It Takes a Lifetime

It takes a life time of living to get where we are.  This is true whether we are young or old.  It is the many experiences of life that bring us to the place we have arrived.  We may have arrived where we are with some bruises and scars and, perhaps, a few blemishes, but from each moment there has been a lesson taught and hopefully learned.  Life is never about arriving, but going.  It is never about the destination, but the journey.  

The Biblical patriarch, Abraham, is really the prototype for the journey God calls us to embrace.  The Abraham narrative makes it clear that Abraham was called to a journey with no destination.  The question he faced was not about choosing a place God wanted him to go, or a task God wanted him to accomplish, but choosing to go with God into the land of "know not where."  This is the context of the original summons on our lives as we choose the way of obedience to the One who brought us into being.  When we respond to that call, it might seem to us the way forward is clear and it may be for a time, but never should it surprise us when obedience takes us down a road not seen in the beginning.  

Perhaps, it is our moments of faithful going that God gives us experiences that will enable us to move into places, situations, and relationships not seen in the beginning.  The experiences which become a part of our journey can be a part of the equipping He does as He readies us for the more that is before us.  Whether the road brings us to joy or sorrow, He can as His Word declares use all things to bring about good, or to bring us into the new which He had planned for us from the beginning.

A New Word

Looking for something to read, I pulled from the shelf a book with the strange title, "The Soul's Slow Ripening"  by Christine Valters Paintner.  In the introduction she wrote about visiting some of the sacred Celtic shrines and ruins in Ireland.  She also introduced me to a new word and a concept for which I had searched in my own trips to some of the sacred places of my past.  It actually came in a quote she used from John O' Donohue who wrote, "ruins are not empty.  They are sacred places full of presence...The life and passion of a person leaves an imprint on the ether of a place."  

By definition "ether" refers to the invisible, spiritual domain which connects the four physical elements of wind, water, earth and fire.  "Ether" is that word which speaks to why some physical places seems so full of the spiritual.  It is something I have sensed in years of standing to preach in a pulpit filled with the shadows of preachers of other generations. It is the overwhelming awareness of God's presence when I return to places where His mighty works are remembered.  "Ether" refers to the holy places of our past which call us to take off our shoes before walking once again the holy ground.  

While I am more firmly convinced than ever that all the Creation is holy because it bears the imprint of the Holy Creator, it also seems true that entering into some places is like becoming immersed in an invisible spiritual air that is seen and experienced by some, but not by all.  It brings to mind the often quoted lines of a poem learned in high school literature class, "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes, the rest sit round and pick blackberries."  The Creation is holy, but they are places made special because of the way they are for us filled with "ether."

The Small Church

I recently read a report that the mega church had grown and the small church had declined in these post pandemic years.  I was surprised.  I remember a quiet personal prediction that that the small church would begin to grow again.  It appears that I was wrong which is not the first time.  My experience with the mega church is slim.  I have been the pastor of  some small congregations, have watched them suffer through decades of decline, and was hopeful that the post pandemic years would bring about a re-emergence.  

The small church has suffered as rural communities have watched its young rush toward higher paying jobs in urban areas.  This has resulted in the disappearance of the family farm, the loss of inter-generational communities, and small churches counting funerals instead of new members.  Though I never served a large mega church, I did pastor a few larger congregations before retirement came.  The larger church can offer whatever money can buy, but the small church provides things money could never buy.  

Community is the most obvious.  The small church is filled with people who have lived with one another through thick and thin, from birth to death, and whose definition of family is not just biological.  It is the village which rears all the children.  Most of all it is a community grounded in a faith in God which will not quit.  It is a breeding ground for sinners who are beginning to look like the saints we are all called to be.  Anyone who wonders if there is more to church than being just a spectator on Sunday morning should visit a nearby small church.  It is a place where people know your name and will share your joys and woes.  It is also a place where the pastor is more knowable than the face seen from a distance on the big screen.

A Sunday Morning Question

The preacher this morning finished up a month long series on Paul's letters to the Church at Corinth. Unfortunately, life has taken me elsewhere during the month of the sermons so today was a moment for hearing the final sermon of the many preached.  Somewhere in the midst of the sermon, the preacher verbally considered the possibility of Paul writing a letter to the church of today.  It sent me scurrying to find an offering envelope with white space on the back so I could write my own question. "If Paul were to write a letter to the church today as he did to Corinth, who would want to read it?"  

"Who would want to read it?"  I fear not the church.  I fear the church would dismiss someone like Paul as one had been hiding from reality too long.  I fear the church has no real interest in hearing the prophetic voices which would call it to repentance.  Regardless whether we are liberal or conservative, we are sure we have it right and everyone else has it wrong.  The church is like the altar worker who kneels beside someone confessing their sins to tell them they are not so bad.  Maybe there was a time in the life of the church when sin was seen lurking behind every bush, but nowadays, it is doubtful the always right among us would recognize sin if it stared them in the face.  

I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church which is more about self-preservation than sacrifice.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church more interested in making "me" the center of its proclamation instead of Christ.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church too interested in tickling ears instead of stepping on toes.  I cannot help but believe that the letter would end up in the trash instead of the heart.   

Lay Him There

"Lay him there, " He said.

And I said, "Are You sure?

He's a good boy, You know,

Gathered all the wood below.

When asked, he always does.

How 'bout we talk this over

Like reasonable folks do?"

"Once more, lay him there."

"But, Lord, he's all I got.

You promised him long ago

to me and a barren woman.

If's he gone, how will she 

live without him, and with me.

I'll have no heir,  and no hope." 

I said, "Lay him there!

What can't you understand?

Who do you think I am?

A liar and  deceiver,

A breaker of promises?

I promised You blessings.

Why can you not believe?"

"Once again, lay him there!"

So loud He spoke, I awoke,

A shaking body by Sarah.

Freed now to breathe again,

Still afraid, but now I know

Who has spoken in the dream

and so I will lay him there.

(Genesis 22:1-19)

A Morning for Pondering

While I am not one prone to climbing a hill and flying a kite during a thunderstorm, or even walking across the farm during those stormy moments when thunder and lightning come in the same second, I must confess to enjoying the rain.  When I was a student at Young Harris College, I would often take walks across the campus on rainy nights.  Later in my middle years when running was a part of my routine, rain never kept me away from lacing up the running shoes.  At the farm the front porch is a favorite place to sit and be a part of the rain that is falling.  

As anyone who has ever dabbled in the dirt knows, rain is a blessed gift.  The story of Elijah reminds us what happens to the earth when the rain ceases to fall.  The creek, or wadi, from which the prophet drank his water dried up and worse than hard times came upon the land.  And even as too little can be a serious problem, we know, too, that too much of it at one time can bring flooding, destruction, and even death.  Jesus spoke of the rain falling one the wise and the foolish.  Indiscriminately, the rain falls.  Sometimes it comes and sometimes it does not.  Sometimes it rains buckets and sometimes a thimble is enough.

From my window there seems to be much to ponder as the rain falls.  This morning it seems to be speaking about the nature of life itself.  We have no real control over our life.  It unfolds bringing seasons of tears and laughter.  It is unpredictable.  It is full of things not understood.  Some speak of it as mystery.  Perhaps, life can only be rightly understood and lived when we see it as a gift.  Though we live through the dark stormy days, the sunshine comes.  There is no darkness which can overcome the Eternal Light.  There is no power, not even death, which will keep us from finally reaching the glorious light of Home.  

Rainy Morning Musings

The first rain of the morning was gentle.  It would have been good walking weather.  Such is not the case now. The rain is pounding the ground.  Walking would put the walker at risk of drowning!  It is also the kind of rain which sets the mind going off in directions not anticipated.  One of my thoughts as I look out the window is to wonder why there is no mention of rain in the Genesis account of creation.  A little head scratching and page turning revealed the first word about rain in Genesis 2:5 which said, "the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth."  How strange that the first mention of rain is a report that it exist only in the mind of God.   

The first record of rain comes in Genesis 7:2 where we hear the Lord saying to Noah, "There's going to be a floody, floody, get them children out of the muddy, muddy, children of the Lord."  Forgive me for getting carried away with a memory of a childhood song.  The Scripture actually says. "For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights."  Another big and memorable rain came of Mt. Carmel at the end of Elijah's battle with the prophets of Baal. (I Kings 18:45).  And, of course, there a few good storms described in the gospels, one of which is famous for the moment Jesus walked on stormy seas.  

What are the takeaways from this morning of musing about the rain?  Not everything visible to us was mentioned in the Genesis story of Creation.  It took seven chapters before we are able to see a decent rain.  How many years did the wheel lurk in the realm of the invisible before it became a means of transportation?  How long did the technology of airplanes and computers exist in the realm of the invisible before we were able to see it?  The creation is not yet done. There are things out there unseen which will one day be revealed.  The cure for diseases like cancer is surely one of those things.

A Heritage Lost

Although contemporary Methodism seldom gives cause to think of holiness, holiness was a dominant theme in John Wesley's theology.  It could be said with some justification that Wesley would, as some folks in this neck of the woods say,, "roll over in his grave" at the disappearance of holiness in the church that speaks of him as its theological father.  He spoke of Methodists as "people who profess to pursue holiness of heart and life, inward and outward conformity...to the revealed will of God."  

The holiness of which Wesley spoke was an inward matter of the heart and also something outwardly expressed through a life which reflected the heart of Christ.  Theological words which show up in Wesley's theology are Christian perfection, sanctification (both gradual and entire), and purity of heart.  When I was ordained back in 1971, we were asked by the Bishop at our ordination, "Are you going on to perfection?" In these words of covenant, the Wesleyan heritage was verbally and visibly affirmed.  

Like many denominational groups, there seems to be an abandonment of the inward part of Wesley's theology of sanctification as the outward aspect of it becomes more and more dominant.  Holiness must always include the work of the Holy Spirit on the believer's heart in order to be true to its meaning.   Holiness is about that work of the Spirit which shapes and transforms our hearts so that they more clearly reflect the heart of Christ.  It can never be one or the other, but both if our holiness heritage is remembered correctly.

A Second Work

In many holiness circles where sanctification was preached, it was often described as "baptism of the Spirit" or "a second work of grace."  The preaching was more focused on sanctification being an event to be experienced through an intense time of seeking this gift from God than it was preached as a moment in a believers life which began a process of living in submission to the will of God.  One of the common elements of the different approaches to the Spirit filled life was the desire in the heart of the believer for something more in their spiritual life.    

Those who disliked the image of a second work of grace affirmed, and rightly so, that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit came to abide in the heart.  There was no need to talk about Him coming a second time.  The Spirit did not come on the installment plan.  When we said "yes" to Jesus we received all of the Holy Spirit and not just a part of Him.  The problem experienced by many of us is that while we received all of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit did not receive all of us.  

Beginning faith can often be filled with enthusiasm, but also filled with the conditional.  This results in the kind of life the Apostle Paul described in a moment of confession, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Romans 7:19-20).  It is when we grow weary of such a life and when we long for something more that we find that our heart is receptive to the Spirit calling us to surrender not a part of ourselves but all of ourselves so that the emptiness cannot only be filled, but also controlled by the Holy Spirit.

"Them Holiness Folks"

Not far from the small town Methodist Church that licensed me to preach was an empty lot that stayed vacant except for one week out of the year.  On that exceptional week a big brown tent would suddenly appear along with at least a hundred wooden folding chairs and several hundred funeral homes fans.  The people who showed up in the evening to sit in those chairs and wave those fans were not like the orderly dignified Methodist folks who drove by this tent revival after dark to see what all the singing and shouting was about. 

When asked, the keepers of righteous order would say, "It was them holiness folks!"   Never did it occur those of us being shaped by the Methodist Church on the corner that "them holiness folks" was really us.  Holiness was not mentioned much on Sunday morning.  When the words, "baptism of the Holy Spirit" sounded across town from that turned wide open speaker system at the tent, we were mystified.  Sanctification might have been a part of the spiritual heritage of those Methodists on the corner, but it was mostly kept a secret.  

It was years later when I went to a college that had, "Holiness Unto the Lord" written in large bold letters across the front wall of the auditorium that I began to see and understand a different understanding of holiness.  It was true that the Scripture called believers to holy living (I Peter 1:15-16) and a familiar and much quoted word said, "Blessed are the pure in heart..." (Matthew 5:8), but it required a season of soaking before such words settled in my heart.  In a world in which the church seems to have lost its spiritual identity, maybe it needs to have a season of soaking in the words of Peter, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people..." (I Peter 2:9).

A Surrendered Heart

It has been over 56 years since that day I knelt at an altar during the Asbury Revival of 1970.  I had been a believer about four years, but the fervent faith of the beginning had turned into confusion and cynicism.  In my heart I knew there had to be something more to following Jesus than I was experiencing.  I also knew that if what I was experiencing was as good as it could be, it really was not worth having.  When I went to the altar that Tuesday afternoon, I went with a desperate spirit, a hungry heart, and a frail faith that led me to search for something more.   

For the two years I had been at Asbury College, I had heard sermon after sermon that called for holiness of heart.  Frankly, the word holiness scared me to death.  As preachers through those two years droned on and on about sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit, I turned a deaf ear.  I wanted no part of what they were "selling" as my cynical spirit called it.  For some reason which can only be accounted to the grace of God, the Holy Spirit broke through the hard shell I had built around my heart.  In a moment of clarity, I understood that the Spirit was calling me to the life of a surrendered heart.  

There at the altar on my knees, it became clear that what God wanted was not a pledge to change the world, but a heart surrendered to His will.  He did not want a heart filled with what I wanted, but a heart that desired to be filled with what He desired for my life.  I knew He was calling me to a faith that was unconditional.  I knew that the day I accepted Christ and said "yes" to a call to preach had brought me to this moment of spiritual preparation.  A heart and will surrendered completely to Him was what He wanted from me in order to be the servant He had called me to be.  I have always been amazed that He saw me as being useful to His Kingdom's work and I have also always been amazed that a moment of entering into the surrendered life made all the difference in the life I have lived and the ministry He entrusted to me.

Dead to Sin

Death is not dying.  Romans 6:10-11 says, "The death He (Jesus) died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.  So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."   Getting better at not sinning is not what the Scripture has in mind when it speaks of considering ourselves dead to sin.  Dying is more of a process; whereas, death is an event that speaks of something having happened with finality.  

Those of us who are believers are tempted to do a dance with the reality of sin.  We learn to live with it.  We rationalize our sin by declaring we are only human.   The Apostle Paul takes us in a totally different direction.  Unless we die suddenly it is usually a process of letting go.  We let go of things we hold in our hands.  We let go of our bank accounts and our titles.  We let go of one thing after another until there is nothing left but family.  Finally, there comes a moment when even family is let go and all we have is ourself and then we let that go as well.  Death comes as a result of dying, but there finally comes a moment when nothing is left for we have let go of everything.   

When we consider ourselves dead to sin, it is a moment of letting go of ambitions, the self serving seeking ego, and the gratifying desires of self.  We let go of all those things which have been hindrances to being at one with Christ and come alive to the reality that our life is now being lived to serve Him and to please Him.  Being dead to sin is knowing that the life we now live is not about us, but it is about Him.  No longer is it about our will, our wants, and our wishes.  Life in Christ is about living so that "thy will be done on earth (and in me) as it is in heaven. 

Help in Praying

There are time when we know not how to pray.  In such times we are reminded of something Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, "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 too deep for words...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  (Romans 8:26-27).  We can also find some encouragement as we remember that Jesus has prayed for us. "I ask not only on behalf of these (the disciples), but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word..." (John 17:21).  

The praying of Jesus is not just in the past.  "Consequently, He (Jesus) is able to save those who approach God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."  (Hebrews 7:25).  Still another thing to remember is the way the Psalms can guide us in our praying.  When we are praying for our nation, we might find ourselves at a loss to know how we should pray.  The 85th Psalm offers us several words that provide help.  Verse 6 says to the Lord, "Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?"  As we continue in the Psalm we can according to the Scripture pray that "Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet, righteousness and peace will kiss each other, and righteousness will look down from the sky." (Psalm 85:10-11).  

One thing which happens as we pray the Scripture is that we find our praying moves into a different realm.  We are no longer using the same words.  We are no longer praying prayers that reflect what we want, but what God desires to do.  Psalm 85 serves us well as it leads us to ask God to forgive our iniquity, (vs. 2) and to a prayer of asking God to bless us with what is good so that our land will yield its increase. (vs. 12).  These are the prayers that reflect the heart of God, the will of God, and we can pray such prayers with boldness and confidence.

Getting Older

When Old Man Age comes creepin' in,

calling me "old as dirt" or "the ancient one,"

touching my aching legs with rheumitis,

my swollen joints with "arthur-ritus," 

I could sign myself in at the old folks home,

and join the gray hairs in a rocking chair,

making everyone happy 'cept for me.

 

Somewhere between old and getting older

the also old children start their planning

as they figure out what's best for me.

No one asks what I think since thinking

is not what they see me doing anymore.

Though I be of sound mind and breathing body

what I think is not a thing to consider.

 

The plans I have are those of taking the risk,

for failure is no longer a frightening thing.

Having lived with that companion all my life

it scares me less now than ever before.

There are still things to do, trips to take,

fields where being fruitful is still possible

and people who can learn from a slower one. 

 

Retiring is living on less, not, not living.

The poet said, "The best is yet to be"

and the longer the years, the more I believe

letting go and finding new is the better place

for those who may be slower, but not through

with all those things God had in mind

when He said, "I have plans for you."  

 

The Prophetic Voice

Democracy has its own unique way of silencing the prophetic voices which would speak to those in authority in the church.  One of the things which has happened in my denomination, the United Methodist Church, is a multi decade process of agitation and conflict that finally resulted in the departure of those who are considered to be the conservative traditional members of the body. Two large groups, one liberal and the other conservative, finally came to a place where finding a way forward together was deemed impossible.  

The end result of such a division is multi faceted, but one of the things which has happened is that those who continue with the name United Methodist no longer have anyone to speak a dissenting voice.  Any votes now taken concerning direction of the church are nearly unanimous since there is no one to say "No."  There is no such voice now being spoken to those in authority as that voice as has been voted into extinction. It is dangerous ground for any person in spiritual authority to walk.  It is a dangerous place for a church to place itself.

The prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos may not have been heeded, but their voices continued to be spoken to those in authority.  They might have been thrown into prison, or been ridiculed, or ignored, but their voices remained. Those in authority are better able to serve when there are those around them who are given permission to be naysayers instead of yes people.  This is true in political circles and it is true in the church.  There are no prophetic voices in the church which ordained me long years ago and it is the source of much anguish and grief.  

Biblical Trivia

While I hesitate to use the word "trivia" to speak of some things written in the Bible, it is a word which seems appropriate when we run into surprising little details which are a part of the major story being told in unfolding story of the Word of God.  In recent readings in Jeremiah, I came across a record of the Lord saying to the prophet, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters." (Jeremiah 16:1)  Of course, this personal aspect of Jeremiah's life was a part of God's prophetic message through him.  As is often the case, one things leads to another.  

I wondered about the personal life of other prophets.  Isaiah 7:3 speaks of the prophet's son accompanying him and Isaiah 8:3 says of Isaiah, "I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son."  Hosea's marital situation is a major part of what God was saying through him.  "...the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.'"  (Hosea 1:2). When she left him, Hosea found her and bought her back from a life of prostitution. (Hosea 3:1-2).  Ezekiel's marriage story is the strangest.  "The Word of the Lord came to me: 'Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes; yet, you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down...' So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died." (Ezekiel 24:15-18.  

As we read the personal details of these prophets, we do so in the context of the the ministry and the message of the prophet.  God had a word He wanted to say to His people and He used not only the prophets voice, but often used the personal lives of the prophets as well as visible enactments to speak that word and message.  It is not always easy to understand.  When we read, we can only shake our heads in wonder at why God did what He did.  What we often discover is that what we might call Biblical trivia is an integral part of what God was doing through Israel's prophets.

The Hard Way

Jeremiah was a faithful prophet, but it was not easy,  He was told by God, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place."  (Jeremiah 16:1). He was put in stocks and thrown in prison.  He was told by God to speak His word, but no one listened.  He said of himself, " I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me..." (Jeremiah 20:7).  He wanted to give it up.  He spoke of the conflict within which centered around his desire to be liked by his peers and being faithful to God, "If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9).   

Being a faithful speaker of God's word did not earn him any popularity award.  All of us want to be liked by others and Jeremiah was no exception, but it was not the reward he received.  His reward came from God for being a bold prophet who stood to speak the uncomfortable word no one one wanted to hear.  Because of his trust in the Lord, he was blessed.  "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream...it does not cease to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:7-8).  

Anyone who seriously studies the prophets comes to the conclusion that faithfulness to God will likely result in persecution.  Persecution today may not take the form of being hung on a cross, or burned at the stake.  It may be something as simple as not being taken seriously, being dismissed as being old fashioned and irrelevant, or speaking but not being heard.  To be traditional in this progressive society often results in becoming a laughingstock.  Faithfulness to God has always been the life of swimming upstream, of being different, and of being tolerated but not really accepted in the circles of the powerful and all knowing ones.  It is good to count the cost at the beginning for it is certain that the life of faithfulness to God will be costly.

Where Are the Prophets?

Preachers and prophets may have in common a call from God, but the role to which they are called is different.  When I say that preachers are " a dime a dozen," I mean no disrespect.  I have and still do regard myself as one of them.  Instead, it is to say there are a multitude of preachers, but very few prophets.  A preacher may speak prophetically from time to time, but the preacher is the "general practitioner" of the church while the prophet has a more specific function.   Prophets are hard to find because it is a tough calling to embrace.  

The life of Jeremiah certainly illustrates this reality.  Jeremiah is often called the reluctant prophet.  His calling came at a young age and when he heard it, he said, "Ah, Lord God!  Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."  (Jeremiah 1:6).  Immediately, he heard the Lord telling him he was to speak to authority, to rulers, and priests as well as those under their authority.  He was told his message was a message of judgment and destruction against Jerusalem and Judah.  Imagine the fear in young Jeremiah's heart when he heard the Lord saying to him, "...gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I have commanded you.  Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them." (Jeremiah 1:17)  

Anyone interested in being a prophet?  It is no wonder that there few among us.  Prophets speak to authority.  They are easily dismissed as fanatics, or fringe dwellers, or one issue people.  They find themselves ignored because their message is so uncomfortable to hear.  They are told to find the compromising way but they cannot because of their faithfulness to God and His calling.  Again, who among us wants the prophet to live among us?  Who wants to live and speak prophetically?

An Unpopular Word

Sin is not such a popular word in our culture.  Many modern day Christians view it more as an anachronism than a present danger.  The defining word about sin now belongs not to the Holy Word of God, but to society's interpretation of that Word once regarded as holy and inspired by God.  Contemporary Christian thinkers would have us delegate sin to the counselor's couch instead of the altar of repentance.  The one thing to be avoided in the contemporary church is to make people feel bad.  Folks should always feel good when they leave worship is the mandate given to today's preachers and worship leaders.  

It is, therefore, no wonder the church of our day is more comfortable with the New Testament message about God's love than some of those disturbing thundering words of the prophets who speak from the pages of the Old Testament.  To read a prophet like Jeremiah is to understand that sin is a serious issue when it comes to being in a faithful relationship. Sin is a breech of trust, a breech of a covenant relationship, and God does not just turn His head and say, "Maybe you can do better next time."  

Jeremiah 16:17-18 speak of a side of God we would rather not acknowledge, "For my eyes are on their ways; they are not hidden from My presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from My sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin..."  Perhaps, some do not take sin seriously, but God does.  It is no trifling matter with Him.  To view sin from any perspective other than the cross where Jesus died is a mistake.  The cross may speak of God's love, but it also speaks of the cost of our sin.  For God our sin is no inconsequential matter, but an issue which breaks His heart.

The Gift of Completion

As the years accumulate they bring us to a season of life that is lived slower, a season that is marked by limitations, and a season of letting go.  They also bring us to a season of abundant gifting.  The gifts that come are not like the gifts of the past known as accumulation, recognition, and unending possibilities.  The gifts that come in the season of accumulating years come like precious treasures.  Gifts of grace is what they are and as we slowly unwrap them, we do so with amazement that we never knew they were out there to be given.   

Completion is one of those gifts that never comes earlier, but always later.  It is not the gift of seeing and reaping the fruits of our labor secured by the sweat of our brow, but the gift of sensing that the important, lasting, even eternal things of life are finally becoming visible to our longing heart.  Completion is about coming to terms with who we are, why we have been given more life than we ever really considered possible, and the difference our living has made.  Completion is not about retiring to the rocker on the front porch, but accepting the ending of the past and the unfolding of a new season of usefulness.  

This season of abundant giving gives us time to laugh over things past and present.  It gives us time to cherish the love of those who have shared and are sharing love with us.  It is a season of overflowing gratitude.  It is the season of knowing and celebrating "'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home,"  Completion is truly experienced as we embrace the realization that life has always been about grace.  Too much of life we have been too busy to notice.  This season of abundant gifting brings us to an awareness that even in the beginning, as it is now, life is all about God's unending grace. 

The Potter's House

"Go!" was what I heard.

    "No buts, no ifs, or ands,

      No whining either.

         Just get up and go."

            So I up and went

to the potter's house.

In a place of wet clay  

     sat a bearded man,

       the ancient of days

        was surely his name

           And so, I said,

"Old One, here I am."

"Been waiting," he said,

    "What took you so long?"

        My head was spinning,

          no words did I know,

            so I sat to watch

the hands, wheel, the clay.

"Why the potter's house?

    Why did You say 'Go?' 

       There is nothing here,

         but the smell of clay

           and this bearded one

who has nothing to say."

"Watch, be quiet, be still,"

     spoke the voice of "Go!"

       Through the day we sat,

         He, the potter, and I.

           Nary a sound was heard,

but wet spinning clay.

"Damn!' the potter cried.

    "That won't do," he said

        as he stopped the wheel,

          took the messed up clay

            in his hands like dough

and started over again.

In my watching I knew

   why the voice said, "Go!"

     The potter's house, the place

       where the Word of God

         is heard by those who fear 

they might be thrown away.

       

(Jeremiah 18:1-6)

Encountering Jesus

When we read the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus, we spend too much time seeing the sycamore tree.  It may be an interesting sight to behold, but something which happens in the home of Zacchaeus is far more important to see.  Jesus went to the home of the tax collector that day.  Since the story begins with "He (Jesus) entered Jericho and was passing through it," (Luke 19:1), it would seem that Jesus had a change of plans.  He was so impressed by Zacchaeus that he invited Himself to his home.  Everyone was no doubt amazed.  

What must have really amazed them and what is more significant than a short man climbing a tree is how the tax collector's life was changed.  Exactly what happened in the house, we do not know, but we do know that Zacchaeus's life was radically changed by this unexpected encounter with Jesus.  Before the day was done, we hear the tax collector saying, "Look, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to then poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." (Luke 19:8).  

The story of this man's transformation tells us that an encounter with Jesus is not only something to be experienced personally, but that it changes the heart in such a way that no longer can the poor and broken be ignored.  When we encounter Jesus, we find ourselves encountering those around us in a different way.  We no longer want to relate to those around us from a position of power or privilege, but as one who wants to care for the needs of a brother and sister.  We become one of those who no longer is owned by what is held, but instead, becomes one whose hands are open to give generously and to serve with love.

Amazing, is it Not?

Christianity brings two earthshaking and life changing words.  One is incarnation and the other is resurrection.  There is nothing in all of history which can cause these two realities to be shadowed.  Go to the story of Bethlehem for the truth of the incarnation in narrative form, or go to those eight words in the gospel of John for the theological language.  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14).  Listen to Jesus declaring, "I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live" (John 11:25) or go to the ending of each of the four gospels for a first hand account of the event upon which the Christian faith is centered.   

The common denominator in both history altering events is Jesus.  There is none like Him in all the pages of history.  He is known as Good Shepherd because of His compassion.  He is known as Son of God as He is the sent one of God.  He is known as Savior because of His redemptive sacrifice on the cross. The name of Jesus is the name above all names.  The gospel message centers on this One who came from God, lived among us, died for us, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.  

The creed we proclaim on Sunday when we gather for worship is about more than nice sounding words.  As we stand and recite the ancient creed, we are declaring two things.  The first is "This is what God has done for us."  The second is, "This is what I believe and upon this foundation I live."  The gospel is not a theological event, but a moment in history that is transforming and life changing. Jesus is not just a character in a story.  He is one who invites us into a personal relationship with Him.  Amazing, is it not?

The One Revealed

The Scripture has been important to me almost since I learned to read.  I was baptized when I was nine years old.  Exactly when I got my first Bible I am not sure, but I know it was probably one of the first books I owned.  None of this is to say that I have been the faithful reader I could have been, but it is to say that it is a book which has never been very far away.  As the years have added up, it has stayed even closer.  I am grateful that the Scripture has been a constant in my life.  Throughout my ministry, I have always thought of myself as one of Wesley's preachers and have grown to appreciate the "one book" tradition which is a part of my Methodist heritage.   

There have been times when I have said that my life is based on this holy book, but as I pause I realize that as important as the Bible has been in all my days, my life has been based not on the book as much as the One revealed in the book.  I have been influenced by many saints who have gone before me.  I have learned to glean some of the truths proclaimed from other faith walks, but Jesus is the One who is the foundation of my life.  There is no one like Him.  He has done for us impossible things.  

John 1:18 declares, "No one has ever seen God.  It is God the only Son who is close to the Father's heart, who has made Him known to us."  In another place in the same gospel we hear Jesus saying to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9).  These are amazing, mind boggling words.  To see and know Jesus is to see and know the heart of God and this is only one of so many things revealed to us through this book we carry with us on the journey.

Unbelievable

Some things are hard to believe.  Sometimes we think our eyes must be deceiving us.  Such is what I experienced not long ago when I noticed that the page view counter of JourneyNotes was at 1,001,176. This has nothing to do with my blog presence on Facebook.  Instead, this number reflects the number of times someone has seen my blog from blogspot.com.  If you have never seen it on blogspot, the url address is http://billjourneynotes.blogspot.com/ and once there you can subscribe via email.  It was never my intent back in 2008 when I started JourneyNotes to write a daily blog, but it is to such a place that I have come.  

What I have come to understand in these years of seeing the blog turn into a daily writing venture is that it reflects God calling and blessing me in a ministry transition from preaching to writing. I am grateful to Him for enabling me to fulfill this ministry and even more grateful for the way so many have shared being blessed by what He has enabled me to do.  The congregation who used to hear me preach all lived within shouting distance of the sanctuary and through JourneyNotes it now goes beyond boundaries I could never have imagined being crossed.   

I know that JourneyNotes is not about what I have done, but what God has done and is doing through the gifts for ministry that He has bestowed upon me.  As unbelievable as one million page views is, it is even more unbelievable that He called me to ministry back in 1966 and since the day of calling has had the patience to allow me the privilege of being useful in His kingdom's work.  Another unbelievable part of this whole writing venture is that so many have become faithful readers and to each one of you I am grateful.  

The Real Thing

Christianity is not about associations, but a relationship.  The heresy is that we are made Christian by our association with the faith of our mothers and father, a religious affiliation, our peer group, or an identity in a community that seeks to do good through service.  Such an understanding of Christianity does not need Jesus. Jesus was not and is not about institutional membership, but is instead about knowing those who come after Him, being known by them, and beginning a journey together.   

It is not what we do that makes us Christians.  Others may look at us and see a good person who is doing good things and declare us a Christian and we may do the same when we look in the mirror and see ourselves, but the only thing which identifies us as a Christian is that we have chosen a relationship with Jesus.  The relationship with Christ is not one we can initiate, but one God has initiated and made possible through the sacrificed blood of Jesus on the cross.  We become Christians not when we join, but when we accept this relationship which is always about the grace of God. 

Until we identify with Christ in this divinely ordained relationship, we may be worthy of the name good, or the name respectable, or even the name pillar of the church, but we only become Christians when we say "Yes" to what Christ has done for us and allow the Holy Spirit to begin God's work in us.  The church's witness and ministry in the world is diminished when we equate membership, or a willingness to serve others with being a Christian.  We become Christians not by joining a church, or associating with certain groups, but by choosing a personal relationship with Jesus.  Anything less is counterfeit.  It only looks like the real thing.  

Praise in Praying

When we pray and most of us do, our praying can become like other things we do.  We hurry.  It is not a thing like leaving late and hurrying to arrive late, but embracing a pattern of prayer which makes us hurry to our intercessory prayer list.  Make no mistake.  Intercessory prayer is a good thing which is useful in the hands of God.  Instead the question being posed is, "When was the last time we came to our time of prayer and soaked ourselves in a season of praise?"  

If we wonder what this kind of praying might look like, or if we need some models to help us break with the way we have always done things, we might read the last six Psalms (145-150).  A further suggestion would be to start with Psalm 150 and read backwards to Psalm 145.  The suggestion is not to read them all at one time, but to allow these verses so full of praise to God to reveal a form for praising God in our prayers.  And finally, this paragraph of suggestions might also include the suggestion that the praise be allowed to come from a stilled and unhurried heart.  

One of the things which happens with this kind of praying is that it creates a different spiritual atmosphere.  It might be likened to walking into a cooling shade filled with the evening breeze after a day filled with scorching heat and soaking humidity.  It becomes a place that we do not want to leave.  It becomes a place where our spirit is powerfully refreshed and renewed by being in the presence of the Holy.  Once we arrive at such a place in our praying, the hurrying spirit is soon replaced by a spirit that longs to linger.

An Old and New Timepiece

Just before I retired, my watch gave out.  I remember looking at it one day and realizing that it no longer was keeping up with time.  In the moment I made a radical decision.  I decided not to replace it.  Perhaps, it was intuition leading me toward an unseen season which was about to dawn when I would leave the world of the day planner for a life more attuned to the sun dial I placed in a sunny spot on the farm.  Looking back I can see that laying aside the watch was a step that served to prepare me for a different lifestyle.  

As I walked into those early years of retirement, I was drawn toward a lifestyle of paying attention.  One of the things to which I learned to pay attention was the movement of the sun from the faint light of the morning to the soft fading light of the evening.  Without some conscious decision, I started noting the location of the sun and the shadows it set in place on the ground.  As the months began to add up,  the creation of which I was becoming a part started telling me the time as surely as had the wrist watch of a more hectic past.  What was interesting was that the more I paid attention to the present and the people in the present, the more I saw and heard.  

I not only began to see and hear the messages sent by the Creation, but also the messages sent by the Creator God who revealed Himself and made His voice known through the Creation.  Most folks who come to the farm speak first of the silence, but staying awhile and embracing the life it unfolds brings to the ear and the eye things which once seemed silent and invisible.  The Creation is really not such a silent place.  There is always a stirring in the trees, hawks and crows hollering in the sky, and "the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze." (Genesis 3:8).

Wrath and Righteousness

Talking about the love of God is far more popular than talking about the wrath of God.  Most preachers would prefer ignoring it in preaching and most people of the pews would rather not hear it mentioned in preaching.  The common consensus is to stay focused on positive and uplifting things.  The only problem is that the Bible speaks often of the wrath of God.  Romans 1:17 reads, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth." The problem of a God of wrath is compounded by another word Paul wrote a little later in the letter, "But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed..." (Romans 3:24)  

The Word of God calls us to live with the tension created by holding in the same hand "the wrath of God" and "the righteousness of God."  Understanding the wrath of God is more difficult than understanding the righteousness of God.  The wrath of God is not about vengeance, or uncontrollable anger, but about the justice of God.  The wrath of God is empty of grace as it is about evil getting what evil deserves.  Even as the wrath of God is empty of grace so is it empty of the lovingkindness which is implicit within the Old Testament word, "hesed."  It is hard for us to think of God in such terms. 

John the Apostle wrote, "...God is love...(I John 4:8, 16).  Of course, nothing makes this truth clearer to us than the presence of Jesus in the flesh in our world.  The righteous God who is disclosed to us is one of love.  He is one filled with lovingkindness.  He is one who gives the free gift of grace.  Thus, we live midst a mystery filled with theological tension that is not about choosing one or the other, but both.

The Purpose of Preaching

Back in the day when I started preaching, old sermons were written long hand on yellow legal pads.  The process produced a lot of yellow paper in the trash can as well as sermon filled yellow pages for the file cabinet.  As my fingers wore out, I stepped into the hi-tech world and started using a manual Royal typewriter which got rid of the yellow paper.  At some point a word processor came into the office which made such a quiet process that I had to program my mind to write without the noise of pounding keys.  I still went on to use a small forest of pine trees before my mind could grasp the paperless process where "hard copies" were no longer necessary.    

I have never embraced change easily.  I can remember the number of years I spent at each step of the sermon writing journey.  While the means of writing has changed, the process of writing sermons has changed very little.  The rules or guidelines with which I started are the ones still embraced.  Every sermon needs a heavy dose of praying before the first word becomes visible.  The starting point of the sermon is not about a social issue, or a personal opinion, but a text from Scripture.  My preaching professor from seminary said what I still remember, "No one comes to hear your personal opinion, they come to hear the Word of God." 

Another thing always remembered is that the pulpit is not for teaching.  There is a difference in preaching and teaching.  Teaching is informational and preaching is persuasive.  Preaching is to bring people into an encounter with Jesus that will unleash transforming power in their hearts.  Another word which might be used instead of persuasive is invitational.  It is imperative that the invitational dimension of preaching not be forgotten or neglected by the preacher.

God or Mammon

Jesus never said money was evil, but He did warn those who were investing in the Mount of Accumulation  to be careful.  It is in that section of Scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount that we hear Him saying, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth."  (Matthew 6:24).  According to Jesus, there is nothing wrong with having wealth.  The important thing is to be sure the wealth does not have us.  Money can be a problem for the poor man who only has a coin or two in the pocket just as a great portfolio of investments can be a problem for the wealthy.  

When we hold our money in our hand, what is really important is not the amount we see, but the attitude we have toward it in our heart.  Mark 12:41-44 tells the story of Jesus watching the giving of a widow who only had two small coins and the rich who gave large sums.  Jesus points to her as the one who carried the right attitude in her heart.  She could give everything because she knew God would take care of tomorrow.  The rich gave a lot but it was not enough to put themselves at risk for tomorrow.  If God did not come through, they had enough put back to take care of tomorrow.

Does the way we accumulate and give reflect anything about our faith in God?  Does our tight hold on the money in our hands speak of the hold it has on us?   Money did not have such a hold on the poor widow that she could not be generous in giving to God.  She knew God could be counted on to take care of her tomorrow.  On the other hand, the rich gave a lot, but it was out of their abundance.   What they gave they never missed.  They kept back enough to weather any of tomorrow's storms.  In the final analysis, giving answers the question, "Who do I trust?"   

Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday.  We all have them.  As our birthday comes, it enables us to celebrate by counting the years.  I have been blessed more than many of those I have known as friends whose years did not span nearly as many as mine.  Actually, while our birthday marks how many years we have lived, we always need to add nine months.  Our life does not start at birth when we take our first gulp of earth's air, but when the miracle of conception takes place in the womb of the woman we know as mother.   

When life begins has become such a political issue in our day.  We are told by some that not every child conceived has the right to life.  The Scripture takes us in a different direction.  Regardless of the circumstances of conception, the Word of God speaks of a life conceived as being one of value.  The first chapter of Genesis speaks of each created being bearing the imprint of the Holy.  The created human being along with all the rest of creation is seen by God as not just being good, but "very good." (Genesis 1:31)  Creation is not accidental nor without purpose, but is and continues to be a part of the unfolding plan of God.   

The purposeful plan of God first seen in conception is pointed out in a word that came to Jeremiah as we hear the Lord saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.."  (Jeremiah 1:5).  Another important word about the work of God before birth comes in the 139th Psalm.  "For it was You (God) who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb...My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret...Your eyes beheld my unformed substance..." (Psalm 139:13-16).  All of life is a holy and precious gift and I am, as you are, grateful for every day which has been and is being given..

On the Eve

The journey from conception to the day which will mark 78 years is almost here.  Another sunrise will bring it into view.  It feels like standing on a threshold which speaks of ending and beginning.  What is past will end and what is unfolding will begin.  Of course, another way of looking at the moment is to see that what began is continuing.  Life is not so much about arriving as it is about moving toward what is unfolding.  On a day that is the eve of tomorrow, it is obvious that there is much to remember and much for which to hope.

A hymn which comes to mind has the words, "There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody; there's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.  From the past will come the future, what it holds a mystery, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see." ("Hymn of Promise").  The passing of so many years has driven home the truth that control is an illusion.  No matter how hard we might squint and strain to see into the future, we can at best see no further than the end of our nose.  

Life is truly about endings and beginnings and as the poet, Robert Browning, wrote long ago, "the best is yet to be."  It has always been that there is light after darkness, hope after despair, and joy after mourning.  The lesson of the years is that no darkness is overcoming because as Job, the man of trouble, said, "In His (God's) hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being." (Job 12:10).  With such truth embedded in our heart we can move forward into any darkness which might unfold because we know God as the One who has brought us through all the things of ages that are past.

A Firm Foundation

When I was a young and aspiring preacher, I was drawn to the letters Paul wrote to Timothy because of the mentoring words being spoken by a seasoned veteran servant of Christ.  The words written to Timothy were words that helped me stay focused on what I was called to do and who I was called to be.  I sat with them on many different occasions.  Today I am obviously not a young and aspiring preacher.  I have become the old seasoned servant who has a word for the young and aspiring even though they may not have the ears or the desire to listen.   

Though my role has shifted over these years, I still find myself drawn to these letters Paul wrote so long ago.  I am drawn to them not because I have the needs of a young preacher, but because of the way the theological core of church is being threatened.  I cannot help but see a world where people "...accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires." (II Timothy 4:3)  We have become the generation with "itching ears" who are constantly being tempted to "turn away from listening to the truth." (II Timothy 4:3-4)  

As I confess my troubled heart and spirit that grieves for a church that seems to find its direction more in cultural mores than the sacred Word, I also hear in Paul's letter to Timothy a word of comfort and hope.  In verse 19 of the second chapter of the second letter to Timothy, the Apostle is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write a bold word, "But God's firm foundation stands..."  The church is forever changing.  It has enjoyed seasons of faithfulness and endured seasons of heresy, but God's firm foundation still stands.  It will always stand.  Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  Such is also true of the true church that bears the stain from the blood of the cross and has been cast into the future by the blowing wind of the Spirit.  

Almost There

My journey into my 78th birthday month is almost completed.  Not only is June about to disappear, but the day remembered as the day of my birth is about to dawn.  These days have been times for remembering and reflecting on some of the things learned in more recent days which I am carrying with me as a part of my essential baggage.  Recent is, of course, used rather loosely as it covers the larger span of the years since I left the pulpit for the farm.  

Shortly after I retired a friend sent a book to me which seemed to be one of those books women use in their Bible studies.  I read it anyway.  Written by Ann Voskamp it is entitled, "1000 Gifts."  It is a book about living with a spirit of gratitude.  It is a book which led me into a deeper understanding of the word Paul wrote, "...give thanks in all circumstances..." (I Thessalonians 5:18) and another from Philippians which I find to be very similar, "I have learned to be content with whatever I have."  Philippians 4:11).  One of the challenges the author offered was to keep a "Gratitude Journal" with a goal of noting 1000 gifts over the next year.  

I pray that I come to year 78 with a heart that is possessed more by a grateful spirit.  One of the lessons which has surely been learned in these sixteen years it that even in the darkest of times there are things (gifts would be the Voskamp word) from God for which we can be grateful.  A part of that blessing is to realize how gratitude leads to generosity.  I am grateful that the more grateful person I am becoming is also giving life to a more generous spirit.

Hesed

An afternoon venture into the Word brought me to Psalm 136.  It is a Psalm which has a strong liturgical element within it.  Each of its 26 verses extols some way that God has expressed His love to His people and each of those brief expressions is followed by "for His steadfast love endures forever."  It is the kind of Psalm which enables us to hear the leader of worship saying, "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good" and the people joining voices to say in response, "for His steadfast love endures forever."  It such a powerful Psalm of praise and thanksgiving.   

As the Psalmist repeats the refrain, "for His steadfast love endure forever" he is bringing forth the Hebrew word, "hesed."  "Hesed" is to the Old Testament as "agape" is to the New Testament except that the Old Testament word carries with it an even broader meaning than its New Testament counterpart.  "Hesed" is a word to which I was first introduced in seminary and then much later found surfacing in a Disciple Bible Study I led for many years.  When reading this Psalm it is better to read slowly aloud than it is to read it silently so that we are enabled to hear the richness of the language.  

"Hesed" is a word that speaks of the love of God to all people.  It speaks of God's commitment to His promises.  It is also a word which is often translated "lovingkindness." It speaks of an action of God that goes beyond expectation.  "Hesed" is a word of action.  It is not a word that points to a compassionate heart, but to a God who does not stand still, but is always moving toward those in need.  Psalm 136 is a Psalm worthy of more than just a casual reading.  It is a holy word which tells us an important truth about the nature of God.  "His (God's) steadfast love endures forever."

Not Just Any Chair

This past Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at Fair Haven Church, a church with a Methodist heritage that goes so far back it is known as one of the oldest Methodist Churches in Georgia.  It is a small church surrounded by farm land and filled with a multi-generational congregation.  Over the years I have learned to listen to what the architectural design of a church has to say to us.  As I sat there before the service, I found myself becoming aware that I was sitting in a church with a rich spiritual history.  

There were many noteworthy things to consider in that sacred space, but what really stood out on this morning were the two pulpit chairs behind the pulpit.  The church survived Sherman's march to the sea and those two chairs might have been crafted shortly afterwards.  They were not the functional utilitarian chairs designed by some fly by night manufacturing company, but chairs which were crafted of solid wood that provided a sturdy comfortable seat and a back that rose high enough to dwarf any preacher.  Those chairs spoke of the honor given to preachers by those who sat in the pews as well as their expectation that a bearer of God's Word would rest in the chair a moment or two before proclaiming it.   

The inanimate sacred things of the sanctuary speak to us if we can still ourselves long enough to hear.  I remember often a pulpit from which I preached for ten years that rose high over the congregation and reminded me again and again not to climb those steps to be surrounded by that massive pulpit unless I was prepared to speak the Word of the Lord. It was obvious that preaching was important to those who designed that sanctuary.  In the same manner, a baptismal font that is hidden in a corner may say something to the church no one really wants to hear. Without the frequent stirring of that holy water the church that put it there in a place of obscurity may soon join it.  

Camp Meetings

It is the season of humidity so thick people have trouble walking in it; it is the season for the invasion of black gnats so thick the sun is often obscured; it is the season for afternoon thunderstorms which come at the end of an unbearably hot day; and it is the season for camp meetings to spring to life across the the landscape of southern religious culture.  The grand daddy of camp meetings in the state of Georgia is Indian Springs Holiness Camp Meeting.  It has been meeting near Jackson for over one hundred years.  This particular Camp Meeting and others like it have their roots in another time and in another culture, but they persist in our era bringing a breath of fresh air into the spiritual life of so many.  

When I was growing up, my parents dragged me to camp meeting.  In these adult years my heart longs to be immersed once again in this unique spiritual environment.  Traditionally, a camp meeting is held in a rural area, is more rustic than convenient, and is centered around a large open air tabernacle.  People meet for prayer before breakfast.  As the traditional camp meeting unfolds into a ten day event, there is a daily mid morning Bible study and preaching services at 1l:00 am, 3 pm, and again around 7 o'clock in the evening.  

In the days of beginning, camp meetings focused on preaching scriptural holiness.  Unfortunately, in some places such a focus has been lost, but over at Indian Springs, such preaching is still the order of the day.  The preaching is strongly evangelistic and those who come are invited to enter into a deeper life of faith with Christ.  The existence of this camp meeting ministry might be regarded as a relic from the past by some, but its continued existence speaks of the spiritual hunger present in the lives of so many people in the current day.

Head and Heart

The church culture in which I lived as a boy was not one which was afraid to invite people to enter into an experience with Jesus which might evoke some kind of emotional response.  People were given a safe place to confess their sins and seek forgiveness.  While crying tears of repentance was not required,  many an altar has been salted with shed tears.  It was a spiritual environment which overtly invited those who worshiped to give their hearts to Jesus.  Preachers would invite people to do the work of repentance at the altar and then would kneel down alongside them at the altar to pray with them.   

I have a preacher friend who often speaks of connecting head and heart as he leads his people in worship.  In many churches the heart seems to be forgotten.  The message is more about how the community needs to respond to the call of Jesus rather than a word that encourages individual response.  Service has become the key word instead of salvation.  The focus is so much on the community's response to Jesus that there is no room for people to encounter Jesus in an experience which might be described as a personal conversion.  

Back in my college days at Asbury College a roommate went home over Christmas and found himself at an altar confessing his sins.  As he told the story there was a friend who was kneeling beside him who kept saying, "Now, Larry, you are not that bad.  You do a lot of good things for people." As I remember the story, it seems to be a visual which depicts the reluctance the church has in calling its people to a time of confession and repentance that could lead to a conversion, or salvation experience.  It is important that we carry our head with us to worship, but neither should we leave our heart at home.

Reflections and Fears

The movement of the church toward the contemporary is placing the church on a perilous slope.  It slowly is loosing its footing.  For so long it has been rooted in the traditions and liturgies of the past.  Worship is ceasing to be about commonly shared beliefs for the sake of worship where core values are framed inside the language of individualism.  Ancient creeds and prayers have been replaced with ear appealing statements which may show the work of a creative wordsmith, but still lack theological substance.  Worship that was once centered on symbols such as the cross, or the Table, the baptismal waters and a pulpit for proclamation have been removed in place of open space filled with nothing.   

This is not to say that worship cannot take place in the contemporary worship experience, but that its center is no longer about what God has done for us, but about what the worship leaders can do for us.  Worship which once seemed more centered on God has found a new center:  the band and the worship leader.  Instead of a gathered people doing together the work of God, we are becoming a gathering of people who are more spectators than participants.  In my earlier years of attending church, the church was a preaching centered church affirmed visually by a pulpit in the center of the worship space.  Over the years the same church has been moving away from a preaching centered church to a Table centered church.  The contemporary experience seems to be movement back to person centered worship instead of one that is really Christ centered.

Certainly, these are not thoughts which will be embraced by the large group of people who have found a home in a style of worship which is more contemporary than traditional.  While I respect the commitment many have toward contemporary worship, I do fear that it is moving us away from community to individualism and to a day when the church will gather without being rooted in a strong theological foundation. In such a world, culture will find it easier to direct the church that was once directed by the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday is Coming!

I have spent a little more time than usual at the computer today.  I accepted an invitation to preach this upcoming Sunday and the sermon which has been stirring in my head needs to find a place on some white paper.  It has been a long day.  If it was one of those days from long ago, I would have a trash basket full of wadded up paper pulled from the old manual Royal typewriter.  What I am saying is that the process of taking the mulled over stuff in my head to the pulpit has become a slower process than I anticipated.   To be honest, I am a bit surprised.  I have been praying, thinking, and writing the sermon in my head for some time.  The problem today has been getting it on the screen in front of me.   

Perhaps, the difficulty speaks of the rust which has accumulated since I preached my last sermon on Christmas Eve.  It may also be that I have some hesitation about preaching what I am feeling impressed upon me to preach.  While I know it is where I am going to end up, sometimes the journey to surrendering to the leading of the Spirit is not a straight and easy road. I also know my energy level is still not up to where I hope it will soon be, but I keep reminding myself of that verse which speaks of "God's power being made perfect in weakness."  (II Corinthians 12:9).

Regardless of all these things, it is as is often said, "Sunday is coming!"  It is a word which is always before every preacher who is preaching every week and it remains true for those of us who preach with less frequency. Sermons often come with a struggle.  Even though I preached for over 40 years, every sermon brings its own challenges.  I hate old sermons.  They are boring to preach and smell like three day old fish.  One thing is certain.  I look forward to the opportunity to once again stand in the pulpit to preach the Word God has given me for the people of God in the place He has provided.  

Living Wisely

An image I have come to appreciate in the days and years leading into this 78th birthday month is the image of life unfolding.  It is an image that speaks to me at a number of levels.  First, it is a reminder that there is more unseen in life than seen.  More belongs to the realm of the invisible than ever considered possible.  What is seen is more like the tip of the iceberg.  The greater part of life is in the invisible realm, but it is a realm toward which we are always walking and as we walk toward what is still in the future, it is slowly and, if I might add, revealing itself, but in God's time.   

It is an image which brings to mind the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.  "Your kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)  Even though heaven is an unseen reality, we still pray that what is unseen will one day be present here on earth.  In other words we pray for that day when the veil will be lifted and the seen and unseen will become as one.  To think of life unfolding is to position ourselves in a place of moving toward the will of God which though not always seen is always in the process of unfolding before us.  

It is not an image which accommodates our infatuation with instant gratification.  Try as we might, we cannot hurry the unfolding nature of the will of God.  Neither can we hurry into the future He has planned and prepared for us.  We can only wait for the Lord to reveal it to us. Whether we wait with patience or impatience, it does not change the fact that God is the One who is charge of the unseen which stretches before us.  He gives us today.  We wait for the coming of whatever it is that is a part of tomorrow and beyond.  It is unfolding.  The unseen part of our life is out there in the invisible realm and it is coming.  To live wisely is to learn the importance of waiting on the Lord as it unfolds.

The Unchanging Call

As this month of June unfolds and I walk deeper into my 78th birthday month, I find myself thinking again about a recent lesson learned about God's calling.  My first experience with the calling of God came just before my 18th birthday and weeks before I left home for Young Harris College.  It was one of those unexplainable moments that you knew you knew.  Though I had a long drawn out debate with God about the call to preach, I knew what I heard.  I simply did not like it, or want to accept it.  As it turned out, I loved preaching.  Of all the tasks which were mine as a result of ordination, preaching was the thing which I loved the most.   

When I retired it was strange to think of life without preaching, but before I had time to give it much thought an opportunity came to preach at a small church about ten miles from the farm.  Finally, though, after a little over four years, my circumstances changed and I had to step away from what would be my last full time preaching appointment.  A lesson learned over these last ten years of not preaching every Sunday is that God lifted the sense of urgency about preaching and led me into different ways of serving Him.  As I approach my 78th birthday, I am grateful that God is not through with me yet and that the call of long ago remains, but that it has moved me in new directions.  

As I write JourneyNotes on a nearly daily basis, I know the ability to do so is a gift from Him.  He has been as faithful to enable this writing ministry even as He did a preaching ministry of over forty years.  Another ministry which has unfolded before me in the place of preaching is praying.  While I have always prayed, more and more it seems that God brings into my life people for whom I sense the need to intercede in prayer.  What I have learned is that while what God asks or calls us to do may change, the fact that He is always calling us to be useful for His Kingdom's work is unchanging.

The Unforgettable Tree

On a recent journey from the mountains to the sea and back home again, many things stand out.  Watching the landscape unfold through the window of an automobile is like opening a great big coffee table book full of wonderful pictures.  Nothing is like the way mountains rise up to touch the white fluffy clouds and neither is there anything quite like the place where sand, rolling waters, and horizon all seem to be a part of each other.  There were mom and pop eateries, shops full of stuff not really needed, and so many people with stories to tell.  

Even though all these things are very memorable, a tree on the edge of the Flint River in Bainbridge, Ga. receives the award for the being most outstanding.  I first saw it in the early morning sun from the deck of a motel that provided a place for breakfast.  I do not know the species of the tree except to say it was a survivor.  It was the only tree standing in the area and its trunk sent huge gnarled twisted limbs into the sky.  Everything about it spoke of being of the ancient of days.  It was a tree that had survived flood and storm. When I first saw it, I thought of the first Psalm.  "They (the righteous) are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither, in all that they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1:4).  

Perhaps, part of the appeal was that it looked like a kinsman.  So many of us bear the scars and other evidences of making it through the storms and floods that have often seemed overwhelming, but somehow by the grace of God, we still stand as survivors.  Certainly another part of the attraction of the tree was the way it found its home by the river.  So many of us have planted our lives in the stream of living waters.  It has become our home, the place of our roots and life.  Our home is by that stream which "flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb..." (Revelation 22:1). Seeing that tree by the river was like being home and all I wanted to do was sit with gratitude flowing from within.

The Source of Silence

I have read the Creation story many times and only this morning was I caused to see an aspect of the created act that I had never before seen.  I had read about the creation of the earth and sky and sea.  I had read about the birds of the air, the animals of the earth, and the fish of the sea.  I had read about men and women being created in the likeness of God and with the imprint of the holy.  After listening to a friend's devotional this morning, I saw what I had been missing.  As surely as God created all the things we see around us in creation, He created the silence.   

What seems obvious in this moment is that God not only created the silence, but that He also created in the silence.  What we have been doing since the beginning is adding layers of noise.  While there was certainly noise before the Tower of Babel, that moment causes us to hear the confusion that noise can generate.  We live in an increasingly loud and confusing world.  The noise around comes at us like powerful race cars roaring around the track.  It not only fills our senses, it overwhelms them.  

Anyone who hears the silence and senses the stillness must develop an inner discipline which not only tunes out what is around us, but also enables us to hear what or Who is inside of us.  The Scipture tells us that the Spirit of God desires to dwell in us.  What His presence brings to us is a bit of the stillness and silence that was breathed into the very fabric of creation.  It is surely one of those things we have lost, but at least we know where to find it.  The silence is not found in turning down the volume controls on the external, but in turning the volume controls up on what enables us to hear what God has put within us. 

 

The Blessing of the Gull

The sun was still meandering around the eastern horizon when he came.  I was sitting quietly on the porch with a freshly peeled orange when he arrived.  I was not expecting him.  I looked up from my orange and he was perched on the handrail of the steps.  We were about six feet apart when I looked up and found myself looking eye to eye with a mostly white seagull.  For at least a minute or so ours eyes were locked on each other.  I stirred not, nor did he.   

Here is what is probably viewed by some as the strange part.  I spoke to him, "Good morning, friend," I said, "I hope you have a blessed day flying around the water today."  He said not a word.  He just seemed to be looking at me as intently as anything could look at another thing.  Suddenly he was gone as quickly and as quietly as he had come.  Perhaps, he stopped by for a visit because on other such visits he had found some easy food.  I do not know.  What I do know is that I may have verbally blessed that bird, but without saying a single word, he blessed me as surely as I did him.   

Like you I cannot count the times, God has provided a blessing through the Creation. Some call it earth or nature, but I am one of those who believe it is a living thing brought into being and sustained by God and is, therefore, a means by which He can bless each one of us.  I was blessed by a sunrise this morning.  I have been blessed by thoughts of how heaven and earth are so close they sometimes seem to mingle as I walk in this place where water and sand end and begin.  I am thankful, too, for the morning blessing from a visiting seagull.

Where We Live

We walk the spiritual journey in a world where there is ever present evil, far more than just three temptations, and enough stress to sink a ship.  Faithful living cannot be done in a spiritual cocoon.  Neither can we pull up our robes of righteousness and bury our head in the sand.  When we read the accounts of the Desert Fathers, we see that not even a life of solitude and silence kept the world away.  The truth is that as long as we carry our own heart within us, we will face those things which can turn our eyes from the direction we want to go.   

This morning provided a comfortable chair on a porch overlooking a river.  Birds were flying overhead.  Ducks were meandering around the water's edge.  The sun was working magic as it brought shadows and light on the landscape. In this midst of all these things which invited spiritual reflection there was the sound of hurrying automobiles on the nearby bridge.  Before that noise was tuned out, someone turned on a leaf blower.  Finally, a young woman sat down not far from my place of reflection and shared a cell phone conversation via speaker phone.   

Life is always full of distractions.  The quiet moments we anticipate with God are often hijacked by some unexpected intrusion.  The intrusion or distraction may be some unnaturally generated noise, or it may be our mind wondering off to worry about a problem.  It does not take a loud noisemaker beside us to take us away from where we intended to be to where we are.  This morning's message from God through His Creation reminded me that we live as His disciples not outside the world, but in it. 

A Personal Encounter

What seems lost in the church of today is the urgency or the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus. It is more likely that we will hear Jesus preached as someone after whom we can model our life, or someone whose example as a servant calls us to serve others.  Jesus is certainly both model and servant, but he is first of all Son of God, the Incarnate One of God, and the Savior who died on the cross.  To read the gospels is to hear His teachings and to see the signs and miracles which were a part of His ministry, but it is also a holy word which enables us to see people like us encountering Him in a personal life changing relationship.   

What led me to give my life to Jesus was not a social agenda, or theological teachings.  What led me to surrender myself to Him was the cross where I saw both divine love and forgiveness.  I said "Yes" to Jesus because someone invited me to know Him in a personal relationship.  This past weekend at a gathering of college friends, I listened to two men whom I have known a long time talk about the moment long ago when they had an encounter with Jesus which changed their life and the direction it took.  I love that story John told in his gospel of Jesus when two of the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus wondering what He was all about and Jesus said, "Come and see."  The very next day, Philip, went to a skeptical friend named Nathaniel and finally said to him, "Come and see." (John 1:39, 46).  

Before inviting people to become foot washers, the church needs to invite them to "Come and see"  this Jesus for themselves.  Before people set out to save the world, they need to have a first hand encounter with the loving forgiveness and the abundant grace given on the cross.  Without that personal encounter, those who start out for other reasons will grow weary and give up.

The Place of Blessing

It is not often that I attend a worship service and hear myself saying over and over, "Wow!"  It happened this morning.  From the first notes of the pre-service music to the moment when the sound of music faded into an echo, my heart was stirred.  I sang louder than I should have and sometimes sang in a whisper when I probably should have kept silent,  Seldom does worship begin with "Victory in Jesus," only to get better, but it did today.  The choir anthem was powerful.  When it ended most people clapped.  I restrained myself from standing and shouting!   

When the theme of the sermon was announced using the language of the ball diamond, I expected trivial and an attempt at being entertaining.  Again, I was wrong as I heard a sermon that was inspired, passionately delivered, and heart engaging.  The church was one far enough away from home that I was among the visitors, but I left wondering how soon I could return.  Tomorrow would not be soon enough!   

There are times when powerful worship takes place without any planning and without much prayer.  I have had too many moments in the past when I have experienced such to be true.  I have also learned over the years that God expects us be to serious enough about worship and preaching to give careful and prayerful attention to the details. We owe Him our best in preparation.  Today was a day when the Holy Spirit brought great blessing to a gathering of His people and I am so grateful that I was in the pews when the blessing was happening.  I left looking forward to the next Sunday I can be in this place of blessing!  

The Second Book

I cannot remember the exact year, but I know it was sometime between going to the farm and entering this month which contains my 78th birthday.  To reflect on what I have learned and what I carry with me as I go forward is to remember something which at first seemed to be un-Wesleyan.  John Wesley declared himself to be a man of one book.  Always I have agreed with him when I think about the authority for my life.  However, when I think about the way God reveals Himself to us, I have come to a place of adding another book.   

It is the book of Creation.  The ancient Celtic saints had the utmost regard for the written Word, but they also maintained that God had left another source of divine revelation.  At first it seemed to be a heretical thought, but as I lived immersed in the creation on the farm, I began to understand.  I began to read that second book.  It was not read with the eyes which read the written word, but the eyes of the spirit.  It turned out to be not just a written word, but a spoken one as well.  Those early Celtic saints called themselves people of two books as they declared that God revealed Himself through the sacred Word and the Creation,  One was a little book and the other was a big one.  

What I have learned and carry with me in this season of my life is that God does speak and reveal Himself through the Word I have read all my life, but He also reveals Himself in the Creation.  It is a book which when read is not seen and a word which when spoken makes no sound.  As I approach the 78th birthday still not seen on the horizon, I am learning to value this second book which has provided many a blessings.