A fire hose - that's the best way to describe the amount of content poured forth. The dousing isn't dampening, though, it's reinvigorating.
The first session (about 100 minutes!) explored the concept of the Eucharist as a description of our ministry: pouring your life out for another - the pouring is a blessing that is used by the One to reclaim/restore/reconcile/redeem. Their is a pain/suffering element to the daily pouring out of a pastor/minister/volunteer/servant. There is also a resulting need to be filled back up, to be refreshed, renewed, re-energized. Bell discussed some ideas about establishing a rhythm in life, a pattern that helps sustain you, takes into account the scheduled and spontaneous Eucharist moments. Good stuff for Tara and I to discuss. With a young family, a baby on the way, an M.Div to finish up, her work schedule, our personal growth, my ambitions and ministry: how to do real life that sustains shalom at home and is a blessing to others?
The last session of the day (another 100+ minutes) explored how to infuse creativity into ministry. Maybe a better way to describe it: how to do creative ministry like Jesus (who is the Creator...and our model for ministry...). At one level, it was a fun lesson that provided good reminders on ideas already exposed to numerous times. But I need to hear it again and again, since I still have plenty of room to improve in my communication...so I hear.... Bell stressed the idea of "sacramental imagination": God is everywhere, always at work and is always present and open to the Seeker who wants to communicate a message that has been planted deep within the minister. It was highly practical, focusing on the benefits of editing, giving oneself enough time to dwell on the message, expose oneself to many ideas/sources, and focus, focus, focus on the core message. Good stuff.
One of my Elders lovingly assured me that he is always praying for me that my sermons will become more precise. Hopefully today will contribute to that prayer being answered.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Colts Win! Colts Win!
Unbelievable! The Colts finally didn't lose in the last minute in a playoff game - to the Patriots! The Colts are actually going to the Superbowl! Yeah Payton Manning! Yeah Tony Dungy! Yeah the offensive linemen who scored two touchdowns!
Tara and I watched the game together in Grand Rapids, nervous the whole time. The Colts were down 21-3, and we were afraid they couldn't come back. Even at the last play, it just seemed like Brady was going to through for a touchdown. Instead he threw for an interception! Woohoo!
I love watching football with my wife, especially playoff games, especially when the Colts win! What fun! What a comeback!
Friday, January 19, 2007
...the way of peace they do not know.
Paul is advancing the argument in Romans 3 that both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) need God to intervene into their lives.
Paul quotes the Poets and Prophets to illustrate his point: "no one is righteous, no one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned away, they have together become worthless, no one does good, throats are an open grave, tongues practice deciet, poison of vipers is on their lips, mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery mark their ways, the way of peace they do not know, no fear of God before their eyes."
I think Paul has made his point.
But now...
But now the righteousness of God has been made known...
But now...
The righteousness of God - his ability to always do the right thing by somebody...the right thing that is the perfect blend of justice, mercy, truth, grace, judgment, forgiveness, beauty, terror, gloriousness, generosity, purity, love, peace, etc.
...the way of peace they do not know...I think that sums up in one or another the lives of many, many, many people I know.
And God has made known to us the way of peace...it has been given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all who believe/trust.
But now...that phrase always sticks out to me. Last spring I was able to study Karl Barth's theology - and I spent some extra time in his commentary on Romans. He makes a big deal about this phrase "but now...". Something significant has changed the course of your life. A new way has been opened up to you. But now...you can know the way of peace.
Rob Bell preached a series of sermons during the Advent season: Calling all Peacemakers. In the final sermon he exposed the listeners to a barrage of disturbing statistics. On a global scale, the way of peace is not known. But now the way of peace has been made known to a few who trust what God has revealed through Jesus of Nazareth.
I am pursuing the way of peace. With my wife, my children, my family and friends, my church and neighbors. But what about my world as well? God is global. His way has local and global dimensions to it. And so should mine.
If I am pursuing the way of peace righeously, then as I journey on that way, it should result in others also being on the way of peace. It is not about me as an individual being on a way, but all the people that are interconnected with me - we are on the way of peace.
On my own, I cannot find the way of peace - and if I do, it is on my own, a lonely way of peace cut off from a crazy world. Peace at another's expense. Another sign of my falleness - God's glory/beauty/delightfulness/creativity is often so absent in my soul. And my church. And my family and neigbors and community and world. All that is good about God seems so hard to find. But it has been made known...and is being made known.
Oh that my Anchor might be a glorious/beautiful/delightful/creative people faithfully journeying on the way of peace with Jesus everyday. God knows how much our neighbors and world need it.
Paul quotes the Poets and Prophets to illustrate his point: "no one is righteous, no one understands, no one seeks God, all have turned away, they have together become worthless, no one does good, throats are an open grave, tongues practice deciet, poison of vipers is on their lips, mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery mark their ways, the way of peace they do not know, no fear of God before their eyes."
I think Paul has made his point.
But now...
But now the righteousness of God has been made known...
But now...
The righteousness of God - his ability to always do the right thing by somebody...the right thing that is the perfect blend of justice, mercy, truth, grace, judgment, forgiveness, beauty, terror, gloriousness, generosity, purity, love, peace, etc.
...the way of peace they do not know...I think that sums up in one or another the lives of many, many, many people I know.
And God has made known to us the way of peace...it has been given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all who believe/trust.
But now...that phrase always sticks out to me. Last spring I was able to study Karl Barth's theology - and I spent some extra time in his commentary on Romans. He makes a big deal about this phrase "but now...". Something significant has changed the course of your life. A new way has been opened up to you. But now...you can know the way of peace.
Rob Bell preached a series of sermons during the Advent season: Calling all Peacemakers. In the final sermon he exposed the listeners to a barrage of disturbing statistics. On a global scale, the way of peace is not known. But now the way of peace has been made known to a few who trust what God has revealed through Jesus of Nazareth.
I am pursuing the way of peace. With my wife, my children, my family and friends, my church and neighbors. But what about my world as well? God is global. His way has local and global dimensions to it. And so should mine.
If I am pursuing the way of peace righeously, then as I journey on that way, it should result in others also being on the way of peace. It is not about me as an individual being on a way, but all the people that are interconnected with me - we are on the way of peace.
On my own, I cannot find the way of peace - and if I do, it is on my own, a lonely way of peace cut off from a crazy world. Peace at another's expense. Another sign of my falleness - God's glory/beauty/delightfulness/creativity is often so absent in my soul. And my church. And my family and neigbors and community and world. All that is good about God seems so hard to find. But it has been made known...and is being made known.
Oh that my Anchor might be a glorious/beautiful/delightful/creative people faithfully journeying on the way of peace with Jesus everyday. God knows how much our neighbors and world need it.
Emma's Note to: Levi and Isaac, and to Mommy, and to Miss Jill and Miss Tracy
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Walk on Water
Matthew 14 includes the famous story of Jesus and Peter walking on the water together.
The setting:
Jesus feeds five thousand men, along with their wives and children, with bread and fish that came from a little boy. Everybody had their fill and each disciple had a basket of leftovers to take home. Call it "Broken Bread Buffet".
Then Jesus makes the disciples get in a boat and head to the other side of Lake Gennesaret (a quaint lake nestled in a bowl of mountains and rugged hills...which makes it susceptible to sudden, violent wind storms).
Jesus gets away to pray - it's been an intense day. "Father, how did I do? What do you want me to do next? Thank you!"
Jesus looks up from his perch on the moutain ledge and sees his buddies caught in a violent windstorm in the middle of the lake. So he walks out to them.
It says - and this is what we call gospel humor - "When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear." Ha! A violent windstorm is nothing. But a ghost...
Anyway, Jesus tells them to take courage, it's him, don't be afraid.
Peter still thinks it is a ghost. He tests the "ghost" to see if it really is Jesus. What a crazy test: if it's you, tell me to walk on water, because a ghost would not tell you to do something like that...a real person might, but not a spirit-being from the netherworld.
Jesus, proving that he is not a ghost, says to come. And Peter, being convinced it is Jesus, comes out on the water. What a fascinating experience those first steps must have been. The tentative toe touching the turbulent water...the foot sinks into the water maybe a quarter of an inch, and Peter bounces his leg lightly, just to see if it is real...then he slowly swings his other leg out of the boat, his belly resting on the boat's edge...testing the water, to see if it will hold his weight. And then he slowly lowers his body so that both feet are resting on the watertop, and he lets go of the boat. Was he smiling? Were the other disciples laughing? I'm assuming the storm is still going on... what a crazy, crazy story.
And so Peter shuffles towards Jesus, but before he gets to him, his eyes catch the fierce wind and the stormy waves...and he gets afraid...of what? Of getting wet? Of falling down? Does he think that if the wind knocks him down he'll sink? Once he starts fearing sinking, his fear becomes true (just like in a nightmare with ghosts...). And he yells out Jesus' name: Jesus (which means God saves).
Jesus immediately grabs his hand...and in that position, Peter's body submerged in the green, churning waters, his arm clasped by Jesus: the Savior says "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Apparently it only took a little bit of faith for Peter to walk on water. I think Jesus was surprised at the doubt. And I think he really wanted Peter to ponder that question. It wasn't said to shame Peter. It was meant to instruct Peter. Of course he is embarrased, what guy wouldn't be. But to have come so far with Jesus, and then still doubt...sounds like me.
Peter trusted Jesus up front. But in the middle of the walk, the trust wavered. The wind was scary. Life gets scary, uncertain, overscheduled, self-absorbed, sad, etc. And all of those real "winds" can make us fear for our life and doubt Jesus.
It bugs me that I'm a doubter. I doubt Jesus too much. I see the wind while I'm walking on water. Jesus does great things in my life, my church, my family and friends, neighbors...it's like I'm walking on water...and then I see all this stuff...and I doubt.
But only for awhile. Because the winds die down. And Jesus is still there. And he still goes on doing his work of setting people free from what ails them - bringing them shalom. And he keeps using me to bring people shalom, and I keep witnessing him doing it, and with my little faith (which he gave me) I keep letting him help me keep walking with him.
The setting:
Jesus feeds five thousand men, along with their wives and children, with bread and fish that came from a little boy. Everybody had their fill and each disciple had a basket of leftovers to take home. Call it "Broken Bread Buffet".
Then Jesus makes the disciples get in a boat and head to the other side of Lake Gennesaret (a quaint lake nestled in a bowl of mountains and rugged hills...which makes it susceptible to sudden, violent wind storms).
Jesus gets away to pray - it's been an intense day. "Father, how did I do? What do you want me to do next? Thank you!"
Jesus looks up from his perch on the moutain ledge and sees his buddies caught in a violent windstorm in the middle of the lake. So he walks out to them.
It says - and this is what we call gospel humor - "When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 'It's a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear." Ha! A violent windstorm is nothing. But a ghost...
Anyway, Jesus tells them to take courage, it's him, don't be afraid.
Peter still thinks it is a ghost. He tests the "ghost" to see if it really is Jesus. What a crazy test: if it's you, tell me to walk on water, because a ghost would not tell you to do something like that...a real person might, but not a spirit-being from the netherworld.
Jesus, proving that he is not a ghost, says to come. And Peter, being convinced it is Jesus, comes out on the water. What a fascinating experience those first steps must have been. The tentative toe touching the turbulent water...the foot sinks into the water maybe a quarter of an inch, and Peter bounces his leg lightly, just to see if it is real...then he slowly swings his other leg out of the boat, his belly resting on the boat's edge...testing the water, to see if it will hold his weight. And then he slowly lowers his body so that both feet are resting on the watertop, and he lets go of the boat. Was he smiling? Were the other disciples laughing? I'm assuming the storm is still going on... what a crazy, crazy story.
And so Peter shuffles towards Jesus, but before he gets to him, his eyes catch the fierce wind and the stormy waves...and he gets afraid...of what? Of getting wet? Of falling down? Does he think that if the wind knocks him down he'll sink? Once he starts fearing sinking, his fear becomes true (just like in a nightmare with ghosts...). And he yells out Jesus' name: Jesus (which means God saves).
Jesus immediately grabs his hand...and in that position, Peter's body submerged in the green, churning waters, his arm clasped by Jesus: the Savior says "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Apparently it only took a little bit of faith for Peter to walk on water. I think Jesus was surprised at the doubt. And I think he really wanted Peter to ponder that question. It wasn't said to shame Peter. It was meant to instruct Peter. Of course he is embarrased, what guy wouldn't be. But to have come so far with Jesus, and then still doubt...sounds like me.
Peter trusted Jesus up front. But in the middle of the walk, the trust wavered. The wind was scary. Life gets scary, uncertain, overscheduled, self-absorbed, sad, etc. And all of those real "winds" can make us fear for our life and doubt Jesus.
It bugs me that I'm a doubter. I doubt Jesus too much. I see the wind while I'm walking on water. Jesus does great things in my life, my church, my family and friends, neighbors...it's like I'm walking on water...and then I see all this stuff...and I doubt.
But only for awhile. Because the winds die down. And Jesus is still there. And he still goes on doing his work of setting people free from what ails them - bringing them shalom. And he keeps using me to bring people shalom, and I keep witnessing him doing it, and with my little faith (which he gave me) I keep letting him help me keep walking with him.
Humility
Humility is a form of love. Pride is a form of apathy.
A person who chooses humility chooses to see the other person (a friend, an enemy, an acquantance, a partner, a nobody, a somebody, etc) as Imago Dei - made in the image of God.
Humility requires treating that "other" - no matter what - with honor, dignity, love.
Humility is what keeps justice from becoming vengeance.
Even if someone has wronged you, responding with humility keeps you from becoming like the wrongdoer, and humility helps you respond with a restorative justice (called discipline) rather then resentful punishment (called revenge).
When confronted with a difficult person (difficult situations often include a difficulty with a person), humility is the way of Jesus - for as Proverbs and Peter say "love covers over a multitude of sins", but "pride comes before a fall."
If you are like me, humility is hard. Unless it is convenient. But then is it really humility? Love is the hard thing.
For me, I have to make two kinds of decisions in regard to humility. First, I have to decide, up front, that I am going to treat all people in my life with humility. Second, I have to choose, in the midst of each encounter with each person, to be humble. With Tara, with Emma, with Levi, with Isaac, with my folks and aunts and brothers and sisters and everyone else in my family, with my neighbors, with my Elders, with my staff, with my ministry volunteers, with my fellow worshippers, with my students, with my fellow pastors and neighborhood churches.
Sometimes the temptation is not to care about difficult people in my life. That is apathy. And that is a form of pride. And pride leads to my destruction. So, ironically, in my own self interest, I choose humility, love - which is other centered.
The way of Jesus is humility/love, not pride/apathy.
Who are you having a hard time being humble towards?
Seek wisdom/understanding and pray, pray, pray for strength to persevere in humility.
A person who chooses humility chooses to see the other person (a friend, an enemy, an acquantance, a partner, a nobody, a somebody, etc) as Imago Dei - made in the image of God.
Humility requires treating that "other" - no matter what - with honor, dignity, love.
Humility is what keeps justice from becoming vengeance.
Even if someone has wronged you, responding with humility keeps you from becoming like the wrongdoer, and humility helps you respond with a restorative justice (called discipline) rather then resentful punishment (called revenge).
When confronted with a difficult person (difficult situations often include a difficulty with a person), humility is the way of Jesus - for as Proverbs and Peter say "love covers over a multitude of sins", but "pride comes before a fall."
If you are like me, humility is hard. Unless it is convenient. But then is it really humility? Love is the hard thing.
For me, I have to make two kinds of decisions in regard to humility. First, I have to decide, up front, that I am going to treat all people in my life with humility. Second, I have to choose, in the midst of each encounter with each person, to be humble. With Tara, with Emma, with Levi, with Isaac, with my folks and aunts and brothers and sisters and everyone else in my family, with my neighbors, with my Elders, with my staff, with my ministry volunteers, with my fellow worshippers, with my students, with my fellow pastors and neighborhood churches.
Sometimes the temptation is not to care about difficult people in my life. That is apathy. And that is a form of pride. And pride leads to my destruction. So, ironically, in my own self interest, I choose humility, love - which is other centered.
The way of Jesus is humility/love, not pride/apathy.
Who are you having a hard time being humble towards?
Seek wisdom/understanding and pray, pray, pray for strength to persevere in humility.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The Kingdom of Heaven is like...
Matthew 13 contains seven parables about the Kingdom of God/Heaven. A parable is a teaching method commonly used by rabbi's. It usually consists of taking a common task/object/event and using it to illustrate a spiritual truth. And as evidenced by the disciples, and Jesus' own explanation, they were not lessons easily grasped. Lucky for us, Matthew includes Jesus own explanation of two parables - the seeds and the weeds.
An observation: Jesus was a brilliant rabbi - his parables were memorable, yet difficult to grasp. It seemed that the wrestling with the parable was more valuable then "getting" the parable. If it was too easy to grasp. it was too easy to forget. And truth is not something discerned lightly or frivously. And Jesus is not always easy to understand. So take heart - if you read the Gospels, but find yourself mystified at some of Jesus' behavior/teachings, you are in good company.
The truth that Jesus was teaching through the parables concerned the Kingdom of Heaven/God. His first sermon in Mat 4 was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Kingdom of Heaven/God is Jesus' way of encapsulating many invigorating, scandolous, beautiful ideas into one potent phrase. God's Kingdom is a way to talk about the extent of God's rule. God's rule results in shalom/peace/rightness/justice/hesed (loyal love).
Jesus is referred to in Matthew as "Immanuel", God with us...which matches Jesus' sermon - the Kingdom of God is now Immanuel. Jesus' own name - Yeshua/Joshua means "God saves", which is another result of God's Kingdom amongst us. Of course to be outside of God's KIngdom means you are a citizen of a different kingdom. That kingdom is characterized by darkness, evil, fear, brokeness, blindness, deafness, crippledness, disasedness, etc. When Jesus healed, he was saving - his physical action reflected that person's entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Take time to wrestle with what the parables teach about the kingdom of heaven. Like most of Jesus' teaching, there is an initial grasping...but he is a brilliant teacher who provides layers and layers of understanding, which lead you up to a beautiful understanding of truth.
In a nutshell Jesus is proclaiming: trust me, you really want God's delightful, terrible, beautiful, dreadful, generous rule to envelope your existence.
He's asking you today: do you trust me?
An observation: Jesus was a brilliant rabbi - his parables were memorable, yet difficult to grasp. It seemed that the wrestling with the parable was more valuable then "getting" the parable. If it was too easy to grasp. it was too easy to forget. And truth is not something discerned lightly or frivously. And Jesus is not always easy to understand. So take heart - if you read the Gospels, but find yourself mystified at some of Jesus' behavior/teachings, you are in good company.
The truth that Jesus was teaching through the parables concerned the Kingdom of Heaven/God. His first sermon in Mat 4 was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Kingdom of Heaven/God is Jesus' way of encapsulating many invigorating, scandolous, beautiful ideas into one potent phrase. God's Kingdom is a way to talk about the extent of God's rule. God's rule results in shalom/peace/rightness/justice/hesed (loyal love).
Jesus is referred to in Matthew as "Immanuel", God with us...which matches Jesus' sermon - the Kingdom of God is now Immanuel. Jesus' own name - Yeshua/Joshua means "God saves", which is another result of God's Kingdom amongst us. Of course to be outside of God's KIngdom means you are a citizen of a different kingdom. That kingdom is characterized by darkness, evil, fear, brokeness, blindness, deafness, crippledness, disasedness, etc. When Jesus healed, he was saving - his physical action reflected that person's entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Take time to wrestle with what the parables teach about the kingdom of heaven. Like most of Jesus' teaching, there is an initial grasping...but he is a brilliant teacher who provides layers and layers of understanding, which lead you up to a beautiful understanding of truth.
In a nutshell Jesus is proclaiming: trust me, you really want God's delightful, terrible, beautiful, dreadful, generous rule to envelope your existence.
He's asking you today: do you trust me?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Friendly? Yes. Friendships? No.
That describes Anchor. Sort of.
We work hard to be a friendly church to everybody who comes through the doors of our facility. No matter what you look like, smell like, sound like, walk like, etc - you'll get a genuine smile and handshake from us. Hot coffee, cold O.J. tasty snacks, comfy chairs, good music and message. We're a welcoming, hospitable group of people. And that is very important, especially if you are contemplating inviting a friend to Anchor. Most people, if invited, are willing to come to chuch with you. So if you ask, and they say yes, when you walk through the door together, you want a friendly atmosphere for lots of good reasons.
But what happens if your friend likes Anchor. And wants to come back again. And again. And again. After awhile one would think that the friendliness would lead to friendships. But it seems, based on different kinds of feedback (conversations, surveys, patterns of attendance/participation, etc), that newer people aren't feeling like they can fit in. And these are people that came to Anchor because someone at Anchor they knew invited them.
So how does Anchor move from being a friendly place, to a friendly place where you can make friends.
First: be part of events where some task is taking place. Have fun together. Serve together. Play together. Travel together. Eat together. Study together. Sing together. I hope you get the picture.
Second: be intentional about asking questions to learn about the other person. Ask about their job, school, family, hobbies, interesting experiences, etc. Obviously a caring attitude goes a long way.
Third: If they ask questions about you, have fun sharing some of your stories.
Four: Pray for them during the week when you think of them.
Five: Check in on them when you don't see them around.
Being in a group that meets often is a great way to make friends. You have a regularly scheduled timeslot in your week carved out for the same people each week. Whether this is a classic small group, or a Bible study group, or a ministry group, or whatever kind of group, getting in a group that meets regularly is a classic way to make friends. As long as you enter into it with the willingness to be/have a friend.
Can someone have too many friends? No.
Can someone have too many bestfriends? Maybe.
Have I just described a way to have a bestfriend? No.
Should you treat/view every friend as a bestfriend? No.
Should you be a friend to more people. Probably.
Love knows no limits. If you need more love, then go to God to get more love. Often times it is not time, energy, resources, schedule, health that limits your friendships. It is love. When you love others, love finds a way to be a friend.
First commit to loving more people (aka being a friend), and then secondly let the Holy Spirit help you sort out the time/energy/resources/schedule/health things.
You can only love/be a friend God's way with God's help. And with God's help, Anchor can be a great place where people who come to Anchor can make good friends. Our neighborhood/city needs Anchor to be that kind of place. You need Anchor to be that kind of place.
Some of you are working hard to be a friend to more people. Good. If you know of others at Anchor that you think need to open up their hearts to more love, so that they can be a friend to more people - pray for them. And love them too.
Love. Everday.
We work hard to be a friendly church to everybody who comes through the doors of our facility. No matter what you look like, smell like, sound like, walk like, etc - you'll get a genuine smile and handshake from us. Hot coffee, cold O.J. tasty snacks, comfy chairs, good music and message. We're a welcoming, hospitable group of people. And that is very important, especially if you are contemplating inviting a friend to Anchor. Most people, if invited, are willing to come to chuch with you. So if you ask, and they say yes, when you walk through the door together, you want a friendly atmosphere for lots of good reasons.
But what happens if your friend likes Anchor. And wants to come back again. And again. And again. After awhile one would think that the friendliness would lead to friendships. But it seems, based on different kinds of feedback (conversations, surveys, patterns of attendance/participation, etc), that newer people aren't feeling like they can fit in. And these are people that came to Anchor because someone at Anchor they knew invited them.
So how does Anchor move from being a friendly place, to a friendly place where you can make friends.
First: be part of events where some task is taking place. Have fun together. Serve together. Play together. Travel together. Eat together. Study together. Sing together. I hope you get the picture.
Second: be intentional about asking questions to learn about the other person. Ask about their job, school, family, hobbies, interesting experiences, etc. Obviously a caring attitude goes a long way.
Third: If they ask questions about you, have fun sharing some of your stories.
Four: Pray for them during the week when you think of them.
Five: Check in on them when you don't see them around.
Being in a group that meets often is a great way to make friends. You have a regularly scheduled timeslot in your week carved out for the same people each week. Whether this is a classic small group, or a Bible study group, or a ministry group, or whatever kind of group, getting in a group that meets regularly is a classic way to make friends. As long as you enter into it with the willingness to be/have a friend.
Can someone have too many friends? No.
Can someone have too many bestfriends? Maybe.
Have I just described a way to have a bestfriend? No.
Should you treat/view every friend as a bestfriend? No.
Should you be a friend to more people. Probably.
Love knows no limits. If you need more love, then go to God to get more love. Often times it is not time, energy, resources, schedule, health that limits your friendships. It is love. When you love others, love finds a way to be a friend.
First commit to loving more people (aka being a friend), and then secondly let the Holy Spirit help you sort out the time/energy/resources/schedule/health things.
You can only love/be a friend God's way with God's help. And with God's help, Anchor can be a great place where people who come to Anchor can make good friends. Our neighborhood/city needs Anchor to be that kind of place. You need Anchor to be that kind of place.
Some of you are working hard to be a friend to more people. Good. If you know of others at Anchor that you think need to open up their hearts to more love, so that they can be a friend to more people - pray for them. And love them too.
Love. Everday.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Micah 6:8 & Deuteronomy 10:12
"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
That is a famous piece of prophetic Scripture, I heard it several times this MLK weekend. Like almost all of the prophets, their material is not original with them: it comes from Deuteronomy. And Micah, like most prophets, knew Deuteronomy. And so did Jesus. And so should we.
"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the LORD your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and soul..."
This sounds similar to Jesus' version of the Great Commandment Part 1.
One theme of Jesus' ministry is this: Walk His Way.
He came to show us how to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
He came to enable us to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
He came to call us to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
And Jesus gave us his version of the Torah. He is the new Moses.
Jesus was a prophet, like Micah, like Isaiah. He brings back to life the heart of the Torah, he vividly reminds us of the Covenant - it's blessings and curses. He compels his hearers, pleads, inspires us to respond rightly to God. To walk his way.
So what is a Christian? One who Walks His Way.
And like those first followers, I can be thickhearted and stiffnecked as I walk his way. How do I know if I'm straying or displeasing God? When I'm thickhearted and stiffnecked towards people who I live with, work with, shop with and play with. Walking God's Way has direct correlation to how I treat other people. As Micah points out. And Isaiah. And Jesus.
O LORD, soften my heart and relax my neck, torah (instruct) me, that I might walk your way and be a blessing (with all my heart, mind, soul) to the people I meet today.
That is a famous piece of prophetic Scripture, I heard it several times this MLK weekend. Like almost all of the prophets, their material is not original with them: it comes from Deuteronomy. And Micah, like most prophets, knew Deuteronomy. And so did Jesus. And so should we.
"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the LORD your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul and soul..."
This sounds similar to Jesus' version of the Great Commandment Part 1.
One theme of Jesus' ministry is this: Walk His Way.
He came to show us how to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
He came to enable us to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
He came to call us to walk God's way, as outlined in the Torah.
And Jesus gave us his version of the Torah. He is the new Moses.
Jesus was a prophet, like Micah, like Isaiah. He brings back to life the heart of the Torah, he vividly reminds us of the Covenant - it's blessings and curses. He compels his hearers, pleads, inspires us to respond rightly to God. To walk his way.
So what is a Christian? One who Walks His Way.
And like those first followers, I can be thickhearted and stiffnecked as I walk his way. How do I know if I'm straying or displeasing God? When I'm thickhearted and stiffnecked towards people who I live with, work with, shop with and play with. Walking God's Way has direct correlation to how I treat other people. As Micah points out. And Isaiah. And Jesus.
O LORD, soften my heart and relax my neck, torah (instruct) me, that I might walk your way and be a blessing (with all my heart, mind, soul) to the people I meet today.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Joel the Buddhist and MLK Day
At 8am this morning Russ Baker and I sat in the TUFW dining hall to remember MLK and his legacy. I didn't know what to expect, I'd never heard of the speaker - all I know is that the Mayor's office emailed my church an invitation and I accepted.
As I walked into the facility, I met a guy about my age. We said hello to each other. We exchanged names. I asked him what he did: he said he was a youth leader for a Buddhist organization based in LA - he oversaw the Midwest region of 15 states. So I asked him to sit next to me, and then I introduced him to Russ.
Joel the Buddhist was there to honor the nonviolent theme of MLK. I'd never talked with a real person who really believed in another religion. It was a fascinating experience. I asked him how he became a Buddhist. He said he had been a good Catholic kid, went to school at Ball State, where his Terets Syndrome worsened. Doctors were unable to help him. His girlfriend suggested he try Buddhism. Joel, being skeptical, said that if it helped him, he'd convert and promote it for the rest of his life. The Terets was that bad. And Buddhism worked. And now he promotes it.
His story sparked two thoughts: my civil, kind conversation with him was a picture of what America is all about. What made the USA different then pretty much any other nation in the world was that people could practice any religion they wanted. I've only interacted with other Christians of many different stripes. But this was a real life Buddhist sitting next to a evangelical Protestant pastor in an evangelical college dining hall listening to black ministers preach and pray with great power. Fascinating. The other thought: Joel's story sounds like a lot of Christian stories I've heard. What was it about Buddhism that worked? Does Buddhism have any merit? Does it contain any truth? Does it consist of anything that is constructive and beneficial to life as created by God? Apparently it does. But does this undermine or weaken the claims of Jesus about reality? No. Hmmmm...I'll have to be thinking on that one.
And then I had to leave after the breakfast before the main speaker spoke. Two things I'll never forget about the speakers - Mayor Richards read a portion of MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail; and a black woman read a portion of Scripture from Isaiah with such passion and power and intensity...
Go to www.mlkonline.net to read and watch MLK speeches. Do it.
As I walked into the facility, I met a guy about my age. We said hello to each other. We exchanged names. I asked him what he did: he said he was a youth leader for a Buddhist organization based in LA - he oversaw the Midwest region of 15 states. So I asked him to sit next to me, and then I introduced him to Russ.
Joel the Buddhist was there to honor the nonviolent theme of MLK. I'd never talked with a real person who really believed in another religion. It was a fascinating experience. I asked him how he became a Buddhist. He said he had been a good Catholic kid, went to school at Ball State, where his Terets Syndrome worsened. Doctors were unable to help him. His girlfriend suggested he try Buddhism. Joel, being skeptical, said that if it helped him, he'd convert and promote it for the rest of his life. The Terets was that bad. And Buddhism worked. And now he promotes it.
His story sparked two thoughts: my civil, kind conversation with him was a picture of what America is all about. What made the USA different then pretty much any other nation in the world was that people could practice any religion they wanted. I've only interacted with other Christians of many different stripes. But this was a real life Buddhist sitting next to a evangelical Protestant pastor in an evangelical college dining hall listening to black ministers preach and pray with great power. Fascinating. The other thought: Joel's story sounds like a lot of Christian stories I've heard. What was it about Buddhism that worked? Does Buddhism have any merit? Does it contain any truth? Does it consist of anything that is constructive and beneficial to life as created by God? Apparently it does. But does this undermine or weaken the claims of Jesus about reality? No. Hmmmm...I'll have to be thinking on that one.
And then I had to leave after the breakfast before the main speaker spoke. Two things I'll never forget about the speakers - Mayor Richards read a portion of MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail; and a black woman read a portion of Scripture from Isaiah with such passion and power and intensity...
Go to www.mlkonline.net to read and watch MLK speeches. Do it.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Who was Jesus?
C.S. Lewis made the famous quip in his brilliant book Mere Christianity that according to the Gospels, Jesus is either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord. In Matthew 11-12, the characters within the story are trying to determine which category Jesus fits into. If he really is the Lord...then that changes everything. Where are you at? "Wisdom is proved right by her actions."
In the story John the Baptist (Jesus' close cousin) wonders: who is Jesus?
Three cities - Charzin, Bethsaida, Capernaum (Jesus' homebase of ministry!!!) - doubt: who is Jesus?
Pharisees (religous leaders, attorneys of the Torah) - fear: who is Jesus?
Large crowds hoped: who is Jesus?
Jesus' family wondered: who is Jesus?
Sometimes I still find myself trying to sort out: who is Jesus, really?
Soren Kierkegaard argued for the trustworthiness of Scriptures. Some may find his argument too weak, others misguided, but I like it. Kierkegaard asserts that for whatever apparent "mistakes" there may be in the Bible, the essence of the stories reliably convey God's message to us. Kierkegaard goes on to argue that time makes no difference in making it easier or harder to believe in Jesus.
All of that to say: it is right for us to consider our place in the story of Matthew's Jesus. If you were a first century Jew - would you tolerate a Jew like Jesus who claimed to be the LORD's Anointed One to deliver them from exile? Would you believe in Jesus' miracles as proof of his authority to lead his people into a right relationship with Yahweh? Jesus the Rabbi invited his disciples to become like him (normal practice for Rabbi's), but Jesus also chose out his disciples (unlike other Rabbi's who waited to be approached by seekers).
The question for you is not whether you would have become a seeker of God based on Jesus' words/works. The question is: when Jesus approached you, taught you, healed your friends and family, fed your city - would you believe his claims about God and your future?
Who is Jesus? The example/enabler of one who does the Will of God. Jesus says that his family consists of those who do what "my Father in Heaven wants."
Who is Jesus? The trustworthy accounts of Scripture describe him for us - so you decide...
Many times I've had to choose to believe again and again: Jesus is trustworthy, Jesus' words/works have been directed at me - and I have believed him. I believe that Jesus is the only way to "Eternal Life" or as John unpacks it - the Good Life that gets better forever and ever. Other religions teach about some form of "Eternal Life", and I think/believe/choose to follow Jesus and trust his promises. I don't think he is a Liar. And I don't think he is a Lunatic. And I do think he is the LORD's Servant (Matthew 12:18-21/Isaiah 42:1-4).
In the story John the Baptist (Jesus' close cousin) wonders: who is Jesus?
Three cities - Charzin, Bethsaida, Capernaum (Jesus' homebase of ministry!!!) - doubt: who is Jesus?
Pharisees (religous leaders, attorneys of the Torah) - fear: who is Jesus?
Large crowds hoped: who is Jesus?
Jesus' family wondered: who is Jesus?
Sometimes I still find myself trying to sort out: who is Jesus, really?
Soren Kierkegaard argued for the trustworthiness of Scriptures. Some may find his argument too weak, others misguided, but I like it. Kierkegaard asserts that for whatever apparent "mistakes" there may be in the Bible, the essence of the stories reliably convey God's message to us. Kierkegaard goes on to argue that time makes no difference in making it easier or harder to believe in Jesus.
All of that to say: it is right for us to consider our place in the story of Matthew's Jesus. If you were a first century Jew - would you tolerate a Jew like Jesus who claimed to be the LORD's Anointed One to deliver them from exile? Would you believe in Jesus' miracles as proof of his authority to lead his people into a right relationship with Yahweh? Jesus the Rabbi invited his disciples to become like him (normal practice for Rabbi's), but Jesus also chose out his disciples (unlike other Rabbi's who waited to be approached by seekers).
The question for you is not whether you would have become a seeker of God based on Jesus' words/works. The question is: when Jesus approached you, taught you, healed your friends and family, fed your city - would you believe his claims about God and your future?
Who is Jesus? The example/enabler of one who does the Will of God. Jesus says that his family consists of those who do what "my Father in Heaven wants."
Who is Jesus? The trustworthy accounts of Scripture describe him for us - so you decide...
Many times I've had to choose to believe again and again: Jesus is trustworthy, Jesus' words/works have been directed at me - and I have believed him. I believe that Jesus is the only way to "Eternal Life" or as John unpacks it - the Good Life that gets better forever and ever. Other religions teach about some form of "Eternal Life", and I think/believe/choose to follow Jesus and trust his promises. I don't think he is a Liar. And I don't think he is a Lunatic. And I do think he is the LORD's Servant (Matthew 12:18-21/Isaiah 42:1-4).
Friday, January 12, 2007
What Do I Do With The Bad Things I Did?
Romans 2:4-5 (TNIV) -
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience,
not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,
you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed."
I visit a psychologist a couple times of year to help me sort out some things in my normal life, as well as receive wisdom for the decisions I need to make. In doing a personality profile, it came out that I can be very stubborn. To be honest, I didn't really need a personality profile to reveal that truth to me, but I did need it so that I would do something about it. And sad to say, my stubborness is pervasive throughout my life. Stubbornness is the negative side of my patience/perseverance.
And so often I stubbornly refuse to accept the fact that through Jesus I can stand/kneel/live forgiven of my bad deeds. And yet I patiently wait for God to help me accept that fact.
Paul wants us to grasp this fact: most everybody is on a level moral playing field. There are some very vicious people who have committed outrageous crimes against humanity. And then there is everybody else - nobody is perfect, and everybody hurts someone else one way or another. The stubborn heart refuses to repent of any wrongdoing. The repentant heart accepts the truth of its wrongdoing and is willing to find freedom/salvation/forgiveness. Woe to the unrepentant - those blind/deaf/stubborn in how they hurt others.
Paul was writing from the heart on this issue, he is writing in part autobiographically and as a minister. The church in Rome is facing great divisions: racisim between Jews and Gentiles, discrimination: between men and women, in equalities: slavery and poverty, and violence. And he wants these churchmembers who struggle with these issues to be honest and say one at a time: I am in the wrong. Yes I have been wronged. But I also have wronged others. I repent.
Paul needs them to do this, to unite as one so that they can support his missionwork in Spain. When Roman churches are united in heart, they can be a model for the new Spanish converts, as well as a source of goods and services needed to alleviate the poverty there and demonstrate the generosity of Jesus.
God I'm glad that you are rich in kindness, forbearance and patience to me.
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience,
not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,
you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath,
when his righteous judgment will be revealed."
I visit a psychologist a couple times of year to help me sort out some things in my normal life, as well as receive wisdom for the decisions I need to make. In doing a personality profile, it came out that I can be very stubborn. To be honest, I didn't really need a personality profile to reveal that truth to me, but I did need it so that I would do something about it. And sad to say, my stubborness is pervasive throughout my life. Stubbornness is the negative side of my patience/perseverance.
And so often I stubbornly refuse to accept the fact that through Jesus I can stand/kneel/live forgiven of my bad deeds. And yet I patiently wait for God to help me accept that fact.
Paul wants us to grasp this fact: most everybody is on a level moral playing field. There are some very vicious people who have committed outrageous crimes against humanity. And then there is everybody else - nobody is perfect, and everybody hurts someone else one way or another. The stubborn heart refuses to repent of any wrongdoing. The repentant heart accepts the truth of its wrongdoing and is willing to find freedom/salvation/forgiveness. Woe to the unrepentant - those blind/deaf/stubborn in how they hurt others.
Paul was writing from the heart on this issue, he is writing in part autobiographically and as a minister. The church in Rome is facing great divisions: racisim between Jews and Gentiles, discrimination: between men and women, in equalities: slavery and poverty, and violence. And he wants these churchmembers who struggle with these issues to be honest and say one at a time: I am in the wrong. Yes I have been wronged. But I also have wronged others. I repent.
Paul needs them to do this, to unite as one so that they can support his missionwork in Spain. When Roman churches are united in heart, they can be a model for the new Spanish converts, as well as a source of goods and services needed to alleviate the poverty there and demonstrate the generosity of Jesus.
God I'm glad that you are rich in kindness, forbearance and patience to me.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Emma the Dancing Queen
Wednesday I was late picking Emma up from preschool. I arrived as the last van was pulling away. So I left the car running next to the curb and went inside the school in search of my daughter.
I found her with Miss Jill and Miss Tracy in her classroom. They were cleaning up for the day and Emma was sitting in the reading corner with her purple jacket on, looking at a book. I poked my head in the door to make sure Emma was still there, and my daughter leapt out of her chair and charged straight at me screaming: "Daddy" - ah, sweet music to my ears!
So as I'm hugging her and greeting her with my traditional "Hey there sweetie pie", I asked how her day went. Fine she said. I apologized to the teachers for being late and told them I appreciated them letting Emma stay a few extra minutes. They said it was no problem, Emma was wonderful (of course).
Then they asked me if we square danced at our house. I thought it an odd question. I replied, "Well...um...we dance...sometimes in a square like fashion...but it's not really square dancing...why do you ask?"
They said that today Emma led the whole class in a dance. Miss Tracy proceeded to demonstrate the dance. I told her that I'd never seen that dance before. Emma must have made it up from her imaginative little head. Miss Jill laughed. She said Emma was a born leader. I laughed.
I asked Emma, "Where did you learn that dance?" According to Miss Tracy's demonstration, it consisted of everyone standing in a line holding hands, and then Emma would sing a song and everyone would move forward according to the words of the song, and then move back a few steps at Emma's command. Kind of like a line dance - one made up by a three year old.
Emma replied, "Well, I kind of made it up!"
"What do you call your dance?"
"Well, I call it the 'Tree Dance'."
"The Tree Dance? Why?"
"Because."
"Oh."
So now Emma has taught her brothers, mother and grandmother to do the Tree Dance. I tried to get her to show me her dance moves this morning, but no luck. Argh.
I found her with Miss Jill and Miss Tracy in her classroom. They were cleaning up for the day and Emma was sitting in the reading corner with her purple jacket on, looking at a book. I poked my head in the door to make sure Emma was still there, and my daughter leapt out of her chair and charged straight at me screaming: "Daddy" - ah, sweet music to my ears!
So as I'm hugging her and greeting her with my traditional "Hey there sweetie pie", I asked how her day went. Fine she said. I apologized to the teachers for being late and told them I appreciated them letting Emma stay a few extra minutes. They said it was no problem, Emma was wonderful (of course).
Then they asked me if we square danced at our house. I thought it an odd question. I replied, "Well...um...we dance...sometimes in a square like fashion...but it's not really square dancing...why do you ask?"
They said that today Emma led the whole class in a dance. Miss Tracy proceeded to demonstrate the dance. I told her that I'd never seen that dance before. Emma must have made it up from her imaginative little head. Miss Jill laughed. She said Emma was a born leader. I laughed.
I asked Emma, "Where did you learn that dance?" According to Miss Tracy's demonstration, it consisted of everyone standing in a line holding hands, and then Emma would sing a song and everyone would move forward according to the words of the song, and then move back a few steps at Emma's command. Kind of like a line dance - one made up by a three year old.
Emma replied, "Well, I kind of made it up!"
"What do you call your dance?"
"Well, I call it the 'Tree Dance'."
"The Tree Dance? Why?"
"Because."
"Oh."
So now Emma has taught her brothers, mother and grandmother to do the Tree Dance. I tried to get her to show me her dance moves this morning, but no luck. Argh.
Sing Isaiah Sing
Isaiah 4-6 has an emotionally charged song that in one sense defines the first thirty-nine chapters of the book.
The first line: "I will sing for the one I love..." One can imagine a sweet, strong voice crooning this line, but the song quickly becomes a lament...maybe it would be a classic country song. "Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit."
And the rest of the song is defined by this deep ache, this bewildering betrayal, a broken heart: after all I did for you in the name of love...why? The song has six "woes", "woe to you...", here is what I will do to you because of what you did to me.
God's song is one of revenge - vs12 "but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands. Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding."
God's Vengeance Song is difficult to listen to. It seems out of character. Yet it is necessary. What kind of world is it where the Creator lets injustice, wickedness, evil go unpunished? Vs7 "The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but he saw bloodshed; for righteousness but heard cries of distress.
All these lyrics about God taking revenge is not only for His own sake, but in response to the cries of the wronged, the wounded, the helpless, the abused, the forgotten, the crushed, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans, the crippled, the lame, the blind, the impoverished and imprisoned. What would you do if you were the one hearing these cries?
Vs22 "Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champion at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." Don't assume that this verse prohibits keg parties and bartending. Note the metaphor: what is Yahweh's title for his people: a vineyard...this song brilliantly uses the abuse of wine to carry a double meaning - getting drunk on wine/misusing/overusing the fruit of the vine is another way of talking about misusing/overusing/abusing fellow Israelites (who are refered to as grapes). In one way or another, some gets hurt when the fruit of the vine is abused.
Hear O Israel. Lack of understanding leads to exile. Understanding leads to justice and righteousness.
God listens to the cries of the distressed, he sees and smells and hears the bloodshed.
And it angers him. He wants to make things right. He uses those who listen to him.
How can we who listen to God not also listen to these same cries and not get angry for the sake of justice and righteousness?
The first line: "I will sing for the one I love..." One can imagine a sweet, strong voice crooning this line, but the song quickly becomes a lament...maybe it would be a classic country song. "Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit."
And the rest of the song is defined by this deep ache, this bewildering betrayal, a broken heart: after all I did for you in the name of love...why? The song has six "woes", "woe to you...", here is what I will do to you because of what you did to me.
God's song is one of revenge - vs12 "but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands. Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding."
God's Vengeance Song is difficult to listen to. It seems out of character. Yet it is necessary. What kind of world is it where the Creator lets injustice, wickedness, evil go unpunished? Vs7 "The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but he saw bloodshed; for righteousness but heard cries of distress.
All these lyrics about God taking revenge is not only for His own sake, but in response to the cries of the wronged, the wounded, the helpless, the abused, the forgotten, the crushed, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans, the crippled, the lame, the blind, the impoverished and imprisoned. What would you do if you were the one hearing these cries?
Vs22 "Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champion at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." Don't assume that this verse prohibits keg parties and bartending. Note the metaphor: what is Yahweh's title for his people: a vineyard...this song brilliantly uses the abuse of wine to carry a double meaning - getting drunk on wine/misusing/overusing the fruit of the vine is another way of talking about misusing/overusing/abusing fellow Israelites (who are refered to as grapes). In one way or another, some gets hurt when the fruit of the vine is abused.
Hear O Israel. Lack of understanding leads to exile. Understanding leads to justice and righteousness.
God listens to the cries of the distressed, he sees and smells and hears the bloodshed.
And it angers him. He wants to make things right. He uses those who listen to him.
How can we who listen to God not also listen to these same cries and not get angry for the sake of justice and righteousness?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Torah Quotes
Deuteronomy 6 is a core piece of our theology and story.
Here are some quotes by Jewish rabbis concerning some of the themes found in this chapter.
Vs. 5 "you shall love..."
"One who serves a master out of fear will always seek ways of escaping his obligations. But for one who serves out of love, obedience is a source of joy" (Sifrei)
Vs.6 "take to heart" or "they shall be upon your heart"
"Why 'upon' rather than 'in' your heart? Much of the time, a person's heart is closed, not ready to receive these words. Let the words remain outside, on the heart, until the day when circumstances break the heart open and the words of the Torah can enter." (Menahem Mendel of Kotzk)
Vs16 "do not try/test the LORD"
"Do not test God by demanding miracles, nor lose faith in God when miracles do not occur. True love does not require constant proofs of its genuineness. Rely instead on the memories of what God did for your ancestors." (pg1028, Etz Hayim)
Here are some quotes by Jewish rabbis concerning some of the themes found in this chapter.
Vs. 5 "you shall love..."
"One who serves a master out of fear will always seek ways of escaping his obligations. But for one who serves out of love, obedience is a source of joy" (Sifrei)
Vs.6 "take to heart" or "they shall be upon your heart"
"Why 'upon' rather than 'in' your heart? Much of the time, a person's heart is closed, not ready to receive these words. Let the words remain outside, on the heart, until the day when circumstances break the heart open and the words of the Torah can enter." (Menahem Mendel of Kotzk)
Vs16 "do not try/test the LORD"
"Do not test God by demanding miracles, nor lose faith in God when miracles do not occur. True love does not require constant proofs of its genuineness. Rely instead on the memories of what God did for your ancestors." (pg1028, Etz Hayim)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Ten Commandments 2.0
The 10 commandments found in Deuteronomy are similar to the ones found in Exodus. The biggest difference is that the Exodus 10 commandments are given to a slavepeople isolated in the wilderness with no sense of nationhood and little knowledge of God. The Deuteronomic ten commandments are given to an established people who have a vivid history with God, who have begun to establish cities and towns and at this point, forty years later, have a developing government and religious system.
The first four commandments center around honoring God. The second six commandments center around honoring humans. Honor to God is described as exclusive (only have one god - Yahweh), as experiential (not image/object oriented - Yahweh wants love, not lofty religiosity), as earnestness (don't use his name to take advantage of others); honor to Yahweh is also described as enjoyment (everybody rest, relax, reflect, restore one day a week due to God's work in the past - Creation & Exodus).
The final six commandments flesh out how honoring God is incarnated in honoring humans (who are made in the image of God). In all of humanity, your parents are to receive the most honor - God ties a clear blessing (and curse) to it - very very important! For the rest of humanity - particularly your family, friends and enemies, neighborhood and city, there are five commandments that are found in almost every code of laws in almost every culture (see Romans 1 and the argument Paul makes for people's ability to know something significant of God).
Murder is not the same as killing; murder is unjust killing - whether on purpose or by accident. Just killing is not murder. God often requires just killing - of those who oppose his covenant from within and without.
Committing adultery is defined as a married woman having voluntary sexual relations with a man other then her husband; it does not apply to a man having voluntary sexual relations with a woman other than his wife, since as a polygamist he may have several wives.
Stealing in an agricultural society ought to bring up images of the Wild West: horse stealing, cattle rustling, sheep swiping, refencing of fields, etc. They also did not have a Western-Enlightenment obssession with property rights (both land and possessions) that we Americans focus on excessivly.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor is not the same as a prohibition against lying. Sometimes lying is the right, just thing to do. It refers to a legal system rooted in an oral society, not one with paper trails. In legal situations at court, tell the truth.
Coveting is also known as craving, it is an dishonoring attitude, not an action like the previous four prohibitions. Coveting is listed last because it is often the root of murder, adultery, stealing and falsity.
In a society where a few had too much and most had too little, coveting was a serious issue. You dishonor those with too little when you crave and cling to too much.
In a society where too many have too much, coveting becomes disgusting and blatantly dishonoring. And so do the four sins that follow in its wake.
The Ten Commandments do not need to be posted in any courthouse in order to impact our society. They need to be taken more seriously by those who claim to believe in them.
Odds are that having read this post, if you then closed your eyes, you could not recite all ten commandments in order.
You remember what you care about. Devote yourself to honoring God and honoring humanity, in that order, in all things. Care about that more than...
The first four commandments center around honoring God. The second six commandments center around honoring humans. Honor to God is described as exclusive (only have one god - Yahweh), as experiential (not image/object oriented - Yahweh wants love, not lofty religiosity), as earnestness (don't use his name to take advantage of others); honor to Yahweh is also described as enjoyment (everybody rest, relax, reflect, restore one day a week due to God's work in the past - Creation & Exodus).
The final six commandments flesh out how honoring God is incarnated in honoring humans (who are made in the image of God). In all of humanity, your parents are to receive the most honor - God ties a clear blessing (and curse) to it - very very important! For the rest of humanity - particularly your family, friends and enemies, neighborhood and city, there are five commandments that are found in almost every code of laws in almost every culture (see Romans 1 and the argument Paul makes for people's ability to know something significant of God).
Murder is not the same as killing; murder is unjust killing - whether on purpose or by accident. Just killing is not murder. God often requires just killing - of those who oppose his covenant from within and without.
Committing adultery is defined as a married woman having voluntary sexual relations with a man other then her husband; it does not apply to a man having voluntary sexual relations with a woman other than his wife, since as a polygamist he may have several wives.
Stealing in an agricultural society ought to bring up images of the Wild West: horse stealing, cattle rustling, sheep swiping, refencing of fields, etc. They also did not have a Western-Enlightenment obssession with property rights (both land and possessions) that we Americans focus on excessivly.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor is not the same as a prohibition against lying. Sometimes lying is the right, just thing to do. It refers to a legal system rooted in an oral society, not one with paper trails. In legal situations at court, tell the truth.
Coveting is also known as craving, it is an dishonoring attitude, not an action like the previous four prohibitions. Coveting is listed last because it is often the root of murder, adultery, stealing and falsity.
In a society where a few had too much and most had too little, coveting was a serious issue. You dishonor those with too little when you crave and cling to too much.
In a society where too many have too much, coveting becomes disgusting and blatantly dishonoring. And so do the four sins that follow in its wake.
The Ten Commandments do not need to be posted in any courthouse in order to impact our society. They need to be taken more seriously by those who claim to believe in them.
Odds are that having read this post, if you then closed your eyes, you could not recite all ten commandments in order.
You remember what you care about. Devote yourself to honoring God and honoring humanity, in that order, in all things. Care about that more than...
Quotes - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday 1/15 is MLK Day in the United States.
Only once in my life, while I was in college, have I ever acknowledged the day. Or the man. In the past few years I've become more curious about him, but I've never taken much time to learn about him. But now I am going to preach a sermon on Sunday similar to the themes of MLK's messages. And on Monday I am planning on attending a breakfast where MLK will be remembered and honored. MLK's works and words have been inspiring as well as disturbing to me. My journey in life and ministry will be informed by MLK for some time to come.
These quotes below were thought provoking for me, may they be so for you.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Only once in my life, while I was in college, have I ever acknowledged the day. Or the man. In the past few years I've become more curious about him, but I've never taken much time to learn about him. But now I am going to preach a sermon on Sunday similar to the themes of MLK's messages. And on Monday I am planning on attending a breakfast where MLK will be remembered and honored. MLK's works and words have been inspiring as well as disturbing to me. My journey in life and ministry will be informed by MLK for some time to come.
These quotes below were thought provoking for me, may they be so for you.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Experiencing the Yahweh of Deuteronomy
"For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, and impassioned God." Deuteronomy 4:24
God is a jealous judge. This is good if you are righteous. When evil is done to you, he'll be all over it. And if you, the righteous one, dabble in wrongdoing, in turning away from Him, he'll be all over you. He can't stand it when you give your affections to another. He is jealous.
What happens if you are in a covenant relationship with God and you disobey him? For the Israelites, this meant exile - physically and spiritually (Deut 4:27-28).
But what happens then? God is jealous, he wants his people back...so he says in Deut 4:29-31 (JPS)
But if you search there (while in exile) for the LORD your God,
you will find Him,
if only you seek Him with all your heart and soul -
when you are in distress because all these things have befallen you
and, in the end, return to the LORD your God and obey Him.
For the LORD your God is a compassionate God:
He will not fail you
nor will he let you perish;
He will not forget the covenant which He made on oath with your fathers.
(This text echoes throughout Scripture: Jeremiah 31, Isaiah 61, Luke 15, John 3, Romans 5-6, Hebrews 13).
Jesus is the One who brought these words to our existence and experience.
But what does it mean for a non-Jew like you and me if we are not in a covenant with God like Israel?
God is a jealous judge. This is good if you are righteous. When evil is done to you, he'll be all over it. And if you, the righteous one, dabble in wrongdoing, in turning away from Him, he'll be all over you. He can't stand it when you give your affections to another. He is jealous.
What happens if you are in a covenant relationship with God and you disobey him? For the Israelites, this meant exile - physically and spiritually (Deut 4:27-28).
But what happens then? God is jealous, he wants his people back...so he says in Deut 4:29-31 (JPS)
But if you search there (while in exile) for the LORD your God,
you will find Him,
if only you seek Him with all your heart and soul -
when you are in distress because all these things have befallen you
and, in the end, return to the LORD your God and obey Him.
For the LORD your God is a compassionate God:
He will not fail you
nor will he let you perish;
He will not forget the covenant which He made on oath with your fathers.
(This text echoes throughout Scripture: Jeremiah 31, Isaiah 61, Luke 15, John 3, Romans 5-6, Hebrews 13).
Jesus is the One who brought these words to our existence and experience.
But what does it mean for a non-Jew like you and me if we are not in a covenant with God like Israel?
Parents - tell your story to your kids (like Moses does with Deuteronomy)
In Latin the name of this book means "second - Deutero" and "study/law - onomy". In Hebrew the book actually has two names "D'varim" meaning "these are the words of", which is the opening line of the book; and "Mishnei Torah" meaning "repetition of the Torah", which is where we get the Latin name. The book as a whole has eleven sections to it in Hebrew. Too bad they don't clearly mark them in English - maybe the book would be easier to digest and make sense.
"Hear O Israel" is a common phrase Moses uses to begin a discourse on an important topic. It means to really really listen and really really consider the commands and really really seek to understand it and to really really reflect on how to obey it and really really devote yourself to abiding by it everyday.
Did you catch in 4:6-8 God's argument for why they should keep the commandments of Yahweh?
Here it is in case you missed it (JPS):
Observe them faithfully,
for that will be proof of your wisdom
and discernment to other peoples
who on hearing of all these laws
will say, "Surely, that great nation
is a wise and discerning people."
For what great nation is there
that has a god so close at hand
as is the LORD our God whenever we call upon Him?
Or what great nation has laws and rules
as perfect as all this Teaching that I set before you this day?
(Upon reading this text I thought of Jesus and his words/works in the gospel.)
Here is another key text, it has huge implications for parents who want to pass their faith onto their children and grandchildren - 4:9 (JPS)
But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously,
so that you do not forget the things
that you saw with your own eyes
and so that they do not fade from your mind
as long as you live.
And make them known to your children
and to your children's children.
Moses goes on to outline what it is to be made known in the rest of chapter four.
One of the greatest failures of Christian parents is in storytelling. Christian parents fail to capture the imagination of their children (pick an age - 4, 8, 12, 16, 18, etc) with their own faith. According to Moses, parents are to vividly remember key moments in their relationship to God, and then to pass those memories onto their children and grandchildren in story form. Most children of Christian parents drop out of the church after high school graduation (80%!!!!!!!!!!!!! according to Barna)...and alot of that is due to the sterile, unimaginative, dull faith of their parents. If parents would spend some time reflecting on their own journey, and then pass on those stories - around the dinner table, traveling in the car, walking down the street, while shopping (etc) - children would get a window into a real, honest, developing faith in a person with obvious flaws and a committed faith.
Hear O Parents - tell your story. Whatever it is, don't describe it as dull...just because you weren't a chain smoking biker with a criminal record who was saved when you miraculously survived a wreck and saw angels who restored your deafness...doesn't mean you don't have something meaningful to share about your walk with God.
Hear O Parents - If you think you have a dull story, then you believe in a dull God. Which is what you have been passing onto your children for as long as they have been alive.
Hear O Parents and Grandparents - There is still time - start reflecting, and start telling snippets of your story. And don't make it dull!!!!!!!!!!!
"Hear O Israel" is a common phrase Moses uses to begin a discourse on an important topic. It means to really really listen and really really consider the commands and really really seek to understand it and to really really reflect on how to obey it and really really devote yourself to abiding by it everyday.
Did you catch in 4:6-8 God's argument for why they should keep the commandments of Yahweh?
Here it is in case you missed it (JPS):
Observe them faithfully,
for that will be proof of your wisdom
and discernment to other peoples
who on hearing of all these laws
will say, "Surely, that great nation
is a wise and discerning people."
For what great nation is there
that has a god so close at hand
as is the LORD our God whenever we call upon Him?
Or what great nation has laws and rules
as perfect as all this Teaching that I set before you this day?
(Upon reading this text I thought of Jesus and his words/works in the gospel.)
Here is another key text, it has huge implications for parents who want to pass their faith onto their children and grandchildren - 4:9 (JPS)
But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously,
so that you do not forget the things
that you saw with your own eyes
and so that they do not fade from your mind
as long as you live.
And make them known to your children
and to your children's children.
Moses goes on to outline what it is to be made known in the rest of chapter four.
One of the greatest failures of Christian parents is in storytelling. Christian parents fail to capture the imagination of their children (pick an age - 4, 8, 12, 16, 18, etc) with their own faith. According to Moses, parents are to vividly remember key moments in their relationship to God, and then to pass those memories onto their children and grandchildren in story form. Most children of Christian parents drop out of the church after high school graduation (80%!!!!!!!!!!!!! according to Barna)...and alot of that is due to the sterile, unimaginative, dull faith of their parents. If parents would spend some time reflecting on their own journey, and then pass on those stories - around the dinner table, traveling in the car, walking down the street, while shopping (etc) - children would get a window into a real, honest, developing faith in a person with obvious flaws and a committed faith.
Hear O Parents - tell your story. Whatever it is, don't describe it as dull...just because you weren't a chain smoking biker with a criminal record who was saved when you miraculously survived a wreck and saw angels who restored your deafness...doesn't mean you don't have something meaningful to share about your walk with God.
Hear O Parents - If you think you have a dull story, then you believe in a dull God. Which is what you have been passing onto your children for as long as they have been alive.
Hear O Parents and Grandparents - There is still time - start reflecting, and start telling snippets of your story. And don't make it dull!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 08, 2007
God Bless Our Missionwomen...
Anchor supports five missionaries. Five women. All single. I'm proud of Jen, Sharon, Tabbie, Elizabeth and Anna. They walk in the steps of thousands of saints who have gone before them. Female saints. Single. And used by God to bless the world.
Tara and I went with Jen to Macau in 1994, our sophomore year at Huntington. It was Tara's second trip there. For Jen and me it was our first. Jen ended up going back...she's been there I think about ten years. I'm proud of her. I'm glad I went to Macau with her, and I'm glad for her that God has called her there.
Sharon is a close friend of Traci Slager. Through that friendship, as classmates at TUFW, she attended Anchor. Through Traci's encouragement we supported Sharon's work in Azerbijian. Sharon helps run a bookstore (like her folks in the States). She is encouraging literacy, but more importantly, she is planting seeds of salvation. It's a dangerous place to serve, be sure to read her updates that we provide in the bulletin. Her mission post needs prayer - for protection and courage.
Tabbie served at Anchor with our junior high girls for quite awhile. When she graduated from TUFW, she spent the summer getting ready to serve in Vietnam. I enjoy Tabbie's updates, hearing about her experiences and rooting her on as she lives out the gospel through her life and role as a teacher.
Elizabeth, another TUFW grad was part of Anchor while she was in school. She is still getting ready to serve in Haiti, waiting and working to get all the necessary funds. Haiti is notorious for voodoo, occult, and lots of evil stuff. Elizabeth will be working with a radio station, filling the air with good news and deliverance. Pray that Elizabeth would get to Haiti soon.
Anna is a Huntington University grad (yeah!), and she serves in Peru - where Annie Sauder calls home! She works with a relief agency that provides food and other needed resources. It's exciting work in a place desperate for gospel help. What a gutsy place to serve.
One of Anchor's goals is to be a place where God calls men and women to become full-time missionaries. And pastors, and teachers, and evangelists, and worship leaders. Everytime I remember in prayer these five gifted women, I thank God for how he is using Anchor in the uttermost parts of the earth. What a responsibility God has placed on Anchor: to protect and provide through money and prayer five women who need us.
Pray for Jen, Sharon, Tabbie, Elizabeth, Anna this week. And next week. And every week. And give them money.
You need to do it more then they need it.
Tara and I went with Jen to Macau in 1994, our sophomore year at Huntington. It was Tara's second trip there. For Jen and me it was our first. Jen ended up going back...she's been there I think about ten years. I'm proud of her. I'm glad I went to Macau with her, and I'm glad for her that God has called her there.
Sharon is a close friend of Traci Slager. Through that friendship, as classmates at TUFW, she attended Anchor. Through Traci's encouragement we supported Sharon's work in Azerbijian. Sharon helps run a bookstore (like her folks in the States). She is encouraging literacy, but more importantly, she is planting seeds of salvation. It's a dangerous place to serve, be sure to read her updates that we provide in the bulletin. Her mission post needs prayer - for protection and courage.
Tabbie served at Anchor with our junior high girls for quite awhile. When she graduated from TUFW, she spent the summer getting ready to serve in Vietnam. I enjoy Tabbie's updates, hearing about her experiences and rooting her on as she lives out the gospel through her life and role as a teacher.
Elizabeth, another TUFW grad was part of Anchor while she was in school. She is still getting ready to serve in Haiti, waiting and working to get all the necessary funds. Haiti is notorious for voodoo, occult, and lots of evil stuff. Elizabeth will be working with a radio station, filling the air with good news and deliverance. Pray that Elizabeth would get to Haiti soon.
Anna is a Huntington University grad (yeah!), and she serves in Peru - where Annie Sauder calls home! She works with a relief agency that provides food and other needed resources. It's exciting work in a place desperate for gospel help. What a gutsy place to serve.
One of Anchor's goals is to be a place where God calls men and women to become full-time missionaries. And pastors, and teachers, and evangelists, and worship leaders. Everytime I remember in prayer these five gifted women, I thank God for how he is using Anchor in the uttermost parts of the earth. What a responsibility God has placed on Anchor: to protect and provide through money and prayer five women who need us.
Pray for Jen, Sharon, Tabbie, Elizabeth, Anna this week. And next week. And every week. And give them money.
You need to do it more then they need it.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
I'll take a peace of dry crust...
There are some great ideas I need to take to heart in Proverbs 17. There are also some ancient descriptions of modern experiences. Here are some of them (TNIV):
Vs1: Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Just because you can afford to eat (or purchase) alot doesn't mean you are happy. Don't choose the feast over peace at home.
Vs6: Children's children are a crown to the aged...
Now I know why grandparents have more fun at birthday parties then the parents...
Vs7: Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool - how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
What? Hollywood and Washington are mentioned in the Bible? Why are we so tolerant of politicians who we know won't keep their promises?
Vs10: A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.
Here's how you know if you are a fool - you can't take a rebuke. But of course you can take a rebuke...
Vs14: Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; do drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
It's okay to be convinced you are right, you just don't have to require the other person to publicly agree with you. And it is okay to let someone walk away if they are angry.
Vs21 To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.
Even back then the greatest crisis of a parent was a child who turned out wrong. And it was sometimes just as mysterious then as now. And painful. No wonder the OT spends so much time imploring parents to get wisdom.
Vs27 Those who have knowledge use words with restraint, and those who have understanding are even tempered.
This is what wise wives and mothers offer their family.
Vs28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
This is what young husbands and fathers need to learn sooner than later.
Vs1: Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Just because you can afford to eat (or purchase) alot doesn't mean you are happy. Don't choose the feast over peace at home.
Vs6: Children's children are a crown to the aged...
Now I know why grandparents have more fun at birthday parties then the parents...
Vs7: Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool - how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
What? Hollywood and Washington are mentioned in the Bible? Why are we so tolerant of politicians who we know won't keep their promises?
Vs10: A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.
Here's how you know if you are a fool - you can't take a rebuke. But of course you can take a rebuke...
Vs14: Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; do drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
It's okay to be convinced you are right, you just don't have to require the other person to publicly agree with you. And it is okay to let someone walk away if they are angry.
Vs21 To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.
Even back then the greatest crisis of a parent was a child who turned out wrong. And it was sometimes just as mysterious then as now. And painful. No wonder the OT spends so much time imploring parents to get wisdom.
Vs27 Those who have knowledge use words with restraint, and those who have understanding are even tempered.
This is what wise wives and mothers offer their family.
Vs28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
This is what young husbands and fathers need to learn sooner than later.
Job the Mocked
Chapter seventeen is the second chapter of a two chapter response to Eliphaz the Temanite. It is the second time that Eliphaz has spoken and Job replied. There are three rounds of discussion, and in each round the "friends" of Job become increasingly harsh with him, and Job remains steadfast in his convictions.
Eliphaz mockingly asserted that Job is clearly guilty of unconfessed sin, otherwise how to explain the terrible tragedies?
Job defiantly responds, though one can sense the weariness in his words - how long will his friends torture him with their "long winded speeches".
Job wraps up his response to Eliphaz in Round Two by expressing his fears: the grave awaits him, his prosperous, good life has been ripped away from him and a black hole awaits him. Not only has God made Job a "byword", his friends "denounce" him; and all that Job has to look forward to is death - and thus some rest from the throbbing pain.
But...Job yearns for a more tangible future then a mere end to pain. He wonders...is there any hope for him? Is this life all there is? What will happen after I die? Will I receive justification for my situation? Will I be recognized by God as righteous? Surely this life is not all there is?
Do you ever ask questions like Job? If you want the answers and reward that Job received, then seek wisdom with all your heart, and spend all your energies on doing righteousness. Are you asking God to end the suffering? Are you also asking God to help you do right by others?
Eliphaz mockingly asserted that Job is clearly guilty of unconfessed sin, otherwise how to explain the terrible tragedies?
Job defiantly responds, though one can sense the weariness in his words - how long will his friends torture him with their "long winded speeches".
Job wraps up his response to Eliphaz in Round Two by expressing his fears: the grave awaits him, his prosperous, good life has been ripped away from him and a black hole awaits him. Not only has God made Job a "byword", his friends "denounce" him; and all that Job has to look forward to is death - and thus some rest from the throbbing pain.
But...Job yearns for a more tangible future then a mere end to pain. He wonders...is there any hope for him? Is this life all there is? What will happen after I die? Will I receive justification for my situation? Will I be recognized by God as righteous? Surely this life is not all there is?
Do you ever ask questions like Job? If you want the answers and reward that Job received, then seek wisdom with all your heart, and spend all your energies on doing righteousness. Are you asking God to end the suffering? Are you also asking God to help you do right by others?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Happy Birthday Levi & Isaac
Today is their second birthday. They helped make blueberry pancakes this morning, and we served them with candles. After we took the flaming torches out we lathered them up with whip cream and syrup. Yum!
Then they opened up their presents: train engineer play clothes to go along with their wooden train set. They love it.
At noon we went to JCPenny to get their two-year old pictures taken, and then home for a snack and a nap. Then it was up and at 'em, out the door - we dropped Emma off at Aunt Amy's house, and then mom, dad and the brothers went to Bob Evans for a birthday feast.
We then ended up at Target to get them two very cool car carrier cases for all their Hot Wheels and Match Box cars and trucks. Then it was home, brushed the teeth and kissed them good night.
I can't believe they are two already!
Tomorrow is the big party with the family. That will be fun!
When we ask them how old they are, Levi holds up two fingers like a "V", and Isaac holds up one finger on each hand. Too cute.
Matthew's Fascinating Jesus Stories
Matthew 9-10 is our assigned reading portion. What a fascinating set of stories!
Chapter nine is a collection of six stories, chapter ten is the story and speech of Jesus sending out his twelve disciples.
Some fascinating notes on chapter nine: Jesus refers to himself as a bridegroom, the implication is that all those that believe him to be such are his bride. The metaphor captures the kind of commitment, loyalty, delight, and friendship God seeks to have with humanity. This story is preceded by a story of healing, and one of calling. Imagine a groom gets the news that his soon to be bride has been in a car accident on the way to the church. He charges out through the doors, drives furiously to the accident site to be with his wounded and bleeding beloved. It is with that kind of compassion, intensity, driveness that Jesus heals a paralyzed man, raises a dead girl, heals a bleeding woman, restores sight for two blind men and speech to a mute man.
Jesus has come as a bridegroom for his wounded, hurting, bleeding, broken bride - humanity as the bride was in a violent car crash at the Garden of Eden. We've never recovered, and Jesus has come to both restore our bodies, but also our souls - we crashed as we drove recklessly away from God's Home, and now God has sent his Son to find those that are lost, or as Jesus says, he has come as a doctor for those that are not well. He has come to model and bring mercy.
It is this set of stories that fuels my conviction: Christians should be first in line, clogging the application desks of medical schools. Christians ought to be flooding the market as doctors, nurses, medical staff and healthworkers. Jesus came as a healer, his physical work was the seed for his spiritual work; he came to heal us heart, soul, mind and body so that we could love God and others with a restored heart, soul, mind and body.
Obviously I didn't get in line to be a doctor. But I'm proud of Christians who walk enter the field of healing. We have a bunch of them at Anchor. And I think Anchor ought to be a place of healing. Pastor's can be very effective at creating/leading churches to become a hospital of sorts. Jesus desires mercy, for that is what he came to give. Mercy heals the heart, the soul, the mind, the body. What can you do to make your church a place of mercy healing?
Have you been honest with yourself and God about the kind of mercy healing you need? What about the mercy healing you know others need from you?
Chapter nine is a collection of six stories, chapter ten is the story and speech of Jesus sending out his twelve disciples.
Some fascinating notes on chapter nine: Jesus refers to himself as a bridegroom, the implication is that all those that believe him to be such are his bride. The metaphor captures the kind of commitment, loyalty, delight, and friendship God seeks to have with humanity. This story is preceded by a story of healing, and one of calling. Imagine a groom gets the news that his soon to be bride has been in a car accident on the way to the church. He charges out through the doors, drives furiously to the accident site to be with his wounded and bleeding beloved. It is with that kind of compassion, intensity, driveness that Jesus heals a paralyzed man, raises a dead girl, heals a bleeding woman, restores sight for two blind men and speech to a mute man.
Jesus has come as a bridegroom for his wounded, hurting, bleeding, broken bride - humanity as the bride was in a violent car crash at the Garden of Eden. We've never recovered, and Jesus has come to both restore our bodies, but also our souls - we crashed as we drove recklessly away from God's Home, and now God has sent his Son to find those that are lost, or as Jesus says, he has come as a doctor for those that are not well. He has come to model and bring mercy.
It is this set of stories that fuels my conviction: Christians should be first in line, clogging the application desks of medical schools. Christians ought to be flooding the market as doctors, nurses, medical staff and healthworkers. Jesus came as a healer, his physical work was the seed for his spiritual work; he came to heal us heart, soul, mind and body so that we could love God and others with a restored heart, soul, mind and body.
Obviously I didn't get in line to be a doctor. But I'm proud of Christians who walk enter the field of healing. We have a bunch of them at Anchor. And I think Anchor ought to be a place of healing. Pastor's can be very effective at creating/leading churches to become a hospital of sorts. Jesus desires mercy, for that is what he came to give. Mercy heals the heart, the soul, the mind, the body. What can you do to make your church a place of mercy healing?
Have you been honest with yourself and God about the kind of mercy healing you need? What about the mercy healing you know others need from you?
Hell and Indiana
Dianna Burt sent me this story and it made me laugh. I probably couldn't use it in a sermon, but it's worth sharing. Enjoy!
HELL AND INDIANA
A guy from Indiana dies and is sent to Hell. He had been a horrible man his entire life.
The devil puts him to work breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer. To make it worse, he cranks up the temperature and the humidity.
After a couple of days, the devil checks in on his victim to see if he is suffering adequately. The devil is aghast as the Hoosier is happily swinging his hammer and whistling a happy tune.
The devil walks up to him and says, "I don't understand this. I've turned the heat way up, it's humid, you're crushing rocks; why are you so happy?"
The man, with a big smile, looks at the devil and replies, "This is great! It reminds me of August in Indiana. Hot, humid, a good place to work. It reminds me of home. This is fantastic!"
The devil, extremely perplexed, walks away to ponder the man's remarks. Then he decides to drop the temperature, send down a driving rain and torrential wind.
Soon, Hell is a wet, muddy mess. Walking in mud up to his knees with dust blowing into his eyes, the man is happily slogging through the mud pushing a wheelbarrow full of crushed rocks.
Again, the devil asks how he can be happy in such conditions. The man replies, "This is great! Just like April in Indiana. It reminds me of working out in the yard with spring planting!"
The devil is now completely baffled but more determined to make him suffer. He makes the temperature plummet.
Suddenly Hell is blanketed in snow and ice. Confident that this will surely him unhappy, the devil checks in on him.
He is again aghast at what he sees. The man is dancing, singing, and twirling his sledgehammer as he cavorts in glee.
"How can you be so happy? Don't you know its 40 below zero!?" screams the devil.
Jumping up and down, he throws a snowball at the devil and yells, "Hell's frozen over! This means the Colts won the Super Bowl!"
HELL AND INDIANA
A guy from Indiana dies and is sent to Hell. He had been a horrible man his entire life.
The devil puts him to work breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer. To make it worse, he cranks up the temperature and the humidity.
After a couple of days, the devil checks in on his victim to see if he is suffering adequately. The devil is aghast as the Hoosier is happily swinging his hammer and whistling a happy tune.
The devil walks up to him and says, "I don't understand this. I've turned the heat way up, it's humid, you're crushing rocks; why are you so happy?"
The man, with a big smile, looks at the devil and replies, "This is great! It reminds me of August in Indiana. Hot, humid, a good place to work. It reminds me of home. This is fantastic!"
The devil, extremely perplexed, walks away to ponder the man's remarks. Then he decides to drop the temperature, send down a driving rain and torrential wind.
Soon, Hell is a wet, muddy mess. Walking in mud up to his knees with dust blowing into his eyes, the man is happily slogging through the mud pushing a wheelbarrow full of crushed rocks.
Again, the devil asks how he can be happy in such conditions. The man replies, "This is great! Just like April in Indiana. It reminds me of working out in the yard with spring planting!"
The devil is now completely baffled but more determined to make him suffer. He makes the temperature plummet.
Suddenly Hell is blanketed in snow and ice. Confident that this will surely him unhappy, the devil checks in on him.
He is again aghast at what he sees. The man is dancing, singing, and twirling his sledgehammer as he cavorts in glee.
"How can you be so happy? Don't you know its 40 below zero!?" screams the devil.
Jumping up and down, he throws a snowball at the devil and yells, "Hell's frozen over! This means the Colts won the Super Bowl!"
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Ready for Romans?
This letter by Paul to the Christians in Rome is considered his masterpiece. It is partly a recruitment letter, he is hoping that many of the churches in Rome will support his mission to Spain. Being a recruitment letter, it is also a comprehensive theological treatise - he is outlining the content of what he will be teaching and preaching in the far West. Being a pastor, he also addresses social, ethical, and spiritual issues that are afflicting the Christians in Rome. Being a cosmopolitan empire capital, there is both extreme wealth amongst a few, and extreme poverty for too many; there is division between freemen and slaves, gender conflict, as well as ethnic tensions between Jews and Gentiles - as well as all sorts of other kinds of racism.
Paul's reputation precedes him - the same concerns, ideas, fears, and loves that people today have of Paul were likely felt back then. Thus he wants to make sure that even though he is coming hoping to receive money and prayers from them, he is also coming to give of himself, his skills, his wisdom, and his fiery love.
Verses 1-17 are his opening to the letter, he identifies himself, his source of authority, and addresses the people he is writing to. Verse 16-17 is a famous line: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
Verse 18 begins the controversial elements of his letter - and it only heats up through the rest of the chapter. Paul needs to establish what we need salvation from, he needs to contrast God's righteousness with Humanity's unrighteousness, compare "living by faith" with "living under wrath".
Paul argues that people should know enough about God to seek him based on what they observe in nature and the world around him. But people have neglected or rejected this knowledge, and thus have shut themselves off from any other revelation/light by which to live. By turning away from God they open themselves up to a depraved way of life, a way of life that God then lets them walk into with undiluted consequences.
His example of sexual impurities is given to highlight how sad and destructive this way of life devoid of God becomes over time. Paul has a high view of sexuality (see Eph 5). He seems to be well aware of how beautiful and powerful sex can be when enjoyed in the light/revelation of God. But in darkness sex becomes an act of animal lust and overpowering by one over another. Some pscyhologists explain homosexuality and lesbianism as an sex addiction. Addictions can result from abuse or neglect. In a world turned away from God, people abuse one another with no divine restraints, and neglect becomes a black hole. This is some of the argument Paul seems to be making in this opening chapter.
It is a universal situation - all people in all places must deal with abuse and neglect, no matter how slight or blatant it may have been in their life. And all people have the potential to do many unrighteous things, even though they know better. They may even sin blatantly, even though they confess Jesus as their King.
Who can rescue you or me in a world of abuse and neglect, a world determined to justify existence apart from God? What sexual deviancy is your secret? What part of your sex life are you ashamed of, disappointed in, been abused or neglected?
Paul asserts that knowledge of God is the way to salvation. See Psalm 119.
Paul's reputation precedes him - the same concerns, ideas, fears, and loves that people today have of Paul were likely felt back then. Thus he wants to make sure that even though he is coming hoping to receive money and prayers from them, he is also coming to give of himself, his skills, his wisdom, and his fiery love.
Verses 1-17 are his opening to the letter, he identifies himself, his source of authority, and addresses the people he is writing to. Verse 16-17 is a famous line: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
Verse 18 begins the controversial elements of his letter - and it only heats up through the rest of the chapter. Paul needs to establish what we need salvation from, he needs to contrast God's righteousness with Humanity's unrighteousness, compare "living by faith" with "living under wrath".
Paul argues that people should know enough about God to seek him based on what they observe in nature and the world around him. But people have neglected or rejected this knowledge, and thus have shut themselves off from any other revelation/light by which to live. By turning away from God they open themselves up to a depraved way of life, a way of life that God then lets them walk into with undiluted consequences.
His example of sexual impurities is given to highlight how sad and destructive this way of life devoid of God becomes over time. Paul has a high view of sexuality (see Eph 5). He seems to be well aware of how beautiful and powerful sex can be when enjoyed in the light/revelation of God. But in darkness sex becomes an act of animal lust and overpowering by one over another. Some pscyhologists explain homosexuality and lesbianism as an sex addiction. Addictions can result from abuse or neglect. In a world turned away from God, people abuse one another with no divine restraints, and neglect becomes a black hole. This is some of the argument Paul seems to be making in this opening chapter.
It is a universal situation - all people in all places must deal with abuse and neglect, no matter how slight or blatant it may have been in their life. And all people have the potential to do many unrighteous things, even though they know better. They may even sin blatantly, even though they confess Jesus as their King.
Who can rescue you or me in a world of abuse and neglect, a world determined to justify existence apart from God? What sexual deviancy is your secret? What part of your sex life are you ashamed of, disappointed in, been abused or neglected?
Paul asserts that knowledge of God is the way to salvation. See Psalm 119.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Terrible Beauty of Isaiah's Poetry
The first three chapters of Isaiah provide an overview of the first 39 chapters of the overall book. In these three chapters we discover the charge against Judah (the southern part of the nation of Israel). Isaiah asserts that Israel is dumber than an ass and ox - they at least know their master, Israel does not.
Isaiah pleads with them to "wash yourselves clean" - "devote yourselves to justice" by "aiding the wronged, upholding the rights of the orphan, defending the cause of the widow".
Their guilt was not just based on evil thoughts or motives, but on actual neglect of those in need and actual hoarding of power, privilege and wealth for themselves at the expense of others. To those that oppress the poor, they oppose God; and He will "wreak vengeance on My enemies!". He says that "repentant ones will be saved, but rebels and sinners shall all be crushed".
According to the Isaiah, there is a direct connection between oppression and neglect towards widows and orphans and the failure to study, understand, and apply God's Instructions. Also conncted to this failure is a preoccupation with possessions and pleasing powerful people at the expense of enjoying God and his gifts.
I was moved by this phrase:
"Oh, cease to glorify man,
Who has only a breath in his nostrils!
For by what does he merit esteem?
And this phrase:
"The Lord stands up to plead a cause,
He rises to champion His people
How dare you crush My people
And grind the faces of the poor?
What will God do to crushers and grinders?
He will bring them an opportunity to repent, and then for the proud he will bring them justice.
Do your purchasing habits, your leisure habits, your consumption habits, your work habits result in the crushing or grinding of others?
Does your life give life to others, or does your life require the crushing of another?
Isaiah seems to be addressing both those that intentionally crush and grind, as well as those that are ignorant and oblivious. His point is that God wants the grinding and crushing to cease. God wants shalom/peace to be the possession of all men and women in all lands - and he wants His people to be more preoccupied with spreading peace then protecting/accumulating possessions and prestige.
Isaiah pleads with them to "wash yourselves clean" - "devote yourselves to justice" by "aiding the wronged, upholding the rights of the orphan, defending the cause of the widow".
Their guilt was not just based on evil thoughts or motives, but on actual neglect of those in need and actual hoarding of power, privilege and wealth for themselves at the expense of others. To those that oppress the poor, they oppose God; and He will "wreak vengeance on My enemies!". He says that "repentant ones will be saved, but rebels and sinners shall all be crushed".
According to the Isaiah, there is a direct connection between oppression and neglect towards widows and orphans and the failure to study, understand, and apply God's Instructions. Also conncted to this failure is a preoccupation with possessions and pleasing powerful people at the expense of enjoying God and his gifts.
I was moved by this phrase:
"Oh, cease to glorify man,
Who has only a breath in his nostrils!
For by what does he merit esteem?
And this phrase:
"The Lord stands up to plead a cause,
He rises to champion His people
How dare you crush My people
And grind the faces of the poor?
What will God do to crushers and grinders?
He will bring them an opportunity to repent, and then for the proud he will bring them justice.
Do your purchasing habits, your leisure habits, your consumption habits, your work habits result in the crushing or grinding of others?
Does your life give life to others, or does your life require the crushing of another?
Isaiah seems to be addressing both those that intentionally crush and grind, as well as those that are ignorant and oblivious. His point is that God wants the grinding and crushing to cease. God wants shalom/peace to be the possession of all men and women in all lands - and he wants His people to be more preoccupied with spreading peace then protecting/accumulating possessions and prestige.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
No More Numbers
Last night I finished up the book of Numbers. As I reflected on the reading, I was struck by the oldness of the book. This account of the wandering tribes is ancient. The bible I am using has commentary and notes in it by Jewish scholars and theologians. It adds a different dimension to the insights of the texts. They write about the Torah as a whole, and Numbers in particular with a reverance and closeness rarely found with Christians. This is their heritage they are reading about. But as they comment on the ancient stories, one gets the sense that the way of life, and of relating to God, is from a long, long, long time ago.
God may still be the same today as he was a million yesterdays ago, but how he relates to humanity is different because humanity has changed, our culture has changed, our knowledge has increased - even if traits of the soul are still the same. I was struck by what seemed to be odd, archaic, barbarian rituals that God required of his people. But the people God was redeeming are from another lifetime, almost another world.
The bible has some very, very, very old stories in it. In our world's frenetic pace to try something new, maybe diving into something as old as the Bible may be the novelty that messes up our life - and saves us from our life.
God may still be the same today as he was a million yesterdays ago, but how he relates to humanity is different because humanity has changed, our culture has changed, our knowledge has increased - even if traits of the soul are still the same. I was struck by what seemed to be odd, archaic, barbarian rituals that God required of his people. But the people God was redeeming are from another lifetime, almost another world.
The bible has some very, very, very old stories in it. In our world's frenetic pace to try something new, maybe diving into something as old as the Bible may be the novelty that messes up our life - and saves us from our life.
Diving into Deuteronomy
Congratulations to those that have decided to begin reading through the Bible in a year. A reading schedule is available at the church or I can email you one. We start the year with the Psalms and the Book of Deuteronomy. I a bit behind on my reading already, I haven't finished all of my reading for December yet! I'll get there. It takes work to read on a schedule, especially during the holidays. I want to encourage you though: keep reading and reflecting - even if you are behind. Just stay with it.
A few thoughts on Deuteronomy: as a book it is one of the most central influences on the shape and content of the Jewish faith - and as a result, Christian faith. The book includes five discourses and poems of Moses to the Israelites prior to his death. He is reminding them of God's promises to bless them according to their obedience, and of the curses in accordance with their disobedience. These laws they are to obey (and not disobey) are a "divine gift to Israel, unparalleled in their justice and their ability to secure God's closeness."
As you read, see if you can keep track of the discourses. The most famous one is the second one, which is where we find the prayer called the Shema: Hear O Israel the LORD is One; Love the LORD your God with all your heart.... We also find in this book a strong concern for the poor and disadvantaged, as well as a strong concern for intellectual development. It is from Deuteronomy that we are are urged to be a people of the book. Jesus takes this teaching and turns it on its head: be people of the book, be people of the words of the book; be people of the Word - and Jesus declares himself to be the Word. Thus we are people of the book of the One. We can know God through Jesus the Word, and we can know God through the Words of Jesus.
A few thoughts on Deuteronomy: as a book it is one of the most central influences on the shape and content of the Jewish faith - and as a result, Christian faith. The book includes five discourses and poems of Moses to the Israelites prior to his death. He is reminding them of God's promises to bless them according to their obedience, and of the curses in accordance with their disobedience. These laws they are to obey (and not disobey) are a "divine gift to Israel, unparalleled in their justice and their ability to secure God's closeness."
As you read, see if you can keep track of the discourses. The most famous one is the second one, which is where we find the prayer called the Shema: Hear O Israel the LORD is One; Love the LORD your God with all your heart.... We also find in this book a strong concern for the poor and disadvantaged, as well as a strong concern for intellectual development. It is from Deuteronomy that we are are urged to be a people of the book. Jesus takes this teaching and turns it on its head: be people of the book, be people of the words of the book; be people of the Word - and Jesus declares himself to be the Word. Thus we are people of the book of the One. We can know God through Jesus the Word, and we can know God through the Words of Jesus.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Resolutions for the New Year - On the Record.
Sometimes I make resolutions, sometimes I don't. This year I want to make some.
Here they are in random order:
1. Lose twenty pounds. I usually weigh in around 225. My friends in college used to make fun of my spare tire.
2. Go to the gym three days a week. And actually exercise. On the other days I'll go for a walk with the kids.
3. Eat more fruit for breakfast, less fast food for lunch and more veggies and meat for supper.
4. Work on my 1966 Mustang with my kids. Well, watch Brett Sauder work on my car while my three kids run around his backyard.
5. Give my wife more time to scrapbook.
6. Develop the skill of telling jokes (I'm awful at telling stories and jokes - not a good combo for a pastor!)
7. Read the Bible in a year. (Which will hopefully make me wiser).
I realize that these are classic resolutions - but I don't care. It's what I want to do this year. I'm almost done with my schooling, the schedule is slowing way down, which means that I can more easily live healthier and happier. Crazy, but I like being healthy and happy. My family likes me that way too.
Feel free to ask me how my resolutions are going. I plan on starting them this week. Well, some of them. Well at least one of them.
Here they are in random order:
1. Lose twenty pounds. I usually weigh in around 225. My friends in college used to make fun of my spare tire.
2. Go to the gym three days a week. And actually exercise. On the other days I'll go for a walk with the kids.
3. Eat more fruit for breakfast, less fast food for lunch and more veggies and meat for supper.
4. Work on my 1966 Mustang with my kids. Well, watch Brett Sauder work on my car while my three kids run around his backyard.
5. Give my wife more time to scrapbook.
6. Develop the skill of telling jokes (I'm awful at telling stories and jokes - not a good combo for a pastor!)
7. Read the Bible in a year. (Which will hopefully make me wiser).
I realize that these are classic resolutions - but I don't care. It's what I want to do this year. I'm almost done with my schooling, the schedule is slowing way down, which means that I can more easily live healthier and happier. Crazy, but I like being healthy and happy. My family likes me that way too.
Feel free to ask me how my resolutions are going. I plan on starting them this week. Well, some of them. Well at least one of them.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Last Day of the Year
It's early morning, still dark outside, and before the day gets to hasty, I wanted to reflect on yesterday and today. I always like to pause and write a bit about the prior year and think about what may be ahead. An event that always shapes that reflection is the party our family holds on December 30th. That's the day my brother Matt was killed by a drunk driver. Matt was on his way home, early in the morning, from a friends house, coming to town for church. I was already at the church making preparations when Tara came to tell me the tragic news.
So each year we get together on Matt's Deathday to remember him, celebrate him, and enjoy each other. The events include traveling to Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery in Huntington to visit Matt's gravestone - and Ben's which lays next to it. It's easier to laugh now during this ritual since the kids have come along. But I wouldn't miss this trip and celebration, mostly because I don't want to stop missing Matt. This is what gives me perspective about the year I am wrapping up and for the year waiting for me. Matt reminds me, and so does Ben, that 2007 is an Everday one after the other. If I'm going to make the most of the year, I need to make the most of Everyday. Matt and Ben remind me of what everyday is supposed to be about. Thank you God for Everyday.
So each year we get together on Matt's Deathday to remember him, celebrate him, and enjoy each other. The events include traveling to Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery in Huntington to visit Matt's gravestone - and Ben's which lays next to it. It's easier to laugh now during this ritual since the kids have come along. But I wouldn't miss this trip and celebration, mostly because I don't want to stop missing Matt. This is what gives me perspective about the year I am wrapping up and for the year waiting for me. Matt reminds me, and so does Ben, that 2007 is an Everday one after the other. If I'm going to make the most of the year, I need to make the most of Everyday. Matt and Ben remind me of what everyday is supposed to be about. Thank you God for Everyday.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Ahh... It's Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is better then Christmas Day because of the anticipation. But don't get me wrong, I still really like Christmas Day.
We just celebrated Christmas with Tara's mom. I'm excited about the skewers she gave me - now I can make shiskabobs! I love to eat them (Dave my brother in law makes really tasty ones), so now I can experiment and make some soon. I also received a thick book on how to become a mastergriller! Summer can't get here soon enough.
Jamil and I dressed alike, and so did our wives...it was weird - in a cool sort of way.
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They kids loved their toys - which is the way it is supposed to be at Christmas time.
We just celebrated Christmas with Tara's mom. I'm excited about the skewers she gave me - now I can make shiskabobs! I love to eat them (Dave my brother in law makes really tasty ones), so now I can experiment and make some soon. I also received a thick book on how to become a mastergriller! Summer can't get here soon enough.
Jamil and I dressed alike, and so did our wives...it was weird - in a cool sort of way.
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They kids loved their toys - which is the way it is supposed to be at Christmas time.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Another note about Numbers
This makes post number four in a row out of the book of Numbers. It's not been my favorite book in the past, but it's moving up the rank. There two intriguing stories I read this past week as I try to catch up.
First was the story of Moses being admonished by God: the punishment - barred from entering the Promised Land; the crime - claiming responsibility for the miracle of Water from the Rock. It seems like the punishment does not fit the crime. Yet there are several good things that happen through Moses' death. First, the guy is 120 years old at this point - he's tired and ready for the Next Life; second - he's tired of leading these stubbornd and stiffnecked people (remember how many times they complained, wanting to go back to Egypt/exile/slavery?); thirdly - new leadership is needed to take the next generation into the Promised Land. The punishment also included grace for Moses.
The Second story I found fascinating was the one about Balaam and his Talking Ass. The level of detail about the story is intriguing and rare. It would seem that when a story gets this kind of attention, it must be important. God seems to be quite familiar with Balaam (a nonIsraelite), and vice versa. Balaam's assignment to curse a blessed people is turned on its head; Israel will end up blessed regardless of what accursed action enemies take against her. God invoked the original blessing, no human action can undo it.
Two lessons:
God's punishment to us is always layered - meaning that it is corrective, it is just, it is merciful, it is given with a bigger picture in mind. In one sense it is punishment, but that's using a negative word. Using a positive word, it is discipline designed to further us along God's designated path of blessing.
God brings people into our life, enemies and friends and strangers, who are mysteriously and sometimes anonymously used to be an agent of blessing for us. Sometimes things just seem to go the way they are supposed to, good things happen to us and we're not sure why. Know that God is ALWAYS at work to bring about his good purposes in your life, whether you see him or feel him or understand him.
First was the story of Moses being admonished by God: the punishment - barred from entering the Promised Land; the crime - claiming responsibility for the miracle of Water from the Rock. It seems like the punishment does not fit the crime. Yet there are several good things that happen through Moses' death. First, the guy is 120 years old at this point - he's tired and ready for the Next Life; second - he's tired of leading these stubbornd and stiffnecked people (remember how many times they complained, wanting to go back to Egypt/exile/slavery?); thirdly - new leadership is needed to take the next generation into the Promised Land. The punishment also included grace for Moses.
The Second story I found fascinating was the one about Balaam and his Talking Ass. The level of detail about the story is intriguing and rare. It would seem that when a story gets this kind of attention, it must be important. God seems to be quite familiar with Balaam (a nonIsraelite), and vice versa. Balaam's assignment to curse a blessed people is turned on its head; Israel will end up blessed regardless of what accursed action enemies take against her. God invoked the original blessing, no human action can undo it.
Two lessons:
God's punishment to us is always layered - meaning that it is corrective, it is just, it is merciful, it is given with a bigger picture in mind. In one sense it is punishment, but that's using a negative word. Using a positive word, it is discipline designed to further us along God's designated path of blessing.
God brings people into our life, enemies and friends and strangers, who are mysteriously and sometimes anonymously used to be an agent of blessing for us. Sometimes things just seem to go the way they are supposed to, good things happen to us and we're not sure why. Know that God is ALWAYS at work to bring about his good purposes in your life, whether you see him or feel him or understand him.
Emma can't keep "secrets"
Friday morning Emma helped me wrap the gifts I purchased for Tara. The most expensive gift was labeled from Emma and me. She admired it, asked questions about it, and was excited about wrapping it with me. I told her that she could absolutely not tell mommy about this gift. It is a surprise.
So as I sit am sitting at the bar, Emma rushes up and in her loud "Ben" voice asks ever so innocently and sweetly: "Is it okay if mommy opens up her Christmas ring thingy?" I whip my head around to catch Tara's eyes, who was in the living room. We both grinned big...I knew that something like this would happen.
She was so sweet about it: she really wanted to give it to her now...she just can't wait. Fortunately Tara doesn't know what kind of ring it is...it's still a surprise.
P.S. A word about the use of the word "surprise". We use to use the word "secret". But the other day, at preschool, Emma declared to her teachers that she had a secret she couldn't tell anyone. So when they brought Emma out to the car where Aunt Shirley was waiting, they asked her about this secret: was there something they needed to know about? Shirley quickly replied: Emma, it's not a secret, it's a surprise - they were going to go to Dairy Queen! So now we make sure that everything is a "surprise", lest others think suspicious thoughts about us! Bravo to Emma's teachers for caring!
So as I sit am sitting at the bar, Emma rushes up and in her loud "Ben" voice asks ever so innocently and sweetly: "Is it okay if mommy opens up her Christmas ring thingy?" I whip my head around to catch Tara's eyes, who was in the living room. We both grinned big...I knew that something like this would happen.
She was so sweet about it: she really wanted to give it to her now...she just can't wait. Fortunately Tara doesn't know what kind of ring it is...it's still a surprise.
P.S. A word about the use of the word "surprise". We use to use the word "secret". But the other day, at preschool, Emma declared to her teachers that she had a secret she couldn't tell anyone. So when they brought Emma out to the car where Aunt Shirley was waiting, they asked her about this secret: was there something they needed to know about? Shirley quickly replied: Emma, it's not a secret, it's a surprise - they were going to go to Dairy Queen! So now we make sure that everything is a "surprise", lest others think suspicious thoughts about us! Bravo to Emma's teachers for caring!
Sniffing Scotch Tape...
Every time I smell Scotch Tape, memories of Christmas past flood my senses. Mom always makes shortbread cookies (the absolute best!) and we always used only Scotch Tape to seal our holiday gifts. Once in awhile an off-brand tape dispenser would get into the bag. I'd throw it back or throw it away - it doesn't smell right or stick nearly as good as the green stuff.
So today, as I was finishing up wrapping of gifts for my brother, I took a moment to get a good sniff of the Scotch Tape. Ahhh...the memories.
So today, as I was finishing up wrapping of gifts for my brother, I took a moment to get a good sniff of the Scotch Tape. Ahhh...the memories.
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