Birth Weight Treasure

       Holding our grandson Timothy born on November 25th close on my chest warmed my heart. The Creator of life bestows such amazing trust. Timothy is a mystery of promise placed into human hands. Tiny Tim is fragile and needy He is a precious endowment of talent placed in our lap.

       What awesome capability is poured into 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Timothy will develop unique abilities as he is cherished and nurtured. We are enriched and renewed by his presence. His physical size is small but his capacity to do wonderful things is large.

      There is responsibility ingrained with the trust of a new person given to us. We are losers if we don't perceive the worthiness of children. If we are too busy to invest our time and money in children we miss out on the opportunity of a life time. When we experience wonder in the presence of a new baby we are enabled to respond with reverence.

      In Christmas we celebrate Jesus. He came to us vulnerable and fragile. He came with a birth weight. He was blessed to have Joseph and Mary who recognized his special nature and invested themselves in giving him protection and moral guidance.

      The birth of Jesus instructs us to consider the noble bearing of each child. Rabbi Jesus had special respect for children. He cherished kids in a society that devalued them. When his disciples pushed aside parents who wanted their babies to be blessed Jesus was angry. He granted the parents' desire to bestow honor.

      What is our attitude towards children? Rabbi Jesus said, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. “ Matthew 18:4-5. It is easy in our adult world to overlook the dignity of children. We neglect children if we do not understand their great value.

      A valid way to celebrate Christmas is to give kindness, generosity, and wise care to children he has placed in our life. We receive Jesus into our life by welcoming with awe the little ones He places under our influence .

       What does it mean to give welcome? To listen to a chlid's dreams encourages him to believe there is a future of hope. To encourage constructive abilities is to create confidence she can make a positive contribution in society. To take time to be fully present shows a child he is worthy of attention. Kids perceive quickly when they are considered a treasure or viewed as mere “rug rats” in the way of adult routines.

      I was awe-struck when I held Timothy. The grandeur of his presence moved my soul beyond words. May we all respond reverently to such latent greatness wrapped in birth weight.

       We receive the Christ Child anew when we help children in poverty in the Ozarks. A generous gift to Crosslines will help a food insecure child to know he is not forgotten.

How Much Is Enough To Be Grateful?

         An inmate nearing release said, “If I can make enough money in regular work then I will give up my criminal past. If I can't earn enough to make me happy I will take what I want.” I appreciated his honesty. I replied, “How will you know when you have enough? He paused and said he would have to explore this when he returned home. I doubt with his materialistic values if he ever was fully satisfied.

       I ponder how much is enough to be grateful and find motivation to do what is right. The law of diminishing returns applies as we strive for satisfaction. Satiety eludes us as we grasp for more. If our basic needs are secure advertisements allure that we can never be happy without the sale's pitch . Are wishes for instant gratification of bigger and better things valid needs? Material accumulation or endless pleasure seeking activities bring a temporary elation which require another quick fix as the high recedes. Each passing thrill satisfies less.

       There is a spiritual reality about the experience of fullness. Haggai , in 1:5-6, expresses this timeless truth , “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

        Contentment is found not in worldly status, possessions or passing pleasures. They fail to satisfy our soul and lead to gratitude. A glut of wealth with its trappings often brings only a restlessness of overindulgence. To reflect on the precious gift of our humanity filled with great potential brings new awareness of a deeper dimension of true wealth given freely by our Maker. Our greatest treasure is who we are made to become.

       If we honor the Giver of life we experience a satisfaction of soul which can't be purchased. The Jewish prophet Haggai challenges us to serve others with earthly wealth as the way to inner peace. When we acknowledge the Divine Master and surrender to His higher purpose of generosity our grasping can come to rest. In the practice of integrity and sharing with the poor we can find the heart content.

       Enough is not found in excess. Enough is found in the choice to practice a more generous way of life.

      In the Jewish Passover Meal an ancient song of thanksgiving, the “Dayenu”, is shared. It is an up-beat role call of remembrance. A list of God's gifts which no money can buy are proclaimed. After each blessing is named the people say, “It would have been enough for us”. This refrain reminds us that awareness of the Generous Giver and His gifts is enough for us to practice behavior which honors Him.

The Blue Bomber!

       Rev. Hewlett stopped to talk in the street in front of my home. I was washing and waxing my car. I had just purchased it for $100.00. It was a 1950 blue 2 door Plymouth. I had saved to buy a car by working at a grocery store. Being 17 years old and having a car meant new opportunities. Now I could ask girls out.

      Growing up in St. Louis our family did not own an automobile. We walked or took the bus to get to work or school. We lived 6 blocks from. On Sunday in every kind of weather we walked to worship.

     Rev. Hewlett gently warned me about making an idol of my car. He told me God blessed me with the Plymouth to help others. He challenged me to dedicate it to God. His words were an awakening of the danger of idolatry.

      In response to my pastor's counsel Mom and I had a short prayer of dedication of the car. We knew other people walked to church and needed a ride. Therefore on Sundays I shuttled folks to church. Mom was proud that we helped her widowed friends to avoid rain and hot weather when walking to worship.

       Rev. Hewlett appreciated the way I responded to his leadership about the Plymouth. In worship he complimented me for dedicating my old car to do good things for others. Then the moment was ruined!

      He described the car as a jalopy dedicated to God. I was mortified . In my eyes the car was not in dilapidated condition. It did burn a quart of oil every 100 miles. With noise and trail of smoke my friends named it , “The Blue Bomber”. My visceral reaction did reveal how much I loved that car. It took me awhile to forgive my pastor for such an insensitive remark! People get outraged if their idol is insulted !

      I need to heed the command of Moses for my spiritual health. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth..You shall not bow down and worship them”. Exodus 20: 4-5.

       The Blue Bomber served our family well for one year then fell apart. Rev. Hewlett was right. It was a jalopy on the way to the junk yard. My pastor gave me a lesson for life. When I make an idol it will consume all my time. An idol brings false hope of soul satisfaction. The path of happiness is to serve God with worldly possessions to help others.

      His counsel helps me when tempted to make an idol of political party, religious leader, elected official, or church denomination. They, like my blue bomber, are good in a limited way but very temporary. They are flawed and can not deliver the goods. My Creator alone is the source of a meaningful life and I need to worship Him only.

My Will Or His Will Be Done?

          The lyrics of an old hymn inspire me. “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust thee. How I have proved thee over and over. Precious Jesus, give me grace to trust thee more. I am so glad I learned to trust Him. His is my most precious friend”. These words instruct me that there is no greater good to experience in life than to do the Will of God.

        The Will of God has been given a bad reputation from preachers who use this phrase when a person has died. This is a negative and fatalistic way of viewing the generous plans of God directed towards us. The Lord's intentions toward us are for our eternal good. He is our best friend who truly knows what is best for us.

        Our Lord is not a Kill Joy. His Will is over flowing with positive, life giving energy directed towards us. To experience the blessings of His Will we can not have it both ways. We must pray with Jesus in the garden of life decision, “Not my will, but Father may your will be done.” In the giving over of our agendas each day to be directed by God for the doing of His purpose we find meaning and fulfillment.

         Our Lord Jesus knew that the terrible suffering of His cross would not lead to termination but to a life of resurrection and reward. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”, Hebrews 12:2.

        What are the intentions of Jesus as we surrender to Him as Lord and seek to be a faithful and fruitful servant? John 10: 10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

     May we seek daily to do the Will of our Heavenly Father. In His will is our peace. To have the grace to trust Him more in faithful and fruitful obedience is the goal of discipleship.

The Warning Story

        The Gospel reading for Sunday is Luke 16:19-31. The story of a certain rich man and a poor man named Lazarus is a way Jesus warns about eternal consequences of persistent, present, selfish choices. The rich man after death wakes up at a place of eternal torment and faces permanent separation from all that is good. Lazarus is carried tenderly after death to Heaven to be close with God.

        Let me share what I do not believe about Hell. I do not believe that God wants any one to go to Hell. I do not believe our Father creates any person destined for eternal punishment. I do not believe our Father sends a person to Hell because he grew up in a culture where the Christian faith is unknown. The Creator who fashions the heart of all knows those people who surrender to the best truths they have about God and follow the light available to them.

         So where does Hell come from? Where does this great eternal gulf come from? We as sinful people create our own chasm from God.

If we run from God's truth, refuse to accept God as Owner of life,

reject all His holy moral laws written in the heart, ignore the still small voice of conscience, avoid the clear teaching of Scripture as a valid guide, resist the inner witness of the Spirit that sin is real, and rebel against turning our will over to His higher will then we create a great gulf between our heart and God.

        Status of wealth, expensive toys and worldly pleasures of this life are fleeting. There is a wealth of the heart that out lasts clock time. Lazarus invested in a relationship of service and love towards His Maker. He invested in true riches which can not be stolen, rust away or go to the trash heap of broken, obsolete toys. Lazarus was rich in faith and trust in God.

        Here is where the fire comes into the story. I think the rich man experienced a inner burning of regret and grief. He had a fire of self-loathing for being such a fool to throw away eternal life with God for some empty passing thrills. This awareness of such great folly is a fire which never stops burning.

        This story teaches the deep truth that the present moment is a short time of preparation to enter into a blessed existence with God which transcends chronological time. If our hearts are so cold to the poor that we ignore them we must beware. The rich man treated Lazarus as someone who didn't matter. The Lord valued Lazarus so highly he was given a VIP welcome home.

Scouts Are A Positive Example! The Boy Scout Oath talks about duty. This is a dimension of life not emphasized in today's world. Obligation is a part of a good life. President John Kennedy touched upon this when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” It is in an awareness of responsibilities where we discover meaning and direction. The trust placed in us by God and country can be a source of inspiration. “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” We need a sense of inner direction to keep from getting lost in life's journey. The awareness of a sacred oath before God and sharing fellowship with an accountable community is a source of inner direction. A compass is used when hiking in the forest. It is easy to get lost even with the best of maps. The compass orients the map with the magnetic needle showing the direction of true North. This little hand held guide keeps the hiker from going in circles. Some hikers after losing their compass walk long distances in what they think is the right way but only become lost in confusion. This direction finder assists in making true progress to the destination of home. The Boy Scout Oath has roots in the constraints of the message of Christ. Because of the great mercy and generosity of God's unmerited grace we live under obligation. When we are baptized we make an oath to Christ to follow His commands, forgive others, to do our best to grow, and to do kind deeds. May we all take time to look to the compass of Christ who lives within us in His Spirit. It would help us to check often on the inner direction finder of His moral commands and His still small voice of duty. The world can offer us maps for pleasure, popularity, and material success. The big problem is the world does not provide a compass to keep us from getting lost in the pursuit of success. Thank God that in His mercy He provides the compass we need with our vows of duty to Christ and the guidance of His holy moral laws. We are offered the spiritual magnetic needle in Christ to lead us on the road that leads to life abundant. The Scouts are an example of oath of holy duty.

         The Boy Scout Oath talks about duty. This is a dimension of life not emphasized in today's world. Obligation is a part of a good life. President John Kennedy touched upon this when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” It is in an awareness of responsibilities where we discover meaning and direction. The trust placed in us by God and country can be a source of inspiration.

        “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”

We need a sense of inner direction to keep from getting lost in life's journey. The awareness of a sacred oath before God and sharing fellowship with an accountable community is a source of inner direction.

           A compass is used when hiking in the forest. It is easy to get lost even with the best of maps. The compass orients the map with the magnetic needle showing the direction of true North. This little hand held guide keeps the hiker from going in circles. Some hikers after losing their compass walk long distances in what they think is the right way but only become lost in confusion. This direction finder assists in making true progress to the destination of home.

       The Boy Scout Oath has roots in the constraints of the message of Christ. Because of the great mercy and generosity of God's unmerited grace we live under obligation. When we are baptized we make an oath to Christ to follow His commands, forgive others, to do our best to grow, and to do kind deeds.

        May we all often check our course with the compass of Christ who lives within us in His Spirit. It would help us to take note of the inner direction finder of His moral commands and His still small voice of duty. The world can offer us maps for pleasure, popularity, and material success. The big problem is the world does not provide a compass to keep us from getting lost in the pursuit of success.

       Thank God that in His mercy He provides the compass we need with our vows of duty to Christ and the guidance of His holy moral laws. We are offered the spiritual magnetic needle in Christ to lead us on the road that leads to life abundant.

        The Scouts are an example of oath of holy duty.

Water Is Always Wet

      “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”, Ephesians 5:16 KJV. We swim in time like fish live in water. Our relationship with time calls for us to value it and make wise choices. Fish are automatically benefited by the water they swim in because they are not creatures of choice.

       I learned about making wise use of time from prison inmates who turned to God. Inmates spoke about time as a sentence given them by a judge. They used adjectives to describe time such as; big, slow, heavy, wasted, empty, and dead. When they gave up on doing something constructive with themselves it became dead without meaning.

       Redeemed inmates would say, “Don't let the time do you in, you can do the time.” This happens when we look for ways to make our here and now count for personal growth and the doing of good. As prison chaplain I urged the men to look for unique opportunities afforded by the prison where they could invest in personal growth.

      Now is the only place where we can redeem our time. The past is history we can learn from but we can not live there. The future is a hope but it is uncertain if we will arrive there. Satan wants us to be slaves to past guilt and failures instead of living now in the light of forgiveness. Satan wants us to anxiously brood over a future of anticipated problems and nagging worries of what if this or that happens. The Lord in the light of trust in His guidance and mercy calls us to invest in our present situation to do all the good we can for others. He calls us to be present and accounted for His team.

        In our rushed lifestyle a popular illusion is the concept of “someday”. We excuse ourselves from being faithful to God right now if we buy into the notion, “Someday when I have more time. When I am not so busy. Then I will give God time and service.” In moments of clarity we see instead that “the time is now to fulfill each vow, for I may never pass this way again”.

      Do fish talk about the nature of water each day with surprise, “Did you notice how wet the water is today?” How clueless this would be! It is ironic that we as humans express shock when we say , “how time flies!” or “where did the time go?” or “how does time get away from us so quickly?” Like water is wet, time is fleeting.

    May we each day redeem our time to honor our Lord and be fruitful for His kingdom. Now is the only time to seek God and serve Him! Thank the Lord for the gift of today! It is Divine opportunity.

Keep Walking In The Light

         “ God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness we lie and do not do the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7.

       What a privilege we have to walk in the light of Christ. We all have our dark side where evil desires lurk to tempt us. At times we can have seasons of dark grief when a loved dies, we lose a job, or have a divorce. Our society celebrates the dark violent side of human nature in movies and TV viewing. How can we get in touch with the light of Christ to redeem us from the destructive power of darkness?

I believe we have the choice each day to wake up and follow the light of Christ or to yield to dark influences. If we will value the light of Jesus enough to follow his guidance we will experience being children of the light.

       In the struggle against the control of darkness I pray we all may practice the following:

       To seek a positive attitude of “I can make a difference for good” instead of staying in the rut of complaining and grumbling.

       To look for wisdom and understanding from the Lord instead of practicing the reactivity of clueless folly.

    To give compassion to all people even if we do not agree with their politics or religion, to refuse to hate anyone.

     To accept personal responsibility for my own happiness instead of blaming other people for my problems.

     To do what is right and fair when tempted to take advantage of the weakness of others.

    To forgive others who hurt us by leaving the dark desire of revenge behind.

     To attend to the light of duty for people who need us to be faithful and to refuse to live a selfish and self centered life.

    To affirm the hope of better days as we follow his leadership instead of giving up to the dark feeling of despair.

    To share our truth with courage instead of being paralyzed by the dark fear of failure or rejection.

    To invest in actions of eternal meaning, what really matters, instead of dwelling in the darkness of boredom and cynicism.

    To affirm the mercy and forgiveness of sins and mistakes, instead of giving into the crushing burden of shame and guilt.

    Yes, we can make a conscious choice to turn away from the destructive down ward pull of our dark side and the dark influences of the world. We can walk in the guiding and healing light of Christ.

      I write this with awareness of my dear friend, professor, minister and teacher. John took his own life when he let the darkness of his failure to control his alcoholism pull him down into terminal despair.

How I miss this talented, gentle and compassionate servant of God. His tragic choice to yield to the control of dark guilt and shame snuffed out his light of great service to college students. May we always affirm that the light of Christ's forgiveness and restorative power gives us hope to pick ourselves us and keep doing what is good and right.

Got A Dream?

        I pray that you will experience a God given dream. We can ask for holy vision to be given us by the Spirit of God. Acts 2:17 offers hope of new noble dreams to reach for, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” The power of holy vision can give us energy to grow faithful and fruitful lives for the Kingdom of God.

         The famous musical, “South Pacific” , has lyrics that speak of this need , “If you don't talk happy, and you never have a dream, how will you ever have a dream come true?” One of the enriching gifts of being filled with the Holy Spirit is to dream new possibilities of growth, service and peaceful living. Martin Luther King was inspired by the dream of social justice and we pray and work for this to come true.

Of course Martin Luther King was not perfect. He was a sinner like all of us.

       What is powerful about his dream is the beneficial nature for other people. Not all dreams are from God! Jeremiah warns us in 23:26-27, “How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back – those who prophesy lies and who prophesy the delusions of their own hearts? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another.” Human dreams can be filled with selfish ambitions of greed, ego inflation, power and indulgence.

      A vision for my life as I age is Psalms 92:12-15, “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright.” My dream is to discover new ways to be fruitful for our Lord in my senior years. With the Holy Spirit guiding me age is not a limiting factor.

“Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be, the last for which the first was made.” Robert Browning. Do you have a dream?

Who Despised The Day of Small Things?

          Growing up in church we sand a hymn, “Sweet Hour of Prayer”. I have struggled with this concept of measuring prayer as an hour achievement. I tried to pray many times for an hour but failed. I felt defeated.

         In my effort to pray daily I no longer try hard for an hour. Instead what helps me is the practice of short spaces of time with God through out my day. These intervals may be 5 or 10 minutes to renew my focus on my Lord.

       One break is to read the Upper Room and pray the suggested prayer. Another pause is to read a Psalm and ponder one key verse where the Lord is speaking to me. A short look around outside at God's marvelous creation is prayerful for me. This helps me hear the birds and notice the beauty of our Lord's flowers. It helps me praise Him for His wonderful works. When I catch myself in worry I take some gratitude moments to notice how good my life is and express thanks.

      These interspersed prayerful moments help me to stay focused on the day as God's gift and my need to honor Him. Zechariah 4: 10 encourages me to give my small intervals to God, “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice.”

When I practice daily these small things I experience the renewing touch of the Spirit of God.

In God's Eyes You Are Indespensible, Never Despicable.

“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-23.

       Reflecting on this passage makes me realize how we need to value ourselves and other members of Christ's body. It is tempting to overlook the vital contribution of a quiet person. Our society teaches that celebrities are the real VIPs. They grab the spotlight and boast to be more important than regular people. This outlook can weaken the body of Christ if we think that pastors, TV evangelists, or popular musicians make the real difference.

        The visible and upfront servants of God do have an important role. Of equal value to the work of God are the quiet majority who make things happen.

       A false humility can rob us from valuing our place of service so much we excuse our part as being worthless. We can reject this worldly way of thinking which goes like this, “I am not talented, beautiful, young enough, educated well enough, and can not talk well enough to serve God. If I do not attend worship, volunteer or give my participation it will not matter. I am not important like others who are so talented. I am sure I will not be missed.” This is a lie. You are an indispensable part of the health and fruitfulness of the church where you worship.

       The funny movie with the theme of being “despicable” can wake us up. We are not worthless and of no account when it comes to eternal work for our Lord. We are never “despicable” even if worldly people treat us as less honorable.

The Lord does not see you as “despicable”, but as “indispensable”.

Do You Know Your Body Is A Temple Of The Holy Spirit?

        1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 makes a profound statement about our physical body, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” To be aware of the body as the dwelling place of the Divine Spirit would help us to counter the influence of the current secular view of our physical existence.

      The ancient Greek and Roman religions taught that religion is only a matter of the spiritual realm. What you did with your body had no bearing on one's relationship with God. The body was looked upon as inferior to the soul and not worthy of consideration. They despised the body as only a temporary prison of the eternal soul. This view is prevalent in the New Age religion of our day. How things never change.

The point is we must serve God through the way we treat our body if we want to please Him. Do you know that your body is a sacred vessel of the Spirit of wisdom? God wants to show forth His goodness, faithfulness, wisdom and righteousness in moral and healthy living.

        The way the Lord made us with intricate design, awesome mental and physical powers shows that He loves us. His commitment to us is not limited by how long we have the breathe of life. He promises to redeem this body to a new level of transformation in the victory of the resurrection of our Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:13-15 says, “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, By his power He raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.”

        The false play boy philosophy is pushed upon us in our media. It is the same old outlook the Gospel came to deliver from. We can only find peace and fulfillment in keeping the holy moral commands of God to use the body to honor Him. Who does your body belong to? Isn't it your own business what I do with it?

         We own our body as a steward handles the property of the master whom he must give an account to. Our ownership here means responsibility and care. It does not mean moral and sexual wildness where we do what we please.

         Do you know that you are a temple of the Eternal, Holy Spirit?

Gatsby Was Fooled, He Never Was Great.

          We just saw the movie, “The Great Gatsby”. As we reflected on this story of dishonest wealth and sexual wildness it struck us how timely it is. The movie is about the 1920s era of insane money of organized crime enriched by prohibition and corruption of public officials. The rich were getting extremely wealthy with an inflated stock market boom. Morals were considered out of date and old fashioned. All that mattered was getting glamorous clothes, cars and houses. Immediate gratification was the rage with no thought of consequences of lying, cheating, and stealing in order to have it all now. The movie shows the fleeting, false, and empty thrills of the Gatsby lifestyle.

         Human nature has not changed. In the time of Jesus earthly ministry the Gatsby crowd pursued fine clothes, big money, wild parties, and splendid mansions. They were called the Herodians because of their allegiance to King Herod. He agreed with the Romans to be their puppet king in exchange for the Gatsby kind of rewards. The Herodians cooperated with Herod in every way to keep the good times rolling in luxury, pomp, pleasure and sexual wildness. Instant gratification was the offer Herod made to his loyal followers.

The message of Jesus and his way of life was in stark contrast to Herod.

       The wisdom of Jesus is to pursue integrity, generosity, moral faithfulness, to do good to other and to practice self-control. Jesus warned about greed and selfish gain where we can lose our eternal soul. Greater than immediate gain Jesus promises a spiritual kind of wealth that will never lose its value.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust consumes and were thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6: 19-21.

        I wonder when Gatsby was about to die if he experienced some “terminal lucidity”? There comes near death a moment of clarity when in a flash we clearly see if we lived for what was lasting or wasted our energies on what is false and rusting away. With the help of the Spirit of Truth may we all be lucid now about what is worth living for.

We Need Not Be Prisoners of our Past

            Recent news stories tell of human bondage. Alex Rodriquez is reported to face a 100 game suspension because of illegal drugs this year. A few years ago he confessed to using steroids over a 2 year period. Ryan Braun , Brewer's star accepted a 65 game suspension for using illegal substances this season. He now admits to being dirty in 2011 when awarded the MVP.

         Humanity is problematic about reverting to past destructive behaviors.

Psychologists witness the best way to predict future behavior is past actions. This common pattern defies all reason. When a person seems to have achieved success he repeats the same foolish actions that damaged his career, health and family.

Recidivism is the main problem keeping prisons overflowing. Why is it so hard for us to learn our lesson? Why is it difficult to practice a new way of life?

        If we ignore the Lord to help us change we are limited to self reliance. 1 Corinthians 5: 17-18 gives hope beyond self, “So if anyone in in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”

         Our hope is the higher power of Christ to transform our heart and habits to live wisely. Guidance from Christ is available when we humbly ask for His help day by day to do the right thing. We can overcome the prison of our past if we surrender to do His will daily.

       Freedom from past folly is never a possession to boast about. It is a continuing relationship of trust and obedience with the Deliverer of our soul.

The Lord's Miracles and Magic Are Not The Same Thing.

On July 9^th Rev. Ray postulated in the News Leader that we need to view miracles in the Holy Scriptures as mere magical stories. He opines that to believe in the wonders of Jesus is superstitious magic.

       Magic is rejected by the Apostles. They had conflicts with magicians who wanted to purchase the Holy Spirit to make money. A magician sells an illusion that supernatural power can be forced to to get us what we want. Magic requires no submission to the higher will of our Creator. With a magician, you pay and expect the results you demand.

Palm Readers and Tarot Card spiritualists prey upon desperate people who will resort to any means to find relief for problems.

They are not willing to surrender to the higher will of God. Magic is an inventive attempt to secure supernatural power.

       Biblical miracles are not magic. They are a sign of God's caring and delivering power. A divine miracle is an experience of God in our distress. It is beyond our control or explanation. It is a sign of the grace of God and makes us aware we are not in control. We can only ask humbly for the healing power of God. We do not use a ritual or offer money to make this happen. In no way can we tame God's mercy.

       When I was a prison chaplain an inmate at Leavenworth USP was beaten senseless with a medal pipe and left for dead. The medical staff gave no hope for his recovery or to be a functional human being. To the amazement of the medical experts he woke up and fully recovered all cognitive and physical abilities.

      He requested that we talk. He was surprised to be alive. He asked ; “Why did God spare my life? I do not deserve God's help. I was never good or religious. What does God want from me?” He was in awe of his life's meaning. For the first time he acknowledged the reality of a power greater than human violence. In the presence of the divine mystery of recovery he searched for God's purpose. He experienced this miracle as God's wake up call.

      Instead of denying miracles with the arrogance of a closed rationalistic attitude, it is better to pray for the ability to recognize miracles for what they are and to be thankful for divine mercies.

     The Scriptures warn us to avoid magical thinking about our expectations. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.” Some inmates wrongly expected forgiveness to bring a quick cure from painful consequences. Forgiveness removes guilt and shame, but it is not an escape from problems. We ask for the mercy of God's forgiveness knowing it is not a magic wand. The way to success is to practice kindness, self-control, faithful morality, and wisdom. Our hope is not in magic, but in the harvest honest and generous actions bring.

The Blue Berry Patch Morning.

      The Blue Berry Patch near Seymour was a great adventure on 

Saturday, July 6^th. I was blessed to pick berries with 3 grand kids and a dear friend, Steve Page. We wondered how many pounds we could pick among us. We were amazed at check out to find we had 35 pounds of fresh blue goodness. We started picking at 7 AM and finished before 9 AM! When the grand kids started throwing blue berries at each other I knew it was time to stop, that we had done enough. The berries were just ready in clusters to fall into the bucket.

      It is inspiring to ponder that the Blue Berry Patch is a Christian ministry of outreach to 3^rd world people who lack fresh water. All the profits go to the Cross Catholic Outreach with an effective rate of 97% going to projects to benefit the poor. The management of this blue berry farm calls their outreach, “The Blue Water Project”.

Profits of $43,814 from 2008-10 were sent to the Dominican Republic where folks were drinking from contaminated creeks . Profits of $25,874 from 2011-12 were sent to a critical area of Kenya to help provide clean and sustainable water.

         The Patch will pick one more time this Saturday of July 13. They only pick once a week to let the plants fill out well. I plan to be out there at 7 AM. How wonderful to find fresh, wholesome fruit only a 40 minute drive away. How inspiring to also to be a small part of a world wide vision of compassion for the poor who need clean water. I will attempt to put a few pictures of the adventure on my blog main page.

Adventures With A Three Year Old.

         Colossians 1:16-17 says,”For by him all things were created:things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

        This past week we have been blessed with our daughter, son-in-law and 3 year old grandson Joshua to visit us from Kentucky. Spending time with Joshua on daily adventures helped me get in touch with the splendor of the Lord's greatness in His created things. This Scripture teaches that ,”all things were created by him and for him.. and in him all things hold together.”

We picked fresh blueberries. It was a delight to hear him taste the berries and murmur his approval. We caught bright flashing fire flies on a summer night. We filled an old jar full of them and released them the next morning. We caught 3 large, kicking and jumping trout. The rainbow colors of the trout were so brilliant.

     We were chased by a gaggle of geese wanting to get all the bread in our hands. We made it safely to a foot bridge with some of the bread left over for the ducks. It is so interesting that geese will not come up on the bridge but the ducks do. We went swimming and discovered that he can hold to a kick board and make splashes with his extended kicking feet. On a nature walk we saw beautiful blue dragon flies and red winged black birds.

      Our Lord has made us a wonderful world. Like the old hymn says so well, “He shines in all that is fair.” The Lord must have a great taste for variety, fun and awesome tender beauty to make wonders we can not count. We need an inquisitive 3 year old around to help us see and appreciate some of it!

      Yes, I am tired out but thankful for all this past week of adventure. I praise the Lord for health to tag along with an energetic little man. I will try to attach one photo of the wonder.

The Lord Restores Us When We Keep Loving Him.

        It is my joy to be printed in the Upper Room on Monday, August 12. The theme of that devotional is how we can find true higher power in Christ to continue to build a good life even when our aspirations are crushed. The experience of divorce and being a single parent raising 3 kids is far in the past. May new wife Martha and I have been married for 20 years. She came into my journey of life after I had been a single parent for many years. She and I have blended our two families into one harmonious unit. Now I have 5 children instead of only the original 3. All the children are close to us and we do things with them and the grand children. We have taken all the 5 children into our hearts and we are blessed in their love and support.

      When I was first divorced I was wrong to think that my dream of building a happy family was over. With the Lord's help and Martha's wise partnership we have a very blessed active family life. We have 10 grand children with another one on the way. It is a joy to be active grand parents and to share fun times with them. Attached is a picture of my grandson Owen enjoying the baseball game with me.

      I witness that the words of Romans 8:28 are true to my experience, “”We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” During the time of my despair after the crushing divorce I vowed to keep actively loving and serving the Lord no matter what. When we keep ourselves in the work of loving God daily He will work with us to build a good life, even if all we can give him at times is broken pieces.

Finding Our Safe Tower In Christ

Where Can We Find Safety?

Read: Psalms 91:1-16

        “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalms 91:1-2.

It was my duty to serve as Chaplain at a High Security Prison. The prison housed 1,000 violent men. Gang fights and murders were common on the prison yard. Five gun towers circled the razor wire fences so inmates trying to escape could be shot. One tall gun tower was erected inside the yard to shoot inmates chasing staff members. More bullets were fired from the gun towers in one year here than in any other Federal Prison.

        The warden instructed staff and peaceful inmates, “When threatened run to the shadow of the inside gun tower to be safe until the danger has past.” When walking the prison yard among hundreds of prisoners I felt comforted to know that the yard tower was present. Proverbs 18:10 teaches that God is a fortress, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.” For me God’s name stands for protection, dependable help, and victory over my enemies. I find safety in a close relationship with Almighty God. Close to Him I can overcome inner enemies of temptation, depression, fear and panic. My soul is sheltered with Christ. No terrorist or criminal action can take away my eternal life safe in Him.

        I thank God for being my protective tower for fearful times. My responsibility is to run to the shadow of His name by prayer and obedience where I can find true shelter.

Prayer: Almighty Father, thank you for always being available to be our protective shelter and safe place. May we all turn to you with trust and obedience when threatened by the storms of life.

Thought Of The Day: We can run to the tower of God’s Love instead of just running scared.

Imagine No Malaria

       I just attended our Missouri Methodist Annual Conference. We are blessed to do great things for others in our combined efforts as disciples of Jesus.  The United Methodist national conference and our state conference have been fighting the terrible disease of malaria since 2008.  At that time we together worked with the "Nothing But Nets" program to bring needed mosquito protection to our brothers and sisters in Africa.  For nearly 2 hundred years Methodists have been in partnership with African Christians to give help to the sick, increase sanitation, and promote healing.
     Our Bishop has challenged each church to give a special offering to this new program called, "Imagine No Malaria".  He asks that we give $10.00 for each person who is average in attendance in worship. This means Rogersville UMC is being asked to give $300.00. This generous giving is putting our faith in action.
      This new program of "Imagine No Malaria" distributes insecticide -treated bed nets, it delivers sustainable and accountable public health systems. It works closely with the village elders, teachers, pastors, and mid wives who all know the people who need help. This system means that the medical supplies and nets are not stolen and then sold by thieves. This way of ministry means that there are regular and on going checks by trained local medical workers to make sure the supplies are being used in the proper life saving and preventive way.
       James 2:14-17 is the foundation of our efforts to give aid to our family in Christ in Africa,
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters; if you say you have faith but do not have works? If a person is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." It is good to see the Methodist Church in action to make a difference to save children from dying from this preventable disease.  It only cost $10.00 to purchase on insecticide-treated net!
      The World Health Organization reports that in Africa every day 3,000 children die under the age of 5 years.  In 2010 reported malaria deaths were 660,000 with 90% of those in Africa. As Methodists we can and will make a difference.  Many lives are being saved, churches are being started and communities becoming healthier because of the generous sharing of the Methodist Church.
    Here is an African proverb to consider, " If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night with a mosquito."

Look, Grandpa, Did you see it?

     "Look Grandpa, look", I heard this excited refrain often from our 8 year old grandson, Daegan as we gave bread to some ducks. He just wanted to feed the ducks and we experienced much more.  As we walked he held a small loaf of bread proudly in his hands. He was careful to make the bread last for our 30 minute adventure.
      He noticed so many wonders of nature on this stroll around the pond. He pointed out marvels like two flat backed turtles sunning on a rock barely emerging from the water. As we crossed over the foot bridge he called my attention to the little fish flipping on the surface to snatch pieces of bread he threw down.
     The geese honked loudly in an effort to scare the ducks away from the broken bread being thrown. He pointed out the funny way the ducks waddled over to snatch bread from his hand. The loud chorus of honks and quacks was hilarious.
    He told me to keep looking as the ducks swam in a tight V shaped pattern as we circled around the lake. He was excited about the ducks following him all the way around as he stopped often to give his feathered friends another snack. He was proud to notice how the duck band came to him repeatedly.
     Near some tall bushed he shouted out, "Look, it is a wild turkey!"  In my amazement we observed a turkey hen as tall as Daegan skittering away into deeper cover. With her different shades of brown feathers the turkey blended quickly back into the leaves.
      As I was contemplating these wonderful sights he called out , "Look at these big leafs on the water plants!"  I had not noticed the vibrant green and proud stand of water lilies.  I had glaced at them but not appreciated their beauty and freshness. He helped me take note of their full buds about to burst into yellow blossoms.
       I need to view the greatness of our Lords' Creation through the eyes of a child to restore my sense of wonder. Even if we do not have a child at hand we can take heed of the words of Jesus and take time to look carefully around us, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil or spin, yet even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow for reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6: 26, 28 and 29.
      Worry is a big problem for me. I think one way to escape from the misery of worry is for me to take some time each day to dwell in wonder of our Lord's beauty in creation.  I want to experience more wonder and less worry. How about you? The Lord is speaking to me in Daegan's drum beat, "Look, Grandpa look, look!"

The Lesson Of The Clematis Vine.

      A large Clematis vine grows 6 feet high up on the back of our bricked mail box. It loves to climb tall. Each leaflet has 3 balanced soft green leafs. The flowers are purple with hints of yellow and white in the middle. The flat pedals are as large as my hand. They constantly turn towards the sun light.  It's loveliness moves my heart to praise our Lord for His design in creation.  It's delicate gracefulness brings admiration from people who look it's way.
      We can mirror the beauty of our Creator. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it says, "Seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit."  This promise of positive change encourages me. The Lord is able to reflect His love, mercy, faithfulness, and generosity through my little, temporary and fragile life.
      The greatness of the Maker of heaven and earth is reflected in our small flowering vine.  With the Clematis this expression of the Lord's beauty is natural.  In my life this demonstration of His goodness depends upon my daily choice to follow Christ in meditation, trust and obedience. His transformation of my words, actions and character is promised as I intentionally keep turning my focus on His light.  May the Lord give me grace to focus less on worry and fear. I do want my mind to dwell upon His goodness.

Growth Is On The Side Of New Practices

May last blog asked the question, "What is new with you?". Let me reply to my own question with some new things I am learning to practice. At the YMCA I have under the guidance of a patient instructor started a new way of fitness. Now three times a week I am bouncing a 6 pound medicine ball off the wall. The instructor was careful to show me how to do this with out killing myself. We do need help from experienced people when we try a new practice. Today I will begin a new adventure with MANGO. It is a program offered free by our library system to teach us a new language. Yes, I am excited about brushing up on my Spanish I played with as a prison chaplain. The Mexican inmates were kind to coach me on some basic words and phrases. This evening at the YMCA I will try a new fitness class called SELAH. It is a unique combination of pilates and yoga. It is an hour experience of stretching while listening to Christian praise music. It will be a miracle of sorts if I can make it through the whole hour. The pace is up beat to keep up with the music! Maybe my newness here will be 30 minutes of the class. In the battle for my soul I am challenged by a Korean Chaplain friend, Vescinda McDonald, to not permit my thinking to live in the room of anger, fear, resentment or worry. When I find myself dwelling in these negative rooms that drag me down I am practicing a new thing she strongly suggests. When aware of this negative down feeling I am rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus my Lord. Then I am giving those weeds of the soul to my Lord to burn up in the fire of His love. And in the here and now I practice thanking my Lord for the abundant ways my life is good. Her book , "Twisted Logic, The Window of Depression" is ground breaking for me to practice some new ways of the Spirit. If you want to borrow my copy of her book let me know. So here are my questions for you this week, "What do you want more of?" and "What do you want less of in your life?". The answers are in your heart.

What Is New With You?

This question is often asked in conversation to help us catch up with a friend. We want to hear what is the recent news. We love to find what is new and hear about what is the latest. The business world understands this insatiable desire to find happiness in newness. McDonalds has a new premium chicken wrap. Taco Bell has a new black bean burrito. These latest products are advertised to lure us into the store. And how about the new automobile advertisements on TV? They make happiness appear to be easy to find with new car keys in our hand. We are excited to think about a new home, new car, new friend, or new job. The prospects of greater satisfaction in life are increased with a fresh experience on the horizon. This hunger for the new can get us into trouble if we think we can find our soul satisfied in new outward material objects and new people. The mint condition wears off of all things and even relationships. We can make a big mistake to think changing these outward things for a newer product or fresh person will meet our needs. This shallow idea of trading in our relationships for a new one can cause us to go from one marriage after another when the brand-new feeling and excitement is over. The Lord wants to fill our deepest need for happiness with a newness of being. This is very different than the newness of possession. He wants to make each of us new in His image and likeness. This can only happen if we are willing to be made new by Him. This is a process of giving up our will for His will each day. This is exciting to me as I near 70 years old. With my Lord's Spirit at work in my character there is new growth and new spiritual adventure with His leadership. I am not done yet. His Spirit is on the side of newness. To experience His freshness each day I need to embrace newness of prayer, service, worship, learning, and activities. Yes, I need to get out of the rut of old habits. The death of my spiritual growth is my comfort zone of just doing it the way I always have in the past. A big part of trust in God is expressed in embracing a new journey or a brand-new generous way of giving. So, my question to all of us if we want to be alive in the Spirit is, "What is new with you?". Let me know so I can rejoice with your baby steps out of the comfort zone into a scary and promising up to the minute experience with our Creative Spirit. So, what is new with you? I do not mean what new object or status or person you possess. What is new in your being?

The Value Of A Coach With Questions

We just returned from a stimulating Chaplains Conference in Adrian, Michigan. It was sponsored by the United Methodist Chaplains Group. The presentations were on the value of being coached to experience our true potential. A coach is a person who cares for you, knows what you are capable of, and calls forth the greatness within you. This is a different relationship of a counselor who listens and reflects your feelings. A counselor may need to help us to understand our past wounds to learn lessons from grief or failure. A coach instead calls us to look at our current situation, where we want to go in life, our abilities, future goals and action plans to get moving. We took turns offering a coaching session for each other as brother or sister chaplains. It was a growing experience to be challenged to think of the next step to take to be more fruitful as a person made to be achieve creativity. Each of us is created to be a great person because we are made in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the great potential we have within us to do positive and creative actions. It is our own responsibility to discover and bring forth the great potential within us but coaching can help us. When we are blind to our potential it is profitable to be given powerful questions by a coach to make us think again about our attitudes and practices right now. Let me be your coach with this blog. Please consider some of these questions for your own life journey in the here and now. I hope they will be positive for your growth. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says there is a time for everything. What time is it for you right now? What needs to happen for this year to be the best year ever? If you gave us worrying, what would life be like? What really matters for you? I thank our instructor J. Val Hastings, MCC, for sharing many life changing questions for us to ponder. Yes, I bought his book of questions! I will continue to share some of them on my blog as they help my soul work!

Helper of the Helpless.

Have you heard it said, "God helps them who helps themselves?". I have heard this proverb spoken all my life. Some people claim it is in the Bible but they are not correct. What this saying attempts to say is we need to cooperate with the Lord for Him to have our permission to work for our good in our life. I think Augustine said something like this, "The Lord did not need our permission to create us. But the Lord needs our cooperation for His salvation to come into our hearts." This truth is important to remember for we must always do our best to become better people. We can not just ask the Lord to do our salvation all for us without our best effort. St. Paul said it well in Philippians 2:12, "My dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." Yet, deep spiritual truth always has two sides in this mystery of life. At some times we are forced to admit if we are honest that we are helpless unless the Lord intervenes. This past week when our grandson Owen was struggling to fight against a terrible infection it was a helpless situation. The doctors were debating among themselves what to try to do to stop this aggressive invasion of his body. This moment reminded me that our money, power, connections to expert medical care, and technology does not guarantee that life can be saved. Psalms 72: 12-14, says, "For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death." We cried out to our Lord when we had no human help for Owen's life to be spared. Thank the Lord that He is the Helper of the Helpless. This is Wednesday, 5/1, and we rejoice that Owen could came home today! He is using a walker and is still on heavy duty medicine but much better. Thanks all of you for praying for the Lord to show His deliverance in Owen's life. Although we must always do our best to solve our problems I do praise the Lord that He is still the Helper of the Helpless. When we face a struggle with anger, jealousy or depression may we always look to Him to help us when we know our strength is all used up.

The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us.

In the ancient liturgy of the Christian Communion service it features the prayer of the Great Thanksgiving. The words of this prayer move my heart. "It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. You formed us in your image and breathed into us the breath of life. When we turned away, and our love failed, your love remained steadfast. You delivered us from captivity, made covenant to be our sovereign God, and spoke to us through your prophets." My heart is filled with thanks to our Father Almighty for hearing our prayers for mercy for our grandson Owen. Last week he was on a breathing machine and in a coma while his body was fighting a terrible infection. Last Friday the surgeons were able to operate and remove a large pocket of infection from his hip area. We are so grateful for his rapid rebound since the surgical intervention. Now Owen is out of the ICU and off of the breathing machine. He is able to eat regular food. He is still in isolation but is able to be in a regular room. He can talk with us again and enjoy watching a baseball game. We hope he may be able to return home next week! It was a helpless feeling to see Owen struggle this past week. It is humbling to be reminded that life is fragile and we are not in control. We do believe that the Lord touched Owen with His healing intervention when his life was hanging in the balance. It is a reminder to me of the precious gift of human life each day. We live by the grace and power of the Father Almighty. He has created us, heals us and sustains us. Our hearts go out to the parents and grand parents of children who have died by accident or disease this past week. There is no guarantee that we will have our precious little ones. Each day is a gift to be valued and cherished. The song is right when it says, "The time is now to fulfill each vow, for I may never pass this way again." The ways of God are beyond our understanding. We pray for healing for all children but some do not live. May we all take the time to do good things with our little ones for we do not know if we will have a tomorrow with them. Mary's words of praise in Luke 2:49-50 are ringing in my heart this evening, "For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.". We praise the Mighty One for touching Owen in the hour of his deepest need. We thank the Lord that Owen is recovering. Thanks to all of you who lifted up your prayers for Owen to be helped by the Great Physician.

Got Faith ?

What does it mean to have faith in God? As we pray for our dear grandson Owen in ICU and for our dear friend Andrew who is fighting cancer how does faith help us? We also pray for the victims of the terrible bombing of the Boston Marathon that they will experience faith in God. I believe that our Lord is with our loved ones when they suffer. Our Lord is not a distant Creator who has left us to face the hard times alone. In Matthew 28:20 the resurrected Lord says, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." He suffers with us and bears our burdens with us. I need to remember this. I trust that our Lord is with us in a caring and committed way. The apostle Paul confidently states in Romans 8:31-32, "If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" The Lord is for us! He knows our needs and is helping us. He wants to give us His generous help if we ask. I have confidence that our Lord has the power to heal and redeem. He is able to deliver us from whatever comes against us. He is the Living Lord who works for the good of those who trust and serve Him. Paul says this well in Ephesians 3:20,"Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory." I trust that our Lord is working behind the scenes when we endure suffering to bring good out of it. There is a gift in the grief when we keep loving the Lord no matter how hard it gets. The Apostle Paul speaks with conviction in Romans 8:28,"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." It is my view all people are called to do His purposes and His love is with us in a special way as we seek to do His will. Finally my faith in God rests upon the greatness of His wisdom. My little mind can not understand the big picture of life. Only the Lord can see how things work together for our good. We do walk by faith and not by sight. In my prayers I do not tell God what to do. Only He can decide what is best. How little we really know in comparison to the Maker heaven and earth. Paul praises God's wisdom in Romans 11:33,"O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways." My hope is not in the amount of faith I have. My faith gives me strength because I place it in the Eternal Love, Power, Nearness, Wisdom and Victory of our Lord Christ. This is not just thinking positive. It is placing my hope in the Eternal One.

The Power Of An Assist!

We are so proud of the Drury Panther basket ball team for winning the national Division 2 Championship in a 74-73 thrilling comeback victory over Metro State last Sunday. Did you know they were down by 17 points in the first half? They showed so much character, energy and resolve to come storming back. They finally caught up the lead in the last minute of play. They closed this amazing season with 23 straight wins! There is spiritual lessons to be learned from this team. Their coach, Steve Hesser, described their win in these terms in the newspaper, "Very collective. They defended collectively. And when we were efficient offensively, we did it together." This was a team effort with strong support from the bench when needed. This reminds me of the power of working together for a common goal. The players were not showing off their own talents or trying to grab some glory for self. Did you know that basketball counts and gives an official credit for an assist? This is the action of passing the ball just right to enable a team mate to score a basket. This official credit shows that the passing of the ball is just as important as making a basket. I find it refreshing when some players have 10 or even more assists after each game. Is the Lord asking you to give an assist to a family member or friend who needs some encouragement to succeed? We often think of success in only an individual perspective. In reality we only win togehter as a family, basketball team, church, or work team. We find fulfillment when we do not think only of our own success but in the ways we can win as a group. Maybe this is partly what the Apostle Paul meant long ago when he challenged us to see our success in life in the image of a healthy biological body,"If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it". He also said, "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." How many assists can the Lord give you official credit for today in your church or family? Remember we win together. The victories of the spiritual life require self-discipline just like a basket ball player, but fulfillment only comes when he learns the power of an assist. May we each find ways to help others do great things that honor God.

Easter Continues To Energize Us!

Easter was celebrated last Sunday. It was a good time to declare anew that the Lord is risen, indeed. Our church had a good community wide Easter Egg hunt the day before Easter. There was so much holy energy among the children and families who attended. I am proud of the congregation to host this event now for about 20 years. Being with children at Easter helps me remember the powerful way the Lord gives us new little ones to bring us joy. Another way I still find Easter energy is by sacred music. I feel my soul stirred by "The Russian Easter Overture" by Rimsky-Korsakov. This musical classic features a crescendo which reminds me of the powerful build up of resurrection energy in the Lord's tomb. This gradual increase of volume and musical power speaks to me of the time of waiting in the tomb for our Lord to then defeat death. This overture ends with an enthusiastic climax of joy. I find it helps me meditate and draw near to our Lord. This Sunday we will show that the power of Easter continues as Alexandra, a senior in high school, is baptized. Wow, baptism declares that the power of the risen Christ comes to live in our hearts when we receive Him as Lord and Savior. He did rise from that old tomb long ago, but right now He fills us with His risen power when we crucify the old sinful nature and welcome Him into our hearts to rule over us. Just a few weeks ago we baptized Jerris and her son, Dayten. We are so blessed to witness the holy vows of these precious children of God. Easter shows the power of resurrection also in nature. I love to see how green the fields are becoming. I love to see the flowering trees start to blossom forth. I even planted beautiful red tulips given to us by precious friends on Easter morning. It means much for me to get my hands in the cold, moist, dark soil. It is a symbol to me how the Lord can bring forth beauty out of the darkness of defeat and despair if we surrender to His leadership and power to give us new life. How is the power of Easter continuing to minister in your life?

From Dust to Easter

An unbeliever who is a friend talked about preparing for his death. He is a professional and responsible man. To help his family he is making sure his Will, Estate, and Funeral plans are all in order. He is sorting through his accumulation of personal items to clear out the clutter to save his children from this task when he is gone. I admire his caring actions for his family. I am also in this process of taking care of last wishes and property decisions. When I talk about a greater life beyond the grave my friend is unconvinced. He thinks there is too much evil, pain and suffering in this world for a God of love to be real. He thinks that after the cremation of his mortal remains the story of his life will be over. The message of Easter is that our human life story will not end in dust of the earth. The Scriptures do witness that we are made from the dust of the earth and to dust we will return. The Lord's love and moral justice will not end with dust. There is too much love, compassion, courage and righteousness done by good people to have it all end in the dirt. There is too much cruelty, injustice, evil,greed and hatred done by the wicked for the Lord of Justice to not demand accountability. When the Apostle Peter was summing up the main message of the resurrection for the Roman people gathered at the house of Cornelius he said,"They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Acts 10:39-43. Easter tells me that the Lord is not through with us after our last breath. There is accountability, reward and consequences when our spirit meets with God. Jesus is our Judge for eternity. The wicked who think they have gotten away with their lies and cruel deeds will be so wrong. Like my friend I also grieve over the suffering and pain of the oppressed of our world. It is my trust that the Lord will not let their suffering be in vain. The Lord's mercy, compassion and generous rewards are not limited by our earthly years. The Lord's suffering and death were cruel and without mercy. Yet through his suffering God brought us the victory of resurrection over the worst of human sin. Easter calls me to remember this hope, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18. We are made of dust but it is not our future hope.

Helping Without Hurting

Recently our small church has begun a grocery ministry to the needy among us. Our focus is on the working poor who are living check to check. If they have an illness or break a leg then they have few resources to handle the temporary crisis. We are inspired by our hope of showing the community that our church cares for our neighbors. We pray that people who are helped will feel that the love of God is reaching out to their need. Isaiah 58:6-9 both inspires and challenges us, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall spring up quickly.. then you shall call and the Lord will answer." Lofty ideals are difficult to translate into practical actions. The book, "When Helping Hurts", by Steve Corbett is giving me ideas how to share our bread with wisdom. The giving of emergency relief is just a beginning. It is not helpful to give food and then disappear. The challenge is to build caring and responsible relationships. This calls for dealing with the dimensions of process and relationships instead of programs and products. It calls for helping people develop their God given abilities and new confidence to work and feed their own family. We hope to give out more than groceries. We pray to help our new friends to be encouraged to seek the Lord's Will for their life and family. We will refer them to agencies where they can develop their God given strengths to succeed for their family. We hope to listen to our new friends and learn from their insights into life. Often it is the poor among us who are rich in faith and know real security is found in God, not in property and money. They can teach us also that real wealth is in family closeness and loving relationships. We are on a journey to reach out with caring actions. This past week the grocery ministry helped 5 households. We have a larger church which is supplementing our efforts in our rural town with frozen foods. We are blessed also to have canned goods donated to us. Pray with us to be fruitful and faithful and be joyful. We are so blessed to have two young ladies step up to lead us in this outreach.

Two Brothers and Both Wrong.

       In Luke 15:11-32  the Lord tells a story about two brothers and their father. It is not just about how one son failed to honor the father. It is about the failure of both. The younger brother insulted his father by demanding his inheritance right now! He used the windfall of money to go to sin city and live it up with wild living. He wasted his father's hard work and money. The young man came to himself when the fast friends and cheap thrills were gone. In dire straights he was working for minimum wage feeding pigs. He realized what a fool he had been in running away from his father. He saw in his loneliness and hunger how much better life had been in relationship with his dad.
      The older brother failed in a different way. He refused to forgive his younger brother for the way he wasted the family money and caused a scandal in the town. He wanted his younger brother to be gone forever. He was a hard worker and never played around. He did not know how to enjoy life and was jealous of his fun loving kid brother. When the wild kid came home the older brother refused to come into the house.  He refused to show mercy. He complained that his brother did not deserve a party of welcome and that he would not be any part of it.  He failed his father by not extending  mercy and encouragement to his fallen brother.
    This parable is an expression of the truth that we all sin and fall short of the plans God has for us.  The Pharisees of Jesus day were keen on condemning the wild and openly immoral folks. They were shocked that Jesus was a friend to people they considered worthless sinners.  Jesus welcomed people who were shunned by the Pharisees as a lost cause.
    The Pharisees were like the older brother who was blind to his own hard heart and lack of compassion. How easy it is to be blind to our own flaws and ways we fail our Lord. They thought they were better than other people because of negative rule keeping.  We all need to keep the "Thou Shall Not" so that we can protect our family health. The Lord also calls us to a positive purpose of mercy, compassion and concern to lift up those who have fallen.  The Pharisees did not see that they were committing the great sin of omitting to demonstrate the love of God towards broken people. They neglected the call of God to make a positive difference in the life of hurting people.
     It is my belief that Jesus never called people the label of "sinners".  The Pharisees were quick to assign this label and act like they had no sin of their own. We are children of God who do sin and need forgiveness. Our core identity is not a "sinner".  Our deepest identity is that we are a child of God who can walk in the light of forgiveness, do our best to observe the rules, and seek to give positive actions to help other people.  Thank the Lord that he forgives both kinds of brothers who got it so wrong.  If we give the Lord a willing heart to share His mercy then He will guide us to bring other people to the celebration of His welcome home !
    

The Risk of Grumbling and Complaining.

    The Scriptures warn us about the danger of grumbling and complaining as a mind set. In 1 Corinthians 10: 10 and Philippians 2:14-15 we are commanded to stop our murmuring about life.
Grumbling is to mutter in discontent. This kind of attitude does not look for ways to make the situation better or ask others for help. It is defined as a private expression to murmur with complaint and anger.
    Complaining in an open manner about our pain or grief can lead to resolution. We are not called upon to be victims. There is value in taking complaints to people who can help us handle a bad situation.  This command of Scripture is not intended to lead to abuse.
     This is a basic attitude toward life which is negative and blinding. The Hebrews were delivered from the abuse of slavery and the injustices of Egyptian bondage. They were delivered by a miracle of God's power at the Red Sea. They were guided daily by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night. They were fed each day with the Lord's unique provision of manna. Under Moses and Aaron they now had a good future and a hope which they never had before.
    They did not make it to the land of promise because of their grumbling. They complained about the manna because it didn't taste like the Egyptian diet. They murmured about Moses as a leader with his flaws. They tried to elect a new leader to take them back to Egypt! They accused Moses of taking them into the desert to die of thirst. They demanded God prove his love by providing some meat  which He did with a large flock of sea gulls. Because of their negativity they gave up on the Lord and created their own idol, a golden calf.
     We have a choice to feed our discontent or to open our eyes to the goodness of God all around us. If we dwell upon our envy and anger we can be mad and sad for a general outlook of life. This cuts us off from our Lord and fellowship with Him. Murmuring is a private affair of the heart which we try to hide from God and others. Of course the negativity of our expressions and outlook is poison to our family and friends.  We are warned to learn from the mistakes of the Hebrew children who took the grumbling road to ruin instead of the grateful path which leads to progress and trust in God's promise.
      When I am tempted to get into the rut of grumbling and complaining then I confess to our Lord and ask for His help. Instead of yielding to the negative mood I seek to feed the fire of thankful awareness in my heart.  In my wallet I carry a "mindfulness of blessings" meditation. Here is what it asks me to contemplate. "Am I just not noticing the ways in which things are good because my mind keeps coming up with ideas for what it has to have or get rid of before I can be happy, just like a child? Are there specific steps I can take that would help me move towards greater peace and harmony now?"    May this meditation be useful for you to escape the prison of grumbling. Will you grumble about today or be grateful for the gift of the new day?