Happy Birthday

Our wonderful granddaughter, Alice, celebrated her 8th birthday today. It's such a blessing to have grandchildren and be part of their lives. I don't think I ever thought about this stage of life, but it is quite wonderful....did I use that word already?

Happy Birthday, Alice!

Imagining God

A new book called "America's Four Gods" by Paul Froese and Christopher Bader deals with the way we imagine God to be. We are a nation with images of God based on what we think he is like.

Here are the four Gods Americans have described:

1. Authoritative God

2. Critical God

3. Distant God

4. Benevolent God

It suddenly struck me, as I read the reviews of this new book, that nothing much has changed in thousands of years. More than 3,000 years ago the prophet Isaiah wrote these words as God spoke through him,

Isaiah 29:16
You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?

The problem we have always had as a race is the desire to create our own gods. We are quite reluctant to trust God as he describes himself. More simply than this is our lack of interest in knowing him at all. Few go to God's word to see what he is like and so we invent the god that makes us comfortable. I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, "well, my god isn't like that..." and with that opening statement they tell me about the god they have invented.

Our greatest need is to know that God that is, but that means we have to pursue him, get to know him, talk to him....and that takes time. It's much easier to make up our own god....and so we have.

Quote of the day

"Christianity can never be only an experience of the secret place; it must be a life in the market place." -William Barclay, his commentary on Romans

Stupid people

You've met them, haven't you? Stupid people. They are everywhere! As I think about these people I realize that they get this title because they don't agree with me! It's our way to deal with the dissonance in our lives when we run into someone who is different, believes different things, lives a different lifestyle. If they don't fit with our worldview they are just plain stupid!

But honestly, they would probably think the same thing about you! From their view of the world they would call you stupid. This description of people is a wonderfully large bucket we use to dismiss the lives and thoughts of others...they're just stupid. They don't know any better. If they knew what I knew they wouldn't do that, say that, live that way, believe that....but they don't, they aren't, so we have to deal with them and we simply dismiss them.

Wouldn't it be amazing to ask, "Would you tell me about your life? I would really like to know why and how you have come to where you are." With that question we have dismissed our fears and resolved the dissonance with the realization that this is a real person that Christ died for. They might be different, think different and even live different from you, but they are people God loves....we should do the same. The only stupid person is the one who sees a political party, a religion, a category and misses the person.

Those we often put in the category of "stupid people" are the very ones Jesus would have been drawn to. He would hang out with them, love them and spend time with them.....and most of us, like the Pharisees, would raise an eyebrow and be irritated with Jesus for wasting his time, but remember.....he "wasted his time" on us.

Distractions

Sorry, the very thing I need most, my mind, has run off in a hundred different directions. I'll be back as soon as I can wrestle my mind back into submission.

Quote of the day

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. -Helen Keller

Just thinking about the church

I've been part of the church for more than 45 years. When I say "church" I'm speaking about the body of Christ, the gathered group of believers all trusting Christ and headed for heaven.

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It has often amazed me that God is able to get anything done in the world with the people I have met over the years. (I include myself in this bunch by the way.) How can God take broken, selfish people and build a kingdom? But he does! One heart at a time, one moment at a time he's drawing us to him, conforming us to the image of Christ and building an eternal kingdom.

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But what a funny bunch we are. One person said to me, "I'm leaving because you don't teach the bible here." Another told me yesterday, "I love it here because you teach the bible." One person tells me they love the music while another can't stand it. You can imagine how many different contrasts exist in this discussion and I have heard them all. How on earth can God work with people like us!? But he does.

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For me there are two great miracles I see- 1. Salvation. That a person like me, by simple faith in Christ, can know and experience forgiveness and eternal life, and 2. The Kingdom. That a group of people like us can be used by God to bring about his eternal kingdom. With the crew he has working for him it's a miracle he gets anything done. And it is a miracle indeed. I like miracles.

The Third Third

One of our dear friends, Merrikay, is leaving "the nest" and the security of her own business to become a missionary. She's going to be working with BEE World. We are really excited for her. If you want to read more she has a new blog site called The Third Third. Stop by, tell her hello, pray for her and support her if the Lord leads. She still needs support to make the leap full-time. Here's her site if you missed the link above: http://merrikaylee.blogspot.com/

Monday's cartoon

Church

Around the world on this day, Sunday, Christians meet for worship. I'm always amazed that God works through us the way he does. He could simply do it all himself and cut out the middle-man, but instead he uses frail and broken men and women to tell the world about his love and desire for relationship with them.

I'm at the church this moment getting ready for the day ahead. In our small church people will gather to worship God. Many are hurting, some dying and others struggling with major issues. I pray that today, in our church family and in those around the world, that God will comfort, encourage, direct and empower his people to reach the world around them.

The gathered ones, that's what the word "church" means, gather today to worship the King. I pray the King will work among us all to reach those he loves who don't know him yet.

Influence

As I grow older I am more aware of how small our circles of influence really are. At best we might touch the lives of a handful of people through our lifetime and then, as sad as it sounds, we will be remembered by only two generations...our children and grandchildren. Then, like the rest of humanity, we fade into the background...forgotten but for our name on the grave stone somewhere.
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Sounds negative? A little, but it's true, so how do we best impact and influence these few lives for these few years we are here? The key to all of this is what Jesus told us to do in relationship- love one another. To truly love someone you must listen, care, think about them, connect with them, reach out to them, cry with them, in other words really love them. That is the one life changing decision we each make that changes the lives of those few other lives we influence. A genuine love of others is the secret to influence that will last beyond your memory....it's the one decision that has impact into eternity.
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(The photo? It's one of our amazing grandchildren, Vaughn. Isn't he cute?)

A moment in time

At breakfast with a friend this morning:

Waitress: Would you like hashbrowns or home fries with that?

Friend: What are home fries?

Waitress: They're fried chunks.

Me: Yum.....fried chunks.

Friend: I'll have the hashbrowns.

Life in America

No simple lives

One thing I've noticed about people is that things are never simple. I think it's because we are not simple. Our lives are made up of hundreds of nicks and bruises we have each experienced. All those blows, bad relationships, disappointments and life experiences make us who we are and it's never simple to sort out.

A few weeks ago, as I listened to a couple working through some real problems in their marriage, I thought...."this is really complicated. There are no easy answers." Honestly, I think that same thing almost every time I talk with someone. It's difficult to sort out all the pieces of our lives that have brought us to where we are today. How do we get it all tied together so we aren't tripping over ourselves? How do we work through all that we are to fix what we have become? Honestly, there are no simple lives. There are no simple answers.

But as I watch Jesus in the gospels I see his encounters with people in a different way. The difference is that he knew the heart of man and was able to go to the very heart of each person's problem. With a word, a touch, a smile Jesus healed broken lives. He knew what each life needed.

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Here is a story of one man's encounter with Jesus. In this brief encounter Jesus meets the needs of this broken man,

Mark 1:40-45- ⁴⁰A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." (If you are willing. It's almost a question, Are you willing? Not can you help me? but will you help me? The most important question is this one, Lord, will you help me?)

⁴¹Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" (The compassion of Jesus brought a response that I'm sure no one expected. In fact this leper was in front of Jesus contrary to the law that would keep him apart from others who didn't have leprosy.)

⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

⁴³Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴"See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." ⁴⁵Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

This story is one of my favorites in the gospels. It's a story of the prayer we have all prayed, "if you are willing." We wait, hoping God is indeed willing to meet our needs, but he does so much more. This man had been without a human touch, without real love and without acceptance for so long that his first need, in spite of his obvious illness, was a touch. In that amazing moment of time Jesus did the unthinkable....he reached out and touched this dirty, diseased man. The touch did so much more than heal the disease, it healed the whole man.

Like this poor leper in Mark we each come to Jesus with all our sickness and disease visible for all to see...the bible calls it sin. Our plea is simple, if you're willing you can make me clean, you can forgive my sins. And with a touch...that amazing touch....we each find healing and forgiveness.

As a result of that touch and the love of Jesus to meet this man's needs a great exchange happened. It happens with us when we trust him. Some call it the exchanged life and indeed it is. But with this man the exchange was dramatic. The man who had lived alone and removed from mankind was now among them. Talking, touching, hugging and telling everyone about Jesus to such an extent that Jesus had to go to the wilderness away from mankind and even there the people, all in need of his touch, sought him out.

Mankind is still asking this man's simple question, "If you are willing you can make me clean." And his response is the same, with a touch of his hand he replies, "I'm willing, be clean." And so, with all our warts and wrinkles, all our problems and struggles Jesus comes to touch the hurting and heal each one. If you're wondering if he can fix your messy life just ask him. You'll be amazed at the smile, the touch, the acceptance and the reply, "I'm willing, be clean."

Because...

There's always a "because," isn't there? There's always a reason for what we do. We can explain ourselves very well when confronted. I made that decision because.... And with great reason or sometimes no reason at all we explain our actions, our words, our decisions. Because...it seems to cover a multitude of sins. This morning I was reading about the life of Moses and he had two "becauses" in his life. Here they are,


^{Heb. 11:26} He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

In this amazing chapter God explains the choices Moses made. There were two reasons, 1. he was looking ahead to HIS reward and, 2. he saw him who is invisible.


These were the two great motivators of Moses life. Because there is a reward and because he was aware of God presence. His two great motivators? The PRIZE and the PRESENCE. Often my "because" is a justification for a stupid decision. With Moses it's clear he was keenly aware of both the finish line and the invisible presence of God.


Why do you make the decisions you do? What is your "because?" How do you justify the choices of your life? I love the two things that guided Moses. In fact, I think these should be prime motivators for each of us. Why do I do what I do? BECAUSE there is a prize ahead and BECAUSE there is a presence...God himself. If we used the prize and His presence as motivators for choices in our lives it might change a lot of what we do because....