Not To Be Out Done

There is this old Monty Python skit called "The Four Yorkshiremen".  There are four well to do men sitting around with brandy and cigars.  They begin reflecting on how much harder their lives had been when they were younger,  Each in turn talks about how desperate their life had been.  And in true Python style, it quickly move to the ridiculous and then to the absurd.  I understand that everyone isn't a Monty Python fan, but if you are, it is pure gold.

Many of us can't help themselves but they turn anything into a competition.   And I mean anything.  Competition is definitely not restricted to sporting events.  Who has the nicest house, the fastest car, the biggest truck, the brightest lights, the tallest tree, the most extravagant gifts.  We can even use the bad as a source of pride.  We can brag about the worst injury, the most severe sickness or the most dire situation to work out of.  It is all about outdoing each other.  

Sometimes its not about outdoing.  It's about keeping up.  One day, while teaching junior high I noticed an eighth grade girl wearing a pair of sunglasses up on her head.  I didn't think much of it, but the next day, there were three or four of them wearing sunglasses on their head.  By the end of the week, the vast majority of the eighth grade girls had sunglasses perched on their heads.  This went on for a couple of weeks, then it was over.  And it is easy to make fun of the girls, but we can all fall into the trap.  They have it so we need it.

We can see that this is no way to live, but the Bible does say that there is one place that we should try to outdo each other.  In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul says that we should "Outdo one another in showing honor." So Paul is saying that we should take that drive inside of us that so often degenerates down to the petty and use it for a higher purpose.  Use it for grace, use it for tolerance, use it for love, use it for peace use it to show honor to those around us so that they can see the light of God through us.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Outdo one another in showing honor.  If we are looking for a competition, that would be a good one.

Life Together

Christmas means a lot of things to a lot of people.  I once heard it said that there are two holidays on December 25th.  One is about the celebration of the Living God coming to Earth and the other is a time to be nice and kind and generous towards each other including everyone from our family to the postal carrier.  And the confusion comes because we call both of these holidays Christmas.

But while Christmas has a different significance to different people, the way that we celebrate it is very similar.  There is something about the holiday that brings people together.  Family gatherings and office Christmas parties and get togethers with friends all help us renew our connections.  Life is better when we do it together.

The first Christmas was somewhat like this.  The gathering part anyway.  People were all crammed together to comply with the census.  They were all packed into small towns to be registered.  Not quite the way that we gather today, but the overcrowding seems familiar.  I have not had to sleep in a barn or use a manger as a crib, but there has been plenty of couch surfing or eating at the card table in the corner.  And all of it is fine,  Who wouldn't want to be a little more crowded to have a few more family and friends around?

The way that we enjoy each other at Christmas should be the way that we relate all year round.  We should try to live together in peace and make each other a priority.  Most of us wouldn't think of just skipping Christmas events.  We adjust our schedules accordingly.  We plan for them and put forth the extra effort to be there and enjoy each other.

So why not make that effort the rest of the time,  I think that at Christmas there is an expectation of community.  We expect it of each other and we expect it of ourselves.  Most of the other times it seems perfectly acceptable to let other things get in the way.  The original church was about believers gathering together and we should remember that today.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

Community is about making those around you a priority.  As we get through Christmas, making others a priority would be a great resolution heading into the new year.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Capiche?

One of the many part time jobs that I had when I was in college was in the security department at a department store.  In addition to traditional security duties, we would get called for the unusual events that no one knew how to handle.   So one day I got called to handle a customer complaint (I know this seems like a job for customer service, but that's not how we did things.)  Anyhow, this person was quite agitated, but only speaking Spanish.

I don't speak Spanish.

So things were tense for a while, then we found one of the sales people from a different department that knew some Spanish, though limited, and it had been a while.  Let's just say that it was a long broken conversation while we worked it all out.

It makes me think about early missionaries to the new world, like Pierre Marquette.  They came to spread the gospel to the Native Americans living here, but there was this massive language barrier.  Marquette would have known very little, if any, of the language and his goal was to communicate the gospel in such a way that the people hearing it would understand and believe.  That is a challenging task when everyone is speaking the same language.

I think that the key would be that it all takes time.  He couldn't walk into a village, preach and expect results.  He would need to live among them, build credibility, be seen as a person with insight.  Then those around him would want to find out what he had to say.

I think that it is a similar story on the day of Pentecost.  Jesus has died, rose from the grave and ascended to Heaven.  There are about 120 followers living together in a community.  The Holy Spirit comes upon them like flaming tongues.  They go out in the city and 3000 people were saved that day.  

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

I think it went something like this.  The followers of Christ have been living in Jerusalem.  Others see how they live in a spirit of peace and joy and love.  They have heard the words of Christ, they see the life that the followers have, but they think it's too late.  They were the ones who hollered, "crucify!".   

So when Peter speaks, he opens the door and says, "Forgiveness is still yours if you want it." And the crowd is only too happy to accept.

I think the challenge for Christians is to take the joy, hope and love of the Christmas season and carry it through the rest of the year.  So that others, seeing this in our lives, will want it for their own. 

Understand?  

Not Much to Work With

Shortly after getting out of college I had a job working for a house painter.  One job that we were working on was painting the trim on this run down house in a bad part of Pontiac.  The house was in disrepair as were most of the houses on the street.  The yard was rough looking and there was trash in the street and we were there to paint the trim.  And we did.  We scraped and painted and cleaned up and when we were done, it was a run down house in a rough part of Pontiac, with nice looking trim.  I'm telling this story, because sometimes it's hard to do much, when you don't have much to work with.

But then I think of the TV show "Chopped".  It's on the Food network.  There are four chefs who are given a basket of ingredients from which they have to make a dish.  In one round it's an appetizer, the second round it's a main course then the final round is desert.  After each round, the chef making the worst dish is "chopped" and is out of the competition.  

One thing that makes it interesting are the ingredients that they are given.  Sometimes its exotic things like goat meat or produce that you have never heard of.  But I think it's entertaining when they are given very common foods that they need to make special.  So they are given a can of Spam, or maybe some sardines, or marshmallow peeps or ramen noodles.  Now make a gourmet meal from THAT.  

I think that the big difference between the chefs on Chopped and Painting a run down house, is what you can bring into the mix.  You see, the painter was putting a fresh coat on the old surface.  The chefs have an entire stocked kitchen to add ingredients to.  So if the peeps are melted and some fresh raspberries are added, then braised with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top???? Maybe they are good.  Or if the spam is sauteed with shallots and fresh morels with crushed plantains and an Orange Crush reduction??? Who Knows.  (Disclaimer - I have no idea what a "reduction" is.  They just use that term a lot on the show.)  

So walking with God is like working in the chopped kitchen and going it alone is like painting the trim on a falling down house.

When we try to do under our own power, we end up catching the highlights.  Maybe we improve the curb appeal a little bit.  But in the end we haven't made a major improvement we've only addressed the surface.

When we take our journey with God, there is more than an improvement, there is a total transformation.  God turns us into much more than we can ever be on our own.  God does this by adding His secret ingredient, the Holy Spirit.  When the Holy Spirit is allowed to simmer in our soul, we are transformed from the meager to the exceptional.  

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary when His people follow the Holy Spirit.  The Bible is not a story of great people doing great things.  It is the story of flawed people being more than anyone thought possible when they walked with God.  

And the same story is available for us all.

Another One

Sometimes it feels as though the world is falling apart.  Last week the report came in from California and the mass shootings there.  But it was Paris before that and Colorado Springs before that and before that and before that.  These attacks have a familiarity to them.  Shooters against an unsuspecting crowd.  They seem as random as they are horrific.  And they leave us with this unsettled feeling that no where is safe.  These kinds of attacks are different than a war.  In a war there is a front line.  There are those in the fight and those in the rear.  This could happen any place or any time.

And if the details have become to feel familiar, the responses even more so.  We need to either expand the number of people carrying guns, or reduce the number of guns or increase services for mental health or close the borders or monitor immigrants or build a wall around the country or send in the troops or pull out all of the troops or increase foreign aid or cut the aid all together. Or Or Or Or. I don't pretend to have the answers.  Like everyone else, I have opinions, but very little expertise.  I do have a funny feeling that none of it will actually make us safer and most of it would probably end up making it worse.

We have a society that is free and open.  We are a society of immigrants and their descendants.  We live with those of different backgrounds and faiths.  What makes this country great is not the rule of the majority, but respect for the rights of the minority.  I fear that for the sake of preserving our country we would be willing to destroy everything that makes our country worth preserving.  I think that in a free country there are a lot of openings for evil to exploit.  If you are methodically planning to do evil things, there will be your opportunity.  

The world can be a dark place and the situation can feel hopeless.  But in the darkness is where light shines the brightest.  It is in dark times that we can stand up and confront evil with the only force that has a chance, love.  We can not out fear or out hate those who would do us harm.  Personally, I don't have it in me.  Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  It is not an easy calling, but it might be the only one that works.

As Christians, this should be our finest hour.  Not where we hide and cower, but where we stand.  Jesus came to bring light to a dark world.  He came for me and he came for you and he came for Syed Rizwan Farook and he came for Tasheen Malik.  He came for those who are plotting to do harm and those who are just living their lives.  He came because no matter how much evil was in the world, God wouldn't stop loving us.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

Bearing witness to the light.  As Christians we know Hope where the world sees hopelessness.  We know Love where the world sees hate.  We know Faith where the world sees fear.  It is our call to bear witness to this so that others may know it too.

It is difficult to love those who would do us harm.  Really difficult.  But we are called to get to that place where we can say to them it doesn't matter if you hate me.  It doesn't matter what you plot against me.  It doesn't matter how much you hurt me.  But what you can't do is stop me from loving you.  That's up to me and you have no power over that.  And after all, THAT is what God said to us when he sent Christ to Earth.

Merry Christmas.

Looking Down the Road

Backpacking can take you places that you wouldn't ordinarily get.  Along Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  If you hike the length of it, you can start in the town of Grand Marais and hike all of the way to Munising.  And as you make the hike, you will pass along the twelve mile beach.  Twelve Mile Beach, other than being twelve miles long, has the feature of a far off view of the rocky bluffs.  As you walk along there is this ongoing site of where you are going and that it is ever getting closer.

Now let me compare that to hiking through Grand Canyon National Park.  A hike through the Grand Canyon is very different.  Of course there is the temperature.  The cool waters of Lake Superior are vastly different than the 120 degree desert of the Colorado Plateau.  But one big difference is seeing where you are going. 

The Grand Canyon is known for its epic beauty and the views from the rim are unparalleled.  I would say that it is impossible to over anticipate how awesome the view from the rim is.  But inside of the canyon is a different story.  Inside the canyon is beautiful in a different way.  Most of the time the views are somewhat limited.  You never know what will be around the next bend.  

We would look at the map and say that our camp is on the other side of the second butte.  But each of those buttes is actually made of several smaller buttes.  So there was a lot of twists and turns and large rock out croppings to work our way around.  

Life is often more like the canyon and less like the beach.  Many times life is full of twists and turns.  We don't always see the final destination but the main thing is to stay the course and keep on.  One step after another after another after another until we have arrived.  We can't always see our destination, but God has a purpose for all of us.  We will find that purpose, maybe around the next butte.

The history of the Jewish people is full of twists and turns and ups and downs.  They didn't always see where they were going.  In fact, many did not recognize that they had arrived.  But they were called to stay the course.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

The Roman Empire was building the roads that were going to be used to spread the Gospel.  The road builders had no way of knowing their part in the story.  Many times we don't either.  We can't always see around the next bend, but we need to trust that God will use our efforts for part of the story as well.

Letting Them In

Sometimes things don't happen quite the way that we picture it.  We make plans and preparations.  We set up and anticipate, and then reality hits.  And it never really works out that way.  As a teacher I have plenty of those moments.  At the beginning of a school year, the room is ready, the lessons are ready, I'm well rested and there are high hopes for the school year to come.  And then we let them in.

Once the school year begins, the room is never quite so nice.  The students aren't as excited about this as you were thinking they would be.  Some students struggle and some students have issues that really have nothing to do with this class, and for basically all of them, on the list of things that are important in their lives, theis class is no where near the top.

Don't get me wrong.  I really like working with teenagers.  And as a teacher I have the opportunity to get to know some amazing people who are on their way to doing some amazing things.  I am just saying that most things look a lot better in the planning stage than they do in the execution stage.

I'm sure the same is true in other professions.  Everything seemed perfect, until well, it wasn't.  Sales clerks must feel this way before the store opens.  Or a golf course manager must feel that way before the first players arrive.

I saw a report on the milk mustache add campaign.  You remember the adds with different celebrities sporting a milk mustache.  I'm sure that the people who designed it thought that they had a scored a home run.  But when asked if milk sales had improved as a result, they answered, "well, there si more than one way to define success."  

Nothing works perfect when we are dealing with imperfect people.  God had a design, but then He let us in.  And in dealing with humanity he used the imperfect  to do his bidding.  It would have been easier to just force us all into compliance, but that isn't what he was going for.

The Bible tells us over and over again that the imperfect can be amazing when walking in the will of God.  And the amazing can be laid low when trying to do it on their own.  

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Time and again, God uses the flawed to do His work when they walk with Him.  And things are no different.  He can do the amazing through us if we are willing to listen.

Lotto Horror Stories

There are a lot of people who play the lottery.  The big lottery in Michigan is the Powerball.  You select 5 numbers from a bank of 69 then the powerball which is a number between 1 and 26.  The odds of winning is about 292 million to one.  This is roughly the odds of dying from a lightning strike while being attacked by a shark.  "So you're saying there's a chance."  But people play and the payouts are huge.  I did a quick check and the current prize is $100 million.  Which I suppose you could get by on.  I mean if you budget.

We hear a lot of stories about people who win the lottery and describe it as the worst thing that ever happened to them.  At first it is all celebration.  They quit their job.  They take some trips.  They buy a house and a new car.  They give to charity,  They buy friends and family lavish gifts.  But then what?  Eventually they either burn through the money and need to put their life back together, or they need to figure out how to live with their pile of money.

The horror stories involve strained relationships, broken marriages, substance abuse, trust issues.  You name it.  There  is this sense that everybody wants something from you.  It seems that everyone wants your money.  It becomes harder to relate to your friends and you question the motivations behind all of your relationships.  I think that this sudden change in your economic status makes it hard to understand the question of who we are, what we do and why we have value.

Humans have an internal sense that we should be doing something.  We need to be productive.  We need to have a sense that what we do each day is important at some level.  We go to work to provide for ourselves and our families.  And whether the work is something that is personally fulfilling or just a paycheck, it still serves the greater purpose of provision.  The lottery takes that away.  And without some reason that what we do each day matters, we get into trouble.

While some days going to work can feel like a curse, in many ways it can be a blessing.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

God gives us a purpose.  And even if the work that we do is not necessary for our provision, there is still a purpose for us in His plans.  Any of us, at any economic level, can work for the greater glory of God or just for our self.  The real question is if we will accept His purpose for us as our own.

Bad News Montage

Sometimes on the local television news they go through a string of stories where there is one awful event after another,  We hear about a bus crash in Tulsa and a house fire in Baton Rouge.  This is followed by an assault in Boise and a house burglary in Burlington.  I find this odd because none of these stories are national stories.  I'm sure that the burglary is bad for the people involved, but a thousand miles away it really doesn't affect us.  So why are we hearing about it on the local news?

I think what happens is that the local news has some time to fill.  Their reporters haven't come up with anything good in the local area and they have some time left over.  The parent network must collect these stories and they grab a half a dozen to fill in the gap.  What we get is the montage of bad news from around the country. 

I wish that they would just label it accordingly.  When they go to the filler, they could say, "We are out of real news,  So now we will fill the next three minutes with bad things that aren't significant in a global sense, but you will find sad and discouraging all the same.  Please stand by for an overwhelming sense that the world is falling apart."  They probably wouldn't keep too many viewers after that, but at least it would be honest.

The point is this.  Listening to the news can leave us with this feeling that the world is falling apart.  And even a person of faith can be left thinking that all is hopeless.  We wonder why these bad things happen.  Some things are simple cause and effect.  This person got drunk and climbed behind the wheel of a car.  Bad things happen. 

But there are others that seem to have no direct cause.  No one made a bad choice.  There is no one to blame.  We are left with this big question mark in the air.  We wonder why God would let the child get cancer; or why God would let the people get stuck in a storm; or why hard working people come to financial ruin.  We wonder why and the answers are not easy.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

This was not the original plan.  But God is knocking on the door.  He wants us back.  Living in the will of God will not prevent the disasters from coming our way.  We live in a world where there is plenty of suffering to go around.  But God can give us the strength to weather the storms and see our way clear through to the other side,

Something Better

Here's a joke.

This politician dies.  He is met at the gates by an angel who says that he will be allowed to tour Heaven and Hell, then choose his destination.  So he tour's Hell.  And much to his surprise, it is much nicer than he originally thought it would be.  There are nice golf courses and there seems to be a party going on.  The whole atmosphere is happy go lucky and fun.   So then he tour's Heaven.  He sees the pearly gates and the streets of gold.  He sees the angels and hears the choir sing.  When it is done, the angel asks him which he chooses.  The politician says, "Don't get me wrong, Heaven is great and all, but Hell seemed a little nicer.  I can't believe it, but I guess I'll choose Hell.  And into the elevator he goes.  Down, Down, Down.  And when the door opens there are no golf courses or parties, only a burnt landscape to the horizon. The politician hears the wails and smells the brimstone.  And as he begins to feel the heat, he says to the Devil, "This isn't what I chose." The Devil says, "Then we were campaigning, but now you've voted."

Things are always changing as we are looking for the new or bigger or better,

As you know, I am a teacher.  And it sure seems that education is always the land of the next bright new thing.  When I started we were told that everything needed to be hands on, then came testing and we were told about all of the laws and terms that they needed to know, then it was about graphs and data and now they are saying it should all be hands on.  It seems like the old things keep coming around.

So why do we do it?  Why are we constantly looking for that next new thing?  There is something about human nature that no how good we have it, we are always looking for something better.  Everything new becomes old in a hurry.  Then we are looking for more.  We are looking for new.  We are looking for better.

This is a particular quandary for a Christian.  On the one hand, we know that being in God's will is better than anything that we can come up with on our own.  But on the other hand, sometimes we don't see it.  Sometimes we are looking at the situation through the world's prism and we think that there is something new, something better.  And so we go for it.  We accept the worlds better over God's best. 

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Something better.  God had given us everything, but that wasn't enough.  We suffer from the same problem today.  We can have a life that is blessed beyond measure, but still we can look at it through the prism of the world and think that better is right by that tree.

Looking for Loopholes

Some actors play parts so convincingly that people can confuse the character for the actual person.  I heard recently that actor Michael Douglas was confronted about his character from the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gecko.  In the movie his character is quoted as saying. "Greed is Good." And then goes on to justify the merits of greed.  He was called out on it and asked if he still believed it.  His answer was that he never believed it.  He was playing a character in a movie and seemed dumbfounded that people had such a hard time understanding that.

And so was the problem of William Claude Dunkenfield, an actor from the early part of the 20th century who is better known by his stage name W.C. Fields.  He often played a sarcastic drunkard and so developed was this character that people often confuse the character with the person himself. He is famously quoted with lines like,

"It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her for it."
or
"Once I had to survive for four days on nothing but food and water."

It's hard to know how much is him and how much was his character, but one of these quotes comes from a friend who was visiting him in the hospital.  He was caught reading the Bible.  When asked what he was doing, he responded, "Looking for loopholes."

I we all look for loopholes from time to time.  We like to think that certain rules don't quite apply in this particular situation.  We weigh the consequences of  breaking a rule and decide that maybe it's worth it.  A friend once told me, "A rule without a consequence is a suggestion."

And so it is with taxes.  We hear that such a small number of returns are audited and the IRS doesn't have the manpower to really investigate very many.    As a result, many treat the amount to pay in taxes as a suggestion rather than a requirement.

 

So where is all of this going?  As Christians we are sometime looking for loopholes in the will of God.  We know what it says.  We know the commandments and teachings of Christ, but we just don't want to do that.  So we try to justify our rebellion.  We say God didn't really mean it.  It was a different language and some translations make it sound different.

Love thy neighbor....
Provide for those in need....
Have no Gods before Me....
Thou shalt not....

Looking for loopholes we think that the commandments are nothing more than suggestions.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

"Did God really say that you could not eat from any tree?" Did God really say.  Surely he didn't mean it to apply in this situation.  Surely, if God gave us more detail, then this would be allowed.  Surely, this is not what He meant.

We like to reword what God says to fit our desires of the moment.  We are looking for loopholes and we should know better.  There is forgiveness in surrendering to the Grace of God, received through the blood of Jesus Christ.  We can't get in on a technicality.

You Had One Job

There are these funny pictures that you see online about people messing up.  Usually it isn't a really bad one, like someone getting hurt; it is more like an every day job done wrong.  Then they have a caption on it, "You had one job".  Here is an example

 

or here's another...

And I could go on and on.  There are hundreds of them out there.  It's hard to say what makes it funny.  Corn in an onion bag isn't really funny on it's own.  I think it's the set up.  The phrase, "You had one job." sets up a story.  It is really saying, "You were only asked to do one simple thing, and you couldn't even do that right." 

So why am I writing about this?  Well one of the first stories in the Bible is based on this idea.  "You had one job." The story goes like this.  Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden, and every thing is great.  God tells them to do anything they want, but "you have one job..." don't eat from that one tree.  So they ate from the tree.  And things went down hill from there.  

In all fairness to Adam and Eve, we were going to mess it up eventually.  People have free will, and with the ability to choose for ourselves and the knowledge of right and wrong, comes the inevitability of messing up.  Which I believe is the entire point of the story.  We can choose right from wrong and we know the difference.  We will inevitably choose wrong from time to time.  It is who we are.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

So they eat from the tree.  They gain the knowledge of wright from wrong and then they know that they did wrong.  And God says to them, "Really?, You had one job.  One job." And now its time to go.  He got the whole thing ready, then he handed us the keys.

God of course knew what would happen.  It is all part of the process.  Someone doesn't have free will if they can't make bad choices too.  And through our mistakes and through our poor decisions, we have the opportunity to rely on and draw closer to God himself.

Jesus said that the greatest commandments were to love God and love each other, which might be more like two jobs, but the idea is the same.  God tries to keep it simple for us.  Just do this.  Sometimes even the simple is beyond our abilities.

God in the Gaps

Sometime in life we need to stretch a little.  Our goal is just a little beyond out grasp.  It is so close that we can almost touch it.  Almost.  Maybe we are stretching to make ends meet or to squeeze in too many things into a too busy schedule.  Maybe we are confronting a health issue beyond our control or relationship problems that are a bit beyond what we can do on our own.  It is at those moments when our objective is beyond our reach, when we can't quite do it on our own that we are most likely to turn to God to fill in the gaps.  We ask God to fill in what we can't do on our own.

Sometimes God becomes a gap filler in our understanding of how the world works.  There was a time when people thought of outer space and Heaven as being the same thing.  Everything seen, but not understood was attributed to God, His Will and His Nature.  In this way of looking at the world, every why and how gets answered with God until we know better.  But here's the problem with that approach.  We end up with an ever expanding view of the world and an ever diminishing view of God.

Let me explain.  God is.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is the Great I am.  There is nothing. NOTHING. That any human could do to diminish God.  But if we allow our understanding of God to be restricted to our gaps, then when we grow, He shrinks.

When we see God as the one who helps us through a tight financial pinch, then as we make more money, God seems less.  When we see God as the one who helps us through physical health, then as we get healthier, God seems less.  And if we see God as the answer to questions about nature, then as our understanding grows, God seems less.

The trick is to see God in all things.  We need to see God in richer and poorer, in sickness and in health.  We need to see God in our ignorance and our discoveries. 

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

In the 1616 Galileo tried to describe the tides by the motion of the Earth and the Moon around the Sun.  The members of the inquisition had a view of God that was too small to include both Him and a moving Earth.  But still it moves.  We need to allow our view of God to expand with the amount of His nature that he shares with us.  God is relevant everywhere, not only in the gaps.

Top Ten

In 1985 while on the show "Late Night" David Letterman had a bit that became a staple of American pop culture, the top 10 list.  The first one was the top 10 words that almost rhyme with 'peas' and on that list #1 was 'meats'.   The lists went on night after night until he went off the air earlier this year.  List included Bigfoot's Pet Peeves (the smell of wet squirrel and Elvis dropping in unannounced.) and Facts About the 100 Ton Fungus Found in Michigan (Believed to be smarter than Dan Quayle).  Politicians and celebrities would stop by to participate.  What started as a gimmick turned out to be a lot of fun for decades.

Of course, the lists don't stop with the Late Show.  Facebook is filled with lists and lists and list  and list.  We can see 30 Memories of Boblo Island Amusement Park or 29 Ways to Know You are From Michigan.  And here is my favorite list.  The New Yorker printed a list of the 100 best lists of all time.  Go ahead, follow the link and take a look.  I'll wait.

So where is all of this going anyway?  As Christians there should be one list that we should be very aware of.  It is the list of transgressions that have been forgiven of us by God.  Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.  And as a Christian I know the areas that I have been forgiven and I continue to struggle.  I need to remember the list.  Not to beat myself up with the list, but to acknowledge that there is much to be thankful for and maybe generate a little more compassion for those who are just getting started on their lists.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We need a list.  Either a physical list or a mental list to remind us of where we were and where we've come in our journey with God.

Beggars and Choosers

If you want to stir up a feisty conversation at your next social gathering, just bring up the subject of welfare.  In general politics can do it, but welfare really gets under people's skin.  Some people can begrudgingly accept the idea that some sort of safety net is needed.  Many of us can think of someone who was on public assistance for a short time, and then got their life back on track.  But that isn't what bothers us.  What really gets under our skin are the people who are perpetually on welfare.  We see them spending their days lazing around while we're at work.

So to battle the middle class welfare frustration we want to put up hoops for them to jump through.  They need to get drug tested.  They should have to show up down here and do something before they get their check.  They should have to show that they are looking for work.  They should have to go back to school.  Just like there are things that we have to do to get paid, they should have requirements too.

And some of these ideas may be valid, but the point of this post isn't about ways to improve welfare.  The point is this.  What type of assistance are we on?  Us.  Not them.

I went to a public school and then to a public university.  We paid tuition for college, but I know that it was massively subsidized by tax dollars.  I took out a student loan, that was underwritten by the government.  I bought a house  and the loan was secured by the feds.  I continue to get a tax break based on my mortgage interest.  I also get a tax credit for having a child.  I went back to college and took advantage of a lifelong learning tax credit.  I got an energy tax credit when I replaced our front door and window.  Am I a welfare queen or what?

It is easy to pick on the problems of others.  It is easy to say that your problems are not my problems so get  your act together.  My point is that we all take from the pie.  When we say that we are not on government assistance, we mean that we are not getting a monthly check.  But there are so many ways that the government gives.

So what is my point with all of this?

This lesson is particularly relevant to Christians.  It is easy to look at another's sins and say "come on, get your act together."  As a Christian, I am called to forgive others for their transgressions.  Furthermore, we are told that the measure we use to judge others, God will use to judge us.  We are called to forgive others.  Have empathy.  Have compassion.  Love.  This is the calling of the Christian.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are two beggars showing each other to the food line.  We seem to have a lot of angry people in the world and many of them claim Jesus Christ as their Lord.  We need to approach others with compassion and humility.  We need to encourage rather than condemn.  And in all things we need to let the love of God shine through us.

P2C

This is the 200th post for this blog.  In honor of that, this post is about perseverance.  Just kidding.  I wrote this post and later realized it was #200, but it does fit, to a point.  We often think of perseverance being associated with enduring those things that are hard to get through.  I wouldn't say that I have persevered through 20 years of marriage, because being married to my wife is a joy.  (Maybe she's the one persevering. )  In any case, thanks for persevering through the 200 posts.

And now a word on perseverance from Winston Churchill.


We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

**Winston Churchill 4 June 1940

It is the summer of 1940.  London is getting bombed and France is on the verge of collapse.  Winston Churchill needs to encourage his people to persevere through the ongoing trials and the ones to come.  

Sometimes we get tired of the grind.  The same thing over and over again can get pretty tiring.  No matter what it is.  There are projects, goals, targets that we begin working on.  Along the way we start to lose focus and second guessing or purpose for doing it in the first place.  

 

We are called to serve our neighbors.  And let's face, our neighbors need a lot of service.  It can feel like we are spinning our wheels.  Whenever one problem is put behind us, the next one comes along.  In the midst of it all we can get discouraged.  But as Winston Churchill said, "We must never surrender."

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are called to serve out neighbors.  And not just a little bit.  We are called to do what we can, when we can for whom we can.  This can be taxing but if it is worth doing, it is worth persevering through to the end.  

Never Ending

It is the first week of November and it seems like we are being blessed with a week of nice weather.  It was clear and in the 60s and because of daylights savings time, it got dark about 6pm.  But after work I went out to rake leaves while I could.  We have a lot of trees in our yard and with that comes a lot of leaves.  I mean a lot of leaves.  And acorns.  This year has been a particularly big year for acorns.  There is nothing much to do with acorns other than dumping them in the woods for the deer to eat.

The thing about our autumn yard work is that it is never done.  There are so many leaves that the clean up goes on and on until they are covered with snow.  Then we take a break until spring.  And continue the clean up then.  It can get kind of discouraging.  When I am raking in the yard I know that I will never get done.  Bur that doesn't mean that I don't make a difference.  Last night I was working in the garden area to the side of the house (A place we call the courtyard) and when I was done it looked quite a bit better.  The front yard, the back yard, the other side of the house all need attention, but the area that I worked on is better.  And that is an accomplishment.

Like raking leaves, some jobs never seem to end.  Laundry can be like that.  Or shoveling snow in the winter.  Or washing dishes.  Or mowing the grass.  I am a teacher, so I would put grading papers on the list,  It seems like whenever I get to the bottom of the pile, there is always another thing getting turned in.  

It reminds me of the Greek myth of Sisyphus.  According to the story. Sisyphus was condemned to push a giant rock up a hill for all eternity.  When he got to the top the rock would roll back down to the bottom and the process would start again.  Our ongoing tasks can feel like the work of Sisyphus.  On going, never ending, and pointless.

There is of course a big difference between the toil of Sisyphus and our ongoing tasks.  The difference is that they make a difference.  Pushing the rock up the hill is a pointless exercise that benefits no one.  But the same is not true for grading papers.  Students receive feedback on their work and through that feedback can improve.  By doing laundry we have clean clothes to wear.  And by raking the leaves in the courtyard, The grass grows better and the flowers will grow better in the spring.  The efforts do make a difference.

As Christians we are called to help those less fortunate.  And as we look at the enormity of the need, it seems to never end.  We see the abject poverty in the world, both in foreign countries and here at home, and we are left thinking that there is no way that we can solve all of this.  And we are right.

But just because we can't fix everything, does not mean that there is nothing that we can do.  We can still make a difference in some places for some people.  And that is our assignment.  We are called to do what we can, where we can for whom we can.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

The poor will always be with you.  Jesus offers that as a reminder that in all things we need to keep our focus on Him.  But it is also a challenge.  We will always have the poor.  The job of caring for others will never be done.  Ever.

There is much to do and as Christians we are called to do what we can, where we can for whom we can.  And just because the job is never complete, does not mean that our efforts do not make a difference in someone's life.

Drawing Names

The Christmas season is almost upon us.  Halloween is the end of the week and once in November the Christmas floodgates are open and we will be in for two full months of Christmas extravaganza.  One practice that has become very common in gift giving circles is the practice of trading names.  In stead of buying a gift for everyone, we will each buy a gift for one person.

I know a family that takes the name draw one step further.  You draw a name.  You then go buy yourself a present and say it is from them.  On Christmas they get together, open presents and see what they gave each other.  So I draw Julie's name.  I know that I want a new cordless drill, so I go and buy one.  And a good one at that.  After all, Julie would only want the best for me.  Then I wrap it and put on the tag, "To Me.  From Julie".  On Christmas we open it and I thank Julie for this wonderful present.

So I have a hard time with the buying for ourselves model of gift giving.  But I think that sometimes we have a similar mentality when it comes to sharing the gifts we have been blessed with.  In this sense I'm not talking about a physical, paper-wrapped gift.  I am talking about the gifts and talents and blessing that we all have. 

We all have gifts.  We all have talents.  We all have abilities.  And everyone's are a bit different.  We all have a place and a purpose for which we can use our talents.  But sometimes we look at our particular set of skills and say "These are mine.  I will only use them on myself." 

I don't think that we consciously make this decision.  I think that we can commit ourselves to a point where there is nothing left.  We get all used up before we get to God.  To turn over our talents and gifts for the greater glory of God requires our surrender.  It requires us to seek God's will for our lives first and place it as a top priority.  And believe me, at this point I am pretty much talking to myself.  I am a master at filling my schedule to the point that there is no room left.  These gifts are mine I will use them for myself.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We all have a gift to bring to the table.  We have talents, abilities, callings, that are useful to others and to the kingdom of God.  And with these gifts we can either put our own name on the box, or we can say, "God, the gift is from you.  Tell me where it should go."

In Serving Others

Welfare.  The government programs of public assistance has been controversial since it was created during the great depression.  And really the complaints haven't changed.  Working people feel like those on welfare could work, but chose not to.

Years ago there was a congressman who wanted to show how easy it was to abuse the welfare system.  So he went and applied for it himself.  He would actually drive a congressional car to the welfare office.  Those of us on the outside look at the system and see abuse.  We think of ourselves in that situation and how we would get out of it.  We think "If they would only do THIS" then they would be supporting themselves in no time.  So it is a program that while it probably does help a lot of people, it generates a lot of resentment in the process.

I think that one problem with the welfare system is it is charity without compassion.  Most people don't mind the idea of helping people out.  We hate the idea that we are being taken advantage of.   We know how hard we work and we see them doing nothing and still getting a benefit.  We don't know the people or their stories.  We don't know how they came to be on welfare or what challenges they are facing.  We don't know anything really except that they are getting public assistance and we am not.  So we focus on something like their phone or their shoes and ask why it's fair that they can afford that, but I cannot.

Of course if we asked Christians their opinions about public assistance, we would get views as wide spread as we would for non Christians.  There isn't an easy solution.  Our opinions range from hard edge to practical to soft soap.  And we can pick verses from the Bible to support any position. And while we can debate about policies there is one non negotiable.  Jesus taught us to love one another.

When I see a person on public assistance with $300 shoes, it is not my job to fix them.  It is my job to love them.  And if my heart is full of resentment and bitterness, then I have bigger problems than what shoes someone else is wearing.  We have been called to love our neighbors and whether or not they act in ways that don't make sense to me does not change a thing.  We are called to love.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are called to love.  And sometimes that isn't very easy.  We aren't called to look down on people or to judge people or to be self-righteous.  We are called to love.

The Right Question

I like the show Jeopardy.  And while the game can be fun and challenging, every show is not the same.  Some shows can be vary vary frustrating, where it seems like every category and every question is coming out of left field.  Of course, there are the weeks where the celebrities are on or even better yet, kids week.  I always feel like I could win big money if I they would let me compete against the kids.

Seriously though, there are some times that the questions seem so obscure that it makes you ask how anyone knows this.  Then there are times when it seems that every category was made for you.  It's the luck of the draw but the answers are easy when they are asking the right questions.

Life can sometime be like being on a game show.  Sometimes you get a set of questions that you know nothing about.  Things just don't click.  But then there are the other times.  These are the times when everything just falls into place.  When you are dealing with a problem or working on a project for which you are well suited, it doesn't even feel like work.  It can be challenging, rewarding and fun all at the same time.

Granted, sometimes we do a job not because we want to but because it needs doing, and you are the one that's there to do it.  There is nothing special for you about it.  But it needs to be done, so there you go.  Life isn't always roses, but hopefully there are at least a few carnations pushing through.

Now when I talk about work for which you are well suited, it doesn't have to mean you employment.  Sometimes all you get out of a job is a paycheck.  And that is ok.  You can be good at your job even if it isn't your dream or you don't find it personally fulfilling.  But that fulfillment does need to come from somewhere.

God blesses each of us with talents and abilities.  When we use those abilities we feel fulfilled.  We help ourselves, we help those around us and the world is better for the effort.  You are the correct answer to some question, you just need to find out what it is.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

You are the answer to someone's question.  God blesses each of us with gifts and we are well suited to be a blessing to someone.  We just need to go out there and do it.  The answer is easy if you are answering the right question.

What Happens in Vegas

There is that saying about Las Vegas, what happens there, stays there.  The idea is that when you get there you can behave in ways that you ordinarily would not.  There's no worry about your reputation or repercussions.  Do you want.  Some people have other versions of this.  It might be deer camp.  It might be ladies weekend.  Sometimes people want to live without consequences, but the world doesn't really work that way.

While I now live in a small town, I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit.  One big difference between living in a small town and a big city is the number of ways that we are associated with other people.  It seems that in a large city, we know people in a specific way and that's it.  It is fairly rare to have a person that you work with also be going to your church or also be the parent of one of your children's friends.  You get the idea.  In a small town you see the people from work at the grocery store and the little league game.  

Someone once described small town living to me by saying, "You don't need to know the people, just there business."  And there is that sense of living in a fish bowl where everything is on display.

Christians are called to build true community with each other.  True community means that you know more than their business, you get to know the person too.  In true Christian community people know each other beyond the surface.  This is not easy for a lot of people.  It is easier to let parts of our life stay separate from each other.  But things that are worthwhile are rarely easy.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

True community requires risk.  It requires people to be open and genuine.  It requires people to be accepting of the flaws in others and transparent about the challenges in themselves.  It is challenging, but the worthwhile things usually are.

Group Work

Some situations require us to work in groups.  That was true back in school and it is true in work and even in many social circles.  Often as adults we call them committees, but it's the same thing.  A well functioning group of people can feed off of each other's energy and ideas.  It can be fun and productive.

But we have all been in the other kind of group too.  The other type of group is one that doesn't sync.  You quickly find that everything seems to take longer than if you just did it alone, and the final product is nothing to be inspired over.  One thing that I have noticed when required to work in groups is that it really doesn't matter what the group is working on.  What really matters is who is in the group.

Some people in a group are a real liability.  You just know that do to a lack of ability or a lack of ambition, that the group is going to get nothing out of them.  But other people really make a positive difference when they are working on a project.  These are the people who seem to carry the load.  These are the people that when you hear that they are working on a project, you just know that it is going to be successful.  These are the difference makers.

So this story is out of the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  A group brings a paralyzed man to Jesus, but the crowd was too big and they couldn't get there.  They climb up on the roof, make a hole and lower him down.  Their efforts sure made a difference in the life of the paralytic.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Difference makers.  The four friends saw that something needed to be done and nothing was going to stop them from completing their task.  Nothing.  

And of course, there was Jesus. He was the biggest difference maker of them all.  Through their faith He made the paralytic man whole and healed his legs.  And He continues to make a difference in people's lives today.

Balloons

Every year near around the Fourth of July, near Battle Creek is the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival.  Dozens of hot air balloonists from all over the country come to Battle Creek to participate,  The skies of southern Michigan are filled with balloons and people come from all over the Midwest to take in the festivities.

Whenever I see a hot air balloon I am reminded of a story that I once heard about Benjamin Franklin.  He was in Paris and saw an exhibition of one of the first hot air balloons.  People (including Franklin) were amazed at this new technology.  One skeptic in the crowd offered the question, "What good it?"  Franklin's response was, "What good is a new born baby?"  Franklin saw more than a novelty.  He saw potential.

Potential.  It's not about what it is but what it can become.  As a teacher I have seen many students over the years rise above a rough start to become very impressive adults.  Who we are now is not who we can become.  

Think of Abraham Lincoln.  Before becoming President he tried starting two different businesses and failed both times.  He lost eight elections for various offices.  He suffered a nervous breakdown and spent weeks in bed recovering.  He could have given up, but he persevered.  He was the right person in the right place at the right time.  He never let his early failures limit his future potential.

Potential.  That is the trick for all of us.  Seeing ourselves not for who we are, but rather for who we can become.  God is the real master at unlocking our true potential.  Through His grace we can be released from the burdens of the the past and we can become more than we ever thought was possible.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Potential.  We can be in a place that is pretty good by the standards of the world, but still far behind what we could be while walking on God's path for us.  Only by surrendering our selves to Gos's plan and purpose for our lives can we find our true potential.