April 11, 2011 Asylum

            No it’s not just the name of my first fictional novel I hope to one day have published.  An asylum is a place of refuge or a haven, shelter or even a type of sanctuary.   Many times we want to find quiet contemplative places to rest and catch our breath.   We might choose a posh beach resort, secluded mountain cabin, grassy meadow over looking a crystal lake, or maybe just a library where we can get lost in a favorite novel.  

            Isn’t it surprising how a beautiful building that has weathered a tornado or earthquake may look great on the outside but inside may have sustained structural damage that requires the edifice be torn down?  All of us would do well to examine our places of asylum and refuge.   Can we trust them or are they shaky structures.  

            During the last two centuries, persons who didn’t “fit” into society were often locked away in asylums or mental hospitals.  Today people are so conditioned to think of asylums or refuges as quiet places for restoration.    However, Joan Esherick wrote an interesting article for Discipleship journal some time back pointing out that refuges in the Bible times were placed in places of battle.  Those beautiful castles carved in the bedrock throughout Europe were meant to fortify cities during times of attack.   

            By now I’m sure you can tell where I’m going with this.   As Christians our only true assurance of asylum can be found in the person of Jesus Christ.   He is our only viable refuge.   We gain confidence by focusing on who he is and the many characteristics of his nature.  I hope you’ll take time this evening to not only rejoice in the provisions he can give you, but also receive His encouragement and love.   He’s always available to ease our stress and relieve our suffering.   Let’s not hide in escapism.  Instead confront battles with His promise.   I love the words of Mark Twain on courage.   “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear ~~not absence of fear.”    Find your asylum in the midst of the battle!

March 7, 2011 "Defining Moments"

March 7, 2011   “Defining Moments”

            You can call them whatever you like.   Flashpoints, Milestones, Forks in the Road, or Turning Points.  These phrases speak of moments in time when there is a great potential for change.   If we define the word define we’d see it means to classify, identify, characterize or delineate.  As parents, we thirst for defining moments like these with our kids and young adults.  We want people to know who they are In Christ and the enormous possibilities that lay ahead.  

            It’s too bad we can’t schedule times like this.   It would seem too contrived and people would feel “preached at.”   Instead we have to look for teachable moments during “Hang Times.”   Remember Jesus’ dinners, seaside chats, weddings, and walks through the field?  He capitalized on opportunities to “hang” with others.   We might do this over a cone of soft serve ice-cream, chili and cheese, cookies, or a cappuccino; but take time to cultivate time with others, especially those who are younger in the faith.  

           Some people are like St. Peter, always opening their mouths to reveal a need for growth, but we need to ask open ended questions.  What has the Lord been saying to you?   How can you deal with a guy who doesn't love you as much as you love him?   What are you going to do when you grow up? 

            Ephesians 6:18 instructs us to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the Lord’s people.”   Pray and be ready to act on these types of openings that will help others become characterized and delineated as God’s people.   Have a great evening!  

Have You Been Informed?

March 6, 2011:   

            No, I’m not going to be the bearer of anymore bad news.   The truth is sometimes, I’ve had about as much bad news as anyone one can stand.   That’s usually when I declare a media fast. 

            When I asked if you’ve been informed, what I was referring to is how well do you keep yourself up-to-date and enlightened?    1 Peter 5:8, tells us to “be alert and of sober mind.   Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NLT)   Luke 21:36 warns us “to keep alert at all times.  And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”   (NLT)   Finally, 1 Thessalonians 5:6 cautions us to “Be on your guard, not asleep like the others.   Stay alert and be clearheaded.  (NLT)

            Although we might sometimes want to bury our heads in the sand, as Christians we can’t neglect the opportunities all around us to be notified and enlightened.  We are to be truth tellers and truth seekers.   Samuel Smiles once said, “It is not enough to have books, or to know where to read up for information when we want it.  Practical wisdom for the purposes of life must be carried about with us, and be ready for use at call.”  Let’s get wisdom and stay enlightened!   Have a great evening. 

March 5th 2011 - The Best Thing In This Life Are Friends!

            I love Psalm 68:6, “God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.  But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”  As I’ve said many times before, I have a wonderful family and extended family, yet unfortunately none of us live near one another.  That’s why God places us in families within the body of Christ.

            A year or so ago our church keyboard player asked our Sunday School class to pray for someone help care for and bond with her daughter.  This lady and her husband both played in the orchestra for all four of our morning services.  Their school age girl had Down’s syndrome so meaningful connections had been difficult.  

            A few weeks ago, the young girl and her daughter were shopping in a Kohl’s Dept. store when the girl made friends with another downs child.   The two mothers began to talk and discovered they both attended the same church.   The other girl’s mom had wanted to become involved in the music ministry, but had concerns about her daughter’s adjustment.    One thing led to another and today during rehearsals and on most Sunday mornings, we have the pleasure of watching the two girls sit next to each other and share the precious gift of friendship.

            It was Larry Emerson Fosdick who said, “No man is the whole himself; his friends are the rest of him.”    Invest in friends! 

4/4/2011 God of Miracles

            Miracles today are taken with a grain of salt.  Or should I be more direct and say what they’re often called, frauds, schemes, rackets, hoaxs, or con games.    How sad that people in fact have tried to swindle God?  Yet, don’t forget, He’s GOD, and a God of Miracles He is! 

            Merrill C. Tenney in his analytic study of the book of John called, The Gospel of Belief JOHN, points out that only seven of Jesus’ miracles are listed in this forth gospel.   Track with me and see the progression.   In John 2:1-11 we see Jesus turning water into wine.  (Jesus is Lord over Quality.)   John 4:46-54 shows Jesus healing the nobleman’s son from a distance.   (Jesus is Lord over Space.)  John 5:1-18 tells the story of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been handicapped from birth for several years.  (Jesus is Lord over Time.)    In John 6:1-14, Jesus is feeding the five thousand with a boy’s meager lunch.  (Jesus is Lord over Quantity.)   John 6:16-21 reveals Jesus ability to walk on water.   (Jesus is Lord over Nature.)  John 9:1-41 shows Jesus progressively healing the blind man.  (Jesus is Lord over Misfortune.)  Finally in John 11:1-44 Our Lord raises Lasarus after being dead in the grave for three days.   (Jesus is Lord over Death).   Jesus has no limitations! 

            Philip Schaff write, “Being a miracle himself, he must perform miracles with the same ease with which ordinary men do their ordinary works.”    Is there anything He can’t do?

4/3/2011 SHOUT JOY!

            Say what?  SHOUT?  How ilreverant?  What about the scripture that tells us to be still and know that He is God?  Over in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, we find there are appropriate times for everything.   Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that there is a time to laugh and dance.   I’ve laughed and I’ve danced and there was usually some shouting going on.  Right?  

            In the book of Job, thought to be the  first recorded book in the Bible, and we’re told in Job 8:21 that God, “will once again fill your mouth with laugher and your lips with shouts of joy.  In Job 38:7 we find that, “all the angels shouted for joy!”   During the animal sacrifices in Leviticus 9:24, we see the people shouted for joy and fell on their faces.   As the Isrealites carried the Ark of the Covenant they, “shouted with joy so loud that the ground shook, in 1 Samuel 4:5.   Kings 1:40, records when the people followed Solomon into Jerusalem there were, “people playing flutes and shouting to God so joyously that the earth shook again.”   1 Chronicles 16:32 says, “let the sea and everything in it shout his praise, and crops burst out with joy!  Finally, In Ezra 3:13 we find “the peoples joy shouting could be heard far in the distance.”   And all of this shouting happened in the Old Testament.   We have Jesus!  Isn’t He something to shout about?

            Take note to Alexander MacClaren’s statement on joy: “The out-and-out Christian is a joyful Christian.   The half-and-half Christian is a kind of Christian that a great many of you are~~~little acquainted with the Lord.  Why should we live halfway up the hill and swathed in the mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a radiant sun over our heads if we would climb higher and walk in the light of His face?”

Hanging Out - March 29, 2011

           If you have been anywhere near a teen or tween in the recent past you couldn’t have escaped this term.  Wikipedia defines the term as “friends at ease.”  It goes on to note that friends desire what is best for the other person and demonstrate sympathy, empathy, honesty, understanding, compassion, trust, and reciprocity.  Wow!  Don’t we all need a lot of friends?

            Abraham called himself a friend of God.  That’s sometimes hard for us to think of the creator and sustainer of our universe wanting to be our friend.   In Psalm 8:4, David shared this dilemma when he writes, “what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?”(NLT)   Yet David had a keen understanding that God knows us intimately.   In Psalm 139:13, he notes, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” 

            God’s willingness to have a frienship with us is even more amazing when you consider that we have nothing to bring to the partnership.  Jesus, the son of God tells us in John 15:16, “You didn’t chose me.  I chose you.”   How cool that God invites us to hang out with him when we are emptyhanded.   Just imagine a friend that can live inside us.  He want’s us to be friends at ease.   Who better than an all powerful God can desire what is best for the us and demonstrate genuine sympathy, empathy, honesty, understanding, compassion, trust, and reciprocity?   Maybe we don’t need a lot of friends, but we definitely need one true friend in Jesus!   Have some great Hang Time with Jesus.