What Have You Done for Me Lately?

Sometimes when I think about some of the great stories of the Bible I am left with the question, "Why then and not now?" I was thinking about that great story about Elijah squaring off against the 450 prophets of Baal.  Fire shoots down from the sky scorching the soaking wet ground.  Wow.  Why do things like that not happen now?

And there are plenty of these to choose from; parting the Red Sea, water turns to wine, the blind see, the lame walk, why doesn't it happen today?  After all, if we saw these things, it would be easier to believe.  Right?

Here's what I think.

1. It didn't happen that often then either.  The Bible covers thousands of years of history.  Most people in the world alive at the time did not see Elijah call fire from the sky.  Most people did not see the Red Sea part or Jesus feed the 5000.  So even if one of the greatest miracles of all time is happening right now, why would we suspect that it would be happening here in front of us?

2. We wouldn't believe it.  I hear stories about miracles happening.  About Jesus appearing or someone's miraculous healing.  I'm inclined to be skeptical about it and think it probably has another explanation.  Maybe they are happening and we are just refusing to see them.  There was a line in a movie once, God is talking to a person on Earth.  The person wants to see a miracle.  God points to a tree.  The person says that it's not a miracle, it's a tree.  God responded, "Let's see you make one."

3.  But here's the real reason as I see it. It is too easy for us to focus on the miracle and not on God.  The wonder quickly fades and we are left with a sense of now what?  The Israelites wandered through the desert with a pillar of fire leading their way.  Every day manna would fall from the sky to eat.  And still, they would question God's providence at every turn.

Sometime we are in a fix and we are putting it all on God.  We pray for God's help and when the crisis passes we say, "now what?"  We need to focus on our relationship with God and not what he is doing for us right now.

So there's not really any reason to think that seeing miracles happen all of the time would actually bring us closer to God.  Soon the awe and mystery fade and we are left with a sense of "now what?" We need to focus on the blesser and not just the blessing.

Rhymes with Ebola

The Kingston Trio was a group of folk singers in the 1950s and 60s.  My parents used to listen to them when I was younger.  I remember them taking use to hear them perform at Meadowbrook one summer.  One of their songs that I liked is called "The Merry Minuet". It is a happy tune that talks about bad things happening places.  Even when I was young I could appreciate sarcasm.

They're rioting in Africa, They're starving in Spani,

Thee's hurricanes in Florida.  And Texas needs rain.

Then later in the song,,,

They're rioting in Africa.  There's strife with Iran.

What nature doesn't do to us, will be done by our fellow man.

What I think is amazing is that this song is over 60 years old and most of the words still apply today.  Rioting in Aftica, check, strife with Iran, check check.  This song could almost be written today, but they would need to find a rhyme for ebola.

Here we go again

It seems that some problems are always with us.  Some politician is stealing money, or cheating on his wife.  There are racial tensions and riots, a war a kidnapping, some big storm or earthquake or fire.  The stories are the same just the names are different.  I wonder if people who write for the news could create the stories with a fill in the blank form.   There was a break in at _______.  Congressman ______ was caught in a scandal.... Sort of like Mad Libs

Not Just Them

It isn't only the news that goes in cycles, we all do.  Many of the issues that I struggle with are the same ones that I have struggled with for years.  There are good times and bad times but there they are.  

As we go through our recurring battles, there is a sense that we are less and less able to deal with it.   The thought is I've been here before and even if I get this under control, eventually I will be right back here.  And that's true if we do it on our own.  We need to realize that if these problems were easy, we would have dealt with it long ago.  It is tough and we will only conquer it with God's help.  

So we need forgiveness when we start believing and again every day.  Every day.  Every day.  The struggles continue.  We think that when we become a Christian that it should all be better.  But becoming a Christian only means that we have the right tool to do the job.  We are just getting started.

And if we have a hard time realizing that about ourselves, we have a harder time seeing it in others.  We feel like that person there is a Christian, shouldn't they be better.  But they are going through their own struggles just like we are.  They need Grace every day too.

  

Grace is needed by everyone for everyone.  When we become Christians, we have only taken the first step.  The need for grace is just beginning.

Running Out the Clock

It's football season.  Between high school, college and prod there is a game most days  going on somewhere.  There comes a point in most games where one of the teams is ahead and they are trying to run out the clock.  Their goal changes from scoring to keeping the ball and letting time tick away.  It is such a part of the game that announcers talk regularly about clock management.  But for the fan it isn't that interesting to watch.

I like watching the final drive, when the team is down and they need a score.  Time is ticking and every play counts.  There is a long pass that sets up the goal line stand or that 50 yard field goal.  Now that's fun.

Baseball is different.  There is no clock.  If you want to win, put up some runs and get 27 outs.  It doesn't matter how long it takes.  And many times it goes longer, much longer.  The extra innings can go on and on, and sometimes this is tough on fans too, but there is no stalling.  As Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till it's over."

I think that too often Christian behave like we are running out the clock, and not on the final goal line march.  We are ready to take a knee and wait it out not go for the Hail Mary Pass.  The great commission says that we are to go and make disciples, but we stay inside and guard the walls.  We go through life with a mentality that says, "I don't want to lose what I've got, and not losing is good enough." 

We are called to be advancing the ball, moving the kingdom forward, trying for one more score. Some Christians are more wired for the methodical drive down field and others for the long pass, but we are called to move forward.

 And here's the thing about taking the knee and running out the clock.  Every time a team does it, they go back a few yard.  They think it doesn't matter because the game is ending.  They go from 1st and 10 to 2nd and 12 to 3rd and 13.  That's how it is in football and in life,  if you aren't advancing, you are losing ground.

More Like Us

When I was in college I had a job for a while in the security department at the Sears store in the Oakland Mall.  We would watch the surveillance cameras for shoplifters and other suspicious characters.

Sometimes we would need to use the cameras to watch employees.  Someone's till has been coming up short, so keep an eye on them.  Now, this was different.  If yous spend several hours watching one person you will inevitably see them act suspiciously.  They will do something that we don't understand.  "Why would they do that?" "Something is odd about what they are doing." These days when I am in a store, I often wonder what the people behind the cameras are thinking about what I do?

Given enough time, everyone acts oddly.  This means that we don't understand ther actions based on our own perspective.  Making a separate trip to the store room seems suspicious to one person.  Bringing everything out at once seems suspicious to another.  We all have our own motivations and perspectives.

Sometimes the ways that other people make decisions is confusing to me.  I see a falling down old house with a satellite dish in the yard.  I wonder why they don't fix up the house and skip the TV.  They think, how depressing would this place be without decent television?  It's all about perspective.

 

It's no wonder that we have a hard time with moral decisions and behavioral issues.  As Christians we see certain values as obvious.  We even think of them as traditional or family friendly.  However, so many people come to these decisions from differing perspectives.  It's no wonder that we come to different conclusions.  Especially when the perspective is one from a nonbeliever.

We get very angry when nonbelievers don't behave like we think believers should.  Considering a lot of believers don't behave the way that we think believers should, it is no surprise that nonbelievers come to different conclusions.  

I think we worry too much about behaviors and not enough about people.  So often we wish life was like it was back in the good old days, but what we are thinking about is not the days gone by, but rather the white washed versions that we saw on Happy Days and Leave it to Beaver.  Those days didn't exist then and don't exist now.  Some things were better back then, but some things were worse.

We need to worry about people more than their behaviors.  If they accept redemption through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will work on their behaviors.  In the mean time, I should worry about my own.

We have a name for loving people in spite of their behavior.  For forgiving people who don't know that they offend us.  For understanding and practicing the idea that Jesus died for them as much as he died for me.  That word is Grace, and we are all called to practice it.

Just Another Interest Group

It's the political season.  We are seeing commercial after commercial for this office or that.  In Michigan we are seeing a lot of adds for Governor and US Senate.  And while I have some very strong opinions on who are the better candidates, this isn't that kind of blog.

I have been thinking a lot lately about Christians being involved in politics.  Not about Christians voting or running for office, those are civic responsibilities.  I am talking about Christians and Churches behaving like another special interest group.  Interest groups from labor unions to the NRA to the AARP stake out positions and  endorse candidates.  And some churches do this too.  Some high profile pastors give out endorsements, some let politicians speak on Sunday morning at the service.  Some pass out voter guides that endorse candidates.

Here is the problem as I see it.  Politics turns everything that it touches into politics.  And politics is first and foremost concerned with gaining and maintaining power.

But don't we want our Christian values represented in public policy?  Of course we do.  I am a Christian and that affects every part of my life; Everything that I do; Every decision that I make.  But that is not politics.  Politics is about gaining and maintaining power.

There is a saying among politicians, "you can't do anything if you don't get elected." The next election quickly becomes more important than the values that sent them there. When Christians behave like an interest group, we get lumped in with the NRA and AARP and our standing suffers.  There is nothing wrong with groups advocating for a cause, but the Christian Churches are different.  Jesus is the light of the world and through his death and resurrection, salvation is available for the asking.  In Christ we can be released from our sins, our guilt, our transgressions and live lives full of purpose.  This is more important that whether or not capital gains investments are taxed.

 

Christians need to be more interested in saving the next soul than winning the next election.  We are need to speak the truth in love to people who need it.  And that isn't politics.  

Another problem with mixing politics and Christianity is raising the bar of membership.  By staking out political positions, we send the message that only people with these political views may become Christians, that salvation is only available to those of a particular party.  

To be a Christian is to put your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.  It doesn't matter if you are pro-life or pro-choice, if you support gay marriage or not.  If you are pro gun-rights or are in favor of gun control.  It doesn't matter what you think the tax rate should be or what the US policy should be towards modern day Israel.  Christianity is about letting the Holy Spirit work in your heart, and good people, Jesus loving Christians, are on both sides of every issue.  Sometimes we send the message that only people who have a specific set of political beliefs are welcome to join.  And that isn't even close to the truth.  

As Christians we are called to speak the truth in love in order to help those who don't know.  And that isn't politics.

Election day is November 4.  Be informed about candidates and issues and go vote.  Pray for discernment and wisdom and do what you think is best.  That is how democracy works.  And when I see Christians with yard signs in their yard that are different than the ones in my yard, I know that we have a lot more in common than the opinions that separate us.

I need, I need, I need

A little child is praying, "Please God help my finger not be sore and while you are at it; I would like a puppy."  The prayer ends, the finger is still sore and there is no puppy.  The child says, "Well that didn't work at all."

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. - Mathew 18:3

Somehow, I don't think that is the part of a child's faith that Jesus was talking about.  But a lot of people look at prayer like a to do list.  "God, here is a list of troubles that need to be solved and please throiw in the winning Lotto numbers while you are at it." What's in it for me?  After all, I have needs. 

There is a need for Christians and the Church to be bold in faith.  There is a need to change the question from "What can God do for me?" to "What would God like me to do for others?" God works through his people.  And what God wants for you to do for others is probably more than just pointing out what they are doing wrong.

Jesus did not show us a church where Christians sat back and pointed out the shortfalls of others.  There is the need in the Christian church for believers to be bold in taking our faith out and helping others.  And most of that can only happen when we get to the other side of the stained glass.

What are you praying about today?  How many things on your want list can change to "How can I held in this situation?"

Never to Return

A few day ago I wrote about slavery, and I have been thinking about it ever since.  I have a hard time comprehending slavery.  Not slavery in a historical sense, but in the modern sense.  How is it possible that slavery still exists in our modern world.  The idea that even here in the United States people (mostly women but not exclusively) are held against their will and forced to work as domestic help or in the sex trade.  I just don't get it.  But just because I don't understand it, doesn't mean that it isn't true.

One group that is trying to fight slavery is trying to raise money to buy people out of slavery.  This person is for sale, they will buy them and give them their freedom.  This is a controversial approach and has some serious draw backs.  First is the fact that you are rewarding the people in the slave trade for being grossly immoral.  It is like negotiating with terrorists or kidnappers.  They make their money and will keep on doing it.  

A second problem is the law of supply and demand.  Since nothing is being done to halt the demand, if this became a serious movement, it would increase the value of each slave as the demand grows.  The higher price would increase the incentive for people to be involved in the slave trade.  SO there is the chance that if this was done on a large scale, that it could actually make the problem worse.

BUT HERE IS THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THIS APPROACH.  What happens to these girls after they are freed?  Many of these girls were sold into slavery BY THEIR FAMILIES.  And if there is one part of slavery that I find particularly awful, it is this.  I realize that cultures are different and what being a parent means is different in different cultures but still. 

If the girls return home, they will not be welcomed back.  They will be sold again.

So if a person is bought and redeemed out of slavery.  It needs to be done in such a way that they don't go right back in.  Otherwise, we get all of the bad consequences and none of the benefits.

Slavery is an awful thing.  The fact that slavery still manages to exist in America is unfathomable.  But we can all put ourselves into slavery.  We can bind ourselves to the things that make us less free.  But we have an option that these girls do not.  For us, not only is door unlocked, but someone is knocking on it and asking to free us.  We just need to open the door and walk through it.

Slavery is an awful thing.  I don't really know how to fight it.  We can give money to groups that are working against it.  We can lobby our politicians to do more, but I'm sure it is complicated.  I think that not talking the freedom that we have or that we could have for granted, might be a good start.

To Be a Slave

We all have our issues.  Some are issues that require a response.  Some issues cause life to crash so that there is no going forward without dealing with it.  But that it isn't how it works for us.  Most of our issues are manageable, they just lower the quality of life in the process. Here, watch this music video.

I don't know Mia, but I feel like I do.  She works with a group called Tree Hill Collective that has been generous with letting me use their music on some video projects, such as the opening music for the TV ministry and a promotional video for Lydia's Gate. 

Slavery is a tough concept to wrap my head around.  Probably because we live in a country that is so free.  Mostly what we face are inconveniences not true slavery.  Maybe that's why we don't see it coming.  We can allow things to fester until it becomes a chain.

It makes me think of the german shepherd that we had when I was a kid.  We would put it in a fenced area.  The dog could have easily jumped the fence, but never did.  He made attempts to dig under.  But never took a running start and jumped over.  Freedom was there all along.

 

In the days of slavery, there were slave markets where people would be bought and sold.  Think about how much would you ask for your own freedom.  If we were going to sell ourselves into slavery, what would be the price?  It's hard to imagine a price high enough.  The amazing thing is that we put ourselves onto the auction block for free.  

So here's the good news.  We can be free.  The issues of our life, whether big are or small, do not need to be our chains.  Like our german shepherd, freedom is there if we take the leap.

So we have put ourselves on the auction block, God is there and ready to pay the price.  We just need to say OK.

Ignoring Boundaries

You ever deal with someone who is in your space?  We have this area around us and the list op people allowed in is short.  Very short.  Some people violate that space and just get a little too close.  Sometimes it's subtle and there's just something about that person that makes you feel uncomfortable.  Then there are the others.  You try backing up, but it's no good.  They follow.

In the movie "What About Bob?" a psychiatrist tries to set up boundaries between his home life and his patient.  Bob, played by Bill Murray crosses the line repeatedly.  What makes it worse is that his family and friends don't see the problem.  They love Bob.  Well in the movie it all works out fine and it is a very funny movies, but the idea of boundaries is important.

The greatest place for boundaries is not between professional and personal, but between right and wrong.  And there is a boundary.  We live in a world that believes that so much of what we do is just about our choices and what's right for me isn't necessarily right for you.  And while for some things that's true, on the bigger things, the important things, it couldn't be more wrong.  There is a boundary between right and wrong, and God draws the line.

We can flirt with boundaries and maybe we'll be all right, but maybe we won't.  The real boundary I think is actually between God's will and our own, and often we stand on the wrong side.

Pride and Authority and Humility and Mercy

Coattailing - To sponge, to mooch, to skate by and do absolutely nothing but watch and then somehow still try to take credit for what you had little part in.

There's one in every group.  There is the person who let's the others do the heavy lifting and then stands near to take the credit.  The rest of the group decides that they don't want the project to fail so they pick up the slack.  A friend of mine once told me a story from a college class.  He was working on a group project thinking about how every group has that one person that seems to get stuck with all of the work.  Then he realized that it was him.  He was getting stuck with the work.

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The worst part is really not having to do the extra work, it's watching the coarrailers take the credit.  I mean what about credit where credit is due.

Sometimes we behave like coattailers in our walk with Christ.  Through Grace we've cleaned up our act a bit, but we act like it's all us. that we did this under our power.  

Grace means that we are riders on God's coat tails.  That's not only OK, it's the plan.  But we should remember who gets the credit.

What's Your Struggle

We all have struggles.  There are issues in our lives that we battle with continuously. And even if we are doing well right now, that doesn't mean that the battle is over.  It's just in a lull, sort of a cease fire or a temporary truce.

Of course there are the problems, such as addictions, that derail life completely and beg for some action.  But what I'm thinking of are those nagging issues that interfere with our quality of life.  We feel like we can handle this through force of will or maybe a little bit of good luck.  But in a lot of ways we are no more able to conquer these problems than we are able to control the weather.

We think that our particular problem is not one worthy of bothering God over.  We can take care of this one on our own.  A workaholic thinks that soon things will settle down at work, and then more time with the family.  Compulsive eaters will correct their diets right after the holidays, the compulsive gambler thinks after the one big score.  We think that the solution is in our power and right around the corner, but we've been thinking that for a long time.

What ever is in our lives that separates us from our relationships with family and more importantly God, is a problem.  We have been around a lot of corners and all we seem to find is another corner up ahead.  And let's face it, some of these problems are hard because our society celebrates much of it.  Working hard is a good thing.  We celebrate with excess rich food, put extra brown sugar on the sweet potatoes please.  We like new things and advertisers pummel us regularly.

Some problems upset life so dramatically that something has to be done, but for others, the fall is so gradual that we don't even know that we're falling.

The 12 step programs have it right.  Step 3 is turn our lives and will over to the care of God.  The solution is there.  It's not that we're that strong, He is.

Love and Heartbreak

Today I want to do something different.  No video or pictures.  I have a good friend that posted this on Facebook last night.  With his permission I am going to share it hear.  Please read this.


Ok, this one is for my kids, because I know that they read my posts, especially after my deep, sentimental story about the Christmas tree last year. Now they tease me about my random "wisdom moments" that don't always come out well when I try to talk...sometimes I'm better at writing them. So, here goes...I hope you will always have the courage to open your heart and fall in love some day. Why courage? Because courage is what you will need to get you through in case your heart gets broken, and since we're human that's bound to happen. Even if you marry your one an only first love for a lifetime, it will take courage to have your heart broken when you hold your loved for the last time as they take their final breaths. And if you are the one of you two to pass on first, you won't escape the heart break,because you'll feel the pain of seeing your grieving loved one left behind. But heartbreak is good, and is the measure of your love. How? ...the more painful the grief, the more intense the love you shared. The grief and heartbreak lets you know that you were really in love, and not just dreaming it all (though I hope you get to feel that dreamy side for a long, long time.) And it will take courage to open your heart up and love again, but it will be worth it. As you pray to God to ease the pain, I hope you also thank God for the amazing love, lessons, and memories you shared, that ultimately will prepare you for an eternity of experiencing God's love in an even more perfect way...which trust me is hard to imagine sometimes when you're in love. And bless the person that broke your heart, because in the big picture, they also put their heart on the line, and you can't learn to love without the loving heart of another.
Oh, and there is one final heartbreak, but it's totally worth it. When your heart is finally united to God's heart...it's going to explode, even if your heart was well prepared with lots of love on earth...it's going to break one last time, but then it will be healed, forever.

by Rob Patton

There. Now That's Done.

Have you ever set up a swimming pool?  We have one of those soft sided pools that we set up in the summer and put away for the winter.  Early in the summer we get it out, rake the ground, spread the liner, look for new leaks, set up the frame and fill it. Some people pay to get the fire department to fill it.  We just fill it ourselves from the hose.  It takes a few days.  Then we put in the chemicals and wait for the Sun to warm the water.  It's a big project and when it's done there is that sense of accomplishment when I say, "There.  Now that's done." But I know that I am just getting started.

Like many things, owning a pool is an ongoing project.  There  is the testing and the chemicals and the skimming and the cleaning.  Then as the summer goes on there is the inevitable battle with algae.  Finally there is take down time which is draining and cleaning and folding and storing.  Pool's are not the only thing like this, the pool happens to be on my mind now because it's fall and I am involved in the put away project.  There are many things in life that are just ongoing projects.

Our walk with God is a bit like the pool.  There is the initial set up, we learn about Jesus and accept salvation.  We get the sense of "There, that's done." We feel renewed and sharp.  But like the pool, it is only the beginning.  We need to keep cleaning and accept Grace every day.

Just like the pool, when we start walking with God everything feels fresh and clean.  Without the daily cleaning with Grace out lives become funky.  We can't think of Grace as a one time fix, but rather it is an ongoing project.  We all need a good Grace cleaning every day.

Bloom Where You"re Planted

If, only if.

Only if things were different, then I would do great things.  If my bills were paid off, if I wasn't so busy. after I lose 10 pounds (or 20?), then just look out.  If things were different, but they aren't.  Many of us are waiting to get started.  Started on what ever we think is next.  When I was in college I worked for a while in a warehouse.  There was an older man working there with me.  He was biding his time, waiting for retirement.  He would talk of the plans that he and his wife had for retirement.  They were taking the camper and heading west.  You can probably see where this story is going.  She got cancer.  Plans change.

So what are you doing right now?  We have today and there are no guarantees about tomorrow.  If things were different I could do X, maybe I even would do X, but that's not the life that I have.  The trick is making the most out of this life, not some life that doesn't exist. We can join Walter Mitty and Don Quixote or we can decide to bloom right now, right here, in these circumstances.  

God blesses us every day, and we need to make the most of it.  In the bible and throughout history there is story after story of people who rose up and had a significant impact in spite of their circumstances.  Joan of Arc was a peasant woman who rose to lead the French Army in the 1400s.  The idea that French soldiers in this era would follow either a woman or a peasant is really ridiculous.  It all happened as she followed the will of God.  And that's just one story.

God calls for us to make the most of what we are given today.  He gave the Israelites Manna from the sky, but only enough for today.  It's not like planning for tomorrow is bad thing.  We still need to plant the crops, sow the grain and put up stores for the winter.  But while we are doing that, are we living in God's blessings or waiting for different blessings? 

It's a Gift

At Christmas time we have the traditional exchanging of gifts.  People give us gifts and we in turn give them one with a value that is about the same.  Some groups put rules on gift giving at the holidays in the name of dollar limits or exchanging names.  Everyone who brought a gift can participate in the gift exchange.  In these situations, we are giving as much as we get.  We say thank you, but come on, they got something nice too.

But sometimes it happens.  You get that gift and you didn't know it was coming and you have nothing to give back.  Or maybe you are given a gift that is significantly more extravagant than one that you can give.  We aren't very good at accepting gifts in this way.  We feel beholden and uneasy. Most of us would rather not get a gift n this way.  

They say that it's the thought that counts.  And it sure is.  I think the problem with getting a gift when you have nothing to give back is the realization that this person thinks of me differently than I think of them.

Our salvation is like this.  It's a gift.  It's that simple.  There is nothing to earn.  You can't reciprocate with something equivalent.  God gives the gift.  We accept it and say thank you.  And the amazing thing is that because it is like this, we can't boast.  We can't think of ourselves as being superior because we didn't do anything to earn it in the first place. And when we realize the enormity of the gift, we are faced with the enormity of God's love.  We have to conclude that he loves us more than we are capable of loving Him or anyone else,

It's like being prideful when you are driving someone else's car or taking credit for someone else's score.  It is a gift so that none may boast.  

How Do They Do It

Some people really put up with a lot.  They go through amazing struggles and trials and conflicts.  And yet they get through it.  I think of Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans.  People trapped on roof tops.  People at the Super Dome with no power, food or water.  The scale of disaster was enormous.  And yet somehow people got through it.

Of course, not everyone got through it.  And some people didn't get through it well.  But then there are those people who rise above it all.  Who get through things with grace and class.  Like the situation doesn't touch them.

Christians have a secret weapon that can get them through the trials.  If you are a Christian, things can only get so bad.   I mean what's the worse that can happen?  If you die, you go to heaven, and that's not so bad.  This should give Christians the ability to approach problems with a grace and confidence,

Paid in Full

Debt is really something in this country.  The national debt is knocking on $18 trillion.  That is an unfathomable amount of money.  They say that it comes down to over $55,000 per US citizen.  I think the real amazing part is that it wasn't all that long ago that we had it paid off.  In the 90s the US economy was going gang busters.  The debt seemed to magically disappear and the politicians were arguing over what to do with the surplus.

Well that didn't last long.  A couple of wars coupled with tax cuts, expansion of medicare, adding a new department to the government, more tax cuts, a few bail outs, a few surges.  As they say in Washington, you spend a billion here and billion there, soon it turns into real money.

Now this really isn't a political rant.  Both parties share in the problem of the country living beyond its means.  I want to focus on when the debt was paid.  I remember in the late 80s and early 90s the nation debt seemed insurmountable then too.  And just like now the conversations were about cuts and taxes.  

When the debt got paid off the entire conversation changed to one of investments and opportunities.  Should the money be returned to the citizens or invested in the future?  These conversations are a lot more fun to have then the ones about which services are getting cut.  

My point is this.  Debt is bondage and solvency is freedom.  Freedom to invest, to plan, to explore.  And the debts do not have to be financial.  When we owe debts they burden us and restrict what we are able to plan for the future.  

In some versions of the Lord's Prayer it says, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."  Our sins create a debt on our soul.  And that debt holds us back.

God can release us from our debts if only we ask.  Our past piles up after a while.  And just like the national debt, it can seem like more than can be overcome.  But God says that freedom is available.  And just like the US economy in the 90s, your conversation can change from regrets about the past to plans for the future.

Hard to Forget

Memories are funny things.  Somethings are hard to remember and some things are hard to forget.

Personally, I am pretty good at trivia games.  Quickly remembering facts is pretty easy.  But what about the car keys?  Or remembering to pick up milk.  What about people's names.  Now there would be something handy to remember.  There are days that I would trade being good at tivia if I could only remember why I came into this room.

I do remember asking my wife to marry me.  Trying to come up with the perfect place, finally getting up the nerve when we were on a bike ride on Mackinac Island, stopping in the middle of the street and asking her then and there. I remember holding my son on the day he was born and feeding him in the hospital nursery.

Some things are hard to forget, no matter how hard we try.  Like everyone else I remember the horror of 9/11 and being both stunned by the destruction and trying to wrap my head around it all.  It was a day that changed every thing.

Some of the hardest things to forget are memories from times that we were really hurt.  Sometimes we hold a grudge, even when we want to let it go.  Even when we want to forgive, we can's forget.

God's forgiveness is different than man's.  When God forgives, He does it with the perfect love that also forgets.

In 1 Corinthians Paul writes that Love keeps no record of wrongs.  In our humanity that is hard to do.  God however is able to do it perfectly,

Another Second Chance

The Permanent Record.  We hear about it at school.  Those things that are going in  there become a little more important.  At least it seems that way.  The permanent record is often told as a bit of a joke.  "You know this is going on your permanent record."  It's funny how they never tell you that something good is going on that record, only the bad.

Keeping score, holding a grudge, remembering the record.  We like to keep track of the wins and the losses.  It feels good to think that we are a little ahead.  The Egyptians believed that when we died there was a great weighing of our souls.  If all you your transgressions cause your soul weigh less than a feather, then you are in.  I'm not sure what happens when it is too heavy, but I assume something bad.  

One of the benefits of having a relationship with God is His short memory of out transgressions.  Redemption is a clean slate.  He doesn't keep the record of wrongs.  When we mess up, we want a second chance at doing right.  But a second chance can only happen the first time that we mess up.  After that it is a third, fourth, fifth or sixth chance.  With God, it is always another second chance.  The other mess ups are gone, let's focus on this one.  You repent and are forgiven.  Here is the second chance.  Now sin no more.

I am grateful that God gives me extra chances.  There are things that I struggle with and things that seem no trouble to resist.  But for issues that I struggle with, they are ongoing and relentless.  Many chances are needed.

A Sin-Ectomy

I have a gall bladder.  I know several people who have had theirs removed, but I still have mine.  It seems like an infected gal bladder can cause all kinds of problems.  I know a person who was having back problems that turned out to be related to gal bladder, another had intestinal problems.  Getting that out of there seems to fix the problem.

Some things aren't so clearly solved.  Some medical problems are more systemic or are not connected to a single removable problem.  How many people with diabetes or heart disease wish that they could go in for a procedure and fix it all.  Those conditions need to be managed.  Diet, exercise, life style, maybe some medication, all go together to manage an ongoing problem.

Some problems are not medical but spiritual.  They arise from a moral problem that plague us.  These are conflicts between what we think, what we feel and what we do.  Sometimes we find ourselves full of hate, bitterness or anger.  We wish it was gone but there it is.  For these problems there is so little that the medical profession can do.  It's too bad that there isn't a hate-ectomy that doctors could perform.  

Christians refer to these moral dilemmas as sin.  Sin isn't just what we do, but what is in our hearts.  It is the difference between coveting and theft.  Coveting is desire, jealousy and resentment all wrapped up in one.  You want what they have and you are none too happy about it.  Coveting can consume you and make you miserable even if you never act inappropriately.  But removing sin is God's specialty.

I find it interesting that so much attention is placed on the healing that Jesus did.  In many ways, physical ailments are easier to manage or at least understand.  For example in this story from the book of Mark

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Forgiving sins is God's business.  Get your sin-ectomy today.

The Benefit Package

During World War II so many men had gone to war that there was a labor shortage back at home.  The government was afraid that there would be massive inflation as employers competed for a shrinking number of employees so it instituted a national wage freeze.  This caused employers to come up with other ways to attract employees (The law of supply and demand will not be stopped.) such as offering health insurance.  And so the employee benefit package was born.

Benefits can be a major incentive for a job.  What do you get out of it?  There can be pay, vacation time, insurance, pension, or 401k.  Google famously provides benefits in terms of its working conditions.  Free gourmet meals,  Foosball tables, health clubs, you name it.  They say that the benefits lead to a more relaxed and dedicated work force. 

Some benefits are more internal.  Pride, a sense of fulfillment or the chance to be part of something important, to make a difference.  God's benefit package is one step beyond internal, it is eternal.  God provides benefits that can impact both this life and beyond.

Peace of mind, forgiveness, purpose..... It has to be worth at least as much as a Foosball table.

I Love This Plan

On a baseball team nine players need to take the field and cover all of the positions.  Sometimes players are out in a position that they don't want to play.  They are out in right field, but they would rather being playing the infield.  The thing is that SOMEONE has to play right field.  You can try to tell the coach that you don't want to play that position.  He will likely find you another place that you can be, such as sitting on the bench.

If you want to get in the game, you have to be willing to play where the team needs you, not only where it is your favorite.  In most situations we can decide to wallow in the misfortune or celebrate the opportunity.  A lot of it comes down to attitude.  

It's easy when the job that needs doing is one that you want to do anyway. Life only has a limited number of these that come along.  Most things fall into the category of "not that bad" and how much fulfillment it brings to us depends on the attitude that we bring to it.

And so it is with our walk with God.

Have you ever noticed that no one ever says that they are feeling the call of God and He wants me to stay home tonight with my feet up and watch some TV.  Maybe He's calling me to have some blueberry pie along with it.  No, nobody ever seems to get that call.  Probably because God doesn't need to call anyone to that task.  It is well covered.

Our attitude with God affects our relationship with God.  We need to be willing to serve where He wants us to serve.

If we want to have a relationship with God, we need to be willing to get in the game at whatever position we are called.  It's either that or sit on the bench.

Work in Progress

So the job is not quite done.  There is still a bit more to do but don't worry about it.  We will get right on it.  Just make the best of it until then.

Have you ever been waiting on someone to complete a project, and it never seems to get done.  It can be really frustrating.  Either you are in a holding pattern waiting on them, or you continue on, but your part is that much more difficult.  We have all been there. Actually, most of us have been on both sides of this problem.  We have been the one waiting on someone else and the one causing someone else to wait.  For some reason, it seems more inconvenient when I am the one waiting.

How much are we like this?  The project that never quite gets done.  We all know areas for which we need to improve.  Physically, emotionally, spiritually, probably in every area there is a part that needs more refinement.  I remember once reading a quote from Mother Teresa (I could not find the actual quote, so I paraphrase.) She said that she knew her own heart and it was black as night.  

This has always struck me.  If a person who forsakes worldly goods and devotes her life to helping the poorest of the poor sees herself this way, my heart must need industrial strength cleaning.

So what issues are you facing?  What work do you need to do?  As Christians we ask the Holy Spirit in to our hearts.  And once in, the Holy spirit doesn't just put its feet up and celebrate a job complete.  No, the Holy Spirit, once inside says, "This place is a mess.  Let's get to work." 

I imagine that God gets frustrated with us.  Not because we are an unfinished work, because we all know that it will not be completed in this lifetime.  No, I think God would be frustrated with our spectacular lack of progress in some areas.  

Well, it's labor day weekend.  Time to pick an area and get to work. 

Did You Say Something?

When I first moved out of my parent's home, I had a little apartment out of town, near the river.  It was nice and quiet, but a bit too quiet.  I grew up with three sisters and it seemed like there was always something going on around the house.  I would often turn the television on just so that it sounded like someone was talking.

We live in a world where silence is distracting and clutter is the norm.  We hear so much about multi-tasking that I think that people have lost the art of mono-tasking.  No one seems to be able to have an actual conversation one on one with a live person while neither is engaged in doing something else.

There is a lot to be said for focusing on a single objective.  When a predator is chasing down prey it will pick a single individual and chase it down.  Animals instinctively know that constantly changing the objective, the target, the goal makes achievement much harder.  Why do we find that concept so puzzling?

It can be difficult to pick out one voice in a sea of noise, even if that one voice is the voice of God.  God is still speaking today, we have a world that can make it hard to hear.  Hearing through the clutter requires focus.  The lower the amount of clutter, the easier it is to hear.

If God is speaking to you today, would you even hear it?

Random Acts of Kindness

The world is falling apart.  You have to look out for yourself.  Everyone is trying to get into your pocket.  What is wrong with people and why don't they raise their kids better?

Naaaah.

Most people out there actually treat each other pretty well I think.  One time when my son, we were in Marquette.  In one park along Lake Superior people were jumping off the tall rocks and into the water.  He was too and we were watching him.  At one point he asked me, "If I got hurt in the jump, would you come in and save me?" I said, "Of course I would.  But you know what, all of these other people here would too.  If they saw you in trouble, they would save you too, even though they don't know you.  That's how people are." 

Sometimes there's that little extra help when you need it.  Watch this video about a boy who passes on a little kindness to a soldier.

A small act of kindness that means a lot.

Have you ever been in the situation where a potential disaster is averted at the last minute.  Someone is all of a sudden there to help.  We all have them but they end up being not very memorable because the day turns out pretty normal, and not a disaster,  We sometimes think, "What would I have done if they weren't there?"

But they were there.

And sometime were called to be that person that is there for someone.  Have you ever gotten the inkling, the feeling, the nudge that you really should do something for someone?  One time I remember getting this feeling that I needed to call this old friend.  I hadn't spoken to him in a while. but I was busy and I kept putting it off.  Finally in the afternoon I give him a call.  He was moving.  Things were not going well.  He had to leave his apartment and there were a lot of issues with it.  We talked for a while.  I think that it helped.  Now this was pre cell phones so if I would have waited he would have been gone and I would not have had any way to contact him.  Sometimes we need to listen to those nudges.

God often uses us to be a blessing to others.  We need to listen to the call and respond to the prompting.  What is He calling you to do today?

If You Need a Reason

In 1917, Teddy Roosevelt wrote in Ladies Home Journal on his reasons to go to church.  He lists ten practical benefits to going to church each Sunday.  One of them is this...

Yes, I know all the excuses. I know that one can worship the Creator and dedicate oneself to good living in a grove of trees, or by a running brook, or in one’s own house, just as well as in church. But I also know as a matter of cold fact the average man does not thus worship or thus dedicate himself. If he stays away from church he does not spend his time in good works or in lofty meditation. He looks over the colored supplement of the newspaper.

I think this is a valid point.  God is everywhere.  He CAN be worshiped anywhere, but how many people DO worship him everywhere?  

At a craft show once a booth had several handy products made out of every day items.  I found myself thinking why would I buy that, I could make it easy enough.  Then I saw a sign hanging up that said, "Yes, you could make it, but will you?" 

Worshiping God is like that.  We can do it anywhere, but will we?  Going to church sets an environment that is predisposed for worship.  The stage is set, music plays, prayers are said, scripture is read, all you need to do is engage.

God wants a relationship with us.  Building that relationship takes time and attention and while church attendance alone provides neither salvation nor a relationship, it is a good start.

One last thought from Teddy Roosevelt on going to church.

The man who does not in some way, active or not, connect himself with some active, working church misses many opportunities for helping his neighbors, and therefore, incidentally, for helping himself.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

We have all had that moment.  Thing go south in a hurry and we are left with that uncomfortable feeling of "What was I thinking?" And the sad part is there is no excuse. There was no way that you were going to pull this off.  Clearly it was a plan fraught with peril.  Disaster was predictable.  Sometimes we are only left with the consolation that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

But what about the decisions that aren't disasters, but also not quite as good as they could be.  You make the purchase and it's fine, but you later find out that you could have had a better model at a lower price.  Just missed out on an opportunity.  You should have been there.  There is nothing wrong with what's going on here, but man let me tell you.

We live in a world full of abundance.  Life is usually not a question of good choices and bad choices but rather good choices and better choices.  Discerning the difference is a function of wisdom.  CS Lewis said, "The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are." And of course God is the ultimate circle of wisdom.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. - 1 Corinthians 1:25

The difference between a Good Idea and a God Idea is what Pastor Mike called the difference between the world's good and God's best/  It is the difference between "Everything's fine." and "Excellence".

Which do you want for your life?