do so against the backdrop of a trumpet announcing a new day.

Hand me a trumpet and I will do my best to play along with the band.

 

 

Daily Readings for Lent: Psalm 5, Psalm 147:1–11,  Psalm 27, 51, Jonah 3:1—4:11, Hebrews 12:1–14, Luke 18:9–14

Ash Wednesday Readings: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12,  Psalm 51:1-17,  2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

 

 

Little Lessons from Proverbs 6

I am committed to doing more video blogging this year and this is my start - Proverbs 6:6-8- Little Lessons.

The ANT is tiny. It has no commander. Much like the recent campaigns in some cities through Facebook to access the hunger funds Walmart is donating, there is a convergence of energies where ants (and people) just seem to know what to do and start doing it.

Then, leadership emerges, but there is no commander; no one giving orders; no centralized structure.

Ants work. We can be caught up in a paralysis of analysis and go nowhere ... or ... we can do no analysis and spin our wheels.

Take time to think about purpose and goals. Have a direction and then take the next steps - WORK the plan! Start now and move forward TODAY!

Ants work hard, store, and gather.

Here is an acronym for ANT:

A - Acting - Just pondering, wondering, wandering, waiting, and wishing will not accomplish a goal. Accomplishment is a three letter word: ACT!

N - Nothing, not anything can stop you. There are excuses galore available in the buffet of negative nourishment, but you can negate the negative by declaring that nothing will stop you today!

T - Take courage. Take time. Take the next step. Take off!

Here's a video to supplement these thoughts. If the embedded video does not come through (like for you Facebook readers, the URL is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KZbmehM8I

 

Fresno, Walmart, and Hungry People

Something remarkable has been happening in Fresno and other cities. Businesses, community benefit organizations, government officials, faith-based organizations, pastors like me, and ordinary citizens  have been rallied and have cooperated to show community support for a great cause.

In the metropolitan area of America with the greatest level of concentrated poverty, with staggering unemployment, and with profound homelessness, there is also an exceptionally strong community base of people who work together to make a difference. Fresno is that city.  Walmart has offered a million dollars to the community that shows the strongest demonstration of community support. We have been working to show that.

But it has not been enough so far. The numbers are very impressive, but we have been up against some confusing rules, some automated posting software, and the clock. We need to broaden our community to include our friends around the globe.

What is in it for you and your community? A sense of mission and an opportunity to see how social media can provide a platform for your message and a means of collaboration like nothing we have ever seen before.

Churches, NPOs, businesses, watch. I don't think any of us understands the full extent of what has been happening here, but we are on tiptoe to find out. Watch the video and lend us your support.

Visit our Walmart support page on 12-31 to "Like " and spread the word! Be sure to leave a comment and let it post to your Facebook page: http://fightinghunger.walmart.com/city/Fresno-CA

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The Emmanuel Moment

The story of the Magi is the message of Jesus' coming as a break-out movement, a preview of the universality of a message that could not be contained by culture, geography, language, or even religion. God sought out strangers to come and worship the Son and is always calling us as strangers to come and become friends and family.The Emmanuel Moment is, was, and always shall be bigger than anything we think or suspect.

 

Last Words of Larry Norman

""I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home. I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help. My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be funeral information posted on my website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.”

"“Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.""

- Larry Norman from http://larrynorman.com

Disenthrall

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country." - Abraham Lincoln

Discussion Questions:

Which dogmas are now inadequate and why?

What are the difficulties, the real difficulties we face?

In what ways must we think and act anew and what would that look like?

What does it mean to disenthrall ourselves?

I can tell you this, Lincoolns words, spoken today, would be no less shocking then they were in his context. New thinking, fresh each morning, is almost too big a challenge for most of us. Old dogmas, to which he refers, are never the core, unchanging truths; they are those that were adequate for their time and quite situational.

We need fresh situational thinking that is constantly reconnecting to timeless truth.

I am most moved by the call to disenthrall myself because I am not entirely sure what he meant. But I do know i must be disenthralled WITh myself and come unglued from my static self-absorption and cloistered attitudes.

I think that there is much entralling that needs to be corrected at every level and layer of the body politic (meaning all of us). Self-interests and narrow, contextualized views of the world have us looking at each other and not seeing, talking at each other, but not hearing, and seeing our opponents as enemies.

We need Lincoln.

Listen.

Gotta Go

Sometimes on the phone,

Sometimes in person,

Often on-line,

Occasionally when knocking on the door of the privy,

Always first thing in the morning ...

Gotta go!

When the waves of life's stormy seas become more

Than the tired cliche they are ...

And actually start to soak the boat,

Then,

I gotta go.

I do mean, to be correct, "I have to go" or

"I must go" or

"Pardon me"

OR ...

"Bye now!"

But "Gotta go" is just more ...

REAL. 

GOTTA 

G - Grabbing necessity
O - Overwhelming urge
T -  Temporal urgency (urge on steroids)
T - Trust me; its true!
A - After I've gone, I'll explain.

GO -
G - Get going and get in the groove; its time for movement.
O - Out of here.

And that is where I am now ...

And will be at moments through the day ...

BUT ...

I felt

I had to write

Even something trite ...

I may not have time later.

What must be done, must be done now

Because ONE DAY ...

SOME DAY ...

When I say,

"Gotta Go!"

I'll really have to go ...

And ...

In spite of my efforts ...

Or anyone's

I'll be gone.

You too!

Gotta go ...

I'll probably be back ...

But you never know.

 

SEIZE THE DAY!!!!!

        SEIZE THE MOMENT!!!!

 

 

 

Dancing with God

 

Maybe the dancers "get it" more than some of the rest of us who contemplate and pontificate.

God is inviting us to a dance and whether or not we are skilled or talented, we can join in and, as we do, He will teach us the steps.

After listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary singing, "Don't let the Light Go Out" in honor of Chanukah, I was thinking about light and oil and miracles and how we gravitate toward celebration in singing, dance, and giving.

Every spark, every glimmer, every ray of light in my life has been a miracle and a gift from God.

In my tradition and faith, we celebrate Advent and Christmas. Though they are different and unique events from Chanukah, I have always appreciated that they come at close to the same time each year. My Muslim friends have recently ended a long fast with Eid, a joyful three day celebration which includes gifts and charity.

What is this human urge to celebrate with light and laughter and generosity of spirit?

There is gravity and solemnity in much of what we do religiously, but there is also celebration and joy.

Religions are different. If I were not convinced that God had spoken and visited us in Jesus, I would be something other than a Jesus follower. I state my beliefs, humbly, as truth because I am convinced of their truth. I don't apologize for that and never expect my friends who are convinced of their beliefs to apologize for them either.

However, my conviction that I am settled on Jesus does not negate the common elements of our experience. They are present because truth is universal and because the God who fashioned us in His image is always reaching out to us and touching that something in us that makes us want to stand up and dance.

We are made for something more, something "Other," something eternal. All of us! We are all created by and for God and with a deep urge to embrace what Nehemiah called, "The joy of the Lord," and described as "your strength."

The oil in the temple was just not in ample supply for the days of dedication when the first candle was lit. Yet, there kept being enough ... enough for each day. The description of the event was and remains, "A great miracle happened there."

Our lives are miracles. The oil of joy, healing, and anointing for significance does not seem to be ample for the demands we face. Yet, each day, if we will light the candle in faith and celebration, there seems to be just enough ... and enough ... and enough for each day.

And our hearts desire is to celebrate, to give gifts, to light candles, to be charitable and jolly and gracious.

This is a God-connector. It is a sign. It is a message through us and back to us that we are loved, have been visited by the God who made us, and are invited to join the song and the dance of time and eternity.

Jesus said, "seek and ye shall find." It is an open invitation to keep our hearts open to the One who loves us. Joy, grace, giving, and gratitude are all different facets of the same diamond in my faith and language in which it was expressed.

I am not a "Dancing With the Stars" fanatic like most of America and my own household, but I do "get it." We are made to sing and to dance. It is intrinsic and one of the ways God woos us.

Back to my own faith. There were Magi. They did not practice the same faith as Jesus' family or my traditions. In fact, we might find some of their beliefs at real odds with our own - like astrology for instance. But they most likely lived in a place where the influence of the Jews had been strong and they were acquainted with Jewish scripture.

They longed for the divine moment and the appearing of One who would be worthy of their worship. The scriptures I embrace say that the Eternal One crossed the barriers of race and religion and drew them to the place where they could see and do what they longed to see and do.

I am talking about the longing we share.

We can wish each other well in this common quest and encourage the seeking. If I believe my Master, and I do, seekers find. Those who knock get doors opened. Those who ask, receive.

Why do we share some common experiences when we have such differing beliefs? Without arguing for one universal religion or watering anything down, I can say with confidence that there really is only One God and whether we describe Him correctly or incorrectly or somewhere between, that God is always reaching out to all of us to supply the oil and light the candles within us,.

To the extent that we respond to that, it ignites something within us that wants more and more and more.

So, let's dance! As you dance, you might just learn the steps and get to know the Choreographer!

 

 

AWAKE

Being awake is more than a condition, it is a command for living.

So, I am musing over it "acroymically."

A=ATTENTION - I've heard this as a command as you have. It usually sounds like a short "a" with a dramatic "TEN," followed by a profound "HUT!" It means, "Come to a state of attention mentally, spiritually, and physically." Only then do we begin to awaken.

W=WATCH - Sometimes awakening just means watching for what is next. We awaken with a sense of wonder and "not knowing" about the day. This morning, I woke up and spent some time in a morning "watch" as I considered the day, prayed, and meditated.

A=ADJUSTMENTS - We begin to adjust our thinking, schedules, and even muscles (translation - STRETCH) as we prepare to be awake for a day of opportunity and productivity.

K=KNOWLEDGE - We need it. We need more of it. We need to gather it, assimilate it, and use it. If we are truly awake, we will be growing in knowledge. If we grow in knowledge, it will help to keep us awake. It is a cycle.

E=Energize. Do it. Drink your green tea; read your bible; pray; listen to some news; pray some more (The news will do that for you); eat a healthy breakfast; exercise; keep praying; work on your to-do list; pray some more (Do you see a pattern here?). Get energized for the day and then, start spending it.

Wake Up!

TODAY = Time, Opportunity, Definition, Action, and YES!

Just an acronym for TODAY:

TIME - Today is certainly a matter of timing. It is now, the time you are in, the only time you can be sure you have. Use it or abuse it; it is what it is.

OPPORUNITY - There are opportunities today that did not exist yesterday and may not exist tomorrow. Will you embrace them or let them pass? What will you do about them? We are well into today. Decisions must be made. Make them now and follow through.

DEFINITION - TODAY is easily defined. Everyone knows what it is. It needs no explanation. If I say I will do something today, it means before midnight. Tomorrow is another matter. What will you do today? It is a matter of integrity to DO what you say you will do within this well defined moment in time.

ACTION - Attitudes drive actions, but actions reveal our real attitudes. Now is the time to decide on a course of action that will drive you to the next level of movement toward your objectives.

YES! Say , no shout YES to your hopes, dreams, and challenges today. Embrace today and squeeze every ounce of life out of it that there is. Then rest tonight and rise for a new day tomorrow!