" Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." - Psalm 138:7-8 (ESV)
Who among us does not walk in the midst of trouble?
Yet, who among us and reading this has not survived such trouble?
Indeed, we walked in the midst and were preserved. We are alive to testify that not all trouble takes away our life or our reason to live.
It is God's purpose for which we live and are alive ... and in His purpose, we thrive. He has fashioned us for the brief moment we live and will lovingly and faithfully write the final chapter of our lives ... and a chapter that resounds with grace and love and joy.
We are not yet done.
We are a people of purpose, beloved and not forsaken.
We are, at all times, the objects of God's undivided attention.
" You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" - Psalm 56:8 (ESV)
The lesson here is that God must have an extensive library of thick, wet books. He just does not miss these things. God pays close attention.
Nothing distracts God from fulfilling the purpose for which we were placed here. We are never forgotten, ignored, nor overlooked.
It evokes the response of trust from us.
" When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" -Psalm 56:3-4 (ESV)
This goes for all time and any time. Trouble colors the backdrop on our lives. It surrounds us and sometimes, overwhelms us, but the scriptures declare hope.
Psalm 40:11 shouts in my ear, "As for you, O LORD ..." 5 powerful words that trump all other assumptions, attitudes, and pronouncement of men. My character and moods may waver, but "as for God ..."
Psalm 40:17 ends with the prayer of an impatient man, "do not delay," cries he who is learning to wait patiently on the LORD.
In retrospect, it was a minor irritation and a low level problem, but I lost my phone on Halloween seven years ago and assumed it was stolen along with vital information that left me vulnerable and without a means of communication.
I remember writing:
My phone was stolen today and I finally realized I had a tracker on on. So we rode around town for a while tonight and I even knocked on one door where it was located, but it was not there and moved. So, I'll have to cancel the service tomorrow. I may be able to get delayed voice mails. We shall see. I've changed my main passwords. Life is fun!
The fact is that we chased that phone all over town and we were always a mile behind. We were getting into shadier and shadier parts of town and it was getting dark and ominous. So we quit.
Two days later, we found the phone, lodged under the back seat of my wife's car. It had been there all along, sending out a signal ahead of us. We would have chased it forever - or at least until the battery died.
I think I have chased a lot of problems and solutions that way, rather than trusting that God will always bring His purpose to pass and that I can trust Him with my well being.
"Grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home."
October 30, 2019
Like a daisy Losing Life through drooping blooms, Loosening pedals, Languid luster, Like that! Lackadaisical phase, Looming leveler of a Dooming craze. Into the maze we fall Lackadaisical.
There is no gossip here today, not major revelations, no breaking news, no scandal, no impending indictments, no judgment, no criticism, no prophetic utterance, no profound secrets.
There is nothing to whisper or to shout.
There is just an invitation to relax from it.
Come away ... today. Just snuggle, rock, relax. Rock away your cares. Find a space, a place of grace Away from layers and layers of dares To do this and be that ... Rock, rock, rock and let the prayers Of the moment and the memories of moments And the prayers of others form a cushion for Your soul and rock in the arms of One who Loves you as you are and Invites you to make yourself at home.
Your word for the day - respite.
Blessed respite, Holy retreat, Quiet reflection, Deep respect, How we embrace thee. How we welcome thee. How we anticipate thy refreshment.
Take the opportunity of it today.
Spell it out!
OPPORTUNITY OP:Opt in POR: Poor, yet rich TUN:Tune self to A440 of life IT: Focus on the "it of it" Y: YES to life = OPPORTUNITY
Perhaps you need a musical accompaniment for this moment of respite.
I hear a lot of jokes and criticism about the younger generation, but I am a big fan. The major reason I am is because I appreciate the value they place on value. They are not interested in spending time on empty rituals, habitual activities, or anything that does not count for something or change the world.
"Tradition" is not a good answer when they ask why they should show up. They show up for social media. It is fun for them and that is a value, but it is also more. It is about connecting and counting.
Social media is fun for me also, but that is not what it mainly is.
I love the pictures, jokes, and light conversations.
I enjoy the learning I do. Learned people post links to articles I can check out for myself. I can delve more deeply into subjects introduced in your posts.
I get greater exposure to history, philosophy, science, the arts, public affairs, and literature.
We also toss around great ideas from varied perspectives.
We get to promote people doing outstanding things in the community. We can pray for each other and encourage each others.
Sometimes I get the news in social media first and then check the more primary sources
Yet, the main thing will keep me coming back is this: the ability to lift up love, truth, justice, and God's Word, the opportunity to connect people with hope and with each other, the possibility of making a difference.
These are the things that count most to me --- the value we can add to each other and to our communities.
That is what makes it count for me.
I don't argue much online. I throw out ideas ( mine or others').
You have to do your own work with them. When challenged, I will spend limited time clarifying my position or perspective out of respect.
I may even refine my position.
We have different perspectives because we have lived different lives and accepted different narratives of reality. They have become the lenses through which we perceive truth.
It is a long game to introduce new ways of viewing things.
It is really not much different than three dimensional real time, which I have not abandoned at all. It is just faster, more immediate, and includes more people over a wider geographical expanse.
I love social media, because where else could I attach Chopin's "Nocturne for Piano and Violin" to the end of a blog about social media when it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter?
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field … He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; “ - Matthew 13:24-, 37-38
The sower grabs a handful of seeds and tosses them.
He does so generously and in a manner that may seem to some to be indiscriminate. It is called scattering and was a common way of sowing seeds in Jesus’ day. I have planted gardens by placing each individual seed in the ground and covering it carefully. And I have planted grass in the manner described by Jesus.
Don’t be stingy and miserly with God’s seeds.
He keeps track of them and knows where each seed falls. He has entrusted them into your hands – first to His Son and now to you. He expects that you will throw them about into the wind without regard for knowing where each one lands. You can not, you need not, you may not.
The Son of Man sows good seeds and sends forth His disciples to sow good seeds as well. He does not require that good seeds fall only among other good seeds. Not only is that not His way, it is not necessary. Every seed eventually reveals its own true nature.
That’s what seeds do.
He knows that some seeds will be lost to unprepared soil.
It’s OK, there is no shortage of seeds. Perhaps at some other time the soil will be ready. Keep sowing. The implications are double for us. We not only bear in our own lives the fruit of His seed, but we also are called to accept the challenge to be co-laborers in His field.
The call to sow seed requires us to accept the enormity of the challenge, while resting completely in His grace and trusting Him for the fruit.
We may sow freely, liberally, and with joy knowing that there is contained within each of God’s gospel seeds the power to change lives, families, communities, and nations.
Shine and cast your shadow over all that come near you.
Shining and shadowing, you shall give light
and definition.
Because you believe, others will find the courage to believe.
Hearts full of love and laughter and life... Songs prompting our best and repose. Awaits, rest we suppose, But life, more life, more love beckons us And love alone is what reckons us Believers ... full of love and laughter and life.
Christianity is not on decline in the world. It is exploding.
In a Washington Post article on May 20, 2015, Wes Granberg-Michaelson noted,
"While Christianity may be on the decline in the United States, the world is becoming more religious, not less. While rising numbers of 'nones' — those who claim no religious affiliation when asked — claim the attention of religious pundits, the world tells a different story. Religious convictions are growing and shifting geographically in several dramatic ways."
Granberg-Michaelson goes on to support his argument with some bullet points.
"The center of Christianity has shifted from Europe to the global South."
"In Latin America, the massive Christian population is becoming more Pentecostal or Charismatic."
"Global migration matters ... About 214 million people have moved from one country to another as migrants and refugees, or are in that process."
"Immigration shapes the U.S. religious landscape. In the United States, about 43 million residents were born in another country, and immigrated here. Of these, about 74 percent adhere to the Christian faith, while 5 percent are Muslim, 4 percent Buddhist and 3 percent Hindu."
"There are three times more Protestant Hispanics in the United States than Episcopalians."
In a June 2019 article in Facts and Trends by Aaron Earls, he makes seven observations on the global growth of Christianity. Four of them are:
Christianity is growing faster than the population. There are 2.5 billion Christians in the world and Christianity is growing at a rate of 1.27%. World population growth is at a 1.20% rate.
Pentecostals and Evangelicals are growing fasted and picking up speed.
Atheism has peaked."There are fewer atheists in the world today (138 million) than there were in 1970 (165 million)."
Christianity is growing in cities.
In a Faith and Leadership article last year, Granberg-Michaelson said, "As Christianity shifts to the global south, Christians in the U.S. must ‘de-Americanize the gospel’ and be open to movements of the faith in other cultures, says the author and denominational leader."
The mindset of the average American Christian is both euro-centric and Americanized. We view the gospel movement through lenses of our own culture and presuppositions. Missional and kingdom-centric followers of Jesus will need to change glasses in order to see more clearly what God is doing in the world.
It may also take a fair share of humility with a dose of humiliation to acknowledge that we are no longer the leaders of the movement.
For many of us, this will come as good and encouraging news.
It is great to think that the focus and center of modern Christianity is no longer English speaking. Even in America, the epicenter has moved from the Anglo/European church to the more recent diaspora among us.
Those who cite a decline in Christianity are not taking a world/missional view. We are revealing our biases.
You clean up, fix up, or straighten up and it goes well for a while and then ... you relapse into a worse state than before.
There is a futility in constantly cleaning up and not dealing with the roots of what pollutes us, corrupts us, and manipulates our thinking into even deeper futility.
An interruption in a cycle that is empowered by its own forces will only be temporary.
Christian faith and spiritual transformation are not about momentary behavior modification or immobilization of peripheral demons. To repent is to recognize the difference between where we are going and where we can go and to change direction.
We have been invaded by the Kingdom of God and the King Himself has come to invite us into transformation, liberation, and deep significance. This is no passing matter or minor deliverance. The enemy that seeks to entrap and destroy the soul is sinister, persistent, and patient. We can choose a different master and step away from the "generation" bent on destruction.
We need more than subtle reformation. We need re-FORM-ation in all of its implications.
Jesus speaks to the frustration of the human condition and its resistance to transforming grace when He says,
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” -Matthew 12:43-45 (ESV)
"Reposting" is not in my online dictionary as a real word, but it is a part of our daily usage and practice.
We "repost" all the time, little tidbits, anecdotal "evidence," and clever arguments that support the ideas we already embrace.
If we see something in the news, no matter how reputable or disreputable the source, we "repost" it as long as it underlines and supports our views.
Don't get me wrong. I am not off-the-hook for this.
I like the news to support my narrative of reality as much as anyone, but ...
I do not like egg on my face if subsequent facts prove me wrong
... and I love truth ... so I am waiting to do analysis and draw conclusions until more facts surface.
Speaking of that, I did some reflecting on truth 10 years ago and made these notes:
I Hate Truth ... sometimes
Sometimes I hate truth ...
sometimes ...
But only the way a kid hates his parents for a flash of a moment when they yank his chain and put a lid on his poor choices. The hate is really love lashing out at the boundaries.
Example: I don't want to go online and look at my bank balance ... mainly because it tells me the truth and I am not sure I want to know it ...
But I need to know it if I am going to do anything about it.
Sometimes I can't do anything now, so I don't want to look. Yet, still I need to know.
It is the shock that I really want to avoid.
But the shock does not last forever and the information goes into a pot on low heat and eventually will combine with other ingredients and produce a creative stew of possibilities.
That will only happen if I am willing to look at the truth.
That is why I just checked my online bank statement.
Ouch! I need to turn up the heat a notch.
I really don't hate truth at all. I love truth ... I think.
I am concerned about one of the ways we are dealing with truth and the numbing effect it is having on our sensitivities. With the news cycle keeping us informed of so many tragedies and travesties of justice, we can get numb, or calloused, or even belligerent.
We need to cultivate our compassion filters. Our hearts and minds need a compass. We need the heart of God for real people that are touched by everything reported in the news.
The Jesus Way is the way of compassion, love, and grace whatever our prevailing narrative or philosophical framework might be,
Compassion is fragile. We declare it and own it until it challenges something we cherish more dearly like our cherished narrative or our personal comfort or our sense of indignation at the behavior of our enemies or our neatly arranged systems of thinking about almost anything. Then, it is the first value to go. Compassion is fragile.
We could start every day with an attitude of compassion that says from the outset, "I am going to filter every impression I form through the pain of the people involved."
That would be a start.
Then, come our words and they may be the words we speak and repeat or the words we post and repost.
Words are things and they have lives of their own.
They travel. They mutate. They infiltrate.
Once released, we cannot retrieve them.
We are likely to be misunderstood even when we are careful with them, more likely when we are careless.
What would Jesus post?
And ... if he were not such an original thinker ("teaches as one with authority"), repost?
Social media is here to stay; let's learn to use it in the service of truth and compassion.
There is some truly well written material here on Facebook and Twitter and in the blogsphere.
It is fresh, immediate, and compelling.
It is edgy and controversial.
It is raw, real, and relevant.
Of course there is junk, untruth, half-truth, and trash. You have to sort it out. You have to explore the sources and verify, but the wealth of information from the ground and the collaborative power of thinking together is a gift of our times.
I don't agree with everything I read, but when I find something well thought with which I disagree, I find it a lot easier to address what it is with which I truly disagree and not be sucked into a sinkhole of generalizations or a shooting match of talking point bullets.
I really love this medium for the potential it has for reading, thinking, responding.
It is the Luther-Erasmus correspondence -- only quicker!
It is up to you - all of you - how well it will be used.
"whatever is is, and what is not cannot be". - Parmenides
Days pass ... weeks, months, years ... decades slip away, Accelerating, Jubilating, Re-creating, Innovating life, Invention of our minds, Intention of our hearts, ... or something else .... confiding .... Residing in our soul .... Guiding to some goal?
Is there a whole in the hole ... A purposeful role we play in the scheming dreaming of these days? Is there more in gleaming rays to our ways that doth Unfold as the story's told? Am I bold ... or just old?
I cannot, will not, shall not fade away in this story. I cannot, will not, shall not wade away from glory. I cannot, will not, shall not get stuck in a rhyme. Not this time!
Yesterday seems so long ago. And many yesterdays like recent past and present ... but it does not last. Nothing lasts but That which Is and ... In that Isness nothing passes, nothing is lost. Flowers wilt as do the grasses, great the cost, Mass the masses, lads and lasses move in great procession Through our memories but ever present In the heart of That which, He which Is and In that Isness I reside for that same Isness resides in me.
Grace, peace, joy, love, and wonder, from God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you all, this day and always and forever more.
It is easy, but now in the way you might think of ease.
There is a roll that suits you completely.
You may work harder than you've ever worked, but your steps will be light, your heart will be light, and your hope will be bright.
You will awaken to new days with a renewed spirit and an enthusiasm to start again.
There is a calling that is perfect for who you are ... who you were made to be.
There is a partnership that will bring deep rest to your soul, even as you labor with more energy and output than you have ever experienced.
"... my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:30
God DOES give you more than you can handle ... just no more temptation than you can run from.
He teaches us to trust and rely on His strength and help.
It is never more than He can help us handle.
It is too much to handle alone.
A yoke is "a bar or frame that is attached to the heads or necks of two work animals (such as oxen) so that they can pull a plow or heavy load." - Merriam-Webster
On that occasion, Jesus said “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you; because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father this was your gracious will.
“Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” —Matthew 11:25-30
Jesus' yoke is the yoke that allows us to plow with him and with each other.
It fits. Anything that does not fit, being to big or too small, hinder and injures us.
It is is reasonable. It is not a collection of hundreds of religious regulations nor is the arbitrary rule of an oppressive, occupying force.
It is the yoke that affords us the rest that can only come from fulfillment.
The easy yoke is χρηστός, kindly to wear, good, and serviceable.
The kindred noun, χρηστότης, writings, is rendered kindness in the writings of Paul.
"Christ's yoke is like feathers to a bird; not loads, but helps to motion" (Jeremy Taylor).
No man or woman is happiest in a vegetative state of inactivity and drudgery.
We have a desire within us to make a difference.
The yoke of Christ is a call to work in his kingdom, but it is a call the the weary, the burdened, and the oppressed. It is not a call to retire or retreat, but an invitation to come and engage in something that matters.
When we are so engaged, we find real rest and deep joy.
Since I need a little advice here, I think I will give it to myself.
I get stuck sometimes.
It is not usually an absence of options, but a plethora of them.
One gets stuck in the process of choosing and then shuts down.
I have decided the explore the nature of being STUCK and then I can work backwards to UNSTUCK. I have no idea what i am going to write. Join me:
S = Stymied. That implies being thwarted by some outside force. Certainly outside forces influence us negatively or positively, but the reality is that most of the stymieing comes from within. The backwards step is to identify the cause and dis-empower it. However one need not over-identify, for analysis of paralysis can lead to even more paralysis. Just acknowledge the force standing guard to prevent your progress and relieve it of duty. It is at your command and, if there is a real problem, it can be dealt with at some other time. Confront the stymies with the supremacy of your own will over whatever resistance lies within you. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
THE CURE FOR THE STYMIES IS SUPREMACY.
T = Timidity. We are afraid. We are afraid of the shame, embarrassment, and disappointment that failure will bring and the increased responsibility of success. Therefore, we are timid, tenuous, and terrorized by and decisions we might make or actions we might take. After all, we might make a mistake. We might produce mediocre work. We might open a keg of worms. Our "mights" take away our might. To extrapolate and combine two verses, we are taught to take our thoughts captive and giving them to the the One who has not given us a spirit of timidity. We are also instructed to think on things that are wholesome, beautiful, and good. So, we talk to ourselves or, as we used to say, "We give ourselves a good talking-to."
THE CURE FOR TIMIDITY IS TALK.
U = Under the Circumstances. Being UNDER the circumstances means that we surrender to chance, coincidence, and happening. This, by the way, is the root meaning of "happy," to be subject to chance or fortune. That is why it is utter foolishness to place our happiness above all else in life. We cannot control our happiness. We can always choose it, but it is better to choose joy. "Joy," in the Greek, is from the same root word as "grace." Grace is a gift freely given and always available. We can receive it and choose to continueto live in it. It allows us to "go with the flow" and grow in the process. It gives us permission to fail and try again. It transcends happiness and happenstance. When we choose to live by grace and gratitude, we take whatever is given us and utilize it for good. We incorporate our pain as well as our pleasure into our goals and dreams. We use the cards we are dealt to win. We utilize our resources to live above the circumstances.
THE CURE FOR "UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES" IS UTILIZATION.
C = Crisis. Something "comes up" and we freeze. We put our plans on hold and break our pattern of discipline. We get discouraged. The origins of the word, "crisis" are found in the ideas of judgment and the turning point of a disease. it can be either good or bad. Statistically, positive and negative events in our lives create similar levels of stress that can affect mental and physical health. Change is stressful. Sometimes in a crisis, we remain as we are, but that does not mean we freeze. It means we continue to "keep on keeping on." One potential benefit of crisis is confrontation. It is an opportunity for bringing our ideas and practices into account, for evaluation, and for improvement. In the crisis, we must confront all the negative forces and choose that which will move us forward toward our God given dreams and goals. We must do so honestly and hopefully. See crisis as an opportunity to grow.
THE CURE FOR CRISIS IS CONFRONTATION.
K = Knowledge.But isn't knowledge a good thing? It is, but Dad always said, "Son, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." It is an old question and debating point. In the Garden of Eden, it was not "The Tree of Knowledge" that threw humanity into a tailspin. It was the fruit of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." It was the knowledge that distorts wisdom. It obscures truth by filtering it through a haze of negative options. Knowledge is always filtered. We are always gazing through a screen of presupposition and experience. How we see the world is as much a matter of choice as the choice to eat forbidden fruit. We choose our biases either consciously or unconsciously. We could not be fully human without the choices we were given in the very beginning. When we are stuck, there is something wrong with our beliefs and understanding of reality. To get unstuck, we have to believe differently and expand our thinking to include a larger reality of unexplored knowledge. When Adam and Eve ate from the pretty tree, they were choosing to turn their back on all then other unlimited options for knowledge and growth. The knowledge they chose was extremely limited and futile. We need to grow in our thinking and think bigger more mature thoughts. We know enough to be dangerous, discouraged, and desperate, but not enough to be dominant over our lethargy and apathy. We need more knowledge.
THE CURE FOR KNOWLEDGE IS KNOWLEDGE.
We can insert the "UN" in front of "STUCK" by grace through faith because these are ...
U = Universal principles.
They work because they are based upon truth that is enduring and preeminent. Truth is truth in anyone's hands. When activated it takes on a life of its own.
N = Neutral.
They do not require anything but application to be operative. Whatever your faith system or affiliation, you can begin to put them into practice and they will help you get unstuck. However, an experience with the author of the principles will enable you to exercise greater confidence in them and fully realize all the benefits that are yours in relationship with Him: grace, mercy, forgiveness, significance, purpose, and eternal life. Click here and on the other links to explore more about that larger reality.
When we follow Jesus, it might be a very rocky road where we travel. It is part of the demand. It is part of the contract. It is part of the joy.
"As they were going along the road, someone said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' To another he said, 'Follow me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Yet another said, 'I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home'” Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'” - Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)
Outlandish?
Audacious?
Extreme?
Radical?
Unreasonable?
Shocking?
Absolutely. Discipleship is a consuming passion leaving all other passions in the dust by comparison.
That is the nature of consuming passions., Look what people leave behind for passions and consider that eternal significance asks no less than a temporary "burn."
The hand is to the plow. Looking back is not part of the deal. What consumes you?
How about that. Is there a "passion vine" growing in your soul? Passion is pain. Compassion in shared pain. Passion is power. Shared passion is healing power. Power becomes a flower. The flower blooms all summer. Let it bloom and then, let is scatter seeds and bloom again in Spring. Nurture the passion vine within you.
God the Father with His Right Hand Raised in Blessing - Girolamo dai Libri (1474–1555)
God of all that is without Whom there is not, God of all that was, without who nothing has been, God of all that can be and should be and might be, God of all that shall be. God of unfolding wonders and un-fathomed waters of wisdom, God all who live, who have lived, and shall live, God of me .... my God, our God, God of Jesus, Savior, Friend, God revealed in Spirit and in Flesh,
You are here with us, and for that, we are ever grateful.
Hear our morning prayers. Hear our heartfelt cries for mercy. Hear our burning, yearning groans for those deep needs we cannot express with words.
You know our wounds, our open, oozing sores. You know our stubborn, egotistical ugliness, but ... You also know what beauty lies within us, that which is of You, that which You would nurture inside of us.
With penetrating eye and skillful hand, root out our sin and heal our shame. With gentle hand, guide us into Your purpose for our being. Arrange our lives today and supersede our presumptions.
Grant us divine appointments and the spirit of serendipity to embrace them. Laugh with us today; weep with us; look with us upon your world with love.
Oh, Master Designer, design our lives, my life, to conform with your vision. Fill our hearts with peace, with joy, with holy love that we might serve you in serving others. May not a moment be wasted of this day, not a thought lost, not a word vainly spoken.
I come, Father, referred by Jesus, Whose name I gladly take as the banner over my life. I come willing to die to self today, but weak in the flesh, I identify with Jesus and express my desire to You, to follow Him ...'
Wherever He leads.
I have no other agenda worth attending to ...
Amen.
Because any hymn of praise will do today! And this one is lovely.
" if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
"The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven ..."
Psalm 11:3-4 (ESV)
I have heard the first part of this often quoted, but it is not an open ended question.
In fact, the question is answered in the next sentence.
It is a hypothetical question with a built-in answer such as, "If it were not for gravity, where would we be?"
"If math did not exist would anyone really count?
"Would we have any order without the laws of nature?"
There are words for such a literary device.
The fact is, the real foundations are not and never have been destroyed.
The foundations do not consist of our laws, constitution, corporate morality, cultural norms, or anything else over which we have power and authority.
The real foundations are eternal and defined by God's presence in His holy temple, on His throne in Heaven.
With that in mind, keep in mind that there will always be something that the righteous can and must do. We are never abandoned and, thus, we are never off the hook.
I "like" a lot of pages on Facebook and other social media --- even those I don't necessarily "like" because I want to follow the ideas, interact with them, and gain information and insights.
Some of my "likes" may be endorsements, but that cannot be assumed.
Just like real life, if we do not interact with people who have differing perspectives, we will find ourselves in entirely circular and narrowing conversations where we have no relevance to anyone else except the people in our shrinking room ... and eventually, just to the person in our mirror.
Following Jesus into the world means lots of conversations with folks who are "outside" of our circle of assumptions. He did that and then Paul followed and expanded that.
You don't see Jesus "in church" all that much.
His most memorable sermon was on a mountain and some of his most memorable conversations were with folks who were not his disciples.
So, I may like your page or someone else's that you like or do not like and I like to think that you like the fact that I might or might not like everything, but I likely like you!
One day, I was cleaning my office and I swept a small mountain - well maybe a molehill, but you know how we make them grow - of pennies off my desk, into my hand, and into my pocket.
What surprised me was my level of annoyance at the bother of it all.
That surprises me. I reflected at length once, in a blog, on "Lessons from a Penny." That was ten years ago, the same year I first reflected these reflections.
Have you ever wondered this? I did:
HOW MANY PENNIES THERE ARE IN AMERICAN LANDFILLS.
I was amazed to discover that this subject is no stranger to the world of Google nor to Snopes where one observer noted "I suspect that this is one of the 16% of stats that is made up on the spot. "
From there, I was referred to a discussion of investing in copper pennies as bullion.
Some years ago, Time Magazine revisited Ben Franklin's adage, "A penny saved is a penny earned."
It is food for thought and you can keep the change - not to mix metaphors - at least not a primary purpose.
Here is a ten year old quote:
"James Benfield of the Coin Coalition, a lobby group for eliminating the penny, figures that 25% of annual penny production ends up in landfills."
Not mine, James! When I was first reflecting on this, I noted: Mine ends up in my two year old granddaughter's mouth or my three and a half year old grandson's collection if I can't get to them first and secure them safely in a can or other container.
Then, when I am really, really broke, I scrounge for enough of them to buy a cup of coffee.
I still scrounge, but again, returning to 2009, I observed:
"It will take fewer of them on January 3 when I turn 55 and celebrate by going to McDonalds for a senior coffee and spend the entire morning getting refills and reading a book."
I do not think there is an additional discount for 65, which is next. In fact, the price of a senior coffee has more than doubled since 2009.
Back in the day, cleaning my desk and floors could buy me coffee for two days.
These days, I seldom use coins or cash or, at fast food places, even hand my card to a human being.
Maybe I'll join one of those old guy clubs that meets at 6:00 A.M. every morning for tall-tale-telling and post-achievement bragging.
"Back in the day, we had something called a penny and we could earn them by saving them."
"Yep, my old daddy told me that if I kept mine, I'd never be broke."
Not broke maybe, but not able to buy anything either.
Just how many pennies are there in the U.S.?
Those decade old estimates ranged from 115 billion to 200 billion.
The growth may have leveled off by now.
I know. I know. You just do not see the value in them. They are a nuisance, an annoyance, a blight on your existence.
So, send them to me and I will take care of them. I think for 2 billion dollars I can afford a warehouse and a staff to count and catalog them. Pennies for Tom - 12638 Cumorah Dr. Clovis, CA. 93619.
No need to thank me. I just want to do my part to save the landfills of our great nation.
Do you ever check page 10 of a Google search? I did and found that we had started to degenerate into discussions of metaphorical pennies, like this excellent article of saving them and saving the environment. I will call it The Article. It is worth a look.
Finally, as I jiggle the pennies in my pocket, I want to congratulate this blogger who is saving them and giving the earth a shot in the arm. Here is a shout out to Amy Dunbar and her quote, "Not only am I saving pennies, but I am keeping a few things out of the local landfills. Go me!"
Of course, this all inspired me to a song and dance:
I need a break from making too much sense or whatever else goes along with that. When things get too heavy, it is time to lighten up for a minute.
I sat to Write A poem on a pad. I wanted More But this is all I had.
Since that did not work out very well. I decided to try something else. Let me be random and bizarre and bear with me.
Chatter does not matter. Flatter me and scatter me. I get fatter and fatter on blather that will not rhyme ... Nor reason.
That makes no sense ... but isn't that the point? Not everything must always make sense. Eventually, gravity and magnetism center things. Therefore ...
Sipping Peets
Major Dickason's. To my horror realized I have been spelling AND pronouncing it WRONG. What other deep errors assail me?
Please poor me
another cup
of cough-free
cough-fee.
And I did. I had more coffee and it helped a lot.
Finding a note about watching some candidates taking themselves way too seriously, I reflected:
It was a painful debate to watch.
I did not appreciate all the questions nor their answers.
On the other hand ...
I am out of hands. I guess everyone made their positions and demeanor fairly clear.
So, as Lincoln said,
"If this is the sort of thing you like, you will probably like this sort of thing."
Sometimes I do like that sort of thing ... and there is no escaping the suffering, pain, ugliness, and nonsensical seriousness of our world for long. We must return and repair.
So, I leave you with a quote that actually might make sense ... at least to me ... because it is mine.
Hate never accomplishes anything but more hate, ignorance, violence, and mistrust. It is good at building walls where we need roads.
At some point, most people will need a doctor and maybe a team of doctors. A health challenge will emerge that will consume time, energy, and focus beyond what might be considered routine.
Here is a book that might need to be written (By me? With you? With others?) if someone can find time in the midst of actually doing it:
"How to Be Your Own Primary Care Coordinator"
If you have more than a couple of specialists working on and poking around your body, you better learn how to take charge of keeping, sorting, coordinating, and asking questions about the information.
I am talking about databases and notebooks now.
Collect and cross-reference everything.
Initiate - You must begin the search for information and clarification. You must decide what your questions and needs are and pursue them.
Investigate. - Use 3D and virtual library resources and makes sure they are the most credible and peer-reviewed that you can find.
Interrogate. - Ask questions.
Annotate. - Take lots of notes on what you learn, how you feel, who you've talked with professionally, your tests, your results, your procedures, your treatments, and your activities.
Collaborate. - Join groups of fellow travelers. Compare notes. Share experiences. Share resources. Listen and learn. Share and help others.
Negotiate. - There may be more than one approach to the treatment you need. You need to discuss your options fully with your doctors.
Participate. - Do this fully in your care, in decision making, and in keeping track of your data. Do not depend upon anyone else to keep your records up-to-date. Check and double check the patient portals where you get your treatment.
Appreciate. -Be grateful for the people on your team - doctors, nurses, technicians, care-givers, family, and friends who are helping you manage your medical journey.
No one physician can specialize in everything about your particular body. There are not enough hours in a week. You are unique and you are your own primary care coordinator.
This is a bit off the path of my usual topics, but I felt that it might be helpful to someone and being helpful is my primary purpose here.
There are good people of good conscience that I know. They pray for guidance about their politics and their electoral responsibilities. They formulate principles that guide them based upon their understanding of scripture and ethics. They evaluate candidates and initiatives based upon their principles, values, and priorities. Then, vote differently from others who do the same.
I am not bothered by this when it happens that way as long as everyone is seeking goodwill, truth, and following this exercise with integrity of heart.
God likes to remind us that no matter how much insight He bestows on us, no one gets it all and no one gets it perfectly. He seems to want us to know that we have to struggle individually and in community for truth.
Unity grows out of diversity of culture, perspective, experience, language.
We have no perfectly uniform common language, not even among English speakers. There are many versions of English in this country as an example.
We have varieties of experience with suffering.
We have differing memories of how things used to be.
Our nostalgic impulses are shaped by how we experienced events that were for some dreams come true and, for others, nightmares. Some missed them altogether, oblivious to that part of our shared heritage.
It takes work and it takes civility to make the work of democracy work.
We cannot accomplish anything positive if all we do is call each other names or malign the intent of the other. It is tempting to do so once we have what we consider the correct insight or priorities, but we must resist.
It we are going to have a participatory and representative democracy, we have to do it and we have to do it with imperfect leaders.
We will disagree with our leaders and about our leaders. It does not mean that we devalue anyone as a human being.
There are people in public life who behave very badly, some in their personal lives, others in their public life, some in both.
Lest any critique of public behavior that I speak be taken out of context: I believe in redemption and reconciliation, freely given by grace to the least deserving.
I believe in the enduring possibility of repentance for the vilest of sinners - hope of new life, abundant forgiveness, bountiful mercy, fresh and new beginnings.
The vilest of attitudes can be transformed.
The ugliest pride can be melted.
The most boisterous boasting can be tempered with humility.
The most resistant heart can be melted.
The most hardened heart can be softened.
The same mouth that speaks mean, ugly, dishonest, hateful, and divisive words can be filled with words of compassion, encouragement, blessing, and affirmation. The very motives that drive us can be transformed.
There is nothing God cannot do in a heart truly humbled by Him and willing to confess its own need.
Newton realized this as grace taught his heart to fear and grace, his fears relieved.
If I speak against any other attitude, words, deeds, or behavioral patterns, it is in the light of this reality: Grace is greater than all of our sins.
All criticism of the public behavior of public people is in the light of my great need, depravity, and sin and the grace of God that is transforming me as the mercy of God renders me clean only through Jesus.
That being said, there is a place for calling out damaging and public belief systems while they are still a part of the shot-calling mechanisms in which we participate. We have to name the sin in order to deal with it and find hope.
And when this is done, some people of good will shall disagree with the priorities and perspectives of others.
But light must continue to shine and those enlivened by the Spirit cannot be silent on matters of conscience.
“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” - Luke 8:16-18 (ESV)
'With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes. I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words."
Published by Guillaume Rouille(1518?-1589) - "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum " Public domain
"Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD ... " - 2 Kings 21:1-18
So, what is the deal with this guy that gets him assigned the reputation of doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
First cited are the abominable practices of the nations.
What were they?
First, they were practices that negated, marginalized, excluded, and violated the worship of Israel's God, YHWH, who was, over the centuries, making Himself known as the One true God to whom was due ultimate loyalty. Part of that loyalty was based on gratitude, but it was also put forth by the prophets that it was the only loyalty that made sense.
Then, there was the premise that BAAL represented the kind of local deity-based nationalism and empire-building qualities that were represented in his own mythology. He was a god who became surpreme by conquering other gods and that was translated into a religion of conquest and domination. To be fair, the early history of Israel coming into the land of Canaan and displacing the nations there has a similar tone, but a different rationale.
Next, one of the things that the people of YHWH found detestable and YHWH spoke against, was the fertility rituals of the BAAL temples. One of the practices of fertility religions was to act out the sex act to give the gods the idea of what to do to make the crops grow. This led to "sacred prostitution" which not only became a moral stumbling block to the laity, but victimized the women who were conscripted into the practices.
Manasseh encouraged this practice as well as the practice of sacrificing his own children and victimizing his people.
Remember that the Torah while having social laws in common with some of the other progressive systems in the Ancient Middle East, was one of the most liberal, fair, and just systems in its time. It insured the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and the alien. It regulated and restricted the severity of punishment. It set up a process for adjudicating justice between neighbors.
Manasseh abandoned the Torah and it meant that his rule was unjust for the people.
Then, we are told that he not only went astray, but he led the people astray.
He set up decentralized worship which, in his time, meant worship with no sense of center in God. It was a do-as-you-please, think-as-you-please, live-as-you-please, self-absorbed religion that was materialistic at its heart.
Not only did he proliferate this practice in various places, but he brought it into the temple.
Manasseh co-opted the religious establishment to promulgate his own power, lust, and greed.
Manasseh shed innocent blood. His attitude toward humanity was that it was dispensable. People existed, according to his despotic attitude, for his own service and ambition.
Human reign is conditional. Human power is subservient to Divine power. Manasseh violated the conditions of his reign and power. He did evil in the sight of God.
Consequently, he brought the whole nation down, not just by his own doing, but because the people went blindly along with him.
They consented to the evil.
"Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel"
Nothing could redeem Manasseh's reputation, but the people could not avoid their responsibility either, just because they were "misled."
All human power must be constantly challenged and restrained.
That acknowledged that one purpose of human power is to restrain evil. It is also the purpose of the populace to restrain the runaway potential for evil in those to whom we assign temporal power.
Even when we have power, we must constantly seek out those who will challenge and restrain us. Humility and integrity demand it.
We do have power entrusted to us and we must never trust it.
Only God is ultimately and perfectly trustworthy.God creates, through our agency, and authorizes institutions which entrust power to individuals and assemblies, but it is never unconditional.
All human power, though necessary and deserving respect, is corruptible and demanding of restraint.
We have that responsibility to require accountability of ourselves and of those who carry out our collective will.
Appreciation, accountability, and respect walk hand in hand, but the people of God must know where their ultimately loyalty lies.
Let us read, consider, and reflect upon the scripture here and decide how we will respond.
Other accounts show us the repentance of Manasseh in the 11th hours, but that is not the point we are amplifying here. While Manasseh found grace and mercy, the consequences of his sin were already in motion for the people he led astray.
2 Kings 21:1-18 tell us the story:
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah.
He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, following the abominable practices of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.
For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.
He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put my name." He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
He made his son pass through fire; he practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
The carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever; I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them."
But they did not listen; Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel.
The LORD said by his servants the prophets, "Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these abominations, has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has caused Judah also to sin with his idols; therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle."
"I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line for Samaria, and the plummet for the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies; they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors came out of Egypt, even to this day."
Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he caused Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.
Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza.
Several years ago, a friend of a friend suggested that as we vote and participate in the body politic, our highest criteria should be the rights of Christians.
I did not wish to rebuke or correct that person directly or publicly. So I thought about it and waited to address the principle itself.
For all who cry out "What about our rights?" when the issues of human rights, dignity, and justice are raised, I have a thought.
Respectfully, as much as I believe in religious liberty for all people of all faiths, the scriptures do not teach believers to passionately pursue our own religious rights or value them over service, discipleship, justice, peace, and compassion.
We are to exercise them as if they were absolute and willingly accept the consequences when they are not recognized by society.
Our rights are secondary as we are called to follow Jesus in an historically and spiritually hostile world.
Nothing can stop us or hinder us from being servants of Jesus who serve Him by serving others.
Not nakedness nor peril, nor sword.
Be encouraged. No one can deprive a Christian of the ability to worship, serve, and follow.
Only our natural lives and livelihoods can be threatened.
What really counts is secure.
If we will observe His command to love God and our neighbor, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him, we will either live or we will die ... but we will be doing what we have been placed here to do.
When our voices cry out against injustice and for human rights, may they do so more often for the rights of others than for our own.
That will be a test of true discipleship.
And now, a few unrelated (or are they? One never knows) quotes uncovered from my archives
When I stood outside the church looking in, I found much to criticize. But once I fully entered the church, I realized the difficulty of sustaining anything like the New Testament vision of what the church should be. I have much more sympathy for the church's failures now that I am contributing to them! Church 'frustrates us into holiness,' says Richard Rohr, by holding up a shining vision and then inviting us to join the lackluster reality. (pp.72/Church: Why Bother? my personal pilgrimage)" - Philip Yancey
"The deeper truth is that . . . Your pain is the concrete way in which you participate in the pain of humanity. . . . Jesus’ suffering, concrete as it was, was the suffering of all humanity. His pain was the pain. . . . Once you discover that you are called to live in solidarity with the hungry, the homeless, the prisoners, the refugees, the sick, and the dying, your very personal pain begins to be converted into the pain and you find new strength to live it. Herein lies the hope of all Christians." - Henri Nouwen
"Bred in the bone . . . Hope is the Creator’s implant into us, His traveling children, on the move into a future we can imagine but cannot control. Hope is our fuel for the journey. As long as we keep hope alive, we keep moving. To stop moving is to die of hope deficiency." - Lewis Smedes
It has often been said that everyone it entitled to their opinion.
Certainly, everyone seems to have one and there are numerous platforms for broadcasting opinions, perspectives, prophetic utterances, criticisms, and judgments. Anyone who wants to say anything can do so and be heard.
Everyone is entitled by the laws of nature and society to do so in a free country.
Perhaps they are, but, from my perspective, morally, ethically, and pragmatically. I am not always entitled to an opinion - at least not a public one.
I sometimes refrain from forming one that I can articulate.
I sometimes restrain myself from expressing one that is in process.
Sometimes, I just wait.
Some examples of when I refrain:
When I do not have all the information, perspective, or tools for empathy with all parties - or enough to form such an opinion.
When I do not have the wisdom or discretion for such an opinion.
When I am not a party to the matter in such a way that my opinion is helpful.
When having a public opinion is more hurtful than helpful.
That is my opinion and the circle of that opinion is drawn tightly around myself. My opinion about opinions is not binding on your opinion(s) or behavior.
And like all my opinions, public or private, it is subject to adjustment, change, or complete reversal.
In the meantime, there is more at stake than me exercising my privilege or right to have my say about everything under the sun.
Sometimes the answer is blowin' in the wind.
And sometimes, we need time to look at things from all sides. And sometimes, after doing so, we still don't know.
It's OK to say, "I don't know for sure. Ask me again later.
I have often driven the streets and alleys of my city.
And often, I have mourned.
Mourning becomes prayer.
Prayer becomes action.
Action results in further mourning and deeper prayer.
How can we not mourn and pray?
"... there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed."
I see all of this and more.
You see it too.
God sees and weeps.
God, please don't stop breaking my heart for the cities.
Keep me tender and wounded within for the brokenness I see.
Give my soul no complacency or retreat from the nagging call to bring this all before You and bring Your call of steadfast love to the ears and hearts of people.
"Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away."
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