COSTLY GRACE

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It’s easy to be graceful when you are secure. But it’s harder to be graceful when there is a risk involved like receiving Syrian refugees. I think we as a country, that includes a lot of Christian people, need to take the risk. And for sure there will be many safeguards along the way.

But I remember Jesus saying that when we did something good for the least in our world we are doing the same thing for him. Mysterious but true. He also told us that we need to take up a cross for his righteousness.

We are a country that for all it’s mistakes is a much needed help in this world. Let us continue to help, as we love the ‘least of these’.

I realize that writing this means to do something myself. May God give me the grace to follow Jesus into this unsafe world. And remember we do this not to ‘fix’ the world but to stand with Jesus in ministering to the homeless, the poor, and particularly these Syrian refugees. All to the glory of God.

WHY THERE IS JOY IN HEAVEN.

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For me the greatest single truth to be experienced in the Christian life is to know we are forgiven. Recall the story of the lost things in Luke 15. After each is found Jesus tells the crowds that THERE IS SO MUCH JOY IN HEAVEN WHEN ONE SINNER REPENTS THAN FOR ALL THOSE WHO DON’T THINK THEY NEED TO.

I took some liberty with that verse but in proper context.

I remember when psychiatrist Karl Menninger was alive he commented that most of the people in psychiatric wards could be released, freed, and walk out on their own, so to speak, if they just realized they were forgiven.

When Jesus came into the world his major focus was on telling people that God had come to them to reconcile all people to himself, to put away all enmity, to release them from an imposed spiritual bondage by self or otherwise.

Jesus came to say that our enslavement and alienation from God is over. And the folks who realized it best were those on the fringe of society. And if we are honest that is ‘us’ often times. I think of the Prodigal Son and remember how often that is ME but the Father in the story reminds me that God takes me back, forgives my rebellion and brings me to a table of celebration, and that if I am the proud older son he begs me to come to the table to celebrate the recovery of that which was lost.

There may be a lot of things in this world that do not give us peace. Even as you are reading this, your own soul may be in some degree of turmoil. But rest a moment on this thought. You are forgiven. You and I are the children of God, the beloved of God no matter how far we have run from him.

I think at times that when I am dissatisfied with life I am the prodigal taking the blessings of my Father for granted and I am off in a far and distant land where, like the ancient Israelites, I find it hard to sing the Lord’s song. But then I stop, inside of my own head, and run to the Father’s embrace once more. I am sorry to have forgotten my place in his love but then I gaze upon his only begotten son upon the cross and realize that he is there for me, for us and no matter what else happens in my life, that forgiveness is the most essential truth by which I live in a good relationship with the Father.

And every time I come back to the Father there is a party in heaven, which to my thinking means that heaven is one big continuous celebration of the forgiveness my Savior secured for me.

My sins have been sent away and the favor of God has been bestowed upon me all due to God’s own mercy. Is there anything else more important?

Perhaps if we dwelled more upon what God has done for us we would be less concerned about what we need. As the Scripture says, ‘if God did not spare his own Son will he not give us with him everything we need.’ (Romans 8:32)

And lest you are thinking, ‘what about repentance?’ well, repentance is nothing more or less than changing the way we think so that we are drawn to Christ and not towards ourselves. Someone once explained the Greek term for repentance as if we are walking in one direction and then turn and go the other way. His way.

It’s like the cell door being thrown open. Do we choose freedom or would we rather sit on our cot absorbed in self-pity over our circumstances?

I just got off the phone with Waste Management here in Denver area because they went right by my garbage I had put out on roadside. Driver said it wasn’t out there at 8 in the morning. I found myself getting angry because I put the silly stuff out there before way before 8. So I got myself into a funk and now need to heed my own advice. Once again I am the prodigal who needs to return. Seems like I do a lot of returning.

So here’s what happened. My wife gently told me that it was probably around 8 that I put my garbage out (isn’t that what I am doing here?) and maybe just missed the guy. I called the company and apologized and apologized to my wife for being so grumpy about the whole thing.

That’s what day to day life is like. But I reminded myself that I am forgiven and loved even while I am in a far country feeding pigs. It will all be all right. Thanks for reading. The party might be a bit postponed today.

 

 

 

Straight Shooters

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I have a good friend who once in a gentle critique (at least I think it was meant to be gentle) said that I ‘shoot from the hip’. She meant that often I don’t take the time to aim with some kind of planned purpose. I come up with some idea (like this blog) and just let it go and sometimes-good things happen. Sometimes not.

Let’s just say that I am impulsive and probably compulsive. I don’t keep a planning book. I tried that. It was boring. Sometimes I think that spiritual impulsivity is not such a bad thing. A lot of people sit on their duffs waiting to be motivated to do something for God. I remember back in college we encountered some poor people and I suggested in an Inter-Varsity setting that we just get out there and help them. But the leader said we needed to pray about it. I am all for prayer but what if God is constantly working in our lives leading us by circumstances and events and we miss that by thinking we have to wait and pray. Some things are just evidently God at work waiting for us to join Him.

I was talking to that same friend I mentioned previously and she was telling me that upon hearing of the plight of the Syrian refugees she wanted to open her home to them. Actually it was a second home that she owned. Now there’s a woman after my own heart, shooting from the hip.

But here’s the thing. She and I are straight shooters, people not swerving to the left or right and who can be depended upon to hit the mark, most of the time, people who can be trusted.

I am the kind of person who thinks while he talks and sometimes I can get into trouble but most of the time people understand where I am coming from and that there is no guile to my words. I figure that after a good long straight shooting talk we will arrive at a good conclusion.

The disciple Peter shot from the hip and almost drowned during one episode of his life with Jesus but he kept on going and even through his failures his faithfulness to Jesus prevailed because Jesus himself was praying for Peter’s faith to prevail.

Some people are introverts simply meaning that they take a long time to process things in their heads before making a decision. I guess we need both kinds of people.

But for me, I would rather shoot from the hip than to have no guns. (Speaking spiritually here, not politically)

MOMENT BY MOMENT

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The leading of God for our lives is moment by moment. Not far into the future. When Jesus called the disciples he did not give them a blueprint for tomorrow. He said, ‘Follow me’ with the understanding he meant ‘now’.

Don’t worry about tomorrow. Give us today our daily bread. Don’t think too far ahead. It brings fear and less trust in the Father for what we need today. The Israelites learned that, in the wilderness, as they sought for more manna than God wanted to provide. Not a good scene.

If we think too far ahead it may be that we substitute our own plans for God’s divine guidance. Sometimes we can even plan God out of the picture. What we need is GRACE FOR THE MOMENT, the discipline of saying to God, ‘What now my Lord?’ Shall I turn left or right or keep going? And then let’s not be afraid of make that spiritually motivated impulsive choice. If there be any miscalculation, God will show us- Moment by moment.

blessings for this day.

george

Why Tell Anybody About Jesus

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So I was asking myself the question, ‘Why tell others about Jesus?’ Why not just leave people alone to their own beliefs or lack thereof? Then I thought, “Why did Jesus tell his disciples to go and train other people to be disciples?’ Was it to propagate a new philosophy of life? Was it to keep everyone from going to hell because that’s not a very attractive way of love or grace? I rather think that Jesus wanted people to follow him, trust him, and place their confidence in him for all the positive reasons. Consider the following:

  1. He believed himself sent from God, embodying God to reveal the fullest picture of who God is, clearer than anyone had ever portrayed God.
  1. He was offering people a way to life. He, the author of life, knew exactly the way life could best be lived, not be external acts or ceremonies but by a heart formed in Godly love.
  1. He wanted people to know how to live each day according to what was most real, ‘THE KINGDOM OF GOD’.
  1. In the most positive sense he wanted us to know that through his ultimate sacrifice, one of justice and love that our sins, our separation from God was forgiven, that God himself was paying the price we should have had to pay for rebellion against a just God.
  1. Jesus came as the epitome of the new creation that God was initiating to bring all things together in a final wonderful way starting with this present creation and finishing with a new heaven and new earth, a re-creation of all that was God.
  1. Jesus promised hope not for this life only but for eternity. His resurrection is the validation of all that is to be new.
  1. Jesus is the perfect Jew chose to complete the Abrahamic Covenant to bless the WHOLE world.
  1. Jesus came to make sure that we knew just how much God loves the brokenhearted, the downtrodden, the lost, and the marginalized.
  1. Jesus came to bring us freedom. Guilt and shame are gone. People were rescued from the false promises and power of idols.

Take for example a man whose life was controlled by his addiction to alcohol and he, through the 12-step program, is released from that idol. He wants to share with others that message, not to beat them over the head but to share what is REAL, what WORKS, what is GOOD.

And because Jesus lives He knows each one of us, what sorrows, sins, hurts, joys and He promises to be with us forever.

So these and I am sure many other reasons are good motivation for sharing the Good News, sharing not shoving. May God help us to be faithful to Christ as we do so.

Anxiety about Anxiety

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Jesus said that we should not be anxious. He added that it had to do with food, clothing and long life. But he didn’t leave us with simply that command. He went on to talk about how God cares for the creation and certainly cares about us even more.

I am of the mind that his caution against anxiety was because things like fear and anxiety can keep us from following him into the experiences of life where we are needed and find the most meaning. And to the extent that fear and anxiety keep pulling us back, turning away from his call, well, it seems fitting he would keep teaching us as he did his disciples in those first years that we can place our confidence in him and keep going.

That doesn’t mean we won’t feel anxious or even dread at certain things in our lives because anxiety is a sign that we are alive and not just resigned to some kind of fate, even the fate of being guided by God.

So in this real world of our the best way to address anxiety is to admit it and keep listening to Jesus and others’ assurance of God’s care for our lives so that we can move ahead.

I have a son who this very day is having surgery. Is he anxious? You bet. Is he going through with the surgery? You bet. Because the doctors and friends and family have all told him it is going to be ok.

I have a good friend and if I tell him I am anxious about something he will tell me he understands and that he knows that within me is the great desire to follow my Lord wherever he calls me. (Hopefully) That friend encourages me and lessens my anxiety.

Let’s just saying that anxiety is the uncertainty about living in freedom. Freedom is good and sometimes it’s scary. The Israelites were given freedom to leave Egypt but with that freedom and all the miracles accompanying it they were scared to death and often just wanted to go back to Egypt where in bondage they felt safe. We cannot live in bondage anymore, not if we are going with Jesus. So let’s keep our eyes on the pioneer of our faith, the one who went through hell for us. Let’s just stay with him and do what he asks of us. He put us together and he knows how this body soul and mind works best. The Kingdom is now.

And just this morning I read this from Hebrews. Check this out:

12: 8 For you have not come to something that can be touched, to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words such that those who heard begged to hear no more. 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”21 In fact, the scene was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. (NET Bible)

Now when I read a passage such as that I think, ‘wow, am I in good company or what.’ So then let’s keep on keepin’ on. Jesus will be with us always.

WAS BEN FRANKLIN RIGHT IN WRITING THAT GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES?

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I think so. First of all it is a great doctrine of the Reformed Faith that our salvation, meaning a relationship with God, is by GRACE ALONE through CHRIST ALONE. We cannot earn grace. But we can make the effort to cooperate with grace to make progress in our Christian life.

I think it’s what Paul meant when he wrote to the church in Philippi for the folks there to work hard on their salvation because God was at work in them to live for God’s will and pleasure. (See Philippians 2)

Make no mistake. God acts first in our lives while we are absolutely helpless to do anything for ourselves in the way of a relationship with God. This is all affected through the sacrifice of Christ for our sins.

If we though want to learn the scriptures to draw inspiration and direction in our lives from God we make the EFFORT to open the Bible and carefully read. These words will not come by placing the Bible under our pillow and waiting for the scriptures to somehow radiate into our minds.

If we need and want to forgive someone we first depend upon God’s grace that has forgiven us and then we make a determined effort to forgive the other perhaps in some small first steps moving to cooperate with God in God’s desire to pardon and free us and the other. And while we do so we will experience GRACE at work.

Like in sports, grace is the invitation to be on the team. Grace is making the cut. Effort is like practicing, sharpening the God-given skills and sometimes you discover just how great grace can be through efforts that you make.

Effort is the opening of the door for the Holy Spirit to affect God’s will in our lives.

Effort is making the decision to decline so much of the world’s invitation to conform and thus work towards allowing God to transform our minds through disciplines such as prayer, reading, fellowship in order that we can better know the will of God. (See Romans 12)

I think of Abraham called by God (grace) and then leaving his homeland (effort) to find out what God had willed for him. Sometimes we won’t know the full measure of God’s grace until we step into the abyss and abandon ourselves to our Lord. And if we find that we cannot make that effort, no worry. God’s grace is full of patience, understanding and another door WILL open.

By the way, I read that Ben didn’t originate that phrase but as a deist he perhaps did not understand the full effect of God’s saving grace in his life.

Honest To God Christianity

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I have been thinking recently how living the Christian life faithfully is not so easy or simplistic as sometimes we would like to make it. Even though we are new creations in Christ there is still the ‘old’ at work in us. We are sinners and saints at the same time. We are citizens of heaven and worldly people.

Let’s take for example Jesus statement that we cannot love God and material things at the same time. I think we can and we do. It is a tension of the Christian faith that needs to be realized, admitted and even confessed.

I love God and as I recently discovered I love my material and worldly circumstances. My wife and I moved from New York to Colorado for family reasons and I found myself quite obsessed with the ‘things’ around me, most of all my muddy yard that needs to be landscaped and fenced. Day after day I look at it with some anxiety about getting it fixed up before the winter comes.

And there is much else to be concerned with as any knows who has ever moved some distance away from all the known to the mostly unknown. Things like internet and good TV. service were on the priority list. What WOULD we do if he evenings were oh so quiet?

So I began to think, ‘Hey, how can I love and trust God while at the same time loving all this stuff. And even if I don’t term it loving, well, I am certainly spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about it. So am I going against what my Lord would want of me? In some ways yes but it’s the journey I am on and Jesus knows it so well.

Think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, so in love with God and in some ways so desirous to avoid his own agony. It was the fullness of his earthly journey that brought him to the place of saying to his Father, ‘Thy will be done’.

And so it will be with us in those hard places even though one foot is stuck on earth and mired in the things of this world. We are a work of God. Sometimes I like to think of myself as a ‘real piece of work’ as the expression goes.

And if we stay with the disciplines of faith and not quit being the apprentice/disciple that Jesus calls us to be, we will love God more and more and the things of earth will grow dimmer as the old hymn suggests. I hope it will be sooner than later, for myself at least.

So as I gazed upon the mud surrounding my new home I also gave glance to a passage of scripture I read in the MESSAGE PARAPHRASE, which is a wonderful rendering of scripture by Eugene Peterson. This passage is Colossians 3:2.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Wow, this puts life in a proper perspective. So I walked on out my deck, looked over the yet to be landscaping and thought, ‘this is nothing compared to loving God.’ I want to be thinking and praying about what Christ is up to, what he thinks about all this material stuff. And I know that he brings me back to reality. His reality. So while material things DO have some value in my life I want God to know that it’s God who I want to put FIRST.

Oops, hold the presses. My wife just informed me that we are going to have the lawn put in. Well, the dialectic of living the Christian life continues.

 

Message for Roseburg

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If I were a pastor in that little community of Roseburg, Oregon or any community that is connected to the people there here is what I would want to say:

Let’s stay with Jesus for a while. Let’s not hurry on even to a sense of victory. The resurrection is muted. We just need to stay with Jesus. Look at his body, the blood, his tears. See his weakness on that cross. Don’t turn away with some easy answer to the senseless tragedy. No, stay with Jesus. Each one of these lives, these precious souls whose death has pierced their loved ones hearts, belongs to Jesus, the Jesus who suffers with each aching heart.

Don’t rush to change laws right now. Don’t rush to blame. Don’t rush to judgment. Just stay with Jesus.

Don’t rush to revenge. Leave that to the Lord. There was none of that on Good Friday. They just stayed with Jesus, cried with Jesus, and something in each of them died with Jesus just as something in all of us dies with these young men and women, their families and communities right now. They stood for Jesus. Jesus stands with them. Their hurt is his continuing pain. Don’t rush to find the end just yet. Believe right where you are, right where your heart breaks right not. If you need to doubt or rage against heaven, go ahead because heaven knows how to bear our doubt, disbelief or uncontrollable anger. Heaven has been here before.

Just stay with Jesus right now. That’s right. Where their blood poured out it is mingled with the blood of Jesus. That word ‘Jesus’ right now is the only word we can speak.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, ONLY A SUFFERING GOD CAN HELP NOW. May each of our hearts find a place where that suffering God can rest for a while.

PRO LIFE SHOULD MEAN PRO LIFE ALWAYS. BABIES & GUNS.

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PRO LIFE SHOULD MEAN PRO LIFE ALWAYS. BABIES & GUNS.

I am a Conservative, theologically, in that I believe in a sound Biblical, Christ- centered reading of Scripture, one that informs life within the church and within society. I am pro life, for life, for the flourishing of life by all means possible since life comes to us through Christ and in the image of God.

So here’s what I don’t understand. How can Conservatives say that they are ‘pro life’ and deny a woman’s right to choose what happens to and within her own body to save to life of a child that is to be born, and then in the same discussion NOT be willing to somehow deny the right to GUNS in order that little children as well as adults might have life along with their families and the society that would benefit from their lives.

Please don’t tell me it has to do with some obscure reference to ‘swords’ that Jesus makes when you can readily assess the heart and mind of Jesus with regards to peace and violence and ‘enemies’. Is it because we good capitalists don’t want to destroy the arms industry? Are we as conservative Christians so callous to life and so conformed to the world that we are so afraid of giving up guns rights to save more lives?

Help me out here. How can I defend the little child’s right to life within the womb when some of my brothers and sisters aren’t willing to TRY to save the lives of children in the school, on the streets, and in their homes and when they grow up?

This is a decision of THE CHURCH and not just an individual opinion based on a misinformed conscience. This is an opportunity for the church to speak a prophetic word to the church and say, in ‘Christ’s name, STOP.’

Don’t blame the criminals. They are only doing what they know to do. Blame the good people for doing nothing.