Fresh Wind

There must be value in predictable worship since it seems to be the norm across the Christian landscape. It can also be boring.  It can become something which requires only the activation of our mental autopilot.  As a pastor arriving in a new appointment, I can remember looking through the files of one church and seeing that there had been no change in the order of worship for over a decade.  There was no need for a printed order for Sunday worship in that place as all the regulars carried one in their head.  

It is not that there is something wrong with the Apostle's Creed, or the Doxology, or the choir anthem, but why is it necessary for it to be in the same spot every Sunday?  What would happen if the congregation was greeted with the Affirmation of Faith instead of "Good Morning?"  And on those Sundays when the sermon and the choir anthem fit together like a glove, why not end the service with the choir's musical offering?  The point is that there are different ways of doing the same thing.  

While it is true that worship can be made boring and uneventful regardless of any changes, it is also a possibility that doing things differently from time to time might enable people to stay awake longer.  It would also justify printing an Order of Worship.  It might even make worship less predicable which would seem to be a good thing since predictability has no intrinsic value.  Who knows?  It might even open some windows for some fresh Wind to blow.

Another Muller Musing

When I finished reading "George Muller of Bristol," I was reminded of one of the many things I have learned in these years of retirement.  Many a preacher has floundered after leaving the pulpit.  It is the same with any person who walks away from forty years of going to work.  It is not an easy transition for the prepared and impossible for the unprepared.  Muller started his orphanage work at age 30 and spent the next 40 years building and maintaining five orphanages which cared for thousands of children.  At age 70 he was led by God to begin what he called "missionary tours" to countries all over the world.  

These "missionary tours" would be called preaching missions today as he traveled and preached like an itinerant preacher.  From his seventieth to his eighty-seventh year, he traveled in forty-two countries.  The distance he traveled was over two hundred thousand miles which is equivalent to nearly eight journeys around the globe.  He preached over five thousand times to an estimated three million people.  In all these mission tours, he depended on God to provide his every need which included steamer fares, railroad journeys, hotel accommodation, food and living expenses.  It was funded by God just as had been the orphanage work. He prayed and without any appeal for human help, God provided.  Step by step the Lord led him forward, providing his needs as he went.  

As I walk toward my seventy-eighth birthday, I wonder how he did it.  Of course, I know how he did it.  He did what he did because of the grace of God and the way God used a man of such faith that we stand in wonder over a hundred years later.  Muller is certainly a witness to the way God takes our weakness to make His power known.  Could it be that many of us wallow around in a mire of uselessness because we are not asking God what He wants us to do?  One word of caution.  It might be a good thing not to ask unless you really want to know!

Two Streams of Christianity

There are two different streams of Christianity present among us.  One is Scriptural Christianity and the other is cultural Christianity.  The first is authentic; the second is a pretender.  The first looks to the written Word as the final authority.  The second holds the Scripture as a truth, but one which is given its authority only as it blends and affirms changing social mores.  Scriptural Christianity lives with the tensions inherent within accepting its authority while cultural Christianity erases the tension by compromise.  

The two streams have been flowing alongside each other almost from the beginning.  There have been times when one would overflow and overwhelm the other, but eventually it seems they separate and once again move in different ways.  From the beginning the two have always been incompatible and even now such is true.  The Apostle Paul recognized the two separate and divergent streams.  Instead of denying the reality of what existed as something other than Scriptural Christianity, he wrote, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and true."  (Romans 12:2).  

One of the real challenges for the church and the believers of this day is to stand fast and to live in submission to the authority of the holy Scripture.  Wanting it to say something we want it to say, or not wanting it to say something which we do not want it to say speaks only of our desire for it to speak a word which is comfortable instead of one which creates tension in our life.  Too many times we have chosen what makes us feel good, or what seems less likely to offend than to chose an authority which transcends the ever changing cultural mores.  Today's mores will change even has as the ones of yesterday.  The Word of God; however, is as Isaiah said long ago, "The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand forever."  (Isaiah 4):8) 

The Prayers of Not Knowing

It must be true that God sometimes speaks so softly that the sound of His voice is sensed, but the words are too faint to understand.  It becomes a strange moment of knowing and not knowing.  We know His presence.  We know there is something unique about the moment of revelation, but it is more a sensory knowledge than one that is visual or auditory.  We cannot argue ourselves out of the awareness that God is near and speaking to us.  It is something experienced and known more out of faith than certainty.   

It is the kind of spiritual intuitiveness which came to Cornelius and Peter before their encounter in the centurion's home.  Both were in separate places when the Spirit broke into the ordinariness of their day.  The first movement of the Spirit alerted Cornelius of Simon Peter's presence in Joppa.  Before the messengers of Cornelius arrived, Peter who was in Joppa on a roof top was brought by the Spirit into a puzzling moment of heightened awareness and expectation.  (Acts 10) What neither of them knew would happen at the sunrise of that day was a holy rendezvous which was first experienced in the spirit and required each to act out of faith that was operating not on the basis of what was known, but what was sensed at a level that was beyond understanding.  

When we come into those moments of knowing something so deep in our spirit that we do not have the words to speak of it, it may be the Spirit praying within us in the way spoken in Romans. "Likewise, the Spirit  helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs to deep for words."  (Romans 8:26).  There are certainly times when the Spirit works in the heart we have given to Him to lead us into the unknown will of God.  In those moments we know His presence and we know He is seeking to lead us, but knowing is beyond what we can know.  In such times we pray not because we know, but because we have faith in the One who is speaking to us out of holy mystery.

Movie Musings

A few days ago, I saw the movie, "A Great Awakening."  It is a great movie.  It is one I would encourage everyone to see.  It is a piece of historical fiction which is centered on a great spiritual awakening which took place in this country shortly before the Revolutionary War.  The characters through whom the story is told are George Whitefield, an evangelist, and Benjamin Franklin, a founding father of our nation.  It is a movie which is about more than just history.  Any serious historian will find some moments when the eyebrows of disbelief will be raised.   

The movie, however, is not a historical document, but is more a witness to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The letter to the Roman Christians has a word from Paul in which he proclaims, "...it (the gospel) is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith..."  In visual form "A Great Awakening," captures the power of those words.  Anyone wondering what happens when the raw power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is unleashed through witness and proclamation will be able to see clearly the answer to such a question.  

One of the things noted by many who love the church is that the signs and wonders of the book of Acts are seldom seen in the church of our day. There is little to amaze; instead what the Holy Spirit is allowed to do in the church is hindered by our need for control and predictability.  A result of this is that we no longer see the power of the gospel unleashed to change and transform lives.  My wonder when the credits had finished rolling was what would the church look like if it once again made a decision to risk presenting the gospel in such a way that people were consistently confronted with the life changing power of the gospel of Christ.

It is Sunday!

This past week it has seemed every day that tomorrow was Sunday.  Today, Sunday has finally arrived.  Yesterday I received a sign that tomorrow was Sunday when I overheard two preachers talking about tomorrow's sermon.  When I went to bed last night, I knew that the sun would rise tomorrow on Sunday, which is by the way, today.  Today is Sunday.  Today is, therefore, the day I will be blessed by the opportunity of going to a sanctuary to join with others to worship God.   

Perhaps, part of my inner confusion this week speaks of the lack of a fixed daily schedule such as I knew before retirement, but the truth which I know to be true is that it speaks of my longing for God.  There are times in our life when it might seem to us that we can get along fine without God.  Most of us are guilty of such at some point in the past which is a part of our life, but there have also been those times when something, or Someone, within us draws us toward Him as surely as the waters of the ocean are pulled by the distant moon.  Such is how the Holy Spirit has been drawing me in these recent days. 

A Psalm often quoted is the 42nd Psalm which begins with the words of longing, "As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."  (Psalm 42:1-2).  Sunday has finally come once again and while worshiping God is something we can do anytime and anywhere, it is good to gather in the house of the Lord.  "One thing I ask of the Lord, that will I seek after; to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4).  Thank God it is Sunday once again!

The Lord God of the Universe

Isaiah 55:8-9 has a Word spoken in behalf of God through the prophet; therefore, we need to hear it as if it is the voice of God speaking to us.  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."  When trouble comes, and it will even as it has, and we find ourselves trying to figure the way forward, this Word reminds us of our first source of help.  

Our troubles may surprise us, but they never surprise God.  We can only see as far as the curve up ahead in the road, but God's vision gives Him sight we do not possess.   The good news is that He not only sees what we cannot see nor understand, but He sees them differently.  In other words, the trouble which we see as overwhelming and impossible to manage has been seen through different eyes and is being held in different hands.  

The passage in Romans which reminds us that God works for good in the lives of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) certainly speaks of the Lord God of the Universe as the One who is at work.  His thoughts and ways are different, higher, and better than ours.  The Lord God of the Universe can do what we deem to be impossible; therefore, the first step into any trouble should not be one of human determination, but one of faith.  

The Word and Prayer

George Muller, a spiritual giant of the 19th century and a great man of prayer, was influenced by an 18th century preacher who stood in the spotlight of religious life in America as a great evangelist.  George Whitefield is known for many things, but one of them is his prayer life.  He has an unusual discipline which brought together the Scripture and prayer.  "I began to read the Bible upon my knees; laying aside all other books and praying over...every line and word," he said.  While I have heard of praying the Scripture, this particular discipline was a new one for me to consider.   

I love to be in the room when someone is praying the Scripture.  It is one thing to quote Scripture while praying as some do when they pray and acknowledge something the Scripture says as a way of enforcing their request from God and another when someone speaks life into the Word as if it something not memorized, but something which has a voice that speaks more of the heart than the head.  Several times in the last year I have been blessed by being present in the sanctuary when someone led the congregation in such a prayer.  

There are obviously many ways of bringing together the Word and prayer.  I have a friend who lives in Korea.  She recently celebrated her 90th birthday.  I met her years ago when she came to visit her daughter who was a Minister of Music in the church I was serving.  Many years before her 90th birthday she began the practice of hand writing and copying the Scripture as a part of her quiet time with the Lord.  If I recall correctly she not too long ago finished her sixth journey through the Word and has gone back to Genesis again.  I have been blessed many times by the prayers of this saintly woman who brings together the Word and prayer in her spiritual journey.

The Resurrection Message

By the time I made it to seminary in 1970, it was obvious the church was not too concerned with heaven.  It was the beginning of an era when the church did not want to be regarded as being other worldly.  There was not really much need to worry since the church was in the process of becoming too earthly.  The church which was being accused of having been too other worldly was moving toward becoming a church that could only see what was in this world.  Service took the place of spirituality.  Sermons about life after death were reserved for the final words at the cemetery.   

At some point the church seems to have come to a place of being embarrassed to preach the resurrection of Jesus and the life that is promised in the heavenly place.  It became something which was out of step with the secularism of the culture and the church out of its desire to be attractive and to blend with culture started watering down what was left of any proclamations about the resurrected Jesus.  Easter Sunday sermons became messages about difficult things being made new instead of of preaching which announced that death has been overcome by the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  

I Corinthians 15 makes it clear that the resurrection of Jesus is the primary doctrine of our faith.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, the church has no message and the only task remaining for it is to lock the doors after a final benediction.  The message that Jesus has died for us and has risen from the grave is a message which shakes the foundation of every power of evil and, yet, even now a congregation is fortunate to hear it boldly proclaimed at least one Sunday out of the year.  Anyone wanting to hear about heaven needs to go to a funeral instead of the church.  

The Muller Way

George Muller served God in 19th century England.  Though he struggled early in his life as he tried to figure out where God could best be served, God put him among the poor of Bristol.  He is known for establishing a network of orphanages to provide for the forgotten children who lived around him.  What made Muller and his ministry so unusual was his trust in God.  In his biography entitled "George Muller of Bristol," Arthur T. Pierson wrote, "George Muller believed, and because he believed, prayed; and praying, expected; and expecting, received."   

Muller was a man guided by the Word.  It is said that he made no decision without praying and seeking God's direction.  It was his policy to never ask anyone for funds to support his work among the children.  He was convinced that God would provide and He did.  When he and the children were eating the last morsel of food in the house, he was sure God would provide the food needed for the next.  He believed in God, the Word, and prayer.  Being one familiar with Muller and his faith in God, I was often ashamed of spending so much time during the years of my ministry with fund raising.  

It always concerned me that the church could do nothing unless it was budgeted and the promise of funding had been made through a stewardship campaign in the fall.  I often tried to find some way of getting the work of the church done without so much effort going to raising funds.  Actually, I did not try every way known to me because I knew the story of George Muller.  Muller's faith and God's generosity always provided enough.  I should have tried the Muller way. 

Weakness and Power

Anyone who reads the letters of Paul is going to discover that Paul's body was abused by hardship, suffering, and persecution. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, he spoke of "...imprisonments...floggings, and often near death...forty lashes minus one...stoning...shipwrecked...adrift at sea...hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked..." (II Corinthians 11:23-27).  In addition to all of the pains inflicted by others, he wrote, "a thorn was given me in the flesh..." (II Corinthians 12:7).  Three times he asked the Lord for relief, but it never came. Instead of healing, he heard the Lord say to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (II Corinthians 12:9).  

Scholars have speculated about this thorn in the flesh.  Some have said epilepsy and others declared it to be a nagging wife.  Whatever it was, it seems to be something which caused him to experience a weakness which hindered him in doing the work he felt God was calling him to do.  There is a difference in being tired and experiencing weakness.  Sleep and rest can overcome being tired.  Weakness is not something which disappears.  It is something which greets us in the morning and goes to bed with us in the evening. 

There are times such as Paul experienced when the weakness we know is chronic and mental determination has no power to overcome it.  To hear God saying, "My grace is sufficient for you..." is to hear a Word which tells us that despite what we cannot see, God can see what is invisible to us and that we remain in His ongoing plan.  We remain in it and continue to be useful to Him not because of what we are able to do, but because of what He can and wants to do through us.  Even as we live in weakness, we know, too, that the resurrected power and presence of Christ dwells in us.   

I Resent That!

It was a big church on as much acreage, if not more, than the farm.  The buildings were many and massive.  The parking lots stretched forever.  Police show up every Sunday morning to direct the traffic. The grounds were manicured.  The grass was lush green and was so thick had my cows been turned loose in such grass they would have thought they were in cow heaven.  I had seen it all many since it was on a much traveled road.  This time it was different.  

When I left home, I had been watching news about the wildfires that were raging in south Georgia not far from where I was born and the 50 homes which were burned and gone in an instant.  As I drove by the church, I suddenly could see nothing but sprinkler systems shooting water on that lush green grass. Without even thinking I said aloud, "I resent that!"  A few hours south of those sprinklers, the land is so dry farmers can not plant.  Churches and communities are gathering to pray for rain.  People are cleaning out closets to provide clothing for folks whose homes are gone and collections of water and eye drops are being given to those fighting the smoke and fire.    

Neighbors are enduring a drought, the land is burning, and there was water being thrown into the air on grass that looked like a great green carpet.  "What about a little solidarity?" I thought,  "How can you water grass when the land in which your neighbor lives is burning?"  We are capable of being such an uncaring society and, unfortunately, the church often seems to be as uncaring as the secular culture.  Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself and just maybe turning off those sprinklers could become more of an expression of care and love than just saying we are praying for rain to come where the land is burning.

Psalm 118:14

Tonight during a random reading of the Word, I came across a Word which sent me back sixty years to the moment I said "Yes" to Jesus.  It was a few weeks before my high school graduation that I knelt beside my bed to pray.  Before I knelt to pray, the Holy Spirit had already put a Word in my heart through a visiting Methodist preacher.  I remember his words, "If you see a need and do nothing, you may be neglecting the call of God on your life."  It was one of those moments experienced by many us when we know it is God speaking and not just the one speaking in His behalf.  

As I knelt alone in my room, I confessed what I knew to be my sins, asked for God's forgiveness, and gave my life to Jesus.  Although I had gone to many altars and gone through the motions of repentance, this time it stuck.  When I raised myself from my knees that night, I was not the same young man who knelt to pray.  As I sat there on my bed, I opened my King James Version of the Bible and found myself reading Psalm 118:14.  "The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation."  It was the verse the Spirit gave me that night and I have carried it with me for these sixty years.  

As that verse given so long ago comes into view again, I testify that it has been true all these years and I am convinced that it will continue to be true for the rest of the journey.  God's grace has brought me thus far.  It is His strength which has always been under me.  He is the song which has always been in my heart.  He has indeed become the One who has saved me from a wasted life.  What I started learning to believe back then has become what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt to be true.  Thanks be to God for a Word given long ago and for loving me with a love that will always be more than I could ever thought possible.

Blessings

In the years since I left the pulpit, I have been blessed with space.  I have been blessed with silence.  And while life has not been like the life of a hermit, I have been blessed with solitude.  It has been said that the. house which I call home sits in the middle of a hay field.  Strangers seldom wander up the road which is little more than a two rut lane.  Most visitors who come announce themselves with the honk of a horn from the yard and do not stay so long that the tail lights of their car is a welcomed sight.  For some reason my first thoughts this morning centered on the way this place has had such shaping power in my life these past sixteen years.   

Having spent most of the forty years of my ministry career in more urban settings, I was surprised by the experience of living immersed in the Creation.  It has made me more aware of the presence of God in my daily life which seems strange to admit when most of my life has been lived within the shadow of the steeple.  Living midst the Creation encourages embracing a different rhythm.  It calls for a slower pace.  It reminds me to enter into the stillness.  It enables me to pay attention to the present moment.

As I sat on the porch the other morning, I realized that I did not need to plan quiet times; instead, I simply need to step into them and become a part of what is already present.  Is that not how it is with God?  We talk about seeking His presence through devotional moments and through worship when He is always present and a part of what is going on around us.  His presence does not need to be manufactured or even sought, but stepped into as one might step across the threshold of one room into a room which has always been a part of where life is lived. 

Praying For Rain

The western boundary of the farm is a branch that is as crooked as a slithering snake.  In my neck of the woods a branch is a term which means about the same thing as a creek, or a stream.  I call the branch on the edge of the farm "The Runoff Branch" because it depends not on a natural source of water, but upon the rain which runs off higher ground.  When it rains, it is full and flowing.  When there is no rain such as is the case in these drought stricken days, there is only dry caked dirt where water is supposed to be.  

The other day when I drove over the branch and saw it dried up, I thought of the prophet Elijah.  The story of his great battle with King Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel began three years earlier "by the Wadi Cherith."  (I Kings 17:3).  Elijah lived by it, drank water from it, and ate the meat and bread brought to him by ravens.  Before he went there, he said to Ahab the King, "As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my Word."  (I Kings 17:1).  Each day Elijah drank from that stream, but there came that time when "the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land."  (I Kings 17:7).   

The epic battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal ended with the defeat of those prophets and Elijah bowed down with his face between his knees.  Eight times he told his servants to look toward the sea and finally they reported "a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand rising out of the sea." (I Kings 18:44).  In a short time, heavy rain fell upon that land parched from a three year drought.  In the New Testament the Apostle James wrote, "Elijah...prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain...Then he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest." (James 5:17-18).  Farmers around the farm are facing a terrible drought.  Churches and communities are gathering to pray for rain.  May heavy life giving rains fall once again on dry thirsty land.

Casting Long Shadows

As I walked by the book shelf a few days ago, a biography of George Muller called attention to itself in such a way I pulled it out for another read.  It was said of Muller who lived in 19th century England that he believed and prayed.  Without asking anyone but God for funds, he opened orphanages and cared for children and the poor of Bristol.  Seeing his biography caused me to think of others such as John Wesley, Francis Asbury, Hudson Taylor, E. Stanley Jones, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney, and Dwight L. Moody.   

 

It was a moment for remembering these saints who have cast long shadows over several centuries.  It was also a moment of wondering if there were any out there today who will be remembered in the centuries still to come as saints who cast long shadows.  When I tried to stretch my mind to find some of today's saints who might be remembered past their time, I had trouble coming up with a list.  Maybe it is the nature of such spiritual giants that they labor invisible to their peers and are only seen in retrospect. I would like to think such is the case.  

 

I can think of some spiritual leaders who because of media have attained celebrity status and others who often stand in the spotlight of religious speaking circuits, but I wonder how long their shadows will stretch.  It could be that my vision is limited.  Maybe I am looking in the wrong places.  Maybe I am wearing regional or denominational blinders.  If you see some spiritual giants out there among us who will surely be remembered in the distant centuries, take a moment and share their names for those of us who are having trouble seeing them.       

The Privey Hedge Won

The privey hedge won.  Before any botanical geek goes bananas, it is correct and proper to call it privet hedge and it does belong to the Ligustrum family.  Around here and as long as I have lived, folks have called it privey hedge.  Maybe it was at one time a barrier between the house and the outdoor privey.  Anything is possible.  While some folks have it as fence like manicured hedge which is a part of the landscape around their homes, it also grows wild in places like the edge of the hay field here at the farm.  

While sitting on the porch this morning, I suddenly saw the privey hedge down across the field next to the branch.  Six feet tall it was and as prolific as a preacher's words.  Over the years I have fought it with chain saw and bush hog.  I have sweated enough to fill several large buckets and used huge amount of elbow grease in my ongoing struggle to get rid of the privey hedge.  I justified all that labor by saying it was cleaning up around the branch.   I have been here sixteen years now and that hedge is as strong as it has ever been and I am past having any energy to fight it anymore.  

When I saw it this morning, I burst out laughing and spoke it aloud, "The privey hedge won!"  I am through fighting.  It is the winner.  It is still here and will be here long after I no longer walk this land.  Creation has a way of putting us in our place and life in a proper perspective.  I used to think of myself as the owner of the farm.  Now I know I am just one in a long line of caretakers.  In a very real way I have learned that the farm has taken care of me.  It has blessed me.  It has given to me.  The farm, the land, and the Creation truly speaks to me of God's care, God's blessing, and the way He has given to me all the days of my life.    

Angels at the Crossroads

It is in the letter to the Hebrews that we find that verse, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it."  (Hebrews 13:2). I remember my mother feeding and showing kindness to a homeless guy who showed up at the back door of our duplex home back around the time I was in the second grade.  Obviously, it left a lasting impression on me.  There were others who received kindness and care from her, but this one is the one always remembered.  

There was a time when I did not see angels showing up in my path.  There were other names I gave to them that kept me from seeing them as people God put in my path for a purpose.  It is not something about which to brag, but is instead something to confess and repent.  In that period of my life, deciding on the merits of their need was something I took upon myself.  It is strange how we can take upon ourselves a judgement which belongs not to us, but to God.  Somewhere along the way, the Spirit got my attention, opened my eyes to what He was doing, and began the work of prying open a heart that was determined to help only those who proved they had need.   

What this slow learner is learning is that God brings strangers into our midst not so so that we can judge them, or even to help them with some temporary solution to a problem, but because there is something about lives intersecting for the purposes of God.  When the idea that life is about chance and coincidence is thrown away, the only thing left that makes any sense is divine providence.  This slow learning disciple of Jesus is learning it is better to err on the side of generosity than the side of holding too tightly what is really not mine, but His.  These unknown folks who just show up on the road Jesus has put us are a part of God's plan just as we are as we walk with them.  They give us the opportunity to fulfill a part of God's plan in their lives even as they are used to fulfill a part of God's plan for us.

Morning Prayers

"Lord, I know there are wars taking the lives of innocent people.  Old people declare war and young people fight and die in them.  I know as the son of a soldier what it is like for a father not to come home.  Listening to the news makes my heart so heavy I cannot stay.  Lord Jesus, I know, too, about places where people have no clean water and never enough food.  People are suffering even in the places where guns are not roaring.  And, I know what You know.  I have never seen this country in which I live so divided, so contentious, and so full of angry people.  Lord, it is more than this mind can comprehend.   

There is all this big stuff touching the lives of thousands, and then there is the little stuff which my heart counts one by one.  I have been asked to pray for several friends in their battles with cancer.  They live in limbo between hope and fear.  My heart is heavy with sadness as I remember a life long friend whose wife has recently died.  My heart is heavy for him, but his heart is broken and now he must go on alone.  There are so many whose suffering has come inside the circle of my life.  There are some with addiction problems, some are actually carrying rifles in places filled with war, and others suffer chronic health issues from which there seems to be no relief.  

And, Lord, some for whom I pray do not pray, their hearts are hard, and they are pushing against the grace and love You are offering to them.  How do You pray, Lord, when the needs are as big as the world; yet, as near as next door?  Lord, so many hearts are broken.  My heart is broken.  Lord Jesus, strengthen my weak knees.  Keep me from growing weary.  Enable me to believe in what I cannot see.   May Your Kingdom come here among us as it is there in the place we call heaven.  Bless now Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Do those things which seem impossible.  Amen."  

The Journey

A Word from Scripture which can be found at the top of each blog post is, "...they confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth...they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one."  (Hebrews 11:13-16).  Some read the blog on Facebook, others subscribe to it.  Only those who actually go to the blog url (http://billjourneynotes.blogspot.com/) will see these words as the header or the title of each post.  It was an important Scripture Word in the beginning and is even more so now.  Our life of faith is truly a journey and God has blessed me as He has enabled me to write daily notes about the journey.   

It was never my intent for it to become some kind of sermon extension, but notes that reflected some of the things which were a part of the journey from there to here and from here to there.  It has always been my hope that what appeared as a post was an expression of what was being experienced in my daily walk with Jesus.  There are times when blog posts are written a week or so ahead, but most of the time what is written is influenced by what is happening in the daily spiritual journey into which I am led by the Holy Spirit.  There are times when a conversation prompts a daily reflection.  Other times it is a reading of a book, or even some Word which comes through the quiet moments shared in my devotional life.  Every moment has within it something which might show up in the words of some blog post.

We are all constantly encountering God in experiences and relationships.  It is not just every bush that is afire with God, but every moment.  These are the moments I want to share with those who give to me a few minutes of their reading time.  We are all on a journey that is taken by our desire to follow after Jesus and along the way He is constantly revealing things about Himself and ourselves.  It  is a good thing to pay attention in every moment and in every encounter lest we miss an important word He might speak to us.

Hard Moments

There are people around us we do not see.  There are people around us we do not want to see.  There are people around who we see and wish we had not seen them.  There are people around us who when seen stay on our minds, but even more on our hearts.  Most of us live most of our days without seeing the people who live beyond the reach of our radar.  We often pray for them as we do when we collect all their names together in our prayers for the sick, or the hungry, or the homeless.  We pray for them quickly and never really see them until we do.  

When we do, it can jolt our sense of well being.  I wonder what Jesus would do if He walked into a chemo treatment room filled with people whose hope was about gone.  I wonder what Jesus would do with someone whose mind was in a place other than the place where they lived.  I wonder what Jesus would do if walking on a road filled with people who were completely overcome by some of the worst stuff of life.  I wonder because whatever He would do is what we are called to do in those unbearable situations.  Into some situations Jesus brought healing, but not in all.  He cured some, but not everyone.  

As we struggle to live and care in a world filled with people we would rather not see, perhaps, it is a moment for us to pray healing prayers.  Certainly, those moments of awareness call us to pay attention to the person whose struggle is not one which can be laid down as easily as most of ours.  The letter to the Hebrews call us to remember those in prison as if we were in prison with them and to remember those being tortured as if we were being tortured with them. (Hebrews 13:3).  May we remember, too, those who live in impossible situations as if our situation was impossible as well.

A Friend's Gift

Beside the desk here at the farm stands a Paschal Candle.  It is a candle seen in churches more than in homes.  The wooden stand which holds the candle is four feet high.  The Paschal Candle itself is only two feet long, a bit short for most Paschal Candles, but this one is a used one which came from the local Methodist Church.  The Candle is first brought to full blaze on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  After Easter it has its place as it symbolizes the Risen Lord who is the Light of the World during the Sundays between Easter and Pentecost.  It is also lit for baptisms,  memorial services, Holy Communion, and other services of celebration.   

I enjoy having this candle here next to the place where I spend quiet time in His presence as well as the place where I search the pages of the Holy Word.  Often as I see it, I am reminded that we are always in the presence of the Risen Lord.  There is a story which goes with my Paschal Candle.  When I arrived at the Vidalia Church, there was no Paschal Candle so one of my members made the stand in his wood shop.  When I left some ten years later, Jack made a second one as a gift for me.  I used it in the next two churches and when I retired, it came with me.  The craftsman has gone to the heavenly place prepared for him by our Savior, but he is often remembered here in my home at the farm.   

Some people may not be image seekers or collectors of symbols of the Holy as I am, but I have found that they speak to my soul in ways that are beyond the power of words.  The remind me of that verse from Hebrews which says, "You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire and darkness, and gloom as a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them."  (Hebrews 12:18-19).  The writer of the Word writes of holy mystery.  In these years which are unfolding, I see the Paschal Candle made by the hands of a friend as a sign the holy mystery abides even here.

Loving Jesus

I am one of the fortunate ones.  I am one of the blessed ones.  I cannot remember a time when the Holy Word was not a part of my life.  About the time I got my first bicycle, a Bible was given to me.  As best I can remember it was around age six or seven.  The bicycle I rode many a mile, but is gone.  The Bible remains.  Actually, the very first one I was given is now in a special place in a drawer.  I pull it out from time to time to hold it in my hands with gratitude for a gift given long ago that still shapes my life.   

It was a black Bible with a zipper around its edges.  It was carried with me every Sunday to Sunday School.  I read the stories of the Old Testament and learned about Jesus when I was little more than a boy.  There is now a shelf in my library filled with Bibles, references, commentaries, and even a Greek New Testament with which I wrestled in seminary.  However, there is one Bible which sits on my desk just a reach away all the time.  It constantly calls me to sit with it, to read it, and to allow the Spirit of God to speak through its pages.  

Only a short time ago while reading from the last two chapters of Hebrews, I found those verses which spoke of Jesus being "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith."  (Hebrews 12:2).  Another spoke of Him as "the mediator of a new covenant," (Hebrews 12:24) and another which identified Jesus as "the great shepherd of the sheep." (Hebrews 13:20).  Finally, there was a verse remembered from those boyhood days, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8).  There is so much meaning and power in these words about Jesus.  Long before we loved Him, He was loving us.  It is a good moment, is it not, to just be in His presence speaking once again of our love for Him?

Preaching

The one thing a preacher can never know about a sermon is how God will use it.  Every good preacher wants to preach under the influence of divine inspiration every Sunday.  As one who preached for 43 year, I know that such was my hope, but there were those times when the sermon was preached in response to the pressure of Sunday coming instead of holy inspiration.  Some seem so mundane and ordinary and filled more with duty than inspiration.  The amazing thing is that God can use even these to speak to the seeking heart of someone who has drawn aside hoping to hear the Word of God.   

Many have been the times when someone would tell me how God spoke a Word to them from a sermon I preached without any expectation that such a Word would be heard from the message.  In these retirement years filled with listening to other preachers, I have experienced this holy work from the other side of the altar.  Just this morning a sentence preached in the middle of a sermon about Thomas washed over a deep place in my spirit in a way which was not likely intended by the preacher, but I am sure was planned by God.  One of the exciting things about preaching is what God chooses to do with it!   I am grateful for the good preachers I am privileged to hear in this season of my life.  

When I first retired sixteen years ago, I was convinced there were no good preachers anymore.  Either the preaching has gotten better, or God has worked on my cynical heart because preaching is heard so differently now.  I was always grateful for the opportunity to preach the Word of God Sunday after Sunday.  Why He called me to such a task is something I have often pondered.  I am grateful, too, for the younger men and women who are taking seriously the work of preaching in these days.  One of the things we  can all do to help our preachers is to pray for them as they carry forward this important ministry of the church.

Good to Be Awake

I came within an inch of not going to church this morning.  I overslept.  After verbalizing that excuse, the next one came very easy.  I was tired.  In "two shakes of a rabbit's tail" I had added a few more.  Then it happened.  From two different directions, a single verse of Scripture arrived on the front burner of my brain, or maybe it was to the door of my heart.  The verse was from Hebrews 10:25 which says a word about "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some..."  Actually, I knew it was not just the habit of some, but my habit as well.  

So, I went.  Arrived late.  Very late.  It was not too late to receive a blessing I would not have received had I stayed midst the sheets.  I would say that I know the importance of "not forsaking the assembly" as the King James Version renders it, but then there was this morning.  I grew up in a home where worship on Sunday morning and Sunday night was not optional.  As I began to build my own spiritual foundation, I came to understand and appreciate the value of what I was taught as a child.  Some would say that as preacher, I had no choice but to be there each Sunday; yet, it is also true that I was one of those diehards who never gave up offering Sunday night worship for those who would come.  Gathering with other believers is important.   

At the worship service I almost missed this morning, my heart was warmed by witnessing and sharing in the excitement of one baptism after another.  I watched as people came forward to be a part of the future of the church through membership.  I got to hear "Victory in Jesus" one more time.  I heard a sermon on doubting Thomas which the Holy Spirit applied to my heart in a new and fresh way.  Thanks be to God that I did not sleep at home or in church this morning! 

The Shepherd

What Jesus gave Simon Peter on their early morning walk on the beach was more than just forgiveness.  The setting for the moment is after the resurrection,  The disciples had seen the resurrected Jesus and had gone back fishing.  It seems like a unlikely thing for them to do, but they went back to something which fit inside their minds. The resurrection of Jesus was not something the mind could comprehend.  In that moment and in that place full of what was familiar to the disciples, Jesus showed up with breakfast for the body and forgiveness for the soul.  (John 21).  

In a moment filled with images of intimacy, we see Jesus getting Peter's attention as a way of separating him from the group around the charcoal fire and then slowly walking with him away from the others.  With His arm across Peter's shoulder they walk.  Jesus speaks softly into the ears of this broken and confused disciple until finally they fill Peter's heart to the point of breaking it.  Three times Peter had denied Jesus in the courtyard and now three times Jesus asked, "Simon son of John, do you love me..."  (John 21:15, 16, 17)   The smoke of the charcoal fire remembered from the courtyard of betrayal and the thrice asked questions were not lost on Peter.  "Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You."  (John 21:17).  

What Jesus said not only spoke of forgiveness for what was past, but spoke of Jesus' plan to include Peter in the unfolding work of the Kingdom.  Forgiveness is not just forgetting about the past.  It is about living into the future with love, acceptance, inclusion, and trust.  The forgiven Peter was no longer one who betrayed, but one entrusted as a shepherd for the sheep of God's Kingdom pasture.  

The Charcoal Fire

I grew up in a family filled with men who loved to fish.  My memories of my Father are few, but many of them are about fishing.  A boat, a river, a washtub full of fish which I am sure were counted by him and the uncles who joined him that day are but a few.  One thing I have learned about fishing stories over the years is that there is always a number.  While some might say, "we got a mess of fish," and while others might hold up the fish laden stringer, the real fish stories always include the number of fish brought home.  If a fish story is told without the number of fish caught, the story might be suspect!   

 

The litmus test of fishing stories is in the number which is why we know the story told in the 21st chapter of John is true.  After the resurrected Jesus showed Himself to the disciples, Simon Peter announced not a church meeting, but a fishing trip.  After the cross and resurrection, who can fault Peter for wanting to wrap his hands around something which was comfortable and familiar.  "I am going fishing," (John 21:3), Peter said to six of the other disciples who joined him in the boat that morning.  It was a fishing trip which netted "...large fish...a hundred fifty-three of them..." (John 21:11).  It was quite a catch, but the real news of the morning was the appearance of Jesus on the beach.   For those disciples who were looking for the touch of something real, Jesus cooked breakfast on a charcoal fire on the beach. 

 

The crackling fire and the smell of charcoal was not lost on Peter.  We must not let the power of what was subtle be lost on us.  It was the sight of the low burning flames and the smell of the smoke from a charcoal fire which filled the eyes and nostrils of Peter in that moment of betrayal.  The same Greek word for the charcoal fire is used in both places.  When Peter was invited for a walk on the beach with Jesus, the smell of that fire surely brought back memories of the sin of betrayal.  Jesus did not chastise him, nor speak words of judgment, but forgave him and entrusted to him the work of the Kingdom.  He continues doing this even today with folks like you and me.

Gifts of God

The older we get, the more we accumulate.  We accumulate stuff, relationships, memories, and experiences.  In one of those retrospective moments which seem to hang out here at the farm, it occurred to me how little I had fifty years ago when I was assigned as the pastor of the Talbotton Church.  All the stuff could be moved in a single U-Haul compared to the move into retirement which required several loads of a friend's borrowed covered truck. The people in my life then were important, but they are not nearly as many as those whom I was still to encounter.  Of course, the same is true of memories and experiences.   

Of the four, stuff is the least important.  I like the stuff around me.  It is like a warm blanket woven with colored threads of the past, but what is most important are the relationships with which God has blessed me.  The people in my life not only bring meaning to the present, but they are the stuff of which memories and experiences are made.  In these more recent years I find myself most grateful for the people whose lives have intersected with mine over these years which are reaching closer and closer to eighty.  

The people of the past have become like a storehouse of blessings slowly being released into my life.  Each phone call, note, or renewed connection from the past brings back memories and experiences which bless my heart as surely as rain gives life to the soil of the earth.  Not only am I discovering the treasures of this vast storehouse of relationships from the past, but God is continually bringing me into relationship with people never known or seen which reminds me that His blessings are not just from the past, but they are ever unfolding before me.  I know that whatever is ahead, I have been blessed and continue to be blessed by these precious gifts of God.

The Will of God

Discerning the will of God is complicated by our inability in deciding what we want to do. Instead of living with a "Thy will be done," attitude, we often find ourselves working up a spiritual sweat as we try to fit what we want to do, our own will, inside what is often the clearly heard Word telling us to move into a season of change that is frightening to us because it takes us away from the security of our status quo.  The real problem for many of us with the will of God is not so much in knowing what it is. as doing it.  

For Moses it meant a task which seemed impossible.  For Elijah it meant sitting beside a drying up stream for three years.  For Mary it meant risking the ridicule and scorn of people.  For several of the disciples, it meant leaving their livelihood.  For Jesus it meant going into Jerusalem when He knew He would have to die on a cross before leaving it.  Of course, these are all the Biblical stories and we want to regard those stories as being different from our stories, but the truth is, they are not really so different.   

Most recently God has given me so many new people for whom to pray that I am tempted to tell Him my page is full, but just yesterday He added another.  What I know is that it is His will for me to enter a season of being a more active and involved intercessor for others.  There also seems to be something just beyond the spiritual horizon that I cannot see, but yet, find myself being drawn toward it.  Any of us who are are intentionally seeking to walk with Jesus have a story of discernment.  We sense God's leading, but as is always the case, we want to hesitate since taking the risk puts us in a place of being uncomfortably vulnerable.  One thing we have learned about the will of God is that going after it takes us to a place where depending on Him is required.  This is the frightening part since we would rather go after those things we know are possible in our own strength.  

A Pure Heart

I am living incognito now.  Most of my hair disappeared during chemo.  Today I went to the barber for some trimming and his suggestion was shaving what was left of my beard.  I thought about that one a minute.  In some ways I feet more attached to the hair on my face than the hair on my head.  Until now I have always had hair on my head.  It has changed colors and gone from thick to thin, but it has remained until now.  On the other hand, my beard has been with me since 1986.  Most folks will not know me.  My face has been invisible a long time, but no more.  All that ugliness I have been hiding is now clearly exposed for all to see.   

It is good to know that God recognizes me and knows me regardless of the amount of hair on my head or face.  He has known me when I had unblemished skin even as He knows me now despite my wrinkled and worn out skin.  My appearance has never affected the way God accepts me and loves me.  I have been reminded through the years that God looks not upon the outward appearance, but the heart.   The Word says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8).  In another place it says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."  (Psalm 51:10). 

There was a time when it seemed that we could make our heart pure by doing what we were supposed to do and not doing what we not supposed to do.  I long ago quit playing that game.  Like the Psalmist David said long ago, a pure heart comes not because of us, but because of God.  When we say "Yes" to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and to create in us a clean and pure heart.  A pure heart is indeed about a heart that has been given over to the control of the Holy Spirit and His ongoing work of grace in our life.  

The Table

This Sunday was Easter Sunday.  It was also the first Sunday of the month.  This no doubt created a bit of a dilemma for some Methodist preachers who maintain a tradition of offering Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month.  Of course, Easter Sunday is no ordinary Sunday.  The sanctuary is packed.  Music gets a big part of the worship time and the preacher hopes for a few minutes for the Easter sermon.  Where does this leave offering Communion which no matter how it is done, is going to take up more time than the people who are in a hurry to get to the restaurants want to give.  

I am not sure what most churches did.  Some probably decided to delay the Sacrament until second Sunday.  Some may have decided to wait until the next first Sunday.  The church I attended today apparently did not see it as a problem since people were invited to the Table at all three of the morning services, one of which was the Sunrise Service.  I received the Sacrament at its first offering and then became a watcher at the other two.  One of the things which struck me was the way we are all equal around the Table of the Lord.   

It is a common gathering place for nurturing the soul of the doctor and the homeless.  Some were struggling to walk and others were led by holding the hand of a parent.  Skin color, shirt collar color, economic status, church affiliation, and political persuasion were not important.  Everyone one who needed the gift of grace was welcome to come with open hands and seeking hearts.  I was grateful that I had a place at the Table of our Lord this morning and grateful, too, that so many different people came to join me.  

Easter

The last time I did what I did this morning was before retirement.  I went to an Easter Sunrise Service, had breakfast at the church, went to an early morning contemporary service with a stage full of guitars and drums, and then enjoyed the vibrant organ and piano music of the traditional Easter worship at 11 AM.  Oh yes, everything was at the same church!  Believe it or not, there is still another Easter worship service I want to share later online.  It has been such a great Easter Sunday!  Holy Communion was offered at each service and the final service concluded with the "Hallelujah Chorus."  I walked away with my cup running over!   

Easter is not something which disappoints.  I have shared Easter worship in large churches with all the bells and whistles and in very small churches where it truly was more like where "two or three" are gathered.  The only thing which could have been better about my Easter worship experience would have been preaching at the service.  Preaching on Easter Sunday is one of the highlights of any preacher's year and it is not because of the larger crowds, but because of the resurrection message.  Of course, any preacher who offered me a pulpit on Easter Sunday would be viewed with suspicion since no preacher should ever be found guilty of giving up their pulpit on Easter.    

Christ is risen!  What a wonderful message!  The reality of the resurrection of Jesus changes everything which is a part of life.  It is not that it is just an event which frees us from our fear of death, but one which frees us to live as life could never be lived without it.  Thanks be to God for the glorious life changing message which the church celebrates on this day.

Prayer for the Church

O Church of my heart, how long will you shut the door to what cannot be seen?  How long will you listen to the many voices instead of the one Voice?  How long will you stand at the crossroads and not look for the ancient path?  How long will you fear the risk that goes with faith in what is yet to be revealed?  How long will it be before signs and wonders once again appear midst your people?  How long will you wait for that which is yours?  O Church, when will you call out with a hunger in your soul for the gift of God's Spirit?

 

How long, O Lord, before there is a fresh anointing of Your Holy Spirit upon Your church?  How long will You hold back Your refining fire?  How long will it be before holy wind comes and drives the church out into the world?  How long will it be before the ordinary days of the church become filled with the extraordinary?  How long will it be until miracles become commonplace?  How long will it be before men and women who desire nothing but You come and stand as leaders, preachers, and prophets among us?  O Lord, how long?  How long will You tarry?

 

Come quickly, Holy Spirit.  Your church needs Your power.  Your church has lost its way.  Show it the ancient ways where good lies and where there is rest for the soul.  Come now, Holy Spirit.  Your church needs to know Your Holy Presence.  May Your shekinah glory be visited upon it once more.  May Your church once again become a spring of love for the unloved, a river of compassion for the suffering, and a deep ocean of passion for the lost.  Come, Holy Spirit, not later but now.  Your church needs You more than its silver and gold.  Come now, come quickly, Holy Spirit.  Your church has become powerless and needs Your power to be poured out once again upon it.  

Our Place is Important

It is interesting that the Biblical story is always told in the context of places.  Abraham's story began in a land known as Ur.  Moses grew up in Egypt.  Isaiah was a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.  Ezekiel was a prophet who lived by the River Chebar.  Jesus walked the roads of Galilee.  John Wesley birthed Methodism out of England.  E. Stanley Jones is known for his missionary work in India. Deitrich Bonhoeffer served Christ in Germany.  Jesus became flesh among us in a little town of Bethlehem, but His work and presence is known in every corner of this round world.   

To drive across the countryside or across the county is to see one steeple after another on streets and roads that are as different as mountains are from the coastline.  Wherever there are people, there are those who are committed to following Jesus and being about His work in the places where He has put them.  There is no place where Christ cannot be served and His Kingdom advanced by the gifts offered to Him.  Many of the great revival movements began with a few people whose hearts burned so for God to work in their midst that they would not quit praying until He acted.  Many acts of kindness are not offered by some organized group, but by a single individual. 

The place where God put us is important in His story.  We may be the one in the particular place where we are upon whom He is depending.  A recent read put it this way, "Remember: you are your brother's keeper; you are your sister's keeper.  You're a watchman.  And where God has placed you, God has placed you on purpose."  ("Healing Prayer" by Chotka and Dunnam).

Sleeping or Awake

As we move deeper into Holy Week, we find that there are so many Biblical passages devoted to these final days of Jesus here on the earth.  Beginning with Palm Sunday, we move toward Good Friday and beyond to the empty tomb.  There are so many events sandwiched between those two Sundays that we are overwhelmed with possibilities for reading and reflection.  Tomorrow which is known as Maundy Thursday is the day the church remembers the final meal Jesus shared with His disciples, but it is also a day filled with many private and public moments.    

One moment often overlooked in the week's story is the moment of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It was where Judas brought the arresting authorities, but it is also a place of intense prayer for Jesus.  After instructing all the disciples to stay together to pray, He took with Him Peter, James, and John as He went deeper into the Garden, telling them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." (Matthew 26:38). They went to sleep.  Not once did they go to sleep, but three times.  Jesus was praying and agonizing over what was to come and those whom He called to be with Him went to sleep.  He needed them and they went to sleep.  

It is a picture which cuts to the core of our own heart as we ask ourselves about the number of times we were needed by Jesus and went to sleep, or let ourselves become occupied with some personal pursuit which took our attention away from His need for us to be involved with Him in what He was doing.  It is not hard to remember our own moments of waking up while praying, our moments of disappointing Him, or finding something else to instead of doing what we knew Jesus was calling us to do.  Jesus obviously seeks our presence and our help, or He would not have said, "Follow Me."

Thoughts About Prayer

In the past few months I have blessed by the prayers of so many.  I cannot count the individuals, neither can I count the groups of people praying in my behalf.  In many cases I was an unknown person in need, but still they prayed.  It has been a season of being amazed and humbled by those prayers which have been a source of such encouragement and blessing.  Back at the end of February, I was praying and thanking God for all those praying people and asking God to bless them when it came to me that I should ask God for people for whom I could pray.  It was a prayer He answered.  

While I had some people on a personal prayer list which I keep in the back of my journal, I noticed it was growing.  Since that prayer over a month ago, seventeen people have been added to the page which holds that list I view daily.  Some are members of the fellowship of cancer victims, some are struggling with other physical issues, one young man is being deployed to the Middle East, a former choral director asked me to pray for two of her friends in Virginia, and a few are new people not known until a few days ago.  Many of them are like me in that they are in the midst of what seems to be impossible situations.   

Prayer is not something I understand.  Some of our prayers seem as if they are spoken directly to the throne room of God and others seem to bounce back upon us from the roof above our heads.  While prayer remains mostly mystery, I am convinced that God uses our prayers for good.  It may not be the good which we envision, but still, they are used for good.  I also believe no prayer is wasted, or ignored, or forgotten. A friend of mine has suggested that all our prayers which seem unanswered find their way to a great heavenly storeroom where they are stored until it is time for God to use them for His purposes and the good of those who love Him.  

Our Spiritual Struggle

The Christian life is a spiritual struggle.  It is not about learning the The Ten Commandments and doing them.  Nor is it about modeling our life after the life of Jesus.  It is a struggle against the power of evil.  Anyone who thinks differently is going to fall by the wayside.  Anyone who thinks it is about the strength of personal will, or determination and perseverance will end up giving up.  The Apostle Paul,  a veteran of the road of faith in Christ, understood something many modern day believers fail to take seriously,  "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. Put on the  whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...for our struggle is...against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12).   

From the very first, the gospel writer, Mark, portrays Jesus as One who battled against the power of evil.  From the moment Jesus stepped out of the baptismal waters, He fought against Satan.  "He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan."  (Mark 1:13).  In the synagogue of Capernaum, He cast out an unclean spirit who recognized in the moment of confrontation that evil was no match for the power of Jesus. (Mark 1:21-26).  Mark records other moments in which Jesus did battle with Satan by casting out demons.  (Mark 1:27, 34, 39, 3:11, 20-28).  It is foolish and unwise for any modern day believer to think differently about the Christian life.  

Even as Satan contested every foot of Jesus' journey to the cross, so will he do in our own journey.  We cannot live the Christian life in our own strength.  We must not forget those words of the Apostle Paul that we often quote so glibly, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)  Neither should we forget the antithesis of those words which is "I cannot do anything in my own strength."  We walk the journey of the Christian faith depending on the power of Christ, or we will stumble and fall until we are finally unable to rise once more.  

Sabbath Rest

When God decided to take a rest on that seventh day, I wonder if He considered the theological debate He was putting on the table.  Surely, by the time His fiery finger etched the words of the fourth commandment on the that tablet of stones up on Mt. Sinai, He was contemplating the confusion which organized religion would create.  Obviously, religious people were heavily into the business of manipulating the meaning of Sabbath rest during the days of Jesus.  The gospel of Mark gives evidence of this as he reports the criticism of the Pharisees when they saw the hungry disciples of Jesus plucking grain on the Sabbath. "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" they asked Jesus.(Mark 2:24).  

As one who grew up in the Blue Law era of the South, I remember those days when the only thing which dared move on Sunday were the leaves on trees.  The Sabbath was for going to church.  It was not for working, or going to stores since they were all closed, or doing anything which might be fun.  My father who was an avid fishermen, but not really a church goer in those days often said no one should fish on Sunday because the fish needed a day of rest. It was certainly a day when the Sabbath was viewed differently than the "anything-thing-goes-on-Sunday" era in which we live.  

The old boundaries of Sabbath rest are now stretched far beyond the boundaries of what used to be.  It is also true that the concept of Sabbath rest means many different things to people.  If we can lay aside all the do's and don't of Sabbath keeping, we might see that at its core it is God's way of calling us to live with some balance in our life between work and rest as well as a way of helping us to understand that it is good to set aside a day in which we look to Him and not just to ourselves for our daily sustenance.   

Patches and Wine Skins

The gospel writer, Mark, presents interesting images in his remembrances of Jesus being confronted by some Pharisees.  On image is about a patch being sewed on old clothes and the other points out the futility of putting new wine in old worn wine skins.  (Mark 2:21-22)  The first one brings to mind a personal remembrance of my mother ironing square denim patches on blue jeans with worn out knees.  Though I have no experience with wine and wine skins, it is an image which even a teetotaler like myself can understand.  New things that speak of life will not fit in old worn out structures.  

It has always seemed that one of the most daunting tasks facing the church is the work of creative thinking, the kind of thinking which can be characterized as outside the box.  When the church starts planning and thinking about the future, it becomes so easy to create new names for new programs that are more like what-we-have-always done than something so new it will not fit into the old structures for ministry. It is hard for the church planners within us to turn loose of what seems to be working.   Our unwillingness to turn loose of what is past really can be a hindrance for the church as it seeks to embrace the not yet seen of tomorrow.  

For the church to turn loose can also be spoken of in terms of letting the Holy Spirit be more of a guiding factor in the equation of going forward.  I have wondered often what would happen if we could close the book on every program we have set in place and prayerfully and expectantly wait on the Spirit to lead us forward.  The bottom line question which continues to be raised is one of wondering what the church's ministry would look like if we were intent on putting new wine in new wine skins instead of those worn out from yesterday. 

Convicted of Sin

When criticized and judged by the scribes and Pharisees because He was eating at a table filled with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus said, "I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners."  (Mark 2:17)  Who are the righteous?  Who are the sinners?  No man or woman knows themselves as a sinner apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  We know ourselves and others as good people, moral people, decent people, but the general consensus does not speak of any of us being sinners.  

Is it not true that being convicted of our sins is a spiritual experience?  John 16:8 speaks of the Holy Spirit convicting people of their sins.  One of the things the Spirit does is to help us see the truth about who we are.  It could be said that His work in our heart enables us to not only see who we are, but who we are created to be.  This reality does not just come to us because we have decided to consider it, but because of the Spirit's work.  His work is like grace.  

Grace comes to us long before we realize it is being given to us and so it is with the work of the Spirit.  His work begins long before we are consciously aware of it.  When we think about what it means to be convicted of our sins, we often think of Isaiah who became aware of the holiness of the Lord and cried out, "Woe is me!  I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"  (Isaiah 6:5).  Being convicted of our sins is akin to the spirit of David as he cried out to the Lord, "...I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against You, You alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight." (Psalm 51:3-4).  When the Spirit shows us how we have separated ourselves from the God who brought us into being, it is not a moment of casual regret, but a moment of a broken heart.

Intercessory Faith

The value of the care we offer to others and the prayers we offer in their behalf is immeasurable.  As the second chapter of Mark begins, thre is a wonderful story told about four friends who bring a paralyzed friend to Jesus. The place where Jesus was staying was overflowing with those who were listening to His teaching.  The friends who carried their friend on his mat could not push through the crowd so they went up on the flat roof, listened for the voice of Jesus, and tore open a big enough hole to lower their friend into His presence.  

It is a story which opens the door of our imagination.  We can imagine the room becoming quiet as roof debris started falling into the room and a small hole became a larger hole filling up the room with blue sky.  Suddenly the light from above was filled with the mat being lowered into the room and then when the man on the mat was on the ground, the hole was filled with the faces of the four caregivers peering down to see their friend and Jesus.  The paralyzed man had his sins forgiven and then was healed with the words, "...stand up, take up your mat, and go to your home."  (Mark 2:18).  What we must not miss is that all this happened without any reference to the faith of the man on the mat.  Instead, the Word says that every good thing which happened to the paralytic began when Jesus saw the faith of the four men peering through the hole in the roof.  

We must not grow weary in well doing.  We must not cease in our praying.  We must not let our faith be replaced by skepticism.  Other people are depending on us.  They are depending on our acts of compassion and our prayer.  They are also depending on our faith to hold them up in those moments when their own faith may be wavering.  We must not forget the importance of carrying our hurting friends into the presence of Jesus through our praying.

A Vile Thing

While John Wesley's preaching was received with open hearts by the masses of England, the church which ordained him found it to be offensive and soon one pulpit after another was closed to him.  After watching George Whitefield preaching to great crowds outdoors, Wesley who had always been hesitant to do that kind of preaching wrote in his journal, "At four in the afternoon, I submitted to be more vile and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three thousand people."  Such preaching became the norm for the rest of his preaching years as well as the norm for Francis Asbury and the circuit riders who rode into the history of frontier America.  

As they did so, thy followed in the footsteps of Jesus.  When we read the gospel of Mark, we see Jesus preaching in the synagogues (Mark 1:21, 39),  but in the last verse of the first chapter we read about a movement in a different direction.  After healing a leper, the man made whole went out telling everyone he met what Jesus had done for him.  The result of his testimony was such a popularity that Jesus, "..stayed out in the country and people came to Him from every quarter."  Certainly, others had preceded Him in this practice, but to see Jesus preaching in such a way reminds us of our call to take the gospel beyond the walls of the church building.  

One of the reasons for the rapid growth of Methodism in the eighteenth century was because it became a spiritual movement not bound by walls.  It was a movement that did not wait for the coming of people, but one that moved into the places where ordinary and common folks gathered.  It was movement that welcomed the poorest, the dirtiest, and the most despised social outcasts of the day.  Whether our church sends out street preachers or not, it is called to find a way to make the overlooked and ignored people of our day know that they are a part of the people of God.

The New Taboo

As Mark unfolds the ministry of Jesus, he brings us to the moment when He healed a leper.  "A leper came to Him, begging Him, and kneeling he said to Him, 'If You choose, You can make me clean,'  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I do choose.  Be made clean!' "   (Mark 1:40-41)  While it was amazing that Jesus healed this leper who had been sentenced to community ostracism until his death, what must have shocked the disciples from the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet was seeing Jesus stretch out Hand to touch this man who had been declared untouchable.  To see Jesus in this moment is to not only see Him healing, but also touching.  

One of the things Covid taught us was how to do ministry without touching.  It taught us how to practice long distance service.  We learned how to take worship out of the pews to sofas and recliners.  Zoom calls transformed church meetings.  Even though six years away from those days, we still see evidence of the change it had on our society and our church. Many people are still uncomfortable with the moment of congregational mixing and greeting at the beginning of worship.  Actually, some people have never returned to the church.  In many places fist pumps have replaced the handshake.  Communion Tables have the Holy Meal plus liquid sanitizer and disposable gloves. The small individual sealed packs of bread and juice are still available for the germ conscious at the altar rails.  

We have become a society and church afraid of touching.  It is an unfortunate shift for a church with the laying on of hands as a part of its spiritual heritage.  While there is always a concern that our touching be appropriate and welcomed, human touch has the inherent power to communicate a sense of fellowship and care that goes beyond the ability of the spoken word.  Many have been the times when I have entered a room filled with grief and brokenness and the only words which could be spoken were words spoken by a hug and the feel of hot wet tears being passed from the face of the caregiver to the face of the broken.  Jesus was not afraid to touch others, neither should we.

Praying Early

As is always the case, Jesus points the way for us.  "In the morning while it was very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed." (Mark 1:35). I have always heard that those who pray best pray early.  I have learned again and again through reading about some of the spiritual giants that early morning prayers were a regular part of their day.  My head has always shook itself in agreement, but the rest of my body has never really been on board with what is best.   

I find myself too much like those disciples who kept falling asleep when told by Jesus to stay awake.  I have gotten up many an early hour, settled into my place of prayer, and fallen asleep long before it was time for the "Amen."  Many have been the times I have said to the Lord, "Well, at least I fell asleep in the place where obedience took me," but I have never been convinced it was a rationalization which impressed Him.  For those who decide to pray in the early morning, know that there will likely be a battle between body and spirit in the beginning.   

I say "in the beginning" because as our body has time to adjust to a different schedule, the physical part of this discipline will not be so difficult.  Back when I was an avid and dedicated runner, I learned that my commitment to running longer and not as slow directed what I ate, when I went to sleep, what I read, and with who I hung out.  So, here is my guarantee.  Making early morning praying a core commitment will change not only your spiritual life, but will spill over into other areas as well.  Praying early is good for the soul and the body. 

A Place to Pray

While there can be no doubt that Jesus prayed when He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, the first time we see a picture in Mark's gospel of Jesus praying is in the 35th verse of the first chapter.  After spending the night in the home of Peter and Andrew, the Scripture says, "In the morning while it was still very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed."  As we read those words, "a deserted place," we see the importance of place.  Jesus could have rolled over on His mat when He woke and prayed as we sometimes might do.  Or, He could have gone outside and sat down on the ground.  Instead, He went to a deserted place.   

What this tells us is that where He went was not just any place. The place He went satisfied several criteria.  He could be alone.  It was a place empty of possible distractions.  The act of going to it was as intentional as the act of praying.  It was a place quiet enough that listening to what could not be heard was possible.  It speaks of a single mindedness.  The reason He went was to be alone with the Father.   It may not be possible or practical for us to physically leave the place were we sleep to pray, but such a restriction does not prohibit us from knowing a place within our home as a place of prayer.  

We have a place for preparing our meals. We have another place for eating. We have a place for entertainment and study.  If we choose, we could also have a place that we go to pray.  It could be a chair in a not so used room, or something like a self created worship center in the corner of a room.  Maybe one of the things suggested to us by the story of Jesus finding a place to pray is that having such a place would be a good thing for us as well.   

A Model for Praying

If we find ourselves too busy to pray, or if we find ourselves wondering if praying really makes any difference, we only need to read the first chapter of the gospel of Mark.  As we come to the 35th verse of that chapter we read, "In the morning while it was still very dark, He (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed."  The day before had been an extremely busy and full day.  The Scripture speaks of the whole city being gathered around his door and in response to such great need, "He cured many who were sick with various diseases."  (Mark 1:34).  

After a day and evening which must have been physically and emotionally draining,  Jesus was up long before the sun rose to pray.  He not only rose early to pray, but he sought out a place where He could pray without any distractions or disturbances.  As we read this passage of Scripture, we see Jesus modeling His own life of prayer.  His prayer life underscores the importance of prayer.  It is obvious to us that if Jesus found it important to do, it surely is important for us.  In His prayer life He received not only the strength to sustain Him, but also the direction for His life.  Through His prayer life, He was able to go forward iwth the will of the Father to direct Him.  

Surely, one of the things we want to do in our life is to live within the will of our Father God.  When Simon Peter found Jesus, it was his intent to bring Jesus back to the place of yesterday, but Jesus was ready to go into the future as He said, "Let us go to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came to do." (Mark 1:38).  Our praying enables us to move into the future God has planned for us.  It is a spiritual discipline that enables us to live in sync with that plan.

A Witness to Healing

During the last week I have used JourneyNotes to focus on the healing ministry of Jesus and the church's response to it.  While it seems to be a neglected and forgotten ministry of the church, I am convinced it is a ministry which needs to be an integral part of what the church does as it seeks to be the hands and feet and the heart of Christ in the world.  Jim Jackson, a good friend and retired pastor of one of the largest United Methodist churches in Houston, Texas, shared a response via email which I asked for permission to share.  It seems fitting to end this series of blogposts with this word which is an encouragement to those who are in need of healing and those who are praying for them.   

"This weekend I am doing a wedding for a 32 year old man.  He was a great high school athlete, but when he was a junior he had a virus attack his heart.  He was at death’s door for days.  His blood pressure was in the teens and they had to shock his heart several times an hour to keep him alive.  They put him on the heart transplant list and started looking everywhere for a donor.  On Saturday morning I called all the people leading worship services on Saturday night and Sunday (we had 8 services) and told them that at some point in their service I wanted every able bodied person in worship praying on their knees for God to spare Charlie Russell.  

I’d love to tell you that I was full of faith that God would intervene; that wouldn’t be true.  All I knew is that we could not let Charlie die without having everyone ask God to spare him.  What God chooses to do was God’s business, but we weren’t going to let him go without asking.  At 2pm the lead cardiologist told his parents (his dad had been in worship) that his heart had suddenly stabilized.  He said he was stunned and had no explanation.  They took him off the heart transplant list on Monday morning.  They sent him home on Tuesday.  Charlie may be the physically  strongest young man that I have ever known.  I have lunch with him about once a quarter.  He is a dynamic Christian leader.  I was also privileged to baptize the woman he will marry tomorrow night.  No one could ever convince Charlie or his family that God doesn’t still do miracles."  

Fear of Failure

There are not many churches which practice an intentional ministry of healing. The church today is more comfortable with worship that is carefully choreographed, raising money to build new buildings, and sending a small group of people to do missions in some third world country.  In its preoccupation with either attracting the masses, or keeping the status quo members content, spiritual ministries which seem to be on the edge are usually talked about but not practiced.  Institutions such as the church has become are not interested in taking risks.  Sunday School lessons and sermons are offered on the healing ministry of Jesus, but very seldom are there invitations given for the sick to gather for healing prayers.   

One of the reason is a fear of failure.  The leaders of the church want to be seen as successful and it looks like a failure has taken place if prayers are offered for healing and the sick walk away still sick.  "What if we pray and no one is healed?" is the question which frames the fears of those who give leadership to the church. What is often forgotten is that the person who prays for healing is not the healer.  God is the Healer.  The one doing the praying is simply praying, knowing that whatever happens is finally in the hands of God.  

Another reason for our reluctance is that we do no see ourselves as one who has the spiritual gift of healing.  Once again it must be remembered that no spiritual gifts are necessary to pray.  The healing prayers we pray depend not upon some special words we pray, or the length of those prayers, but the grace of God.  If a church is interested in pursuing a ministry of healing according to the ministry of Jesus, it needs to spend some time helping believers understand what God is able to do and the roles we do and do not have as participants in such a ministry.  

Anointing Oil

Something often used in ministries of healing is anointing oil.  Some traditions have a service in which the oil is consecrated for use during the upcoming year.  Usually, the oil is olive oil and in some cases spices may be added to it.  In the early church anointing oil was used as a part of prayers for healing; however, much later the ritual of anointing someone with oil was more about preparing them for death.  More recently that practice has been altered so that the anointing has a purpose which is more about living than dying.  

When I was growing up in the rural parts of south Georgia, I can never remember seeing anyone anointed with oil.  I did hear about its use in the Pentecostal churches, but back then there was more separation between the mainline Protestant community and the more independent Pentecostal churches where less sedate worship took place.  I was some twenty years into my ministry before I acquired my first anointing oil and actually began to make use it.  I was introduced to its usage and the practice of it by an Episcopalian pastor friend in Vidalia.  To my surprise he used it regularly which blew all my preconceived misconceptions out the window.   

Of course, it is a practice mentioned in the Scripture in numerous places.  Mark 6:6-13 tells the story of Jesus sending the twelve out two by two.  They came back reporting that they had "...cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them."  The most often read passage about anointing oil is found in James 5::14 where it says, "Are any among you sick?  The should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord."  Certainly, there is no special power in the oil, but it is a sign of God's presence and blessing as well as a visible reminder of the grace of God touching the broken for purposes of wholeness.