"God is my King from old who works deeds!"

Psalm 74 was a great reminder today of how to walk through trials and difficulties trusting God when we can't see the end of our road. The whole book of Psalms serves to remind us that when God's people were facing difficulties, and were not sure, even of Him, they returned to rehearse the truths about Him, and about His working in their history. The question is, "O God, why have You rejected us forever?" Then there is a pleading... "Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old..."

It seems like an eternal dilemma... "Where are You?" "Please don't forget us." What happens in the text, and often does in the Psalms, is the shift from questioning and pleading to remembering the truth about how God has behaved in the past and trusting that, even in the midst... or more - particularly - in the midst of our distress. There is a recitation of God's faithful and mighty works in times gone by.

...You divided the sea by your strength, (they remembered the Red Sea story)
...You gave food to your children in the wilderness, (they remembered the manna)
...You broke open the springs in the desert, (they remembered water from a rock)
...You dried up ever flowing streams, (they remembered crossing the Jordan at flood stage)
...Your is the day and the night, You have prepared the light and the sun, (they remembered his creation of the world)
...You have established the boundaries of the earth, (they remembered the majesty of universe and the magnitude of God's creation).

Each of the points of God's working in history is an unfathomable and miraculous event in which God stepped into time brought about something amazing out of darkness. He gave them a way of escape from the armies of Pharaoh when it appeared that all was lost. He gave them food and water is a desert when it appeared they die of thirst and hunger. He gave them a way across the river and into the promised land after all those years of waiting and wandering. He brought light into darkness and established a magnificent creation from darkness and void.

Paul reminds us in Romans that we have been given an account of God's working throughout history so that we might have HOPE! I wish I could remember, more frequently, when walking a road that is dark and seems to have no hopeful outcome that God has not forgotten - even when it seems to me that He has - and that He will be faithful in the future. My hope cannot be secure if my hope is in getting my desired outcome from a given situation... but my hope can be secure if it is in HIM, because he never changes and I can look back and see how He has moved in the lives of His people in amazing ways they could have never imagined for their good.

Stonehenge - What's the big deal?

So the question that is going through my mind as I look at a National Geographic issue devoted, in part, to Stonehenge is "What's all the fuss about anyway?" The article said, essentially, that people have been thinking about this pile of rocks for more than a thousand years in order to figure out where it came from, who made it, and what it's for.

Stonehenge is, relatively speaking, a grouping of rocks... one might say a pile of rocks. Arguably they're pretty big rocks strewn about in a unique way within a large circle of earth. Oh yeah, there is a graveyard nearby... and some really old houses not too far away also. One interesting point is that they found a guy with a wrecked leg (probably walked with a really bad limp they said) in one of the tombs who was definitely from Germany - and he was rich. They could tell he was rich because he was buried with cool and expensive stuff. Didn't cross their mind I guess that he might have been a thief who stumbled and broke his leg running from the guys he stole from, fell into a hole that was subsequently covered with blowing debris. I mean, that's also a plausible explanation.

Well, I jest, to some degree. To be honest, Stonehenge is incredibly fascinating. I rarely read National Geographic. Not because I find it uninteresting, but rather because of my A.D.D. I just have difficulty staying focused in the long articles. But this one really interested me. My family has visited the replica in the Columbia Gorge. There's just something cool and appealing about it... enough so that someone thought it would be worthwhile to build a replica of it 6000 miles away from the original so that some of us, who haven't made it to England, could have the experience of it in some small way.

So what's the point of taking up space on the blog to think about it a little. It's just this that suddenly struck me as funny. How many of the people who have spent more than a thousand years studying the thing have denied the existence of God, out of hand. That is to say, many people who suggest that God doesn't exist and that all we see happened by chance have spent a good bit of their livers trying to find out WHO erected the stones at Stonehenge, and WHY they erected them. Is there anyone who has ever posited the theory that "Stonehenge was an accident... just happened... though it sure looks designed for a purpose." I'd like to know if anyone knows of one serious archaeologist or philosopher has ever made that case. I'd almost bet there isn't one.

Truth is, intuitively, we look at something as simple as Stonehenge and its surrounding, and know that there was a designer who designed it for some purpose, even if we don't completely see and understand what that purpose was. However, on the order of complexity Stonehenge is less complex than a single strand of DNA - yet there are those running all over the place suggesting that there isn't a designer. Doesn't it make sense that if we routinely, and intuitively apply design, and subsequently a designer, to a pile of cool rocks that something like the human eye might have also had a designer? Just sayin'.

Stonehenge - What'

What't he

The goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

When it seems like our circumstances are going down the toilet how do we keep our hearts encouraged? It seems to me that one key can be found in Psalm 27:13, 14.

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB95)


Two simple bits of wisdom here. First, the Psalmist says that he would have despaired if he hadn't "believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." He isn't saying that he SAW the goodness of God, but that he WOULD SEE... in the land of the living. I think he's saying, I'm going to see God's goodness in this life. Secondly he says, "Wait for the Lord." The word wait can be translated as hope... and hope is an amazing word. When we say, "I'm hoping for this or that..." in our way of talking it's really wishful thinking. We're going to the park tomorrow so we say, "I hope it doesn't rain." It's wishing for something that you have no idea about. Hope, however, in the biblical language isn't wishful thinking, rather, it's expectant waiting. So if we look at the passage again, a bit differently I think the Psalmist is saying... "I am waiting expectantly to see God's goodness in this life, and if I didn't believe I would see it I'd give up!"

This is not to say, in my view, that he completely expected rescuing from the current set of circumstances, but that God would meet him in the difficult place, in some way. We can't order God around as though somehow he is required to do our bidding. However, he is faithful to work and move in some way... we just have to watch. He still works in amazing ways!

Barak Obama - The speech writer or the makeup man?

It's been said that we live in a time when the "makeup artist is more important than the speech writer." The comment speaks to the fact that we're looking much more for image than policy from politicians - and everyone else I suppose. President Barak Obama certainly communicates a positive image to many Americans at least (the margin of victory for the race wasn't incredible so he doesn't appeal to everyone) but he also appeals to people around the world.

I had an interesting experience in Vienna, on the train from the airport into the city. I got into a very pleasant conversation with a late 20's something guy who is studying philosophy at the University in Vienna. He asked where we were from, and the conversation went on from there. It led in some interesting directions... one of which was his curiosity about President Obama. He wanted to know, "How do Americans feel about Obama?" It's a good question, and he framed it well I think, "How do Americans feel about Obama?" My answer was, "lots of Americans feel good about Obama, but very few people know much about Obama. On many fronts he's a relative unknown in my view. The young man went on to say that Europeans loved Obama. My response to him was, "That's my sense of it... my impression is that Europeans love Obama." I asked what they loved about him. I think it's interesting that he had no answer whatever. Truthfully, he couldn't list one thing he really knew about Obama. Then he said something really interesting... "Maybe we should make Obama the President of the world!" To this of course I inwardly smiled and thought... WOW... if you wanted you could make some prophetic hay with that... but I don't want to... I don't think Barak Obama is the anti-Christ or anything close really... I just thought it was an interesting statement.

As a Christian it's my role to support our leaders and pray for them. I am hopeful for the future and hopeful that President Obama will make good decisions for America. I'm skeptical about some areas certainly. I don't think his economic policy will help our economic situation because I don't think you can borrow your way out of debt. (I do understand that Bush wasn't able to stop this economic situation either). I don't think President Obama will get us out of our conflicts around the world any faster than anyone else would have... and I think if Obama had been President when 9/11 happened we'd still be right where we are today... perhaps without the surge policy in Iraq. I don't think putting government in control of more things is the answer to our woes... including socialized health care... though I see big problems with the affordability of health care and would love to see some solutions. I am deeply concerned about the issue of abortion in our country, and the availability for even late term (partial birth abortions). I cannot personally square that policy with a Christocentric world view. Not because I want to tell other people what to do with their bodies (though we do that all the time in a civilized culture and we always will), I just think that human life begins at conception and I'm not sure there's much evidence to the contrary.

I love it that we have an African American President, and I think, as Juan Williams said on Election night choked with emotion, it speaks volumes about America that so few years after the horrible racial injustices that we've seen that we have a "black President." It appears to me that Barak Obama is thoughtful, and he is clearly intelligent. He seems well-spoken. History will decide whether or not he was a good President... as it will all our Presidents over time. But what do you think after the first 100 days? Any positive steps? Negative steps? I'd love to publish them on my blog and have a bit of dialogue about it. (You need to know that I won't publish ranting and raving - or impolite remarks so don't bother with them - but I would love to hear what you think). I surely believe that, even among Christians, the conversation needs to become civil. I don't sense that too many people are listening these days... it would help us if we did.

I Will Lift My Eyes

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.
(NASB95)

Do you ever wonder why the bookstores have aisles filled with “self-help books?” It seems to be the same story with Christian bookstores for the most part. Of course there are plenty of good books and great authors, for which I’m grateful. What occurs to me, however, is the degree to which we look all sorts of places for help and miss the most obvious place we might find help. Perhaps we need another “for Dummies” book; Where to look for help for Dummies. It wouldn’t have to be a long book really… quite short in fact. Look up!

I notice in my own life, and frequently in the lives of others I observe, that we’re looking everywhere in the world for answers, except to our creator and Father; the one who knows us best. Of course I’m in favor of seeking advice from people with skin on also. Scripture is clear that there is wisdom in many counselors, and Christians have a tendency to go it alone, and not seek wisdom from some obvious places. However, when we’re in difficult situations we tend to even panic and search high and low for help rather than seek help from where it really comes. I think the key thing for me, now days, is to realize that He is my help weather I get out of my difficult circumstances or not! When we think of help we think of help OUT of what we’re in. More often than not, I’m convinced; the help is “in the midst of what we’re in.” God uses our difficulties to make us, teach us, mature us, perfect us, and prepare us for what we’re really meant to be ultimately. Not sure if that gets done if we’re in a panic looking for a way out. My help comes from the Lord… but what does it look like, practically, to “lift our eyes?” Just curious what you think.

"Do you want to be healed?"

As I started back through the Gospel of John in my devotional reading I was struck again by the story in Chapter five of the man by the pool. It's the first 17 verses of chapter five, and hit full in the face by the question that Jesus asks the man... "Do you want to be healed?"

There are a number of interesting aspects in the gospel account. First Jesus knows that the man has been in this condition for 38 years (v.5), or at least it's listed in the account that he had been been there 38 years, and also that "Jesus knew that he'd already been a long time in this condition." Second, knowing that the man had been in that condition for so long the question, "Do you want to be healed?" seems ridiculous. Who wouldn't want to be healed? Who wants to stay in that condition. The answer that the man gives is, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when it's stirred up!"

What has come clear to me over the years I think is that Jesus question is not rhetorical. I think it's an actual question. It seems to me that Jesus is willing to heal, but there needs to be some movement on the man's part... namely... "get up, take your pallet and walk!" that's the command that Jesus gives to the man, and he does it. The power for change and healing is perfectly and immediately available to the man if he will believe and move.

I don't that the point of this text is that we'll all be healed of our physical ailments if we'll only believe more and do something. I think it does mean, however, that we can choose to stay in our current situation, and sometimes that situation is dysfunction, if we'd like, but if we're willing to make a move real changes can take place. Christ want us to have abundant life... that is promised to all who believe... but it will take some movement on our part. Or, we can continue to wallow in our current situation.

I know my own life can be a mess at times... or parts of it can be a mess at times, and all that's required for real change is for me to do what I know I need to do... to be obedient to the truths I already know.

It's difficult to help someone who doesn't want help... it's like trying to lift dead weight; it's a very difficult task. I think Jesus is often asking us the question, in the midst of our messyness... "Do you want to be healed?" It's a legitimate question, and since he loves us

On Delayed Trains and Angels

Strangest day of travel from Vienna to Osijek Croatia. The punch line of the story is that we actually made it! The funny thing is that we shouldn't have made it by any account. Here's the story.

Our train left Vienna this morning at 6:50 so I got up at 5:30 AM to make some lunch for the day and get ready. Thought I'd get Josh up around 10 'till 6. When I finally got around to looking at the clock time had gotten completely away from me. It was 6:05 AM. Really thought we still had time, so we hustled and got to the ubahn with just enought time to get to Westbanoff and catch the train. If we missed that 6:50 AM train we couldn't possibly make the connection to Croatia.

We hustled to the u-bahn and hopped the subway. I looked up and said to Josh... "I can't believe it! I got us on the subway headed the wrong way!" We went one stop and jumped off the subway, ran over the top, down the other side and just missed the subway. Waited five minutes caught the next one and I realized... while on this subway... that we'd been right before! :) Ok it was early and with jetlag I hadn't gotten to sleep until 2:00 AM.

Ok... we missed our train. I said to Josh standing on the platform waiting for the second time on the right subway... it will be a miracle if we make the train to Budapest... then Croatia. I looked up and said... "Lord, we need a miracle."

I looked at the train schedule and realized that another train left Vienna at 7:05 AM. I knew it wouldnt' get to Budapest in time for the 10:01 train leaving for Croatia... but we had to be moving this direction at some point, so we took the train. I couldn't contact Oliver and Pam McLemore who were to meet us in Budapest. They had our tickets and we had a bag for them from the states. I just thought, we'll call them when we get to Budapest and then catch the train down on Sunday or Monday to Osijek.

We got to Kelenfold (Budapest) at 9:58 AM - amazing since the train leaving Vienna was 10 minutes late leaving. Just as we stepped off our train there was Oliver coming down the Platform. We didn't know about the Croatia train... neither did Oliver, but we went to check the board to see if it had left. We couldn't tell. There was a 30 something Hungarian there who immediately said... "Do you need some help?" We said yes. He ran with me into the information booth and found that our train was on the platform and about the leave... he gave me my tickets told me what platform and we ran... and he was gone. Ok, Joshua and I, and Oliver ran carrying our bags... got to the platform... Josh jumped in... I threw the bags in... I jumped in and literally the door shut and train started to move.

We can chalk it all up to chance... and I'm fine with it if you want to... but it made me wonder. Maybe God has something here for us to do, and somehow with the help of delayed trains ("God's trains always arrive on the time" by the way - Maj. Ian Thomas) and an angel on the platform... it was just weird that he was there at that moment unhesitatingly asking us if we needed help... we'll be here to do it. One minute longer, literally and we would have missed the train.

I plan to speak tomorrow on "The Prodigal God" taken from the title of the book by Tim Keller. God has lavishly poured out his love on us in spite of weirdness, warts, and weaknesses... in spite of ourselves. It's a slightly different twist on the Prodigal Son... but really no twist at all... God has loved us and run to us and embraced us and given us a place with him, even when we have squandered all of his goodness!

I seriously wonder if we encountered and angel today. If you see him let me know... kind of a scruffy hungarian riding a bicycle - brown tweed jacket I think.

The Centrality of the Resurrection

Antony Flew, noted atheist Philosopher at Oxford University (actually in the past few years Flew has moved from Atheism to Theism… not making any claims about any particular wing of theism. That is as far as I know) has written of the resurrection, “The scandalous particularity consists here in the fact that one particular alleged miracle, occurring at one particular time and place on one particular planet, is not just one of the evidence for identifying Christianity as a revelation of and from God, but is itself the crucial element in the essential content of that revelation.”
NT Wright (Bishop of Durham) says of the resurrection, “For Paul, the point of the resurrection is not simply that the creator god has done something remarkable for one solitary individual (as people today sometimes imagine is the supposed thrust of the Easter proclamation), but that, in and through the resurrection, ‘the present evil age’ has been invaded by the ‘age to come’, the time of restoration, return, covenant renewal, and forgiveness. An event has occurred as a result of which the world is a different place, and human beings have the new possibility to become a different kind of people.”
Another noted scholar of the resurrection, Gary Habermas says, “The New Testament claims that the resurrection of Jesus is the center of Christian theology and practice. It is also recognized as such by almost all theologians today, even those who do not interpret this event literally.”

There’s no question that the resurrection deserves some attention. It’s an event that demands interpretation by everyone on the planet… to deem it legend, plain farce, an historical reality or some combination of those. One thing is undeniable however, it was the central event to the early church, and continues to be the central event in the church year. There are some notable points for the early church.

Preaching the resurrection was central in the first century church! They begin telling the story at the beginning! The history of the NT Church – Acts begins with it! Acts 1:3, 2:24, 5:30, 10:40, and 24:21. In continues central in Paul’s preaching: Romans 1:4, 6:5, 9, 10:9; I Cor. 6:5, 14; 15:1-9, 12,13; II Timothy 1:10, 12; 2:8-13. It’s prominent in Peter’s preaching I Peter 1:3

The Transformation brought about by the resurrection is an undeniable minimal fact of the resurrection! While at one moment the first leaders of the church were cowering in an upper room wondering what to do next, they were at the next moment challenging the religious establishment and being put to death for their belief in the resurrection! John 20:19/Acts 5:27-32. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was a defining moment for the church of Jesus Christ… an event, or decision in your life, after which, everything changes. Paul says… “if Christ hasn’t been raised then there isn’t any resurrection and we’re fools! It’s Central! Paul tells Agrippa – “This didn’t happen in a corner!” Acts 26:22-28. Both here and in I Corinthians 15 Paul says, “This thing happened out in the open… and there are many people still alive who witnessed it (1 Cor. 15) go and ask them! The resurrection brought change… The disciples, Paul, James! Neither Paul nor James were believers until after the resurrection, and neither were candidates for anything like hallucination - which is in no way a compelling argument. You have to account for something changing Paul and James, the brother of Jesus.

The centrality of the resurrection gave them power to live! If we want to understand what’s back of Paul’s message to Timothy then we have to understand Paul’s frame of reference. When he says to Timothy: He’s telling Timothy, a young church leader living in perilous times that he can stand firm in the face of adversity, and even potential death for his faith because of Christ… and specifically the resurrection. 1:10… who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 1:12… I know whom I have believed and convinced… 2:11… if we died with him we shall also live with Him… Paul’s perspective was other worldly… he was able to walk through the difficulties he faced because of his personal encounter with Christ… Risen from the dead!

The Implications of the Resurrection. Romans 8:11 – Shall give life to your mortal bodies…Romans 6:4 – We shall have a new life by the power of God… Romans 10:9 – We can be saved…In the resurrection we are born again into a LIVING HOPE!

If the resurrection is real… it changes everything, it gives us a different view of reality… what we see here isn’t all there is, there is more. Our hope is in Him who transcends this physical world, who is able to do abundantly beyond all that we can ask or thing according to His power that is at work among us!

Steve Fulk Update

Hey, anyone interested in a follow up regarding Steven Fulk I'll paste here what his wife just wrote on her facebook. I'm grateful for good news.

"Steve opened his eyes and looked at me and I held his hand and asked him to squeeze my hand if he could see me and knew I was there with him....he squeezed my hand really tight. They are getting ready to move him to another facility that is a stepping stone to being able to return home. They have warned me it will be several, several months, but he is progressing nicely!"

Steve Fulk

(Picture r to l: Steve, Kathy, Jenna, Jeremy, and Jay Fulk)

Anytime I hear the song “Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting” it brings a smile to my face… not primarily because it’s a weird song and who knows where it came from or why! It brings a smile to my face because every time I hear it, and I do mean every single time, it takes me back to Don and Caroline Fulk’s basement in Willowcreek OR in the early 70’s. The basement is unfinished at this point of my memory, and my brother Dan and I are staying overnight with the Fulks on Christmas break. The song is blaring in the basement and Steve, Lonnie (Steve’s younger brother), Dan (my younger brother), and I are flying around the basement kicking and karate chopping each other.

I have a million incredible childhood memories from the Fulks. Riding motorcycles like wild men, diving off the 3 X 12 diving board into the canal, the trampoline, farming, the barn, winter pulls by Don on the upside down car hood… all of us piled on it while Don drug us around behind the tractor. It really was the stuff of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and they’re memories that I cherish even if they don’t surface too often – not surprisingly I don’t have “Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting” on my IPod… though I might just load it now.

I heard a couple days ago that my friend Steve was in a horrible car accident with his wife Kathy and son Jay. Last I heard he is still in a coma – I, and many others are praying for him and his family (Kathy and Jay are out of the hospital). I have always had a ton of admiration for Steve, even though life has taken us different directions and we really haven't stayed in touch (thanks to facebook there's now a bit of connection). I think the last time I saw Steve and Kathy was the 20 year reunion… we’re getting frighteningly close to 30 now!

Two thoughts flood through my mind as I reflect: First, life is fleeting (not that I think Steve’s is over - he could always beat me up... I think he's going to beat this thing!). One moment you’re driving and the next you’re in the hospital with everything hanging by a thread and uncertain. We really do need to make the most of it. Erik Erikson’s final stage of psycho-social development is “Integrity vs. Despair” and it simply says, “At the end of life you’ll look back and love your life (integrity) or be disappointed in it (despair). This always reminds me to live in such a way that integrity is the end thought. Second, the life and memories I have, the people I’ve grown up around and continue to have in my heart are a gift… I need to treasure them. Who I am is in large part due to them.

"The fools says in his heart there is no God"... maybe I'm the fool!

Psalm 53 hit me in an interesting way yesterday early morning. The text starts right out, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" David then goes on to say that there is in fact no one who does good, that everyone has turned aside and is corrupt, and then repeats again, "there is no one who does good, not even one!"

David moves on from there to wicked eat of the "bread of my people" and that "they have not called upon God." he also says "they were in great fear where no fear had been."

He finished up the Psalm, "Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!"

It's easy for those who believe in God (of any sort really) to point fingers at those who don't and say, "They're fools!" In truth all of creation testifies to design rather than randomness, from the Universe itself to the smallest molecular structures. Paul says that no one has excuse, God has testified to all of our hearts that "He is" through all that we see. What I think is interesting, and what struck me afresh this week is how often we who believe in God are functional atheists. That is to say, we affirm that God is, and that He is at work, and intensely interested in every detail of our lives (unless we are deists of course), but then we don't rely or call upon Him.

The psalm says, they have not called upon God! The result seems to be "great fear where no fear had been." A brief story: Several years ago, just after 2000 I went through a short period of anxiety (maybe 6 months). I went to see a few docs who tried giving me medication to help - it didn't help. I tried a number of things. Night after night I would fall asleep as soon as I got into bed, and night after night I would wake up, full awake, at 1:00 AM. At first it frustrated me, but later on I learned to take this time as a blessing. I would go to my boy's rooms and pray for them as they slept... and then I would have a cup of tea, read the psalms, and journal. I would be up for about two hours, and then fall back to sleep for a bit. It became a rich time of seeking, and finding, God.

I'm going through a similar experience again. Not exactly the same, not sure the cause, but it struck me yesterday, I've been pursuing the issues with medical help - and will continue to do so. I am so appreciative of the blessings of medicine and the help of good docs. However, I simply realized I have not been calling on God for this really, nor really seeking His face. The result I think is simple... great fear at times where no fear had been.

We can point our boney fingers in the faces of those who "say there is no God." I don't usually do that... I think it's important to honor each person as one carrying the Imago Dei regardless of their beliefs. The real question to me (to us) is whether or not we're just as foolish... knowing God and not calling.

Marriage - Talking it Out

I'm adding this content from my sermon last Sunday. I'm in the midst of a series titled "What's Love Got to Do with It?" It seemed helpful to people at MLCC. Maybe it can be helpful to some others. Sharlyn said to me this week... "Hey your sermon on Sunday was really good... did I tell you that? Where did you get all that information?" I think she may have been saying, "Why don't you try some of that at home buddy!!" As with most things, the knowing and the doing thereof are two different things. Chesterton said of Christianity, "Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, rather it has mostly been wanted and left untried." In any case, hopefully you can find some practical tools here. I've inserted a few quotes I used. I love quotes about anything... well, almost anything.

“I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.” – Rita Rudner

“Elections are a good deal like marriages. There's no accounting for any one's taste. Every time we see a bridegroom we wonder why she ever picked him, and it's the same with public officials.”- Will Rogers

“For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked.” – Bill Cosby

Marriage is easy to make fun of it because everyone who has ever been involved in it recognizes that it’s a delight on the one hand, and a work on the other!

God designed marriage to express oneness. Genesis 2:22-24. The two become one in the consummation of the marriage, but there is also a oneness as two lives are united… we have pictures of it with unity candle, the difficulty is in actually attaining the oneness that is part of the covenant, in real terms. It takes work.

Oneness if found through reconciliation of conflict, not the lack of conflict. Conflict shouldn’t be feared… it is…
… a doorway to intimacy.

Gives opportunity to gain understanding.
You can ask questions: “How did that make you feel?
Gives opportunity to give an emotional word picture.

…an opportunity to gather facts:
Let’s talk about the issues in a factual way.
Why or why not do this, go there?
Calms us down and helps us to see with clarity the right thing to do.

…helps us develop our keys for opening the door.
What do I say that shuts you down?
How can I say things that open you up?
You always statements lock the door.
Use “I feel” or “I think” statements that remove blame.

… is an opportunity to express physical/emotional affection:
It’s an opportunity to give a hug… non sexual meaningful touch.
Opportunity to say “I’m sorry.”

The most difficult conflicts are often the most emotionally rewarding.

Conflict resolution ought to be guided by:
-Eph. 4:29-32… no unwholesome words.
-James 1:19… quick to hear… slow to speak.

Conflict is healthy in relationships: “All married couples should learn the art of battle as they should learn the art of making love. Good battle is objective and honest--never vicious or cruel. Good battle is healthy and constructive, and brings to a marriage the principle of equal partnership.” – Ann Landers

Tools to build oneness and address conflict.
Practice withholds (Les and Leslie Parrot)… good or bad. Try this week to have two nights when you share at least two of each. A withhold is something you haven't said, but could. You say, "I really appreciated you bringing me a cup of coffee this morning." They respond only by saying “…thank you for sharing that.” Could be, "My feelings were hurt this morning when you jokingly said I wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer." They respond by saying, "thank you for saying that."

Practice assertiveness in a relationship that is meaningful to you: Three wishes… “I wish…” Three things… Something like, "I wish that we could take a least two hours one day a week that was just out time, without kids, friends, family, or TV; just to be together.

“Like everything which is not the involuntary result of fleeting emotion but the creation of time and will, any marriage, happy or unhappy, is infinitely more interesting than any romance, however passionate.” W.H. Auden

Esme Kenney - We're not alone!

It's surprising, and unnerving when violence and tragedy surface so close to home. If you've been keeping up on the news you've probably seen the story of Esme Kenny, a thirteen year old young lady who decided to go out for a jog yesterday afternoon (March 7), and never returned. They found her murdered a few minutes from her home. They have found and charged a man with her murder who has a record of similar crimes. He was wandering in the woods with her Ipod and watch. They have him in custody and they're relatively sure that he's the murderer.


Esme's aunt and uncle and two cousins are part of our church. I spent part of the afternoon with them. The pain of this violence and loss is exponential. Hard to grasp, but reminds me of two truths. First, we're not alone... we live in a world where evil exists and we run into it when we don't expect to; there is no way to completely avoid it. Evil befalls even the most innocent. Other places in the world live with the sort of destruction, violence, and pain that seem to visit us in America less frequently. Still, the evil is real and impacting us. If you haven't read The Shack you ought to take a look at it. William Young does a great job of dealing with the problem of evil in a scenario eerily similar to Esme Kenny's story.


Second, it reminds me that we're not alone. From our church alone we've seen several thousands of dollars raised to help the family go back and be with Esme's family as they walk through this tragedy. Additionally a couple hundred thousand air miles have donated from the church body to get them flights. The outpouring of love and help has overwhelmed this family with blessing even in the midst of this incredible tragedy. I have never been so deeply moved by the generosity and love flowing from the church I'm privileged to work at. I didn't say "surprised" because I'm not surprised. I know them, and they love and give. I've seen it in my own life, and I'm seeing it again.


Life throws misery at us, we're not immune to it because we follow Christ and trust Him to be Savior, but we are blessed to walk together with people how love us and who we love in return. I hope your journey has those people in it... There are times when God seems utterly absent... it's in those times that we feel His presence in the lives and generosity of those who are His! We are his hands and feet, Christ incarnate, in the lives of people who are hungry, thirsty, hopeless, and in darkness.

The Prodigal Father...

I am struck by the idea of the prodigal father. The story from Luke 15 gets titled the prodigal son because the son is a spendthrift... he is wasteful and spends the money extravagantly - and quickly it seems.

The definition of prodigal is: : “ wastefully or recklessly extravagant.” “A person who spends, or has spent his or her money with wasteful extravagance.” Isn't that a description of how God has spent his wealth on us? And the father in the story... he takes this wayward son in without even hearing his excuses and beyond that he gives him a new robe, ring on his finger, sandals, and throws a big party which starts by butchering the best animal. The elder son says, "You didn't even give me a goat" so I think we can assume that to kill a fatted calf would be of more value. The father is spending wastefully on the son! He has spent extravagantly and wastefully on us. Not wastefully on us in the sense that he didn't know what he was doing... but with reckless abandon!

Another thing that epitomizes God's pursuit of us is that He doesn't wait for us to come crawling back... he approaches us and gives to us lavishly. I am reminded of Thomas in the upper room. Remember the story. Thomas gets called (for all of history it seems) "doubting Thomas" because he said, "If I can't put my fingers in the nail holes or my hand in his side I won't believe. I think I might have been more like Thomas than the others. In any case, when Jesus shows back up he immediately says, "Thomas come here and put your fingers in the holes and your hand in my side! Stop doubting and believe. I think that more than anything else Jesus WANTS Thomas to believe... I don't think he came scolding.... I think he comes hoping that Thomas will draw near. I love this story. Jesus doesn't wait for Thomas to sweat... the Jewish Father doesn't wait for the son to get back before running... the shepherd doesn't wait for the lost sheep to wander home... the woman doesn't wait for the lost coin to turn up... God doesn't sulkily wait for me to see the error of my ways... he's pursuing me with lavish and extravagant love!

The Divine Embrace

A student in our church made the comment about the elder brother in The Return of the Prodigal Son that, "It looks like the elder brother is looking somewhat longingly at the embrace that the father is giving to the younger son."

Without a doubt the elder brother is incredulous about the father's behavior, but I was taken by the comment. I think it makes sense to a degree when you look at the bigger context of the passage. The first couple verses in Luke 15 are the Pharisees saying... "Look at this guy (Jesus) he's hanging with sinners and tax gatherers." That's not something they would have done, and it doesn't resonate with them in the least that Jesus is doing it.

What's at a premium for the Pharisees? Keeping the rules... following the law... every bit at least as they see it. When that characterizes our relationship with the father then it seems to me that we miss the divine embrace that the younger son is getting. Our relationship with the father, in that environment, is based upon our goodness... our doing the right things... our being the right sort of people. It's like payment for a task. The elder brother says, at the end of the parable... "I've been slaving for you all these years, doing whatever you asked" and by implication he's saying "you owe me." The beauty of the embrace that the younger son gets is that it's an embrace that isn't owed... in fact what the younger son is owed is to be run out of the family... tossed into the street... at the very best to be a slave. The sweetness and strength of the father's embrace is rooted in it's being freely given. The elder son isn't feeling it.

Throughout scripture God says to his people (see Isaiah 1 or Malachi) that he's not interested in rule following, rather he's interested in a heart that truly wants Him! Of course he's interested in obedience - there's no shortage of that message in either the Old or the New Testament. But he's not after the rule... he's after the heart that is obedient out of love for him rather than an empty hearted adherence to duty.

The Older Brother

One particular idea that challenged me in The Prodigal God by T. Keller is that we're probably the older brother. That is to say, I think that most of us tend to identify with the prodigal son, the younger son. Keller challenged me to think, to some degree, that I'm probably closer to the older brother, at least as a religious guy.

In so many ways the church is the older brother. We see ourselves as having kept the rules, followed the right path, done the right things, been faithful, etc, etc. When people come toward the church we may not be accepting because we see them as the younger brother coming back after being away and getting the inheritance.

The older brother is clearly annoyed that the father is accepting the younger brother back and throwing him a party... "What's all this about? I've been serving you all these years and have been faithful, and now you're throwing a party for this knucklehead whose been squandering your money on hookers!"

One really interesting reflection made by "Jordan" at church last Sunday when I asked our congregation to reflect on the Painting (I had a huge framed print in the worship area) is that the older brother may be looking on the scene between the father and the younger son and wishing that he was feeling that embrace of the father. I hadn't looked at it that way.

Notice the servants (in the background) looking on incredulously. Have they ever seen anything like this? It's the story of the gospel... while were were still knuckleheads..."

I'd love to read your reflections on this painting: The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt

I just finished the book The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller last week, and I'm digging into The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen this week. Keller's book is fabulous, and I've heard Nouwen's is amazing. What are your reflections on the painting... what do you see in it? Any part of your story you'd like to tell... leave it in the comments!

Augustine - The Confessions

"... for you have made us for yourself and our heart is restless till it finds its rest in you.”

In the very first section of The Confessions Augustine gives us this treasure. Speaking apologetically this short quote resonates with the message of the gospel. That is to say, Paul writes in Romans chapter one that no on has excuse - all know, intuitively, that there is a creator, and there is some desire to know this one. For me it's encouraging to know that when I'm thinking about sharing my faith I can have confidence that God is also pulling those with whom I'm sharing my faith, into His presence. That means that I am only one of the players on the stage of reaching those who are outside of Jesus Christ.

As I see the struggle and striving for meaning and fulfillment all around me I'm struck by the reality that everyone is working (unless they're in a covenant relationship with God through Christ) to fill that God shaped hole in their lives. We seek relationships to fill it; careers to fill it; other people to fill it; wealth to fill it. Time to rest in HIM.

Ok, I've been away for awhile

Sorry that I haven't kept this up... not that there are millions of disappointed blogmeisters out there thinking I've been lazy and who are hanging on every hope that soon I will make another scintillating contribution to their lives through my blog. But I'd like to get moving ahead again. Hopefully it will be so. I guess we'll see.

Wish I was more profound... life has just been busy.
Hope you're well,
John