Monday, March 18, 2024

A Personal Word

I am always grateful at the end of the day for those of you who read this blog.  In more ways than you will ever know, you keep me writing these daily posts which I pray provide spiritual nourishment and a pause for reflection.

For those who might be interested in reading something beyond JourneyNotes, I want to announce that I have a few months ago published my first novel.  It is entitled "The Last Supper."  It is not a theological treatment on the holy meal which Jesus brought into existence through His ministry, but a piece of fiction which tells the story of four friends who show up at their closed down and about to be bulldozed church at the invitation of an old pastor and friend.  Their journey to the place of their past is filled with memories, tragedy, and the resolution of some of the struggles of living.  It is a book filled with strong and powerful characters who are caught up in this journey back home and the way that journey changed all their lives.  

Those who might be interested in reading the novel can order it from Amazon.com.  Look for "The Last Supper" by William L. Strickland.   

Preservation or Sacrifice

Churches come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are known as mega churches and will provide spiritual care for thousands of people.  These churches refer to their spot on the globe as a campus and so many cars are coming and going that law enforcement shows up to direct the traffic after the benediction.  Some churches are very small and may be hard to find in the neighborhood, or the countryside they serve.  These small churches take up the space of a stamp on a postcard; and yet, they survive and serve.  

It is tempting sometimes to wonder if a church can be too big, or too small.  Are the massed gatherings at the larger churches there to be entertained by the holy glitz and are the few who gather in the small gatherings not much bigger than family just getting by until closing  time?  The only thing certain is that the folks in the larger church and the folks in the smaller church will declare their choice is best until Jesus comes.  The important thing, of course, is the way the church, large or small, stands in its space without being so married to it that it cannot sacrifice itself in behalf of the Christ who gave Himself up so willingly on the cross.  

One of the most dangerous dangers of any church is becoming institutionalized.  What is of first priority to any institution is the preservation of itself.  This is a danger for the large and the small church.  The spiritual community Jesus brought into being is not one turned toward preservation, but sacrifice.  The church of the day struggles in knowing and fleshing out the difference.  

Helping Others Survive

One of my favorite books on prayer is entitled, "Prayer."  Written by a saint who survived the Civil War and lived long enough to see the next century, E.M.Bounds has inspired me and put me to praying during many a dry spell.  I am reminded of him as I sit here in the silence of the hours normally spent in sleeping.  There is a story he told in his book that defies finding and is only remembered partially, but it is one about a man whose wife finds him up in the middle of the night praying and he tells her to leave him alone that he must be praying for there are too many souls in need of his prayers.    

Unfortunately, I cannot confess to that kind of spirit in praying, but I do know what it is to have a list of those who have been promised prayers than I seem to have time to pray. Tonight as my sister who lives in Texas told me of a friend's struggle, I told her to tell him I would be praying for him and his wife.  Some months ago an old roommate from college who lives in Missouri called asking for prayers for a friend.  And, so it has been in these recent days   

I find myself moving more and more into this kind of ministry.  I do so not just because the Word of God says, "...pray for one another..." (James 5:16) and "Bear one another's burdens..." (Galatians 6:2), but, perhaps, even more so, because I have lived through a time when I lived as dependent on the prayers of others, as we all are, for air to breathe.  While we may not know how to help those who walk the hard path of dark times, we can pray for them.  It may be what enables them to survive.    

Friday, March 15, 2024

Never Too Inconvenient

An evening chore around here on the farm, or maybe it is a part of the ritual of the day, is shutting up the chickens.  There are three laying hens sharing life on the farm that put eggs on the breakfast table when they have a mind to do so.  They roam the place during the day and around sunset they get shut up in a pen and house that is somewhat, though not completely secure from predators.  It was something I forgot to do earlier in the evening and it was a tad after ten tonight when I remembered so I went out and completed the day's stuff even though I was actually on the way to bed when memory carried me elsewhere.  

Taking care of animals and livestock on the farm is not something done when it is convenient.  Earlier in the day the cows needed some hay at the same time I wanted a nap.  I went to to the tractor, got the hay on the spear to take to the pasture, and it started to rain.  It was not just a sprinkling rain that felt refreshing, but one steady enough to be a soaker.  By the time I got three bales out there for them to eat, I was wet enough not to need a shower.  Well, almost.  The lesson learned here again and again is that if you have animals, they depend on you and the care you provide for them.  

I am not sure if the God who takes care of us ever feels like it is an inconvenient task, but my understanding of Who He is tells me that He is always present, working to bring good things into our lives. I have experienced that unending care and constant love so many times across the span of years given to me.  He really is the One who in every circumstance of need in my life has been working for good.  It is as Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purposes."  (Romans 8:28)   

Thursday, March 14, 2024

A Word From Mad

For those who are losing sleep over the future of the church, or even worse, losing friends because of some of the controversies of separation, it might be good to remember a verse from Matthew.  In the 18th verse of the 16th chapter, we hear Jesus saying to Simon Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."  Sounds like it has a future despite our efforts to undermine and create something compatible with what we want it to be.  If the gates of Hades, or as some translations would have it, the gates of Hell, cannot stand against it, why should we worry and lose friends over its future?    

There are a few things that are easy to overlook with this verse.  One, Jesus speaks of the church as something He is going to build.  He is not going to be dependent on folks like us to build a building, create a denomination, or figure out what it should do.  He is the Great Architect who laid the foundation and Who continues to design it according to His specs.    And, secondly, the church which Jesus builds is not a church on the defensive, but one on the offense.  No bastion of evil will be able to stand against it for it has prevailing power.    

So, as  Alfred E. Neuman would say, "What, me worry?"  It surely seems that these days are full of chaos and confusion and concern over the future of the church, but the Word of God gives us every assurance that this spiritual community birthed midst the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit is not going anywhere.  Folks like me and you may think we can shape it and determine its future, but no matter what we think we are doing, in the end this spiritual community centered on Jesus and the power of the resurrection will be left standing to accomplish whatever it is that God has planned for its future.  

A Personal Re-Write

Today I spent some time re-writng a poem which never got off the ground. Though the lines seemed to have some possibilities, they never passed the personal quality control manager who put them into ink.  Back and forth and up and down the words went, but still they never seemed to fit.  I was tempted a time or two to give it up and push the delete icon which would have resolved my dilemma forever; however, the images and the hope which birthed them would not let me make such a drastic move.  So, at the end of the hour, I left the printed words scattered across the white space of the page for another day.    

At the end of the writing session I remembered a saying that made the rounds some time ago which told us, "God is not through with me yet."  I am glad such is true.  I am not sure what my writing dilemma is called, but I know what God's incomplete work with me is called.  John Wesley spoke of it as sanctification.  Sanctification is such a scary word for most of us who seek to understand how God works in our life.  We are tempted to think it refers to some advanced degree of sainthood when it actually speaks of the way the Holy Spirit seeks permission to work miracles of grace in our life.  

The miracle speaks of a deep awareness of holy presence and an inner desire to live under the authority of the Spirit who seeks to transform our heart so that it bears a resemblance to the heart of Christ.  At one time long ago, I thought of sanctification as a completed event which was good for the duration of life, but later came to realize it was not about an event but about a life, not about something accomplished but about something in progress.  When we hear the word it enables us to remember that God is still out there bringing together what is scattered and out of sync into an inner wholeness which makes our heart fit for the Kingdom to which He leads us.  

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Opening the Hand

After my mother was sure I had memorized the 23rd Psalm, she taught me John 3:16.  Slow down and say it aloud with me, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."  Some say it is the gospel in nutshell and, perhaps, it is.  What I know is that I learned it almost before I have memory of having memory and it still lingers around in the memory that brings back memories to me again and again.  It is, indeed, a powerful and life changing verse of Scripture.    

What I also remember is the discovery of the verse which follows it.  John 3:17 says, "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."  John 3:16 might well be the most memorized verse of Scripture in the Bible and John 3:17 might well be one of the most forgotten and ignored.  It is always easier for us to point a finger at what we regard as someone else's indiscretion, or sin, without ever looking in the mirror long enough to see our own.  The letter to the Romans helps us in this matter as it says, "...all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and "There is no one who is righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)  It seems we need to open up the hand that points so it can be a hand that receives.   

Jesus did not come for the business of condemnation, but for the business of salvation and deliverance.  He did not come to point out our failures, but to point out our possiblities.  He did not come to trap us in the sins of our past, but to deliver us into the hope of our future.  After Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, He said to them, "...you also should do as I have done to you."  (John 13:16)   As Jesus has given us grace, so are we to give grace to one another.