Broad Paths

On Being Thankful

2009-11-13T09:54:00.000-08:00

I Thess 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Along with many places in the Bible, it says to be thankful all the time, in all circumstances. In theory this makes sense and is consistent with what we know about God and our relationship with him. If he loves us, is all powerful and is trustworthy, then we should always be able to be thankful. In practice, though, sometimes that is easier to do than others. When those times happen, I find it harder to thank him FOR the circumstances. In my humanity, I don't like some of the circumstances in which I find myself. What I never forget, though, is that God walks with us through the difficulties and he will make flowers out of whatever manure I am in right now. Life is messy but God is faithful. Even while I am struggling through a situation, God is trustworthy and for that I can always give thanks.

Be a Drink Offering

2009-08-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

Paul told Timothy (in 2 Timothy 4:6) that he was being poured out like a drink offering. The first time we see it in the Bible was in Genesis 35 when Jacob is honoring God right after God promises Jacob that the promise he had given Jacob's father and grandfather would be handed down through him - that "a nation and a community of nations will come from you." Jacob builds a stone pillar and he pours out a drink offering on it.

In the Jewish tradition, a drink offering was wine that was offered to God as part of a sacrifice in the temple. They would take wine and instead of drinking it, pour it out onto the ground around the altar. I can imagine a someone seeing the wine being prepared and then poured out onto the ground thinking either the wine was bad or someone was crazy.

When we use our logic alone, it would make sense that we use the wine as it is generally used, to drink. But God works outside this world and asks us things that might not make sense - doesn't fit the mold. He asks us to take something that is not particularly special and make it special, only because he says it is special. And the wine wasn't a 'special' wine. They didn't use just the right wine with the right bouquet like a "Jerusalem Claret 0025" - they used plain table wine.

God asks us to be offerings - sacrifices - poured out for Him. Not used as we think we should, but as God asks. It won't make logical sense from the world's viewpoint - it might not even make sense from our viewpoint. But God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary if only we let Him.

Holiness

2009-07-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

WE, as Christians, often try to live a good life, honoring to God - we try to separate ourselves from anything that isn't about God - set apart from sin or from a focus on this world. Since "being set apart for God" is the definition of holiness, we are trying to be holy. Not trying to be a saint or totally faultless, but trying to live a life worthy of being called a Christian. This seems like a worthy goal in life but it is the wrong goal. Anytime our focus is on ourselves, even for what looks like a good reason, our focus is in the wrong place.

We tend to follow our eyes (ask any coach for baseball or tennis). If our focus is on us, then we become most important. But God doesn't love us more because we are holy, we become holy because God is in our lives. The personal holiness comes with our deepening relationship with God. It is an effect of it, rather than the cause of it. If our focus is on God, then he is most important. And who do you want to be the center of your life?

Servants and Witnesses

2009-07-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

On the road to Damascus, Jesus talked with Paul through a vision. In that vision, Paul was told he was appointed "as a servant and as a witness" (Acts 26:16). Paul was one of the giants in the early church but his instructions were the same as ours - be a servant and then witness about God's work in our lives.

Too often I get confused as to my role here on this earth. I see the verse about bearing fruit (John 15)and then go out to decide what kind of fruit that should be. But we aren't called to figure this out. We are called to be a servant and a witness. The branch of the tree does not decide what kind of fruit to bear - that was decided from the time the seed was made, by the Creator. All too often I forget that. I get caught up in deciding if my fruit is as good as someone else's fruit. I look at what others are doing and think that my work isn't as good. Mostly I see myself as just a nut. I'm not sure why this is a difficult concept for me - that as long as my focus is on God, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. How simple but how easy it is for me to forget it.

Aren't you glad God loves us no matter what?

Don't Be Surprised By Troubles

2009-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Peter says, "Don't be surprised by the fiery troubles that are coming in order to test you. don't feel as though something strange is happening to you, but be happy as you share Christ's sufferings." Peter's imagery reminds us that fiery troubles will come, and they have a purpose. Isaiah says that God "has tested you in the furnace of suffering." David says in Psalms that God tested him like silver. Peter says that we shouldn't become upset or think it's strange when we experience this fire. We are tested by fire, just as as precious metal is refined by fire.

When we go through this suffering, though, God doesn't abandon us - he strengthens us. Martin Luther says, "The gospel is a powerful Word, but it cannot do its work without trials. No one will discover its power unless he experiences it. The gospel can only show its power where there is a cross and where there is suffering."

The Catholic Church has a long tradition about suffering - one that includes the concept that one cannot truly experience God's presence unless they have suffered significantly. I understand that is one of their tests for sainthood. But nobody in this culture is likely to ask to be in pain or have difficulties - most often I hear prayers that God take them away.

So it becomes an interesting conundrum - do we pray against the pain, asking God to take it away? Or do we thank Him for it because we know we grow through His walking beside us as we go through it? What do you think?

Faith - The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

2009-04-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Near where I live is a lovely river that runs through town. In the spring the waters run fast and present quite a spectacle. There is a foot bridge that suspends you just a few feet above a narrow waterfall. Unable to hear anything but the sound of the water, I inch out onto the swinging, narrow walkway to become immersed in the sounds, sights, smells and spray of the water. It is as close to the violence nature can create as I ever want to be.

Nearby is another bridge. I have driven over that bridge maybe once a week for the last 20 years. It is a major road through the town. There are high walls that make it difficult to even see the river. Most of the time I drive over that bridge focused on something else - usually which lane I need to find on the other side and don't even think about the fact that I was on a bridge and there is a torrent below me. Several years it was well into summer before I realized that I had missed the whole see-the-beautiful-waterfall spectacle of the spring.

Our faith - the knowledge that God loves us, knows what we need and will care for us - is sometimes like that first bridge. We are intimately aware of the power of the troubled waters of our lives and how God is providing a way over them. We may get a little wet, but will emerge unscathed despite the power of the situation. Fortunately, though, most of our "bridge" experiences become more like the second variety - we sail over them oblivious to the torrent below us - focused on where God is leading us. We learn to trust Him no matter the amount of water in the river. Our faith is being sure of what we hope for - what God has promised - and He will provide.

Why We Pray

2009-04-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

We can't wait to pray until we feel worthy to pray. Martin Luther said, "Prayer must not be based on or depend on your personal worthiness or the quality of the prayer itself but on the unchanging truth of God's promise. If the prayer is based on itself, or on anything else besides God's promise, then it's a false prayer that deceives you. We become worthy to pray when we risk everything on God's faithfulness alone." We are only able to pray because God bridged the gap between him and us, not because we have earned the right to pray.

Just as we can't wait to pray until we feel worthy, we also can't base our desire to pray on whether or not we feel God is listening, or if we think He will answer it. God always listens, regardless of how we feel. I have heard people say that their prayers 'hit the ceiling and bounced right back down' which reflects their attitude rather than God's aptitude. And, while some people seem to have a special direct line to God in their prayers, God listens to all of us equally. There are some folks I call when I need Serious Praying done, but that doesn't mean any of us have an excuse to not pray. God hears us all and responds to all of us. He loves us! He has given us promises - which He always keeps!

Prayer is sharing our thoughts, desires, feelings, and fears with our Father who loves us fully and without reservation. There isn't anything better than that.

Seasons of Life

2009-03-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Life is a dance with its rhythms and melodies. I wish that was original with me, but it can't be. The symbolism is too obvious. The song sometimes is in the minor key and the dance is slow and difficult, and sometimes the song is bright and cheerful with a beautiful fast swing dance. We generally don't get to choose the song that is played but we do get to choose how we respond to that music. The only thing that matters is that we listen for the music. As long as we let God be the choreographer it doesn't matter about the music, or the dance, or even how well we dance.

There are natural seasons of life just like the seasons of the year. We have winters where the song is slow with dark strains of low strings. Spring comes to speed up the tempo and bring in the higher strings and reeds. Summer is a bright, up tempo song with lots of brass and the holidays follow with it's broad, rich, majestic organ music. Our lives do the same thing except there is no guarantee of each season only lasting 3 months. No matter which season we are in or what music we hear, God is the composer and more - he makes the instruments, the music and the dance itself. We can find great comfort in that.

Forgiveness

2008-10-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

I want to remind you about God's forgiveness. God wants us to recognize when what we have done is wrong and that we don't want to do it again. That's called repentence. When we repent, He forgives us! He doesn't just sometimes forgive us, nor does he just forgive us when He's in a good mood, He forgives us! Totally and completely. He "remembers our sins no more!" It doesn't matter how often we do the same sin, if we truly want to stop doing this sin, He forgives us every time. He forgives you every time you ask! HE LOVES YOU! Say it, "God loves me totally!" No, really, say it! It is the one truth in our lives we can KNOW is true - all the time, in every way.

On Grief

2008-10-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

"I don't know how someone gets through grief when they don't know God." Have you ever heard this statement? It is a recognition of the help God gives us as we walk through the difficult journey after the death of a loved one. We recently have lost 3 young people in our church. Over the last couple of months, a young father died suddenly after surgery, a young newlywed died of leukemia, and a baby died of heart problems. Each death was difficult in it's own way and there are many people at our church who are hurting.

Over the years I have had the experience of walking through the grief process with many people. It is clear to me that those who know God traverse the journey in a more healthy manner than those who don't. For a non-Christian, the death of a close loved one leaves a hole that doesn't heal and can breed bitterness and anger which lasts a long time. For a Christian, grief is still painful but as God heals us, we are left with a scar that is actually stronger than the original. I can attest to this in my own life, as well as other's lives. It is the fact that we have trusted God through the difficult times that we can help others through their difficult times.

Grief is not something anyone wants to have to go through but be assured, my friend, that if you have to go through it, God will be there. You will look back and see His healing presence at every turn, in every step. It is truly easier to go through holding His hand. If you don't know God already, ask Him for the help you need to get through whatever you are gong through. He loves you!

We ARE the church

2008-10-15T17:09:00.001-07:00

Today I saw a t-shirt with a message that was insightful. On the front it said, "I don't go to church." On the back it said, "I AM the church." It reminded me of the statement of a pastor who was being interviewed by the media after his church burned down. The newsperson asked what he was going to do now that the church was burned. The pastor's responce was an incredulous, "All the church people were in the building?" The newsperson was confused until the pastor said something like, "that was just a building. The real church is the people. My church is just fine."

We go to the church building to worship, learn and be in the presence of the people of God. But we don't live there. We go out into the world where we are usually the only "church" people ever see. When we think the church is the building, it gives us permission to be one way at church and another way when we are not there. It lets us put forward a "church" face on Sundays and fit into the world the rest of the days. A Christian, by definition, is one who is a follower of God. That isn't something we can put on and take off. We ARE the church.

I know some folks who won't put a Christian sticker on their car because they don't want the way they drive to cast a bad light on Christians. Would you be willing to identify yourself as a Christian in such a visible way - with a bumper sticker on your car, or a t-shirt that proclaimed you as a Christian? If you did, would it change how you lived your life?

On Temptation

2008-09-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

It's a well known verse: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Cor 10:13). But I'm amazed at how often it is misapplied. This verse is talking about how He helps us handle the temptations that come at us, not at the events that cause the temptations.

The events that happen in this life are many: financial ups and downs, deaths, betrayals, physical disasters, and on and on and on. The temptations are also frequent. A temptation is that thought we have that makes us want to to abandon our reliance on God - it is when we are being lured away from God. Everyone has those thoughts - they are common to man. The question is what do we do with them when they come? Do we allow them to draw us away from God?

When we are faced with difficult events, we are tempted to respond as most people do - with anger, fear, or even a sense that God has abandoned us or even that God is testing us or trying to teach us something and until we can learn it the bad things will continue to happen.

God's 'way out' is not to stop the events that are behind the temptations. He doesn't always make the bad stuff go away. His 'way out' is that He is there and will walk with us through the events. It isn't about the events at all. It's about our response to everything that comes our way. It is our continued reliance on God.

To Be Wholly God's

2008-08-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

"What folly to fear to be too entirely God's! It is to fear to be too happy. It is to fear to love God's will in all things. It is to fear to have too much courage in the crosses which are inevitable, too much comfort in God's love, and too much detachment from the passions which make us miserable.

So let us scorn earthly things, to be wholly God's. There would be only this difference, that instead of being devoured by our pride, by our overbearing passions, and by the malicious criticism of the world, we shall act instead with liberty, courage and hope in God. Confidence will animate us.

If we have a hard time believing this, experience will convince us. "Come, see and taste," said Daivd, "how sweet is the Lord." - Francois Fenelon ~1700

The True Meaning of Joy

2008-08-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Last Friday and Saturday we had the privilege of going to Seattle and visiting some friends of ours who are facing a serious illness in their family. As a family, they have been walking together through circumstances that must sometimes seem like black holes - sucking all the emotional and spiritual life out of people. This family, however, proves that God can fill that black hole faster than anything can suck it out and leave us absolutely certain of His love, power and holiness. We went to minister to them but, as usual, they ministered to us.

If you want to know the true meaning of joy as only God can provide, go to Matt's blog at http://www.fmcna.typepad.com/thomas/ and look for the entry on August 11. There is no one who can say it clearer than someone who is in the midst of the kind of trail that only God can get us through.

2008-08-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer
...AND Lazarus was dead!

Now! No more excuses! God can use you to your full potential...Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.

Did I fail?

2008-07-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how many people feel bad about failing at something. We think we have failed ourselves, others, or even God. However we describe it - disappointment, letdown, fiasco, insecurity, insufficient - there always seems to be a standard out there we can't reach. Why is that? Did God set the goal too high? Do we just not try hard enough?

Let's define failure as when reality does not meet expectations. It is particularly distressing if this 'not meeting expectations' causes hurt, discomfort or pain for ourselves or others. In our culture, we spend a lot of energy trying to figure out who's to blaim and some folks end up either carrying around the weight of the guilt themselves, or they carry around anger at others for their short comings.

Most of the time, I find the expectations are too high. We have to first look to see if we are aiming for a target that can actually be hit. Expectations that are too low are usually caused by fear of failure - so we still need to look for appropriate standards.

But Jesus died on the cross so we could have forgiveness for sins. There is no glory in carrying around the sin of guilt, shame, and anger. All we have to do is to ask Him to forgive us and ask Him to help us not do that sin again. Which He will do - over and over.

But in reality, the bottom line is this: if we are walking with Jesus as best we can, He helps us do what He has asked us to do. There is no failure. It may not look like you thought it might, but if God is in charge, how can we fail? He knows our capabilities, our likes, our knowledge and he would not ask us to do something we could not do! The reality then fits God's expectations and it's not a failure regardless of what the world would see. What a joy we have when we finally realize we can trust God in all things.

Be Thou My Vision

2008-06-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

The dictionary defines 'Vision' this way:
1. the act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight.
2. the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be: prophetic vision; the vision of an entrepreneur.
3. an experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind, although not actually present, often under the influence of a divine or other agency: a heavenly messenger appearing in a vision.
4. something seen or otherwise perceived during such an experience: The vision revealed its message.
5. a vivid, imaginative conception or anticipation: visions of wealth and glory.
6. something seen; an object of sight.
7. a scene, person, etc., of extraordinary beauty: The sky was a vision of red and pink.

I love this old Irish hymn. Read it (or sing it), thinking of each meaning of the word vision. What a richness of meaning.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys,
O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Do you know Jesus?

2008-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Oswald Chambers says, "being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing." We can intellectually and even by faith accept the salvation Jesus gives us, but not have really experienced His power in our lives. Once we see His strength, love, and wisdom (and so many others) truly at work nothing will be the same. Before we really see Jesus, we try to follow Him but after we see Him, we want to follow Him. Sometimes these two things happen at the same time, but often there is a time period between being saved and seeing Him for who He truly is - in a close and personal way. (see John 9:25)

"When you see Him, you must tell, even if they don't believe.
O could I tell, you surely would believe it!
O could I only say what I have seen!
How should I tell or how can you receive it?
How, till He bringeth you where I have been?"

How I pray for you that you truly see Jesus!

Let Your Light Shine

2008-06-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

In Matthew, Jesus says to "let your light shine before men." What does that mean? To me, it means to live our lives in relationship with God and not be ashamed of it. People will notice there is something different about us - something better than what they see elsewhere - and it becomes a beacon for them to find God. We become like a lighthouse showing the way to safe harbor.

But when I see people who I admire for how their light shines and I ask how they do it, the almost universal answer is that they don't think they have a light, or it doesn't shine very much. I wonder if we can't ever see our own light. Like when we carry a flashlight, others can see the source of the light better than we can. That doesn't negate the fact that we "are the light of the world." Not 'should be', not 'could be', not 'can be if we work hard enough' and not 'will be if we see the results of our efforts.' We ARE the light of the world because of Jesus. We are the only Jesus many people will see and all we have to do is have a close relationship with Jesus and live with courage and integrity. After all, it's not about us - it's about pointing people to God and "connecting people's God dots." (from yesterday's sermon by Glenn Teal). See his blog at fullydevoted.com.

With All My Being

2008-06-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Luke tells us to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind." In the Message, it reads this way: "love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence." So, with everything you have.

How do we do that? With God's help! When we pray, we enlist the power of the universe to help us. Then we can do what seems impossible. God gives us His love and strength and He shows us how to love him back.

He also gently shows us where we are holding back from him: our passion is going somewhere it shouldn't, we aren't praying about something we should, we are spending our time and energy in unhealthy ways, or we are not paying attention to what we are allowing in our thoughts. Don't be afraid - God loves you more than you could know. He has a plan for you and IT IS GOOD!

How Big Is Your God?

2008-06-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I talked about our priorities and how that priority becomes our 'god'. It doesn't hurt to question that periodically. Something else we do, though, is limit that 'god'. If our priority is money or relationships, limiting it is good. If our priority is the God who created us and the universe and who loves us, limiting Him is not good. Whatever good you think God can do in your life, He can do more. However much you think God loves you, He loves you more. Whatever you trust Him with, you can trust Him with more. Whatever wisdom and help you think God can give you, He can give you more. Don't limit God. He will always surprise you with His ability to amaze you.

Food for Thought

2008-05-26T15:56:00.002-07:00

I read a quote - "One can't achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd."

What do you think about it? Do you agree with it? If so, what does it mean to you? If not, how would you rewrite it?

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

Looking at the history of mankind one would guess that we require conflict to survive - like it's inbred into our genes. Some are wars that are large and in the world's face like the one in Iraq. Some have a smaller footprint like the one between the police and the felons in the meth house next door. There always seems to be someone doing the wrong thing and fortunately someone else willing to put their lives on the line to stop them.

The affect of these wars on those who are fighting them is tremendous. They are killed, permanently injured, get post traumatic stress disorder, get divorced, and so much more. Putting their lives on the line affects them in every aspect of their lives. Every soldier, seaman, policeman and fireman knows the risk yet they do it anyway. Today is the day to honor them.

I pray you speak kindly to someone who has been affected by conflict. Listen to their story. Honor their commitment to do the right thing. You will be richer for it.

Who do you know in that position? What is their story?

Value

2008-05-22T09:07:00.001-07:00

It seems one of the major rocks that clog our path is a lack of sense of value or purpose.

All people have a basic need to find meaning. Without it we have what I have had described to me as a hole in their life. We can try to fill that with material things, relationships, power, position, control and a hundred other things - all of which don't fill the hole. These things just try to distract us from the fact there is a hole there.

The only true value we can have comes from the God who created us and loves us just like we are. And it's a value we don't have to earn - He gives it to us without reservation and without limitation. We only have to accept it.

What gives you value?

Focus on Health

2008-05-19T07:07:00.001-07:00

Health is sometimes defined as the absence of disease. While that seems like an oversimplification, it is the essence of the content for this blog. I am a registered nurse, a master's level counselor and an ordained pastor. My ministry is helping people be healthy: physically, emotionally and spiritually. When I visualize our lives, I see us on a path. We naturally are moving toward health but there are rocks in the way. Those rocks might be poor nutrition, disease, poverty, poor self esteem, traumatic memories, sin, or a hundred other things. If we can get those rocks out of the way, we can move closer to being healthy in every aspect of our lives.

What do you see as rocks in your life? What do you do with them?

Why Another Blog?

2008-05-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

I have finally come in contact with someone who blogs intelligently, consistently, and actually still enjoys it after several years. He handed me the challenge of blogging, insisting that I have something to say that would be interesting to more folks than I think. I have taken up the challenge although it seems wise to wait to advertise the fact until I see if I enjoy it enough to be consistent (the intelligent part will have to wait to be proven).

How many blogs do you actually read a week?