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?

Forgiven and on the transformation journey.

   
    Do you want to be perfect? Some doctrines teach we can be free from all sin. The definition of perfect includes such notions as flawless, without fault, essential in all detail, lacking in no requirement and possessing supreme moral character. In every age there are cults which promise perfection. In Paul's day the Greek Mystery religions enticed people to join in secret rituals to become superior to normal people in knowledge, spiritual experience, and moral attainment.  This desire to claim perfection and a superior state than regular folks is a popular illusion.
     Scientology is a modern cult cloaked in secret teaching only for insiders. The leaders isolate members on 6 month cruises to immerse them in hidden doctrines. This group claims to help people achieve immortality and a superior plane of existence. They target wealthy and famous celebrities who already tend to believe the illusion of their own superiority. It is very expensive to be involved and no one can question the authority of the supreme leader. It is not based on science, but upon the science fiction writings of L. Ron Hubbard. We must be aware of cults of perfection which only inflate the ego and fill us with arrogance.
     In Philippians 3:12 the Apostle Paul addressed perfectionism. The early Christians were being enticed by the Mystery religions. Paul denies he will ever be perfect. He compares himself to a runner in a marathon race. A runner never finishes the race until the course is over.
We never arrive in this life at a complete level of spiritual attainment or knowledge. We will only arrive when we pass from this human life into the presence of our Judge and Redeemer.
      In Matthew 5:48 the Lord Jesus does call upon us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father. This Greek word also used by Paul means to be fully grown up in our adulthood. This is the call of God to keep growing in wisdom, understanding, service and courage as long as we have life.  I can never become perfect. I am a forgiven child of God who is called to be fruitful and faithful. In the power of the Holy Spirit we can find strength to grow to forgive all people and not just react to their hurtful actions.
      As followers of Christ we have the summons to become like our Creator Father. This is a journey of growing in insight and self awareness.  The closer we come to Christ the more we are aware of our flaws, limited knowledge and faults. Instead of growing arrogant with spiritual progress we become humbly conscious of our need for His mercy. This is good news. We do not need to pretend to be more than we are. The Lord accepts us where we are if we have a willing spirit to serve Him and to be transformed by His grace. The Lord wants us to do our best daily to stay connected to Him.
As humans we will make mistakes, blunder and sin in spite of our best intentions. In His mercy we pick ourselves up and learn even from our wounds and sins. We are not called to be perfect in the way of this world such as Scientology. We are called to love mercy, practice kindness and walk humbly with our God. We can let go of this terrible burden of perfectionism right now. We are forgiven and on the journey of transformation to become a better person.
     

What is the cost of having it all?

    Our Lord's great test is recorded in Luke 4:1-13. What is temptation?  One definition is "to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain."  To entice is ,"to attract artfully or by arousing hope or desire." These dynamics remind me of the way Jesus was promised all the power, glory and riches of earthly kingdoms if  he would worship Satan. This is a huge temptation. Who would not desire unlimited wealth and power?
      Satan promises immediate gratification of our desires, sensual pleasures with no responsibility, fast and easy money.  Is this what our society means when it talks about having it all?
Power, money and sensual pleasure are all good creations of our Heavenly Father. Human desires are given by God in His creation. If we put these desires above the moral commands of God then we get in trouble.
    Satan promises us all our physical and ego desires will be satisfied if we will only worship him.  Worship is, "extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem." In this regard some people worship the "Almighty Dollar".   Satanic rituals are not required to worship the Devil.  To be devoted to the Evil One is to practice deceit, admire his attitude of rebellion, and believe his promises.  Worldly people show in their behavior the belief they will gain more in life from Satan than from obeying the Lord.
    We worship Satan when we trust that he will reward us more than the Heavenly Father. Who has the most fun and satisfaction? Satan never created even one pleasure, all he does is distort and ruin our pleasures. Satan's big illusion is that success is delivered by following his practices. This means we will lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, con, threaten and defraud others to get what we want. It matters not who we hurt. Does the end justifies the means? Winning at all costs compromises our souls.
     Jesus refused by quoting Deut. 6:13, "You shall fear the Lord and serve him only." The context of this verse is to warn us about serving idols who will destroy us. We can forget the source of all our blessings is the Lord.  We can be blinded by our affluence and forget our Creator.  Jesus shows us that a humble devotion to our Heavenly Father is where true success and fulfillment as a person are found.
     Maybe Jesus was thinking of this time of tempting when he warns us, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26.   Jesus took the road of obedient self sacrifice so that we could gain forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.  He gives us true wealth and abiding riches.

The Journey of Transformation

      As we grow in knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures in worship and small groups remember though that religious education is not an end in itself. The goal of our study, prayers and fellowship is behavior transformed to be like our Lord.  In our humanity we will never fully arrive! But by seeking transformation we can make progress.
     In our spiritual journey we move from one polarity to the opposite. This direction from the negative to the positive is life long.  We are not transformed just by cleansing our soul of the negatives. We must replace them with positive choices and energy.
     Here are a few  ways we all can observe our progress in transformation. If we are honest we will admit we need more movement toward the positive virtues. Let me suggest the following tensions and directions.
      Each of these polarities  we can let go of the negative and move towards positive actions: from greed to generosity, from being controlled by fear to courage, from sexual lust to respectful honor, from bitter anger to merciful forgiveness, from a victim outlook to creative responsibility for happiness, from pretending/hiding to an honesty about who we are, from worry and anxiousness to more confident trust in God, from procrastination to an active fulfillment of present duties, from indifference to a caring effort to help the suffering, from self-pity to a joyful engagement with the present moment, from partiality and prejudice to kindness towards all people, from despair over past sins to peaceful awareness of forgiveness, from arrogant pride to humble awareness of need, from condemnation of others to compassion, from dictating to others to learn acceptance and service.
     This is a tall order for our fallible and frail humanity. The strength for such a journey comes not from within ourselves. It comes from keeping our focus on the teachings and mercy of Christ. As we focus our attention on Him then His Spirit changes us from within.
      2 Corinthians 3:18 gives us hope of being changed into better people as we keep the Lord first in our life,  "And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this come form the Lord , the Spirit". As we experience the transformation of the Spirit by investing in positive choices we will grow reflect the light of Christ in our world. We need not stay stuck in the negative past.