Keep me from living according to untruths...

             In keeping with The Day with Jesus (I can tell you what this means specifically if you're interested) I have been using an evening and a morning Psalm to focus my thoughts a bit.  I haven’t been switching them up, but using the same one’s daily; Psalm 127 in the evening, and Psalm 5 in the morning.

            Reflecting on Psalm 5 has been good and it has struck me the ideas that we hold to shape us.  If the ideas that we hold on to are true, then we will be shaped in a way that is good and blessed.  If, on the other hand, the ideas that we hold to are lies, or untruths, we will become misshapen.  Living according to ideas that are untrue will usually be destructive.  David, I think, reminds us of his own struggle and desire to live according to truth in Psalm 5.

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.

Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.

-Psalm 5:8-12 (ESV)

            So as I have been reflecting on this text I notice a few things.  First the enemies are characterized by lies.  They have no truth in their mouth.  David says, make your way straight before me and let those who want to live in the lies fall by their adherence to their lies.  So Lord, let me take refuge in you and live a life of rejoicing.  Refuge in God is living in the truth.  I don’t just mean religious truths, but in all truth wherever you find it… about anything.  The truth always sets us free.  Jesus says in John 8:31-32 that if “we abide in his word we’ll know the truth… and the truth will set us free.”  I think that’s what David is saying also in Psalm 5. 

            The bottom line is found pretty much on the bottom line of the Psalm.  God blesses the righteous.  Think about the word “blessing” as “the good life.”  When we live in God’s way, and his way is truth, we’ll be righteous… living according to right thinking; and that will bring us to the abundance he intends for us as his children.

            So I’ve been praying this prayer:  Lord, protect me today from the lies that are told to me by…

            …the culture around me that is driven by darkness.

            …the yearning of my own body that wants its own way.

            …the untruths lodged in my mind that I tell myself every day 

                    that are destructive to my experiencing the good life.

Identity is Key

            I spent last week with a very weird group of people in the first of four Institute of Spiritual Formation week long retreat/conferences.  When I say weird I only mean that it was an interesting gathering of people.  Among them from Scotland a production engineer, and a Pastor; from Britain an author, an few Salvation Army folks, a couple of medical professionals, a pastor, and a housewife; from Germany a computer systems analyst; from the US a retired Seminary President, an attorney, a Nurse Practitioner, a couple pastors, a few church leaders, a certified sex therapist.  The speaker for the week was a South African Pastor.

            I learned a ton, from Trevor Hudson, the speaker, from the reading that I’ve been doing, and from the cohort of 40 individuals walking this journey. I was reminded of a truth that is so significant I thought I would toss it out to you from my experience.  “Ministry always follows Identity.”  This was an awesome reminder for more than just ministry, but for life.  Where do you find your identity? 

            Let me apply this to myself for the sake of unpacking it for a moment.   Is my identity wrapped up in being “a pastor?”  If that’s true then I grind away at ministry in order to maintain my identity so that I can be called pastor.  The danger here is that I live in tension for the simple reason that if at some point I lose my role as “pastor” I also lose my “identity.” Losing one’s identity is kind of a big deal for life.  I have actually thought about this much over the years and I think I’m settled on this particular one.  Maybe there are other places that I’m finding my identity, so I’m working that out.  But what about you?  How do you identify yourself?  The problem in identifying ourselves by what we DO or by what we HAVE is that those things can be taken away and then we’re in an identity crisis.  Our role in business or at home, our wealth, or our social status… they are all too some degree or another shifting sand.  In order to live and move with confidence and joy we must know that our identity is wrapped up in something unchangeable.  Any ideas?

The Divine Life in the Interruptions

Reflecting on the past few weeks of my life and thinking this morning about the interference's and complications of life with my “study and reflection” time. 

Quick timeline:

4^th Week Past:  Spent the week walking with a wife and family through the death of a husband, son, son-in-law, brother, grandson, etc.  Culminating in a funeral service two weeks ago.

3^rd Week Past:  Week of vacation on the Washington Coast.

2^nd Week Past: Spending with a family member who is recovering from surgery due to breast cancer.  (Prognosis is VERY good)

Current Week:  Hanging with my dad at the hospital after his total knee replacement a couple days ago.

I find myself at times, whether intentionally or unintentionally (usually) separating my pursuit of the “divine” life and following Christ with my “real” life which is honestly filled with interruptions.  The interruptions can be tragedy or comedy; mourning or celebration.  I was very distracted the week after the death; trying to walk with a family, trying to find answers when all the answers seem trite and unhelpful. 

The third week past I thought it was going to be myself, my wife, and our youngest son at the beach… lots of time to read and reflect.  We usually have her birthday at the beach.  This year it was going to be a bit empty as our oldest son lives in  Phoenix and said he couldn't make it, and our middle son is about to go off to college and couldn't make it because  he’s working as much as possible to pay for school.  Our oldest drove into the driveway at the beach on Tuesday of the week surprising us.  Our middle son showed up on Friday (my wife’s birthday) to spend the weekend with us, surprising us.  It was maybe the best week ever at the beach… but our oldest son is VERY busy… and all three of the wildboyz have kept us on the run for now 22 years.  But my study of the “divine” life was somewhat hindered by “real” life as I sometimes think about it.

Second week past… just trying to present with my sister.  She’s doing well but the moments when fear sinks in or reality creeps up a little too close are tense for her.  I’m just trying to cook, do dishes… that sort of thing, and talk.  Trying to be attentive, but not smothering.  Yesterday we got the craving for a blackberry cobbler because we noticed a few wild blackberries outside the window.  So we made one and ate it with Vanilla Ice Cream.  Not trying to brag… but it was pretty darn good.

This week I’m just at the hospital with my dad, because it’s hard to just leave someone at the hospital these days without an advocate… or at least so it seems to me. 

In the midst of all this I’m getting some things done, and starting to find a rhythm with some class work I think.  But a few things have occurred to me in the midst of all this.  First, in the project of following Jesus, it must be the case that the divine life and real life are the same life.  They cannot truly be separated as “secular” and “sacred” perhaps cannot be separated.  Everything is sacred… is that true?  It seems true to me.  Is baking a cobbler as sacred as preparing a sermon?  I think it may be… maybe even more sacred!  I’m sure more people would rather eat my blackberry cobbler than listen to my sermons. 

Second I just watched JP Moreland’s tribute to Dallas Willard at Willard’s memorial service in which he said in tribute to Dallas Willard, “I asked Dallas one time what his life aim was?  He said, ‘Just to be a light at USC.’”  It seems to me that one of the significantly transformative things we can do is to intentionally be a light wherever we are… at this moment.  In tragedy, on the go-carts at the beach, in caring in tense situations, at work, at the grocery, at the gas pumps, or wherever. I know that shining the light is a passive thing… that is to say, as we are shaped in the image of Christ the light of Christ WILL shine even without our willing it intentionally.  But it’s also intentional.  I just finished “Knowing Christ Today: Why we can Trust Spiritual Knowledge” by Dallas Willard in which he describes Frank Laubach’s finding God’s presence in all the moments of the day (p.149), “With much effort and practice he trained himself to bring God, and what is of God, back before his mind every minute or so, and from this he constantly drank in power to guide and strengthen himself.”  I’m going to try and work on this… my mind is a wandering thing.

Third, and I can’t remember which interview this comes from, but John Ortberg is asking Dallas Willard how to begin the project of following Jesus.  The answer, “Just do the next right thing you know to do.”  I thought that was profound.  It doesn’t sound very religious… which I also liked.  Perhaps this coincides with “The sacrament of the present moment as it is sometimes called, is from the human side nothing but the invocation, expectation, and receptivity of God’s presence and activity where we are ad in what we are doing at any given time.” (KCT p.153)

All this to say that the pursuit of Jesus’ divine life in the interruptions of real life is the only option, because life is filled with interruptions.

Teaching (using this term very loosely) a group of preschoolers yesterday afternoon on the finer points of existential philosopher theologian Soren Kierkegaard's parable, "The King and the Maiden," along with drawing out the nuance of the Greek verb for "follow" when one of the cherubs raised her hand, and when I called on her said, "I know a boy named Hotdog!" and then another quickly intoned, "I want the monkey story!" I do not think there is a boy named "Hotdog" and I'm not sure to which monkey story the reference goes! I learned, yet again, that one (me) should stick to their gifting. :) But it was fun!

As I was leaving the church to go see Star Trek with the wildboyz six of the little guys came up and gave me a group hug and said, "Thanks for PLAYING with us!" Ok... but WHAT ABOUT THE KING AND THE MAIDEN! :)

Yet again, another lesson... In the end perhaps it's not the lessons we teach t hat matter nearly as much as our presence in the lesson.

The value and dignity of the human person.

Do you ever struggle with self-image, identity, and a sense of dignity about who you are as a person?  We live in a culture in which we are always “sizing each other up.”  Here’s another quote for you from The Pastor as Minor Poet.

            Pastor’s never trust the self-image of anyone.  That’s because most people construct their identities from an assortment of borrowed images.  The typical American today strives to be as attractive as the models on the fashion magazine covers, as successful in work as Bill Gates, as sensitive a spouse and parent as Ward and June Cleaver, and as death-defyingly healthy as Lance Armstrong – all while maintaining the inner peace of the Dalai Lama.  The fact that these images are often in conflict with each other creates tension within the heart of the individual, who tries desperately to meet all of their demands. 

            Typically the pastor is the only influence holding to the belief that life is a holy creation that can be rightly known only in light of the image of God.  As the old confession of faith states, “our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”  We were marked by God, for God, and the holiness of this image goes to the heart of our identity and mission in life.

Do you think of yourself often as a unique person, created by God, marked by God, made for God, and that you have value for who He has made you to be, without regard to how you “size up” to others?  In listening to a lecture by Dallas Willard today I was struck by his definition of the word “dignity”.  He defines it as “worth that has no substitute.”  He goes on to say that most things have been given a value.  If I want a cheese burger and you have one that you are willing to trade me for $3.00 then we know the value of the cheese burger.  The reason that slavery is so heinous is that it places a monetary value on human persons.  However, the human person is beyond any monetary value.  There is nothing for which we can trade the human person that does not ultimately devalue, and remove the dignity, of the human person.  We often sell our very selves for something of much less value than our self!  Slavery is selling yourself for something of less value than yourself.  We lose our dignity when we become slaves.  When you sell yourself for the image of what you think others want you to be you lose the dignity of knowing who you are truly created to be… you lose yourself and, ultimately, gain nothing real in return.

I wonder if warehouse stores are a significant part of the dehumanization of America. Over that last 24 hours I have been saddened by the reality that we are becoming less human and more animal. I was in Costco this afternoon to buy coffee and a four pack of socks (I know... how weird is that combination... I opted not to get the 1000 pack of AA batteries next to the toilet seat), and I decided to use the self check out. We have gotten to the place where you can even visit a store with 2000 people in it and not have to interact with any one of them... not sure this is healthy.  In any case, there was one person ahead of me; I was hanging back so as not to crowd the lady ahead of me. Two people rushed in, cutting ahead of me in line. Really... and by the way for those of you who think, "Kids just aren't courteous these days," they were older people. Then the lady behind me in line stood so close to me while I was "finishing and paying" that it felt funny entering the "pin" from my debit card... but I understand why she was doing it... she was trying to keep her spot in line!  When I went back to my car in the parking lot it took me about 10 minutes to get out of my parking space because no one would pause to let me back out. 

These experiences are juxtaposed to Sunday evening. My son Jonny and I went into an At&t store in Issaquah. We were in a bit of rush trying to get Jonny to the airport, the place was packed, and now you can "check-in" with an associate at the door. A new and improved version of "take a number." In any case, when we walked in it was crowded with people trying to get service. I noticed an older lady standing in the midst of the horde looking slightly perplexed in all the chaos. We had been there about five minutes before an "associate" came to sign us in, but I had been watching the lady watching the chaos. When they said to us, "have you checked in yet?" I said no, but, looking at this lady who was a few feet away from me, I said, "But she is ahead of us." She looked at me as though I'd just given her a $1,000 and said, "I have already checked in, but thank you so much, that was very thoughtful." Really... it was basic, not exceptional, courtesy, but it seemed exceptional to her. 

You know... we don't have to be Mother Teresa to change the world, though she certainly did. Just let someone go ahead of you in line. Here is one of the most remarkable things about Jesus in my view, "Though he was God he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of a servant." He considered others ahead of himself. This week if we all committed ourselves to let someone in, in traffic, let someone ahead of us in the checkout line, hold the door for another person, consider the possibility that you're not the CENTER of the universe for a second, just speak a kind word to another person, we really could change the world, and I don’t think that’s an exaggeration.  We're not going to cure cancer with this tactic... but perhaps we can make this place a more human place.

If I’m too busy to let someone in ahead of me, then I’m too busy and need to slow down. If I’m too self-important to consider others ahead of myself, then I've forgotten one of the central truths in life which is, that I’m not central! 

Keeping Abortion Legal Lowers the Number of Abortions?

A friend recently posted the article, “How I Lost Faith in the Pro-life Movement” on Facebook.  It’s an interesting post on a topic that has a tendency to generate more heat than light.  I have tried to carefully look over this article and thought that I would make a few comments in response to the blog post. 

Regarding the premise that “The Pro-Life Movement is anti-contraception.”  Maybe there is something here that I haven’t seen, it’s certainly possible.  This is the position of the Catholic Church I know, however, I have been involved at some level with “pro-life” people for 25 years in my pastoral work.  If a key piece of the pro-life movement is that it is anti-contraception I have completely missed it both in the literature, and anecdotally within the people I have rubbed shoulders with.  Additionally, I think it’s interesting to note two things: First, regarding the pro-life movement being “anti-contraceptive” the article that Libby cited is actually making the point that Marvin Olasky, editor of World Magazine was chastising the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) for supporting the use of contraception.  Second, as far as I can research, the National Right to Life organization has no stance at all on contraception.  Beyond that however, of the 62% of people in the USA (according to a recent CNN Poll) who want abortion to be illegal in all cases, or available only in certain cases, I am guessing that the vast majority are in favor of contraception, though I have no facts to back that point up.  Please define “pro-life movement.”  I can’t tell from the article who “they” are to whom Libby is referring.

Obama care has not “reduced abortion by 75%.”  The blog says that Obama care “stands to reduce abortion by 75 %.  There is no basis for this number that I can see.  It is completely predicated upon the idea of providing contraceptives to all women.  Whether or not that should be done is one matter… but would it actually work to reduce abortions by 75%.   I do not believe it would.  The issue of Obama care is vastly complex.  I want to say first, we have a healthcare crisis in our country to be sure.  Second I do not believe President Obama’s plan will work, however, we need something.  According to a Guttmacher Institute report in 2011, 54% of women who had abortions had used contraception in the month they conceived.  To suggest that making contraception available to every woman (whether one supports it or not) would drop abortion by 75% is a made up number.  It is clearly the case that non-use of contraceptives is highest in those in poverty, so perhaps it would make a significant difference, particularly in that group, but again, there is no real way to know whether it would or wouldn’t.  I couldn’t find any research for 2012 that suggests there has been a significant reduction in abortions.  Also interestingly, the number of abortions has already been steadily decreasing since 1991 (thankfully) other than a short uptick in 2006.  It seems to have held steady during the Obama Presidency or seen a slight uptick based on articles I read, but I can’t find exact numbers.  In any case it has not decreased. 

I think the somewhat overlooked piece for me is Libby’s statement:  “I no longer believe that abortion is murder because I no longer hold that a zygote, embryo, or fetus is a ‘person.’  I also came to realize that the focus on person-hood ignores the fact that a zygote, embryo, or fetus is growing inside of another person’s body.”  For Libby person-hood relates to birth.  This is where the abortion argument has to hinge in my view because the “moral status of persons” and how we value them impacts both the souls of people and the souls of nations.  Also, if we think that securing the status of a zygote, embryo, or fetus has implications only for pre-birth issues we are being too short sighted.  If a fetus (baby) isn’t a person before birth why not?  And at what point does the fetus (baby) become a person?  A recent medical ethics conversation is suggesting that “after-birth abortion” is fine also on any grounds under which “pre-birth abortion” would be acceptable.  I think the essence of the argument philosophically is that if a baby (fetus) isn’t a person or holding moral status just prior to birth (and even when partially born), what changes the moral status just after, or sometime after, the baby has been born?  The reason this part of the argument is so important, beyond simply valuing and protecting persons, is that it has implications much beyond the abortion debate.  If we do not ascribe moral status to a baby slightly before birth, or sometime after birth, then we are deciding moral status of persons based on functionality.  At what point is a person high enough functioning to be given moral status as a “person?”  This has vast implications to end of life scenarios in my view.  The pragmatist view that “keeping abortion legal lowers the numbers of abortions” doesn’t begin to ask the question of the moral status of person, and who is considered a person.  Even if keeping abortion legal lowers the number of abortions (I don’t really think it’s been shown that it could do it by 75% in any case) it ignores the much larger question, again, at least in my opinion. 

The “Pro-life movement ‘cooking up facts’ such as the harmful side effects.”  I can’t really say what the side effects of abortion are for all women.  I can only tell you of a few instances in which I have had the privilege of sitting with women who have had an abortion.  One in particular, who twenty years after the abortion could not forgive herself or live with herself for having done that.  This wasn’t a particularly religious person, not a person who had been raised in the church or who was part of a church at the time she talked to me.  (I do not make this qualifier of her religious background to claim any moral superiority whatsoever, only to say that I don’t think her feelings 20 years later were predicated upon her having been given some pseudo morality by the church).  I can only say, for that one person the convenience of abortion when she was 18 years old, wasn’t worth it when she was 42 years old.  It was devastating.  I can say it wasn’t a “cooked up fact” that this person’s life was devastated in significant ways, and had been so for years.

I know that this is a highly charged emotional topic on a number of levels.  I mean this reply to be thoughtful and careful. 

Looking forward to the best days of my life!

In 2006 I was in Budapest teaching a class in Apologetics when I took this picture. I was free most afternoons for a bit, and would routinely take the tram downtown to the Vaci' or to the Synagogue, or the Basilica. One of the most fascinating things to me about traveling is just seeing the people; thinking about how different their lives are from mine; thinking about what they've been through.

I noticed a man sitting across from me who was quite old, I am thinking late 80's or so. I noticed his old, but well cared for felt hat, the lines around his tired, but friendly eyes, the creases in his pleasant, wizened face, his unpretentious very worn clothing, his very old, well-built and well worn, leather shoes. I was suddenly captured by this man and I began - while not staring - to wonder what his life might have been like. Finally, I snapped a picture of his shoes... because I was suddenly struck by the dust on them... and the miles they'd traveled... and what they had travelled through. It's turned into a thing with me now... for some reason. I don't like to get rid of shoes that I've worn in my travels... my current pair of Doc Martens have dust on them from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, England, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, France, and the Philippines. It's a subtle reminder to me of the journey I've been on for these years of my adult life.

I thought about this aged man's journey... the joys and pleasures of his life, and the trials and struggles his shoes had taken him through. I realized that if he was in his late 80's he could have been born at the tail end of World War I... maybe just after. He could have served in the Red Army of Hungary by conscription, or with the Hungarian Second Army that was almost completely wiped out at the Battle of Stalingrad. He certainly walked the streets of Budapest under Nazi occupation witnessing the deportations of the Hungarian Jewish people. (834,000 Jews were deported from Budapest alone from 1941 to March of 1945. The fascist Arrow Cross Party executed 10 to 15,000 more on the banks of the Danube River between November 1944 and February 1945); He certainly walked the streets of Budapest during the Stalinist era and Soviet occupation. He would have been in his Mid-Thirties during the 1956 Revolution and perhaps late 60's or early 70's when the Soviet Union withdrew its last forces from Hungary between 1989 and 1991.

As I observed this old gentleman my mind was captivated in wonder about his story... where it had taken him, the adventures he'd lived, the sorrow he'd faced, and the wonderful celebrations of his life. He was living in the last quarter century of his life... nearing the end of his journey. I'm in the middle, or something like that, just under 50. I'm most likely halfway home, unless I live to a really ripe old age. This summer is my 30 year high school reunion, I've been in my career for 25 years, my first child is an adult, and the other two are on the way, and I just past 23 years being married. Once in a while it starts to hit me... what will the rest of life look like?

A couple summers ago I had a chance to take a class from Earl Palmer an author, scholar of C.S. Lewis, a great pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, and an excellent professor. I was struggling a bit with my future and ministry... you know, what to do when I grow up. He and I were having lunch because I'd ask him if I could talk with him about that. He said something that I'll never forget. I was telling him that as I was getting older I just wondered if it was getting to late for me to do some of the things I'd dreamed of doing still.

Earl said, "How old do you think I am?" I didn't have a clue and I sure wasn't going to guess. He said, "I'm 83 years old... (or something like that I don't remember the exact age)... and do you know what I believe? My best days are yet to come. It stopped me because I realized that he'd already experienced more success than many people will ever reach, and yet he wasn't resting on the good ol' days... he was looking forward to the new adventures lying ahead, to embrace them with energy and vigor and excitement.

I don't want to get tired, cynical, or so beaten up by life that I stop looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead - to the new challenges and opportunities right in front of me to learn grow, and live. I am grateful for the realization that I haven't gotten tired, cynical, or too beaten up to look forward to the days ahead because as I enjoy some vacation days away... I am looking forward to getting home and back to work... looking forward to gathering some more dust on my old boots.

Make My Words Careful

I haven't heard the old childhood adage lately, but it still pops into my mind occasionally, you've heard it... "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

Nothing could be further from the truth... in fact bones heal, but the wounds made by words often never do. I have spoken with people who, in middle age, have never been able to let go of painful, hurtful words, spoken to them in childhood. It reminds me to be careful of my words, and to remember Paul's challenge in Ephesians.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29 (NASB))

Remind me today that I have the opportunity with every conversation; to either build up or tear down...

Words are powerful to bring encouragement or despair... pain or healing... help or hurt...

Make me an instrument of truth and grace and peace through the words I speak...

Remind me often that I will be held accountable for every one that I speak...

Amen

Remind Me of My Transience

How many days do I wake up in a rush!  Rush through the shower, rush through a few short conversations with the boys... maybe grump at them about a few random things, and rush into work so that I can rush through my days thinking that tomorrow I'm going to take things a little slower?

Its cliched, but true that tomorrow never comes.  So my days drive me, manage me, and exhaust me while I miss the things that I'd really like to, and ought to, do.  I hope that I can change this pattern, because my time around here is not without limit... my days are numbered; so are yours, whoever you are...

"LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. "Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.

-Psalm 39:4,5(NASB)

Remind me today that my days are numbered...

My life in this world is transient; I am simply passing through and my days are not limitless.
I have this lifetime to do what matters...

I have this new year to do what matters...
I have this week, which is almost over, reminding me that there is beginning and ending...

I have this today to do what matters, and I really don't even know about tomorrow...

Strengthen me to lean into this day to do the things that matter most.

Give me the courage today to say no to the urgent so that I may focus on the important.

Give me the wisdom today to weight what comes before me and put aside pettiness and the mundane and embrace the adventure that today can be, in good or bad circumstances.

I want live fully, love fully, and see the true, the good, and the beautiful... and add to it.

For your glory...

Amen

Lift Your Eyes!

I was reminded over the past couple of days, reading Hebrews Ch.3, that if I insist on focusing on the obstacles before me I will likely come to despair; however, if I lift my eyes to God who has met me a million times before I can have victory!

The writer of Hebrews ushers us back to Numbers 13-14 and the story of the 12 spies of the Israelites who went in to scout out the land.  Ten spies can back saying, "The people are giants, we're like grasshoppers before them, the cities are fortified, and there is no hope of victory!" But Joshua and Caleb said, "We should by all means go and take the land."  The only difference between the ten and two was their focus. The focus of the ten was the obstacle before them.  The focus of the two was their God whom they'd seen meet them time after time who would stand with them to overcome.

Where is my vision today... where is yours...

"But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Hebrews 3:13)

Lord, remind me today to encourage those around me to keep pressing forward, leaning into YOU; allow me also to take encouragement from others.

Remind me today of one thing I've seen you do, specifically in my life, to meet me so that I may not grow faint and lose heart when I face the obstacles of the day.

Do not allow me to be drawn into sin, my own or that of others, believing that the sinful ways into which I'm drawn are actually the free and abundant life, thus turning my life and the gospel on its head.

Help me today to lift my eyes to You who has met me a million times by your grace and mercy, even when I haven't noticed it, and find encouragement, rather than to fix my eyes on the obstacles before me and fall into despair.

Thank you for calling me into victory and abundance in your Son.

AMEN

Salt and Light

Lord, Remind us today as we move through the theatre of our lives that you have called us to be salt and life.

You tell us that we are the salt of the earth; but if the salt becomes tasteless it isn't good for anything.
You tell us that we are the light of the world and we need to shine like a city on a hill.

As we walk through our day, confronted by difficult, unique, joyous, or complicated circumstances, help us to be just the right amount of salt...
Too much makes the food bitter... too little doesn't change anything.
For too many around us the world has become bitter or bland, make us just the right seasoning to bring a delightful flavor back into the lives we touch today.

As we walk through our day, being confronted by difficult, unique, joyous, or complicated circumstances, help us to be just the right amount of light...
Too much light is blinding and causes stumbling... too little light doesn't make any difference in the darkness.
Do not allow us to add to the darkness around us, or to cloak our light and be hidden...
Use us, as your torch, to light the way for others around us to see the path clearly so they may walk it.

You have shown us the way... may we experience your seasoning influence in our spirit today...
May we see your light today... and reflect it in a dark world desperate to see the light.
AMEN

As we walk through this day that God has given us may our hands do the work of healing and touching the brokenness we encounter as the body of Christ - incarnate - in the world.

May our ears be the ears of Christ as he sat at the well listening to the woman who was empty and searching and SURPRISED that someone would listen.

May the words that roll off our tongues not be words of fire and destruction tearing down and adding to the chaos but words of peace and encouragement as a soothing oil in the midst of the noise and hurtful banter of the world.

May we find the peace of Christ today, bring the peace of Christ to others today, and be the peace of Christ as Children of the Prince of Peace in a hostile and violent world.

By His strength, In His strength, In His name, and for His Glory,
AMEN

Prayer for a difficult person today.

Lord as we wander, run, hike, drive, stumble through this day stop us and remind us to thank you for three difficult people that we encounter. Three because it's a start and a goal we can reach... maybe.
Help us to thank you for them without their noticing, especially if they might have read this too. Three because it will be one for each of you... Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Father, you have created this person before me and you love them with a depth beyond the love that I can feel for any human being... my children... my spouse... my best friend. You didn't make a mistake when you made this person; you made someone with whom you want to have fellowship and a friendship and who you hope will become an heir of your riches.

Lord Jesus, this is a person for whom you stepped out of glory... this is someone for whom you were willing at every turn and temptation to choose good rather than evil... this is a person for whom you weep when they weep and with whom you rejoice when they rejoice... this is a life for whose healing you paid by the whipping and scourging; the piercing and nailing; and whose sin was taken care of in the moment of the war cry... "IT IS FINISHED!"

Holy Spirit you are the comforter and I ask that you comfort this person who is making my life difficult today. There is probably a deeper hurt in their life than this moment they're having with me, and it might be something only you know, they might not even know it... give them comfort. And you are my teacher and comfort too... give me a spirit that doesn't need to feel offended; give me a heart to hear some truth being told to me, even if it's not being told to me well... and remind me that 80% of what you're teaching me today you're teaching me through the encounters I am having with other people; you're teaching me equally through pats on the back, and slaps in the face.

Remind me that I might be a difficult person for whom someone stops and thanks you today...
Father, Son, Holy Spirit
AMEN

The Worth of Water... River Haus in the Pines

"We never know the worth of water

till the well is dry."

-Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Water is an amazing substance... and it changes things.  Not just the drinking of water, though it's significant beyond argument.  There's nothing like a long cold drink of water on a hot day to take one's dry and thirsty body and bring it alive with refreshment.  We just need water... it's a necessity of life.

Thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends at MLCC Sharlyn and I had a bit of time away this weekend at the River Haus in the Pines, in Leavenworth Washington.  If you get a chance to get away... go to this delighful Bed and Breakfast.  The food was fantastic, the room was splendid, Mike and Cindy are just charming individuals with a heart for people (if I was going to build a house in Leavenworth - and not do the work myself - I'd call Mike), and Cooper (the dog) was very friendly and unique.  

But there's more to water than just the drinking.  The sound of the water from our room, we left the window open the whole time we were there, was incredibly relaxing.  There's nothing quite like the sound of water.  The gentle and soothing sound of the water is medicine to the soul in the midst of the noise in which we all seem to live.  To awaken at 3:00 AM and hear the water continuing on its way to wherever it's going... so refreshing... it's a necessity to the soul to stop and just listen ocassionally.

Beyond all that, watching the water flow, is a good reminder that it's the way of things.  The water keeps running, moving, never stopping; there is a constant stream of water moving from up to down and it reminds me of the flow of history.  The stream of the river is like the stream of history... it never stops.  God is writing a grand story, and I'm part of that story... as small as I know I am.  I am reminded of David in Psalm 8, "who is man that you are mindful of him."

There is nothing like a little time beside the water for reflection.  We are so grateful to our church family, and to Mike and Cindy.  It's good to have a new perspective once in a while; and good to just hear the water.

Quote of the Day

The quote of the day is from Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene where Sharlyn and I engaged in corporate worship.  Pastor John Vandel gave us this quote from Samuel Johnson,

"The person who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything."

This is such a challenging idea to me because I have a tendency to want to "get it all done" no matter what it is that needs to be done.  The context was stewardship and sharing our wealth and resources.  His point was that if you're not giving God 10% now we won't give Him a 100% later.  God is concerned with our faithfulness with what we have right now.

To do what's in front of me right now... faithfulness in the moment.  It's a good challenge.



Today and Time



Sitting in Gustav's in Leavenworth WA earlier today having dinner with Sharlyn.  We've been there a bunch of times over the years, and a few times when our kids were younger.  A young family came and sat at the table next to us... mom, dad, and three little ones under the age of four I'm sure.  It was, as they say, deja vu all over again!  They were a simply delightful young family, but there were just a few moments when you saw that... "Really... we're doing that?" face on mom and dad.  Made me smile.





I remembered suddenly those moments when you're in a restaurant with your little ones trying to keep them quiet so you're not disturbing the old grumpy patrons, you've got the four restaurant color crayons and the kid's menus with the maze, the picture to color and the three kids choices.  Cheeseburger, Chicken Fingers, Mac & Cheese... or if it's the expanded kid's menu there's a hot dog or corn dog on the menu!  Woo hooo!  One of the little ones is trying to climb out of the high chair... another is under the table... the third... eating the crayolas and then, there goes the water!  It's all over the table, the napkins are wet, the coloring pages are coming apart... sop it up... sop it up... quick, get more napkins!



I watched this young family and remembered, and as happy as I am about watching the boys grow into adulthood... I miss those little ones, and the simplicity of those days.  Ok, it's cliched... I know.  Don't forget, and this is profound, cliche's can only become so if they're true so we shouldn't belittle their importance.

Also on the way to Leavenworth we stopped and saw a long-time friend and her little baby girl - priceless - beautiful little life.  First time we've really been with them together, other than large gatherings... she's 6 months old already.

A family with whom we're acquainted finalized the adoption today of their new son... just about 13 years old.  Couldn't be there, but was told it was awesome.  It's his first "full-time family" ever... is it ok to say that?  Not sure how to talk about it, except what he says is, "I can't wait to know that I'm in a family I won't have to leave." 





Ok!  Enough already?  Well it's just this... look them in the eye... take a good look at their bewildered, ketchup covered, water spilling, mac and cheese mess, crawling out of the high chair and under the table little made in the Image of God through and through faces and breathe a prayer of thanksgiving to Him for them.  Then kiss their wet and sticky, snotty, drooling, cheese flavored, mischievous smiling made in the Image of God faces and remind them and yourselves how delighted you are to have them... because in a minute it all changes - and you can't get it back.



 For us... the forward has been good... but there are moments when you miss those bygone days ALOT.

Presence is Incarnational

I am challenged by the idea lately of seeing the face.  Today when I went into Starbucks I came face to face with a person who wasn't having fun, and it was painfully obvious by the look of her face.  I thought of making a joking comment to lighten the moment.  It wasn't a person I knew, but you know the way it works when, suddenly, you're in relationship a little more intimate than just walking by someone, but not to the point of really knowing the person or anything that's going on... it can be uncomfortable... so it's easier to take a cumbersome moment and make it lighter.

But for this one moment it flashed into my mind... don't make light... even if it lightens the moment.  Look into the eyes, slight knowing smile that says, "I can see by your face that it's not all ok" and then move off about your own business.  How quickly we walk through the crush of humanity never really seeing the face of another human... really.

When scripture talks about "the face of God" it sometimes, not always... but sometimes, means "presence."  "Because the face reflects the personality and character of person, the term is frequently translated person, or presence." (Holman Bible Dictionary).  This moment made me think that when someone in scripture says, "Your face I seek Oh God" they are really saying, it's your presence. 

Presence is incarnational - Christ chose to be present in our world.  When I see, really see some one's face, then I am present with them in that moment.  There is little in this world more profound than to be present with someone in the moment, and perhaps there is nothing more difficult. 

Epic stories remind me of the EPIC STORY

I've spent the past few days watching Epic stories.  Two very different stories, and yet really quit the same when all is said and done.  First I watched Lonesome Dove with Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall.  I think by far the best western I've ever seen, with two of my favorite cowboy actors.  Then tonight gathered with some friends watching the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.  I must admit I fell asleep during part of it... but I did stick out most of it.  It's just Sunday night and I dozed off.  I plan to watch the extended version trilogy of LOTR over the next couple weeks.  It's been a while. 

Those stories move me because they are filled with struggle, victory, loss, evil, overcoming, and friendship.  Most of our stories are less dramatic, but every story seems to involve the same elements and so I'm reminded of the importance of perseverance in trial, the sweetness of overcoming, and the blessing of friendship along the way.

One of my favorite sequences in the Fellowship of the Ring is the dialogue between Gandalf and Frodo in the Mines of Moria when Frodo says, "I wish the ring had never come to me."  Gandalf's response is profound on the one hand, and so simple on the other.  No one wishes for these times, but in the end all we can do is what is before us.  I am encouraged to be faithful for the moment with the task before me... whether is seems big or small, significant or not.  All we have is this moment, and how we live it.  It seems like we miss a lot either hoping for this moment to pass... or expecting the next one to come.  I want to live present to the moment and faithful to the task at hand.

Faithful yet lacking...

I am always astonished when I read Hebrews Chapter 11 of the faithfulness of the people of God as they awaited the Messiah.  As anyone who has read the chapter knows it's called the faith chapter, but I want to remember what is really astonishing about the text.  The writer details the lives of so many men and women who lived by faith... but then in the final two verses we're reminded... "They all lived by faith without receiving the promise."

They worked hard and well... and never got a paycheck...

They did the right thing... and it never paid off in any material, practical terms in the here and now of their lives...

They stayed the course... and never reached the destination...

Personality styles have been likened to the parts of a sailboat... keel, tiller, sail... ballast.  In this picture my personality is a sail.  It's a critical piece of the sailboat, without which the boat will never catch the wind and get anywhere... however... without a keel and rudder it will go whichever way the wind blows it.  Though there is a sense in which I feel directed, and I have those around me who are the tillers, keels, and... should I say it, anchors, I still  live by the vision of the moment at times.  What is capturing my attention right now is what tends to give me energy and focus.  It makes me appreciate the people who lived faithful lives for their whole lives thinking they might see the promised reward, but never did.  The text says they were persecuted in horrible ways... but stayed the course.  Give me that heart and spirit, and stamina!

It's such an interesting list of people... God is not squeamish about those who are faithful.  I think my favorite in the text is Rahab... she shows up in Jesus genealogy too... amazing who He uses when they are focused on His purpose and plan, even when they never see the reward.

The destination is the journey!