Where do you go when the birds don’t sing,
the sun doesn’t shine and it rains all the time?
Where do you go?
What do you feel when warmth can’t be found,
life’s abundant fruit is ice and pain abounds?
What do you feel?
Who will you be when sorrow thrives,
fear flourishes and the soul becomes dry?
Who will you be?
Why does he stay when I turn away
from the sound of his voice and the hope of his radiance?
Why does he stay?
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
YOU! That one little three-letter word that defines a living being, has caught my attention as I read my Bible and I am not sure I feel completely happy about it. In Exodus 3 God used that simple word to assign Moses two very difficult duties; first Moses was to confront the most powerful leader in the known world and challenge his authority to rule his own nation. Then Moses was to lead the million plus person caravan from Egypt into and through the desolate wasteland, back to the land he had promised Abraham. It reads so simply; God tells Moses that he has “seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying because of their slave drivers and I am concerned about their suffering.” God went on to say to Moses, “I have come down to snatch them away from the hand of the Egyptians . . . . Now YOU go . . .”
Say what? God tells an 80-year old shepherd who is a wanted fugitive for murder to go back to where he committed the crime and speak to Pharaoh. Crazy!
It would not be so scary but God seems to repeat this sort of thinking with the very next guy he put in charge in Joshua 1. Moses has just died and God speaks to Joshua like a coach telling his team to get out there and play smart after their star player can no longer play; God basically says “get over it” Josh and start leading like you’re capable of leading. It is the YOU thing all over again but this time with the added caveat to be strong and courageous because “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Say what? God tells an 80-year old shepherd who is a wanted fugitive for murder to go back to where he committed the crime and speak to Pharaoh. Crazy!
It would not be so scary but God seems to repeat this sort of thinking with the very next guy he put in charge in Joshua 1. Moses has just died and God speaks to Joshua like a coach telling his team to get out there and play smart after their star player can no longer play; God basically says “get over it” Josh and start leading like you’re capable of leading. It is the YOU thing all over again but this time with the added caveat to be strong and courageous because “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
You! You go; You do; You lead; You provide; You say something.
Most Christians in America don’t like this sort of thinking since we have moved to the paid professional model of church. We have experts just like engineers or doctors, who have been trained for this sort of situation. We pay them to get out front and lead on, just like the point man in a combat platoon. It’s OK if these professionals do the real work of sharing with others since they have been taught just what to say and do under the most difficult situations. Unfortunately, in my life God keeps coming back to that YOU concept.
Take a closer look at Luke 9 where we find Jesus expanding the duties of the Twelve by assigning them the task of taking the Kingdom message of hope and compassion that he has been teaching, to the outlying communities. Christ wants his followers to speak about the hope we have in the promised arrival of God’s solution for a fallen world (Kingdom of God is at hand) with the demonstration of compassion for their blight of living in this world. Christ gave his followers power to touch peoples’ lives; to make a real difference by ordering them to mix practical ministry along with his teaching.
The feeding of the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two small fish was part of this outreach training since the disciples need to learn what they can do when they partner with Christ in ministry; feeding these very hungry folks demonstrated to the Twelve that they have access to his authority through his enabling. It is the same lesson that Moses and Joshua had to learn and yes, the YOU word appears again when the disciples express their concern about feeding that many people in such a desolate place, only to have Christ tell them: “YOU feed them!” I can just hear them in my mind saying something like: "Right, I will just run down to the corner store and pick up a few things for dinner. I will be right back next week sometime and can you lend me thirty thousand bucks to help cover the costs?"
Who is this guy named Jesus? Based on interviews with Joe Plumber, most Americans would place Jesus among the great religious teachers while questioning his miraculous power or his clam of deity. Did he really feed all those people? Liberal theologians teach that the real miracle was Jesus understanding human nature and placing the crowd in a position where they could relax (felt less threatened in small groups) and share the food they brought with them to those around them. Yet this event demonstrates Jesus’ compassion for the blight of mankind (v 11), his control over creation (vs.16 & 17) and his ability to make provision for life (vs. 12 & 13) while he continued the ministry of hope and compassion he had given the Twelve.
Jesus telling the Twelve “You give them something to eat” allowed them to participate in something they had never contemplated doing before. Each disciple of Jesus has to learn that he ministers by Jesus’ enabling that gives him access to Jesus’ power. This is an important lesson for each of us and for the church. Evangelism requires engagement with others and consists of both Word and Deeds. I believe that the Confessing Church in the days ahead will need to return to this model of engagement-oriented outreach. As our nation’s economic crisis continues to unfold, there may very well be a disintegration of the social and political safety nets that people have become used to counting on. This will create opportunities for the Confessing Church to minister to a lost and dying world in Jesus’ Name.
Keep in mind that any time you pray for the practical needs of someone Jesus might just say: “YOU . . . . “
Most Christians in America don’t like this sort of thinking since we have moved to the paid professional model of church. We have experts just like engineers or doctors, who have been trained for this sort of situation. We pay them to get out front and lead on, just like the point man in a combat platoon. It’s OK if these professionals do the real work of sharing with others since they have been taught just what to say and do under the most difficult situations. Unfortunately, in my life God keeps coming back to that YOU concept.
Take a closer look at Luke 9 where we find Jesus expanding the duties of the Twelve by assigning them the task of taking the Kingdom message of hope and compassion that he has been teaching, to the outlying communities. Christ wants his followers to speak about the hope we have in the promised arrival of God’s solution for a fallen world (Kingdom of God is at hand) with the demonstration of compassion for their blight of living in this world. Christ gave his followers power to touch peoples’ lives; to make a real difference by ordering them to mix practical ministry along with his teaching.
The feeding of the 5,000 with five barley loaves and two small fish was part of this outreach training since the disciples need to learn what they can do when they partner with Christ in ministry; feeding these very hungry folks demonstrated to the Twelve that they have access to his authority through his enabling. It is the same lesson that Moses and Joshua had to learn and yes, the YOU word appears again when the disciples express their concern about feeding that many people in such a desolate place, only to have Christ tell them: “YOU feed them!” I can just hear them in my mind saying something like: "Right, I will just run down to the corner store and pick up a few things for dinner. I will be right back next week sometime and can you lend me thirty thousand bucks to help cover the costs?"
Who is this guy named Jesus? Based on interviews with Joe Plumber, most Americans would place Jesus among the great religious teachers while questioning his miraculous power or his clam of deity. Did he really feed all those people? Liberal theologians teach that the real miracle was Jesus understanding human nature and placing the crowd in a position where they could relax (felt less threatened in small groups) and share the food they brought with them to those around them. Yet this event demonstrates Jesus’ compassion for the blight of mankind (v 11), his control over creation (vs.16 & 17) and his ability to make provision for life (vs. 12 & 13) while he continued the ministry of hope and compassion he had given the Twelve.
Jesus telling the Twelve “You give them something to eat” allowed them to participate in something they had never contemplated doing before. Each disciple of Jesus has to learn that he ministers by Jesus’ enabling that gives him access to Jesus’ power. This is an important lesson for each of us and for the church. Evangelism requires engagement with others and consists of both Word and Deeds. I believe that the Confessing Church in the days ahead will need to return to this model of engagement-oriented outreach. As our nation’s economic crisis continues to unfold, there may very well be a disintegration of the social and political safety nets that people have become used to counting on. This will create opportunities for the Confessing Church to minister to a lost and dying world in Jesus’ Name.
Keep in mind that any time you pray for the practical needs of someone Jesus might just say: “YOU . . . . “
Sunday, February 8, 2009
America has begun a new year with a fresh President in the Oval Office who has many of the talk shows and newspapers voicing a renewed sense of confidence in the long-term future of our country. The President is telling us that he hopes for a better, brighter future for every American, with improved economic growth, sense of fairness in our foreign policies and the realization of the American Dream for our school children - that anyone can overcome their personal difficulties and become President of the United States.
This begs the question that each of us needs to answer? Where do we place our confidence for today, for the future or for that matter in time of personal need? How do we as individuals fit into all of this? In whom, or in what, do we place our hope?
Take a moment and think back about a specific time that you entered an old barn or work shed on a bright sunny day. Can you feel the dampness and smell the dusty odor of the barn? If the structure is reasonably tight there will be little light probing its way through the slab wood siding into the building once the door is fully shut, maybe just one or two spots such as a knothole or a crack in the wall where a bright beam of light drives back the darkness. Give your eyes a moment to adjust and you will begin to notice that you can make out many of the familiar shapes around you in the very weak light provided by the sunbeam, while there are still lots of dark places that the weak light just does not penetrate. If you look closely at the sunbeam traveling from the entry point in the wall to the floor you can see the hay dust floating through the light beam as it rides the air currents.
Your hope or confidence for the future can be understood in that beam of light. While it may not seem very important to you to think about that beam of light entering the dark barn, C.S. Lewis suggests that how you perceive and interact with the light beam reveals two very different characteristics about your faith in God. On the one hand the beam of light illuminates a portion of the dark barn where the beam penetrates the wall, but as you move away from the beam everything else resides in gray shadows before falling into deep pockets of darkness. If you recall from your science class, darkness is the absence of light, so with the sunbeam in attendance (even just a small amount) there will be no absolute darkness. This unfortunately is how the vast majority of us live our life of faith and how we understand Christ’s teaching in Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world”. We see ourselves as reflectors for Christ – we think of ourselves as a specular (mirror like) reflection where the light of Christ reflects from us to those around us in our small portion of the world. Many Christ followers in America study their Bible, worship and pray for loved ones from the perspective of standing in the barn and trying to have light rays reflecting off of them in such a way as to illuminate Christ in their lives.
This does not work out very well because of our fallen nature and this form of interaction with the light beam is often characteristic of new or undeveloped followers of Christ. Unfortunately, much of the light that reflects off of us is diffused and does not produce an image of Christ. Thus we just look like the good neighbor who lives next door or that nice office guy who takes the time to help out in a pinch: just an all-round good person but nothing to get excited about.
Yet, C. S. Lewis points out that each follower of Christ can learn to step into the path of the light beam in order to look along that path to the source of the light outside the barn to discover that there is an entire universe bathed in light. As you press your eye against the crack in the wood slat or knothole you can see the beauty of the world outside. Learning how to live out our confidence in God by looking at the source of light and not just trying to reflect the light, makes a tremendous difference in our faith walk. I believe that this is what David is telling us in Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?” Our entire perspective changes and our hope becomes focused on the light-giver who lives in inapproachable light.
Take a moment and read Psalm 27 through twice – the first time as if you were standing in the barn next to the sunbeam crying out to God for personal help and protection in time of need. Now step into the sunbeam and focus your eye at the source of light knowing that illumination penetrates fully every corner of the universe except this lost and broken world. By standing in the light and looking at its source, it breaks through all the darkness that surrounds you. Verses 2 & 3 teach us that God’s protective presence and care provide confidence (total trust without fear) across a wide spectrum of trouble. Since David was a warrior he expressed this total trust in terms a fighter would understand, ranging from a few violent men who want to harm him to an all out war. David’s desire to experience the deep personal intimacy of God gives him the boldness to ask God if he (David) could reside where God normally lives his life -- Keep in mind that in David’s culture you didn’t really get to know someone until you lived in their house 24/7. This moment-by-moment living relationship with God allows the Psalmist to encounter not only the goodness of God but also God’s protection, which leads to praise (Verses 4-6). Verses 7-10 express a deep inner yearning to experience the reality of verse 5 that moves David to cry out for a deeper personal relationship with God that transcends the problems of life. In verse 10, David’s confidence in God is so strong that even if the most intimate human relationship, that between parents and child, should unravel God would still be there to watch over him and protect him from the darkness that surrounds him.
The Psalm ends with David expressing his expectation that he will experience God’s goodness here and now in this life – this is real hope and true confidence! However this requires that we are to be strong and courageous (verse 14); and keep in mind that David is speaking from a warrior’s point of view. A living faith that truly reflects Christ to those around us requires a fighter’s strength and courage. This then is my prayer for you today: With your eye pressed against the slot in the slab wood you will see the universe as it was created, for God’s Glory and under his full control. Because of this you can live a strong and courageous life, waiting in complete expectation that God will further reveal himself to you as you look at him in the light beam.
This is hard work!
This begs the question that each of us needs to answer? Where do we place our confidence for today, for the future or for that matter in time of personal need? How do we as individuals fit into all of this? In whom, or in what, do we place our hope?
Take a moment and think back about a specific time that you entered an old barn or work shed on a bright sunny day. Can you feel the dampness and smell the dusty odor of the barn? If the structure is reasonably tight there will be little light probing its way through the slab wood siding into the building once the door is fully shut, maybe just one or two spots such as a knothole or a crack in the wall where a bright beam of light drives back the darkness. Give your eyes a moment to adjust and you will begin to notice that you can make out many of the familiar shapes around you in the very weak light provided by the sunbeam, while there are still lots of dark places that the weak light just does not penetrate. If you look closely at the sunbeam traveling from the entry point in the wall to the floor you can see the hay dust floating through the light beam as it rides the air currents.
Your hope or confidence for the future can be understood in that beam of light. While it may not seem very important to you to think about that beam of light entering the dark barn, C.S. Lewis suggests that how you perceive and interact with the light beam reveals two very different characteristics about your faith in God. On the one hand the beam of light illuminates a portion of the dark barn where the beam penetrates the wall, but as you move away from the beam everything else resides in gray shadows before falling into deep pockets of darkness. If you recall from your science class, darkness is the absence of light, so with the sunbeam in attendance (even just a small amount) there will be no absolute darkness. This unfortunately is how the vast majority of us live our life of faith and how we understand Christ’s teaching in Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world”. We see ourselves as reflectors for Christ – we think of ourselves as a specular (mirror like) reflection where the light of Christ reflects from us to those around us in our small portion of the world. Many Christ followers in America study their Bible, worship and pray for loved ones from the perspective of standing in the barn and trying to have light rays reflecting off of them in such a way as to illuminate Christ in their lives.
This does not work out very well because of our fallen nature and this form of interaction with the light beam is often characteristic of new or undeveloped followers of Christ. Unfortunately, much of the light that reflects off of us is diffused and does not produce an image of Christ. Thus we just look like the good neighbor who lives next door or that nice office guy who takes the time to help out in a pinch: just an all-round good person but nothing to get excited about.
Yet, C. S. Lewis points out that each follower of Christ can learn to step into the path of the light beam in order to look along that path to the source of the light outside the barn to discover that there is an entire universe bathed in light. As you press your eye against the crack in the wood slat or knothole you can see the beauty of the world outside. Learning how to live out our confidence in God by looking at the source of light and not just trying to reflect the light, makes a tremendous difference in our faith walk. I believe that this is what David is telling us in Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?” Our entire perspective changes and our hope becomes focused on the light-giver who lives in inapproachable light.
Take a moment and read Psalm 27 through twice – the first time as if you were standing in the barn next to the sunbeam crying out to God for personal help and protection in time of need. Now step into the sunbeam and focus your eye at the source of light knowing that illumination penetrates fully every corner of the universe except this lost and broken world. By standing in the light and looking at its source, it breaks through all the darkness that surrounds you. Verses 2 & 3 teach us that God’s protective presence and care provide confidence (total trust without fear) across a wide spectrum of trouble. Since David was a warrior he expressed this total trust in terms a fighter would understand, ranging from a few violent men who want to harm him to an all out war. David’s desire to experience the deep personal intimacy of God gives him the boldness to ask God if he (David) could reside where God normally lives his life -- Keep in mind that in David’s culture you didn’t really get to know someone until you lived in their house 24/7. This moment-by-moment living relationship with God allows the Psalmist to encounter not only the goodness of God but also God’s protection, which leads to praise (Verses 4-6). Verses 7-10 express a deep inner yearning to experience the reality of verse 5 that moves David to cry out for a deeper personal relationship with God that transcends the problems of life. In verse 10, David’s confidence in God is so strong that even if the most intimate human relationship, that between parents and child, should unravel God would still be there to watch over him and protect him from the darkness that surrounds him.
The Psalm ends with David expressing his expectation that he will experience God’s goodness here and now in this life – this is real hope and true confidence! However this requires that we are to be strong and courageous (verse 14); and keep in mind that David is speaking from a warrior’s point of view. A living faith that truly reflects Christ to those around us requires a fighter’s strength and courage. This then is my prayer for you today: With your eye pressed against the slot in the slab wood you will see the universe as it was created, for God’s Glory and under his full control. Because of this you can live a strong and courageous life, waiting in complete expectation that God will further reveal himself to you as you look at him in the light beam.
This is hard work!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A New Day
It has been awhile since I felt the pulse of a V-Twin revving beneath me and I am tired of winter yet spring will come and there will be a time to ride again. Today is not that day!
Learning how to move with the ebb and flow of life is difficult when you are task oriented. Connecting takes time and effort; it is not easy to learn how to cruse along letting the wind howl in your ears and to feel the pulse of the engine just for the joy of riding. One of the wonders about the God of Creation is that he enjoyed his walks with Adam in the garden; God went looking for Adam, calling out to him when Adam could not be found. God did this because he wanted Adam to know who he was not out of some need for Adam's companionship. I, on the other hand, want to "get it done" since that completes the task at hand only to discover again that I have missed the joy of the ride in this activity we call life.
Here is an example: One of the loves of my life is leaving for England and a second love was married this past week. I am forever wondering how these little people grew up without me being more involved in their lives. What task was so great, what mountain so high that I did not have the time, or is it the memory, to be more involved in their lives? I need to learn to ride my scooter with my heart and not just with my mind; to truely feel the wind and sun and enjoy the journy home. But today is not that day since I need to say good by!
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