Smoky Quartz Crystal

Songs of Mercy

2011-11-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Many people remember a Russian couple, the Rosenbergs, who were tried in court for treason against the United States. The trial was a long and bitter one. As the final sentence was pronounced, the lawyer for the Rosenbergs cried out, "Your Honor, what my clients ask for is justice!"
Judge Kaufman replied, "What the court has given them is what they ask, justice! What they really want is mercy. But mercy is something this court has no right to give them."
The One who has the right to give mercy is God.
Mercy is so important that God instructs us to bind it around our necks and write it upon the tablet of our hearts (Prov. 3:3). In Matthew 23:23, Jesus says that mercy is one of the weightier matters of the law, and that it takes precedence over many other things."The word mercy has the same root as the ancient Greek word for oil, or more precisely, olive oil; which in ancient times was used extensively as a soothing agent for bruises and minor wounds. The oil was poured onto the wound and gently massaged in, thus soothing, comforting the injured part. The Greek words for 'Lord, have mercy,' are 'Kyrie, eleison' that is to say, 'Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain, show me your steadfast love.' In Hebrew the translation for mercy is similar and also means steadfast love. Thus mercy does not refer so much to justice or acquittal in our Western interpretation but to the infinite loving-kindness of God, and his compassion for his suffering children.
One of the most beautiful stories of God's mercy is the prodigal son. A son, after leaving home with his inheiritance, wastes all of it on high living. After hitting rock bottom, he ends up living with pigs and remembers his father. Humbled and willing to be a common servant in his fathers house he returns home. To his surprise, his father has been watching out for him to come back and runs to meet him, embracing him. He is clothed with his father’s best robe to wear to the feast his father prepares to celebrate his return. That is God's mercy.

The prodigal was going to his dad to ask for mercy, he had already been given what he deserved and squandered it. Like him our only cry should be "Lord, be merciful." Several years ago a song based on what I have heard is a true story became quite popular. "Three teenagers boarded a bus in New Jersey. Seated on the bus was a quiet, poorly dressed man who sat alone and silent. When the bus made its first stop, everybody got off except this one man, who remained alone and aloof. When the kids came back on the bus, one of them said something nice to him and he smiled shyly. At the next bus stop, as everybody got off, the last teenager turned and said to the man, "Come on. Get off with us. At least stretch your legs." So he got off. The teenagers invited him to have lunch with them. One of the teenager said, "We are going to Florida for a weekend in the sun. It is nice in Florida, they say." He said, "Yes it is." "Have you been there?" "Oh, yes," he said, "I used to live there." One said, "Well do you still have a home and family?" He hesitated. "I-I don't know he said, finally. "What do you mean, you don't know?" the teenager persisted. Caught up by their warmth and sincerity, he shared this story with them: "Many years ago, I was sentenced to Federal prison. I had a beautiful wife and wonderful children. I said to her, 'Honey, don't write to me. I won't write to you. The kids should not know their dad is in prison. If you want to, go ahead and find another man - somebody who will be a good father to those boys.' "I do not know if she kept her part of the bargain. I kept mine. Last week when I knew for sure I was getting out, I wrote a letter to our old address; its just outside of Jacksonville. I said to her, 'If you are still living there and get this letter, if you haven't found any one else, and if there is a chance of you taking me back - here is how you can let me know. I will be on the bus as it comes through town. I want you to take a piece of white cloth and hang it in the old oak tree right outside of town." When they got back on the bus and were getting a few miles from Jacksonville, all the teenagers moved to the man's side of the bus and pressed their faces against the windows. Just as they came to the outskirts of Jacksonville there was the old oak tree. The teenagers let out a yell and they jumped out of their seats. They hugged each other and danced in the center of the aisle. All they said was, "Look at it! Look at it!" Not a single white cloth was tied to the tree. Instead there was a white bed sheet, a white dress, a little boy's white trousers, and white pillow cases! The whole tree was covered with dozens of pieces of white cloth!
What an illustration of God's mercy - how God treats you and me - undeserving as we are! If you recall the song they changed the white cloth to yellow ribbons.
Like the man the story was about, we do not deserve God's mercy and His tender loving kindness, but He offers it to us anyway.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the author of the The Cost of Discipleship and twentieth century martyr wrote that, “ If anyone, Jesus knew that mercy is not always extended to the merciful among the children of men. Jesus went about doing good, mercy directed his every act during his ministry. Blind received their sight, tormented received their sanity, lepers were cleansed, deaf would hear, dumb would talk, dead would walk. As a result Jesus had more enemies than anyone else. He invoked more feelings opposite of mercy than most people ever did. And so did his apostles after him, and his prophets before him. In order that they might be merciful, they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their personal dignity and honor for their Lord's own mercy, to which alone they owed their very lives.
We cannot pray for mercy to be extended to us without being willing to give mercy to others and that is the point of Jesus's parable about the two debtors (Matt. 18:23-35 23 The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24One owed him ten thousand talents, but was not able to pay, his master commanded that he, his wife, children and possesions be sold, so that the payment was made. 26 The servant begged for patience, moving the master of that servant with compassion. The King released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he grabbed him around the neck, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 The fellow servant fell down, begging,‘have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’[b] 30 But he would not, threw him into prison until the debt was paid. 31 When the other servants saw what had been done, they were upset, telling their master all that had happened. 32 Then his master, called him in saying,‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you, if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”[c]
As humans we usually want justice for everyone else but ourselves. Human justice can be quite brutal. Mercy offers more than judgment- it is connected to grace, forgiving and hope.Mercy offers another chance and a fresh start. Which reflects heaven the best. The mercy we ask for is the mercy we must give to others. Lord, have mercy and help us to be merciful.

Do you remember the story of the Good Samaritan? There was a man who was mugged – thrown to the side of the road. Two guys walked by and said, “I can’t get involved. I’m sorry about what has happened – but I just can’t get involved. I have other things to take care of. I’m too busy to help anyone right now.” A third man comes along – he was busy too – yet he took action. He picked up the man – took him to the Holiday Inn – left his American Express Gold Card to pay for the bill – said, “I’ll return later to see how things are going. When I come back – I’ll pay for it all!” This man showed mercy, and yet he was considered among the lowest of his society, a Samaritan. Those who are to show mercy are not to do so begrudgingly with a negative or sour countenance, but must do so “cheerfully.” The purpose of the gift of showing mercy is not to make the afflicted feel sad or to cause them to think they owe some type of debt; but rather, to raise their spirits, to bring joy to the heart and a smile to the face. “This spares the feelings and soothes the sorrows of the afflicted.” Calvin writes: “For as nothing gives more solace to the sick or to any one otherwise distressed, than to see men cheerful and prompt in assisting them; so to observe sadness in the countenance of those by whom assistance is given makes them to feel themselves despised.”

.Dr. Kevin Kikta, wrote recently about his experience as one of two emergency room doctors who were on duty at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, MO on Sunday, May 22, 2011. Maybe you remember that fateful day for the city of Joplin.
He relates: You never know that it will be the most important day of your life until the day is over. The day started like any other day for me: waking up, eating, going to the gym, showering, and going to my 4:00 pm ER shift. As I drove to the hospital I mentally prepared for my shift as I always do, but nothing could ever have prepared me for what was going to happen on this shift. Things were normal for the first hour and half. At approximately 5:30 pm we received a warning that a tornado had been spotted. Although I work in Joplin and went to medical school in Oklahoma, I ‘m from New Jersey, and I have never seen or been in a tornado. I learned that a “code gray” was being called. We were to start bringing patients to safer spots within the ED and hospital. We didn’t have time. The hospital took a direct hit from a category EF5 tornado.The whole process took about 45 seconds, but seemed like eternity. Tragedy has a way of revealing human mercy. As I worked in the ruined hospital, surrounded by devastation and suffering, I realized I was not alone. The people of the community of Joplin were absolutely incredible. Within minutes of the horrific event, local residents showed up in pickups and sport utility vehicles, all offering to help transport the wounded to other facilities, including Freeman, the trauma center literally across the street. Ironically, it had sustained only minimal damage and was functioning (although I’m sure overwhelmed). I carried on, grateful for the help of the community. Later there were groups of individuals who traveled to Joplin to assist in the clean up and rebuilding of that area.
Later that month my husband and I met a man named Mark, who was collecting supplies, cash, and to join a group of men from the Erie area to help with Joplin’s tornado relief. He had no family or friends in the State of Missouri but was moved when he saw the devastation on his television screen. Using his vacation time, some of his savings and whatever cash he could gather in donations and supplies for the twelve hundred mile round trip, he left his family for two weeks, to do whatever he could to help. Blessed are the merciful, Jesus says, for they will be shown mercy. Mark knows he is blessed and is a blessing to others. Every time we love others deeply, we feel their pain deeply. However, joy is hidden in the pain. When we share the pain we also will share the joy.

If our measure is fairness, if all we think about is who is getting their just desserts, we will lose touch with the grace that is everywhere and the God who pours forgiveness and generosity on us. When life is reduced to “you get what you deserve,” hearts contract and compassion and kindness dry up. Knowing that we are receivers of mercy and goodness beyond measure is what opens our hearts and hands to each other. Had it not been for a lovely young lady, Robert Robinson would not have known fully the depths of the mercy he had written about. In 1757, At the age of twenty-three, Robert Robinson, who had come to know Christ’s salvation through George Whitfield’s ministry in England, wrote the hymn Come, Thou Fount.
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

But Robert wandered far from those streams like the Prodigal Son, until one day as he was traveling by stagecoach. He found himself sitting beside a young woman engrossed in reading her book. When she ran across a verse she thought was beautiful, she asked him what he thought of it.

Prone to wander— Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love.
Bursting into tears, Robinson said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then." Although greatly surprised, she reassured him that the "streams of mercy" mentioned in his song still flowed. Mr. Robinson was deeply touched and was able to turn his "wandering heart" back to the Lord.

God's streams of mercy still flow in the jagged places and unlikely meetings with friends and strangers in our own lives. In the tragedies and experiences that hit us and block all else, God is somehow still near and giving as we live out our lives before a God who will feed us in times of famine or feast and provide in sickness and in health. In 2011, songs of mercy are still sung. Matt Mahler, contemporary Christian artist, is one of many who sings about God’s mercy on the radio. He sings, “If you're scared that you don't matter
If you're lost and need to be found, If you're looking for a Savior, All you gotta do is turn around”. Today Jesus is saying that at the bottom of everything is a boundless generosity from our Heavenly Father. No matter what we face, every one of us here has hit the lottery jackpot as receivers of astonishing grace and streams of mercy. Our God lifts us up from the daily grind of and shows us the realm of the possible, even miraculous, when we turn around and receive His gift then pass it on to others. Let us in Jesus’ name, sing the songs of mercy we have found.

The least churched generation visits our church

2010-10-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Students attending universities today represent our nation's least churched generation. Typical of their young adult stage, most are not morning persons. Will their Sunday morning experience in our church, with our congregation, be worth getting out of their beds? College student visitors, like any other new person coming to our church, will decide as consumers the value of their worship and fellowship experience. Whether or not they return rests on their experience with us as a christian community. The questions they will be asking are the same questions they ask about their businesses and banks,: “Was this worth my time? Do the people care about me? Am I valued here?”

In a recent UMNS commentary, the Rev. Sheila Fiorella suggests that any guest to our church, whether a university student or someone recently relocated into our community recognize excellence, and return to places where they experience it. She suggests that each of us try the following exercise: "look at the following list and think about or jot down your first thought about each place: McDonald’s, your bank, your church, your coffee shop. Next evaluate your responses. Which reflect your feelings from your first encounter? Which describe your thoughts either now or at the end of your experience with that place? What does this tell you about the impressions we develop? These impressions help us decide to return or to go someplace else." Let us all be mindful that our visitors are not merely consumers but people, who like ourselves, matter to God.

The Rabbi's Gift, a story by Scott Peck, was retold by our Pastor Lisa recently during a service. The gist of the story was that by assuming the specialness of every person, a culture of respect is built which generates energy, creativity, and magnetism - something people can sense and feel, and to which they are drawn. Treating every person with courtesy and interest, convey's the understanding that everyone is valued. By being respectful to each other and our guests, we develop a community of faith in which everyone wants to give their best to others, and expects to receive the best from others in return. It is the type of community everyone deserves, and it is up to us to make it happen.

Friendships For the Journey

2010-04-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Friendships For the Journey

Everybody has been in a life situation were they have found themselves lost or
heading in the wrong direction. What would it take to be convinced that turning around is
wise? More importantly, what would it take to actually be motivated enough to
do it? For An 81 year old Australian man by the name of Eric Steward it was his love of driving that sent him down the wrong path. He was staying with friends when he popped out to buy some milk.Taking a left when he should have gone right on the motorway, he ended up driving for nine hours in the wrong direction. He was finally pointed in the right direction by police authorities after stopping to refuel. In the mean time his wife had already contacted the police back at his home.The article did not make it clear why he did not turn around except that he was so determined, so focused, that he just kept going on the right road in the wrong direction.

Just like Eric Steward, strong willed, goal oriented Paul, in this week’s passage from Acts, was traveling full speed on the Damascus road in the wrong direction until God intervened. Paul had been using the earthly logic of Pharaisaic law concluding that the new followers of Christ posed a threat and needed to be stopped. He was carrying out this plan until Christ showed Paul the divine plan of his Father in heaven. Paul’s decision to go with God’s plan turned what once was Saul into Paul, a friend of God.

It was a divine set up, the Holy Spirit introduced Paul to Ananias in a vision, urging him to go, meet and minister to him. God called, Annaias responded with prayers for healing and then baptism, assisting in the spiritual birth of the brand new disciple. Most of us do not remember when we were baptized, as we were, unlike Paul,infants. During baptism God in Christ promises to be our God forever. Parents, godparents and the church, the communion of saints, promise to support us as we grow in the faith.When we are struggling to do what is right, facing temptation, making hard decisions, remembering who we are and whose we are will help with attitude and the
direction of our steps. “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call
you servants any longer”, Jesus says,” because a servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends”. Isn't it amazing to consider that Christ thinks of all of his disciples as friends? We are his friends!

There are those who have stepped into our lives who have been influential, impactful or learning-oriented, like the people that Paul stayed with while regaining his strength, the very people he had originally intended to harm. Paul learned about his destructive past behavior and the impact it had had on the followers o the Way, the truth about Jesus, and then proclaimed that Christ truly was the son of God in the synagogues. Ananias and the other disciples in Damascus were no longer strangers, but brothers, and friends in the faith to Paul. The beauty of their friendship or any true grace filled relationship is that it brings to light what is hidden from view in a way that transforms. Receiving correction from those we trust, while not enjoyable, is necessary for growth in faithfulness and maturity in Christ. Proverbs reminds us that the wounds of a friend are faithful. The people who care about you the most have your best interest at heart.

Our true friends are ones we have granted the honor of transparency and truthfulness. It is before our friends that we lower the facade that we often present to others. We do not need to appear fully confident, competent and discerning of God's ways in the presence of our friends because they call us to consistency of character.We are able to share good news with a true friend without fear that they will think we are being prideful or arrogant. Our friends can listen to our doubts , fears and sadness without making us feel diminished as a person. Friends know that we are imperfect yet they remain loving loyal and steadfast in their relationship with us. It is a true experience of Christian grace.After Paul left Damascus he meditated alone for some months and then sought out Peter, chief of the disciples, to learn more about how Jesus had lived. Then Barnabas accepted and mentored Paul for nearly a decade. Later in Acts 18 life shaping friendships were recorded that developed between Paul and Priscilla, Aquilla, and Apollos. They were peers, sharing the work of the day, whether making tents or preaching the gospel. Paul also reached out in intentional friendship to those younger than he, such as,Timothy, Silas and Epaphroditus and Titus. Especially with Titus, Paul joins in ministry with, then comes to loves him, to be fed by him, depend on him and enjoy him. What a twenty first
century model for us to follow and grow into our ability to be friends and not merely colleagues or members with those at different stages of life than we.

Are we reaching back across generations to share the riches God has given us if we, like Paul, are in the second half of our lives? How can we all nurture friendships that allow us to see each day as holy and an opportunity to participate in something bigger than ourselves? Paul wound up becoming one of the greatest missionaries of all time and undertook three missionary journeys, gaining converts, and setting up churches.As a result of Paul's work, Christianity became a worldwide religion. It is important to remember that "The lasting mark of Paul’s conversion or ours for that matter is not one date circled in red on the calendar, but the whole story of one’s life."says Heidi A. Peterson, The Christian Century, 2001. Religion Online. The process of becoming Christian is not a one-day event,but rather an ongoing process. Paul had found and maintained true friends along the journey; friends that shaped, molded and supported his ministry. May we also find friends for the journey who call us to accountability and rich full lives in service to God and the great adventure of life in the Kingdom of God.

A New Year Covenant Prayer

2010-01-04T14:50:00.001-08:00

The Covenant Prayer From John Wesley's Covenant Service , 1780,

"I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

While many superstitiously eat black eyed peas for prosperity or noodles for long life in the New year, devout Methodists have been prone to invoke the Holy Spirit with a Covenant Prayer and service. John Wesley issued a pamphlet in 1780, entitled: The Directions for Renewing our Covenant with God. The Covenant prayer included in this pamphlet appeared in most Methodist writings in Britain but was excluded from the Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America, published in 1784 by Wesley for his followers in the new United States. As a result, the Covenant Prayer became a common part of the service in the Methodist churches of the British Commonwealth but the covenant service is little known in the States. This is unfortunate because the covenant prayer and service are considered to be one of the most distinctive contributions of Methodism, and used from time to time throughout the holy catholic church. Ignoring the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer and Service is tantamount to ignoring olive oil and garlic in they're role in southern Italian cuisine. The Covenant Prayer and Service add a special flavour to our spiritual identity as a denomination.

My personal interest in the covenant Prayer? Our bishop was due to come for a Covenant Renewal service but as we have had almost three feet of snow in the last seventy two hours and many were traveling, it was deemed best to cancel. I would have missed the service regardless as my employment obligations conflicted with the timing, but nonetheless I have prayed the prayer, meant it and am still scratching my head as to what exactly I am being called to do besides what I am already doing. It's a clear as mud, or as the name of this blog, a smokey quartz crystal. Blessings to you this brand new year.

Les was more than I: A treasure in a jar of clay

2009-10-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

Les had been homeless, on welfare, and a longtime alcoholic, suffering from mental health issues, who nonetheless loved God. The lines and scars of years of rough lifestyle were worn on his face like a man twice his age. When my husband and I found him he was filthy, emaciated, and using a six-pack as a pillow. We convinced him to let us take him to the hospital for what we thought was detox, only to find out after a few days that glioblastoma, a fast growing malignant brain tumor would claim his life in about six weeks. During his stay at hospice, he was visited by a number of people, grateful for his persistent witness of the gospel, a witness that had radically changed their lives. In spite of his brokenness, others had been able to see the treasure he held in his frail jar of clay,(2 Corinthians 4:7 ) and claim it for their own as well. He had seen their potential holiness and glory and invited them to accept the gift. Among them, a Grove City College dean of students, a professor at Penn State Behrend, a Psychologist in Erie, and a formerly homeless women, now self-sufficient. Even though he struggled, the impact he had on others for the Kingdom of Heaven put many of us in the pews to shame.

Les wanted a simple life, to be loved and accepted just as he was. His family was often so focused on his addiction and fear of being enablers that they missed the treasure he held and his potential. They could not merely love, be respectful and have mercy, without conditions. C.S. Lewis writes that "It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…
Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your sense. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.”

Are there others not received into our lives as humans to be loved and accepted (just as Christ has accepted us) because we do not regard them as worthy or worthwhile? We know that we are loved and embraced as God’s children, Can that acceptance and honor be extended to others in the Christian community, as expressions of the image of God, regardless of how we feel about them personally? If someone has come under the cross, they are truly holy and are to be treated as such His sake. Les was my only and baby brother, a brother in Christ, whose treasure in an earthen vessel others found.

C.S. Lewis,The Weight of Glory (New York, NY: Harper One, 2001),

Leslie Charles Zagarella
Leslie Charles Zagarella, 45, of Ontario Street, died Tuesday, July 13, 2004, at Edinboro Manor.
He was born Dec. 11, 1958, in Brooklyn, N.Y., son of Peter and Rayma Evans Zagarella of Fort Myers, Fla.
He was a guitarist and singer who traveled across the country with country-music bands. He enjoyed fishing, reading and collecting reptiles.
Survivors include a daughter, Mariah Zagarella of Woodbridge, Va.; a sister, Pamela Ostrander and her husband, Alfred, of Edinboro; a niece, Zara Ostrander; and a nephew, Peter Ostrander.
No calling hours will be observed. A memorial service will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, 427 W. Plum St., Edinboro. The Rev. David Fulford will officiate.
Burial will be at Edinboro Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 2115 W. 38th St., Erie, PA 16508.
The Glunt Funeral Home, 210 Erie St., Edinboro, is handling arrangements.

Insomnia, Jacob wrestling with an angel, street fight, racial tension

2009-09-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

Martin Buber was once described by Swiss Novelist Hermann Hesse, as "one of the few wise men on earth." A Jewish theologian and philosopher, Buber's central theme was, "All real life is a meeting," where man achieves authentic existence only in loving encounter with God and his fellow man. This personal relationship, I-Thou, is in contrast to I-It, where people deal with one another as objects. For many twentieth century Christian theologians such as Tillich, Niebuhr, Maritain, Berdiaev, Barth, Buber's personalism was the balance to the prevailing depersonalization of existential thinking, the God who is "out there" and not "with us".

Centuries ago, a man named Jacob, travelling on his way to Canaan with his group, trying to get away from his brother Esau and his clan, couldn't sleep one night. He was alone as all the rest of his family were asleep in their tents.
Genesis 32:24-31
"24 and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh."

As a result of insomnia and an evening encounter with what some say was the angel of God and others surmise was God himself, Jacob is sustains a life long hip injury, causing him to limp for the rest of his life. in the process of this encounter he gains a new princely identity, a new name, a sense of intimacy with the One Who Commands the Universe. He was birthed as a new creation afer his night of wrestling. it) The actual Hebrew text makes no mention of any mal'ak, the usual word for angel as being what Jacob wrestled with. Tradition has inferred the identity of Jacob's opponent from the blessing Jacob receives at the end of the match: "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and men [or gods and men] and have prevailed." Jacob, the heel grabber or cheater is now God perseveres or strives. It changed the way he thought about himself and consequently his destiny.

My son couldn't sleep last night. At three a.m. he walked down to our local McDonald's and purchased a meal. while he was sitting there eating it a group of racially mixed young people walked in with a video camera. They were working on a filming project. An argument broke out about the filming, the group split along racial lines each egging each other on as a fight ensued. Five minutes later, a young man's skull was crushed under the boot of another, as he lay bleeding on the floor of the restaurant while my son and the restaurant manager were trying to get the police to come via telephone. My son made his statement to the police and didn't get home until dawn, shaken. What he witnessed, Jacob and Esau, still fighting for the birthright, still posturing defensively and offensively. Still taken offense when none was meant, or creating offense to start a fight as my son relates the story to me, a bystander, a person who had a meeting, a life changing encounter with his fellow man. a person who witnessed violence, man against man, who felt helpless, powerless, outnumbered and armed with a cell phone to reach out a touch another for help.

Whistle blowers in the pews, millenial prophets, spiritual abuse in the ranks

2009-08-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

According to Sourcewatch.org,"Whistleblowers are usually ordinary people, often longstanding employees and experts in their field, who take huge professional and personal risks to blow the whistle on corporate and governmental wrongdoing. They are often a lesser-known but vitally important part of government and industry regulatory and advisory systems. They are generally harassed, vilified, and fired or forced to resign." It is sad that this happens in the corporate world but the church is not above such behavior either. What plagues the secular world comes into the church, not because church people are hypocrites, but because church people are works in progress, sinners in need of grace, steeped in the culture of the world around them. People in the church are accustomed to secular, worldly thinking and reasoning from the pastor on down. We were all born and raised in a broken culture and are likely to manifest the brokeness of the culture because we are not yet perfected.

When someone "blows the whistle" and brings to light or sheds some truth on an area of darkness within the congregation that person may not be received with open arms. The truth may refer to the actions of a church bully, a very powerful individual that the pastor does not which to confront. Instead the response may be to blame the victim(s) or diminish the actions of the bullies behavior. The information may be that funds are being misappropriated or that there are leadership indescretions of a personal sort. There could be a situation where someone is not taking their responsibillity and is seriously lax in their committed service. There could be sexual harrasement or spousal abuse. The pastor or council may have a peace at any price stance and the "whistle blower" or "tattletale" is seen too often as disturbing the peace, sowing seeds of discord, having an axe to grind. Often the reporter of the offense is attacked with blame the victim attitudes and statements such as, " you are not being submissive to authority, if you were, this wouldn't be a problem", " you just want your own way", "you are too emotional"," you are mentally ill," "women are to be subject to men" and so on. This is called spiritual abuse. It is the idea that we are all created equally but some are more equal than others. It has a name, Complementariansim. Click on the picture for an excellent article on that issue as it relates to men and women in particular.

Pontious Pilate washed his hands of Jesus's case and said he could find no fault in the man when he sent him off to be crucified to appease the Sadduces and Pharisees. Truth was crucified on the cross. Truth is crucified in our churches when we fail to listen to the whistleblowers and consider wether they speak the words of a prophet, exhortation or make believe. I know quite a few who have. Unlike the little little boy in the Emperors new clothes, they have seen that the Emperor was naked, called it out and were silenced. Some of these people attend the church and do not get involved. "It will do no good if I say anything," they tell me, nothing will ever change and no one listens to me anyway." Others have left the church because they are tired of beating their heads against the wall. I know of women who were in abusive relationships because their pastors told them the wife was to be subject to the husband. I don't remember Jesus saying to "beat the sheep". I know of a man who was discounted by a pastor because he admitted his part of sin in a relationship and trouble with mental illness. The other party in the relationship was never called to accountability. Sadly instead of reconcilliation, these stories end with broken hearts, and relationships. Jesus talked about how poorly the prophets of old were treated. We can read the accounts ourselves if we open the books in the Old Testament.Jesus was himself revivled for speaking truth. It is time church that we listen to the modern prophets. We may not like the tone of their voices or their choice of words, but we need to listen, or like, Pilate confused we will ask rhetorically, "What is truth?" when it is standing right in front of us, or like a former president, "It all depends on what the definition of is, is." I guess it all depends on whose Ox is getting Gored. As it was in the beginning is now, but Never shall be...

Clara Ward, I'm coming to your house today to do an extreme make over.

2009-06-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark,” says George Iles and in today’s scripture reading we heard the story of a woman plagued by a health condition who had gone from doctor to doctor hoping she would regain her health. Instead, as the years went by, she became poorer spending money for cures that did not work. She heard that Jesus would be coming through her town and pushed into the crowd that had thronged around him. She pressed in to get closer, thinking that if she could just touch some part of him, she would be able to make a connection with whatever power he had to heal. She got close enough to reach through grabbing a piece of Jesus’s robe as he was passing by. Jesus, feeling healing power leaving him, began to look around and asking the disciples “who touched me”? With so many people, it was impossible to tell. The woman realizing he was searching for her knelt before him, fearfully telling him she was the one who had touched him. Jesus totally surprised her. He told her that because she had the faith to hold her hand out when the future seemed dark and hopeless, she was healed. He blessed her, and sent her on her way.

In Erie lives a woman who held her hand out in faith, hoping her letter to the producers of Extreme Home Makeover would be chosen. Her name is Clara Ward. She has lived a life dedicated to helping kids at the former Youth Development Center for Abused and Neglected Children. Her goal has been to "Make...a better place for them so that their lives can be fulfilled” she said. “I don't want these kids to be on the streets, I don't want these kids going hungry, I don't want these kids to have to look for someplace to go." So Clara opened her heart and her crumbling home to these youth, feeding, clothing, teaching and caring for them in spite of being wheelchair bound by a chronic illness.

That selflessness in the face of her own serious health issues impressed the Extreme Makeover Home Edition folks so much so that now her home and her life is currently being transformed. The Extreme Home Makeover people are in Erie now building her a new wheelchair accessible home on the lot where her former home stood on East 21st. street so she can continue to live in her neighborhood and care for the local children.

We hope for good things like Clara did and cannot be sure of getting them. Being unsure, sometimes we begin to worry when we feel we can’t control the future. Worry is not always a bad thing, it can cause us to be cautious and wise instead of reckless as we go about our lives. Clara wisely put her faith into action and wrote that letter asking for help. If we ever discover we no longer worry we may discover that we have become either bitter without hope, or better. Clara did not let the situation of her crumbling home make her bitter, she continued the volunteer work as best she could and prayed for a solution to her housing problem. God’s answer to her prayer is happening this week as a team of builders construct her new home in one hundred and six hours.

When we remember difficult times in the past or the hopes that have come to fruition in our lives, we gain the assurance that God will continue to work things out in his perfect way and is able to do it. We remember that God doesn’t indulge us with every wish our heart desires, but will give us all that he has promised. There are over 1,000 promises that can be found in God’s Word. We can rely on these promises when we need comfort and assurance. If you include any of God’s promises in your prayers then you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are praying in God’s will! If God says it, then it is already true! If it is already true, then it will happen! Are you getting excited? Consider just five of these promises and like the woman who reached out and touched Jesus hem, reach out and claim these promises when you pray:

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4:19)

“ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Is 41:10

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God
and are called according to his purpose for them.(Romans 8:28)

and finally,

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -- Romans 8:38-39

2009-05-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

TD Jakes is a famous pastor and author of many books about practical applied Christianity. In the Dallas, Texas paper recently it was reported that one of his adult sons was arrested. Pastor Jakes picture and his son's mug shot were plastered on the front page of the paper complete with a detailed account of the arrest. What was important is that the reporter recorded verbatim what Rev. Jakes wrote. It became a Kingdom moment, a teaching moment for all of us who have ever had a child, if we are a parent, or a friend, who has done something terrible wrong. I thought that you would find it interesting and insightful and a good response. Here it is:

06:17 PM CST on Saturday, February 14, 2009

By SAM HODGES / The Dallas Morning News samhodges@dallasnews.com

Bishop T.D. Jakes of Dallas says he is offering “help, support and restorative grace” to his son, Jermaine.

“It is in moments like these that I am so grateful that we do not preach that we are the solution, but we look to Christ for resolution,” Jakes, pastor of Dallas’ megachurch The Potter’s House, said in a written statement provided to The Dallas Morning News late Friday night.

“So then, as a very human family with real issues, like many other people, we will draw from the same well of grace to which we have led others to drink and be refreshed,” the statement said.

His father's comments were what struck me as being so right on and such a witness for something that gained such public exposure in a newspaper, evidence of God taking something bad and paradoxically turning the boys father's response into a declaration for all to read of the Kingdom of God. If you know and love a wayward adult, you may be asking yourself why do they have to do what they do? I ask the same thing in the situations in my life. Maybe we have been asking the wrong question and like Moses need to be asking instead in the wilderness spaces, " Show me your glory". May God reveal His glory this week, may there be a burning bush, may the goodness of the Lord pass before you and may God proclaim His name to you in the midst of the rebellious people you love and try to lead. May we all feel and extend the grace of God to each other in moments like these.

Obama, prayer for a president

2009-01-19T03:06:00.001-08:00

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," Obama said in his July speech to abortion advocates worried about the increase of pro-life legislation at the state level.I wonder if Obama has given a lot of thought about the choice the unborn have? Do they get to choose? Do they get to decide if they are born or butchered? Is his stance merely a political positioning aimed at fence sitting cenrality?

In a recent Time magazine article:"Obama dodged the question of when a human being deserves rights."Whether you're looking at it from a theological or a scientific one, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade,"he said. He affirmed his moral dimensions on the issue: his willingness to limit late-term abortions, provided there is an exception if a woman's health is at risk; and he talked about finding the resources to help women who choose to keep their baby, and about trying to reduce the need for abortions in the first place. It reflected the careful effort Obama has made to reach out to the ambivalent middle, who don't like abortion but also don't want doctors and patients being prosecuted for performing or having them."

Obama will have to grapple with this issue if it comes home to roost personally with one of his own daughters. I cannot imagine this father telling his girls, unless their lives are endangered, to abort as a form or ridding themselves of an unwanted pregnancy. My prayer for this new president as her takes office is that he thinks seriously of taking leadership to promote to he public other options besides killing the unborn. My hope is that he will choose life. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Marched on behalf of those who did not have a voice. Will this president stand up and give a voice to innocent children?

he first family is now looking for a place to worship in Washington,D.C. Obama state that "Now, I didn't grow up in a particularly religious household. But my experience in Chicago showed me how faith and values could be an anchor in my life," he said. "And in time, I came to see my faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community -- that while I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work." I pray that Obama will see this issue as part of the Lord's work.

Sojourn Visual Arts Community

2009-01-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

In a collaborative effort among artistic members of a spiritual community called Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY.liturgical art was created based on the ten elements of their worship services. The images are sensitive and thought provoking. In their site narrative they stated that they "want to equip the artists within our local church with the knowledge, skills, materials, and opportunities needed to create artworks that will express their faith, serve the church, and transform culture." Their images were thought provoking,tastefully and skillfully done illustrations of expressions of faith.

After seeing those images I began to reflect that it has been said a picture is worth a thousand words. What words does the art or lack of speak in your church? Are the images welcoming? What do they say about God?, Christ?, the people who worship in this place? Are the people who worship in your church being challenged by visual imagery or lulled senseless by saccarhine sweetness from children's illustrations? Everything has a time and a season, there is a time and place for Veggie Tales but there is also a time for the powerful images of something such as Schindler's List.One should not exist to the exclusivity of the other.

Being created in God's image we have been endowed with the same urge to create.Visual art happens to be my thing, but there is also dance, music, drama, literature and I even believe cooking/ cuisine belongs in there and the art of hospitality. Looking at and appreciating different types of visual art, like theatre and music is a little like tasting different kinds of foods and developing familiarity and enjoyment. God did not create only one kind of plant or animal, he created a variety. God likes variety!He created us to create and express our creativity uniquely. Our choice is to express this for his glory or our own. Our choice is to cultivate creativity and encourage the unique gifts of others or stifle their expression by creating physical or psychological barriers.

Was blind but now I see....glasses and nets

2009-01-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

British inventor Josh Silver, a former professor of physics at Oxford University, has come up with a new product design, water-lensed glasses.

Silver has developed glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful they become. Inside the device's plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens until those who were once, for all purposes blind, can now see. In the developing world trained optometrists are desperately in demand. The poor would not be able to afford their services even if they could get to their office. Just a thought, in Britain there is one optometrist for every 4,500 people, in sub-Saharan Africa the ratio is 1:1,000,000.

Sub-Saharan African does just over 2% of world trade yet has 10% of the worlds population, with 60% of those living with AIDS. "In southern and East Africa, as well as in parts of central Africa, serious AIDS epidemics will most probably continue for some time to come.It is important to continue working on the socioeconomic and sociocultural conditions that create the climate where poverty,illiteracy and vulnerability occurs so that HIV declines can be initiated or maintained.

Will literacy help? For every ten boys in secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa, there are less than eight girls. Will being able to see to work, to read, to craft, to build help? With the income most bring in,the average African would need to work 10 months to buy a copy of Windows XP, let alone be able to afford a computer. Many places lack the infrastructure to support information technology.

In particular, this part of the world has the ideal rainfall, temperature, and mosquito type that make it the global epicenter of malaria. This has been perhaps the greatest factor in slowing Africa’s economic development. It is important to remember also,the legacy of the Arab and
European slave trade; the tensions created by the artificial geopolitical boundaries created by the results of Western colonialism; the issues between indigenous religions, Christianity, and Islam; current dictatorial governments; and major humanitarian crises, such as Rwanda and Darfur, that create seemingly insurmountable problems as many Africans try to rise up and out of crushing poverty.

There are any kinds of blindness. Would that all could be addressed with a simple pair of water lensed glasses.Would that the solution to aiding Africa be as simple as a pair of glasses or a malaria net. It's a start.

And The Beat Goes On...Maynard G. Krebs to the Millenial Generation

2008-11-02T04:14:00.000-08:00

For my generation, the inner turmoil of the neuro-hormonal passage into adulthood was coupled with the outer turmoil of social and political upheaval that sprung from the fertile fields prepared by the previous group called the Beats, or Beatniks. The most famous beatnik in history was a fictitious character, a stereotypic beatnik. Maynard G. Krebs, of the television sitcom Dobie Gillis, was a beatnik character played by a Catholic schoolteacher, turned actor named, Bob Denver. Younger people will remember Bob as the character Gilligan of the television sitcom, Gilligan’s Island. I enjoyed the Maynard character of Dobie Gillis because he didn’t go with the flow, liked Jazz, not popular music. Musicians the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk were praised on a regular basis on the show by Maynard and led to their popularity. Whenever anyone mentioned work, Maynard would say “WORK?” trying to avoid it as much as possible because he was living a life of simple pleasure and exploration of creativity and sensuality. He appeared to be in a perpetual state of what psychologist James Marcia would term identity diffusion yet his free spirit appealed to me at the time when I was being pressured to conform within my family and pulled to rebel from without. He was bucking the system and was the comedic foil for the straight-laced Dobie Gillis.

Beatniks arose among the Silent generation, but their voices were not silent. I heard them, growing up as a small child in New York City, the birthplace of the Beat culture, my friends heard them too, and for Halloween we played the culture out in costume, just as children played out my adolescence on October 31, in costume, for Trick or Treat in my neighborhood. The Maynard beatnik character was the inspiration for Bob Dylan when he was writing his material, especially the song, When Dogs Run Free. The Maynard character, in the later years, of the show became the prototype figure for the first hippies of my generation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynard_G._Krebs).

Some, such as Michael Lewis,PhD., believe that the nature of personality assumes a set of characteristics that endure, are stable and remain consistent across place, tasks, and people’s interactions, but with little consistency. This has led him to the conclusion that looking at behavior in context may be the best way to understand the changing nature of personality growth and development and the narratives that we construct around ourselves, others and goals. Lewis believes that behavior and psychological adjustment are the result of transitory situational influences and that the past does not relate to the present as far as children’s behavior in predicting how they will behave later in life. My past behavior and that of my friends, as manifested in adolescence and emerging adulthood seems to bear Lewis’s idea out. We were raised to be like Dobie Gillis but slowly transformed into something akin to Maynard Krebs when puberty began, much to our parents chagrin.

From the standpoint of my generational experience, many in my cohort, self-included, have since made shifts again in thinking and behavior, as we have made our impact on the former Dobie Gillis world. It seems to us that the only thing that is permanent is change. I hope at this stage in my cohort’s lifespan that the change we experience and help effect is more of a synergy of the stable nurturing we received from our predominately World War II generation parents combined with generation X, and the eclectic electronic musical generation Y and Z? Notice I did not mention the preceding generations, My generation still doesn’t trust anyone over thirty and we have trouble sometimes believing that we have past that milestone.

Our storm and stress, turmoil period appears to have settled down, we are nested into occupations and raising families. Now entering traditional “retirement” we will continue, as a group, to redefine and challenge stereotypes related to age and gender roles. Maynard G. Krebs never had a chance to grow up, but then did Dobie Gillis, before the show ended it’s run in 1962? It is my hope that my generation will in the end be recognized for “growing up”, for demonstrating maturity. The heroic narrative we constructed for our generation of pursuing peacemaking, was rocked by our inability to establish long-term marital bonds and our propensity to pursue gratification at others expense. Will we be able as a cohort to realize that we need not throw out the “baby with the bath water” and challenge everything society holds dear? Can we remember echoes from past generations, the values of the faith of our fathers,integrity, honesty and commitment before we pass? I hope so.

Instead of a Show

2008-10-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

J.R.R. Tolkien turns the
phrase “there and back again” implying traveling in a circle… Folk in the first century after Christ’s resurrection had just as much difficulty as we do today being influenced by popular culture and attitudes and acting accordingly in an every man for himself manner. Peter address this in his first epistle: 1 Peter 1:23-25 (Amplified Bible)

You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God.

For all mankind is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off,

But the Word of the Lord endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.

In the next century Tertullian wrote a lengthy piece in defense of Christianity, a portion of which is edited here:

Tertullian's Apology, Chapter XXXIX (39) (end of 2nd century beginning of 3rd century)

"The people of Megara feast as though they were going to die on the morrow; they build as though they were never to die!" We are a body knit together as such by a common religious profession, by unity of discipline, and by the bond of a common hope. We meet together as an assembly and congregation, offering up prayer to God as with united force. We pray, too, for the emperors, for their ministers and for all in authority, for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final consummation. We assemble to read our sacred writings. For with a great gravity is the work of judging carried on among us, as befits those who feel assured that they are in the sight of God; and you have the most notable example of judgment to come when any one has sinned so grievously as to require his severance from us in prayer, in the congregation and in all sacred intercourse. The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor not by purchase, but by established character. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety's deposit fund. For they are not taken thence and spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God's Church, they become the nurslings of their confession. But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for themselves are animated by mutual hatred; The Salii cannot have their feast without going into debt; you must get the accountants to tell you what the sacrificial banquets cost; the choicest cook is appointed for the Attic mysteries; the smoke from the banquet of Serapis will call out the firemen. Yet about the modest supper-room of the Christians alone a great ado is made. Our feast explains itself by its name The Greeks call it agape. Whatever it costs, with the good things of the feast we benefit the needy. If the object of our feast be good, in the light of that consider its further regulations. As it is an act of religious service, it permits no vileness or immodesty. The participants, before reclining, taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger; as much is drunk as befits the chaste. They say it is enough, as those who remember that even during the night they have to worship God; they talk as those who know that the Lord is one of their auditors. After manual ablution, and the bringing in of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a hymn to God, either one from the holy Scriptures or one of his own composing,-a proof of the measure of our drinking. As the feast commenced with prayer, so with prayer it is closed. We go from it, not like troops of mischief-doers, nor bands of vagabonds, nor to break out into licentious acts, but to have as much care of our modesty and chastity as if we had been at a school of virtue rather than a banquet. Give the congregation of the Christians its due, and hold it unlawful, if it is like assemblies of the illicit sort: by all means let it be condemned, if any complaint can be validly laid against it, such as lies against secret factions. But who has ever suffered harm from our assemblies? We are in our congregations just what we are when separated from each other; we are as a community what we are individuals; we injure nobody, we trouble nobody. When the upright, when the virtuous meet together, when the pious, when the pure assemble in congregation, you ought not to call that a faction, but a curia-[i.e., the court of God.]
As the church, the body of Christ, has developed through the centuries there have been ups and downs. Currently it seems this may not be one of the finest hours for the church, with news of denominational schisms, acrimonious doctrinal discourses, moral leadership lapses and dwindling membership rolls. In the midst of this thought, I received an email. Aunt Margaret died in a nursing home in Idaho. As she was dying, there was no immediate family left alive or near to comfort her. The church secretary receiving word that Aunt Margaret was failing and unable to reach the pastor went to the nursing home and spent three hours with her singing hymns, praying and reading scripture until my aunt passed peacefully to heaven. The secretary could have decided to stay in the office and finish her paper work and go home to her family and have been justified by the values of popular culture. Instead she spent her time making sure Aunt Margaret did not die alone. Tertullian would have written of this: See how she agape loved my aunt, that Christian. Peter, the bondservant of Jesus Christ would have been pleased. (2 Peter 1:5-7) Peter wrote: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. There and back again in love, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen.

Who is Jesus, anyway?

2008-07-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Who is Jesus?

“ He is the Way. Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness; You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.” W.H. Auden

“God-With-Us. Not the God -Up- There somewhere who answers our prayers by lifting us out of our lives, but the God who comes to us in the midst of them-however far from home we are-however much or little our lives relfects the Christmas cards we send.” Barbara Brown Taylor.

“God ...became human Himself; was born into the world as an actual man...If you want to get the hang of it, think of how you would like to become a slug or a crab.” C.S. Lewis

“Through Christ we see as in a mirror the spotless and excellent face of God.” Clement of Rome

“For Jesus, broken bodies and empty bellies are the antitheses of God’s reign; he embodies God’s rule through healing broken bodies, filling empty bellies and conducting himself in such a way that he is called a winebibber and a glutton.” Theodore Jennings

“ Jesus came to reunite, to heal , to form bonds, to reconcile.” Henri Nouwen

“ This man-God Jesus was a good storyteller. He knew what he was doing.” Lois Cheney

“ Happiness consists in finding out precisely what the ‘one thing necessary’ may be in our lives, and in gladly relinquishing all the rest. For then, by a divine paradox, we find that everything else is given us together with the one thing needed.” Thomas Merton

“I'm a Muslim, but do you think Jesus would love me? I think Jesus would have a drink with me and discuss why are you acting like that? Now, he would be cool. He would talk to me. No Christian ever did that and said in the name of Jesus even. They'd throw me in jail and write bad articles about me and then go to church on Sunday and say Jesus is a wonderful man and he's coming back to save us. But they don't understand that when he comes back, that these crazy greedy capitalistic men are gonna kill him again.” Mike Tyson

“But any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood, and that is what happened to Jesus” Henry Louis Mencken

“Mahomet established a religion by putting his enemies to death; Jesus Christ by commanding his followers to lay down their lives” Blaise Pascal

“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” Blaise Pascal

“Jesus, like any good fisherman, first catches the fish; then He cleans them” Mark Potter

“The essence of faith is being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus” John Piper

“Jesus is just a word I use to swear with” Richard Harris

Who is Jesus to you?

How do you know me?

2008-07-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

I was in the library doing research for a summer graduate class and I saw a woman behind the reference desk that looked familiar but I could place where or how. Later as she walked past the table where I was studying I overheard someone refer to her as Chris, which then triggered the time, place and a whole cascade of memories from about thirty years past when we were freshman in college. Our discussion this week in Sunday adult discussion was about Jesus asking his disciples "Who do you say that I am?"(atthew 16: 13-18) We were discussing it in terms of how we know God. At one point in my early life He was the Man upstairs(I AM), and was someone who was going to get you if you didn't watch out on Judgement Day. When I was about nineteen, He became the One who saves. AT this point in my life He is also my friend, guide, counselor, companion, priest, husband, father, God, Lord, my peace, my comfort, my strength and I could go on.... as I have walked with Him these past thirty seven years, I have come to know Him more. How do you know God. who do you say that He is?

Praying Our Goodbyes, letting go

2008-05-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Rev. Gretchen Hulse, emailed me the other day asking if I had a copy of a book by Joyce Rupp calls, Praying Our Goodbyes. I did not have the book but my interest was piqued as Gretchen has good taste in authors, so a web search was begun. Joyce Rupp has a web site, http://www.joycerupp.com/ and this prayer was posted there. Joyce Rupp hit the nail on the head in regards to capturing the essence of the push pull that occurs during transitions in this prayer. My particular transitions? Losing my mother and brother four years ago and preparing for retirement in a year, starting then a new career...finding my new calling? My daughter just graduated from college yesturday, a joy, and will be leaving next week for another university, a joy and sadness. The same daughter played a role in Fiddler on the Roof years ago. The "Papa" sings, " Sunrise, sunet, swiftly fly the years. One season following another, laden with happiness and tears."

Closing from Prayer of One Who Feels Lost

Dear God,
why do I keep fighting you off?
One part of me wants you desparately,
another part of me unknowingly
pushes you back and runs away.

What is there in me that
so contradicts my desire for you?
These transition days, these passage ways,
are calling me to let go of old securities,
to give myself over into your hands.

Like Jesus who struggled with the pain
I, too, fight the "let it all be done."
Loneliness, lostness, non-belonging,
all these hurts strike out at me,
leaving me pained with this present goodbye.

I want to be more but I fight the growing.
I want to be new but I hang unto the old.
I want to live but I won't face the dying.
I want to be whole but cannot bear
to gather up the pieces into one.

Is it that I refuse to be out of control,
to let the tears take their humbling journey,
to allow my spirit to feel its depression,
to stay with the insecurity of "no home"?

Now is the time. You call to me,
begging me to let you have my life,
inviting me to taste the darkness
so I can be filled with the light,
allowing me to lose my direction
so that I will find my way home to you.

---Joyce Rupp
Praying Our Goodbyes

Happy Mothers Day

Skipping stones or river rocks

2008-05-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

You can call yourself a Christian in America and not worry about being committed or being a disciple. You may have beliefs but not convictions.

This morning I was thinking about the cultural Christianity we observe in this country and how it can come in conflict with the practice of discipleship at times. Without getting into specifics, someone was discouraged at work today about the "unchristian" behavior of christian colleagues. The gist of the problem boiled down to cultural christianity. I was thinking about a stone skimming the surface of the stream, so to speak, and never taking the time to dive under into the depths of the water. As long as a stone is skipping the surface of the water it will never become part of the ecosystem and allow the water forces to work on it, tumbling and rolling it under the surface below. The stone will never diminish in time, in size and stature as parts of its elements dissolve becoming part of the nourishing liquid soup; calling to mind John the Baptist saying he must increase and I must decrease, if it remains on the surface or stays on the shorline. The algae will never have a chance to gather on it, baby fish will never find shelter behind it's shadow, it will just be a skipping stone, barely even wet.

Wouldn't you want to be drenched with water, the rough edges smoothed away by the roiling action of the water currents?Wouldn't you want to shelter the fry and the tadpoles as they grow and accumulate the algae to feed them? I think about the rough places made plain spoken poetically about in Isaiah and I think of stones being polished by the action of water, lively stones, smooth stones, stones not easily "offended" any longer when they are bumped into one another. Why you barely notice a scratch as all the sharp protruberances were knocked and smoothed off long ago.

Underneath the bitter snow, in the spring comes a promise...

2008-03-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

This is part of a hymn we sung this morning. After Easter dinner, I walked out into the snow covered backyard to find that the witch hazel bush was in full glorious bloom! This is what it looked like. After living in the great white north and living with all the dark grey days since last fall, seeing the witch hazel blooming sprang hope in my soul that warmer days are ahead. Warmer, sunny days in the natural and also in the spiritual. It has been a dark wintrey night of the soul. Praise God there is always a day to the night, a spring to the fall, Christ has risen indeed!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Charles Wesley

There are no songs till springtime comes

2008-03-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

Image from early fifth century A.D. British Museum, London. Death of Judas, Crucifixion of Christ

While reading the passages in Luke's gospel about the events leading up to Jesus's crucifixion, I keep wondering what happened to Judas. The scriptures tell us that after Satan entered Judas, he went to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard to discuss how he could betray Jesus. (Lk 22: 3-5) During the account of the last supper which follows, Jesus says "woe to that man who betrays him." (luke 22:22). Woe indeed. After the betrayal, Judas realizes that he has set a horrible chain of events in motion. I doubt he was really thinking Jesus would be crucified. He tries to undo the deed by returning the money, throwing it on the floor of the temple when the priests wouldn't take it. He is decribed as having and untimely death after that, possibly by hanging himself, but elsewhere in scripture, that he fell headlong into a field and his bowels gushed out. My guess is that he took his own life by hanging in complete utter despair. Some commentators suggest that if he hung himself, that the hot sun would have caused rapid decomposition of the body and by the time it was found, it could have been messy getting it into the field. I add that to provide an explanation of why several accounts exist for his death. None of the disciples seemed moved to restore him, forgive him at the time, they were busy dealing with their own emotions of grief, sadness and horror over the betrayal and death of their beloved Rabbi. Judas could not forgive himself. He was held in disdain by the religious council. Isolation, Woe, Death.

What happened to Judas? He had become corrupt, one secret deception led to another until the ultimate act of betrayal leaving him woeful, wretched. "Woe to that man who betrays me", Jesus says. How often do we betray the Savior by our thoughts, words and deeds? How wretched are we until we move to make it right? Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed (James 5:16) My Lenten prayer: May we walk in covenant with one another as disciples, confessing and praying for one another for healing, wholeness.

There Are No Songs: by Michael Kelly Blanchard

There are no songs till Springtime comes.
No melodies for voice.
There are no tunes till death has stung
That Easter might rejoice.
There are no words to bring you back,
From your frozen winter's will.
There is no hope the ice will crack,
Till Jesus melts the chill.

For some you say. Perhaps, many ...yes.
But surely not for me.
For I have run from the very best,
How can there mercy be?

Come home, come home my ramblin' child.
Let down your ragged sail.
And steer your heart to the oceans wild,
Where the breath of God prevails.
It's not too late to turn around,
And catch the tender breeze.
That blows you to the holy ground,
You find beneath your knees.

For when has soul, been bound to time,
Or heart too cold to melt.
Or forgiveness too lost to find,
When regret is truly felt.

There's mercy, mercy my little ones.
Mercy without bounds.
For all who simply turn and come
And lay their burden down.
For there's nothing that you've ever done,
That My love can not change.
Unless you choose to finally run,
Away with pride and pain.

(Reprise)
There are no words to bring you back,
From your frozen winter's chill.
There is no hope the ice will crack,
Till Jesus melts your will.

Creating opportunites to be in community

2008-02-08T03:23:00.001-08:00

I don't often think of the Spirit offering "opportunities." Sometimes my thinking about the work of the Spirit tends to err along the lines of creating inescapable situations in which one finds oneself almost trapped, like Old Testament Joseph being thrown in the pit by his brothers prior to being sold into slavery. It has occured to me that it is the nature of the Spirit to say "yes" instead of "no". To say "let there be" instead of "anhilliate". In my distant past, my thinking of the Spirit was of one who said "no", "no", "no" and keep away, beware....God was authoritative and punitive, a taliban type persona. During this season of Lent I am reflecting that everything Jesus did was heading to and said yes to the cross instead of "No". In saying yes and and accepting the "No" of the Father, in that there was no other way to accomplish what needed to be done, Christ opened the opportunity of the Spirit to move among us in power. Jesus opened opportunitites for us to have a larger, fuller life by his work on the cross. We too have work on the cross, by denying ourselves daily and offering up opportunities in love to each other. With out realizing it my pastor recently turned a phrase about living in christian community that describes the work of the Spirit in such a way as to be very liberating. I am going to remember this and want to share his wise words with you.

"While we can not force people to want to be together we can offer opportunities for people to come together and learn to respect and love each other. "

When was the last time you were part of an offering of an opportunity for people to come together? If it has been a while, is it time now to reach out?

We though many are made one

2008-02-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

My daughter, Zara, just finished an Ocean Waves quilt. Hundreds of tiny little pieces of triangular cloth are bound together with cords of cotton mercerized thread. Cords she hopes will not be broken by the pressure or strain of use or agitation in the washing machine when the time comes to clean it. Some of the pieces are lively in their color and pattern, others quiet and mute but each is necessary for the total pattern to have it's full effect. All of the pieces are clustered in small communities around a larger square, anchored together in a common location.

I looked at her finished project and was struck by the similarity with the church families that dot our communities. Each larger square a church with small triangles the interconnected members, altogether creating at best a covering of God's love around the entire world.

A missing piece and the blanket will begin to unravel. We need one another for support literally. We need one another for the sum of our combined strength and voice. We need one another to be the whole body. I pray that Christ will continue to knit us together, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together with love, Lord.

No one wants to talk about dying....

2008-01-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

No one wants to talk about dying these days, yet in order for there to be a resurrection there has to be a death. A snow flake has to give it's beautiful crystalline uniqueness up, melting away, so that the it's life giving water may be released for the growing and nuture of the greening spring plants. Our hearts too must melt into the liquid of God's holy love, but no one wants to talk about dying these days. It is a sometimes scarey and often painful process to open the shell of the self and expose the heart within.

Jesus restores hardened hearts that are dead in sin as he restores people that have passed away. Which is more difficult?Jesus was notified when his friend Lazarus became ill. It was hoped that he would go directly and heal heal him as he had done for so many other, so many times before. But this time, Jesus lingered and did not rush to Lazarus. After a few days, when he finally went to see him, Lazarus, he was told had died and was buried in a tomb. Jesus then went to the tomb, and asks that the stone be removed from the entrance. Martha reminds him then that the body would smell, as Lazarus has now been dead for four days. Jesus replies to Martha, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" and then yells for Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus emerges from the tomb all wrapped up in strips of grave cloth. Jesus then tells everyone to unbind Lazarus' wrappings and let him go free. (John 11:1-44)

Frank Sinatra made popular a song written by Paul Anka called "My Way". It is a song about a man nearing the end of his life. The last stanza goes like this: "For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels; And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows -And did it my way!" A song of defiance till the end, based on worldly wisdom and a self will. Kingdom wisdom says: " If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful." (2Tim:2:11-13) We are not to do it "My way" but " His Way". He is the Potter, we are the clay, how often we forget.

Jesus was able to raise "definitely dead' Lazarus and enlisted the aid of his friends, family and others gathered to unbind him so that he could be free. When we die to our selfish desires for the sake of Christ, we can count on a spiritual resurrection and the support of a community of faith for support. Surely restoring a soul is just as possible with God as raising a body dead for four days.

When I find myself singing "My Way" I know it is time then to draw near to God and allow him to melt my heart, once again. No one wants to talk about dying, but for our own good, and for the good of the Kingdom, we are advised to tell our faults and shortcomings to one another and pray for one another that we may be healed. My New Years resolution is to do it His way more than my way, by his grace.

Hope For the Future/PTSD

2008-01-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

The entire family is affected when a family member experiences physical or psychological trauma and suffers posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result . Although the trauma was directly experienced by only one family member, other family members may experience shock, fear, anger, and pain in their own unique ways simply because they care about and are connected to the survivor. Living with someone who has PTSD does not cause PTSD, but it can produce "vicarious" traumatization because whether the family members live together or apart, PTSD affects each member of the family in several ways with feelings of hurt, alienation, frustration, or discouragment to name a few. If the survivor loses interest in family or intimate activities and is easily angered or emotionally distant and detached, the rest of the family often ends up feeling angry or distant toward the survivor, especially if he or she seems unable to relax and be companionable without being irritable, tense, anxious, worried, distractible, or controlling, overprotective, and demanding.

Even if the trauma occurred years ago, survivors may act as if the event never stopped happening. They are on-guard, easily startled or enraged. Family members can find themselves avoiding activities or people and becoming isolated from each other and from friends outside the family. They may feel that they have no one to talk to, and that no one can understand. Having a cooperative discussion with the survivor about important plans and decisions for the future, can be difficult because that loved one feels that there is no hope or future to look forward to. Listening and concentrating is difficult for them when they are distracted, tense, anxious, or because they become angry and suspicious toward others. In discussions about personal or family problems, the trauma survivor can become either controlling, demanding, or overprotective or unreasonably anxious and fearful about problems becoming terrible catastrophes.

The other family members may become overinvolved with their children's lives due to feeling lonely and in need of some positive emotional feedback, or they may feel that the partner can't be counted on as a reliable and responsible parent. The partner may also feel that they must be the sole caregiver to their children, if the survivor is uninvolved with their children, (often due to trauma-related anxiety or guilt) or is overly critical, angry, or even abusive. They may find their sleep disrupted by the trauma survivor's sleep problems (reluctance to sleep at night, restlessness while sleeping, severe nightmares, or episodes of violent "sleepwalking." And they may find themselves depressed as well.

Trauma survivors with PTSD often struggle with intense anger or rage, and can have difficulty coping with an impulse to lash out verbally or physically -- especially if their trauma involved physical abuse or assault, war, domestic or community violence, or being humiliated, shamed and betrayed by people they needed to trust. Family members can feel frightened of and betrayed by the survivor, despite feeling love and concern.

Addiction exposes family members to emotional, financial, and (less often, but not uncommonly) domestic violence problems. Survivors experiencing PTSD may seek relief or escape through alcohol, nicotene or other drugs, or through addictive behaviors such as gambling, workaholism, overeating or refusing to eat (bulimia and anorexia). The survivor is dependent ("hooked") on the habit or behavior and can't cope without it. Being judgemental and punitive only adds to the anxiety and makes the addictive behavior worse.

Trauma survivors with PTSD are more likely to think about and attempt suicide than other people who are not suffering from PTSD. For the family there is good and bad news in this respect. The good news is that very few trauma survivors, even those with PTSD, actually attempt or complete suicide. The bad news is that family members often must deal with the survivor's feelings of discouragement, depression, and self-blame and loathing.

What can families of trauma survivors with PTSD do to care for themselves and the survivor? As a family member, I advise, take care of yourself first. You cannot give water to a thirsty soul if the well is dry. Cultivate first and foremost your relationship with your Heavenly Father, make sure that vertical relationship is always firmly maintained. Find a supporive church family with an open mind and heart. Go, attend, even if your significant other won't. You need the support if you are going to be theirs through this storm. Find others and network through grassroots organizations such as Nami, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Become an advocate, you do not need to hide or be ashamed or lurk in the shadows. You would be amazed at how many other families are suffering silently and trying to "keep up appearances", don't worry about what other people think. Remember that it can happen to anyone given the circumstance, "there but for the grace of God go I". Take care of yourself, read a book, exercise, have a cup of coffee with someone you care about. Talk to a counselor for support, even if your loved one won't go, you go, for you. Think of it as a mental health spa. If there is an addiction problem there are groups like AA and Narcotics Anonymous to name a few. God will guide you through this wilderness, trust in Him.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.-Jeremiah 29:13

We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love. -- Mother Teresa

Homeless comes home

2007-11-13T16:55:00.001-08:00

My mentally ill brother took in a woman who had been widowed and found herself homeless. He was separated from his former wife at the time. His ex had thrown him out, neither could afford a divorce, so he went his way and she, hers. After ten years had passed, due to a chain of circumstances, my brother and his friend found themselves evicted and homeless in Washington D.C., unemployed and unable to make ends meet any longer. In their need, they turned to family. Would my parents and I come get them and bring them up north to PA to stay with them until they got on their feet financially? My parent's didn't want to take them in because they weren't married, my brother wouldn't leave without her, besides, they knew nothing about this quiet strange woman who had no family that seemed to care for her. My brother was a big enough handful with his problems......What would Jesus do?

The civil law aside, my brother and his ex wife were divorced in their hearts, the marriage covenant had been broken years ago. My brother and his lady friend had a monogamous devotion to one another. In order to rescue my homeless brother, The decision was finally made to bring the lady up too. She also needed rescuing, having thrown her lot in with my brother, his fate was hers as well.

After a discussion about sleeping arrangements, my parents decided to let the two of them sleep downstairs in the family room on fold out sofa bed. It was a major concession for my parents to allow this in their home. My entire upbringing I had been taught that it was forbidden to sleep with a member of the opposite sex unless I was married and here my parents were allowing it to happen under their roof! It was an act of mercy.

My brother and his friend stayed about a month with my folks before the house became too "small" for all four of them and the tensions rose. My brother and his friend got jobs and an apartment. About two years later my brother died, victim of a silent brain tumor growing steadily under the surface of the frontal lobe of his brain. His friend was the last person to see him alive as he lay in hopice care in the nursing home. I know she was a comfort to him.

She is my friend now. I have lost my brother, but I gained a sister. She is very different than I. We are worlds apart in education, lifestyle, even the number of teeth in our mouths. Homelessness is tough on a person. I promised my brother I would look after her when my parents and I brought them up from D.C. She had no family to turn to when things became rough, as my brother did. My mother has died now and I have this precious friend who helps me remember some of the people I loved most in the world. What would Jesus do? I don't know. I think He would go with the spirit of the law and not the letter of it. If we erred, we erred on the side of love mercy and compassion.

When Jesus was born, there was no room at the inn. No one would take in his pregnant mother and earthly father. In are hearts is there room for more mercy, love, compassion, room to stretch and grow, make room for people we would not normally associate with? I am glad I made room for my brother's friend, my friend now.

Moldy crumbs of worldly pleasure or Feasting on the Presence?

2007-09-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was reading the blog of theologian Adrian Warnock from the UK. He commented about an upcoming book written by a man named John Owen. Adrian says that John feels distant from many modern-day Christians. When I read this I wanted to add that I do too and that I do not find this to be a suprise,but rather a tragedy. How often do we talk about a conscious relationship with the living Christ? How much do we truly enjoy his presence? Adrian asks. " How much are we aware of how precious he is? Is our failure to truly pursue a conscious experience of Jesus part of the reason why we often struggle to fight against sin? Who would eat the moldy crumbs of pleasure that the world would offer us when we have feasted on the delights to be found in knowing Christ?"
And here are Owen’s words:
"When once the soul of a believer has obtained sweet and real communion with Christ, it looks about him, watches all temptations all ways whereby sin might approach, to disturb him in his enjoyment of his dear Lord and Savior, his rest and desire. How does it charge itself not to omit anything, nor to do anything that may interrupt the communion obtained! And because the common entrance of temptations which tend to the disturbance of that rest and complacency which Christ takes in the soul, is from delightful diversions from actual communion with him; therefore is desire strong and active that the companions of such a soul, those with whom it does converse, would not, by their proposals or allurements, divert it into any such frame as Christ cannot delight nor rest in. A believer that has gotten Christ in his arms is like one that has found great spoils, or a pearl of price. He looks about him every way, and fears everything that may deprive him of it. Riches make men watchful; and the actual sensible possession of him, in whom are all the riches and treasure of God will make men look about them for the keeping of him. The line of choicest communion is a line of the greatest spiritual solicitousness, carelessness in the enjoyment of Christ pretended is a manifest evidence of a false heart." (John Owen: Communion with the Triune God, pages 238-239)
I spent the evening on the phone with a person who told me that they deserved more from their spouse who was having health and mental health issues and more from their God because they were stressed as a result and life was not rosy and the outlook for the future was looking dim. They were looking for logical worldly solutions to their dilemma. They had expected their church involvement, attendance and prayers, plus "being a good person" to guarantee a yuppie lifesyle in the burbs. There is a lot of mixed up thinking about how God works with man in the world. Part of this I believe is due to widespread scriptural illiteracy. I prayed that this situation would be a growth opportunity for this individual and not a breaking point in terms of their relationship with the Christ who promises to never leave us or forsake us. This is the same Christ who calls us to take up our cross daily (implying sacrificial denial of some sort) and to follow Him in fellowship, friendship, and servanthood. For most Christian people times of trouble are the first times in their lives that it occurs to them to talk to God. When I have spoken of asking God to select my husband for me, (He did put together the first couple, I figured He was qualified to find me the perfect match) people look at me like I am nuts. When I prayed about direction for my secular job, I received specific answers. God wants to be in relationship with us...even wants to hear about lost car keys and what a beautiful morning it is, or isn't. I read a book by Brother Lawrence called The Practice of the Presence of God years ago and purposed that I would make it my goal. I cannot imagine going through a happy, sad or inbetween time without including my Lord in it actively. When I "practice" intentionally, I am at peace and in tune with the Holy Spirit. You may want to avoid me on the other days, when I forget, or ask me if my eyes are focused on where they should be, it will show in my life and in my attitude, both will start to stink if I am not focused on my Lord and Savior.
I will leave you to chew on another thought by Martyn Lloyd-Jones:
"The fatal mistake is to think of sin always in terms of acts and of actions rather than in terms of nature, and of disposition. The mistake is to think of it in terms of particular things instead of thinking of it, as we should, in terms of our relationship to God. Do you want to know what sin is? I will tell you. Sin is the exact opposite of the attitude and the life which conform to, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.' If you are not doing that you are a sinner. It does not matter how respectable you are; if you are not living entirely to the glory of God, you are a sinner. And the more you imagine that you are perfect in and of yourself and apart from your relationship to God, the greater is your sin." Ouch ! Thank you Lord, I'll keep pressing on....

I WILL SING

2007-09-16T05:01:00.001-07:00

"Give ear, O heavens, while I speak; let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!
May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew, Like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops.
For I will sing the LORD'S renown. Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!
The Rock--how faultless are his deeds, how right all his ways! A faithful God, without deceit, how just and upright he is!" Deut. 32:1-4

I appreciate the greatness of Moses, when I realize that he lifts up his voice and sings this song to God and the people of Isreal after God has revealed to him that he will not be going into the promised land. It is one thing to sing when the future is personally bright, but Moses, like David, another great Biblical figure of old, sings even when things are not going his way. Moses has just been commanded by God to climb the mountain and die there, in sight of the promised land he has been leading his people to all these years. He is not to enter the promised land, in his past he has dishonored God while serving Him and was told this would be the consequence. As I read the passage in Deuteronomy, the last song of Moses, I wept for the pain Moses must have felt and for the noble spirit he had; no anger with God, no bitterness, no whining, but acceptance, blessing and praising.

Moses sings of God as the rock, and Moses knows he has displeased God and that is why he can't enter Canaan, as recorded in Numbers 20:10). Rabbinical and Christian scholars have worked on the issue of exactly what happened at the waters of Meribah. Exactly how Moses disobeyed God, they are not sure. Was it striking the rock twice in disobedience or a lack of faith? These are only two of many reasons proposed as to why Moses "struck out" when he struck the rock. I do know though that there are many times I "strike out" in service to God and in my relationship with the Lord. Many times that I do things I shouldn't or do too much, not enough, or not at all what God asks. Naturally, lifestyle choices,may influence the span of my years if I ignore physicians advice. But this isn't about living longer, this is about pleasing God. There are the times I seek to do God's will my way, could that be what happened in the story about Moses? There was a seemingly "little" thing Moses was not faithful in and it was a "big" thing to God. Moses accepts Divine justice, Divine consequences for his actions and praises God. He accepts responsibility for his actions and then continues to seek and obey. Moses is a man who walked and talked with God, a man with human failings, whom God used in amazing ways. God loved Moses and Moses God. Moses went up on the mountain one last time to see the promised land in the distance and die with his Lord present.
Oh Lord, may I have the integrity of Moses and his ability to accept that God is always in control and that His ways are not my ways. May I accept responsibility for those areas in my life in which I fall short of the Glory of God, be faithful in the little things as well as the big, and walk in newness of life from there after.

Forgive but don't forget........

2007-08-22T04:11:00.001-07:00

I was reading an article this morning in Peacesigns, a Mennonite peace an justice ezine. The autor of the article Leo Hartshorn was reviewing Miroslav Volf's book, The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World (Eerdmans, 2006). "The way we remember abuse or wrongs done can be either destructive or healing. Destructive memory fuels further anger, hatred, and vengeance. What Christians need is an approach to memory that is healing and reconciling. Elie Wiesel, a holocaust survivor, once suggested that salvation lies in memory." Leo says in his article as he reflects on the book.

As I checked out the international news this week one of the articles was about a ten minute Youtube video produced by a radical islamic group calling for "virtual" jihad against all westerners. It includes video clip after clip of war atrocities, perpetrated by westerners, including the recent abu ghraib prison scandal, but also the UN handover of the Bosnian's to the Serbian's and the resulting genocide. The video was anti semetic, calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. I watched most of this video and prayed for these people, for the trauma, the hurt, the memories, the indignities that they have suffered, asking God for national wisdom, compassion, understanding and mercy towards these people on our part and on the part of other western nations. I prayed for those who call for jihad against me because I am a western Christian and therefore in their eyes deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth.

That memory and healing interest me is an understatement because a dear loved one has post traumatic stress disorder. We are called as Christians to remember a grusome act as often as we assemble together, "This is my body broken for you," and "This is my blood of the new covenant shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins..." Jesus's word to us, His church. He wants us to remember acts of torture and violence done to Him, not for violence and to perpetrate jihad but to reframe the memory into "right remembering" that will lead ro reconcilliation and peace. In right remembering you do not demonize the perpetrator of violence but attempt to recall events "truthfully without exaggeration or injustice against the perpetrators" according to Leo's article. I sadly did not see right remembering in the islamic jihad video. Where is the Islamic voice for truth I wonder? The article goes on to say that " Right remembering also involves not allowing traumatic memories to dominate our identity, but reframing those memories for personal healing, having the truth of the traumas acknowledged, utilizing traumatic memories as a means of solidarity with victims and as an impetus for protecting victims from further violence."

In the story of the cross we are further asked to remember rightly that the wrongs we have done, or ever will do, are laid at the foot of the cross, and that these wrongs are every bit as hurtful and traumatic as the violence the Divine Son suffered at Calvary. We are asked to reframe that in the light of Christ's forgiveness, his love for enemies and the hope for communion and reconciliation. "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?" that was me at one time as well. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.

The Call

2007-08-13T03:45:00.000-07:00

Luke 9:23-24 (NIV) Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

During the time of the Roman Empire, a criminal or captive, on their way to being crucified was often forced to carry his cross part of the way to the crucifixion site, carrying his cross through the middle of the city."
Jesus's disciples from Galilee knew what he meant, for they had seen hundreds of men executed by this means in their region. Why would Jesus use such an image of horror and disdain? I think he wants the disciples to read the fine print of the contract and it has survived in scripture so that we too will know what is in the fine print. In the previous passage, Jesus predicts his own death and alludes to hs ressurection and then he issues the call. It is "The Call" of all who say they love God and want to follow Jesus Christ, deny yourself, daily, carry your cross, and follow....Him.

The church seems to have a hard time saying no these days. We are called to purity, holiness, honesty, constancy, self control, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, love, joy but there is a lot of indulgence. During the time of the middle ages the good works of the clergy were sold as indulgences for the sins of the congregants. If you messed up a contribution could cover an indiscretion, pay your way to heaven, with no guilt. The money raised supported the church (and clergy), sweet deal. It went like this: "Church officials argued that clergy were doing more good works then they needed to; they had, you might say, more than good works in their spiritual accounts than they had sins to pay for. Why not sell them? So selling the good works of the church was precisely what the church did. With the approval of the pope, individual bishops could sell indulgences which more or less paid off any temporal punishment or good works that the individual believer had accumulated in the previous year. It substituted the good works of the Catholic clergy for the good works required of the individual believer. Proof of this substitution was in the indulgence itself, which was a piece of paper, like a piece of money or a check, that certified that the good works of the clergy had paid off the "good works debt" of the individual believer."
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/INDULGE.HTM
The attitude of " I'm a good person, I don't do bad things" and therefore "Jesus loves me" is dangerous thinking. Yes Jesus loves me and you, but he loves us too much to allow us to continue to indulge ourselves in sin. Addictions and overeating will lead to physical death and disease. Greed, self absorbtion, at the end of it all leaves you feeling empty. That is why we feel guilt and that is why we try to assuage it with more self indulgence, like a aspirin or tylenol to take away the pain of being separated from our real authentic love, God and his true purpose and authentic call for our lives. What are you stuffing, packing, drinking, smoking, clutching, buying,charging, grabbing, hugging, squeezing, cramming into your life to fill the void? Romans 3:23 (KJV)2 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" that is all of us. It is time to quit indulging, rationalizing and making excuses. As Americans we are spiritually flabby. We have gotten fat on earthly delights and affluence. It's time to get back to the Call.

In This Life You Will Have Trouble.....

2007-08-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

What happens when bad things happen to Christian people? Did they not pray enough? Plead the blood of Jesus protection over them enough? Bind the work of Satan in Jesus' name enough? I was in conversation with a lady a church this Sunday we were discussing a recent tragic home invasion. The family was Christian. "The Christian walk of faith is not a rabbits foot that we can rub for good luck" I told her, "are we immune to tragedy in the world because we know Christ? Jesus promises that in this world (John 16: 33) we will have tribulations, but He has overcome the world". The lady was not happy with what I had to say. She seemed to feel her family had some sort of invisibility cloak sheilding them from the hand of darkness because she prayed. I thought to myself, bring out the garlic.

God is sovereign but when he commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam did anyway. Adam had a choice to obey or disobey the sovereign will of God. "Let there be light", "Let there be water" said God, and all the other elements of creation and it happened because it proceeded from His mouth. But sovereignty seems to hit pause until human choice is made because we were given free will. I wish I could take credit for this thought but I will credit Religiously Transmitted Diseases, Finding a Cure When Faith Doesn't Feel Right by Ed Gungor. Ed Gungor would diagnose the dilemma that lady in church had as Sovereignty Shingles.
His web address:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=68591626

In my life there has been constant sorrow from one thing or another. I have had to deal with the issue of God's sovereignity and man's bad choices over and over again coming to the conclusion that the God I know is BIG enough to work His will anyway. My understanding has shifting from God working his will from a linear straightline perspective to a perspective of overflowing trickels, rivulets, like a bunch of rocks, the water first moves around and splashes over and eventually tumbles them out of the way or into each other so that they become grains of sand.
In this world we will have trouble, sorrow, sickness, disease, violence, decay. Christ kingdom is not of this world. We live in this world and yet our citizenship is in His kingdom.

"THE DISCIPLES bear the suffering laid on them only by the power of him who bears all suffering on the Cross. As bearers of suffering, they stand in communion with the crucified. They stand as strangers in the power of him who was so alien to the world that it crucified him. This is their comfort, or rather, he is their comfort, their comforter. … This alien community is comforted by the Cross."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship

" Do you know believe? Behold the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart: I have overcome the world." Jesus

Burning

2007-07-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about the drought we are having in NW Pa with many plants drying up and dying. The Lord spoke to me and said," it only takes a spark to get a fire burning"….I am praying for the spark. I am ready to be set on fire.

In the Book of Exodus, the burning bush miracle performed by God on Mount Horeb informed Moses of his call to ministry.
Moses looked at the bush from the side. Maybe to shield his eyes from the brightness, maybe to see if there was something hidden causing the burning, you know to check to make sure...are you sure this is you God? Until a voice spoke to him from the bush saying, “Remove your sandals. You’re standing on holy ground.” What would you do if you encountered a talking burning bush? Moses took off his shoes and listened. Instead of being consumed by the fire of an angry diety, Moses found that God was with him.

When Mount St. Helen's erupted in the 1980's everything that was consummable was burnt up by the hot gasses and firey lava pouring down the mountain slopes. The mountain remained, the vegetation gone. The burning bush however, was not consumed by the fire. It was of the Father and the Father spoke to Moses through it.

When the Holy Spirit sets us on fire, everything that is not of the Father burns away, our vices, pride, ego, things of the world and culture that numb us. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to purify us so that as John Wesley said, " I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn."

Annual Conference Primer, 2007 Version

2007-07-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have sought to distill the flavor, aside from the politcal undercurrents and machinations of man, that occur whenever a group of people gather to "conference," in this annual conference report of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church held June 2007 at Grove City, PA. This years theme, "God will make a way", flavored everything that occured. "God will make a way to ignite the fire again in the hearts of those called United Methodists", we were told. John Wesley's own words were quoted, " I set myself on fire and the people come to watch me burn". We were challenged to set ourselves on fire with love and committment to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ not worrying about what other people would think of us if we did so. We were reminded that God still speaks to those who attend the roar and the whisper of the Holy Spirit, and we were reminded that it is not about us, our life, our work, our desires, but it's about God. As God's children, we were reminded, we want to go our own way, think we have a better way, but only God knows the best way. And what is the best way? The speaker, Reverend Vance Ross, told us. "Here it is", he said, " this symbol of agony, despair, pain, this instrument of cruel Roman torture is converted to a symbol of joy, hope, grace and promise; the cross."

With this in mind, the people of the Western PA Annual Conference were thanked for their hopeful giving, the highest in history, of our mission shares. A pastor from a hurricane Katrina stricken area came in person to thank our conference and all the PA conferences for sending the most aid and relief, about 85 million dollars worth, to them in their time of greatest need. We were informed that Methodists across the conference had donated over one million dollars now to the Believe Again initiative.

The bishop did some extensive fund raisng for the Nothing But Nets Campaign to raise money to purchase insecticide permeated nets for ten dollars apiece to be sent to Africa to cover sleeping families, keeping them safe from malaria carrying mosquitos. Every thirty seconds a child dies from malaria in Africa and this can be prevented with a simple ten dollar net, he told us. On the final day of the conference, he had people dancing their Nothing But Nets offerings and pledges up the aisles to the ushers in rhythm to African music, what a celebration! Forty thousand dollars was raised that service!

We were challenged to try to outgive God for one year. It can't be done. You cannot outgive God your time, money, tithe, talent, energy.

During the conference Tom Kennedy received his PROBATIONARY MEMBERSHIP AND COMMISSIONING along with ten other individuals. And our former pastor, Thomas J. Michalko was granted incapacity leave with benefits. The laity award for the DENMAN AWARDS was presented to Luella Krieger, who we have been blessed to see her presentation of Ruth one year in our sanctuary and during our VBS one year a guest appearance as Winnie the Whining Clown. Laity and clergy voted on who would represent them at the General Conference in Texas in 2008.

During the sessions we were told to discern not what was popular, but what was right. We were reminded that as Christian we are not called to make decisions by majority rule, but by God's rule. With that in mind many topics were discussed, some passed to be sent to General Conference this year for policy consideration and some did not but will surface to be discussed again at another time. I was in a section that was asked to discuss and pray about wether or not the practice of homosexuality was compatible with Christian teaching or not and also allowing homosexual persons to become members of the United Methodist Church. Other issues discussed were the War in Iraq and the situation between Isreal and Palestine. I discovered that among the clergy, much better schooled in scripture than I, there was not the concurance I would have thought in these matters. For now, as a conference, we have decided to study these issues. "The main thing is not what you think or what I think." We were told about these things. "The main thing is our ability to discern what God’s will is for us. The main thing, quite simply is Jesus and our opportunity to make everything we do and say an offering to the glory of God and a demonstration that we love God SO much we can’t help but love one another. God delivers we were reminded, broken hearts, broken dreams, abuse, misuse. God still changes lives and revives churches. God will make a way. Believe it, Receive it, share it. May it be so. May it be so."

Emancipation Proclamation

2007-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Do you know that in the first century AD the word baptisim referred to dipping light colored fabric or yarn into a dye bath? Once the fabric or the yarn was dipped into the dye it’s color changed forever from the origonal to the new hue. Dipping it, baptizing it, would change it. When we were dipped into the waters of baptism we were baptized into Jesus’ death and burial and raised into newness of life. Like the cloth or the cord, we started out one color and came up from water the color of the ressurection. Our life was placed in His and we died and rose with Him. No longer slaves to sin and the old ways of behaving and thinking. No more stumbling around hoping to keep up with Him. He promised to live in us and we are to live in Him. This makes His power our power, His ways our ways, His thoughts, His desires, our desires. This is His Emancipation Proclamation to us from the slavery to sin. We are now free to serve our new Master. We have now been adopted into the Master’s family.

Consider this: that even if we do sin, God is intent on forgiving us as His beloved children, because that is exactly what we are, His children. We are to “reckon” or claim this as true, that He is our Father and we belong to Him.

Being His, we are to present ourselves to God as those who are ALIVE from the dead, as those who are no longer helpless victims of lustful urges and uncontrollable weaknesses. Christ has opened the door to death’s cage and we are free to fly.

Some of us sadly in the body of Christ today are not flying. Some are still sitting in the cage thinking that the door is not really open. They don’t know enough about the word of God to know that What God says is true. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. Some are too scared to fly out of the cage, they need to claim the promise that perfect Love casts out all fear. Some think, well if I do try to leave this cage, I will never be strong to be able to take flight, not knowing that the joy of the Lord is their strength. We get trapped in cages and lose our freedom when we believe things that are not true. Only the word of God is true.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus was presented a demon-opressed blind mute man and he healed him. The man spoke and saw, amazing everyone. The man was healed of physical and spiritual blindness and was able to use his mouth to testify of it. This moment of rejoicing, however, was scoffed at by the legalistic Pharisees who told the people in the village that Jesus had accomplished this healing with the help of Satan. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them all, in Matthew 12:25: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Jesus was esplaining that if they would only look at the fruit of the healing in this man’s life, it was plain to see that this was a work of God and that Jesus was therefore acting in concert with God. The Pharisees were the ones trying to divide God’s house with their rumors and murmurings against Jesus to the people.
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Three years before the sucession of the eleven states of the confederacy Lincoln delivered an address to his Republican colleagues in the Hall of Representatives. Even Lincoln's friends believed the speech was too radical for the occasion. His law partner, William H. Herndon, thought that Lincoln was morally courageous but politically incorrect. Herndon said Lincoln told him he was looking for a universally known figure of speech that would rouse people to the peril of the times. here is part of that speech:

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented.

In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

One hundred and fifty or so years ago our nation was double minded on the issue of slavery and states rights resulting in the terrible bloody conflict, the Civil War, with stuggles in subsequent years of even to this day concerning civil rights. This event occured in the natural world, in the spiritual world we too can be so double minded that we become at war with ourselves, half instead of whole heartedly walking with Christ. Walking around like we are half slave half free. Claiming the freedom we have in Christ when we have developed habits of wordly thinking and doing can be hard. But habits can be broken.

Throughout history, there have been many people, “grace killers” who have inadvertently served him like the Pharisees of Jesus’s time, planting seeds of doubt, fear, stirring up confusion, divisiveness, misunderstanding, selfcenteredness. Through manipulation and rigid control grace killers can kill or cripple the spirit of fellow human beings keeping them from flying out of cages of bondage into the freedom of Christ, dashing their hopes and dreams to the ground, convincing them they are unloveable, unwelcome, unsuitable. From personal experience I can say I have been hindered by “grace killers” in my walk with Christ and I have also been a “grace killer” at other times towards my brothers and sisters in the Lord using God’s word as a hammer to beat people over the head and control them. That is not the way of Grace, Amazing grace.

Habit’s and grace killers aside, the evil ones design is to try to divide and conquer. Any way a conflict or a misunderstanding can be stirred up the adversary , he will prowl about looking to do it. He started in the garden of Eden. His signature was written on the first murder of Abel by his brother Cain.

Jesus gives us a way to overcome the work of the devil through three things outlined in the book of Revelation12:11.
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Repentance and claiming the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, over our life is the first important item mentioned. When we sin we need to restore our fellowship with The Father this way. We also have our testimony. A testimony is something that we have experienced in or from God that we tell others about. It is our personal life changing story. The last thing we need to have to overcome is a selfless mind. “And they love not their own lives onto death”, by having the mind of Jesus, the selfless mind, the desire to put self first is nailed to the cross and Jesus is enthroned as King of our lives. Jesus said something about Satan in the gospel of Matt.16:23 when he was rebuking Peter for allowing Satan to use him. "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." When we are mindful of the things of men we give satan a foothold, when we are mindful of the things of God we become grace builders.

If you are in the bird in the cage looking at the open door, grab hold of the truth in God’s word, claim it and fly out to freedom. You are the adopted sons and daughters of the King! A royal priesthood. Teach and use the example of your lives to show everyone around you that the freedom from sin and shame we all have in Christ they can have too. Isn’t that Good news? You don’t need to worry, it is God’s job to restrain them if folks get carried away with their freedom. God does His job so much better than we do ours. We allow others to choose, we let go we let God.

Letting Go ( author unknown)
To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring,
it means I can’t do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off,
it’s the realization that I can’t control another.
To let go is not to enable,
but to allow learning from natural consequences,
To let go is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another,
I can only change myself.
To let go is not to care for,
but to care about.
To let go is not to fix,
but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge,
but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.
To let go is not to be protective;
it is to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny,
but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue,
but to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes.
To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone,
but try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past,
but to grow and live for the future.
To let go is to fear less and love more!

I want to fly with Superman

2007-06-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

My new neighbors have small children and two large great dane dogs. When they moved in they put a big wooden fence around the back of their property to contain their kids and critters, keep them from straying. Whenever I go out in my yard, I can see their great big dogs peering at me over the top of the fence yearning for their freedom. This fence is up safety. There are other kinds of fences, not so benign. Fences we erect in our minds when we add more rules to God’s commandments. This is called legalism and instead of building up the walls of the church, helping the lively stones become fit together, it tears the stones off the wall and throws them down.
Paul's wrote to the Galatians to reason against those who taught that Christians must keep all the Old Testament Jewish laws in order to be accepted by God. Paul made it clear that all believers Jew and Gentile alike, enjoy complete salvation in Christ . Paul showed how the gospel of grace leads to true freedom and godly living. The central message of Galatians is that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" .
Legallism takes the mystery out of our faith and turns it into religion. It makes it neat, organized, repetitive, habitual, and predictable. It will kill grace. It can manifest itself at times in these ways as : expectations, traditionalism, manipulation, demands, negativism, control, comparison, perfectionism, competition, critcism, pettiness, shame, guilt, and many more. God starts seeming like a clock going tick tock tick tock, very predictable, ordered and controlled. God in a box all neat and packaged, no mystery, no wonder, no awe, just a legal document. Legallism wants to define us limit our possibility just like the poor eagle who thought he was a prairie chicken. Have you heard this boy scout story? There once was an indian brave that was walking down the trail when he discovered an eagles egg had fallen out of it's nest. He looked up and saw that the nest was too high for him to return the egg. So he placed the egg in a nearby prairie chicken nest.
When the egg hatched, the little eagle thought he was a prairie chicken. Prairie chickens stay on the ground and eat only worms and grubs. So, as the eagle grew, he ate nothing but worms and grubs and walked around with the other prairie chickens.
One day, he looked up in the sky and saw some eagles soaring high above. He asked one of the prairie chickens, 'How can they fly up there while we are down here eating worms and grubs?'
The prairie chicken answered, 'They are the eagles, they can do that but we must stay down here. We are prairie chickens and that is what we do.'So, the eagle spent the rest of his life flying very little and eating worms and grubs just because he was told that was all he could do.
We are far more important to Jesus than what we doand we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! What we are inside our heart is what is most important to our Father God. That is how He sees us. His people. His sheep. We don’t have to do anything to please anybody else except Him. We can’t do any thing to win His favor, we can’t do enough good things to merit it: can’t pray harder, tithe more, attend more meetings, read more books, keep a cleaner house, do better at work, do more deeds of any kind to win God’s favor. We have God’s favor just because we are His children and He is our Abba Father. We have His unmerited Grace, amazing grace, because He first loved us.
When I was a kid I had a collection of Superman comic books I used to swap with Billy Elliot down the street. I used to wish I had Superman’s super powers. Superman could fly! I used to think of God like Superman. When I got older, I enjoyed the Superman movies with Chris Reeves playing Superman, flying Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen around Metropolis in his arms. If Superman had let go, they would have dropped like rocks to their death. Discipleship, becoming more like Jesus is not about teaching people how to fly or learning how to fly yourself. It’s about how to stay connected to Jesus, the only Superman who ever lived. Only the God man Jesus can fly, people can’t, we can’t pull off the divine goodness. We could climb the tallest building and jump off a ledge and have the illusion of flight for a few moments until the gravity of the situation asserted itself. That’s why they call it “the fall”. Taking matters into our own hands, into the wisdom of our own hearts and understand always leads to “the fall”. But we can fly with faith in our Lord. Grace wants faith to fly.
Grace also wants faith to be on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. We are not to add or subtract to what Jesus said and to err on the side of Love and mercy if we are to err at all. “On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand”. Christ is the Rock stricken that the Spirit of life may flow from Him to all who would drink it. He is the foundation the cornerstone and He tells us in 1 Peter, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
In his book The Grace Awakening, Chuck Swindoll writes: “ In vain I have searched the Bible looking for examples of Christians whose lives were marked by rigidity, predicatbility, inhibition, dullness and caution. Fortunately grim, frowning, joyless saints in Scripture are conspicous by their absence. Instead the examples I find are adventurous, risktaking, enthusiastic, and authentic believers whose joy was contagious even in times of painful trial. Their vision was broad even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering. The differnce, I am convinced is grace. Grace invites us to chart new courses and explore everexpanding regions, all the while delighting in the unexpected. While others care more about maintaining he fence and fearing those who guard it. Grace is constantly looking for ways to freedom. Grace wants us to say “Praise God” at the end of the day not “praise my ability to get it right”.
Reading the blogs of some other pastors across our conference I came across this comment: “The church, I’m afraid, really likes people to visit who are like them….perfect. I say that tongue in cheek, but the church as a whole wants people in the pews who have worked out their salvation and are in the process of becoming perfected. But what if the church encountered a whole lot of people who were just trying to figure out if there is even a God let alone what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus. Are we willing to put up with messy people who aren’t Christians, believers, followers.... do we want them in our churches?” Baby believers, like infants are messy and need lots of attention and care. And then there is the whole question of permissiveness. How or when do we discuss with them (the messy people because we all know that the people in the pews have everything all right) the consequences of sin and the God’s answer of the cross?” I think the answer to that question is grace. We need to let people know that we too are works in progress, that we also are on a journey of faith and don’t have all the answers save one, Jesus Christ crucified, died, rose again and sending the Holy Spirit to empower those who believe. Our hope is built on nothing less.
The word of God says that “ If the Son shall set you free then you shall be free indeed.” This week let us share the freedom and joy we have with someone who is not so fortunate, fly with Jesus and show them how much easier it is to soar with the Savior. For those on shaky ground show them how to drink in the Spirit of life. Let us step forward into God’s reign on earth as it is in heaven knowing it is not by our might or by our power but by God’s Holy Spirit.

God is Building a House

2007-05-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

“When it was built for an international exposition in the last century, this structure was called monstrous by the citizens of the city, who demanded it be torn down as soon as the exposition was over. Yet from the moment its architect first conceived it, he took pride in it and loyally defended it from those who wished to destroy it. He knew it was destined for greatness. Today it is one of the architectural wonders of the modern world and stands as the primary landmark of Paris, France. The architect, was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. His famous tower was built in in 1889. In the same way, Jesus is loyal to another structure--the church--which he entrusted to an unlikely band of disciples, whom he defended, prayed for, and prepared to spread the gospel. To outsiders they (and we) must seem like incapable blunderers. But Jesus, the architect of the church, knows this structure is destined for greatness when he returns.”
(John Berst)

Take a look at one of your hands. It consists of several elements, a palm connecting four fingers and a thumb. Each finger and the thumb has a distinct position and function and all together work as a unity called the hand. Likewise we can think of the Father, the Son and the holy Spirit, as separate personalities but unified in the Godhead. The Shema (Deut 6:4), the prayer ‘Hear O Isreal the Lord our God, the Lord is One” that Jews recite daily, uses for the word one in Hebrew, a form of the noun that is understood to be a compound unity. This is also the same word that is used to describe in the Hebrew texts, a man and woman united in marriage, the two becoming one flesh, and the twelve tribes of Isreal being of one nation. The next, new testament, new covenant usage of this word is that we though many are one body in Christ, royal priesthood a spiritual house.

God is building a spiritual house, not made with human hands but in the hearts of all believers and we are likened unto lively stones. The blueprint for the building is in God’s word. Broken fellowship and spiritual disease and death result when we don’t follow the master the design. But restoration can always be realized when lives are broken by sin.

Let’s look go back to an original design in God’s word of a real building project broken by the sin of the people. The book of Nehemiah is a powerful story about how prayer, repentance and hard work can accomplish seemingly impossible things when people determine to try to trust and obey God.

Nehemiah was a governor of the Jews in exile in Persia. Like Joseph in Egypt he had a secured a high ranking government position as the cupbearer for Artaxerses the ruler. Word came to him that the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the gates burned down. The remnant of the people left were being terribly threatened by hostile groups around them with no defenses. He prayed for four months fasting, weeping and asking forgiveness for the sins of Isreal and his own sin. The Lord gave him the boldness to approach the Persian ruler and ask permission to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken down walls of the city and his request was granted. Nehemiah prepared himself with fasting, repentance and prayer first and formost.

Once in Jerusalem, Nehemiah inspected the walls of Jerusalem, alone for three night under the cover of darkness. On the third day, he explained to the people how the hand of the Lord been on him and he encouraged the people to rise up and build. There were some nay sayers, by Nehemiah told them and all the people that The God of heaven would make them prosper and that they his servants would arise and build. Nehemiah went alone to get a vison of what needed to be done and then encourage the people to catch the vision once he had all the details and facts. He also did not want to draw any attention from the enemies while he was out looking, smart man.

One group of people rebuilt the Sheep gate and others restored the broad walls, The gate of yeshanah was repaired as was the Valley Gate. Homes were repaired,priests houses, buttresses,the watchtowers, As the building progressed the enemies became more vocal and gathered others in strength, so the Nehemiah’s men had to build with one hand and hold their spears with the other. The whole wall was finished in fifty two days and the enemies of the Jews were greatly afraid and realized that it had been accomplished with the help of the hand of God. Nehemiah matched people’s gifts and passion for the jobs that they were doing as much as possible. People worked in groups, developing a sense of community again.

While the people were building there were the constant taunts and threats from without, there was also division from within, but in the end they were able to put aside their differences and work as one body for the greater goal of restoring the walls of the city. When they were tired or threatened, Nehemiah arranged for additional security or work rotation and focused their attention again on God and the task that was set before them. His approach was very effective.

After the walls were rebuilt, the temple worship was reinstated. Exiles returned in number from Persia and all heard the book of the law of Moses read to them for the first time and realized that God had so much more for them. They responded by bowing their heads and worshipping God. There was a great revival in their land. They were becoming one people again. Their identity, lost as exiles in the strange land of Persia, was being reclaimed in their homeland as was their faith and traditions.

I think the story of Nehemiah has a lot to say to us today. There are many ruined and desolate places in our lives, our communities our workplaces, homes and nation. Some of these places may be physical like the broken down city, others relational or spiritual. God wants to restore the broken down walls and burnt gates around us.
First we need to acknowledge the brokenness exists and ask God for forgiveness for our part in it. Like Nehemiah we can’t skip the first step when he wept and repented for his people Isreal and for himself personally.

Repentance means to change your mind or change your attitude. The holy Spirit will guide us to repentance if we are willing. God is holy and hates sin. We need to come before him with clean hands and hearts cleansed by the blood of His Son. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, working together to make us whole and holy.

We tend to wear masks and pretend that all is well in our lives. When we admit our struggles, people can relate to us. They see us as authentic and it give’s them permission to be open about their own struggles. This helps with the relationship building process, helping build the spiritual house of the Lord.

The good news is that joy does not depend on our circumstances or how much of the building is left to be built or how much of the tower is still to be completed. We cannot buy joy it is only found in God himself, in his presence is the fullness of joy, scripture tells us. We may not always be happy but we will always know the true source of joy when we abide in Christ. When we adide in Him the work of building His kingdom and being fit together is easy.

We can build the walls up or we can tear them down. A building of quality takes patience, time, diligence. We all have seen how fast a building can come down during a catastrophe.

A Builder Or a Wrecker, Unknown author

As I watched them tear a building down
A gang of men in a busy town
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell
They swung a beam and the side wall fell

I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
And the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed,
Just common labor is all I need."

"I can easily wreck in a day or two,
What builders have taken years to do."
And I thought to myself, as I went my way
Which of these roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by rule and square?
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan
Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks to town
Content with the labor of tearing down?
"O Lord let my life and my labors be
That which will build for eternity!"

Adopted Into The Family

2007-05-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

Adopted Into The Family

The first Sunday of June I talked a little about how I came to know Christ as my Lord and Savior. The anniversary of that date was May 11. On that day every year I take inventory of how much God changed the course of my life and how much more He wants to mold me into the likeness of His Son. When I was young, I grew up in a jewish neighborhood in New York City. I knew that the jewish people were God’s chosen people people. What I didn’t know was that Jesus Christ came to the Jew first and then the gentile, people like me, and through the spirit of adoption, I too, could become part of God’s family. I was to find that out after I began to study his Word. God wants all of us to become part of His family.

When we are adopted or born into a family we have a birthday just as I have my personal day of physical birth and the anniversary day of my spiritual birth, the church, the body of Christ, has a birthday. This birthday is fifty days after Easter, hence the name Pentecost. Today is the Feast of Pentecost. The scripture reading tells us a miracle happened that day. It was the jewish Feast of Pentecost or First Fruits.This festival is also known as the Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16)(Numbers 28:26) one of two agricultural thanksgiving days ordained by God to the jewish people. This one celebrated the spring grain harvest in ancient Israel (Exodus 23:16).
When celebrating this festival, Jewish people recall one of the greatest events in history, God's revealing of the law at Mount Sinai, said to occur at precisely this time.

But Pentecost doesn't just picture the giving of the law; it also shows—through a great miracle that occurred on the first Pentecost in the early Church—how to keep the spiritual intent of God's laws so that we can be Christ’s ambassadors to the world.

Jesus’s last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven according to the books of Acts was : “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Later Jesus had told them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

On this particular Feast of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the city of Jerusalem was swelled as normal with pilgrims from many nations, speaking many languages, who had come to worship and sacrifice at the temple. There were about one hundred and twenty believers gathered in a rented room, joined constantly in prayer, the disciples, members of Jesus’s family other women and friends. Watching and waiting on the Lord until something happened. Suddenly then, the rushing mighty wind swept through the house, the tongues of fires and the ability to speak in the foreign languages of the people gathered outside the building. The people inside the building were divinely empowered to speak in a manner that the people outside of the building could understand them and be saved, about 3,000 souls that day!

The Holy Spirit empowers the people of the church to do the work of the church, to be Christ’s voice, His arms, legs, feet, eyes, ears, body to the world so that others might also be saved. If we move through the power of God’s holy spirit there will be fruit and there will also be suffering.

We are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (I)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. "That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings; being made conformable to his death" Paul writes to the church at Phillippi. (Philippians 3:10). Suffering isn’t exactly a popular topic of discussion, no one likes to suffer but consider this....fellowship is the union of friends sharing similar interests or problems. To suffer is to feel pain or distress.
Who, in this day and age yearns to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ?
Rom. 5:2-3 - Paul says that more than rejoicing in our hope, we rejoice in our sufferings which produces endurance, character and hope. Through faith, suffering brings about hope in God and, through endurance, salvation.
Theresa, this Wednesday at prayer meeting talked to us about absolute surrender. We knelt at the altar and surrendered things in our lives that we felt were not under the authority of God’s reign. If God’s Holy Spirit is going to dwell within us, our hearts have to be open and not cluttered with precious idols we hold more dearly than our devotion to him. Surrendering them to the Savior is worth the pain for the permanent freedom and relief. When kids are are hurt...they keep their hands over the injured area so you can't see or put antiseptic on it. As adults you know they have to let go so your can help them and make them feel better...but sometimes the biggest job is prying those fingers away.
That is the way we are sometimes with the hurtful things in our lives...we are so busy "holding" on to them, that we don't give our faith and God the chance to do his work. We "think" we know better. We think we have everything under control. But if honestly asked who could handle it better, us or God...the answer would be God, of course. We need to be careful about focusing inwardly, spending most of our spiritual energy on personal pain, distress and hurt. God help us get our eyes off ourselves and our hurts, and focus on fellowshipping in His sufferings.
That is not to say we don’t believe in or pray for miracles! And we believe in and pray for healing! God can heal cancer or any other disease. God has authority over all the universe, all of nature, and the kingdom of darkness.But we must trust Him to do what is right -- through good times and bad, through sickness and health, through life or death by His power, mercy, and wisdom.
Christ was tempted at all points as we are, it is written that He has borne our grief's and carried our sorrows. In John 19 Jesus is hanging on the cross dying in agony, his mother grieving below "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister and Mary Magdalene...
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home..." (John 19:25-27).
Jesus loved Mary, his mother, and cared deeply for her. As we do not read of Joseph it is assumed Mary is a widow at this point. As the first born son it was Jesus’s responsibility to take care of his mother. He had to separate himself emotionally from his mother and give her to another knowing he would soon be gone, his redemptive work on earth done. Jesus surrendered His own mother to another’s care. He shares in our suffering when we have to separate from loved ones.

Jesus was moved with compassion and mercy at the suffering of others. It did not matter how hungry tired or dusty he was from the road, he always had time for one more person, even the woman who grabbing the hem of his clothing, in Luke 8:43, was miraculously healed.
The Way Of The Cross Is Surrender. Jesus laid his life down and asks us to do the same. It’s not about us, of all that is dear to us in this life! Its’s about Him, He is Life.

Consider this story that just appeared in the London Times:
A stricken climber left to die on Everest was saved by an American guide and a sherpa who found her by accident as they returned from the summit.

The woman, identified only as Usha, was found on Monday morning suffering from severe altitude sickness about 550 metres beneath the 8,848m (29,028ft) summit.

She was at a similar altitude to the cave where David Sharp another mountain climber died on May 15, 2006, after an estimated 40 climbers passed him by, most of them without making any attempt to save him.
Also like Sharp, she was too weak to move when she was found by David Hahn, a veteran American guide, and his sherpa, Phinjo Dorje, on their way down from the summit. Mr Hahn and Phinjo Dorje decided to risk their own lives by taking her with them, even though she was only semiconscious and suffering from severe cerebral oedema, or water on the brain.

It was a huge risk given the harsh conditions in the “death zone”, above 8,000 metres, where there is so little oxygen that people need all their strength to keep themselves alive, let alone someone else.

“I was pretty exhausted, because I’d put my oxygen on the patient during the rescue,” said Mr Hahn, who has climbed to the peak of Everest nine times. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think she’d survive.”

Mr Hahn, who helped to rescue two climbers on Everest in 2001, said that he had never considered leaving Usha behind . Mr. Hahn put his safety and his comfort at risk for the sake of a woman who was a total stranger. Doesn’t this story remind you of a parable Jesus taught?

I came across the writings of an American architect as I was preparing a lesson for my eigth grade students this week named Tom Bender. He is interested in creating spaces that give something to the environment as well as the clients he serves, a different idea of laying down ones life, he writes that sacredness is and I quote:

“One day I was going through the familiar process of an architect with a client, working out the program for a project. I was taking notes as the client described what they wanted in the project. Suddenly I found I wasn't paying any attention at all to the specifics - all I was hearing was the insistent repetition of 'I want...', 'I want...', 'I want...', 'I want...'. Without thinking, and surprising us both, I blurted out, "Let's go though this again, and start with "I want to GIVE....", "I want to GIVE....", "I want to GIVE....". Let's see if we come up with something different."

We did. Once we got past the shock, we began to discover possibilities that totally changed the value of the project. We found we could locate meeting rooms to make them available for community use in the evenings. We found we could cool the surrounding area as well as the building site, and restore a bit of nature to the city, by planting street trees around the project. We found that changing the height of a retaining wall could give a comfortable place for people to sit. We found that replacing another wall with a few steps and a path made a wonderful pedestrian short-cut from the community on one side of the project to the other. We found that by altering a small garden area, we could make room for birds and other life to share the place. We found that through the slight extra cost of more durable materials we could give a free building to the next generation.

It "IS a gift to be giving." Giving is an integral part of loving, and loving is the root of holding things sacred. It is a unique form of ACTION. It enriches the giver and the receiver both, and creates multiple value out of each and every exchange. If 'What can I give in this situation?' is in our hearts every time we talk with or do something with someone, we not only leave a legacy of gifts in addition to our intended interaction, but we generate an enduring climate of trust, mutual caring, thankfulness and happiness which moves outward like the waves in the sea.”
So it must come finally to this -- whatever it takes, we must give up everything that would keep us from doing the perfect will of God! I think of it as no pain, no gain. He must increase, I must decrease. I am to take up my cross of self denial and follow Christ daily, sometimes that means suffering. It isn’t always spectacular like a Mount Everest rescue, sometimes it is a calling to patience in a relationship with a chronically cranky person. We all are called. Maybe a boss is treating us unreasonably, we are led to be kind. The rude customer, we are led to be patient with and even go an extra mile for though we don’t want to. There is the other driver cutting us off on the highway who gives us the finger gesture that we don’t return in anger and might have to stop and help down the road if they have a flat tire. I know of those caring for others quietly in their homes, feeding, washing, dressing, comforting, and soothing. "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13,) Jesus also went one more, He laid down his life for his enemies, he died for sinners, us, not knowing if we would ever appreciate his sacrifice, accept his gift. (Romans 5:6)The sacrifice Christ made on the Cross was a gift to us, if we accept it, so that we will not have to suffer the consequences eternally of our sin, separation from the God of Love. This Holy Spirit flowing through us is a gift, a gift for service. "The world is deathly ill. It is dying. " writes Corrie Ten Boom. 'The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world." Let us pray that we would be ever more open to asking God how we may serve Him rather than continually asking Him to bless us. Let us thank Him for those times when we are able to offer humble service to others, what a joy and what a blessing!
If you have never done so, invite the Saviour , Jesus Christ into your heart, accept His free gift of salvation. There is no catch. The acceptance is between you and Jesus in the privacy of your heart.

We Are one

2007-05-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

‘We Are One’

Today’s scripture in Acts brings us the story commonly known as "the conversion of the Philippian jailer." But this story is not just about a jailer. Paul and Silas are going to a place of prayer. They were going to a place of prayer, as we read in last weeks scripture, when they ran across a group of women and began a conversation about Jesus Christ, resulting in the conversion of Lydia, the purple cloth merchant and first European convert who later went on to set up a house church. This time they came across a slave girl with a gift of divination. What is the gift of divination? She had the ability, by virtue of being posessed by demons, to be able to fortell future events. The Bible instructs believers that participating in such activity is sin, as we are to have no fellowship with the father of lies, Satan. Seeking out such services or participating in activites of similar ilk such as ouija boards and fortune telling puts us in a position of being open to the power of darkness and not the God of light. This poor slave girl was under the power of darkness and was harassing Paul and Silas when they walked by. It annoyed Paul and Paul prayed for her and cast the spirit out. She immediately lost her ability and her slave owners were very mad. So mad that they grabbed paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities accusing them of creating a civil disturbance. Paul and Silas were ordered flogged and thrown into prison. Flogging was no easy punishment. It is still happening today, in Asia, the mid east and parts of Africa and is considered torture by human rights groups. This is the type of treatment Paul and Silas received, unjustly for delivering the poor slave girl. It would be human nature in their position,to be weeping, upset, depressed and angrey with God for letting this happen, asking him why? But Paul and Silas were singing, not complaining and praising the Lord. They were raw, bleeding and bruised from the floggings with their feet secured in stocks in the prison while the rest of the prisoners listened, like a congregation, to their songs and prayers. All of them remained in the jail when the earthquake occurred, as if they were one community, none breaking ranks or looking out for himself. The jailer, peeking in, heard the simple, unbelieveable words "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your household" but did not respond alone or even at that moment. Instead, he brought Paul and Silas home, took care of their wounds, shared a meal with them, and then his whole household heard the word and were baptized.

Our unity as Christians is both vertical and horizontal. The reading from John’s gospel is from the "high priestly prayer" of Jesus, a prayer for complete unity of Father, Son and disciples through the Spirit. This unity is not unity for unity's sake, but its purpose is that the world may know the Father and the Father's love through Christ in us. Our unity in the body of Christ then is not a unity of preference, or sameness. Our unity is like more the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which are normally cut into different shapes yet somehow all fit together.
Delving into the history of jigsaw puzzles it is interesting to note that in 1880, when Milton Bradley made the first jigsaw puzzle for children , he called it "The Smashed Up Locomotive." By printing a lithograph of a steam engine locomotive and cutting it into pieces, the "smashed up" effect was achieved when a child opened the box and saw the locomotive all in pieces. Because of his Puritan upbringing, Bradley's nature was to seek order. Therefore, the object of the "The Smashed Up Locomotive" was to make the locomotive whole once again. If we are not in unity of the spirit we are like the ‘smashed up’ locomotive, the body of Christ in disheveled pieces.

How do we put this puzzle together and view the beautiful picture? First we work on our our own personal relationship with Jesus I think in terms of three P’s.

The three P’s, Praise, Prayer and Penitence will keep us as it did Paul and Silas close to Christ. The Lord heard their praise and prayers, the earth shook and captives were set physically and spiritually free. Praise (Deut 10:21), Prayer,(Eph 6:18) and Penitence (Jas. 4:6)

When we and our Saviour are in unity with one another we listen to the holy Spirit as to how we can best be fit into the body or help join others into the body.
The fitting together of the body of Christ can be thought of also in this way:
Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother! Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day -- measuring, sawing and nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge... a bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all! And the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched... "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done." The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother. "I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, but I have many more bridges to build.

Imagine now the extended household of Christians in Philippi —Lydia, the wealthy woman who hosts the house church gatherings, a formerly demon-possessed slave girl set free, and now a jailer and his family. A diverse community, puzzle pieces, fit together by the proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Spirit! We too though, very different are one body in Christ, in Espyville and every community of faith. As long as we seek to maintain that unity of the spirit through praise, prayer and penitence, a humble heart, more of the pieces of puzzle will be put into place. God will reveal the beautiful picture He has designed. We maintain the vertical relationship, He will bless the bridging of the horizontal relationship among the brothers and sisters in his family.

John 14:23-29 — "Assisted Hearing"

2007-05-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

John 14:23-29 — "Assisted Hearing"

When our children were younger my husband and I took them camping for a weekend in a nice wooded campground just over the Ohio line.   We imagined a time away with them would be special and build a beautiful family memory. They were so excited when we set up the tent and built a fire in the fire pit. The sleeping bags were laid carefully in the tent, with all the other gear. We had a wonderful dinner cooked, or rather burnt to perfection over the hot coals of the fire wood we had set ablaze earlier. Night began to descend with a darkness my children were unfamiliar with, living with street lights illuminating sidewalks and boro roads.

I told my son to stay with his father while his sister and I went to the ladies room to get washed up for the night. Zara and I grabbed our shampoo soaps, towels, and tooth brushes heading off into the darkness with our flashlight when we heard a blood curdling scream. Realizing it was Peter my son, I began backtracking in the direction of our campsite with my daughter in tow. By now, other flashlights were joining mine as I combed the darkness looking for my screaming son, my husband calling him from the opposite direction.

Peter had decided not to listen when he was told to stay at the campsite with his dad. He decided to do what was right in his own eyes and follow me and his sister instead. He did not have a flashlight nor did he tell his dad his intent.   In the gathering darkness, he tripped, fell over a truck wheel rim used as a fire pit, and gashed his shin wide open. We spent our night as a family together in the emergency room of the local hospital getting the front of his leg sewn up. Rather than counting the stars in the night sky, we were counting his stitches.

We are reminded in John’s gospel today that if we love the Lord we will hear his words and actually do what he says. Luke writes in the books of Acts of such a person who was the first to be converted to Christianity in Europe. Her name was Lydia. She was with a group of women who were listening to Paul when her heart was opened up to respond by the Holy Spirit. She was a purple cloth merchant by profession. Purple was a very expensive dye, it comes from the body of a very small snail. It takes many,many of these little creatures to make the dye and was only used on items of great value. The fact that Lydia was a seller of purple implies that she was financially comfortable. She started a church in her own house as she had enough materially to be able to offer housing to Paul and his companions on many occasions and entertain other saints as well.

Who is this Holy Spirit that will assist us in hearing? The same spirit that opened Lydia’s heart. He is referred to as the advocate, Comforter, or Spirit of Truth, the third Person of the Trinity, the administrator of redemption, if you will, who teaches or reveals to us what we should know and do.   If we forget anything, as I am prone to do, the scripture tells us that we will be reminded or prompted by this same holy Spirit.   John’s gospel tells us that the Advocate will testify on Jesus’ behalf guiding us into all truth, speaking whatever the Father says to speak and declaring things to come. We don't have to be concerned about having wisdom in a tricky situation. The holy Spirit speaks no other words than what the Father tells him to say so that we always have a right response when we need it . The holy Spirit assists us in our hearing the Word of God, whether it is written or spoken, so that we are not leaning to our own understanding, if we acknowledge him and ask for guidance in all we do. The question is do we want the guidance and help of the holy Spirit? Do we really want to hear what the Spirit is saying in every single area of our lives?

God created us from the beginning to have constant companionship with Him and until sin entered the world, the first man and woman walked in that ever present presence. All of creation was in harmony. The first man and woman lived with no sickness, hunger or thirst, no need, fighting, fear,or death. With the commission of the first act of disobedience, sin entered the world. Adam and Eve were driven out of the sacred garden never more to enjoy hearing the melodic voice of God. The heavenly presence no longer walked with them and talked with them daily, they existed apart in an earth that was cursed. By the first man came death.

By the second man, Jesus, came the resurrection from the grave. We are saved, if we accept it, by the precious atoning blood of our Jesus Christ, but we weren’t meant to stop there. God doesn’t just want to save us, He wants to sanctify us, clean us up. Our salvation is only meant to be the beginning of a long and marvelous relationship with the God of Creation where we daily grow more full of his divine grace. With open hearts, the Holy Spirit counsels us, because while we are children of God we still have within us a ‘carnal mind’ or sinful nature.

The lower nature is enticed by pride,the noises of the world and the lusts of the flesh. It is so easy to forget the things of God. We need to remain disciplined to attend worship on a regular basis and Bible study to feed our faith. A steady diet of secular music and television is going to cause us to have a worldly attitude instead of a heavenly outlook. “Whatsoever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things, Paul writes.(Phil 4-8)

The Greek poet Homer describes in the Odessey, his mythological epic, of boatloads of sailors upon the ocean who were enticed by the singing sea monsters, their voices so lovely, that sailors upon hearing their song, would forget all else and be tricked into steering the boats into the dangerous rocks and shipwreck. Homer wrote, ‘"At sea once more we had to pass the Sirens, whose sweet singing lures sailors to their doom. I had stopped up the ears of my crew with wax, and I alone listened while lashed to the mast.’ The ears of the sailors were stopped up with wax so they could not hear the Sirens song and navigate safe passage in their vessels. We need to choose to ignore the Siren song of the world. It only wants to lure us into entrapment and listen to the voice of the Spirit and true freedom instead.

Lydia listened and she has been recorded through history as the first European convert and a friend of the Apostle Paul. Because of the evidence of the holy Spirit working in her life, matching her words with her deeds, what we call the fruit of the spirit, many people came to know Jesus Christ and Lydia herself and her whole household was blessed. Through the Holy Spirit we too can have assisted hearing, ears to hear.

Love One Another, John 13: 31-35

2007-05-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Love One Another
How many of you have had an opportunity to really know someone who was of the Jewish faith? All of us are gathered here today because of the son of a Jewish carpenter. The old testament scriptures we study comprise the Torah of the Jewish people. The twelve apostles were all Jewish men. It is helpful to remember that when we look at today's Bible passages.
The first passage from Deuteronomy is called the Shema by the Jewish people. Observant Jews recite this passage daily as an act of devotion copies of it are placed in little wooden or metal holders called Mezuzahs on the doorways of their homes. A frequent reminder as they are coming n and going out that the Lord is One and that we are to love him with all our heart soul and mind. This commandment echoes what we know as the first commandment, Thou shalt love the lord you God with all your heart soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.
In the scripture reading from John, Jesus and his disciples are enjoying a Passover dinner together. The disciples have no idea that this will be their last meal with their beloved leader. Jesus acted a little strangely earlier in the evening and washed the feet of all of them ! This was a job reserved for the lowliest of the house, certainly not their beloved rabbi. They notice that he is talking softly to Judas and that Judas slips outside the room. That was no cause for concern, in the minds of the disciple, Jesus had probably sent Judas out on an errand, after all he carried the money for them all.
While Judas slips out into the night to betray Jesus, Jesus tells them that the time has come that he, the Son of Man, is glorified and not only that but that God is glorified in him. Jesus is laying out in plain words that if they have seen him they have seen the glory of God. If they have seen him, they have seen his Father. The two of them, Father and Son, are one and work in concert. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One and here he is sitting at the table eating and drinking and washing the feet of men.
The now eleven disciples, remember Judas is out of the room, are charged with an imperative from Jesus, “a new commandment”, he says, “that you love one another just as I have loved you.” I wonder if the men were thinking that Jesus had just restated the Shema, Love the Lord and love one another. But Jesus added as curious twist when he added “just as I have loved you”.
We are also called to be disciples of Jesus. Disciples who, like the original twelve are all called to experience life together in Jesus Christ, growing together in love and reflecting that love to others as living sacrifices. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples,” Jesus told the Disciples then and tells us now, “if you have love for one another.”

Jesus tells us all in this passage from John to care for whomever crosses our path, those we naturally have a fondness for as well as those we don’t, those who think they are more important than every body else and those who think they are lower than the dirt on the ground, plus all the folks in between. It is by this loving and caring, by taking on the form of a servant as Christ did that His light shines through us to the dark world all around. Such a man was Mr. Miller. I never met the man, he lived in Idaho where some of my family comes from. My mother in law sent me this story about him that I would like to share with you today by W. E. Petersen. This story first appeared in the October 1975 Ensign Magazine

Babs Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small, delicate boy, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the small ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. Sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?"
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it.""Here 'tis. She's a dandy.""I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"
"Not zackley, but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble."
"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."I left the stand smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering. Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts ... all very professional-looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took
my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided,"but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho." With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
I think it could be safely said that Mr. MIller during his lifetime was Jesus with skin on to these three young men and probably many more. Not just boys from his church, but boys from his community, to whom he reached out with a hand of mercy and grace. I myself would not be standing before you today if mercy and grace were not extended to me while I was in a period of great rebellion as a young adult. Three young women, attending Edinboro University and living in the same dormitory as I, were able to discern that I was open to the message of salvation. They met together daily for a Bible study and prayer and began praying and fasting for me. Whenever they saw me they would make overtures of friendship and sometimes invite me to come to their church prayer meeting. I could not understand why these nice, gentle girls were bothering with me. I knew they knew what kind of person I was and all the things I had a reputation for on campus. Some church people in the past had rejected me because I was too crude, loud and brassy,I offended people by the way I dressed and I cussed like a sailor. I started to swear and use foul language around these girls just to see if their concern was genuine or if I could turn them off and get them to stop bothering me with their God talk, much to my amazement, I couldn’t! These girl’s had sunk their spiritual teeth into me and I could not shake them off, nor could I shake off the increasing conviction of the Holy Spirit. The kinder and more loving they were to me, the more convicted I felt. Finally, one Saturday night, on the way to a party I decided to stop at their church meeting. At least then I could tell them that I went and it just wasn’t my cup of tea. During the meeting the Lord worked heavily on my heart and all of a sudden I “got it”, the “light bulb went on” and I realized that God was really who He said he was and that He really did love and accept me just the way I was. I was the woman at the well and I had met Jesus. My eyes were opened. Never again would I be the same. There is I am sure a special place in heaven being prepared for those three girls, the prayer warriors of Dearborn Hall, first floor and I am not the only person who came to know Christ because of the sacrifice of their love in prayer, fasting and friendship towards me, their bright green peas a free gift. This is a special Sunday for me, in five days I will be celebrating thirty six years of commitment to Christ as my Savior and my Lord as well as beginning the first assignment, at your church, of what I feel is my calling. I would not be standing here today without their commitment and God’s sanctifying grace. This is my red marble day. It is by that grace that we become transformed into the image of Jesus, our own righteousness is as filthy rags or mere red marbles,otherwise.
None of us will be remembered by our words alone, but by our kind deeds, by love in action, loving one another as Jesus first loved us through God’s grace. Hear O Israel, hear O church, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, and as Jesus added, Love one another as I have loved you.