The Dream Factory

For Others

 

 

God give me hands and eyes for others.

"For it is in giving that we receive ..."

Yes, it is. Only with an open had can I do either ...
And the same hand that gives, receives.
Lord, guide my intentions to give today.
At the moment, my hand is empty,
But I hold it out so that You might place in it ...
What my neighbor needs and that I
May not grasp it as my own.
Amen.

Seven "P"s for a New Entrepreneurial Venture

Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

I was honored to speak with yesterday at the Mentoring group of a local college seven years ago and I spoke from this outline: 

It was from my napkin ... some "P" words for starting a new business or non-profit venture (or any bold initiative):

1. A Purposeful Product - What are you bringing to the table and is there a real and perceived need with the right timing? Let me say this as the veteran of many excellent presentations and promising ventures. If there is not a compelling, useful, reliable, and needed product, it does not matter how sound and attractive the compensation plan or business model is; you do not have a sustainable business. Good business requires a great product. Period.

2. Passion - Does this ring your bell, ignite your fire, and tug at your heart. Can and do you believe that this "product," visible or invisible, can change the world and make a difference in people's lives? If not, find something that fires up your passion. If you do not have a passion for the product, you are flailing in the water and wearing yourself out.

3. Plan - You need to think our and write business plan. Follow a guide like "Business Plans for Dummies" and do it with a mentor or coach to ask the right questions. You cannot go far without a plan.

4. People - You have to relate to, network with, get along with, incorporate, empower, and use the skills of people in any business that multiplies itself. Learn too like them!!! Ask people for advice. Make friends. Determine to serve people. Make people your greatest resource but not something you use. If you can give something away, do it. Put people first and they will love you and want to do business with you.

5. Presentation - I ironically started to run out of time here. Find a way and develop the skills necessary to tell your story. A hint--- Toastmasters  is a great resources for you here. Federal Toastmasters and many other local groups can help you can start a club on your campus, at your office, or in your community. Contact me at pastortomsims@gmail.com if I can help. I also do coaching on communication skills. I can recommend books and can skill development.

6. Promote. You will need a marketing plan and you will need to work it. Learn the art of selling. Read Frank Betcher's classic, "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling."

7. Persevere. "Fail forward" (credit to John C. Maxwell) and turn your failures into building blocks for future 

All the best to you in your new entrepreneurial venture. Stay in touch. Comment. Let me know how it is going. Ask questions. Be all that you can be. You will find many allies including me.

Are you looking for a Christmas gift that will keep giving encouragement and hope? Ship it to your friends today. You can also read it free on Kindle. I am not trying to get rich off of this:

 

 

Come to the Party - An Advent Meditation

Wedding reception in 17th-century Russia by Konstantin Makovsky

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' "

"But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them."

"The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.'"

"Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests."

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?'"

"And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen." - Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)

It is an odd sort of story unless you remember it is a parable and, as such, has one message.

Actually, it is almost two parables and, while there is a possibility of two messages, there may also be one.

In one case, there was an invitation sent and it was met with open and violent hostility. The king pushed back with anger and that was that.

But he still wanted to honor his son and celebrate his son's new relationship with a beautiful bride. The party was ready.

How do you get someone to come to a party?

He said, "Go out and invite everyone."

Everyone!

This time,  one of the guests, while not openly hostile, was passively indifferent. He did not grasp the magnitude of the occasion. It was free after all. It was an open invitation. Surely no special preparation was required.

But free is not cheap.

Open is not unimportant.

It was a grand occasion and it deserved to be treated as such. He was unceremoniously thrown out.

This Advent, God is throwing a big party. He is celebrated as relationship. He may have started with a small guest list, but many have rejected His personal invitation with violent hostility. Having expanded the guest list to include all, some do not appreciate the wonder and honor of it. After all, no one guest is any more or less important than any other. No one has bragging rights.

But at least we could dress for the occasion. At least we could appreciate the significance. At least we could enter into the festivity, the joy, the celebratory attire, and the grand dance.

It is a party, a Kingdom Party! It is the greatest party ever, not to be treated with contempt or indifference. If we do that, we don't need to be thrown out, we've failed to really enter at all. We don't need to be judged; we have judged ourselves and excluded ourselves.

So, let's take the sour looks off our faces, remove the reluctance from our hearts, turn off the criticism, and exorcise the humbugs. It is time to show up ready for a party.

"... they realized that he was speaking about them ..." - An Advent Meditation

"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' "

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.'"

"So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet. - Matthew 21:33-46 (NRSV)

Who are you talking about, man?

Are you talking about me?

Are you looking at me?

Those are "fighting words."

So, the prevailing sentiment among the chieftains of the religious establishment was to arrest Jesus.

Think about it. What had he done to offend them? He had healed the sick ... sometimes on the Sabbath. He had acted with compassion. He had taught the law of radical love. He had called for repentance as a response to the coming of the Kingdom of God.

These were not contradictions of Judaism.

It wasn't that he was going out of his way to taunt them. They had been after him. They could not tolerate the criticism. They had no patience for his radical reminders of the roots of their religion. Everything he said and was made mockery of their lust for control and religious order.

Then Jesus tells them that all of their pretense is completely at odds with God's kingdom and they are infuriated.

They believed that they held the keys to that kingdom, defined it, regulated it, and kept it pure.

But Jesus said that they were not only corrupting the true temple, they were rejecting its cornerstone. No wonder their building was about to topple on top of them.

They are harsh words, but they were not catching the nuances and subtitles.

"Yes. I'm talking about you."

"Now the ball is in your court."

Do not ever think that Jesus is the figure head or protector of religious business as usual, the golden boy of empire, or the mascot of tradition. He is not. He disrupts just about everything that is not solid. If it is not built upon the cornerstone, it falls.

Jesus and Jesus people will always stick out like sore thumbs.

We have chosen to build our lives on the Cornerstone and follow the radical messiah.

What is different today for a follower of Jesus?

What is different from then?

What is different since multiple tragedies and injustices in our world?

Nothing of our mission or calling has changed in the last 24 hours or two millennia.

The marching orders we awoke with yesterday morning are still in place. The call to love God and our neighbor is still in effect.

The challenge to be odd balls among people choosing sides based upon their own definitions or predilections is in place.

The counter-cultural mandate to follow Jesus holds. The different drum still beats. The beatific ideal has not diminished.

We have received no countermanded revisions to our stance of radical trust. We have received no direction to live in fear or reactive hostility.

Nor have we been assigned the task of maligning those who disagree with us.

We still believe in acting in wisdom, grace, compassion, love, and righteousness where we have influence.

We still believe in the dignity of every human being as a person created in the image of God and passionately loved by God.

We still believe in prayer over our own actions and those things beyond our control. We are still called to live with risk and to be willing to lay down our lives, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus.

Safety is not the first order of our lives. That order is to follow Jesus. We are still God's people first and whatever else we are, after that.

Folks who feel their power threatened are going to hear our words and observe our lives and take offense.

Nothing has changed.

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

Now, on a slightly different note for this Advent season: 

"Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek ... to be loved as to love."

It seems easy, God,
Until I try.
Maybe I am not aware of how much I seek to be loved.
Maybe I am not aware of how insecure I can be and vulnerable ...
And needy:
To be regarded, respected, and renowned ...
To be chosen and cherished ...
To be welcomed and warmed ...
To be a friend ...
But, Aha! Lord ...
There is my choice: to BE a friend is to be and to act and to serve
LIKE A FRIEND.
If I seek it, I will be it.
If I seek to love, I will love.
Grant that I will reject reciprocity in this matter and think nothing of ...
Quid Pro Quo ...
Teach me to love by loving through me.
Teach me to love by knowing again and again and again, how deep,
How wide,
How long,
How long-suffering,
How patient is Your love for me and that ...
It is all I need.
So, filled with love, I can give love.

In the Name of the Lord of Love,

The Cornerstone, rejected by the builders

Strong and consistent Jesus,

The Christ of Glory!
Amen.

 

 

 

Women of Disrepute

Rahab (center) in James Tissot's The Harlot of Jericho and the Two Spies.

 

What do Ruth, the Moabite, Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho, . Bathsheba, the adulteress, Tamar the accused, Mary, the young unmarried pregnant girl have in common?

Disrepute and shame.
Great faith and resilience.
Listing in the genealogy of Jesus

What they were was this: remarkable women who were used of God in a specific moment with timeless repercussions. They created ripples of influence that have impacted generations.

They joined their sisters Sarah, Naomi, Esther, Mary Magdalene, and others in leading the way of commitment to God;s ways.

Like King Lemuel's unnamed mother, they set an example and taught lessons for all of us to learn.

Like Timothy's grandmother , Lois and mother Eunice, like Priscilla, and Miriam the prophetess, they are our grandmothers, mothers, and sisters in the faith who often lead the way for us in matters of devotion to God.

Mary, the mother of Jesus holds a place of prominence in the Christmas story for some very good reasons and she is one of a long line of outstanding women who are pioneers of godly living ... even when their reputations suggested otherwise.

 

 

A Thousand Years, an Advent Meditation

 

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Consider the passage of time.

Physicists debate its existence or nature.

Philosophers think aloud of its linear, circular, and concentric qualities.

Theologians remind us that it is infinite within a sphere of eternity and finite for our lives.

Ordinary people know that it moves too quickly in some respects and too slowly in others - like when we are waiting for the objects of our highest hopes.

Today, as we continue Advent meditations, let us examine some of the words in 2 Peter 3:1-10 in the NRSV translation.

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.

First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!"

Scoffers throw time in our faces. They know how weary we can be and they know the weariness of their own souls. Scoffers come in a variety of forms and from a variety of perspectives. Two stand out.

One, there are those who are as frustrated, discouraged, and beaten-down as we are. They are crying out for answers and hope.

Two, there are those who are among the oppressors and detractors. They set out to belittle, undermine, and rebuke of those who hope.

Of course, some fall into both categories or along a continuum between the poles.

They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished.

Peter wants to arouse our intentions, attention, faith, and remembrance by letting us know that these things are to be expected. It is a recurring theme. We are not to surprised, alarmed, offended, or defensive in the face of scoffing and worse.

But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.

Things are being held together by a strong thread  of wisdom, grace, and providence by God. All will be judged and justice will prevail. Everything wrong will be destroyed. Truth will displace lies and deception. Righteousness will displace oppression and grace will triumph over disgrace. It is only a matter of time.

The Advent of the Messiah is an announcement of that coming Day of the LORD when all will be set aright.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

What do we really know about time? 

Since Einstein's Theory of Relativity emerged from his magnificent brain, we thought of it as an absolute, something we could in a box, something defined by our own planet's experience in a solar system that is part of an incomprehensible galaxy which is a minor fractional piece of a vaster universe that boggles the mind. We do not know how time is defined with creation much less the Creator.

Here is what we know:

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

God's got it.

He made it.

He understands it.

He is managing it.

He is not alarmed.

He is not rushed.

He is not late.

Besides all of that, He knows how much earth-time it takes to accomplish His purposes and to redeem as many people and systems as possible. He is working in the open and behind the scenes and has not abandoned His people nor His intentions. He wants everyone to turn around. He wants all to come to Him. So, He is patient with us.

Perhaps we could learn some patience with Him.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. 

We do not have a calculator, time-table, chart, system, to-do list, or cohesive theology that can facilitate a prediction of exactly how He will bring it all to pass or when.

We do not need those things. We just need Him and His promises.

We need to be carrying on, living on tiptoe, walking by faith, fixing our hope on Jesus, radicalizing our lives by rooting them in truth.

We need to be living prophetically, consistently, and compassionately in the world.

We need to be remembering that a thousand years is nothing to God and, someday, will seem as nothing to us.

A blessed Advent to you and to yours.

 

 

 

Cleansing the Temple and Other Advent Mysteries

Christ Driving the Money Changers out of the Temple Valentin de Boulogne

 

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer' but you are making it a den of robbers."

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became angry and said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?"

Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself'?"

He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves.

Then he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!"

And the fig tree withered at once.

When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." - Matthew 21:12-22 (NRSV)

Let's get one thing out of the way, the elephant in the room.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?

Was it just a response to yesterday's bad day where he had been dealing with mental and spiritual atrophy, corruption of intended purpose, and petty criticism?

Was it because he was hungry and there were no figs?

Was he angry? Was he setting up a lesson? Was he cursing an entire nation for being fruitless? Was he demonstrating the power of faith?

I am not sure. You can explore that on your own time and dime.

Matthew pairs the story with Jesus' lesson on the power of faith to move mountains, thus using one metaphor to explain another.

He also places it at the conclusion of an opening story about perverted purpose in a religious context.

Perversion and corruption are pretty fruitless endeavors.

Temple worship had become a big business and collaboration with illegitimate powers such as Herod had overwhelmed the meaning of the worship that the people were coming to the temple to bring.  In fact, sincere worshipers were being oppressed.

Jesus quotes from Isaiah:

"I will bring them to my holy mountain, where they will celebrate in my house of worship. Their sacrifices and offerings will always be welcome on my altar. Then my house will be known as a house of worship for all nations." - Isaiah 56:7 (Contemporary English Version)

The temple powers of the day, under the influence of the priests who were under the influence of the political powers were excluding the nations from the worship of YHWH.

They were capitalizing on the vulnerability of people, cheating them, in the place dedicated for the gentiles to worship.

So, he made a dramatic demonstration of indignation. It was no time for subtlety.

His actions were out of godly anger, but they were measured to be just outrageous and offensive enough to make a point that no one could miss.

Everything about the day was dramatic, even the fig tree.

What happened next, as Matthew emphasizes, was also dramatic, but gentle.

The people, the masses, the broken, wounded, sick, and sad saw an ally in him. They interpreted what he had done as more than just prophetic; it was compassionate.

This invader was on their side. He was a friend of the poor and the outcast.

So they came to him and he healed them. This stirred up the chief priests and their stirring was exacerbated by the cries of children.

Children are notoriously good judges of character.

They called him by a messianic name, "Son of David."

The religious men were furious.

Jesus, again, quoted scripture:

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." - Psalm 8:2

And that was the end of that day's activities. He left the city for his home away from home in Bethany.

Then he returned to Jerusalem and we get the account of the tree.

Hopefully, those of you who have been reading the bible for years have figured out that we do Jesus a grave injustice when we try to make him a literal dogmatist.

No teacher has ever been as great a master of stirring up thought and upsetting the mental apple cart of locked in thinking as Jesus. If there was a frozen presupposition to challenge, he would do it. If there was a way to make people scratch their heads, he was all in.

Why?

He wanted his disciples to go for the deep roots of God's will and truth and he did it with drama, stories, questions, metaphors, and humor.

What is the purpose of a fruit-bearing tree?

Fruit!

Where had he been seeking fruit the day before?

From the temple.

What was preventing the fruit?

The corrupt established powers that were running the show?

What would happen in about 40 years?

That establishment would crumble with the temple itself?

Would that be the end of the matter? The end of all fig trees? The end of Israel? The end of God's purposes?

Not the way I read the rest of the story.

This is the third day of Advent on December 3, 2019.

When the Son of David shows up, you can expect some things to get knocked around and some people to get offended.

What would happen he showed up in some of our temples of power and religion today? 

It is easy to find out. Just take him to those places.

 

Fuller has a good article on the "elephant."

This video is not bad either:

 

Who Is This? Advent Meditation

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. "

This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"

The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." - Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)

Sometimes we come; sometimes we go.

Advent is about coming, about arrival, about entry.

There are actually several pictures that come to mind. One is of a child coming to earth and being born in a stable as angels sang.

Another is of that child, once crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended into Heaven, coming in the clouds to bring a New Jerusalem of justice and peace.

The other is of the scripture for this second day of Advent in 2019, Year A on the Lectionary calendar. It is of Jesus coming to Jerusalem to review his first coming to earth and preview his second. He is coming to experience his coronation which looks a lot more like a betrayal, trial, and execution.

It is all about coming.

In fact, "advent" is derived from a word that means "coming" in Latin.

As an aside, consider the words that flow from it, like "adventure."

In many ways, we celebrate Advent daily in this great adventure. We are always preparing the way for Jesus' entry into someone's world, into some community, into some function, or into some arena of power.

What of this adventure on the eve of Holy Week that we remember early in Advent?

One thinks of a rather unusual request. Two disciples are sent to a village to steal a colt. Only, they are not stealing and to believe that requires some faith and confidence that Jesus knows what he is talking about.

They have a message to give if they are challenged and hat message is all it will take to be allowed to accomplish their mission.

When we are called upon to do something that stretches our thinking, contradicts our rules for safe living, and challenges our understanding, it takes faith to deliver a message from Jesus. It takes faith to believe that it will be enough.

The Lord, for whatever reason we do not always know, needs that colt.

Most often, it fulfills something that has been written, spoken, or intended.

It is a cog in a grand machine.

The adventure is part of a major venture and sometimes the actors in the drama are playing parts that they do not fully comprehend.

Actually, always.

We do not have the whole script. We have a well formed collection of fragments and the fragments tell us of the advent of a king on a donkey into a city that welcomes him with shouts of "Hosanna" and with gestures of victory and adulation.

And they are a bit mixed up about why, but they know that the one on the donkey is a prophet and they hope he is more.

They sense that he is coming in the name of the LORD and that he is blessed.

They suspect he might be the Messiah, the son of David.

Anticipation.

Exultation.

Celebration.

It sounds like Advent. It feels like Christmas is coming.

The noise and emotion of the crowds create turmoil and those who are less in the know ask, "Who is this?"

Who is this?

Who is this coming and going and coming and going and coming again?

Who is this that is always showing up? Sometimes invited? Sometimes by surprise? Sometimes unwelcome? Always creating questions and often, turmoil?

It is the prophet Jesus. You know, the one from Nazareth up there is Galilee. That one!

Who is this, showing up when you least expect it.

Who is it, crashing your pity party?

Who is it entering into the space of your revelry?

Who is it sitting down beside you on your lonely bench?

Who is it marching into the city council meeting with a disturbing word?

Who is it spoiling our preconceptions about God?

Who is it interrupting the execution of the adulterous woman? Raising the dead? Giving sight to the blind? Touching lepers with a healing hand? Eating with sinners? Calling tax collectors?

Who is it?

That is the question and the message today.

That is the one to turn over in your heart and mind and view as a template agains the backdrop of everey issue that confronts you between now and bedtime.

The humble, righteous King has shown up in your city.

What is next for you?

 

Picture - Eastern Orthodox fresco in Nativity of the Theotokos Church, Bitola, Republic of North Macedonia

advent (noun) - "important arrival," 1742, an extended sense of Advent "season preceding Christmas" (in reference to the "coming" of Christ), late Old English, from Latin adventus "a coming, approach, arrival," in Church Latin "the coming of the Savior," from past participle stem of advenire "arrive at, come to," from ad "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come," from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come." Related: Adventual.  - Online Etymology, Cornell University 

 

Sowing Joy - A Simple Prayer

"Where there is sadness, let me sow joy."

I do not know every sadness of humanity, Lord.

"Man of Sorrows, what a name for the Son of God, who came ..."

I do not know.
Thou knowest.

Each heart knows its own sadness, you have told us ...
And I believe for I have received the gits of sadness ...

In the dark,
In the night,
In the bitter cold
and chilly wind.

And I have sat and stood and walked among to sad and lonely people ...
As You have and do and will and so ...
I know, we are not alone.
I am not alone.
They are not alone, nor can we ever be.

Are these seeds in my hand?
Seeds of joy?
Let me sow them Lord.

I do not know how seeds work.
Not really.
They contain so much information that we do not perceive.
They carry potential we cannot conceive.
But with every seed, I believe.

I believe.
I believe.

Where there is sadness, today, Lord, today,
Let me sow joy.
May I live joy and choose joy and give joy

In the Name of the Man of Joy,
Amen and Amen.

 

 

Art - Simon Bening, Labors of the Months: September, from a Flemish Book of hours (Bruges)

The End of Wickedness

“Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.” - Psalm 7:9

The evil of the wicked will come to an end. It may seem out of control and all-pervasive, but it is really quite limited and terminal.

God feels indignation every day and prepares for reckoning with the ready invitation and admonition to repentance. The psalmist says this with "matter-of-factness" and, a touch of glee. Why? Does he like the idea of judgment, justice, reckoning, and retribution? You bet he does. He is sick and tired of getting pushed around and he wants God to act.

His great comfort in such a moment comes from believing that God feels his indignation at injustice as much or more than he does and that God is getting ready to straighten things out if folks don't change.

God does it better, more fairly, and more decisively than people do. He waits longer and more patiently than we would sometimes like. He ultimately uses the cross as a magnet and focus of His wrath and a place of repentance.

The emotions and indignation of the psalmist, who represents each of us, are validated by the assurance that God enters into our very human experience of anger at injustice. In fact, those feelings of humans are a dim and imperfect reflection of what is perfect and balanced in His own holy character.

The evil of the wicked will come to an end. Be patient.

 

 

Picture: A 1902 cartoon depicts a police officer whose eyes are covered with a cloth labelled "bribes", 

Take It or Leave It

 

Photo - On Amazon. Order the Tin Sign

We are so sensitive, defensive, and aggressive about asserting that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

Jesus never demonstrated any of that sort of insecurity.

He just put it all out there and people could see the truth if they would. When challenged about his authority, he did not waste time arguing it. He knew where his authority came from.

That was a fairly important issue for any rabbi.

Rabbis were first, students of some master rabbi and derived authority from that person's credibility. Jesus knew that his credibility came from His Father. If the naysayers could not see that, he was not going to waste time building a platform for himself with them.

Here is truth. Take it or leave it.

Many heard and took it, applied it to their lives, and discovered the authority of his words and deeds through the very witness of of the Spirit.

If you have something from God to share from his Word, share it, but don't get sensitive, defensive, and aggressive about asserting how right you are. If it lands on the right heart, God himself will validate the credibility of his Word.

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority."

He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”

And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” - Luke 20:1-8 (ESV)

Living in Expectation - Thoughts for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:36

We knew she was coming sometime, just not when. We knew that every day brought the visit closer, but we were not certain exactly what day. We cleaned the house once, twice, and then again. Finally, we just got in the habit of keeping it clean. We’d stare out the window and watch, waiting for our great aunt to arrive with gifts and hugs. We were children. Our parents understood the calendar better than we could. We only knew seasons and it was the right season for a visit.

Don’t be dismayed that God keeps some things secret. He knows better than to entrust us with every detail of His plans. There are some things we simply could not understand if we were told in plain language. He tells us what is necessary and withholds what would breed complacency and contempt for His ways. Not knowing the details of His second coming means that we can live in constant expectancy of His appearing. We wait of tiptoe. We lift our hearts in wonder. Waiting for His redemption gives us a clue as to the spirit of messianic expectation that must of gripped the hearts of the faithful who waited patiently for His first coming.

Shepherds and wise men all eagerly sought word of salvation. While others despaired and resigned themselves to business as usual, there were always those who kept hope alive in their hearts. Our job in our generation is to eagerly seek Him in everything.

Jesus has come!

Jesus is coming!

Both statements stir the heart and ignite the imagination.

Hope, born in the hearts of children, inspires hope in those who are tired of waiting. The call comes rolling down through the centuries. Live in constant expectation and you will never  be disappointed.

 

 

Above: Greek icon of Second Coming, c. 1700

 

 

 

A Prayer for Hope

Hope, which lay at the bottom of the box, remained. Allegorical painting by George Frederic Watts, 1886

"Where there is despair, [let me sow] hope." - Prayer of St Francis 

Oh God, there is such despair in the world.
Desp-AIR, taking the wind out of our sails, the bounce from our steps,
The rhythm from our souls.
Airless we gasp for something to breath ...
Let us breath in hope, Oh God of hope.
Let us, then, breathe it out into the world where we all ...
Share the air >>>>>
And out of despair, repair our own resolve to live ...
One more day,
And then another and another until ...
You take away our breath and ...
Breathless, we stand before you.
This is our hope eternal,
Eternal God.
Amen.

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. - Emily Dickinson

.Engraving of Pandora trying to close the box that she had opened out of curiosity.

At left, the evils of the world taunt her as they escape. The engraving is based on a painting by F. S. Church.

Pandora is depicted as exercising hope, but it is false and unrealistic hope.

Our true hope may not seem any more realistic than hers, but it is real, verified by the experience of those who have lived in it, prayed for it, and relied upon it.

It is true hope and lasting hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope

 

 

Auschwitz, a rose expressing hope

Hope.

It comes from God and is well founded. However, scriptures remind us to be careful not to invest in false hopes.

"Don't bank on the power brokers of this world" is what the compiler and editor of the psalms identifies as the core message of Psalm 146.

They can neither make you nor break you. The powers of this world are temporal and finite. The best they can do is bestow upon you some fading glory or wealth.

The worst they can do is kill you. They cannot destroy you. Nor can they preserve their own power forever.

God's power is over all and He sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down, loves the righteous, watches over the sojourners, upholds the widow and the fatherless, and frustrates the ways of the wicked bringing them to ruin.

"Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

"Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish."

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry."

"The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin."

"The LORD will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 146 (ESV)

Some Meditations on Evil, Idolatry, Advent, and Loving Our Neighbors

 

Moses breaking the tablets with the Ten Commandments, from the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle.

I think this season is a time of exposure. It exposes a lot of good in the hearts of people. It exposes the evil around us, by contrast. In the marketplace and in our institutions, it exposes our idolatry. More important, it exposes an alternative to all of those which is a life lived by the example and command of Jesus to love our neighbors.

I wanted a graphic for this blog about idolatry and, as I searched, I realized the word had been hijacked by popular culture and the most common items in the search engines were based upon a popular television show that exposes great talent among common people, elevated the winners to the status of a living idol.

The meaning for ancient Jews was quite different. The idols God warned them against were cruel and consuming in contrast to a Covenant God with Covenant love.

Follow along with me if you can. I've woven some old notes into what I hope will be a thread. 

First, since I read the daily papers, I have to unload this. Evil is slapping me in the face daily.

I have studied the problem of evil since I learned to think philosophically, psychologically, and theologically.

I have all the easy answers in a short file.

I have the really tough ones in the question box. We can dismiss it all with the word "sin," but that three letter word is far larger than we think or know.

It is so deep and so pervasive that it requires divine intervention, sacrifice, and planning to correct. At the same time, it requires far less from us when we come to dealing with our own lives.

Sin is so nagging that, even after repentance and regeneration, the Apostle Paul still struggled with its residual effects.

It is simple, but it is not simplistic. It is both human and dehumanizing. It is a distortion of reality, yet part of our daily reality.

Does evil exist?

Some philosophical systems suggest that evil is but an illusion. If it is, it is like the apparition that can frighten someone to death.

Some days, the best I can do is to look at the evil, bitterness, coldness, anger, and bigotry in my own heart, cry out in despair, shake my head, and lift my voice to God, "Have mercy upon me!"

The heart of much evil is the pernicious and persistent sin of idolatry Idolatry takes many forms. The ones we like to overlook are very respectable and sometimes even religious.

The vicious downward cycle of idolatry is that we construct gods in our own image that decay at a rate faster than we do.

In worshiping them, we become like them through imitation, complacency, and decay.

Then, the next round of idol making is more decadent than the one before and on and on until we are worshiping debauchery, violence, and human ugliness as well as our own self-interests.

That is why each generation of God-fearers, must check in with its roots of faith and with the God who roots faith to renew authenticity and ask hard questions about its forms, rituals, and assumptions.

The "old time religion" is what we need --- as long as it is OLD ENOUGH and not just built on the errors of the interim-past.

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them." - Psalm 135:15-18 (ESV)

We are all susceptible to sin and idolatry. We have all fallen, at best, and jumped, at worst into it.

But that is not the whole story. We are more and can be more.

This is the description of a man who is seeking more:

"Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!" - Psalm 112 (ESV)

Look as some of the things, among others, that can be said of him:

• He is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
• He deals generously and lends. (An Orthodox friend once told me that lending was essentially giving from his perspective since he did not expect and could not expect to be repaid.)
• He conducts his affairs with justice.
• He lives his life with confident faith.
• He lives, trusting in the LORD.
• He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor.
• The way he lives irks his enemies because God shows Him favor.

A final thought:

We are, indeed, about to enter Advent.

It is my favorite musical season of the year. We generally feel better about our altruistic selves at Christmas.

Gear up for lots of carols.

I am all about humbug for the rush to decorate, buy stuff, sell stuff, and all the other stuff, but I go crazy over the wonderful Advent scriptures and songs!!!!
And I want to continue them until Epiphany and beyond!!!
I am listening now! AND ... Just thinking ....What if ... What if ... we actually kept Christ in Christmas

(I don't mean the government, the culture, friends of other faiths - I mean people who follow JESUS)

I mean, what if we did so by dumping some of our idols celebrated Jesus by loving our neighbors as ourselves?

What if?

Therefore

 

" Happy are those who act with justice and always do what is right! " - Psalm 106:3

When we establish a premise, what follows, stated or unstated, is a "therefore" which is there for a reason.

When we come to the crossroads of a decision that will impact others we must ask two questions:

Is it just?
Is it right?

True contentment lies in the balance.

Therefore, there is a response that we must make.

I wonder how many times "therefore" or its equivalents show up in scripture.

It is not hard to find out. Here is the "why" of the "wonder," namely, we get stuck in the details of obscurities and muddled in the maze of mind boggling statements, not that they have no significance. However, when then real meat on the table, what follows the "therefore" is of greater significance.

What am I going to do about it?

Looking back over old notes: This is just a thought I had as I waddled through Matthew 24, my text for a given Sunday.

"I don't have to be to have a final interpretation of the mysteries, but I'd better get the "therefore"s pretty straight."

What is your "therefore" there for?

 

Another version of the implied question is a rather specific: SO WHAT?

Based upon the text before before you and your current circumstances, what is just and right for you to do next?

Ultimately, that is all that you must know in the moment in order to proceed.

For instance, when we are informed of the resurrection:

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." - I Corinthians 15:58

 

While I think, therefore I am,

I know and I am, therefore,

I act!

 

 

Two Cities

 

Zephaniah describes a tale of two cities.

One is oppressive and oppressing.

It is proud and haughty. She does not listen and there is no accountability.

She, her structures, and her power brokers are doomed.

"Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
She listens to no voice;
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD;
she does not draw near to her God."

"Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
her priests profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but the unjust knows no shame."

I leave it to you to list the failings of the unjust city. They are not hidden in the text nor are they hidden in history or in current events. They are blatant, violent, and oppressive. At the gut level, they are revolting to the senses.

In judgment of the first city is a redemptive and reconciling cry to those who will hear and respond. The sad commentary is the intransigent reluctance of those who resist the call to correction and hop.e

“'I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;
you will accept correction.
Then your dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.’
But all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.'"

The other city is the city of hope, grace, childlike trust,  faith, and Kingdom shalom.

First, must come to denouncement of what is against the righteousness of the City of Shalom. It takes patience to wait for it.

"'Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed.'"

The prophetic announcement of judgment on wickedness always is good news to those seeking righteousness and always can be to those who desire to enter in to the Righteous Kingdom.

“'For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD
and serve him with one accord.
From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
shall bring my offering."

“'On that day you shall not be put to shame
because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.
But I will leave in your midst
a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,
those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no injustice
and speak no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
a deceitful tongue.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid.'”

- Zephaniah 3:1-13 (ESV)

Let us choose and align with the second city.

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

 

And there is more to the story:

 

 

Never Let Anyone Steal Your Giggles

Don't ever let anyone steal your sense of humor. It is a key weapon in your arsenal against despair.

It is a serious world with serious problems.

Take people seriously. Take the problems seriously. Take seriously, the quest for solutions. Invest in your work. Follow and feed you passion.

But do not take yourself too seriously.

Laugh at yourself. Do it with others. Grow a thick skin.

Be jolly and never forget how to weep with those who weep and be vulnerable.

And never let anyone steal your sense of humor.

 

My friend sleeps with a corduroy pillow. I can tell from reading the head lines.

 

 

 

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." - Proverbs 17:22

 

 

Peace and Mercy - Mediation on Psalms for Today

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

"I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!" 

The psalmist is an idealist and a realist. He walks a middle road and is torn between extremes.

Why would anyone hate peace? Do any actually hate peace?

As we often say, we follow the benefit trail. If we perceive that we benefit more from animosity, violence, hatred, war, dissension, division, mistrust, and intimidation with oppression, we probably will be for war.

The exploratory territory for me in this scripture today, is within my own soul.

Am I for peace or am I for war? My first dwelling place is within myself and I too often am for peace and hate peace at the same time because peace is a long term gratification while war gets my juices flowing.

"Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!" -Psalm 120:6-7 (ESV)

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

God dwells in the heart of each of our cities, walks the streets, hears the angry cries, the frustrations of conflicting forces, and the pain of broken dreams.

God is present in the cities ... in every Jerusalem when His walking, talking, living, breathing temples dwell. God weeps over the cities and is ready to hear our prayers for the cities.

Everyone in the city is an object of His concern. When we align ourselves with that concern, we are moving toward prayer for the shalom of the city.

This sort of prayer is hard work because it moves into active seeking of the good of the city and that is messy work - building community, sharing our faith and its implications, loving our neighbors, working for progress, living the good news of the Kingdom of God.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good." - Psalm 122:5-9 (ESV)

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

So easily we make ourselves at ease. So destructively, we build our protective fortresses of contempt and pride. So precariously we draw lines of mistrust and and scorn for our own false notions of well being and so readily we find ourselves at odds with those who do the same from their own vantage point of dubious self-protection.

"Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud." - Psalm 123:3-4 (ESV)

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

Eight words of open-ended, eternal truth ... "If it had not been for the LORD."

" If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
let Israel now say—
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
the raging waters." - Psalm 124:1-5 (ESV)

 

 

A Case for Blessing the Next

 

Jacob Blessing His Sons by François Maitre. The mention of a bed in Genesis 49:33 indicates that this is a deathbed speech. Jacob Blessing His Sons, miniature by François Maitre from Augustine's "La Cité de Dieu", book I-X (manuscript "Den Haag, MMW, 10 A 11"). Book 1, 13; at the Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague

Let us toss around a couple of notions in a blessing salad and see what comes of it:

A recognition and celebration  of cultural diversity with main ingredient of trust in God, seasoned with providence and confidence in a future shaped in the mix.

Jesus identified with every variation of our humanity, including our ethnicity, culture, race, standing, and vulnerability to being marginalized by our fellow human beings.

Value is expressed when our uniqueness is called out and celebrated ... as God so readily practices.

Throughout time, the uniqueness of people is named. Jacob described each of his sons and how their tribes would carry on their fathers' legacies.

"By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning on top of his staff." - Hebrews 11:21 (NKJV)

God is the Father calling all tribes to the place of acceptance to pronounce a blessing upon them, each one individually and individualized.

Our tribes matter. Our cultures matter.

Jacob worshiped, leaning ...

Faith, in itself, is a kind of leaning.

Blessing others, we lean into them. Proclaiming the blessing as if already accomplished, is a leaning into the future with faith.

Worshiping is leaning into God.

"Leaning on the everlasting arms," we need a bit of support. Jacob had a staff.

It worked, but still, he was dying.

But aren't we?

We live with dying and we die with living.

We leave behind the values, attitudes, quirks, and stories we have created, curated, and nurtured in our lifetime.

We also send ahead of us, the things that God has accomplished within us.

We will not be here to control the futures of the people we have influenced. We will not stick around to see how they take what we have imparted and improve upon it ... or not. We will leave this world the way we moved around in it, with faith.

Jacob chose faith in his dying days, he envisioned a future that would be within the trust of his family who would become families and tries.

Each would matter.

Then he fell upon his staff and found God supporting him. Thus he worshiped.

I am not exactly sure how this day will unfold, but I am leaning toward a faith that shall not falter with faith that cannot fail because it leans forward on a Father who receives my faith as an expression of worship.

Then, there was Moses.

The secret of endurance as discovered by Moses ...

"he endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Hebrews 11:27b, (NKJV)

Seeing the invisible God.

It really goes to the heart of faith for people of faith.

We deal in that realm that an outsider might legitimately view as subjective ... and yet we see.

All people of vision, whether people of faith or not, see things that others do not see.

Some see the future.

Some see possibilities.

Some see realities too small or far away for the naked eye to surround.

If it can be captured and perceived through the optical nerves, it may not be faith and it may not be enough to produce endurance. If it requires a leap into the uncharted unknown, one has lengthened the distance of vision and shortened the gap between what is and what can be through the Eyes of the One Who Is.

All people and peoples matter in the scheme of things. All are part of the weaving God is weaving and has woven. All are part of the historic weave and the prophetic weave.

Ours is to celebrate, appreciate, and anticipate.

While we are still breathing, let us bless the next generation. They are different than us. They are diverse. They are unique. We are not sure how God is going to work out the blessing, but we can be sure that God will.

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

“‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” - Numbers 6:22-27, (NIV)

 

 

 

 

 

Heterodoxy in the Balance

'

Word of the Day -  heterodox

adjective HET-uh-ruh-dahks

 

Definition:

1 : contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion : unorthodox, unconventional

2 : holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines

 

The Heterodox Stalwart

His heterodoxy was a source of pride
As he floated through timeless space|
In ethereal ambiguity and baseless bliss.

Yet, when he stood before the bar
And with a smile, invited interrogation,
He seemed surprisingly orthodox ...

For he declared with profound confidence,
That his was a positional ground of superior
Thought ... albeit eclectic, nevertheless, defined.

"We must believe in free will — we have no choice." - Isaac Bashevis Singer, born , November 21, 1902, Polish-American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate.

Born November 21, 1694 – Voltaire, French historian, playwright, and philosopher (d. 1778).

He was an ardent critic of the church and Christianity and a Deist who wrote,

"He challenged orthodoxy by asking: "What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason."

He would identify with Christianity in some of his writings by calling it, "our religion," even as he criticized it.

As an advocate for religious freedom, he wrote, "

"It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence, to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I say that we should regard all men as our brothers. What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt; are we not all children of the same father and creatures of the same God?"

In writing Candide, he advocated for a life of simplicity that reminds me of the book of Ecclesiastes in the closing song of the musical setting inspired by his work (via Leonard Bernstein).

I think it describes the tug-of-war within his own soul, and perhaps of the times he lived in -- even the divergent claims made by many of his deathbed utterances.

 

Just in case you were not already confused about  life. Consider the most famous equation of all time:

 

 There is more to these musings than intellectual curiosity around issues of ambivalence and ambiguity.

Having broached the subject of being heterodox in a world of orthodox and even homodox partitioning, I am confronted with the current condition of the American experiment.

The Mayflower Compact was recently celebrated on its anniversary and we shall soon remember one of the early European Thanksgivings among the Puritans.

It was in 1620 at  Plymouth Colony when settlers signed the Mayflower Compact which was written by the male Separatist Puritans on the ship from England, originally bound for Virginia.

It was their aim to form a colony based on religious principles rather than on the concept of religious freedom.

The freedom they sought was initially to build a community where church and state were intertwined and where there was no line of demarcation between civil authority and ecclesiastic authority.

Thus, rather than the King calling the shots over the church, the local civil government could enforce its principles such as church attendance, government licensing of preachers, church "taxes," and Sunday laws.

The downside was that this sucks the life out of the church, the individual and a spiritual being before God, and of society. The upside is that they meant well and their initial piety was very real - and born out of a persecution ... that they would later inflict on others who dissented..

Also, it set the stage for the sort of decline that brought forth thinkers like Roger Williams and the Rhode Island experiment and later, the Great Awakening, which. along with the secular ideas of the Enlightenment gave birth to the revolutionary fervor to come and the concepts of soul freedom and freedom of religion.

The document as we have it is worth reading and contains some great ideas.

Modern version:

"IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620."

Artwork: Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899

We are abandoned in a cloud of polarized elements that float in the same air and share profound atomic similarities while resisting any semblance of meeting. Our "doxies' and self-descriptions have birthed severe filters to our thinking and understanding of the other.

Is there any reconciliation at all?

The sons of Mathias, like Judas, saw none on the horizon of persecution and annihilation of their faith and identity. Their singularity had been overrun by an intolerant plurality that was so orthodox in its heterodox orientation that its arms could not embrace the uniqueness of the Jews.

"It is easy for many to be hemmed in by few, for in the sight of Heaven there is no difference between saving by many or by few. It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven. They come against us in great insolence and lawlessness to destroy us and our wives and our children, and to despoil us; but we fight for our lives and our laws. He himself will crush them before us; as for you, do not be afraid of them." - Judas Maccabeus

For Judas, there was no choice in the moment of crisis but to heroically conquer the threatening forces. It was a time to stand for something.

Imperialism, whether it is religious, cultural, or political seeks to suppress the freedom that expresses itself in diversity as well as distinctiveness. 

 

I come from a long tradition of free people who insisted on freedom and framed it as "soul competency" and "the priesthood of the believer." Coerced confessionalism, state preference for particular religious traditions, and community enforcement of matters of religious conscience were anathema to our Baptist forerunners.

 

The gospel of the Kingdom of God in Jesus is neither orthodox nor heterodox in terms of compulsion. It stifles neither open exploration solid certainty. It makes room for seekers and finders. It arranges a meeting with God and invites men and women to meet each other. It tolerates meanderings such as this stream of consciousness believing in the gravitational power of truth to lead us into a place of un-contrived unity.

 

It may seem to be a contradiction here to settle on anything, but where the scriptures seem to set themselves down on this issue is that we, who follow Jesus, are indeed unorthodox in relationship to the rest of the world and even religious  establishments. We are always living in tension with anything that approximates stasis in matters of faith. So, Peter surmises:

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light ... " - I Peter 2:9

Peculiar, then, we are and peculiar we shall be.

 

Perhaps that is heterodox or perhaps it just seems to be.

 

Following a Stream of Consciousness to the Ocean of Forgetfulness

 

Sometimes you have to hear the logic of the logical exercising their role as "cautioneers" and naysayers and acknowledge that the safest and most reasonable thing to do is one thing and then, do the opposite because our loyalty is to the law of love and the Lord of love.

We can do the thing that protects and preserves us or we can follow Jesus. It is not a criticism of those who warn us or disrespect to reject their warnings.

We already know that this path has danger when we choose it.

__________________________________________

You came without an ax to grind; you did not tow the party line."

"The world can't stand what it cannot own." - Rich Mullins

__________________________________________

How can I ever thank you?" gushed a woman to
Clarence Darrow, after he had solved her legal troubles. "My
dear woman," Darrow replied, "ever since the Phoenicians invented money,
there has been only one answer to that question."

__________________________________________

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - J. Danforth Quayle

"If we don't risk, we face the certainty of failure" - Tom Sims

In fact, if we fail, we run the risk of success.

It just shows to go you, even garbled speech can go somewhere!

__________________________________________

Since you are now awake, it is time to resume dreaming.

__________________________________________

You just cannot comment on everything in the news. If you did, you would do nothing else. News feeds would lead you around by the nose in desert of mission drift.

Note to self. Pay attention to last tweet.

Resist.

Sometimes I will let you have the last word because sequence is of no consequence.

Besides, I am not trying to win every dispute. God will sort it out.

There is a distinct possibility I might be wrong about a few things .... from time to time.

__________________________________________

We are addicted to fixing blame assuming that every inconvenience and discomfort we experience is someone's fault.

I would (but am not) be interested in public service (or might have been at another stage of life) if it did not involve attacking opponents or bragging about myself. We have good ones who do neither, but it is hard.

We can and should criticize systems, ideas, policies, choices, and power itself. The challenge is to find and encourage what is best in flawed people.

I guess it requires more prayer than I do.

_________________________________________

If I were president and pardoned a turkey, someone would call it nepotism.

__________________________________________

"The restoration of the church will surely come only from a new kind of monasticism which will have nothing in common with the old but a life of uncompromising adherence to the Sermon on the Mount in imitation of Christ." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

Thanksgiving is coming. It is not too early to begin to prepare.

The Prayer of Thanksgiving (by Walter Rauschenbusch, 1861–1918)

"For the wide sky and the blessed sun,
For the salt sea and the running water,
For the everlasting hills
And the never-resting winds,
For trees and the common grass underfoot.
We thank you for our senses
By which we hear the songs of birds,
And see the splendor of the summer fields,
And taste of the autumn fruits,
And rejoice in the feel of the snow,
And smell the breath of the spring.
Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
And save our souls from being so blind
That we pass unseeing
When even the common thornbush
Is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever." 

__________________________________________

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

__________________________________________

An 95 year old man was lying in bed dying. The doctor said he had minutes to live. His first and only wife was by his bedside to hear his dying words and comfort him.

He began to speak.

"Honey, do you remember how when we got married, I was a cheerful, handsome, wealthy man? But soon after we were married, I lost all my money on bad investments. Never-the-less, you stayed with me the whole time."

"Then my first business went bankrupt, and we lost everything we had. You didn't leave me. You were right by my side the whole time."

"And now I've had a long sickness, which has used up all our savings. I'm a wrinkled, grouchy. old, poverty-stricken, dying man."

"You're still by my side!"

"So with my dying breath, I just want to say three little words to you:

(With his dying breath)

(PAUSE --- LONG PAUSE)

"Honey, YOU'RE BAD LUCK!"

.... But I am sure glad you are here!

__________________________________________

I am going to check out what pithy things others are saying today ... Maybe a flood or maybe a trickle.

__________________________________________

I wrote a letter to myself and forgot to sign it. I also forgot to put a stamp on it; so it came back. I guess what goes around comes around.

This could be a poem if laid out differently ....

__________________________________________

I am really a work in progress. Most of the advice I give is mostly a reminder and advice to ME!

__________________________________________

Do not assume from my tweets on encouragement that I answer every unknown number call. I just try, when I do, to take the opportunity for fun, encouragement, or education and I have had some good experiences.

__________________________________________

I am not sure this stream has made it to the ocean, but I think it has played out.

 

And ... I trust that I am:

 

 

 

Start Rebuilding

 

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

Let me see if I get this flow correctly from Luke 17:1-10, and follow the implications, the conversation might be something like this:

• First - Jesus says to avoid sin, never be a stumbling block for others, and seek reconciliation and offer forgiveness as many times as necessary whenever we are offended.
• Then, the disciples say. "We need more faith for that; give us more faith."
• Jesus replies, "You have enough faith already; if you used all you had, you have no concept of all you could accomplish; you just need to obey and do as you are told! Then your faith will increase and you will do mighty things."

We need to stop making excuses and start rebuilding reconciled relationships!

The Scriptures from Luke 17:

"And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”"

"The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you."

"“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”"

- Luke 17:1-10 (ESV)

Living with the Approaching Day in View

The Great Day of His Wrath by John Martin.

How do we live with “The Day” Approaching?

There are insights in Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25

Let us make a salad out of Three Heads of LET-US (10:19-25)

Let us APPROACH (10:22) – This is our life of Prayer, Intercession, and Intimacy with God.

• You can. The door is open (10:11-15).
• You may because you are invited into covenant (10:16-18)
• You must because you need it and the world needs you.

Let us HOLD FAST (10:23) – This is our stand! This is our witness and our open confession of faith.

• Stand for hope.
• Bear witness to the world.
• Act in love and goodness (10:24).

Let us CONSIDER HOW TO PROVOKE (10:24-25) – This is fellowship and encouragement as we encourage love and good deeds in our brothers and sisters. Our response to Christ’s coming, whenever it might be is to encourage one another.

• P – It is POSITIVE (Not a negative threat, but a positive affirmation).
• R – It is REDEMPTIVE (We are forgiven people).
• O – It is OPPORTUNISTIC (“Consider how to … ). κατανοῶμεν
• V – It is VISIONARY (“… as you see the Day approaching …)
• O – It is about ONE ANOTHER – We cannot do this alone. παρακαλοῦντες
• K – It is KINETIC – forces producing motion or change. παροξυσμὸν is stirring up
• E – ENCOURAGE - παρακαλοῦντες - Encouraging one another.

Lord of the Morning

Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

Lord of this morning,
Light of this day,
Master of the darkness that daily dies,
God of night and light and all that is,

I come ...
Empty handed, I come.
I bring to the morning and the day, nothing,
Nothing,
Nothing, but me ...myself .... my self,
Undone, unfettered, unconditionally empty.

I come.
Our Father ....
My loved one's Father .... Ours ...
Father of my dearest friends and most adamant enemies if I have any ....
Ours ... Father of the nations scattered,
Father of the stranger ...
Ours ....
Hallowed be Thy Name.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God Almighty. Thy name is Holy.
Thy Name ... vast, uncontainable, unfathomable, yet ...
Revealed to us as "I Am."

You ARE ... Hallowed be THY NAME.

Thy Kingdom ... Thy rule .... Thy dominating, liberating, rejuvenating Kingdom of Love, of Life, of Wonder ...
COME!
I come. Thy Kingdom Come ...
Come to this house, to this body, to my church, my city, my nation ...
My world.

WE come, OUR Father ...
Send forth Thy Kingdom in us and through us.

Thy Will, which we know in part, in tiny part, Thy will, perfect and all-knowing will of grace and power, of holiness and kindness,
Thy will be DONE!!!
DONE!!!!
DONE!!!

Start here and now with me, Oh God.
Straighten up my calendar. Schedule my appointments. Prepare my words. Master my thoughts. Guide me in Thy paths. Thy will be done.
On earth ... on the ground upon which we walk as in Heaven.
Heaven! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear hear, neither hath it entered into the heart of man ..." what You have prepared for us who love you.
Heaven! Your will! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

Give us, this day, our daily bread ....
As You have every day of our lives.
Thank you!
And you will again! Thank You!

I trust you. I don't know how you are going to do it ...
And I am not sure when, but You always provide.

Thank you.
And You are OUR Father, so,
So, Dear God ...
Daily bread of healing for my friends who are sick ...
I name them before You...
For those in prison....
In distress....
On the streets ....
Struggling with decisions ...
Burdened with depression ....
Tortured for their faith ...
On battlefields ...
On mission fields .....
Just far afield ....
And those waiting for a word of encouragement ... maybe from me ...
And those waiting to hear the good news of repentance possible in Your Kingdom of turn-rounds ...
And those ...
Lost in a wilderness of ambiguity.
You are our provider.
You provide for Your work and for Your people.

Thank You.

And lead us not into temptation ....
Not that you would ...
It is a jungle out there and there are many snares.
We need You to handle some of those for us and the rest ...
In us and through us.
People are tripping up all the time, discrediting Your name and work.
I could, God forbid, be one of those.
I am weak and susceptible to temptation.
Deliver me for Thy Names' sake.

Give us strength and deliver us from evil.
I will not be preoccupied with such. You are my deliverance.
I will not fear for You, Oh Lord are able to ....
Deliver us from evil.
And again I ask ... lead me away from those snares that have snare us in the past ...
Lead us away in the future You have prepared for us ...
And handle any evil that may threaten me.

Thine is the kingdom! It is not mine ...
Except that Your Son has invited me to participate.
Thine is the Power ...
And You have shared much of that with me!
Thank You! I praise Your Name!
Thine is the Glory!!!!
Glory!!!! Glory!!!! Glory !!!!

And this part amazes me Lord of Amazing things ....
FOREVER .... and ever ... and ever .....
Amen!
And I pray in the Name of the One who taught me to pray this way ...
And teaches me daily ...
And today ...
In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

 

 

Start Moving

 

No one is going to come along with you until you start moving.
Now one is going to see it, get it, or understand it until you live it and demonstrate it.
Do not wait for a vote of your peers or critics to start living a life of faith, compassion, or obedience to God.
If you are going to follow Jesus, it will be a counter cultural move.
Do not expect applause or ease.
Do expect to be called names -- it does not matter which ones.
You may be called a "liberal" by some or a "fundy" by others.
Forget it and move on. Some will call you fascist and others, a communist.

Neither will be true and it still does not matter.

They do not get it. They cannot get it. They have never seen it.
It is a different paradigm.
You are neither liberal nor conservative and you are, at the same time,both.
Let them scratch their heads in utter confusion over you.
You are like the wind that blows here and there, said Jesus, moved by the Spirit.
Let the Spirit move you and hear the word, "Move!"
No one is going to come along with you until you start moving ...
But ...
Once you start moving ...
Some will.

They are just people ...
They need to see it to get it.

Don't judge them... just do what you were called to do ...

Follow Jesus.

Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash

 

 

Enough

 

 

Move,Mountain, move into the sea!

Photo by Rahul Gupta on Unsplash

 

Enough with the hand wringing.
Enough with the despair.
Enough waiting for someone else to have enough faith ...
Enough to change the world ...
Enough ...

Enough waiting on Republicans or Democrats or Independents.
Enough waiting on public opinion.
Enough complaining and waiting and procrastinating as governments do ...
What they do best ...
And worst ...
Wait and do nothing ...
Or worse ...

Enough passive hope and more active hoping.
Enough finger-pointing, shouting down, name-calling ...
Enough!

Today, the little faith we have is what we bring to our active cry.
That little faith says the impossible and ...
Activates the impossible.

"Move, mountain of hate!"
"Move, mountain of fear!"
"Move, mountain of injustice!"
"Move, mountain of oppressive sin!"
"Move, mountain of terror, intimidation, bigotry, and torment."
"Move, mountain of convulsing hopelessness."
"Move!"

Our faith is small, but ..
What faith we have, we bring to this mountain and cry, "Move!"

Do something bold today.

"And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”" - Matthew 17:14-20 - (ESV)

 

 

Stepping Out

Photo by Nathan McBride on Unsplash

Steps to Stepping Out

Getting ready to be ready is as important as getting ready.

Sometimes it is the best you can do.

There are 197 instances of the words, "prepare" and "preparation" in the NIV Bible including this reference to Yahweh's preparation:

"You prepare table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."  - Psalm 23:5

Mark 14:12 offers us an insight into taking steps toward stepping out when the disciples ask,

"Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

In this case, they were making preparations for a preparation. The Passover was one of the last steps in preparing Jesus for the cross and the finding a location for the meal was a preparation for that.

You will not arrive where you are going in a single leap. Whatever your goals may be, they will be reached systematically and patiently or not at all.

Step back to step forward and begin to take the steps that will lead toward stepping out.

 

 

 

Getting ready to be ready is as important as getting ready.

Sometimes it is the best you can do.

There are 197 instances of the words, "prepare" and "preparation" in the NIV Bible including this reference to Yahweh's preparation:

"You prepare table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."  - Psalm 23:5

Mark 14:12 offers us an insight into taking steps toward stepping out when the disciples ask,

"Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

In this case, they were making preparations for a preparation. The Passover was one of the last steps in preparing Jesus for the cross and the finding a location for the meal was a preparation for that.

You will not arrive where you are going in a single leap. Whatever your goals may be, they will be reached systematically and patiently or not at all.

Step back to step forward and begin to take the steps that will lead toward stepping out.

 

 

 

Random Thoughts on a Sunday

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

You failed yesterday or this morning.

Good not that you did, but that you know it.
We all do well & sometimes blow it.
You lost some hours, perhaps even more.
Now its time to dust it off; its time to soar.
You have wings & you can rise.
You have this moment; you have new skies.

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

 

I really like this young generation.

They are clever, resourceful, funny, and they really want to make a positive difference in the world.

I need to do more to encourage them --- and so do you!

 

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

 

I post my fun messing with spammer & scammers, but not being mean. There are thousands of telemarketers trying to earn a living. You might be inconvenienced, but they have to put up with people like us all day. Have you ever considered being kind & adding value to their lives?

 

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

And a random song ... 

 

 

Perhaps We Need to See Dogs in a Better Light

The Woman of Canaan by Michael Angelo Immenraet, 17th century

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting,

"Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."

But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."

She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."

And her daughter was healed instantly. - Matthew 15:21-28

 

She challenged him and I think he both knew she would and wanted her too.

She made his point.

She became the lesson.

What was her faith? It was that a rabbi from what her people assumed to be a regional, cultural, and exclusive religion whose adherents had come to feel and project privilege and exclusivity had a gift and message for her.

Jesus voiced that shared assumption and, I believe had a twinkle in his eye. He knew how she might respond to him and how he would respond to her if she did.

Perhaps he was taken off-guard by her candor, clarity, and resilience, but he could feel her persistence from the start.

She had figured out something that Isaiah and the prophets had foretold and that Jesus was laying to ground work to unfold.

Faith in Yahweh was a universal faith for all and not an exclusive faith for a few.

He was setting the stage for a universal movement of love and faith ... and hers, from an unlikely place and culture, was great and an example for all.

Maybe we are all dogs and we are all children.

Maybe the right crumbs are quite enough.

 

 

Ready, Get Set, GROW

Erin Rod - Own work ... Fluorescent proteins visualize the cell cycle progression. IFP2.0-hGem(1/110) fluorescence is shown in green and highlights the S/G2/M phases. smURFP-hCdtI(30/120) fluorescence is shown in red and highlights the G0/G1 phases.  ... CC BY-SA 4.0

All life grows. That is a biological reality. Growth is a definition of life.

That is what I was thinking as I sat in a coffee shop preparing some speeches I needed to give to a couple of graduating classes. I jotted down my notes on a napkin as I often do.

I wanted to encourage the people in those groups to keep growing and complement them on the growth they had already achieved by taking the courses.

If you are not growing as a person and growing professionally, you are cheating yourself out of success and the world out of the good you can do.  You are dying in some dimension of your existence.

Not to grow is to die. When cell division ceases in an organism, death comes quickly.

So, to help you think about growing, I offer  Acronym for GROWING:

G - Give.

Growers are givers and givers are growers. Some things can only multiply if you give them away.

R - Reach out.

As someone said, and I believe it was Ken Blanchard when I heard it, "If you ever see a turtle at the top of a pole and he tells you he got there on his own, he is either lying or he doesn't understand the nature of things, or both." We need others in order to keep moving forward.

O - Overcome Obstacles by allowing them to become Opportunities.

This is an old one, but it is so true. The building blocks of your life are the same things that other people use as excuses for not moving forward.

W - Work on it and work at it and work it out!!!

Growing is a 4-letter word; WORK. you have to put some energy behind this thing. It will not happen unintentionally or without effort.

I - Intentionally Invest in yourself and the process.

That means work too, but also time, resources, sacrifices, and whatever it takes to become the person you were made to be. Growth is costly. We must decide we are willing to pay the price.

N - Negotiate with people.

The word literally means "to carry on business." In the broader sense it reminds us that a big part of our personal growth happens as we develop the people skills necessary to work with, learn from, and collaborate with other people. It involves the mindset that enables us to lose some ground in order to gain a lot more ground.

G - Get up and Get Going!!!!

This is not just about the future. It is about now! You can't wait for a big inspiration or motivation. You must motivate yourself and there is no better time than the time you see on the clock in front of you. Get on with it!!!!!

Do you have that? Good.

Can I throw away the napkin now????

 

 

Violence in the News - Blessed Are the Peacemakers

 

 

Public Domain - The Deserter by Boardman Robinson. Anti-war cartoon depicting Jesus facing a firing squad made up of soldiers from five different European countries (at that time the US had not yet entered the war). First published in The Masses in 1916.

Violence is in the news this morning.

Every morning.

Every evening.

All violence is terrifying and intimidating, wielding illegitimate power, an attempt to subjugate whether it be mass violence, violence sanctioned by governments, gang violence, or domestic violence.

It's all terrorism because it terrorizes.

Our culture thrives on it, or pretends to do so, fooling itself into believing it is being nurtured or protected by it.

We fantasize about it, threaten it, practice it, encourage it, and even vote for it in all of its forms. Yet, it is antithetical to the gospel in every form through which it manifests itself individually and corporately.

It is even at the heart of much of our entertainment.

The gospel of a new kingdom counters it:

Lay down your weapons, fists and guns; follow the Prince of Peace. 

Start with the heart for the heart is the heart of the matter.

"For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile." - from Matthew 18:1-20

It is a statement made in radical simplicity.

As we make our minds available to be stretched beyond capacity, we start to comprehend that which is beyond compression.

The sweet spot shows itself where that which is tangled and interwoven shows itself as one steady thread of peace.

We are challenged to go for the essence, the radical roots, the core, the spirit that transcends tradition, and sheds religious baggage, the good news that liberates.

But we want it complicated, truncated, elaborated, and negated of its hearty demands.

So, we redact, retract, and react to and with words and exceptions that extract the sting from its power. We place these rather unambiguous teachings of Jesus in the column where we store his hyperbolic and humorous sayings.

"He could not possibly meant for us to practice non-violence and non-retaliation in such a violent world. It is not practical."

"So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. " - from Matthew 15:1-20

Then, we take those sayings that are meant to provoke our searching questions and we make judgmental rules of them that allow us to violate the Great Commandment.

How convenient for us - we heaping burdens of tradition on people's shoulders and calling it doctrine while we lay aside a gospel truth that truly liberates.

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines." - from Matthew 15:1-20

What do we do?

First, we acknowledge who we are. We are not called to the ordinary, but the extraordinary. We are not called to do what everyone else does and accepts as acceptable. We are called to be odd balls and if we are called such, we thank the person who notices.

Second, we bear witness by speaking, advocating for peaceful policies,  and practicing what we preach. We do it with consistency, non-judgmental joy, and grace toward those who do not get it.

Third, we keep doing it, expecting neither reward nor compliment, nor positive results. This is not a feasibility study. It is an alternate lifestyle.

It might not end well, except for this: When we come to the end, we know that it is not really the end.

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God." - Matthew 5:9

And children of God endure and thrive beyond a culture that thinks it is thriving, but is, in fact, on a road to disaster.

 

 

I Love Name Calling

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

 

I love name-calling
especially at the a major airport

in a far-off city

where no one knows me by face or by name

when the young lady serving up my coffee
says, "Thank you, Mr. Sims"

$2.43 for coffee.
Big  tip
For Calling Me Names!

My Name!

Listen and learn.

 

 

The Prince and the Pea

The Prince of Peace is sensitive enough to notice the smallest gift given in love.

 

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” - Mark 12:38-44

New International Version (NIV) - Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

We call this story, "The Widow's Mite."

A thought comes to mind of a the tiny pea in the pod, with an illustration of Hans Christian Andersen's, "The Princess and the Pea." The tiny thing became a great source of annoyance and attention.

Jesus lifts up the life lesson of a little lady whose gift was greater than any of the mighty and powerful ... It was tiny, but it was powerful.

How does this widow inform our thinking about the stewardship of our resources, our lives, our influence, and our world?

I. The BASIS of our STEWARDSHIP

We are all tenants here. We don't "own" this world. God does. (vv 1-12). It is His and when we try to claim it as our own, treat it as our own, or mistreat His messengers, who so often come to us in rags, He stands ready to remind us that He is still in charge.

II. THE BOUNDARIES of our STEWARDSHIP

We have some obligations to "the systems" of this world, but our primary obligation is to God. (vv. 13-17). The government does not and cannot do anything that thwarts the stewardship of our lives. Whatever they take, they take, but what we give to God is ourselves.

III. THE BOXES of our SENSES

Worldly thinking, temporally bounded, is not eternal thinking. (vv 18-27) We not only need to start thinking out of the box, but outside of the boxes of time and space as we know them. How easily distracted we are from our real stewardship when we try to figure everything out in our relentless search for loopholes. Forget dead issues; He is the God of the living!

IV. THE BONDS of our SERVICE

Serving God and following His commands is not a complicated thing. It is all summed up in the law of love. (vv. 28-34) This is a stewardship we can learn. When we start loving God and others, following Jesus is simplified and begins to come easy to us.

V. THE BRANDING of the SON

Jesus is Lord! That is His designation, branding, and name. Jesus teaches this lesson with an open-ended question. He expected His disciples to go off and think about some things and figure them out ... but not to over complicate them. Sometimes, He would create a sense of mystery and complexity on one level so that His disciples would turn to the sheer simplicity of the matter ---- "Follow me." Stewardship is simply about following Jesus. (vv. 35-37).

VI. THE BLASPHEMY of the "SAINTS."

...  or "Beware of lawyers ..." :) --- actually, people who think they have power over us spiritually and in other ways. Some folks think they are saintlier than others and they have the degrees, titles, power, and wealth the prove it! They delight in recognition and special privileges and, in the process, abuse the poor and weak. We need to beware and make sure we stay free in Christ ... and that we do not become those people. (vv. 38-40).

VII. THE BEAUTY of our SACRIFICES

On this Veteran's Day Sunday, we honor people who were willing to sacrifice their lives. Following Jesus involves laying our lives on the altar and becoming living sacrifices as well. (Romans 12) That brings us to the PEA POD (vv. 41-44. see also Hebrews 9:24-28.):

The Widow's SACRIFICE of GIVING was a thing of BEAUTY to Jesus. It illustrated three truths about how we give something beautiful, acceptable, and useful to God.

The PEA

P = Out of POVERTY 

She did not give out of abundance or rely on abundance. She did not abound in things. She gave out of extreme personal poverty as did the Macedonians in II Corinthians 8:2. We cannot measure the significance of tiny things that become great. every pea in the pod can become a giver of great life.

E = EVERYTHING she had .

She emptied herself of all her resources. She gave it all as did Jesus, as Paul described Him in Philippians 2:7. Good is sensitive to tiny gifts as was the princess in Andersen's story. Little becomes much.

A = ALL she had TO LIVE ON!!!

That was it. The repercussions of giving everything were that --- THAT WAS ALL ... There was nothing left. She, like the widow in of Zarapheth, would just have to die. That adds meaning to the admonition to count the cost. We are all willing to give if we think it won't hurt. She gave with humility and grace, perhaps even with joy. It would cost her, but after counting the cost, she gave anyway .... Which put her back at the contextual, point I - Absolute reliance on the planter of the vineyard to provide for her needs.

This widow, humble, quiet, and maligned, became the example for us all to follow, of pea pod stewardship and giving. it is all His stuff and we are tenants.

Our obligations are to God.

Our thinking needs de-stinking.

Our bonds are bonds of love.

We follow only one Master.

Many will try to manipulate us, malign us, and manage us, but He will use the tiniest things to make the biggest points.

In the meantime, it is little things that mean a lot.

 

We know Jesus is the true Prince because he notices the smallest things.

 

Babylon the Great Is Fallen

Woodcut in 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle depicting the fall of Babylon.

"After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become a dwelling place for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk

the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”"

-Revelation 18:1-3 (ESV)

Here is an angel, a messenger of God, speaking truth to power - power that you are either attracted to or that you resist --- or both.

What is your Babylon? What is that seat of power that attracts those who also want power and hope to get it through association, conspiracy, and sinister collaboration that oppresses the weak and the righteous?

We are attracted to that bright, beautiful, lively, ostentatious "city of influence," its sensual pleasures and its facade of wealth, luxury, and illegitimate power.

It intoxicates and it draws in those who are inclined to be drawn.

And lest we lift our own heads in pride, something in it is inclined to draw something in us and it can intoxicate us as well --- for a season or for a lifetime --- our choice if we remain conscious enough to make choices.

For Babylon is fallen. It is an eternal reality in Heaven where all is accomplished already.

Every false god and every pretender to every throne has eventually been vanquished and neutralized. It has been; it shall be. Ultimate rectification is reality, but in the meantime, the dance is repeated throughout history.

The only history that immediately matters for us is the one we are living, the choices we are making, the alignments we are activating, and the loyalties we are forming.

It is an angel, a messenger by definition, that has the authority to put power in check and glory gathers around the sound of his mighty voice.

That says that it is truth that brings powers to their knees. It is the voice of truth, the message of God that humbles the proud and pronounces judgment upon oppressors.

Let that be an encouragement to all of you who daily, and without apparent reward, consistently and faithfully, speak truth to power.

More on this ... because at the end of the list is the real "cargo" of unscrupulous commerce in a marriage of convenience with illegitimate and oppressive power. It is the slavery of human souls.

"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls." - Revelation 18:11-13 (ESV)

This subversive circular is calling out power for its tracking of humanity. The test of authenticity, legitimacy, and righteousness in any system of commerce and government with all their entanglements may well be --- Does it profit from the enslavement of human souls?

If it does, and that includes the enticements of systems of addiction, then red flags go up everywhere. This one is "Babylon" and it is going down.

The picture of judgment is telling. It is not poured down the throats of the proud and haughty. They lap it up. Warned not to be proud, they lust for more and it is judgment they consume that judges them in the end --- and judges us daily. Pride of heart and haughtiness of spirit are not our friends. When we choose not to walk humbly before our God and graciously among our neighbors, we lap up judgment to ourselves.

" I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.’”

For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

but it is God who executes judgment,

putting down one and lifting up another.

For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down to the dregs"  - Psalm 75:4-8 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

Good News on a Sabbath Day

 

Christ healing an infirm woman by James Tissot, 1886-1896.

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.

When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."

When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."

But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"

When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

-Luke 13:10-17 

Speaking a word of liberation and healing is not desecrating, but celebrating Sabbath in its truest meaning. A woman who had labored under a crippling curse for years, was set free by the embodied gospel of grace in Luke 13.

• The good news puts people ahead of rituals.
• The good news infuriates those who use religion to build up their own power at the expense of people.
• The good news does not contradict the meaning behind the forms, but breaths new life into them.
• The good news causes the broken to stand up straight.
• The good news exposes hypocrisy.
• The good news shames the opponents of Jesus but causes rejoicing among the people.

Up Against the Rocks

There is a fallacy that we can alleviate evil by just being harsher in our judgments and punishments.

History and the social sciences join this text in bringing that assumption into question.

Revelation 16:1: takes us to an eternal grandstand where we observe a tragic example:

"The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony, and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds."

God exercises such prerogatives when there is no other way.

He shows us so that we might know and so that we might repent.

John's vision is a good description of the self-destructive personality, addicted to negativity.

Often, no amount of suffering from the consequences can produce an effective impetus for change.

God is reaching out in judgment and hearts are getting harder.

We sadly see this mindset illustrated with great frequency in our ministries to the hurting who are as likely to hurt themselves as they are others.

They would rather curse God than turn to Him for mercy and new life.

Their stubborn willfulness is not the result of the judgment, but is revealed by it. It is a last straw, a final outreach.

Sometimes, the prospects seem bleak.

That being said, we keep trying to shine the light of love and grace.

We keep the lighthouse open and the light shining on the rocky shores of destruction.

Photo by Bayu Anggoro on Unsplash

Political String Theory (Whatever that Means)

 

The Future in a Multiverse Vision of Universal Prayerful, Personal, and  Political Possibilities or ...

Who Is Pulling Our STRINGS?

Photo by Terri Bleeker on Unsplash

Through our personal, prayerful, and political choices, we are working together with God to create a new world.

One theory of reality suggests that there are infinite realities in infinite dimensions, each created with each new choice or variable in the previous dimension.

It grows through geometric progression ... but since there is no way to cross over from one to the other, it matters little except as an interesting point of speculation.

But this is beyond speculation: There are countless possibilities ahead to be determined by the choices and behaviors today of all of us.

Imagine a place in a universe that operates on some different historical premises. One little piece of that universe that might be called earth is the subject of your focus.

Some things we assume have not happened in that place; others have; outcomes have changed.

What does that place look like? How is it different from our world? Is it possible for you, in this world, to help create that world?

Is it too late?

Is it too early?

Is it too much?

Is it a little bit possible to pray and to live the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come ... on earth?"

If every possibility creates a new "world," what sort of world are you creating by your daily and moment-by-moment choices?

As I was walking to St Joe,
I met a man with a broken toe.
He knew some things I did not know,
Which I suppose just goes to show ....

That little ditty, of course, means nothing. I just stuck it in because I did not know where else to place it. Did it make any difference in anything?

Well?

Did it?

How about the way I see and meet you and you see and meet me?

When you see me
And I, in turn, fear you,
The spiral of
Communication
Downward
Would be the envy
Of roller coaster
Engineers

What about the decisions with which I am wrestling? How about non-decision?

If making up my mind is like making up my bed, it won't last long ... or I will be too sleep deprived to remember anyway.

I once felt more impressed with concept of standing my ground. Then. I was in an earthquake and it hook up my assumptions.

Buber says it is all about meeting - people or tectonic plates.

So, let's meet. Reflections on Buber.

We are different and can only experience what those differences truly mean as we come together in an I-Thou manner.

Meetings of minds are superfluous among clones, but essential to the fluid thoughts of intersecting individuals crisscrossing life's journey.

There must be some detente if there is going to be any negotiation. Negotiators do not compromise principles. They start with common ground.

If I say that Z is an unprincipled ignoramus, but Z is holding cards we need for a mutual win, I've gained nothing by winning that battle.

There's no shortage of clever slogans to obscure, marginalize, fragment, & distort the truth they purport to underscore- including this one.

If I represent Jesus, it may require that I keep my own opinions within the laboratory of my own mind until they are better formulated.

If I cannot recognize the name you are calling me, how can I know you want me to listen. Name calling accomplishes nothing of good ever.

I cannot hear the voices whose volume exceeds their content or whose hyperbolic pronouncements outdistance their capacity to listen.

Politics at its best includes collective, collaborative, courteous, and civil communication to solve problems as a people of differing perspectives.

To distinguish between
Opinion,
Preference,
Emotion,
Perspective,
Prejudice,
Inspiration,
and
Insight
Is no small task.
Speak.
Listen.
Be.

As for my opinions (and these are mere meditations):

My opinions are like underarms.
Like most, I have two.
Others are offended by their emanating aroma before I notice
I need opinion hygiene.

We must not be distracted.

"... So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. "" - Nehemiah 6:8

This is our work. If any of this is to be sorted out. If this dimension of reality, the only one relevant to us, the only one we know and can access to this point, is to reflect the best of all possibilities, we must pray and act on this prayer:

"Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."

Come tomorrow ...

Come tomorrow, what if Christians in our nation would make some resolutions like those I humbly and tentatively suggest below?

I can only speak to and for Christians on this matter. People of other faiths and ideologies often have similar ethics, but I am a follower of Jesus and these resolutions flow from my understanding of His directives to His followers.

We shall love, respect, and pray for our leaders whoever they are. We shall obey our laws.

If there is a law that we, in good conscience cannot obey (not just that we don't like it), we shall peacefully and respectfully resist and accept the consequences quietly and humbly.

We shall continue to love our neighbors and let our voices be heard for peace, justice, and a righteous, compassionate society beginning at the local level.

We shall work across the lines of ideology to support common causes and be willing to be distinct and different without disrespecting those with whom we differ.

We shall assume sincere motives in hearts of our opponents as a basis for reasoning with them and cooperating with them whenever possible.

We shall practice our freedom of speech, religion, and every other freedom with the assumption that those freedoms are protected, without fear, and without intimidation. We shall not expect the endorsement of civil authorities or special protections or considerations beyond that which is common to all -- even those who have other beliefs and practices.

If our freedoms of speech and religion are indeed threatened, we shall continue to exercise them no matter what the consequences.

We shall care for and advocate for those who have no voice, for the oppressed, the poor, the broken, and the outcasts.

We shall work for peace on earth and understanding among nations. We know that there shall continue to be wars and rumors of wars in the continuation of human history, but we shall do what we have been commanded to do and work for peace in our time.

We shall be friendly and winsome.

We shall guard our own personal morality and be honest in business, politics, and human relations. We shall seek to set an example of sexual purity, integrity, and fidelity. We shall conduct ourselves in our families and churches in such a way as not to discredit the Kingdom of God.

We will guard our words, temper our speech, practice the Sermon on the Mount, love God, love our neighbor, and pray for people in power as a witness to the words we speak.

We shall continue to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the guide of our lives.

We shall believe in God and in the words of Jesus that He would be with us always as we follow Him and call others to follow and ...

We shall follow, making disciples as we go, teaching them to do what He taught us to to remembering that the essence of what He taught us to do was to love.

We shall continue to pray, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven," believing that if the King has invited us to pray that way, He has a plan to answer our prayer.

That is my personal, prayerful, and political strategy for a new world that is yet to be created.

What is yours?

 

 

 

Photo by Bruno Martins on Unsplash

" Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent." -Psalm 71:9 (ESV)

My heart is young. My mind is young . My dreams are young.

My hope and vision are young.

I am renewed day by day.

Some of you are right there with me, but your bodies are not cooperating,

God grant you new energy and strength today. There is much to be done.

" May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay!''-Psalm 70:4-5 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

I Have Already Come

 

"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." - Revelation 7:14

There are two powerful words joined together in the scriptures – two prepositions that together bring us hope in our trials and tribulations: out of.

We catch a glimpse of Heaven and behold the saints, on display as examples of potential victory and ultimate triumph. These are they who have come out of tribulation. You might as well say, “through.”

My wife recently underwent surgery for breast cancer. The next day she was visited by a survivor. While she had already made up her mind to be more than that – even an “overcomer,” the visit was an encouragement. Someone had come out of the struggle, through the difficulties, and over the hurdles. And out of those tribulations, there emerged good.

“I have already come.”

When we hear those words and when we speak those words, we get courage. Whether it is our experience or someone else’s, there is precedent for victory. We affirm again with Paul that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

We draw upon past victories to nurture belief for present and future challenges. We recognize the power of God’s grace in our lives up until this point. We see where we were, what we had to face, and how we emerged and we know that if we have to, we can do it again.

We don’t want to do it again, but we can.

Then we think of the saints around the throne and know that we have really faced such little hardship compared to them. And from there we look to the cross and know that we have not even approached Christ’s suffering. Then we go back to our Bibles and underscore the words, “out of,” and back to our hymnals and highlight the word, “through.”

I have already come.

 

 

This Is Your Moment

Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash

I was mediating on the power of a moment well done.

And wondering if this was one.

Moments create momentum without being obvious or ostentatious.
Momentous moments motion us over and envelop us like a cloud and then ...
Pass over.

Missing moments is a mournful sorrow.
Magnificent moments multiply in some invisible space called influence, but ...
Muddling moments may move us on to the next and the next and the next ...
Move in and with the moment or meddle with the muck ...
Lots of luck with that ...

Rather, just be in that moment and be what you are intended to be for you ...
You were made for this moment and ...
This moment was made for you.

Who knows what it will bring to you and more ...
What it will bring through you and by that, I mean ...
YOU MAY NEVER KNOW ....

But KNOW that NO moment well lived is ever lost and
Nothing, nothing, nothing is ever lost to God.
This is your moment.
Live it.

 

 

In the Midst

 

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash

" Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands." - Psalm 138:7-8 (ESV)

 

Who among us does not walk in the midst of trouble?

Yet, who among us and reading this has not survived such trouble?

Indeed, we walked in the midst and were preserved. We are alive to testify that not all trouble takes away our life or our reason to live.

It is God's purpose for which we live and are alive ... and in His purpose, we thrive. He has fashioned us for the brief moment we live and will lovingly and faithfully write the final chapter of our lives ... and a chapter that resounds with grace and love and joy.

We are not yet done.

We are a people of purpose, beloved and not forsaken.

We are, at all times, the objects of God's undivided attention.

" You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?" -  Psalm 56:8 (ESV)

The lesson here is that God must have an extensive library of thick, wet books. He just does not miss these things. God pays close attention.

Nothing distracts God from fulfilling the purpose for which we were placed here. We are never forgotten, ignored,  nor overlooked.

It evokes the response of trust from us.

" When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?" -Psalm 56:3-4 (ESV)

This goes for all time and any time. Trouble colors the backdrop on our lives. It surrounds us and sometimes, overwhelms us, but the scriptures declare hope.

Psalm 40:11 shouts in my ear, "As for you, O LORD ..." 5 powerful words that trump all other assumptions, attitudes, and pronouncement of men. My character and moods may waver, but "as for God ..."

Psalm 40:17 ends with the prayer of an impatient man, "do not delay,"  cries he who is learning to wait patiently on the LORD.

In retrospect, it was a minor irritation and a low level problem, but I lost my phone on Halloween seven years ago and assumed it was stolen along with vital information that left me vulnerable and without a means of communication.

I remember writing:

My phone was stolen today and I finally realized I had a tracker on on. So we rode around town for a while tonight and I even knocked on one door where it was located, but it was not there and moved. So, I'll have to cancel the service tomorrow. I may be able to get delayed voice mails. We shall see. I've changed my main passwords. Life is fun!

The fact is that we chased that phone all over town and we were always a mile behind. We were getting into shadier and shadier parts of town and it was getting dark and ominous. So we quit.

Two days later, we found the phone, lodged under the back seat of my wife's car. It had been there all along, sending out a signal ahead of us. We would have chased it forever - or at least until the battery died.

I think I have chased a lot of problems and solutions that way, rather than trusting that God will always bring His purpose to pass and that I can trust Him with my well being.

"Grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home."

 

 

Like a daisy
Losing
Life through drooping blooms,
Loosening pedals,
Languid luster,
Like that!
Lackadaisical phase,
Looming leveler of a
Dooming craze.
Into the maze we fall
Lackadaisical.

Did You Hear the One?

Now that I have your attention:

There is no gossip here today, not major revelations, no breaking news, no scandal, no impending indictments, no judgment, no criticism, no prophetic utterance, no profound secrets.

There is nothing to whisper or to shout.

There is just an invitation to relax from it.

Come away ... today.
Just snuggle, rock, relax.
Rock away your cares.
Find a space, a place of grace
Away from layers and layers of dares
To do this and be that ...
Rock, rock, rock and let the prayers
Of the moment and the memories of moments
And the prayers of others form a cushion for
Your soul and rock in the arms of One who
Loves you as you are and
Invites you to make yourself at home.

Your word for the day - respite.

 

Blessed respite,
Holy retreat,
Quiet reflection,
Deep respect,
How we embrace thee.
How we welcome thee.
How we anticipate thy refreshment.

Take the opportunity of it today.

Spell it out!

OPPORTUNITY
OP:Opt in
POR: Poor, yet rich
TUN:Tune self to A440 of life
IT: Focus on the "it of it"
Y: YES to life
= OPPORTUNITY

Perhaps you need a musical accompaniment for this moment of respite.

 

 

Connecting to Count

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

 

I hear a lot of jokes and criticism about the younger generation, but I am a big fan. The major reason I am is because I appreciate the value they place on value. They are not interested in spending time on empty rituals, habitual activities, or anything that does not count for something or change the world.

"Tradition" is not a good answer when they ask why they should show up. They show up for social media. It is fun for them and that is a value, but it is also more. It is about connecting and counting.

Social media is fun for me also, but that is not what it mainly is.

I love the pictures, jokes, and light conversations.

I enjoy the learning I do. Learned people post links to articles I can check out for myself. I can delve more deeply into subjects introduced in your posts.

I get greater exposure to history, philosophy, science, the arts, public affairs, and literature.

We also toss around great ideas from varied perspectives.

We get to promote people doing outstanding things in the community. We can pray for each other and encourage each others.

Sometimes I get the news in social media first and then check the more primary sources

Yet, the main thing will keep me coming back is this: the ability to lift up love, truth, justice, and God's Word, the opportunity to connect people with hope and with each other, the possibility of making a difference.

These are the things that count most to me --- the value we can add to each other and to our communities.

That is what makes it count for me.

I don't argue much online. I throw out ideas ( mine or others').

You have to do your own work with them. When challenged, I will spend limited time clarifying my position or perspective out of respect.

I may even refine my position.

We have different perspectives because we have lived different lives and accepted different narratives of reality. They have become the lenses through which we perceive truth.

It is a long game to introduce new ways of viewing things.

It is really not much different than three dimensional real time, which I have not abandoned at all. It is just faster, more immediate, and includes more people over a wider geographical expanse.

I love social media, because where else could I attach Chopin's "Nocturne for Piano and Violin" to the end of a blog about social media when it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter?

Scatter at Will

 

"Sheaves of Wheat" (1890) by Vincent van Gogh

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field … He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; “ - Matthew 13:24-, 37-38

The sower grabs a handful of seeds and tosses them.

He does so generously and in a manner that may seem to some to be indiscriminate. It is called scattering and was a common way of sowing seeds in Jesus’ day. I have planted gardens by placing each individual seed in the ground and covering it carefully. And I have planted grass in the manner described by Jesus.

Don’t be stingy and miserly with God’s seeds.

He keeps track of them and knows where each seed falls. He has entrusted them into your hands – first to His Son and now to you. He expects that you will throw them about into the wind without regard for knowing where each one lands. You can not, you need not, you may not.

The Son of Man sows good seeds and sends forth His disciples to sow good seeds as well. He does not require that good seeds fall only among other good seeds. Not only is that not His way, it is not necessary. Every seed eventually reveals its own true nature.

That’s what seeds do.

He knows that some seeds will be lost to unprepared soil.

It’s OK, there is no shortage of seeds. Perhaps at some other time the soil will be ready. Keep sowing. The implications are double for us. We not only bear in our own lives the fruit of His seed, but we also are called to accept the challenge to be co-laborers in His field.

The call to sow seed requires us to accept the enormity of the challenge, while resting completely in His grace and trusting Him for the fruit.

We may sow freely, liberally, and with joy knowing that there is contained within each of God’s gospel seeds the power to change lives, families, communities, and nations.

Scatter at will.

 

 

Born to Shine

Photo by Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash

 

"We were born to shine ..."

So shine, my friends, shine.

Shine now.

Shine on.

Shine brightly.

Shine long.

Shine and cast your shadow over all that come near you.

Shining and shadowing, you shall give light

and definition.

Because you believe, others will find the courage to believe.

Hearts full of love and laughter and life...
Songs prompting our best and repose.
Awaits, rest we suppose,
But life, more life, more love beckons us
And love alone is what reckons us
Believers ... full of love and laughter and life.

Shine!

"Ye are the light of the world." - Jesus

Christianity is Not Declining

Photo by Andrew Stutesman,| Unsplash

 

Christianity is not on decline in the world. It is exploding.

In a Washington Post article on May 20, 2015, Wes Granberg-Michaelson noted,

"While Christianity may be on the decline in the United States, the world is becoming more religious, not less. While rising numbers of 'nones' — those who claim no religious affiliation when asked — claim the attention of religious pundits, the world tells a different story. Religious convictions are growing and shifting geographically in several dramatic ways."

Granberg-Michaelson goes on to support his argument with some bullet points.

"The center of Christianity has shifted from Europe to the global South."

"In Latin America, the massive Christian population is becoming more Pentecostal or Charismatic."

"Global migration matters ... About 214 million people have moved from one country to another as migrants and refugees, or are in that process."

"Immigration shapes the U.S. religious landscape. In the United States, about 43 million residents were born in another country, and immigrated here. Of these, about 74 percent adhere to the Christian faith, while 5 percent are Muslim, 4 percent Buddhist and 3 percent Hindu."

"There are three times more Protestant Hispanics in the United States than Episcopalians."

In a June 2019 article in Facts and Trends by Aaron Earls, he makes seven observations on the global growth of Christianity. Four of them are:

Christianity is growing faster than the population.
There are 2.5 billion Christians in the world and Christianity is growing at a rate of 1.27%. World population growth is at a 1.20% rate.

Pentecostals and Evangelicals are growing fasted and picking up speed.

Atheism has peaked."There are fewer atheists in the world today (138 million) than there were in 1970 (165 million)."

Christianity is growing in cities.

In a Faith and Leadership article last year, Granberg-Michaelson said, "As Christianity shifts to the global south, Christians in the U.S. must ‘de-Americanize the gospel’ and be open to movements of the faith in other cultures, says the author and denominational leader."

The mindset of the average American Christian is both euro-centric and Americanized. We view the gospel movement through lenses of our own culture and presuppositions. Missional and kingdom-centric followers of Jesus will need to change glasses in order to see more clearly what God is doing in the world.

It may also take a fair share of humility with a dose of humiliation to acknowledge that we are no longer the leaders of the movement.

For many of us, this will come as good and encouraging news.

It is great to think that the focus and center of modern Christianity is no longer English speaking.  Even in America, the epicenter has moved from the Anglo/European church to the more recent diaspora among us.

Those who cite a decline in Christianity are not taking a world/missional view. We are revealing our biases.

Christianity is growing.

Status of Global Christianity

 

More Than a Housecleaning

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Did you ever notice this frustrating reality?

You clean up, fix up, or straighten up and it goes well for a while and then ... you relapse into a worse state than before.

There is a futility in constantly cleaning up and not dealing with the roots of what pollutes us, corrupts us, and manipulates our thinking into even deeper futility. 

An interruption in a cycle that is empowered by its own forces will only be temporary. 

Christian faith and spiritual transformation are not about momentary behavior modification or immobilization of peripheral demons. To repent is to recognize the difference between where we are going and where we can go and to change direction.

We have been invaded by the Kingdom of God and the King Himself has come to invite us into transformation, liberation, and deep significance. This is no passing matter or minor deliverance. The enemy that seeks to entrap and destroy the soul is sinister, persistent, and patient. We can choose a different master and step away from the "generation" bent on destruction. 

We need more than subtle reformation. We need re-FORM-ation in all of its implications.

Jesus speaks to the frustration of the human condition and its resistance to transforming grace when He says,

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” -Matthew 12:43-45 (ESV)

 

 

WWJR - What Would Jesus Repost?

 

Photo by Tomwsulcer, Wikipedia Commons, This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

"Reposting" is not in my online dictionary as a real word, but it is a part of our daily usage and practice.

We "repost" all the time, little tidbits, anecdotal "evidence," and clever arguments that support the ideas we already embrace.

If we see something in the news, no matter how reputable or disreputable the source, we "repost" it as long as it underlines and supports our views.

Don't get me wrong. I am not off-the-hook for this.

I like the news to support my narrative of reality as much as anyone, but ...

I do not like egg on my face if subsequent facts prove me wrong

... and I love truth ... so I am waiting to do analysis and draw conclusions until more facts surface.

Speaking of that, I did some reflecting on truth 10 years ago and made these notes:

I Hate Truth ... sometimes

Sometimes I hate truth ...

    sometimes ...

But only the way a kid hates his parents for a flash of a moment when they yank his chain and put a lid on his poor choices. The hate is really love lashing out at the boundaries.

Example: I don't want to go online and look at my bank balance ... mainly because it tells me the truth and I am not sure I want to know it ...

But I need to know it if I am going to do anything about it.

Sometimes I can't do anything now, so I don't want to look. Yet, still I need to know.

It is the shock that I really want to avoid.

But the shock does not last forever and the information goes into a pot on low heat and eventually will combine with other ingredients and produce a creative stew of possibilities.

That will only happen if I am willing to look at the truth.

That is why I just checked my online bank statement.

Ouch! I need to turn up the heat a notch. 

I really don't hate truth at all. I love truth ... I think.

I am concerned about one of the ways we are dealing with truth and the numbing effect it is having on our sensitivities. With the news cycle keeping us informed of so many tragedies and travesties of justice, we can get numb, or calloused, or even belligerent.

We need to cultivate our compassion filters. Our hearts and minds need a compass. We need the heart of God for real people that are touched by everything reported in the news.

The Jesus Way is the way of compassion, love, and grace whatever our prevailing narrative or philosophical framework might be,

Compassion is fragile.
We declare it and own it
until it challenges something
we cherish more dearly
like our cherished narrative
or our personal comfort
or our sense of indignation at 
the behavior of our enemies
or our neatly arranged systems of
thinking
about almost anything.
Then, it is the first value to go.
Compassion is fragile.

We could start every day with an attitude of compassion that says from the outset, "I am going to filter every impression I form through the pain of the people involved."

That would be a start.

Then, come our words and they may be the words we speak and repeat or the words we post and repost. 

Words are things and they have lives of their own.

They travel. They mutate. They infiltrate.

Once released, we cannot retrieve them.

We are likely to be misunderstood even when we are careful with them, more likely when we are careless.

What would Jesus post?

And ... if he were not such an original thinker ("teaches as one with authority"), repost?

Social media is here to stay; let's learn to use it in the service of truth and compassion.

 

 

Sometimes I hate truth ...

    sometimes ...

But only the way a kid hates his parents for a flash of a moment when they yank his chain and put a lid on his poor choices. The hate is really love lashing out at the boundaries.

Example: I don't want to go online and look at my bank balance ... mainly because it tells me the truth and I am not sure I want to know it ...

But I need to know it if I am going to do anything about it.

Sometimes I can't do anything now, so I don't want to look. Yet, still I need to know.

It is the shock that I really want to avoid.

But the shock does not last forever and the information goes into a pot on low heat and eventually will combine with other ingredients and produce a creative stew of possibilities.

That will only happen if I am willing to look at the truth.

That is why I just checked my online bank statement.

Ouch! I need to turn up the heat a notch. 

I really don't hate truth at all. I love truth ... I think.