Thursday, May 31, 2012

Give Yourself to the Fire!

Recently I enjoyed a walk through the Rocky Mountains. The scenery was beautiful. You could see the handiwork of God. I was captured by the sunlight while looking at snow on the ground. The animals were majestic in their appearance. It was easy to say the words of the Psalm, "I lift mine eyes up the hills…." The whole event filled me with a sense of awe.

I also remembered the scripture, "what is man that thou thinketh of him…" The drama made me seem so small in the whole scope of creation. And yet, with God each one of us is the most significant. God focuses on us individually in our own uniqueness.

I was intrigued by the piles of wood that were stacked up to be burned. Knowing the impact of current fires burning in the mountains and the damage that has been caused would have made me think twice about preparing for things to be burned. And yet, there were preparations being made for such to happen. In fact, more intriguing were the small rings of black where control burns had obviously taken place recently. The fire was contained to a small circle.

Controlled burns are necessary to keep the forest at its best. They clean out the underbrush that puts the whole forest at risk. This enables the forest to continue to grow at its best.

In our spiritual life there is also the need for a controlled burn. Controlled burning is what John Wesley would call "going on to perfection." The old theological word used to talk about this is sanctification. Sanctifying grace is the grace of God that works in us where God shapes our life and character into Christ like form. It is God doing in our life what we ourselves cannot do. It is not good enough to remain who we are. We open ourselves to become what God can make us.

Most of us struggle with what we can make of ourselves. Maybe it is time to give ourselves to the fire—what God can make of us!

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Look Where You Walk

I do not like snakes. I know there are supposedly good snakes and bad snakes. I do not like either one of them near me.

It is no accident in my line of thinking that the fall of humanity began with a conversation with a snake. Talking snakes are probably worse than other snakes. My friends who play golf with me know that if they hit a golf ball in a "snaky" looking area. I will GIVE you a golf ball. We do not need to go look for that one.

So my wife and I are walking across the bridge just having a great conversation. All of a sudden, Mandy does the "snake" dance. You have seen it before. It is that little jig that one does when you are about to step on it or in it. It is a dance that is not done with anyone else in mind. Usually it is accompanied by some religious utterances asking for divine intervention.

The little snake (about two feet long) was curled up between the bridge and concrete just sunning away. You had to look to find the snake. Snakes can be sneaky. They love to blend in the environment. Now some would say that the snake was more afraid of us than we are of the snake. They obviously do not understand basic fear of snakes.

Being the good Christian leader that I am, every person I met on the way to the bridge was warned. There is a snake on the bridge. What I did not understand is that none of them turned around. What gives? Did they not hear me say, "There is a snake on the bridge!"??? To further confuse me, when I told the people in the building that there was a snake on the bridge, they did nothing as well. I immediately doubted their hospitality.

In our walk with God, we have to watch our step. The Lord warns Cain that "sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you." Genesis 4:6. The snakes talking and otherwise are ready to consume you. The seduction of the world is subtle. It is easy to not keep watch!

As Christian brothers and sisters, it is our obligation to one another to warn each other when the way ahead is dangerous. It is not enough to simply say each person is responsible for themselves. We carry one another's load. We urge each other to walk where God would have us walk. We look with each other as we walk.

Look where you are walking!

Pray for me as I pray for you!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Trusting in God

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5

Wisdom has been a focal word for me lately.

I have been having this conversation with God about the gift of wisdom. It is a conversation that invites me to listen more than talk. For me sometimes that is very difficult.

It is hard to put aside what you know—or what you think you know. For most of one's life, one is taught to learn from experience. Acquire living knowledge. From this knowledge you will be able to keep your paths straight. You know what to do in certain situations.

God has a different plan. God instructs us to avoid leaning on our own understanding. The way of trust in the God relationship is not relying on the past experiences. They way of trust with God is submitting to the new creations and paths that God is forging in the world. Submission is not one of humanity's natural responses.

Wisdom is avoiding reaction and waiting for response. Wisdom is to sit in the uncomfortableness of life and wonder—wonder with God. It is the act of living in the gray areas of life knowing that God often makes wonderful portraits out of blending the colors of life. Wisdom is knowing that even if in this life I perish, God is my redeemer that never leaves.

It is graduation time where young adults are wondering what they will do, where they will go. I encourage them to ask a different question: Where is God leading you? What is it that God wants you to do? God needs good people in all professions so this is not just a question of being a missionary or minister. It is a question of vocation. It is understanding that even a job can be a God calling.

As a pastor, I am wondering with God. I am confronted with the question over and over again—where is it that you would lead God? For as a pastor, I am seeking the straight path that only God's wisdom can give.

Trusting in God is indeed putting aside our own understandings. For my ways are not God's ways. It is opening all of my life to God. It is being willing to walk the path that God places before me. And yes, it begins in the love relationship of the heart.

Pray for me as I pray for you.


 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Mothers Are Special

Mother's Day is Sunday. It is a day that we celebrate those who give us life.

In over thirty years of ministry, I have only had one person complain about celebrating Mother's Day in the church. It seems that this young lady was not blessed with the love of her mother. Then due to no fault of her own, she was unable to have children. It seemed to me that this day reminded her of too many scars and disappointments in life.

Mother's Days can be like that. Some Mothers will look through the lens of regret. They will see all the things they failed to do or failed in doing. The failures of their children will be personal failures. These mothers will continue to ride on the roller coaster of shoulda, coulda, wooulda which never stops. Their thirst for life will be consumed by the water that comes from the river of bitterness. One woman at the end of the celebration of Mother's Day found herself weeping hope that she would fall asleep quickly.

Then there are those who will celebrate Mother's Day. They realize that Moms are special! No they are not perfect. They are human. Moms know too well the meals that have to be cooked, the clothes washed, the trips to all the many places, and the list goes on. But on this day, the "red Super Woman Cape" will rest. Moms will be awakened by a breakfast that is fixed with little hands. The roses and gifts from husbands might not be exactly perfect but heartwarming. The telephone calls will come from across the world to moms, stepmoms, grandmas, and sometimes even adopted moms. At the end of this day, there might be tears—but they are tears of joy.

Moms are one of the special gifts of God. Sometimes we realize this "too late". Sometimes we let the moments pass too quickly and too quietly.

One Mother's Day I woke Mandy up and we went out to eat breakfast. I was serving at Centenary College so I did not have to preach anywhere that Sunday. As we ate breakfast, I saw an elderly lady come into the restaurant alone. As she ate, it just seemed that there was sadness about her. As I paid my ticket I asked her waitress to include her breakfast on my tab. As the waitress added it on, she said, "This is a wonderful gift that you do not realize you are giving." I looked at her with a puzzled face. Then she finished the story. Her husband died last week. Her children are all away. She just told me that this was her first Mother's Day breakfast that she was going to have to buy for herself!"

Mothers are special. Make sure you do what you can to celebrate Mother's Day.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Fishermen Need to Catch Fish

So I am a golfer, not a fisherperson. Fisherperson just doesn't sound right either. Sometimes being politically correct just doesn't seem to have the right ring to it.

As a little boy, I enjoyed fishing. However, I never caught any big fish. I caught a ton of little fish. I can remember cleaning and cooking those bite size bream. There seemed to be more bone than meat. But I had caught them. To this date, the biggest fish I have ever caught would be about a pound or a pound and a half-- nothing worth bragging about.

I have made the decision that if someday I am unable to play golf I will then become a fisherperson. Now my recent experiences of fishing have led me to become a great fishing caster. I can cast really well. I have the right technique of reeling the bait in. The problem is that lately I have not caught any fish. Well, I have caught only very small fish.

Max Lucado is right when he says that when fishermen do not fish, they fight. I think that is why so many churches are at unrest. They are filling their void with fighting. Did you notice that when Jesus appears to the disciples in the resurrection, the fishermen catch plenty of fish? I think Jesus knew it would put them in a "receptive" mode. Catching many fish creates excitement in the camp. Others cannot wait to join in!

Disciples of Jesus Christ are fisherpersons who need to catch fish. Now the fish I am talking about is about helping people know the love and grace of Jesus Christ. You lure them with the love and you reel them in with the grace. Think about it. How can one resist the lure of love? The reel of grace is tender, not harsh. It gently brings them into the boat—which is the earliest symbol of the church.

But it is a catch and release way of life. The fish are brought in only to release them back into the ocean. New disciples after spend time in the boat are sent back into the waters. One of the problems of the church is we have forgotten how to release back into the world. We just want to keep them in the boat.

Maybe we all need to fish more. I can hear the "Amens" in the house now! But remember the boat is church---so don't miss it!

Pray for me as I pray for you.