Journey With Jesus

So how are you doing with your Lent emphasis?  Are you on the Journey?

During the time before Easter (Lent) some folks give up something.  It is a way to sacrifice.  The practice is to identify with the sacrificial spirit of Jesus.  This is in direct opposition to the Mardi Gras spirit of consuming everything in sight.  A teenage girl wanted to break up with her boyfriend so she gave him up for Lent.  As a youngster, I always wanted to give up spinach because I did not eat it anyway.  But I could at least say that I was giving something up!  Somehow each of these misses something in the translation.

Then there are others who will take up or take on some discipline or practice.  This identifies with the concept of taking up your cross.  It is identifying with the attitude of the choice that the faith puts before us.   One guy told me one time that he was taking up playing golf on Sundays.  A woman informed me that she was going to make herself cook (and eat) a dessert for each meal during the weekend.  She thought it was a great way to remind her that God had provided Jesus for her to enjoy heaven.  So she needed to start now!  Teenagers are not the only ones who miss something in the translation.

So how are you doing?  Are you on the Journey?

Some have kept their word.   You have made a serious attempt to take your spiritual life seriously.  Hopefully you have benefited from the practice.  In some way you have experienced a growth in your spiritual journey.  God is beginning to speak very personal words to you in your faith practice.  I would want to encourage you to continue with great confidence.

Some of you have not done what you said you were going to do.  Or maybe you started only to give up or forget.  It just did not seem to make sense.  Or temptations were greater than you expected.   To you I would offer words of grace.  Start again.  Rethink your strategy and start over!  We have a God who loves to extend grace probably more than we realize.

Then there are some who have done nothing.  You never got out of the starting blocks.  Or maybe never even got to the racetrack.  So what will it take for you to know God's calling in your life?  I would simply remind you that Noah built the ark while the sun was shining.  Noah prepared for the storms and rising waters that were ahead in the days of sun.  You are invited to begin your journey.  Start where you are.  God will meet you there!

Lent is a time when we prepare ourselves for an Easter that will be unbelievable!  Make the Journey with Jesus!

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Form a New Conscience That Connects

Some can remember this experience as a child. For others it will be somewhat unclean. Have you noticed how clean we try to make our world now? It has taken us years to learn that "cleanliness is next to godliness." No, that is not in the Bible. It actually is a quote from John Wesley in a sermon, On Visiting The Sick.
So as a child, your face was dirty. It could have been ketchup or mustard from the hamburger. Or it might have been the cheese from homemade Mac N Cheese (before the box version). You were in public and handi wipes did not exist. However, your mom's finger always exists. Without a thought, your mom, probably never your dad, wipes her finger on her tongue and cleans the smudge from your face. Now many moms today will never admit to this although I think more are actually guilty than those who confess.
What happens when the finger of someone who cares for you touches your face?
At the beginning of Lent, instead of being cleaned by the touch of God, we are marked. The black smudge stays with us. Some of your well-meaning friends who have no concept of religious practice probably pointed out that you had something on your forehead you might want to clean off. Some of them were even tempted to clean it for you. One year a lady followed me through the store to give me a handi wipe to clean my face. She obviously thought I needed care. She also probably wanted to straighten my collar. Poor man doesn't have his mother near!
The time before Easter is a time when we realized we are marked. We are in need. We need a Savior. This is so contrary to our culture. Everything we learn growing up teaches us to be independent. We earn a living. We earn our degrees. We earn everything. We are self-made. But the truth is—humanity can only go so far and then we need God—a Savior.
When Cain murders his brother Abel, God banishes Cain. However, Cain is marked before he is exiled. It is as if God wants to remind all of the world that Cain will meet. The marking says two things to the world—see what happens when jealousy reigns and yes, this is one is still mine.
Scriptures tell us that though our sins color us scarlet red God can make us white as snow. What good news! The cleaning process that God invites us to know is one of examining ourselves. It is learning of the "connected conscience" that our faith forms in us. This conscience invites us into relationship that is both vertical and horizontal. The touch of Jesus in our life makes us all the more clean inside and out.
May this time before Easter is the time when you invite the finger of God to touch your life! Maybe this time is the season when you will reach out to others in compassion with acts of mercy. This experience will change your life!
Pray for me as I pray for you.

 

Leave A Light On!

It is an old story about a typical church meeting.
The debate was fast and furious. One of the young women of the church had brought before the governing body the need for the church to buy a new chandelier. Of course, the loyal opposition was present and vocal.
"We do not have the funds to make such a foolish purchase."
"We should not buy something that nobody can spell. Besides that who would know how to play it!"
After the debate had gone on and on, one man stood up and said, "I am so tired of spending time talking about things that we do not want nor need. Everyone in this room knows that what we really need is more light!"
Who would have thought that the most important football game of the year would be stopped cold by the lack of light? Even professional football players cannot play the game effectively without full light. Maybe that will be a new twist in the concept of "home field advantage". At any point in the game, the home team gets to turn out the lights or at least half of them!
It made me wonder why we are content to live life in a half lit world.
Jesus taught his disciples to let their light shine! Fill the darkness of the world with the light of God! Let the glory of the Lord be bright! He said to his disciples, "YOU be the light of the world!"
One of the great memories of my travels in the Holy land was being in the Galilee as the sun was going down. Our group was on the hillside (Mount of the Beatitudes) where Jesus taught the crowds that followed him. We were looking down over the Sea of Galilee. On the north side of there are some high mountains. The sun began to set. Darkness began to fall and our tour guide began to read the passage about letting your light shine. As the passage was read, one could look north over the Sea of Galilee where the mountain side began to be spotted with lights. Out of the darkness, a light would be born. I could imagine Jesus doing what he did so well in his teachings. As he talked about the power of light in the Gospel, the disciples would see the effect of light.
The sad commentary in life is that most of life for many is lived in a half lit or dark world. The dark world is filled with judgment, hatred, selfishness—all the demons that pervade human existence. And life does not stop. It continues. It hurts. People get hurt. The world limps along.
So the challenge that Jesus gives us is to BE the light of the world. BE the presence of the loving God. BE the voice of grace and mercy.
Maybe we can live in the old Motel Six world---where we always leave a light on for ya!
Pray for me as I pray for you!