The Dream Factory

God of the Oppressed

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Reflections on Psalm 9:9-20

Psalm for June 20, 2021

 

Confession: I am not James Cone. I cannot hold an intellectual or theological candle to James Cone These are just my meager reflections on a great Psalm of justice I have collected over time and moments of musing. 

Psalm 9:9 - The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

The oppressed are very dear to God. A rabbi once said that God must truly love the poor because He made so many of them. So it is with the oppressed. And the story is bigger than we imagine on the surface. We are all among the oppressed. Temptation, sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil oppress us on all sides and from within. When Israel was at the sea and the Egyptians were in pursuit, God called on Moses to lead His people into a wilderness of refuge. There appeared to be no walls and no shelter, but God had a plan to protect His people. He was their refuge and stronghold and He is ours. We, like them, must move toward Him in faith even when what is ahead looks like a vast wilderness without wall. God is your protector from all that oppresses you today.

Psalm 9:10 - Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

One of the gifts that God gave to Israel was His personal name. It was a secret that was not available outside of the covenant. It was a source of power, strength, and belonging. It was so sacred that no Jew would pronounce it or even consider it without the deepest reverence and awe. And yet, every Jew knew His name and to know it evoked a profound trust and stirred up memories of His faithfulness throughout the generations. To know His name was and is to know Him. We have, through Jesus, free access to our Heavenly Father and know Him by that name. In knowing Him, we trust Him. In trusting Him, we seek Him. And He never forsakes us. Nor shall He forsake you as you seek Him in trust today.

Psalm 9:11 - Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.

We must proclaim, not only amongst ourselves, but also among the nations all that our God has done. As we praise Him openly, we practice worship evangelism. Our sincerity, exuberance, and devotion all bear witness to His glory and His mighty deeds. Praise holds up His character, grace, and love for all to see. Praise declares the sovereignty and reign of God and announces His Kingdom with authenticity and believability.  If we will praise Him with our whole hearts and let His joy and power flow through us, we will bear witness in a manner that is compelling and truthful. Many do not know. As we worship Him transparently and openly, they will see and hear of His wonderful works and be drawn to Him. But remember this is not a show that we produce for the world. It is real praise that we direct to Him with the world looking on. If we keep these first things first we won't be able to avoid the fruit of evangelism.

Psalm 9:12 - For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Who can forget the image of old Jewish elder, disgusted with the injustices of the world, shaking his fist in prayer to the God he loves and adores, demanding God's attention and justice? And God does not strike him dead. In fact, God hears his cry for it comes from one of his faithful servants. Perhaps we would recommend an attitude of greater humility before a holy God, but we would not forget His willingness and determination to hear the cry of the afflicted. God forgets no injustice without remedy. He does not sweep the blood of martyrs under some cosmic rug and wipe their pain from His memory. God deals with it. Look at the cross. God is dealing with it there. He is remedying the injustice. He is correcting the wrong. He is answering the prayers of the afflicted for restoration and He is hearing your prayers as well.

Psalm 9:13-14 - O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up form the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.

When we are burdened and persecuted, is this the nature of our cry that of this psalmist? Are we seeing an end result in God's mercy merciful rescue that culminates in greater and more heartfelt praise for Him? Do we envision rejoicing that ultimately honors Him and brings glory to His name?  How wrapped up are our own wishes, emotions, and requests in His purposes, will, and desires? How deeply do we long for His will to be done and His reign to come on earth as it is in Heaven? Let us not cease to cry for mercy and deliverance - for we are in great need - but may we grow to see that our salvation is something intimately connected with the worship of God.

Psalm 9:15 - The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

Like the nations, we have often fallen into puts we have dug or have become entrapped in nets of our own making. This probably does not come as news to you since it is so common to our human experience. If we are honest, we will admit to our contributory role in our own troubles. Whenever we devise clever and sinister plots it is we ourselves who enter into forced servitude to the very forces that drove us to ambition. So powerful are the snares and false promises of success and competition among humans that we are lured into their captivity by a wink, a nod, or an image. The antidote is focus - clear and centered upon God through Jesus Christ. We face grave danger today if we lose our focus and untold possibilities for blessing if we keep seeking Him.

Psalm 9:16 - The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

 Have you ever considered the reputation of God? That fact that He is known by His justice is a telling sign.  Before we encounter the love and grace of God, we already understand that He is fair and righteous and truthful. We also know that in the grand scheme of things, poetic justice dictates that their own devices ensnare the wicked.  If the world already understands this dimension of God and His ways, we have good news for them. Jesus came to brings us, as Paul Harvey says, “the rest of the story.” That story is that this same God passionately and jealously loves us with a love so deep that mercy and grace flow in unbroken succession from His heart. Do not wince at the justice of God, for it is His justice that leads us into His arms.

Psalm 9:17 - The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.

 There is no future for those who forget God. There is nothing that godlessness offers us but death. Even if we are saved by grace, nothing that we invest in sin will stand the tests of time of eternity. God will not circumvent His own ways in our lives to achieve His purposes. He is consistent and true to Himself and to His Word. Count on it and count on Him to be trustworthy and scrupulously committed to integrity in His dealings with us. If He declares that X + Y = Z, then we can plan our lives around the principle. That is not to say that He cannot and will not intervene in His grace, but we must not presume upon His character. He loves us and pines for us, but He will not force His love upon us. If we reject it and to the extent we reject it, we are left to our own devices which lead to death.

Psalm 9:18 - But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

We have a God whose ways are not our ways and thoughts not our thoughts. He reverses the power of conventional wisdom and defies the accepted truisms of society to make His own order. He simply does not forget the needy. He has a bias for them. He will not abandon the afflicted. For those who are hopeless, He offers hope. Let us proclaim hope daily – first to our own defeated souls, weighed down with the worries and cares of life, discouraged in well doing, spent and depleted. Then let us proclaim the same message with the authentic credibility of a person who has embraced hope in his or her own life to a needy and broken world. May hope exude from our pores. May it be the aura that surrounds our lives, the given pitch that tunes our voices, the color of our countenances, and the tenor of our words. The good news of hope is the one word that broken people cannot create from wishful thinking. It is not denial; it is reality. May we live it and speak it daily.

Psalm 9:19 - Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in you presence.

Man’s ways can be very frightening. The history of mankind is peppered with incidents of mob violence and injustice that was condoned by the crowd. Majority rule has often ruled out righteousness and minorities have been oppressed by masses simply because they had the power to do so. The prayer of the righteous man or woman always includes the desire for justice, for limits on evil, and for God’s restraint and ultimate judgment of all that goes against Him and His ways. We can pray this way with confidence because we are assured of the character and promises of God to set all things aright in His own timing and according to His purposes. Do not grow discouraged and do not stop praying for the right and for God’s will. And do not be alarmed when the evil one seems to be directing the political forces of the world. Evil shall not prevail. God wins – always.

Psalm 9:20 - Strike them with terror, O Lord; let the nations know they are but men.

There is a kind of terror that is to be desired within us and among men and women. It is that terror that absolutely melts our souls under the glaring reality of God. It is that terror that teaches us that we are but mere men. As we grow in grace, may we keep a sense of that terror. Even as we flourish in the wonderful awareness of God’s love, acceptance, dignity, and value of us as His children, may we avoid the conceit that marginalizes Him and maximizes our own importance. We are only human. That is not an excuse and not a put-down; it is basic truth. We do not overcome sin in our own strength. We do not grow in Christ because we have the best motives, the purest thoughts, and the most attractive personalities. We are absolutely, utterly dependent upon God. We are but men – male and female. It is a life-affirming and esteem-building exercise to realize this in the light of the truth that God, who also knows this, chooses to love and to grace us.

 

Bonus Content - The Video of My Sermon This Morning

Juneteenth - Truths Self-Evident

On and Off Topic, Come to the Table

The_School_of_Athens__by_Raffaello_Sanzio_da_Urbino  -  This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. 

 

Quotes to Catch You Off-Guard

 

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein

 

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens." - Abraham Lincoln (according to some reports)

 

"A man's life is what his thoughts make it." ~ Marcus Aurelius (Sounds kind-a like Proverbs 23:7)

"No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens." - Abraham Lincoln (according to some reports)

 

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet." - George Washington

 

"Not everyone on the internet is who they claim to be." - Aristotle

 

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"Reich Church" and the "Confessing Church"

When religious gatherings turn into patriotic rallies, one remembers when Christians were called upon to choose between the "Reich Church" and the "Confessing Church" led by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Pastor Martin Niemöller.

Gospel integrity will always conflict with nationalism.

This is not to say that patriotic rallies are bad. Just do not confuse them with religious gatherings or confuse religion with patriotism.

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." — Paulo Freire

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On and Off  Topic

 

You can come to social media as a student, teacher, commentator, advocate, seller, consumer, organizer, agitator, friend, community builder, entertainer, predator, gamer, or more or any combination. But whatever you choose, ask, "What can I contribute to others while here?"

 

Social media is, in part, a library of classics and current literature for me . I cannot learn everything from the titles, but I can make notes for future reading and build a bibliography.

 

Those who consistently comment on Twitter and FB headlines and summaries without reading the linked articles remind me of students who show up for class discussions without doing the reading homework. They usually get the whole class off topic.

 

 

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Revival Prayer

We pray.

Lord, send a revival.

Show us our sinful ways.

Purge our hearts.

Shake our false foundations, dismantle our pride.

Send us running to you.

 

Something stirs.

We pray against the stirring.

 

"Lord, send a revival."

 

"I am trying to."

 

"That is not what we meant."

"What did you mean, then?"

 

"Well, not that."

 

"Oh, well I thought you might have wanted the full dose."

Be careful about complaining about the tides.]

 

They may be in answer to your prayers.

 

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

 

Lives that Matter

 

You do not have to love anyone less in order to love others more.

 

You do not have to give up your own story in order to hear and embrace the story of another.

 

You do not have to convince everyone in your tribe of the righteousness of the truth you are finding in order to keep hammering away at it.

 

This season of conversation is going to be a lot about exposure, relentless exposure to buried truths.

 

There will be a great deal of monologue and listening.

 

There will be talk of dismantling and fearful resistance, but everyone knows that dismantling comes before rebuilding and restoration.

 

Just watch “This Old House.”

 

There will be ignoring of criticism to be done.

 

You will have to repeat yourself many times.

 

You will have to accept that your good arguments will fall on deaf ears for the most part ... but you do not have to win every argument.

 

You must be true to what God is showing you.

 

You must participate.

 

“Send word to my brothers,” cried the rich man to Father Abraham.”

 

“They already know and have already heard,” replied Father Abraham. They will not believe, my son,” he said, “even if one comes back from the dead.”

 

Do not love less, those with deaf ears and hard hearts, but neither wait for them to understand and a agree.

 

Broaden your heart of love and sharpen your focus for what God is doing in this hour.

 

He has set a national table of conversation and invites all who will come.

 

All Things Are New

 

Sunday's Sermon

All in the Family

In 2009, when I first published this, I knew a number of people who told me they were sick of Christians. They were not sick of Jesus necessarily. In fact, if they had seen more of Jesus in Christians, it would have helped.

Has any of this changed?

Maybe.

I think that, perhaps,  intensified or has been more openly articulated.

Here is what I wrote then:

Sick of Christians?

The pot is being stirred and there is a lot of spillage. The church is struggling with its identity in a rapidly changing world. Everyone, inside and outside, has an opinion - maybe more than one. Sometimes we are fighting the world. Sometimes we are fighting each other. Sometimes we put our collective feet in our mouths.

Sometimes I get sick of Christians.

Sometimes I get sick of myself.

Many recent conversations have not brought out the best in me.

It is hard to hang out with people who have more answers than questions. This has been building up. Others are making definitions of who is what  and codifying them with really long and specific lists.

Sometimes I find it easier to relate to non-Christians who don't claim to have all the answers than to my brothers who are sure that they do.

"Are you biblical, traditional, emergent, liberal, conservative, seeker-sensitive, or what? Careful. Consult the list of criteria before answering."

"Pick a category. Hurry!"

I take Jesus' words, "Seek and ye shall find" to point toward an ongoing process of seeking and finding and seeking some more and finding some more and never being settled and done.

So I come to most conversations with a mixture of dogmatism and ambiguity, a tentative confidence grounded in solid faith, but flexible from the ground up.

I get frustrated with friends who want to finish every conversation with a hard and fast pronouncement. I want to say, "That tree is still alive and subject to quite a bit of movement as it grows upward."

What I know is that as it grows upward, its roots sink deeper - and that is what accounts for my peace and confidence.

If we put most of our focus on the roots without ignoring what is seen, we can do whatever it is we do with trees with the rest of our time and energy.

But it is the root of things that matters most and I see a lot of attention being given to leaves and bark.

What occurs to me is that Jesus said He was the vine; we were the branches; God handled the pruning; and our task was to abide.

I suppose I need to let Him handle the outgrowths that keep annoying and embarrassing me with their references to imprecatory prayers against anyone with whom they disagree or that they see as a threat to God - who has a pretty good track record of being able to take care of Himself.

And thank God He ignores ridiculous prayers where we presume to know who should live or die.

Maybe He chuckles at our assumptions that we must desperately rescue civilization so that his Kingdom will not die from our neglect. It is not that we are not called to engage, transform, influence, and preserve culture. It is a matter of balance and of seeing the larger Kingdom picture which includes thousands of years of chaotic world history and a big world that stretches far beyond our Western orientation.

It is not just the really obnoxious and grotesque examples of mean-spirited distortions of Christianity, but the more subtle things that are bothering me.

Everyone seems to know where things need to be pruned and I see a potentially lopsided bush forming. Many  Christians are just so sure of themselves and what they have "found" in their brief forays into seeking territory.

"We ought to do this and not that. We should be doing such an so. Everyone should stand up for this and against that and we all need to pull together and stand against sin and this is the sin we should be focusing on and isn't it awful that some people don't see it quite the way we do and don't you know that it is us against them and what we need is courage and courage is doing what I say you ought to be doing and please don't question it. And we have to get back to the Bible and these are the verses on which we should focus and this is how it should be done and don't forget to use the right words and slogans and we are right and everyone else is wrong and on and on and on."

So thank God that as much as it seems one party or another is setting God's agenda, He has not relinquished that prerogative to us. It really does not matter what we decide in our back and forth and circular conversations. God will do what God pleases and will continue to make all the definitions.

And God will prune and feed the vine and lead His servants and correct them when necessary and even use us in the process whenever He can trust us to love the sinner like He does.

Yes. I get sick of Christians sometimes - just people with the same personality quirks they would have if they were not Christians - people just as ornery as I am ( or less so because I have a big dose of it).

We get ticked off and opinionated and harsh and then we crash from time to time and ask a lot of questions and then we come back to center - but all the while, our roots are planted in the strong bedrock of God's grace and truth.

I get ticked off and harsh when I perceive people are ticked off and harsh and I judge judgmental people and I am just as human as the rest.

Jesus said He would not feel like spitting us out unless we went lukewarm. He can steer us when we are moving. He can guide us when we are seeking. He can change us when we stay open to change. He can bend us and mold us, and break the resistance of our hearts and He does.

Does Jesus get sick of Christians? When we just don't get it? When we act the same as the folks He was calling to repentance but with Bible verses to justify our rigidity and graceless living?

Maybe, but He doesn't give up. Surprisingly, He loves us passionately and is infinitely patient with us. He uses our crude attempts at service. He includes us in His purpose whether or not we get it.

I have not given up on the church because Jesus has not given up on the church or on me.

The Vinedresser has not retired.

The church has no corner on the market for dogmatism, rigidity, or critical judgments. Humanity is a common "disease" and a common blessing as well.

If I am ever sick of Christians, it is because they are my family and families get on each others nerves from time to time. I really love Christians and other people as well, but Christians are, with all their peccadilloes, my people and God's people.

We are called to be peculiar and even odd.

We are thrown together with our personality issues and commanded to "work it out" with God's help and guidance. We have to struggle and grow in our capacity for relationship. We march to a different drum and, in doing so, we don't flaunt it or push our weight around. That is the plan anyway.

Sometimes it works very well.

 

The pot is being stirred and there is a lot of spillage. The church is struggling with its identity in a rapidly changing world. Everyone, inside and outside, has an opinion - maybe more than one. Sometimes we are fighting the world. Sometimes we are fighting each other. Sometimes we put our collective feet in our mouths.

Sometimes I get sick of Christians.

Sometimes I get sick of myself.

Many recent conversations have not brought out the best in me.

It is hard to hang out with people who have more answers than questions. This has been building up. Others are making definitions of who is what  and codifying them with really long and specific lists.

Sometimes I find it easier to relate to non-Christians who don't claim to have all the answers than to my brothers who are sure that they do.

"Are you biblical, traditional, emergent, liberal, conservative, seeker-sensitive, or what? Careful. Consult the list of criteria before answering."

"Pick a category. Hurry!"

I take Jesus' words, "Seek and ye shall find" to point toward an ongoing process of seeking and finding and seeking some more and finding some more and never being settled and done.

So I come to most conversations with a mixture of dogmatism and ambiguity, a tentative confidence grounded in solid faith, but flexible from the ground up.

I get frustrated with friends who want to finish every conversation with a hard and fast pronouncement. I want to say, "That tree is still alive and subject to quite a bit of movement as it grows upward."

What I know is that as it grows upward, its roots sink deeper - and that is what accounts for my peace and confidence.

If we put most of our focus on the roots without ignoring what is seen, we can do whatever it is we do with trees with the rest of our time and energy.

But it is the root of things that matters most and I see a lot of attention being given to leaves and bark.

What occurs to me is that Jesus said He was the vine; we were the branches; God handled the pruning; and our task was to abide.

I suppose I need to let Him handle the outgrowths that keep annoying and embarrassing me with their references to imprecatory prayers against anyone with whom they disagree or that they see as a threat to God - who has a pretty good track record of being able to take care of Himself.

And thank God He ignores ridiculous prayers where we presume to know who should live or die.

Maybe He chuckles at our assumptions that we must desperately rescue civilization so that his Kingdom will not die from our neglect. It is not that we are not called to engage, transform, influence, and preserve culture. It is a matter of balance and of seeing the larger Kingdom picture which includes thousands of years of chaotic world history and a big world that stretches far beyond our Western orientation.

It is not just the really obnoxious and grotesque examples of mean-spirited distortions of Christianity, but the more subtle things that are bothering me.

Everyone seems to know where things need to be pruned and I see a potentially lopsided bush forming. Many  Christians are just so sure of themselves and what they have "found" in their brief forays into seeking territory.

"We ought to do this and not that. We should be doing such an so. Everyone should stand up for this and against that and we all need to pull together and stand against sin and this is the sin we should be focusing on and isn't it awful that some people don't see it quite the way we do and don't you know that it is us against them and what we need is courage and courage is doing what I say you ought to be doing and please don't question it. And we have to get back to the Bible and these are the verses on which we should focus and this is how it should be done and don't forget to use the right words and slogans and we are right and everyone else is wrong and on and on and on."

So thank God that as much as it seems one party or another is setting God's agenda, He has not relinquished that prerogative to us. It really does not matter what we decide in our back and forth and circular conversations. God will do what God pleases and will continue to make all the definitions.

And God will prune and feed the vine and lead His servants and correct them when necessary and even use us in the process whenever He can trust us to love the sinner like He does.

Yes. I get sick of Christians sometimes - just people with the same personality quirks they would have if they were not Christians - people just as ornery as I am ( or less so because I have a big dose of it).

We get ticked off and opinionated and harsh and then we crash from time to time and ask a lot of questions and then we come back to center - but all the while, our roots are planted in the strong bedrock of God's grace and truth.

I get ticked off and harsh when I perceive people are ticked off and harsh and I judge judgmental people and I am just as human as the rest.

Jesus said He would not feel like spitting us out unless we went lukewarm. He can steer us when we are moving. He can guide us when we are seeking. He can change us when we stay open to change. He can bend us and mold us, and break the resistance of our hearts and He does.

Does Jesus get sick of Christians? When we just don't get it? When we act the same as the folks He was calling to repentance but with Bible verses to justify our rigidity and graceless living?

Maybe, but He doesn't give up. Surprisingly, He loves us passionately and is infinitely patient with us. He uses our crude attempts at service. He includes us in His purpose whether or not we get it.

I have not given up on the church because Jesus has not given up on the church or on me.

The Vinedresser has not retired.

The church has no corner on the market for dogmatism, rigidity, or critical judgments. Humanity is a common "disease" and a common blessing as well.

If I am ever sick of Christians, it is because they are my family and families get on each others nerves from time to time. I really love Christians and other people as well, but Christians are, with all their peccadilloes, my people and God's people.

We are called to be peculiar and even odd.

We are thrown together with our personality issues and commanded to "work it out" with God's help and guidance. We have to struggle and grow in our capacity for relationship. We march to a different drum and, in doing so, we don't flaunt it or push our weight around. That is the plan anyway.

Sometimes it works very well.

Searching Me

The Importance of Self-Examination

Edison and his searchlight cart in 1915, from the Smithsonian. Public Domain

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you …” -II Corinthians 13:5.

“… Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.…  -Psalm 26:2

When we were children and we went to the doctor, we could be comforted by the words, “Don’t worry, its just an examination."

As we grew older, we came to understand that such examinations could be quite uncomfortable. Furthermore, we began to express concern over what the examiner might find and what the course of treatment might be. We have even deceived ourselves into thinking that if we could ignore a problem, it might go away. That does not work in the physical realm or the spiritual.

The tragedy of avoidance is that in trying not to hear the bad news, we miss the good news as well. 

Let God do the examination and show you what He wants you to know.  He has some things to say to you today about you and one is how much He loves you. He may also wish to show you some areas where He wants to work in your life to help you grow, to overcome some obstacles, and to exercise faith at a new level.  Nothing is too frightening.  He loves you and can transform even the darkest places with His light of the truth and love.

Listen, seek, and wait on Him.

Our task is to examine ourselves. The ultimate question for us to ask is the question of faith. Are we in THE faith and are we acting and living on faith?

If the answer is affirmative, there is no limit to what God can do in and through us.

Let God search your heart and life today and reveal Himself and yourself to you. Then, commit to taking whatever step of faith that He leads you to take with His help and in His strength.

We Have Heart Problems

 

Healthy Heart

We have a heart problem.

That means we do no heed the heart of the matter and hurt ourselves and others as a result.

We have no problem with details sometimes; it is the reason for the details that causes us to balk.

We can abide by the letter, but we use the letter to carefully avoid the principle and implications of the law.

We somehow think that God should be impressed with our religiously observant our words and rituals are as we stomp people into the ground and harshly judge their lives while doing whatever we please outside the walls of our carefully constructed "isms."

What kind of Healthy heart does real faith aim us toward?

Let's focus on the word, "HEALTH."

H - Healthy relationships with God and people. The healthy heart produces healthy life in all its dimensions.

E - Engagement with the meaning of our rituals - a willingness to look deeper than the words and symbols to the essence of what God is saying to us through them.

A - Attitudes of grace, and gratitude, free from the strident bondage of a faith based on rules and rigid judgmentalism.

L - Living what we profess so that God is honored and people are lifted, granted justice, offered compassion, and set free to live abundantly.

T - Testing the results of our beliefs in the crucible of how they effect our behaviors and the well-being of people.

H - Humility that causes us to examine our own lives before pointing the finger at other people.

Now, hear the Word of the LORD:

Matthew 15:1-20 The Message (MSG):

After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?”
But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules.

Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:

"These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they’re worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”

He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.”
Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?”

Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”

Peter said, “I don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there.”

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

 

Interfaith Friendship without Milk Toast Theology

The image was chosen to get your attention, not to imply that all religions are the same. Everyone knows that while most have some common themes, they are unique and have their own theologies, concepts of God, and core teachings, and values.

 

This image, which was originally posted to Flickr, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 9 August 2008, 02:30 by Russavia. On that date, it was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the license indicated. Temple of All Religions in Kazan, Russia

 

People of different faiths periodically fast and seek God as they understand God.

 

When this happens, two blessings I pray.

 

One is that they will be successful in that effort of seeking and finding.

 

I know that the reality is that God seeks us. It is the greatest reality, but there are also calls in Jewish and Christian scripture to seek God.

 

God spoke to the Magi as they sought truth through a star. They did not have a Yahwistic theology or concept of God.

 

May God surprise us all.

 

God taps me in the shoulder when I am not even paying attention, much lest being theologically on target.

 

May all who seek, find.

 

The second is that my Christian and even non believing friends would practice fasting or some other form of spiritual discipline to seek God and/or truth more deeply and to pray/empathize more effectively for themselves, for others, and the world.

 

May those efforts be blessed.

 

I do not surrender my faith in Jesus when I wish my neighbor well. I do not have to endorse or adopt the faith of another to find encouragement to go deeper in my own faith because of the commitment he or she has to his or hers.

 

God invaded my life though Jesus almost 60 years ago and radicalized me forever. I am unashamedly a Jesus follower and, a such, a friend to people.

 

"Seek and ye shall find," is a rather simple statement when applied to a sincere heart.

 

May God, who loves all people, give us all sincere and seeking hearts whatever the season and draw us all to Himself.

 

I am willing to give Him rather broad leeway to accomplish that and desire to make myself available to Him for that purpose.

 

Our theology does not have to be perfected before we can be met by God. He will help with that as we move forward in relationship.

 

Much love to all my friends today. Blessings.

 

 

 

The Culture of Giving

 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated-- to say nothing of you-- in this undertaking.

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 

- 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 (NRSV)

A Lifestyle of Giving

In a world of getting, Paul suggests a lifestyle and a culture of giving.

He suggests that it flow out of something deeper than obligation. In fact, he uses the word, "cheerful," which is rooted in "hilarity."

Giddy givers get greater gratification, gaining grace by granting grace.

Eagerness is cited.

Readiness is recommended.

Follow through is essential.

Thanksgiving is predicted and mandated.

Abundance is the atmosphere of generosity. It is the expectation rather than the exception. It is the flow from source, through force, and all along the course of it from the receiver who gives to the receiver who gives and perpetually moving in a n endless river of God's provision.

Sowing and reaping point toward the reality of the matter.

The church is planted to perpetuate a culture and atmosphere where giving becomes the norm and is seen as a joyous expression of the life of grace.

It is intrinsic to the gospel.

It is endemic in the nature of God.

It is reciprocal in our relationships with God and with other people.

Thanks be to God for God's unspeakable gift!

 

High Grounded Politics

 

 

If I do not tell you when I wrote this or who was in power, will it help?

 

It should not matter. I have lived through thirteen administrations and this has always been my approach.

 

People, like me , who often have serious moral issues with policies, philosophies, and words of government, do not need to resort to cruel pranks, hurtful attacks, or suggestions of violence to dispute, resist, and bear witness.

 

The "other side," whatever it might be at any time or place in history, generally delivers enough primary-source material that can be openly and objectively disputed in the light of day without embellishment.

 

It always weakens our arguments to call people names or gloss over the details and subtleties of debatable topics. It always dilutes our arguments if we use our energy to assign motivation.

 

I do not wish to see good arguments weakened or important issues marginalized by questionable behavior by mean-spirited actions of our allies.

 

If I don't like the deeds done to my side, I can't accept them from my side.

 

We need to take the high ground.

 

O, See! Can You Say?

 

“Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.” – Joshua 4:7

If, with star spangled enthusiasm one might gasp, "Oh say, can you see," might one also find an opportune moment to ask, "Oh see, can you say?"

Stones and flags and monuments are built with the best of intentions to remind future generations of past events that have lasting impact. Days are set aside so that we may not forget times and people who have shaped our present reality.

I am most likely to speak what I see and express what is temporally or metaphorically visible to my consciousness. I fix my eyes upon a flag to be reminded of the principles it attempts to symbolize. I gaze upon a facsimile of the cross to focus my attention on the cross of Jesus.

We set aside a day of remembrance to show our grief, love, and appreciation for men and women we must not forget because their sacrifices have reinforced a hedge of protection around our fragile freedom.

Can we see it? If so, can we say it? If I can get it, I can give it. If I can grasp it, I can pass it on. If it inspires me, I can use it to inspire others. Let us not allow our songs of patriotic fervor to be reduced to nostalgic sentimentality or rote formality. Nor let us pledge empty allegiance to the flag that flies over the land of the free.

Can you see what has been given you? Can you visualize the fruits of the labors of those who have given their lives? Can you grasp the full measure of the undeserved benefits that have come your way through their efforts and bloodshed?

We are the recipients of great gifts purchased at great cost in the realms of the Spirit and the flesh. Tomorrows is a significant day of remembrance and refocus. Don’t miss it. Oh see! Can you say?

_______________________

That being said, here is a tribute to our nation's Memorial Day as we continue to reach for the fulfillment of the aspiration of liberty and justice for all.

It's About Time

 

Photo by Pavel Kalenik on Unsplash

 

How to Be Rigidly Flexible About Time

First Posted in 2006

Let me start by saying that I only have a few minutes to compose this entry.

The fact that I have any time flexibility at all is because I was rather rigid about planning my day today. Having said that, I have already made several revisions in the schedule - lowering expectations in some areas and increasing them in  others, moving arbitrary deadlines and getting ahead on a few projects.

So, here I am with about 5 or 10 minutes to blog.

The title is a bit deceptive because I cannot really tell you how to do this. Having Outlook fully operational is helpful. Making attempts in the direction of realism is a plus. Commitment is necessary. Margins are indispensable. Grace is crucial.

Having things to do during the gaps is a useful tool - especially small jobs. Otherwise we slip into a pattern of time-consuming thumb-twiddling - which can be both tiring and frustrating.

Well, here are a couple of list items which are not meant to be exhaustive.

1) No matter if it does seem to be a waste of time, take time, and plenty of it to really think about your week and your day and what you really want to accomplish and plan it analytically, realistically, and rigidly, knowing that you will have to be flexible to cope with the unexpected.

2) Plan margins.

3) Plan projects that can fit into the margins.

4) Plan breaks and do not negotiate these away. If you are like me, plan changes of focus regularly.

5) Raise your expectations of yourself in some areas and lower them in others.

6) Use that infuriating alarm bell in MS Outlook. For instance, mine just went off telling me it is time to pack up and go - which I am going to do - even though I am not done.

I said this would not be exhaustive or plenary in nature - just some passing observations.

"Gotta go.'

 

Let me start by saying that I only have a few minutes to compose this entry.

The fact that I have any time flexibility at all is because I was rather rigid about planning my day today. Having said that, I have already made several revisions in the schedule - lowering expectations in some areas and increasing them in  others, moving arbitrary deadlines and getting ahead on a few projects.

So, here I am with about 5 or 10 minutes to blog.

The title is a bit deceptive because I cannot really tell you how to do this. Having Outlook fully operational is helpful. Making attempts in the direction of realism is a plus. Commitment is necessary. Margins are indispensable. Grace is crucial.

Having things to do during the gaps is a useful tool - especially small jobs. Otherwise we slip into a pattern of time-consuming thumb-twiddling - which can be both tiring and frustrating.

Well, here are a couple of list items which are not meant to be exhaustive.

1) No matter if it does seem to be a waste of time, take time, and plenty of it to really think about your week and your day and what you really want to accomplish and plan it analytically, realistically, and rigidly, knowing that you will have to be flexible to cope with the unexpected.

2) Plan margins.

3) Plan projects that can fit into the margins.

4) Plan breaks and do not negotiate these away. If you are like me, plan changes of focus regularly.

5) Raise your expectations of yourself in some areas and lower them in others.

6) Use that infuriating alarm bell in MS Outlook. For instance, mine just went off telling me it is time to pack up and go - which I am going to do - even though I am not done.

I said this would not be exhaustive or plenary in nature - just some passing observations.

"Gotta go.'

 

Just Living - A Play on Words

Photo by Kalea Morgan @kaleamorgan

 

Living Justly in an Unjust World

 

The blog I've not written, but know that I must has a title and a theme thus, a thrust

... to be just.

 

In a word it is to love that which is above us, surrounds us, envelops us, has created and is creating us and to love those who also are created and are being created ...

But it is an unjust world, you cry, protest, and flail.

 

We can try, resist, and ultimately fail to live justly in such a world ... and I say, "Hogwash!"

 

If it were not possible to swim against the tide, there would be no more salmon on the planet.

 

Grant it, it is hard and our charred, scarred, burned and battered selves must energize, prioritize, and optimize, but we can live justly in an unjust world.

 

In the end (and at the beginning), it is all we can do

 

... and what we cannot be stopped from doing.

 

It is just living, after all, and it is living justly.

 

Awesome!

 

 

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

 

The congregation of Israel in the desert knew that the sun was hot and bright. yet, God warns them not to worship the sun, or anything else in creation.

 

"I am a consuming fire," God iterates.

 

Is God jealous?

 

He says so, but we really do not know what that means because our human jealousy is petty, self-serving, and immature.

 

God's is unrelenting, honest, and persistent. God IS and does not back down from who and what God is. God does not share God's godness with anything in the material world.

 

Is God hot like fire?

 

It is a metaphor even as the reference of the face of God is a metaphor. God has no face and God is not a manifestation of the laws of physics.

 

But the metaphor is overshadowed by the reality. The reality is greater than the language used to convey that reality. And that is the point.

 

The point is that there is no substitute for God and trivialities like those associated with ancient idolatrous practices do not approach the magnitude of God.

 

Moses is telling people to take God seriously and to remember the covenant.

 

The covenant was the intervention of God, the holy, mighty, overwhelming, awesome, and consuming one into the affairs of humans. It was the outreach of a God who was Other into the community He was redeeming. It was God breaking through time and space to show the essence of His love to those who could only see the small glimpses of the fire that surrounded Him. It was grace shining through the wall of wrath. It was mercy breaking through the relentless tide of unbending truth.

Don't forget the covenant. It is your lifeline.

 

Be careful to remember the covenant; it is your point of contact.

 

Cling to the covenant that clings to you because it is your hope and redemption.

 

Our God is a holy God and a God who does not share His glory in any way that would diminish or define Him ... but He desires to be known, experienced, and worshiped because, in those ways, He chooses to manifest His love and connect with us.

 

Moses warns the people, "For your own good, do not trivialize God."

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

 

Since you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any figure-- the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth.

 

And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven.

 

But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron-smelter, out of Egypt, to become a people of his very own possession, as you are now.

 

The LORD was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I should not cross the Jordan and that I should not enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving for your possession. For I am going to die in this land without crossing over the Jordan, but you are going to cross over to take possession of that good land.

 

So be careful not to forget the covenant that the LORD your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. - Deuteronomy 4:15-24 (NRSV)

Knowing Where and Nowhere

 

Nowhere or Know Where

Back in the day, on the old  MySpace platform, I posted a bulletin with an error severe enough to change the meaning of a phrase.

In my flawed messages I said that something was going "know where."

I meant "nowhere."

I was only a few letters and a space off, but the meaning changed.

Never one to let a good lemon go wasted without making lemonade, I pondered the deeper meaning of the contrasting terms.

If you are going to where you know where then you can't be going nowhere.

That was not excellent grammar, but I think you get the point. If not, let me rephrase.

If you know where you are going, you can't be going nowhere.

You must be going somewhere.

While I can't tell you where nowhere is, I know that somewhere is real and worthy of your efforts.

So there!

Now then, what is the difference between nowhere and know where?

Nowhere

N - Negative because it is kNee jerk. It is reactive rather than responsive or proactive.

O - Oblique because of its lack of clarity or definition.

W - Worthless because it is the product of a void of values.

H - Hopeless not because it is so awful, but because it was not born of hope.

E - Effortless and effort accompanies value.

R - Redeemable if we are willing to stop and recalibrate our intentions.

E - Efficient. If it is your goal to go where, you will always succeed.

Now .... KNOW WHERE you are going ...

Know

K - Knowledge is the key word. You have given this some thought and gathered wisdom.

N - kNees engaged - Not kNee jerk, but born of prayer.

O - Obvious - There is so much clarity that others can see where you are going.

W - Worthy - your destination is a worthy and worthwhile goal.

Where

W - Will - Your will is engaged. You have made a decision and are following through.

H - Hopeful - This dream is born of hope, bathed in hope, and built daily with hope.

E - Energized moment by moment. You put in the effort and see the fruit.

R - Reachable - It may be lofty, but you can do it. You can get where you are going.

E - Extraordinary - Efficiency is not enough. You were created by God for an extraordinary life!

Back in the day, on the old  MySpace platform, I posted a bulletin with an error severe enough to change the meaning of a phrase.

In my flawed messages I said that something was going "know where."

I meant "nowhere."

I was only a few letters and a space off, but the meaning changed.

Never one to let a good lemon go wasted without making lemonade, I pondered the deeper meaning of the contrasting terms.

If you are going to where you know where then you can't be going nowhere.

That was not excellent grammar, but I think you get the point. If not, let me rephrase.

If you know where you are going, you can't be going nowhere.

You must be going somewhere.

While I can't tell you where nowhere is, I know that somewhere is real and worthy of your efforts.

So there!

Now then, what is the difference between nowhere and know where?

Nowhere

N - Negative because it is kNee jerk. It is reactive rather than responsive or proactive.

O - Oblique because of its lack of clarity or definition.

W - Worthless because it is the product of a void of values.

H - Hopeless not because it is so awful, but because it was not born of hope.

E - Effortless and effort accompanies value.

R - Redeemable if we are willing to stop and recalibrate our intentions.

E - Efficient. If it is your goal to go where, you will always succeed.

Now .... KNOW WHERE you are going ...

Know

K - Knowledge is the key word. You have given this some thought and gathered wisdom.

N - kNees engaged - Not kNee jerk, but born of prayer.

O - Obvious - There is so much clarity that others can see where you are going.

W - Worthy - your destination is a worthy and worthwhile goal.

Where

W - Will - Your will is engaged. You have made a decision and are following through.

H - Hopeful - This dream is born of hope, bathed in hope, and built daily with hope.

E - Energized moment by moment. You put in the effort and see the fruit.

R - Reachable - It may be lofty, but you can do it. You can get where you are going.

E - Extraordinary - Efficiency is not enough. You were created by God for an extraordinary life!

You Have a Reason to Smile.

 

You need a big WHY for your SMILE today.

It is true that you can smile without one, but it is better if you have one.

It makes smiling so much easier and it is makes your story so much better.

Then, when the smile causes the release of your smile hormones, the energy and motivation you feel has a basis in truth and hope. Then, you smile because you are smiling because you have a reason for smiling.

Did you track that?

WHY?

W - We

H - Have

Y- Your Reason

It is your smile and it is your reason for smiling, but here is my suggestion.

Smile because:

S - Someone or Something made the Sun to Shine today.

That is right. The sun is shining. Whatever chemical reactions caused this miracle and placed this planet where it is, the miracle of life was born here. We have just enough of the stuff of life and the exact right conditions for life to flourish. When you have not-too-much and not-too-little of the right stuff, it is a perfect day.

M - Matter Matters.

Energy has reached just the right temperature so that your surroundings have materialized into matter. You've got "stuff," and lots of stuff, starting with your body. That is a miracle in and of itself. Then, you have stuff to put in your body and on your body. You have stuff to sit on and a place to sit in. You are surrounded by stuff and that matter matters because you have what you need to succeed.

I - Insight and Inspiration from Ideas that Ignite you Invite you to change the world.

Sure, there are things that need changing, but you are entertaining great ideas today and gaining insight. These ideas that you are acquiring are inspiring something deep within you and igniting the fire you need to make the changes and be the changes that the world needs to get its smile back. Smile about that.

L - Leverage is yours for all you Lack.

You don't have everything you want. You may not have all that you think you need. Yet, where there is lack, you have leverage. You can leverage the gifts of other people around you, ideas you have not considered, resources you can borrow, and hopes that have not been fully realized. You have leverage that will cover all you lack.

E -Everyone has Enough Energy.

It may not seem true, but everyone here on this ball of carbon-based matter has enough energy to get done what needs to be done today. You may be weary and worn, but you have managed to get moving and awake enough to read these words and be encouraged by them. That took energy. It came from the sun and the sun's Source and it has been given to you to give back to the world.

So do it! And start with your smile!

 

 

Where Are your Rocks?

Photo by p j on Unsplash

Big Rocks

In "First Things First," Stephen Covey tells a story that was told him. I don’t know the sources, so I will embellish a bit.

There was a speaker who was called upon to address a group of young people. As a prop, he pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks, another pile of gravel, a jar of sand, and a glass of water.

“Who believes I can get all of this into this one gallon jar?” The question evoked some chuckling. No one raised their hand.

After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

The group replied, "Yes."

He then took the pile of gravel and began to pour it in. He jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks.

Again, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

By now, the group cautiously replied, "Probably not."

The speaker then added the sand and asked, "Is the jar full?"

"No!" shouted the group.

Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration.

Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if "you really work at it."

"No," countered the speaker. The point is, if that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get any of them in.

What are the big rocks in your life? I’d like to suggest a few for your consideration:

Do not neglect the rock of FAITH:

Have faith in the power of TRUTH – and by that, I suggest to you, ultimate truth, a higher power, God if you will.

Have faith in the power of TENACITY. Keep on keeping on. Don’t give up. Persist and insist on a successful outcome and work toward it.

Have faith in the power of TENURE – By that I mean, time invested and time passed. Be patient with temporary setbacks and inconveniences.

Have faith in the power of TEAMWORK. Work together. TEAM stands for – Together Everyone Accomplishes More!

"Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part." - Casey Stengel

"The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team."- Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls

"Men have never been individually self-sufficient." - Reinhold Niebuhr

" All winning teams are goal-oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives. They go about their business with blinders on; nothing will distract them from achieving their aims. " - Lou Holtz

Teamwork counts and teams count. Gather the right team, nurture it, and deploy it.

Let your team be one of the biggest rocks in your life.

THE WOLF

"Now is the Law of the Jungle---as old and true as the sky;

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."
- Rudyard Kipling

Do not neglect the rock of FAMILY:

You are here because you believe in family and have committed yourself to strengthening families. You have been sharpening your skills for that purpose. You are already heroes and deserve praise. Now, do not neglect your own family.

CREATE family.

If you do not have a warm family, CREATE it! Gather folks around you with whom you can be accountable, authentic, and supportive. If your family is dysfunctional, you will also be in creative mode by setting and observing strong boundaries and creating a safe zone of functionality around yourself. When Rich Mullins, the song writer and leader of the Ragamuffin Band died, there was a traveling funeral that moved from city to city, mostly on university campuses because it was said that Rich created communities wherever he went.

CULTIVATE family.

Like a garden, a warm and nurturing family must grow. To grow, it needs the sunlight of truth, the food of love, and the water of life.

COMMUNICATE family.

Third, we must all make it a point to COMMUNICATE as families and develop healthy communication skills which we can pass on to our children. Strong and nurturing families that resolve conflict with healthy communication, fair “fighting,” and unconditional love are the hope of society because the skills children learn in families, they practice in the larger community and world.

Do not neglect the rock of the FUTURE.

Become futurists. That means to begin to live a life of hope and optimism in a dark world.

Have a WINNING attitude. Your future will rise or fall on your attitude.

Translate I WANT to I WILL! Then, will it and do it!

Then, WORK toward a brighter future for, after all is said and done, the big rock of success, which is a journey and not a destination, is a four letter word spelled simply: W-O-R-K.

Don’t forget the big rocks in these difficult times and be blessed:

Times are tough.
You are tougher. Face the times.

Life is hard.
You are resilient. Keep moving forward.

The future is uncertain.
God is already there. Do not be afraid.

Hope is a rare commodity.
Hope is within the grasp of your imagination. Let it soar.

Money is scarce.
You have all you need in a seed. Plant it and watch it grow.

You are discouraged.
There is a great dream within you. Feed it, follow it, fulfill it.

You deeply desire a blessing.
Be a blessing.

You lack courage.

Encourage someone else.

You have nothing left to give.
Give what only God can supply.

You are frightened of failure.
Risk everything to be all you can be.

These are not idle words. This is how you must live if you will live above your circumstances.

Weighing all possible outcomes of the choices you can make right now, to do nothing, risk nothing, and give nothing will insure that nothing will come back to you. You will be a success in the art of failure by default.

However, if you risk extending yourself, you may also fail, but you will fail with the satisfaction of trying and with all the lessons you can only learn by climbing out on a limb.

But you might also succeed. Out on that limb, when circumstances cut it from under you, you may discover that you can fly.

You'll never find out without taking the big risk.

Take the risk, get the big rocks in place, and be blessed.

 

And keep this in mind:

 

The Courage to be a Peacemaker

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace."

"Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

Where are the instruments of God's peace in the world? Are we praying to be counted among them?

It takes courage to be a peacemaker.

Peacemakers stand in the middle of the hostilities and deflect the bullets and blows with their own bodies, souls, and reputations. They seldom emerge unscathed.

Narcissism does not lend itself to peacemaking leadership.

Narcissism is a heavy burden to bear in any place of leadership. It cripples credibility, curtails collaboration, crushes constructive criticism, and cancels cooperation.

Not only that, it obscures vision, muddles thinking, and distorts perception.

So, how does one shake it? How do we abandon our self-absorbed decision-making and walk away from our self-destructive tendency to imagine the world as something that exists to serve our ambitious pride? Is there a cure?

When he came to Jesus, Nicodemus seemed to hint at the perplexity and impossibility of starting over. But starting over was the courageous and miraculous answer.

Jesus responded that it was a Spirit thing. Maturity does not happen overnight, but new beginnings can happen every day... for the willing.

God, the peacemaker is making peacemakers out of self-serving narcissists.

He is making wholistic thinkers out of compartmentalizing knee-jerkers.

"In academic life the temptation to worship the Part instead of the Whole is subtle and rationally appealing. In the sciences—natural and social—in the humanities, we learn an enormous amount of invigorating truth. We know this search is valid. And therefore it is an aspect of the search for God himself. " - Gordon W. ...Allport, Waiting for the Lord: Meditations on God and Man

Peacemaking is an exercise in considering the whole and the holy. It is a brutal plunge into an ocean of honesty and where realism, optimism, and idealism meet.

"There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are." -Brennan Manning

Peacemaking happens when someone is heartbroken over broken peace, tormented by hostility, and devastated by injustice. Yet, it is embodied in the mission and lifestyle, only, of those who have been brought to life by the grace of God, enlivened by hope.

It looks like compassion.

"Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It's the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. " — Frederick Buechner

Where are God's peacemakers?

Start with the mirror and a willing heart.

What's Trending?

 

Things that deserve my attention today:

 

#1 - Being in an honest and transparent relationship with God and with the people in my life.

 

#2 - Making positive change in the world in those areas where I have influence.

 

#3a - Paying attention to issues that involve correcting justice in PUBLIC policy, international diplomacy, matters of war and peace, issues of oppression and other areas where my influence, vote, or comments may count.

 

#3b - Encouraging, inspiring, motivating, and uplifting people.

 

#4 - Doing my work and minding my own business.

 

#5-1976 n- A variety of things.

 

#1977 (if that high) - The personal scandals of high profile people (apparently somewhere between 1-4 on many peoples lists).

 

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

 

How Many Changers Does It Take to Change?

What?!!! Change?!!!

If we don't want change, all change is intimidating.

George Carlin said he put some money into one of those change machines and nothing happened.

Sometimes, I'd be happy to find a change machine that actually produced transformation in any number of areas of my life and community.

That is one of the appeals of the Jesus movement through history. Those who embrace it and proclaim it know it to be a message of transformation. The human side of transformation is a word that sounds like a Bible thumper's theme, "repentance." It calls forth memories of muggy nights, loud preaching, stern looks, and harsh threats to all who will not repent.

It really means "change" and the gospel writers paired it in the preaching of Jesus with the good news of God's Kingdom.

Why good news?

The good news is that, because there is a new regime and order of things with the coming of a new king, change is possible. It is mandated because it is no longer futile.

A man asked the Zen Buddhist merchant for change for a dollar and he replied, "All change comes from within."

True. It does. It comes from the indwelling presence of a power greater than ourselves who possesses power and personality and who deeply desires for us to come a be a part of His kingdom of joy.

What about an extreme makeover - spiritual edition?

We start with the CORE of our lives - our spirits,  ignited to life by God's Spirit and radiating out into four dimensions of living:

• Community,

• Occupation,

• Resources, and

• Emotions (Yes, that spells, CORE).

Another key word is related to the construction of a life that is strong and resilient in the midst of the culture quakes, economic tornadoes, circumstantial floods, and faith explosions of our times.

That word is STAND.

To STAND, we must:

• Shore up our foundations,

• Take a Team approach,

• Act purposefully,

• Name our resources, and

• Develop our souls.

If it is a sermon or lesson series, it will take five weeks to consider and a lifetime to implement.

Change is possible and we can stand and withstand the onslaughts of overwhelming problems in uncertain times if we will develop from the CORE.

 

I Meme You No Harm

A Prayer for You and Me

 

 

 

 

For Small Group Discussion:

Ready or Not

 

 

I am in a state of unready readiness.

 

God of readiness, of constancy, and of mystery,

Invade me, overthrow my stubborn reluctance and

Disperse my stagnant sentries who stagger the soul

And stalwartly resist that which you insist will set me free.

Mercy and grace be Your weapons of invasion,

My only defense is pretense.

 

Lower the flag that flies over the castle of my heart

Declaring autonomy and replace it ...

 

Raise the flag of liberation and spontaneity!

Raise the flag of serendipitous joy!

Raise the flag of righteousness and peace!

Raise the flag of readiness for I am ready to be made ready!

 

I am ready and I am rising from the place to go to the next place ...

 

And then .......

 

And then, Amen

 

And Amen again.

 

Deconstruction or Destruction?

 

The Acronym, PAUSE

Parse

Aggregate

Understand

Simplify

Expand

How about a hope of RECONSTRUCTION?

Old Mothers

“… despise not thy mother when she is old.” -Proverbs 23:22b 

Your Mother When She Is Old

We need as many “old mothers” as we can get in the church and in our lives. We need to honor the older mothers among us and change our thinking about the word, “old.”

For some reason, we have attached a stigma to old age such that people do not like to be called, “old.” Yet, in the scriptures, it is a badge of honor and a sign of God’s blessing.

Perhaps some thought ought to be given to reviving the old custom of honoring the eldest mother in the church on Mother’s Day. In the New testament, older women were all considered mothers of the church. That had something to give and the church was tuned to receive it.

One can think of three reasons why we might learn from and honor the eldest among us and they spell O-L-D.

O – Older mothers have gotten OVER some things.

There is no substitute for experience. The most important and valuable advantage of experience is that it teaches us that wherever we are in our journey, we are stuck. We might be going through some difficulties, but we can and will get through them. We might be laboring under some burdens, but we can and will get over them. We can know this because our elders could and did get over theirs.

L - Older mothers have LEARNED some things.

Life has taught them some lessons and most are willing to share those lessons. We all know more today than we did yesterday. The longer we go, the more we potentially learn. We can honor our mothers by listening to their perspectives. They know some things we do not know because they have had time to learn them.

D – Older mothers have DONE some things.

They have had time to accomplish some goals, to have a few failures, and to enjoy some victories. When we look at their lives, we take courage in knowing that we can also accomplish some things. In fact, they sometimes did what seemed impossible, but with God’s help, they did them anyway. We need them as role models.

These are three reasons to honor our older mothers and to strive to someday be old mothers and old fathers.

 

A Day of Prayer - Reflections on This Day

 

This is prayer.

 

We move in the direction of God.

 

The movement itself is far more important that the words we use or the sentiments we experience. It is the movement that expresses the true intentions of our hearts.

 

The movement is the most honest and reliable indicator of our spiritual progress ... whether we know it or feel it or not.

 

Let us move toward God today.

 

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16,  New International Version (©1984)

 

When I say I pray for you, I do. I come beside you, stand with you, and bring you before the God I serve. It is my way of loving you.

A three letter word for prayer: AWE!

 

"I stand amazed in the presence ..."

 

Another word for prayer: WONDER!

 

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) - not quitting and maintaining the attitude and constant awareness of One who is Other.

 

I do pray for America today and invite others to pray in whatever way they pray. For those who don't, do what you and wish America well.

 

I am not just praying for our nation today. I am praying for our larger community on the planet - No permission or sanction needed - but encouragement welcome and concerted effort celebrated.

 

Do we NEED a national day of prayer? I think so - DAILY!

 

I am amused by the fuss we make over symbols and language when prayer and gathering to pray is always legal. If it is ever not, we still will.

 

This is a day of prayer. It matters little whether it is declared or not (It has been). It is always legal in any jurisdiction, to pray.

 

Holiness

 

Shai Halevi on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority - Enlargement of image at Wikimedia-Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/1039-1_for_screen.jpg

Close-up of paleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll, now at the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem

Today, I seek from God what I must give to God. It is a presumptuous request and an audacious expectation that I could be what I seek to be, holy.

Holiness is fully integrated wholeness before God and within ourselves. It is sincere, focused attention and utter consecration.

It is being that flows through doing.

It is knowing who we are and Whose we are.

It is belonging.

It is availability.

It is the capacity to stand in awe and chuckle at the twists and turns of life as God intervenes in life.

It is what I lack and what I have at the same time.

"Be holy, for I am holy ," (Leviticus 11:44) is quite an assignment. Yet, every assignment is a sign of hope and possibility.

By God's grace and incarnate sacrifice, we are holy because we have been bought with a price. We are holy in spiritual reality, but we may lag in actualization. I do.

Dear Fanny Crosby, whose only light was the light of God within her, blind to the world, but ever so perceptive to the Spirit, penned her hearts desire this way. I make it a prayer today as well:

I Am Thine, O Lord

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

This is my personal devotion for the day, the focus of my attention as I set out on my various tasks of living. It is my meditation as I seek to integrate the loose strands of life's demands and make myself available to God and the world as a follower of Jesus.

It is my prayer. It is my intention. It is my heart.

Eventually ...

 

 

The church that aspires to being coddled by the world, that whines for preferred status, that complains in the wilderness that it only has manna, and that expects great privilege has, perhaps, not read Peter's first epistle enough or Jesus' admonitions on the mountain in Matthew 5 and following.

What is now, is momentary.

What will be, eventually will be.

We are to live graciously, truthfully, and faithfully and to expect hostility, receiving even that, as manna and honor and returning only love in the name of Jesus.

"For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." -1 Peter 2:20-21 

His steps are the steps of suffering, not coddling.

World Context

"Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene," - Luke 3:1

It sounds like "too much information to some ears.

Yet, it is vital information. It sets the story in time and place so that understanding time and place, the message can be timeless. The truth can transcend its historical setting.

In the arena of God’s activity, there are always multiple events transpiring at the same time.

Everything happens in context.

Christian awareness has a true north focus on the activity of God in the world, but it cannot ignore the world around it. To do so would be to deny that God uses world events to establish a context for His message.

God is aware of our world. He knows its culture, politics and trends. When His Word comes to us, it is in context. The Christian who shuts his or her eyes to the world is going to miss part of what God is addressing in time and space.

Not to acknowledge context is to make God’s Word simply an esoteric nicety with no punch.

At any given time in history, our context might be privilege or persecution or anything in between. It might be hardship or ease. It might be high favor or no favor, but there will always be flavor and ...

God will always be at work in the dead center of things.

Be of good cheer.

Surely, You Jest!

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good."
-Psalm 53:1 (ESV)

 

There is jesting that makes us jolly and jovial and there is truth that makes us joyful. It cannot be assumed that they are the same. Joy is grounded in something beyond the tangible and tangential.  Joy is rooted in eternal truth. That demarks and differentiates the territory between felicity and foolishness.

This verse is not really or primarily about atheism, because it is not about an intellectual conviction or doubt. It is an assessment of a heart inclination that knows one thing and behaves in an oppositional manner toward truth.

There are many theists who have said in their hearts that there is no God. To know one thing and act as if what we know is not true or irrelevant to our lives is foolish.

Neither is it about intellectual deficiency. The biblical context for use of the word, "fool" is almost always the absence of wisdom and moral discretion. In fact, it self-defines in this verse as, "they are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity."

In other words, "You act as if there were no governing truth or Governor of truth in the universe. You live your life in contempt of God."

I used to call this "practical atheism."

Some of my friends would argue that morality and theology have no correlation and I would remind them that I am preaching to the choir who feels that because their theology is sort of OK, that they are OK.

But then, it gets more inclusive than that. Do you like inclusiveness? Try this: "There is none who does good."

None.

Is it "psalmistic" hyperbole, the exasperation of a godly soul who is fed up with all the ungodliness or is it the reality of human depravity and universal susceptibility?

Maybe both.

Does he include himself?

I do not know, but I count me among those who have worn the jester's hat and played the fool.

Every time I forget my Center, I am among the company of spiritual, oral, and ethical idiots who are saying in their hearts (mission control of the decision-making process) that there is no God.

"Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad."
-Psalm 53:6 (ESV)

So, after the initial exasperation of verse one, where the fool says in his heart that there is no God, the psalmist processes things and processes them some more and lands on hope and redemption.

God is in the restoration business.

The opposite of unbelief is, among other things, real rejoicing.

 

 

 

What Matters Most?

Luke 6:12-26 (NRSV)

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

 

A Wide Place

 

 

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

 

" and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts."  - Psalm 119:45 (ESV)

Where is the wide place, the place of latitude, creativity, individual expression, freedom, and joy?

It is not in the realm of structure-less ambiguity or undefined purpose.

It is within the safety and stability of truth.

There we find a wide place.

It is the wide place of grace!

 

We All Suffer

The psalmist either had a short sighted view of God, an over-inflated sense of his and his people's own righteousness, a limited perspective, all of the above, some of the above mixed together, or an insight into how things are in the real world -- that both the righteous and the unrighteous suffer.

 

Some suffering comes inevitably as a natural consequence of making poor choices.

Some suffering comes because we make right choices. MLK called that redemptive.

Some suffering comes because we all breath common air or because other people make poor choices in a world where we breath common air, or because we wore purple on Friday or for some other random or intentional purpose.

Some suffering comes to shape, better, or enrich us.

In any event, we all suffer and no one theological, philosophical, biblical, moral, or scientific explanation can account for all of it.

" All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

(Psalm 44:17-22 ESV)

 

 

When Jesus Shows Up Unannounced

 

Click the GIF above to see all the slides.

The video of this morning's worship is here:

 

 

You may download the PowerPoint in PDF format HERE.

He Who Rafts Last or Laugh Raft or Rafts Rast or Something

Weekend Attempts at Humor 

... because we all need a raft or a laugh or something.

In the Moment

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Some years ago, I paused.

I took a moment to think about moments and decided to write:

I only had a moment ...

Take the Moment

Fritter, fright, flight, or flow. Those are the choices when time expected becomes time allotted and we are disappointed with the time we get.

“I need more time,” is a common cry among the hurried, harried, and harassed of the earth. But there is no more time. The time we have is the time we get.

Most of us fritter the time that we think is not enough for meaningful work.

Or we fritter it further by futilely fighting for fleeting moments that cannot be given by the givers of the earth.

Or we flee from the uncomfortable reality that our plans and expectations will not come to fruition.

With each of those choices, we waste more time and fail to accomplish anything in the moments we have.

All we can do, and remain productive, is flow with and in the moment.

Time how long it takes to savor the flavor of a sip of sweet tea. It is a moment. Track the seconds it takes to entertain a powerful thought. A moment.

When I put something in the microwave, I do not stand and wait for the beep. I go and do something.
And I get it done – in a moment.

Don’t just seize the day; seize the moment!

Movement in the moment can make all the difference in what you produce. If it is only a moment, take it; live it; use it; make a difference!

You have this moment. What will you do with it?

There are times when there is little time. There are moments that are only one moment. To redeem the time, one must step fully into the time. One moment at a time. One moment in time.

Redeeming the time

(A moment is what I had to write this post.)

 

Take the Moment

Fritter, fright, flight, or flow. Those are the choices when time expected becomes time allotted and we are disappointed with the time we get.

“I need more time,” is a common cry among the hurried, harried, and harassed of the earth. But there is no more time. The time we have is the time we get.

Most of us fritter the time that we think is not enough for meaningful work.

Or we fritter it further by futilely fighting for fleeting moments that cannot be given by the givers of the earth.

Or we flee from the uncomfortable reality that our plans and expectations will not come to fruition.

With each of those choices, we waste more time and fail to accomplish anything in the moments we have.

All we can do, and remain productive, is flow with and in the moment.

Time how long it takes to savor the flavor of a sip of sweet tea. It is a moment. Track the seconds it takes to entertain a powerful thought. A moment.

When I put something in the microwave, I do not stand and wait for the beep. I go and do something.
And I get it done – in a moment.

Don’t just seize the day; seize the moment!

Movement in the moment can make all the difference in what you produce. If it is only a moment, take it; live it; use it; make a difference!

You have this moment. What will you do with it?

There are times when there is little time. There are moments that are only one moment. To redeem the time, one must step fully into the time. One moment at a time. One moment in time.

Redeeming the time

(A moment is what I had to write this post.)

Anger and Rash Behavior

Photo by Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash

 

How to Avoid Rash Stupidity

 

When we act out of gut reactions, we often say and do things we either regret or should regret. Acting on instinct does not say much about setting us apart from other mammalian creatures. Instincts are useful, but are not dominant for us as human beings. The psalmist gives us three ideas that can help us and protect us from stupid, rash behaviors.

 

1. Know who you are - You are a person set apart for a higher purpose and a Higher Person. "But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;" This is one you can consult about the matter as well: "the LORD hears when I call to him."

2. Know what you feel. Go ahead and be angry, but divorce that anger from your next decision. By acknowledging your anger, you dis-empower it from control. "Be angry, and do not sin ..."

 

3. Know what you know - To use a biblical term: Ponder on your bed. That means, from a place of rest and removal from the world, consider your options, commitments, and the implications of your actions. When you that the time to "ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent," you gain perspective.

4. For ultimate perspective, give the matter to God completely and wholly. "Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD."

 

Take these steps and you will be far less likely to fly off the handle and act or speak rashly or make truly stupid, angry choices.

 

" But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him."

"Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD." -Psalm 4:3-5 (ESV)

 

The Peace of God be with you.

 

Words Matter

Graphic – from the Wikimedia Commons. By Gary Whitehead

Words matter because, in some mysterious way, they are alive.

"Logos," is defined most often as "word," but it is also "principle," "idea," "truth," or "the things spoken of." It is also the act of speaking.

It is both in-transient and dynamic.

You speak a word, with or without intent, and the DNA of that word plants itself in the soul of the hearer. There, it is influenced by biases and that soul's own hunger. It takes root and bears fruit.

We ought to choose our words so that they are clear, compelling, compassionate, and consistent with what we truly want them to convey and accomplish.

We ought to choose them before we speak them. Choose them with intent and purpose. Choose them, knowing that after we release them, we will no longer have control over how they are received or what they will do in the lives of others.

We need to remember that words matter and that they can build up or tear down.

Let us speak to edify.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." - Proverbs 25:11

 

 

Made for Community

 

Sunday Sermon

April 11, 2021

 

We are designed for community. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead brings us life in so many ways. It restores our fellowship with the Father and it creates a deep and enduring fellowship among us as brothers and sisters with a common peace and a common purpose. Today's scriptures highlight that truth.

 

Taking the Lid Off

 

Some Thoughts from Under the Surface

There is probably no unifying theme here.

 

Honest Prayer

The psalms teach us to pray deeply and honestly without pretense or presumption. They just let it out and then let God sort it all out.

What if we did not judge or measure our prayers before we prayed them? What if we just let all of our negative junk out and laid it on the table before One who is wise, good, patient, loving, holy, and true and then .... well, then, we let that One deal with it.

"This stays; this goes; deal with this; I can handle this; don't worry about this; you might want to rethink this; I hear you. I understand I love you."

What if?

That is how the psalms sound to me. All the vengeful, angry feelings are brought before God before anyone else. All of the despondency we experience is brought to the front so that it can be addressed. All of our hopelessness and fear is exposed and God meets us where we are.

We see all of those heavy bricks of guilt and bitterness hanging on a cross and being demolished.

He knows we harbor hate in our hearts that is weighing us down. He knows that we struggle with temptation. He knows that we feel persecuted and alone. He knows and wants us to bring it to Him.

When we do, we are transformed as we are released from the power of those feelings. They only rule us when we cherish them in our hearts and guard them with all our might.

We may be afraid for people to know we are human, but it is useless to try and hide that reality from God. He knows.

"Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away."
-Psalm 31:9-10 (ESV)

____________________________________________

Now Is the Time! Recession Is No Excuse for Recess!

Have  you had a personal recession during this season of pandemic?

Contrary to the human tendency toward flight in times of danger, these are days for entrepreneurs to venture forth into the unknown and strut their creative stuff. The time is right for new ideas, for niche thinking, and for bold initiatives by men and women who will not be ruled by fear or passing circumstance.

The very limitations, restrictions, and scarcity of our times that cause some to retreat will prompt others to think more creatively and move aggressively into the arena of invention and innovation.

In the midst of recession when the tides of prosperity appear to be receding, there sounds no recess bell. Class is still in session. The need for vision and visionaries is profound. Life goes on. There is a sea change of thinking, a correction in our collective greed for consumption, and a reevaluation of our definitions of success. But people still require basic services and great ideas still have landing places among receptive minds.

We cannot retreat from entrepreneurship, Rather, we must embrace it at a new level. Our communities need out-of-the-box thinkers and risk takers. Our nation and world need people who are willing to move forward to build great business, social, and spiritual initiatives on a shoestring.

Recession is no excuse for recess.

_____________________________________________

Margins Too Wide and Too Narrow

I'm working on margins.

I come to this challenge from time to time and I find it to be a balancing act between making them too wide and too narrow.

If they are so wide that you could drive a truck through them, there is the danger of wasting time between events and responsibilities. That is, unless you carry around a sack of contingency tasks.

Even if you do, you have to take a moment to decide which one fits best with the geography and time allotted - as well as the time of day.

If they are too narrow, you may find that there is not enough time for the most important tasks you'd like to "fit in."

Either way, you have to use your head and that can be painful.

A more important lesson to learn is that no matter how detailed and well considered our plans, there are people and circumstances beyond our control that can alter our plans. If we become to rigid about them, we will crack.

The mighty redwoods are tall, strong, and deeply rooted ... but they are also quite flexible.

Maybe I will use a margin to go stare at one and get back with you.

 

 

"You Don't Say ..."

Or ... Do you?

Say It

How about this? A little formula for saying what you want to say: S.A.Y.- I.T. 

 SAY

S

Search your own heart and mind for what you really want to convey.

A

Assess your audience so that you can access their attention.

Y

Yell softly. Choose high impact words. Notice how the room gets quiet to hear a whisper.

 IT

I

Involve multiple senses and receptors.

T

Terminate before you lose attention. It is better to stop short and leave the door open for future interaction.

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

Here is more:

Saying More With Fewer Words

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)

I am working on using fewer words to say more.

At the very least, there is a hopeful suspicion that more might be read, understood, retained, and activated in choices.

Add the decreased possibilities of slipping into one of many snares of life that are labeled with my name (or so it seems).

There is much more that I could say, but there is wisdom in not saying too much.

That is our working assumption after all.

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

Now, let's take one more step:

Being Still and Knowing

"Be still and know that I am God..."

This is a verse I memorized decades ago. It has been with me since I was a child, inscribed upon my heart and mulled over again and again with ever deepening understanding. However, I suspect that I have not begun to truly internalize the depth of its implications in my life either in the mandate toward stillness or the call to knowing.

On this truth I will meditate this week after Holy Week.

Let's listen to what God has to say.

 

 

How about this? A little formula for saying what you want to say: S.A.Y.- I.T. 

 SAY

S

Search your own heart and mind for what you really want to convey.

A

Assess your audience so that you can access their attention.

Y

Yell softly. Choose high impact words. Notice how the room gets quiet to hear a whisper.

 IT

I

Involve multiple senses and receptors.

T

Terminate before you lose attention. It is better to stop short and leave the door open for future interaction.

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

Here is more:

Saying More With Fewer Words

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)

I am working on using fewer words to say more.

At the very least, there is a hopeful suspicion that more might be read, understood, retained, and activated in choices.

Add the decreased possibilities of slipping into one of many snares of life that are labeled with my name (or so it seems).

There is much more that I could say, but there is wisdom in not saying too much.

That is our working assumption after all.

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

Now, let's take one more step:

Being Still and Knowing

"Be still and know that I am God..."

This is a verse I memorized decades ago. It has been with me since I was a child, inscribed upon my heart and mulled over again and again with ever deepening understanding. However, I suspect that I have not begun to truly internalize the depth of its implications in my life either in the mandate toward stillness or the call to knowing.

On this truth I will meditate this week after Holy Week.

Let's listen to what God has to say.

 

 

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)

I am working on using fewer words to say more.

At the very least, there is a hopeful suspicion that more might be read, understood, retained, and activated in choices.

Add the decreased possibilities of slipping into one of many snares of life that are labeled with my name (or so it seems).

There is much more that I could say, but there is wisdom in not saying too much.

That is our working assumption after all.

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

Now, let's take one more step:

Being Still and Knowing

"Be still and know that I am God..."

This is a verse I memorized decades ago. It has been with me since I was a child, inscribed upon my heart and mulled over again and again with ever deepening understanding. However, I suspect that I have not begun to truly internalize the depth of its implications in my life either in the mandate toward stillness or the call to knowing.

On this truth I will meditate this week after Holy Week.

Let's listen to what God has to say.

 

 

If I Die ...

Can We Live Again?

 

Holy Saturday is a tough challenge for a homiletician. It is a dark day on the Christian calendar. In some church traditions, there is no music and there are no flowers or colors to ameliorate the experience of death and despair as the Body of Christ meditates upon the experience of the church on that day 2000 plus years ago --- and the experience of Jesus in Sheol.

 

Can We Live Again?

 

Is that the question we ask this day on the church's calendar when we consider the time of Jesus in the tomb?

 

Is that the question we ask in our own darkest moments?

“If a man die, shall he live again?” (from Job 14:14)

The age-old cry of humankind is for eternal meaning. Is there anything beyond this world of pain and tears that brings meaning to these moments while transcending them? Is there a life beyond the grave or is all futile?

 

Perhaps Job did not really know the answer, but he did have a glimpse. We do know that, unlike most men and women, Job was willing to serve God for nothing. He was willing to worship the Lord with or without reward or promise of life.

 

Job's God was not running for office. His status did not depend upon human referendum. He was God and that was that. Because He was God, He deserved praise. Job would come into a deeper understanding of God's Sovereignty, but the seeds were present even before his testing.

 

As is true of Job's pressing questions, the answers come fully in Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the final statement of death's final defeat. For the one who follows Jesus, there is hope beyond death. John said that he was writing his gospel so that we might know we had eternal life.

 

There are countless men and women in our communities yearning for answers to the ultimate questions of life. God sets Job up as the ultimate example of an earnest seeker. He records Job's search so that we might identify and be led toward a relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

Job's story is our story. His yearning is our yearning. His needs are our needs - not to be free of pain and discomfort, but to see God face to face and find our answers in Him.

 

" For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven …” - II Corinthians 5:1-2

 

Job 14:1-14

(NRSV)

"A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, comes up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last. Do you fix your eyes on such a one? Do you bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one can. Since their days are determined, and the number of their months is known to you, and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass, look away from them, and desist, that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days. "For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant. But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they? As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up, so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep. Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If mortals die, will they live again? All the days of my service I would wait until my release should come."

 

 

 

Good Friday Thoughts

 

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple … - Luke 16:19

 

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! – John 19:5

 

When I see purple I think of Lydia who, in the book of Acts, was known as the dealer of purple.

 

Purple was a precious commodity, the garment of royalty, the symbol of wealth.

 

Purple is a featured color in the Lenten season as we meditate on the road to the cross that Jesus trod.

 

It is also an element of two of Jesus’ teachings, one that he spoke and another that he lived. One was a parable and the other was a reality.

 

Jesus spoke of a rich man, clothed in purple, who died and discovered that all he had valued and cherished in life was worthless in light of a Godless eternity. This man begged for a drop of water and someone to warn his brothers. He was simply called, “a certain rich man.”

 

Later, Jesus would also ask for a sip of water, from the cross. Just prior to that pivotal event in salvation history, Jesus was paraded before Pilate clothed in purple. The soldiers were mocking His message of a spiritual kingdom that transcended all human kingdoms.

 

Jesus wore the purple unwillingly on His willing path to bear the shame of the world for our salvation. The rich man wore it with a prideful heart proclaiming his superiority and gaining nothing. One exalted himself and was humbled. Jesus humbled Himself and was exalted.

 

And both wore purple.

Spiritual Foolishness and Wisdom for April 1

 

Meme theology calls this "National Atheists Day," but it misses the point.

"The fool denies God IN HIS HEART  and acts corruptly." - Psalm 14:1

The psalmist was not talking about doubters, debaters, or seekers, but about those who know and ignore.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." - I Corinthians 1:18

Spiritual foolishness is about the heart, not the intellect.

 

Jeremiah describes the fool that says in his heart there is no God, not as a person who has trouble believing, but as one who knows there is a God, but ignores that fact. That is also what the psalmist described - one who makes no room in his or her heart for God, for righteousness, for justice, or for truth.

 

In other words, stubborn and self-centered.

 

Spiritual foolishness is about the heart, not the intellect.

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

Jeremiah 16:10-21

And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you ...

 

"Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us?"

 

"What is our iniquity?"

 

"What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?"

... then you shall say to them:

 

It is because your ancestors have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law; and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors, for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn evil will, refusing to listen to me.

 

Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.

 

Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," but "As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them."

For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors.

 

I am now sending for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

 

For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight.

 

And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.

 

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.

 

Can mortals make for themselves gods?

 

Such are no gods!

"Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD."

 

 

 

To Speak a Word in Season to the Weary

The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary …  – Isaiah 50:4

As we celebrate the beginning of spring, we do so with hearts ready for a change. We have grown weary of winter and anxious for a change of seasons. Spring is the season of hope and new life. It is a season of encouragement.

God’s Word reminds us often of the power of the tongue to build up or to destroy.

What a gift to be able to use the tongue of the learned, as a gift from God, to encourage and strengthen a weary brother!

He goes on to exclaim that God awakens him every morning with new instructions and wisdom.

You can have the tongue of the learned as well if you will listen to God, read His Word, keep an open heart and mind, and be willing to share a word of blessing with those who have grown tired of living.

The greatest privilege in the world is found in lifting someone else up and moving them forward on their road to spiritual success. There is no greater honor or joy than to be a part of someone else’s life story of God’s blessings through grace.

Often, all it takes is a word to bring springtime to someone’s winter of discontent. To give it, we must be willing and ready to receive it from God, to listen intently, and share generously.

Glorified

Photo by Elijah Hiett on Unsplash

 

“Now is the Son of man glorified and God is glorified in Him.” – from John 13:31

You must take it all as a package or there is no glory. Jesus understood that these final days were one great redemptive event – from mingling with the crowds and teaching them, to provoking the Sanhedrin with His very presence, to the upper room, the washing of feet, the prayers in the garden, and on to the cross.

It was the process of God glorifying Himself in His Son. It was all part of the package: His life, death, and resurrection were one magnificent demonstration of the power of God.

Jesus had spoken similar words when some gentiles had come looking for Him. He responded that the coming of these men was an indication that He was soon to be lifted up from the earth and to draw all men unto Him. Lifting up could mean exaltation or crucifixion. In this case, it meant both. He moves from tragedy to triumph in a split-second intersection of time and eternity.

This time he speaks of being glorified as He confronts the one who will betray Him. This is strange to our warped thinking. But this is Jesus who donned the apron and wiped His disciple’s feet. This is the one who taught that the path to greatness is servanthood. This is the Master of great reversals.

Our Lord never lost sight of the big picture.

He did not stop with cross in His panoramic view of His mission.

He did not even end the story with rising from the dead.

He taught His friends that He was going to the Father through this path of glory and that He would come to them in a new way to indwell them, that they might do even greater works. He promised further that He would come again visibly to introduce a grand new eternal day. It was about glory.

It is still about glory.

Take a walk in the garden this morning where there is an empty hole in a rock, a barren place where death once dwelt. What do you notice but emptiness? He is not there. He is risen!

The work of redemption is done. It was worth it all. The pain and the suffering have accomplished their ends. He is alive and we can live also.

What name do you give to your pain of the moment, your struggle of this hour? Call it suffering or call it glory. It all depends upon whether you view it from the present or from the resurrection.

 Now is the Son of man glorified

 

 

 

Second Half

Do you remember when the San Francisco 49ers were known for their ability to come from behind after half-time and win a football game in the second half?

 

"It seems, in fact, that, the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

As much as I love Dostoevsky, I am not buying that ... at least not for my personal collection of life artifacts.

I can see where one might make the observation and where it might be the norm. However, I want to defy it.

One must grant that the resistance to reinventing oneself is heavy and the force of habit is strong. The road to establishing new patterns of thought and practice is uphill and treacherous. But there exists such a path and one can choose to take it.

We preach resurrection hope this Sunday. That means that we do not have to be defined by inertia whether we are objects at rest or in motion.

Centrifugal force is only as strong as our commitment to break free while relying on a Power that is far greater than ourselves.

May your second half be your best.

 

As much as I love Dostoevsky, I am not buying that ... at least not for my personal collection of life artifacts.

I can see where one might make the observation and where it might be the norm. However, I want to defy it.

One must grant that the resistance to reinventing oneself is heavy and the force of habit is strong. The road to establishing new patterns of thought and practice is uphill and treacherous. But there exists such a path and one can choose to take it.

We preach resurrection hope this Sunday. That means that we do not have to be defined by inertia whether we are objects at rest or in motion.

Centrifugal force is only as strong as our commitment to break free while relying on a Power that is far greater than ourselves.

May your second half be your best.

 

Palm Sunday Reflections

 

 

Palm of Rejoicing

“ … Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” – John 12:13

 

It was not the first time that the children of Israel had employed palms in their worship of God. During the Feast of Tabernacles, the palm was to be one of other implements for rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of God.

 

”And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.” - Leviticus 23:40

One day, the King came to Jerusalem to prepare for His crowning with a crown of thorns. One sort of tree would welcome Him. Another would suspend Him between earth and Heaven and time and eternity as the sacrifice for our sins.

 

But as He entered the city, the people welcomed Him as a hero and so He was and is.

 

Before the week could end, He would die.

 

After the Sabbath, He would rise again.

 

And then, ascended into Heaven, His people would remember the Sunday of Palms throughout the generations and even till today. We remember why He so resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem and what He would face there. We remember that He knew far more about His fate than the masses, yet He entered without hesitation or reservation.

 

We see palms again in the scriptures as history begins the process of coming to fruition. It is in Heaven that the palms are waved in rejoicing and praise. This time, no crucifixion or contradiction of sinners awaits Him. This time, He is the genuine object of the praise of those who understand fully who He is and why He came.

 

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”- Revelation 7:9

 

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

Worship with The Fellowship of Joy

Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021

 

Jesus Did Three Things:

 

• He Portrayed a Vision of Servanthood
• He Predicted Victory as the Sovereign Savior
• He Presented Himself as the Vicarious Suffering Servant

But This Is an Emergency!

 

 

Photo by Erik Kroon on Unsplash

What is emerging from this frenzied emergency?

Is it focused action built upon predetermined objectives, rooted in enduring principles? Or is it reactive and mindless flailing after perceived winds of crisis?

Is it urgent? If so, what is the source of the urge? Is it essential? Then of what is it the essence?

Things are not always as locked in as they seem. This is the soil in which I will prayerfully dig at the crest of a new day. Perhaps I will hit bedrock and build my day on that. Perhaps I will still be digging at midnight. If so, there will be hope for a fruitful tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going for today.

God is with us as we think and that awareness lays the foundation of prayer. It is bringing God into our thoughts, though He is never far off, and thinking in concert and conversation with God. Prayer focuses us and directs us as God grounds us.

With enough prayer, we can know our urges, sort them, trust them, and be guided by them without allowing them to rule us.

With enough prayer, essentials will be discerned more clearly based upon the essence of what and who we are in relationship with Him who is eternal in nature and purpose.

With enough prayer, something enduring and purposeful will emerge from each emergency in profound contrast to the knee jerk reactive thinking of our precarious times.

With enough prayer, we will waste less time and accomplish more than we thought we could.

So, while there are no guarantees of immediate results, I am going to dig a bit in prayer, assured that the emergency is just part of the process of something being born through me and may not be what it seems on the surface.

DIG:

D = Dig for DEFINITION

If we can't name it, we can't claim it. If we can't wrap our minds around it, we need to keep seeking. Definitions must be held loosely in our hands and minds, but even a tentative definition of our issues can focus our attention on positive outcomes. It can also help us sort through the fluff that tends to dominate and waste less time, energy, and resources on lesser goals.

I = Dig for INSIGHT

Just as there may be far more dark matter in the universe than known and observable matter, there is far more that we are yet to know than we now know and far more that we will never know in this life than is possible to grasp. However, a glimmer of insight into ourselves, our times, other people, and the meaning of our circumstances through the knowledge of the Holy Other can catapult us to far better decisions today than the ones we made yesterday.

 

G = Dig for GRATITUDE

When prompted by crisis to act and act now, focus often diverts to self-interest and survival. We might be very successful at survival while utterly failing at the purpose of our survival. We have lived another day without really living at all. We have added nothing to our world. Real accomplishment is rooted in gratitude for what has been given. Gratitude is the human response to divine grace. It receives, gives, and gives thanks. It loosens our belts without letting our slacks fall to our socks. It relaxes us while it energizes us. The attitude of gratitude seasons our legitimate and holy discontent with enough flavor to make our work palatable and productive. If I am having difficulty being grateful at the beginning of this day, I just need to dig a little deeper.

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

Perhaps. the most positive response to an emergency is to dig deeper than the actual emergency and urgency of the moment and discover our longer and livelier challenge for the next lap of our race, the next phase of our journey.

Let your emergencies prompt you toward greater significance.

 

Meaning of the Moment

Photo by Grant Jacobson on Unsplash

What is the meaning of my moments and movement beyond the movement of the moment?

In Genesis, the story of Joseph crescendos with this dance he choreographs to reconnect with the brothers who dealt so treacherously with him years before.

Perhaps they have tried daily to forget, but they cannot. Nor can they know fully the pain and possibilities that were pregnant in their choices.

When Joseph "sets them up," they are confronted with a question that is deeper than the moment:

... Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done?" - Genesis 44:15 

In fact, the deed they had most immediately done was none - none that would indict them. They are different men at that day than the men who sold their brother as a slave, but their transformation is not complete until the reconciliation is transacted and Joseph was confront them as much as they must be confronted ....

And they must confront the question that has ultimately brought them to this moment, "What have you done?"

It is, in the long run, a redemptive question and it is ours. It is mine? What is the meaning of my moments and movement beyond the movement of the moment?

What is the meaning of my life in an honest and full assessment of my life?

What would it mean apart from redemption?

What does it mean in the light of redemption?

This is our moment for reflection.

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

May this be your day!

You may not realize it, but all your life, you've been waiting for this day.

 

It may be after 4 PM where you are, or after 7 if you are elsewhere, but whatever the time of day, this is still, the day for which you have been waiting and preparing your whole life and ....

... the good news is ...

 

You can play this again tomorrow and ...

 

... IT WILL STILL BE TRUE!

 

 

Born in Dying

"It is in dying that we are born to eternal life." - Prayer of St. Francis

 

So, let me die today and die daily.

 

There is nothing in my instincts to pray such a prayer.

But then, there is nothing in my instinctual drive to cling ...

... to extinct-ual or

... extinguishable

"living" that

lives beyond the moment.

 

I pray to resist that drive, that urge, that urgency to

survive that

extinguishes life.

 

Some day, that will mean laying down my body, but,

today it means ...

laying down this body of sin,

of self,

of sensual necessity that says,

"I am thee," but

is not me.

 

Nor is it Thee in me, Oh God who knows

and gives

and lives

in and through

all who die this way.

 

I prayed, "Kill me," and

Thou didst not...

and would not.

 

You said, "Just die and live," and

I tried it and I did and there You were!

 

You handed me a cross and said,

"Go carry it."

 

And I asked, "What is it?"

And You said,

"It is the pain and suffering and pain and disgust,

and ugliness, and bad choices, and bitter gall,

and nasty words, thoughts, and accusations,

and hateful hurts of those You will meet today."

 

And I said, "Why should I?"

 

And You said, "Because I did and do and you said that

You wanted to follow me and this is what we carry."

 

And I said, "The burden is too heavy."

 

And You said, "I know."

 

And I asked, "So?"

 

And You said, "Go ... I am with you."

 

And so ...

 

I did ... at least that day and then I asked,

"What do I do with them?"

 

And You said, "Bring them to me,"

 

and I replied, "But You already have all of these,"

 

and You said, "Mind Your own business, I've got it handled."

 

I said. "OK, You are the Master,"

 

and You smiled and said, "I know."

 

Master, this really feels and lot like living and You said,

"I know. I told you so. What you though was living,

was not.

 

It distorts your view because the lens is sprinkled with mirrors

always pointing back at you and

seeing life and events and people from

ego and self-interest and it is not in your

self-interest to be

that interested in yourself.

 

Deadsville!

 

Die to Deadsville and live!"

 

In so many words.

 

And so, Lord, I die today,

I nail Deadsville and my citizenship there with all my credentials and investments to

Your cross.

 

Thanks for my cross. It fits me.

 

I sort of like it.

 

I know I love this new life You have given me and

I really love these people You keep bringing into my life.

 

Help me to bear their burdens until I can get them to You and

Thank You for bearing them and mine.

I am starting to get it ...

It is in dying that we are born

To eternal life.

 

I look forward to seeing You face to face some day,

When I have laid down this body of flesh and this cross.

Thanks for the invitation and for paying the admission price.

 

Thank You, my Jesus,

My Lord, my Savior, my Friend, and My Brother,

 

Amen.