Monday's cartoon

The great adventure

The christian life is the great adventure. There is no life more exciting than the life of a christian. Starting with this picture what would you say about your walk with God? Yes, it's your turn to talk about what God is doing in your life...have fun....I'm looking forward to hearing your story.

Resting in the wrong places

In my reading I'm back at Psalm 1 again. I have memorized this Psalm, so I love it and often take it for granted as well. The message is clear- resting in the wrong places can get you in trouble! "Come on, sit down, relax." they tell you, but you don't realize where the chair is located....finding rest in the wrong place can be dangerous. It's a very visual chapter- the pictures he paints are very clear. Make sure you are resting in the right places...make sure you are fnding your rest and delight in his word. Read over this short Psalm, and then take a look at your days in the last week. How has it lined up with David's direction? Do you find yourself looking for rest in the wrong places?

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psa 1:2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Psa 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Psa 1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Psa 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
Psa 1:6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Trusting God

Psa 131:1 A Song of Ascents, of David. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.
Psa 131:2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.
Psa 131:3 O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.

I think in pictures, so when I see a picture it will often remind me of something I have read. This IS the perfect picture for this Psalm. Total trust, complete dependence, not a worry in the world, quiet and at rest in his mother's arms.

We often fret and worry when we most need to simply rest in the Father's arms. Why do we do that? Why do we struggle so much with God as our Father?

Lord, help us to rest in you. Help us to trust you. Let us see your face so we won't worry about what is going on around us. We need you.

What do you want?

I had an early morning breakfast with a friend today. He asked me an interesting question, "What do you want to do?" I know my answer, because I have thought about this a lot....I want to serve God, and serve his church. What does that look like? It depends on the need of the moment. There are times when I have to simply sit and listen to one of our family dealing with a big loss or a great victory. There are other times when it's simply setting up chairs for an event. The thing I have to constantly cultivate is the heart of a servant. It's not normal for any of us, but it's important to God.

I often go back in my mind to a passage of scripture in John 13. It gives us, as Christians, our directions on how to interact with one another. Here's what Jesus did and said-

Joh 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
Joh 13:4 *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.
Joh 13:5 Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
Joh 13:6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?"
Joh 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter."
Joh 13:8 Peter *said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
Joh 13:9 Simon Peter *said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head."
Joh 13:10 Jesus *said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."
Joh 13:11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
Joh 13:12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?
Joh 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.
Joh 13:14 "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.
Joh 13:15 "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.
Joh 13:16 "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
Joh 13:17 "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

That last verse is what has my attention. I am blessed when I serve others? When I do menial things that others need? When I do what no one else wants to do? When I'm a servant and no one says, "thank you"? I'm blessed HOW?

I'm blessed by God by obeying him. I'm blessed by seeing God use me. I'm blessed because I put someone else ahead of me.

The thing I have to constantly cultivate is the heart of a servant. It's not normal for any of us, but it's important to God.

Just thinking

In my reading this morning I was in Revelation 4. As I was reading I got one of those, "hey, wait a minute...." moments. May I share it with you? Here's the passage and then I will share what I'm thinking-

Rev 4:5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 4:6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
Rev 4:7 The first creature was like a lion,

and the second creature like a calf,

and the third creature had a face like that of a man,

and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

Rev 4:8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

These four creatures are called Seraphim. They are the angels who are contantly in the presence of God crying out "Holy, holy, holy." Now I don't have pictures that would show them as they are, but can you imagine what amazing angels these are? How wonderful...six wings, full of eyes....we have no idea how awesome they look, but we do have a little picture of them. It suddenly struck me today, as I read, that these angels were created before God made the heavens and the earth. Is it possible that these animals are a small glimpse of what those Seraphim look like? Did God make the Lion, the calf and the eagle to honor those angels? Do they give us a glimpse at how amazing even God's angelic creation is? I think I will look at lions, calves and eagles in a different way from now on.....just a "hey, wait a minute...." moment for me.

Early morning thoughts

This morning, at 3, I woke up. I do that often. I will often use those times to pray, read or write. This morning I wrote a great blog piece (trust me), hit the wrong key, and lost it all. Now that's a bad way to start the day!

Basically what I was thinking about this morning is God's placement of me in time and history to be part of his kingdom plan. I'm here, in this place at this time by his divine plan. He has a task for me to do in his kingdom.

For me, I have always sought lofty accomplishments. I have wanted to do great things for God- build big churches, be the next Billy Graham, or write the great Christian book....you get the idea, but that's not what I was made for. And I must be honest, finding out what God made you to do and doing it is one of the most important things in life! I was made to care for people. If all I do in life is touch one life at a time with the gospel and help people in their walk with God then my reward at the judgment seat of Christ will be what God intended because I did what I was designed to do.

I am always amazed by the picture painted in Revelation of 4 angels who were created to do one thing, and they haven't done it yet! They will be successful because the will do their one thing as God planned. And that's my goal- to do those things I was made for. It's funny how grand aspirations fall away quickly when you know what God made you to do.

If you don't know what the Father designed you to do then ask him. Ask a pastor. Talk to your friends. Get in the word. The best place you can be is to be you doing what God made you to do.

1Co 12:7 Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

Monday's cartoon

a fun musical cartoon to start the week. enjoy.

Family

I love our church because of the family feel, the closeness of us all riding through our joys and sorrows together. We have hit some bumpy roads in recent months, but what has made it easier is that the family of the church has gone down this difficult road together.

Some have left. I am told that always happens. But it has made our church family even stronger for the ordeals we have been through. I find that I am much closer to many in our church because of the difficult road we have been down. It has drawn us closer, it has made us stronger, it has drawn us back to a God dependence.....and in spite of the reason those results are all good.

We are not finished with our trip down this bumpy road yet, but we are doing it together, and when we get through this difficult time we will all be closer to each other, closer to God, and better prepared for the next bumpy road when it comes.

A casting call

This is a casting call-

1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

There is, in the Scottish games, something called "Braemar Stones." It's a contest to take a heavy stone, usually weighing 18-28 pounds, and throw it as far as you can.

I would be the comic relief in this contest! Do they have a competition for the shortest throw?

Here's the call- take all of those things that worry you, that cause you anxiety, and throw them on Christ. It just takes a moment, and you will walk a little taller the rest of the day.

It's always been interesting to me why we are invited to do this. Did you notice it? Because he cares for us. What an incentive! God cares for me, and wants to take care of my worries too.

So, here's your casting call- cast them all on the Lord.....because he cares for you!

Faith

There's a lot of discussion about faith these days. I hear many on Television telling me it's a force. They tell me that I can "use" my faith and make things happen. I have watched as many of them worship at the altar of faith and elevate it above the God who is supposed to be the object of their faith.

Let me simplify this a little. The bible makes it clear that faith is simply a dependance on someone else to do for me what I cannot do myself. Real biblical faith is trusting God, and believing he will really do what he says. That's it! It's not hard. It's not a lever I pull to get a jackpot. It's not a formula that I can work to get God to act.

It's simply trusting God to do what he says.

These birds show what faith should look like. They know that their parents will meet their needs and they are waiting for that to happen. Oh that I lived in such a way with God! A simple trust that he will provide. I must tell you that God is always faithful. He always cares. He is always good. He daily meets our needs, and will continue to do that.

Faith is an open mouth, waiting for the food!

"Neck-up" Christianity

I have created a new way to describe many Christians I run into these days. I call them "neck-up" Christians. They have tremendous knowledge. They know doctrine. They know the word. They know "stuff!" And they are of no use to the Christian world or the kingdom of God at all!

Christianity is supposed to be holistic. It's supposed to affect every part of who you are and what you do. It's supposed to change you into the image of Christ.

If your faith does not move from what you know to what you do then you are a "neck-up" Christian. You have heard of the comedy skit "you might be a red-neck if..."? Let me play off of that for a moment with some observations of my own based on this idea....

You might be a "neck-up" Christian if...

...you love bible studies, but don't want to help the poor.

...you will spend hours reading your bible, but don't have time to serve in your church.

...you think discipleship has to do with an open bible and a notebook, and not with painting a widow's home.

...you will go hear the great bible teachers of the day, but don't have time to go listen to the lonely people in nursing homes near you.

...you know the word, but still live in sin.

...you can quote the bible with the best of them, but it doesn't affect your life.

Christianity is supposed to be holistic....it changes all of me or it's not real...it's a "neck-up" religion. Jesus came to confront that kind of religion. In his day they were called Pharisees. He railed against them. He called them white-washed tombs. He called them hypocrites. Today I call them "neck-up" Christians.

Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus Christ

Take a few minutes, sit back and worship...this will bless you!

Life

Life is never boring. There are spices for each day. I find that I wake up not knowing what's ahead. Each new day has seasoning of its own...spices that flavor that day. I never know what it will be.

Personally, I love Indian food, Mexican food, Chinese food, German food.....well, you get the idea. I think it's the different spices that flavor each food that I really enjoy.

My days are like that. I love the spice of each day as much as the day itself. I love the salt of tears that come from both joy and sorrow. I love the hot pepper of a spirited visit with a friend. I love the sweet of fellowship with my wife. I love the bitter-sweet taste of old friendships revisited.

Flavors abound. They make the days memorable. It's the days of my life without any spice that I will forget, but add a little spice....a laugh, a tear, a giggle, a friend, and it will be a day I won't forget.

One advantage of age is that I begin to see the blessing of those things I used to dread. Oh for a day with spice...that will be a day I will remember.

Trusting God

I know there are many people who wear a cross around their neck as a symbol of their faith. There are other symbols as well- the fish bumper sticker, T-shirts with a message, tattoos, and many more that people use to demonstrate their faith and remind themselves of their commitment to God.
This picture (which I have used before) is one of those icons to me. It's the rock of Horeb. It's the rock that Moses struck in the wilderness after they left Egypt to provide water for 2,000,000 people for months.
It's important to me as a reminder, because I find myself, like the children of Israel, fretting and complaining about what is going on in my life. I find myself worrying....what will happen to us if....how will we get by.....I'm sure you have struggled with many of the same thoughts. This morning I awaken from a very fretful night of worry. Thinking, praying, fretting, tossing, worrying, praying....I hate to tell you this, but us old pastors struggle with trusting God at times like anyone in our faith communities. It's the worse part of being human for me- knowing God, knowing he has always taken care of you, knowing he has promised to always care for you in the future, and yet finding yourself worrying. I hate that part of my fallen heart....the part that truly doubts God's willingness and ability to care for me. I know I would have been one of the Jews in the wilderness saying, "can God really provide for us here?"
So, I come back to Horeb. I remind myself of what God has done in the past, and I know he will care for me in the future. He never changes, he is always aware of me and my needs. He loves me. So I come back to Horeb...to remember.
Thank you Lord for your wonderful care and awesome love. I'm so sorry I worry. I'm so grieved that I doubt. But I come back and fall at your feet and say, Lord, I'm yours, help me.

Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Psa 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psa 37:6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.
Psa 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Psa 37:8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Psa 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.