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- Revisiting Grief - Revisiting Grief: In the past six weeks, my family has experienced the deaths, funerals or memorial services of four cherished loved ones. I believe in God and I believe in His promise of eternal life, and that we will be with our loved ones who are waiting in “the next room”, as was pointed out to me in the freshness of my own grief. Over these weeks, I have prayed that all those who are affected by the loss of a loved one, share that faith and belief. To have that blessed assurance is such a light at a time when all around is darkness and sadness. Continue reading
- Is Our God Too Small? - Is Our God Too Small? There is a conversation between the “woman at the well” and Jesus that I wonder how the woman's mind-set is so like our own: The woman sees Jesus as a man that showed up at an unusual time and place and she saw no deity, just flesh and blood, and limitations. J.B.Phillips in his book entitled “Your God’s Too Small” makes a strong case that we, like that woman, underestimate the power and love of God. It is not only that we see and define Him by human terms, it’s a fact that our human minds cannot encompass and grasp the vastness that is God. Continue reading
- Time for Silliness - Time for Silliness: I am willing to expose my lack of knowledge of parts of speech in the interest of being silly, or maybe to make a point. I am going to ask a question, and ask you not to google the answer, or consult your dictionary, or ask some tweedy professor of English. Here it is: What, precisely, is a participle? There is a point to this silliness. There are so many things in these lives of ours that we could not explain or define, yet, we act on them, we live with them, or we grow because of them, and we are thankful. Sometimes developments in our lives are a mystery, a happening we cannot explain. A sudden unexpected healing, we hesitate to call it a ‘miracle’ because we took some medicine and we reasoned that was why we healed. When we don’t understand, he is there to open our minds. When we don’t know what to do, he opens our hearts and our eyes. Continue reading
- Cinco de Mayo! - Cinco de Mayo, everybody! Time to celebrate! Drink up! Oh, what are we celebrating? Nothing, really. This is the day celebrated by bartenders everywhere! The distilleries are alive with music. Some believe that we celebrate Mexican independence, but, no. That is in September. Then what? The Virgin Mary? No. How about Kahlo? Or Hidalgo? Juarez? What then? Tequila! Drink up! Is that a false holiday? Maybe, depends of how you look at it. Maybe celebrating a day, any day, is a good thing. Which is more important? The day, or the celebration? Continue reading
- Seeking Gifts - Seeking Gifts: It was early March, when the first hints of that virus with the strange name, COVID-19, was making its self-felt, in our lives. We thought it would be gone in a month, perhaps two, but by the middle of March the predictions were becoming more and more dire. Group meetings were being suspended, schools were struggling to keep students safe, and “home-schooling” was becoming more and more common. As we are emerging from the pandemic, I wonder how we have changed.God is not done with us. Whatever we are experiencing has passed through His hands. Continue reading
- The Faith Walk - The Faith Walk: Have you ever been on a trust walk? Trust walks or trust exercises are often used in staff team building in organizations. Whether it was a “I’ll catch you” exercise or an actual walk where a blindfolded staff member was lead around by another on a rustic pathway, the purpose was to instill a sense of trust and trusting. If, in your walk as a Christian, you have come to trust and rely on the Lord daily, then the worry connected to what may happen in the future, is largely taken away. You act on what the lord has told you in Psalm 73, “Yet I am with you; you hold me by my right hand.” Continue reading
- God’s Love - God’s Love: In his great sermon, The Weight of Glory, CS Lewis asks this question: “Can anything be added to the conception and goal of being with Christ?” He goes on to say that “he who has God and everything in the world has no more than he who has God only.” At the start of this sermon, Lewis calls God’s love, the divine energy. If we were to know God’s full definition of love we might be amazed, or terrified, we might be reassured or confused, we might be all of those things and more. We might conclude that our earthly definition of love is amazingly inadequate and much too small to encompass the love that God has for us. Continue reading
- Confession and Repentance - Confession and Repentance: Do you remember seeing a Billy Graham Crusade, probably in a large auditorium or a football stadium, packed with people, and listening to this great man of faith and then towards the end, the invitation to come and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. In our daily conversation with God, our daily confessional, we do need to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit within, and at the core of confessional this is a surrender of our lives to the Lord in all that we do and all that we say. To detail our sins to God, that is between you and God. Continue reading
- The Hard Lesson - The Hard Lesson: Yes, it is a hard one, indeed. First, the Lord tells us that he loves us and calls us His children. We accept that, because that’s what we are. We are little children. We have our tantrums, we have our disappointments, we fret when things don’t go our way. Then the Lord goes on to tell us that if we love our mommies and our daddies more than Him we are not worthy to be His. Maybe we understand that, to a degree, but, maybe we don’t. There may come a time when we wonder, where is Christ? Is God in this mountain, in this mess? Why? Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Christ is at the right hand of God. But despite his fixed location at God’s right hand, Jesus is here now, living within us, as we learn from Galatians 2:20. Here is something I know about you – You, like me, crave deep intimacy with Jesus; and we are most alive and free when we realize and pursue Him. Continue reading
- What Ticks You Off? - What Ticks You Off? Said a different way, what causes you to be angry? To be upset? To fracture a relationship? Ever feel angry and yet you didn’t quite know why? Was it tone of voice, or unkind words, or criticism? What? Is it possible that you harbor certain expectations about a situation, or a person, and you find those expectations unmet? And off you go! It really ticks you off! Too often our pride does get in the way of stepping up and saying that most difficult of all phrases, “I’m sorry, forgive me.” Maybe it was his fault, or her fault, or nobody’s fault. A misunderstanding. How do we get back to peace, to calmness, and remove that stress that conflict causes? God has given us a formula in John 14:14 – “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” Continue reading
- Tough Love 2 - Tough Love 2: We continue with that fundamental question: How can an all-powerful, all-loving God allow good people to experience such suffering? And why does it often seem that some people are immune to such experiences? If God is in the cutting and pruning business, explain why I hurt so bad while others do not seem to hurt at all or at least quite as much? I was reminded of God’s gifts of Peace and Grace, and the question of how are we using these gifts? In other words, what am I giving back to God? How is my life a reflection of God’s love? If we believe that everything that touches our lives, both good things as well as the not so good things, those things that we might call adversity, it does raise the question how are we embracing that adversity? How are we accepting it and building from it? Continue reading
- Tough Love 1 - Tough Love 1: Aslan, in CS Lewis’ “The lion, the witch and the wardrobe”, represents the Christ-figure, the physical incarnation of God, in the fictional land of Narnia. And if we know anything at all about God, we know that God, like Aslan, is anything but safe. Like Aslan, God is no one’s pet. God will do what God wills to do; and God will do what is best for us, even if we don’t understand, even if it frightens us. God isn’t safe, but God is good. And if God is good, then God can be trusted. This is the nature of genuine love: good, but never entirely safe -- if by safe you mean tame or powerless. Jesus puts it this way: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” , you and I are the branches. The vinedresser’s ultimate purpose for the branch is to bear fruit. That is our purpose. That’s why we are given our place on the vine - to grow and bear fruit. Continue reading
- A People Person - A People Person: Jesus died, and the world was changed forever! The world has changed and will continue to change, influenced by Jesus, subtly, like a gentle breeze, but also like a hammer, as in war and violence. John Ortberg in his book, Who Is This Man?, makes this statement: “His life and teaching simply drew people to follow him… His influence has swept over history… bringing his inspiration to influence art, music, science, government, medicine, education… He taught humans about dignity, compassion, forgiveness, and hope.” Continue reading
- Watch the Lamb - Watch the Lamb: I believe we all have had experiences in our times of worshipping the Lord when something stands out and it leaves you with an unforgettable memory that returns to you time after time in ways that deepen your faith. One of mine occurred several years ago when I attended a Good Friday service at the Methodist Church in North Manchester. One of the leaders of that service was a friend of mine, Russell Reehard. At an appropriate point in the service, in this he saddest day of Holy Week, Russell stood and slowly made his way up the aisle and back singing the hymn “Watch the Lamb”. It is a marvelous Christian ballad, and I offer the lyrics for your prayerful consideration: Continue reading
- Good? Friday - Good? Friday: If you believe what Jesus says, then you will live differently. Could Jesus say to you, “You gave to me when I was thirsty, hungry, needed clothing. You were a visitor to me, and you took me in. Bless, you, my child, come walk with me.” Or you failed to give. What do you think? Did you, or didn’t you? Was that Jesus you turned your back on?Matthew 25 concludes the last sermon that Jesus preached before the crucifixion and his death. This has truly been a time filled with the teachings of Jesus, and now it ends with His passion and His death on the Cross.These last words of Jesus could not be situated in a more important place. We could interpret his words as though it was a parable, a fiction with a moral. But it isn’t. Jesus is telling us a true story. His words could not be mistaken or misunderstood. Continue reading
- Maundy Thursday – You Did It to Me - You Did It to Me: Jesus’ lesson to His disciples, and to us, actually describes the Final Judgment. We will be asked those questions directly and clearly, and we need to take this seriously. We may consider the full array of our sins and it may embarrass us to be that Frank, but in the end the greatest sin you and I have committed have been to ignore those in need. Those who are hungry or thirsty, or ill, or in prison, or who have been alienated by life. Do we believe what this gospel says, or do we make excuses? Has the truth of the Gospel taken root in your heart and mind and is it reflected in our actions? We need to think about this, it is indeed serious stuff. Amen. Continue reading
- The Olivet Discourse - The Olivet Discourse: It is Tuesday of Holy week. Jesus spends a difficult morning in the temple, and still another confrontation with teachers of the law. By early afternoon, Jesus and his disciples make their way back to a place on the Mount of Olives, where they had gathered in the past, and settled in for an afternoon of prophetic teaching.The Book of Matthew details five collections of lessons which Jesus delivered during the course of His ministry, including the more familiar Sermon on the Mount. This final collection of lessons (Matthew 24—25; Mark 13; and Luke 17:20–37) is known as the Olivet Discourse. Among many lessons, it contains prophetic pronouncements, a response to the disciple’s question, when will this happen? Continue reading
- Blood Sport - Blood Sport: On any given weekend, stadiums, pretty much throughout the world, are packed to capacity with rabid fans, totally dedicated to their teams throughout the NFL, major and minor league baseball, Soccer, college and community. Occasionally, you hear stories of riots breaking out and blood being shed. In the ancient world, human life was regarded as cheap and as result death was kind of a commodity of the “sport” of gladiatorial fights. It’s hard for us to imagine that these fights to death with so popular throughout the Roman Empire. People were disappointed if they were deprived of their weekend executions! Martin Luther King, Jr., in our own time, would say that “the man who has found nothing to die for is not fit to live.” Throughout the history of Christianity, ordinary people have found something to die for in Christ. Continue reading
- In Their Shoes, Imagined - In Their Shoes, Imagined: He’s dead! I thought He would live forever. He was to be our Savior, our new King who would lead us to freedom. Just this week we saw Him bring Lazarus back to life…why could He not save himself? I don’t know what to do! I don’t know where to go! I don’t know what to believe. He made so many promises, and now He is gone! John was there on Calvary, with Mary, Jesus’ mother, and Mary, who lives near us in Galilee. He told us all that had happened, Jesus’ death and where they buried our Savior. We didn’t want to hear it, but we had to know. It was sad, so very sad! Saturday was awful. Then on Sunday, women had gone to the tomb and, came hurrying back, excitedly told us what the angel had said. Can you imagine what it was like for these disciples, for the two Mary’s, and for all of the followers that heard the news, first of the death of Jesus and then stories of his resurrection? Continue reading
- The Shepherd’s Touch - The Shepherd's Touch: You can learn quite a bit about a person by looking at the friends they have, but maybe nothing about their relation with God. Really? I think the reverse may very well be true. Look at those that God was close to: Abraham who "pimped" his wife. Then there is Jacob who cheated his brother. On the list of 'friends' were at least two murderers, Moses and David. Incidentally, both were also adulterers. Each of these has their place in God's lessons. Oh, and so do we. We are all part of God's creation, we are God's friends, lest we forget. We are rapidly approaching Easter and it's event of cosmic proportions. The significance or the insignificance of man is not even at issue, in the face of the Resurrection. Easter is truly the hand of God touching human existence -- The Creator shepherding His creation. Continue reading
