Eclipsed

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32
Recently, we’ve been hearing a lot about the Eclipse. The Talking Heads have chattered on and on about its historical significance, the next time one is likely to show up, the track this one will follow, and of course, how to not be blinded by the event. We have been informed ad nauseum (to a sickening degree) that looking directly at the event will damage your eyes. Guess what I expect to see in the news in the aftermath? Yep, stories of people who ignored all that good advice and are surprised to learn it was true, just like there will be far too many people in Hell for basically the same reason.
Eclipses have fascinated humans for thousands of years. They have played a major role in stories and legends up to modern times, were predicted by Chinese and Greek philosophers (and possibly by the builders of Stonehenge), and even right there in the Scriptures.
Did you catch it? No? It’s right in front of your eyes...well, almost. That little word “fail” is an English translation of the Greek word “ekleipo”, from which we got our word “eclipse”, and we take it to mean that something is blocked by something else. What Jesus prayed for Simon was that he would not let his faith be permanently overshadowed by the dark days that were upon them – the crucifixion.
There’s a phrase found in the Bible that is worth repeating here: “It came to pass”. Mostly, it means that “something actually happened”, but I like the idea of Transience there, that is, it didn’t come to STAY, but to PASS. The eclipse is expected to cross the US so quickly that it will only be visible for about 3 minutes from any given location. Those folks who spent a fair chunk of change and time getting into the path better look sharp or they’ll miss it, and from the perspective of a lifetime – or even more so, Eternity – our problems and tragedies will be a lot like that. The effects may endure, especially if we stare at those troubles too deeply, but the events move quickly and march on without pause.
Jesus knew that the events of that first Good Friday were going to be devastating to His disciples, but He also knew that Sunday was coming. He surely knows that Trouble with a Capital T will come to all of us, and we will be tempted to blind ourselves in sorrow and grief by focusing on it. His encouraging words to Peter are to us as well: “when you have turned again”, that is, even though your heart is broken, this too shall pass. Don’t stay in the Valley of the Shadow, come on through!
For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

Dancing Lessons

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21
In the Ancient, Honored, Feared (but Unwritten) Laws of the Baptists, Dancing ranked right up there with the Big Ten, things like Murder, Coveting, Adultery and such. I honestly don’t recall any sermons from the pulpit specifically condemning it, but it was well known that Dancing would lead you straight to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks faster than robbing banks or cussing. Of course, it was only one of many such Unwritten Laws, the modern Mishnah (oral Jewish traditions condemned often by Jesus) we had, but the long term effect is that I am...awkward when the music is playing. I watched Dancing With The Stars in part for confirmation that I’m not the ONLY pig-on-stilts out there. I got rhythm – from the waist up. Below the belly button, not so much.
Then I discovered from Elijah that I’ve had lots of Dancing Lessons, and I've been practicing all my life.
I can practically see the question marks on your faces from here, so let me explain. That word “limping” up there, also translated as “halting” or “wavering” is a Hebrew word – the Old Testament of the Bible was originally written (mostly) in Hebrew – that has a number of possible English meanings. Among our choices, it meant to hop, skip, or limp, and because dancing is basically a planned series of hops and skips (my definition, not Webster’s, but fitting, don’t you think?), then by extension it was added to the nuances.
This brings to mind the little dance kids do when their bladder sends them an urgent message, oh, and the “Hokey-Pokey”, but also the teasing move people do when they can stand on a state line: “Now I’m in Alabama, now I’m in Georgia.” Or, “Now I’m in South Korea, now I’m in Prison”. A real laugh riot!
And Now, To The Point.
The people of Elijah’s day were dancing around the clear commandment of God. While they would pay lip service to being the People of Jehovah, they were also playing around with Baal worship. It’s interesting to note that when Elijah challenged them, they kept quiet, almost as if they were a bit ashamed, but more like, “Maybe if we pretend not to notice, he’ll go away.” Plus, they were there to see the show. Which God would show up? They had heard lots of stories. Now they were going to get the chance to see for themselves. And the shocking result? They did!
Today, opinions are like belly buttons: Everybody has one, and all of them can seem reasonable. We are happy to dance from one to the other as if there were no consequences, but one Truth remains: What you believe matters. If you live your life by the Unwritten Laws of popular opinion in contrast to the clear and unchanging Will of God, there will be consequences that you can’t hop, skip, OR jump around. The band is winding down, the dance is almost over. Which side will you end up on?
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Cost of Carelessness

Our buddy Wayne is blessed to be alive today. Last season, he got up in his deer stand and was pulling his rifle up on a rope. While this is normal, how he was doing it was….less than optimal. Not smart. OK, it was STUPID! Which is funny considering how serious he has always been about safety. He drills it into everyone who hunts with him. How you get into the stand, how you handle your weapon, who is around you and where they are supposed to be. He doesn’t want you to take foolish chances or put yourself in a position to get hurt. Which is all good and wise until you ignore your instructions your own self!
He was hunting with a muzzle loader, one of the ole-timey rifles that holds one bullet at a time. It has a hammer, which gets a firing cap. When you pull the trigger, the hammer smacks down, exploding the cap, which sets off the powder inside the rifle. The key thing here is, don’t put the cap on until you are ready to shoot, because the gun can’t fire without it. Especially if you’re pulling it up a tree by a rope. With the muzzle pointing UP. Where, as the rifle is swinging back and forth it can contact the ladder, causing the hammer to get cocked enough to cause the rifle to fire.
Wayne is BLESSED to be alive today, with only the loss of a pinkie finger to remind him how close he came to Eternity.
One interesting thing about it, if he had died on Friday, everyone who knew him would have suspected foul play. His son told me that they would have believed he had been murdered rather than believe he did so many things that he had preached so fervently against. Which reminds me of a verse I try to keep close to my heart:
But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve noticed how people feel about Hypocrites – those who claim spirituality but practice the opposite. Some might accept a role as deacon, while keeping a refrigerator stocked with alcohol. Others might have a sweet face on Sunday but treat their family and neighbors with contempt and harsh language. One nurse was sure all the preachers were hypocrites because one pastor who had had surgery and was under heavy doses of morphine in the hospital cussed like a sailor. To be fair, few preachers are born knowing their destiny. Most of us grew up and had lives and used words we don’t use any more, and drugs can take away our control, so I’d cut him some slack.
On the other hand, some of those you’ve heard about who had affairs or were abusive or were only in it for the money don’t get that slack, just don’t blame God for their mistakes. Anybody can get careless – just ask Wayne. His mistakes will serve as a warning to me the next time I climb into a deer stand – and just maybe, the next time I am tempted to do something I have preached against!
Psalm 25:20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

Checking for Leaven

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6
I always assumed that before packaged yeast became available, most leavening was accomplished with some sort of sour dough. I never cared enough about it to figure out where the sour dough came from. It was just something I would only need to know if the economy collapsed and we had to fall back on old-timey tricks to get by. Happily, creating sour dough starter isn’t rocket science. It is science though.
Here’s the short version: yeast is a bacteria. It is common in the air and around most animals (including you and me). All it needs is an opportunity, the right media and a bit of time, and voila! Bread!
According to what I read on the Internets, mix two cups of flour (the kind without additives) with two cups of water in a bowl, cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it on the counter. Every day or so, discard half of the mixture and replace it with fresh. Before you know it, you’ve got your bread starter. Just mix it in with your flour when you’re ready to bake some bread and it will get to work transforming flat bread to full bread.
Of course, that leads us to a couple of questions. One, why is the Lord so dead set against leaven? After all, He created it in the first place. Two, what’s the deal with Pharisees and Sadducees? I mean, we’re all just people, right? Why can’t we just get along?
Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:12
Let’s start with Two, shall we? Those groups weren’t buddies. They came down on the opposite side of everything, but they are almost always found together opposing Christ. He had to deal with the P’s a lot, because they were the religious icons of their day. They wore the right clothes, had the right hair-cuts, and showed up in all the best synagogues, but it was all a big show. Jesus said they were like tombs, pretty on the outside but putrid to the core. The S’s on the other hand had the religious show down, too, while being practically atheists, refusing to believe in angels or miracles or life after death. Both of them had ideas very dangerous for Christians, because they seem reasonable on the surface but are both geared away from true worship, the kind that only occurs “in Spirit and in Truth”.
And One? Leavening agents are a link to yesterday. They are held over from the past, a reminder of our corruption. What God is changing us into leaves no room for ties to our sinful carnal nature. If we heed the worldly influence of legalistic ritualism or pragmatic compromise, we will miss the higher road to a real spiritual victory over sin and death. That’s why I say with the Psalmist:
Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24

Three Little Pigs and the Truth

There is no telling how many times we've heard the story. It could be a parable about building safety codes, or Stranger Danger, Medieval castle-storming techniques, or even a shaving commercial “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!” However we might put our own modern spin on it, it's been a popular little fable for a long, long time, told around camp fires, picked up by Looney Tunes, meddled with by Archie Campbell (The Pee Little Thrigs and the Wad Bolf), and now me. Something that popular has to have a universal appeal, something that speaks to us in a significant way, and something that reveals some Truths about us as we treasure it. Here are a few that occurred to me.
First, each Piglet was looking for a Home. Like most of us, they recognized their need for shelter, but in trying to build something more lasting it speaks to the human longing for a Place to Belong. Our innate desire points to something lacking in us, that in my experience is not satisfied with physical building materials. No matter how pleasant we make our dwellings, we find an ongoing hunger for lasting comfort and security, which will only be satisfied in one Place:
Hebrews 11:10 For [Abraham] was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Next, I saw that we can be attacked and destroyed for no other reason than that we are vulnerable. The Pigs had no defense against the Wolf. In one on-one-combat, they were quickly and efficiently overcome. Notice, they didn't go looking for trouble, He came looking for them. Their defense was revealed to be far too flimsy to stand in the day of trouble. According to worldly principles, so is ours, and that's why we need a Better Plan:
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Psalm 27:1-2
Now that Third Pig, he had a Home that resisted the frontal attack that the Wolf had used to devastating effect to that point. In the story, the Wolf then tried several ways to trick the Pig into giving up his shelter, but each time the Pig outsmarted him, and finally overcame him by resisting his temptations. I'm not sure how boiling and eating your Enemy would work for us...well, knowing that our Enemy has no plans to live peaceably with us and is only proposing compromises to keep seeking a way to get inside our defenses to destroy us ought to warn us against trusting his schemes and keep us alert.
1 Peter 5:8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Are there any more? Sure, probably several that haven't occurred to me. Let me know what you come up with! But let me leave you with “happily ever after”. Most modern versions of fables and fairy tales include that line, and it's a reminder that deep down, we want the Happy Ending, and for everyone in Christ, there really is one:
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2-3

Hooking Up

You’ve heard of the Amish, I trust. Just in case you haven’t, they are what most modern folks consider “Peculiar”. They are living a horse-and-buggy lifestyle in the midst of a high-tech world. Some goofs seem to think that they don’t “believe” in the modern conveniences all around them, but the truth is they are striving for a holier life by holding to a more primitive way. That’s not their whole story – they will use all the things we enjoy, they just don’t own them or keep them in the house. They say that “suffering is good for the soul.” If so, August without air conditioning ought to make ANYBODY a saint!
I found an interesting thing about them back in Indiana. One father was giving a piece of his farm to his son who was getting married, needed us to do a survey. (I worked for land surveyors in my previous life.) As we were out there doing the work, taking note of all the electric lines crossing his property, it struck me as odd, all that power going through his land, but not coming to his home. Of course, I assumed that there was no point since there wouldn’t be outlets or ceiling fans or anything. Imagine my surprise when an electrician showed up to wire the new house. No, it wasn’t an accident or a mistake!
One thing the Amish know, they might not stay somewhere forever. If they want to sell a house in today’s modern age, it better have everything the modern English (what they call everybody who isn’t Amish) want. And it has to go in during construction, cheaper that way. So, that frame house with the horses out back and the kids wearing black felt hats and girls wearing bonnets and brogans has light switches and outlets all over the place, just like yours.
So follow me here.
The power lines cross right in front of their homes. Inside those homes are all the fixtures needed to make use of that power, but the people living there cook on wood stoves and heat their homes with fireplaces. The potential is there to have all the touch-of-a-button things we take for granted, they just lack one thing: a Connection.
We live in a country where you are never very far from a church of some kind and dedicated followers of all stripes. People go past them every day, maybe even taking comfort that they are there, that there is Light in the Darkness. Then they continue on in their own darkness, taking no advantage of the availability of the Light.
We are all born with a longing for that Connection to the Source, the Power. We were designed to put it to use, but so many live their lives without ever being “hooked up”. Just like with the power company, we have to make a request and enter into a relationship (get connected). Then we can enjoy Him for ourselves, right in our own heart.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God, John 1:4-5, 12

It’s A Wonderful Life?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ‭? ‬Shall tribulation,‭ ‬or distress,‭ ‬or persecution,‭ ‬or famine,‭ ‬or nakedness,‭ ‬or danger,‭ ‬or sword‭? ‬As it is written,‭ “‬For your sake we are being killed all the day long‭; ‬we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.‭” ‬Romans‭ ‬8:35-36‭
At our house, it’s not really Christmas until‭ ‬we indulge in that old movie where Jimmy Stewart discovers the value of his ordinary life,‭ ‬and our throats get tight and our eyes water,‭ ‬hoping the same is true of all of us.‭ ‬He doesn’t get to do anything he wanted to do - travel, write, build, experience -‭ ‬but his tragedies and losses turned out for the good for himself and multitudes of others.‭ ‬We feel it so deeply that in our troubles, we turn around and tell each other,‭ “‬God has a plan.‭ ‬This will work out for good.‭” ‬and remind ourselves of Romans‭ ‬8:28.‭
Of course, for many of those going through the deepest tragedies of their lives,‭ their “dark night of the soul" ‬this is cold comfort at best.‭ They don’t want it to “feel good", they want it to be “over and done." And they especially yearn that it never happened at all!
Take Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers, believed to be dead by his father, enslaved, and then betrayed again. Hard luck just seemed to dog his tracks, and the dreams that had brightened his early days must have seemed like a mockery. And yet, in slavery and in jail, like cream, he kept floating to the top.
The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. Genesis 39:23
He had amazing success in the midst of really bad circumstances, yet he longed to be free. Just like you or I would. The joy of being the apple of the warden’s eye was dramatically dimmed by the whole “unjustly accused in prison” thing.
Most of us facing tough times in our lives would prefer they had never happened, or that they would be over soon (like, yesterday). Even when we live by faith and are trusting that God’s purpose is being worked out, it can be hard to take. Rejoicing in tribulation is a fine thing - in theory. In practice? It’s not for the faint of heart.
And yet, Joseph and Jimmy give us a great reminder that the disappointments and griefs of our lives are not the end of the story. For the Christian, that ending was written in the blood of the Lamb, and no matter what our current circumstances look like there is a great day coming.
No, in all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the One who loved us. Romans 8:37
Look at it this way: God has a wonderful plan for your ETERNITY. And He has an IMPORTANT plan for your life. Not easy. Important.
Hang in there. Be faithful. There’s more to your story than you know, and there’s a Better Day coming!

Barbarians!

1 Corinthians 14:10-11 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a barbarian to the speaker and the speaker a barbarian to me.
We tend to think of barbarians like they are presented in movies and comics, guys in furry vests with horns on their helmets, primitive and violent, (and speaking English like a Schwarzenegger) but the word itself has a slightly more high class origin.
“Bar-bar-bar”. That’s the source of the term “barbarian”. Greeks thought it funny to mock non-Greeks by saying that that’s what their native tongues sounded like, and to them, anyone who wasn’t Greek was a “bar-bar-bar-barian”, no matter how they dressed. Most of us are familiar with similar thinking today. Not long ago, a news service got into trouble by reporting that the pilot of a crashed Asiana airplane was named “Sum Ting Wong” (bad pidgin for “Some Thing Wrong”), along with crew members “Wi Tu Low” (we too low), and “Bang Din Ow” (you figure it out). They broadcast the report before anyone noticed someone had been pulling their leg. Making bad jokes out of unusual accents and unknown languages has been around for a long time.
Genesis 11:9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Language is primarily about the exchange of information. Ever since Babel, there have been misunderstandings between people - some catastrophic - because of breakdowns of language. If you are at the beach in Cancun and suddenly people are screaming “tiburon”, if might take you a very important minute to discover you should get out of the water now, since the "Jaws" theme music is about to start playing! (You could make a case that their should be some universal across-every-language words that are the same everywhere, and “shark” is one of them!)
Most of us are actually multi-lingual in some measure. We speak Japanese: “Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki”, Cooking: “2 tsps. salt, 4 lbs. flour, microwave on high”, Religious: “Rapture, Saved, Baptize”, Music: “Rap, Rock, Folk, DJ”, and many others, with varying levels of fluency.
I heard recently that one way to stave off senility was to keep learning, and learning language was touted as one of the better ways to do that. Let me suggest that one of the best languages we can spend our time learning is the language of Heaven.
I’m going to set your mind at ease, I’m not talking about Greek or Hebrew, or any other human tongue. I’m talking about a way of communicating that we can practice on Earth that will be essential in Heaven, as it will be the only one in use: Love. I could (and often do) talk about the various Greek words and what they mean, but the bottom line is that it is THE language that distinguishes God’s people from the World’s people.
John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Put your energy into learning this, and you’ll be ready for Heaven when you get there!

What’s In Your Ark?

Hebrews 9:3-5 After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail.
A fedora, a leather jacket, a (toy) revolver, and a (Dad-gineered) bull whip, and my son had his favorite Halloween costume of all time. He wore it “trick-or-treating" at least twice and would have worn it more but he out grew it. He still has the hat.
We were all big fans of the first Indiana Jones movie, wore out at least one VHS tape, but it was not a great place to get your Biblical history fix. For the record, there were no laser beams or face-melting angels associated with the Ark in the Bible - or any other piece of literature prior to the movie. That was all Hollywood.
But the Ark was real, and it had a real purpose, one worth knowing about today.
Take the jar of manna. They were to remember for all generations that God had miraculously provided sustenance for them in the harshest of environments - and not just survival food, but delicious and nutritious never seen before or since prosperity food. The honey-and-wafers taste was a hint of the milk-and-honey promise, and God fed over a million of them for 40 years in a desert. Seeing that, we ought to know that our piddling little problems are no match for His incredible power.
Then there was Aaron’s budding rod. When fearful and jealous people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, God demonstrated His calling by making Aaron’s rod - a dry stick that he had most likely been carrying for years - sprout with leaves, flowers, and almonds. Two things about that. One, the God who appoints a leader is able and willing to support that leader, and ‘B’, it’s never a good idea to bad-mouth God’s chosen ones.
And of course, there were the stone Tablets of the Law. Written on them were the Ten Commandments that expressed the heart of God’s covenant - His responsibilities and promises and those of His people. Oh, and He wrote it Himself with His finger, you might say His Signature, that He would do what He said. Now follow that up with the miracles He worked as the Ark went before the people - the River Jordan standing up to let them pass, the walls of Jericho falling down, and you begin to see its power and value, that it represented not only what God could do, but what He had done, and more than that, His active presence working and defending His own.
Don’t you wish you had one of those? Well, you can, and you don’t even need acacia wood to build it. For the believer, we carry the Ark of God in our hearts, as we remember the good things He has done for us, the times He has rescued us, and the times He has forgiven us. Our Ark is the Cross, covered in the precious blood of Christ, marking the once-for-all sacrifice that leads us into the Land of His Promise and Provision. What He has done before, He is still doing. Remember that, and let this new Ark go before you to bless your way!

​Professional?

​​​​I love the LORD ​​​​​​because he heard my plea for mercy, ​​​​​​​and listened to me. ​​​​​​As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. Psalm 116:1-2
Heard this not long ago: The professional is paid to be good. The amateur is good for nothing.

It was worth a chuckle, but then it started me thinking. Since I receive a salary to serve as pastor, do people consider me to be a "professional Christian"? Honestly, I don't feel very "professional" when it comes to matters of faith. Like you, I find it easier to preach 10 sermons than to live out one! But I'm not like one preacher I heard about. His first sermon at his new church was delivered to great approval from the congregation. The next week, he preached the same message. The third Sunday, same thing. When the peeved members asked him about it, he said, “When you start doing this one, I'll preach you another one.” I'd probably get tired of that long before my listeners, so no risk of that!
Then I asked myself, "What IS the difference between an amateur and a professional, other than cash?" Both have natural talent. Both have skills. Both have admirers. Usually, the professional began as an amateur, then through practice, training, and sweat developed skills that took him or her to the next level, the level where they pay you to do what you love - in the best case scenario, anyway.
So, am I a "professional"? Yes. And no! I receive a salary to enable me the freedom to do what I love in response to God's call, which makes me a professional Pastor. But I'm an Amateur Christian, in the best sense of that word.
Originally, an amateur was "someone who does something out of love". In my piano- and guitar- playing, I'm strictly an
amateur. In singing, maybe I'm "semi-pro", but in matters of faith I'm gloriously, blessedly, amateurishly living for love!

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman

What has made me "come alive" is not the preaching event – though I love it - or the fancy wardrobe – yeah, right - or the respectful titles – not hardly! - but the Savior who reached out to me in my ignorance and rebellion, forgave my sin, enlivened my soul with His joy and then called me to join him. No matter how I make my living, I hope to always be an Amateur for Jesus, and I hope you are too!

Better Than Biscuits

Matthew 6:5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!
I try to avoid “preaching” through my prayers. There's a real risk I'd be praying to the wrong audience – people. It's like the little boy saying his prayers before bed one night. His mom said, “I can't hear you, son.” He answered, “I wasn't talking to you.” Real praying is talking to God from the heart. It's not usually fancy or pretty. It is often a struggle, desperate, and not worried about public critique, “Lord, if you don't do something, we're sunk!”
I suspect we've all heard someone telling us what he thinks we should do under the pretense of talking to God, usually with good intentions, but it's risky. However, I came across this one that I thought was too good not to share, so here you are:

The new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead the opening prayer. He stood, bowed, and prayed most uniquely, “Lord, I hate buttermilk, and Lord, I hate lard, and I'm not crazy about plain flour, Lord, but when my wife mixes them together and bakes them just right, I just love hot biscuits!
Lord, help us realize that when life gets hard, when it's sour, or bitter, or tasteless, whenever we don't understand what you're doing, that we need to wait and see what you're making. After you get it all together and put it through the fire, it'll probably be something even better than biscuits. Amen.”

Pretty good sermon material, isn't it? I'm guessing that deacon thought the congregation needed that message, and took the opportunity to share it. After all, our perspective is pretty limited, and we often don't know how any particular event will fit into God's eternal plan. We do know and believe that whatever is happening down here in this life is preparation for what is coming in the Next. We should know that He knows what He's doing, and when He's done, it will be wonderful. It's a good reminder to us to take the long view. Like Peter and the Apostles, “...we have believed (faith-ed) and come to know (are certain)...” that God through Christ Jesus is in control.
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Two requirements for the Called, Love God and Trust God. His “biscuits” will be so good, you don't even have to bring your own gravy! He's got this, so trust that He will work it together for Good!

A Tempest

Psalm 55:8 I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
Whenever there is a storm, and especially if we come under a Tornado Watch or Warning, we glue ourselves to the weather reports while we make what preparations we can, and then we wait to see what will happen. Last week, our nerves were tested once again as reports flew about the oncoming storm and we wondered if we would see a repeat of 2011.
For most of us, the answer was “No”, but a few miles away in Pickens County the Bomb dropped. We know what that looks like. Roofs ripped off. Walls collapsed. Mobile homes turned into confetti. Mighty oaks become toothpicks.
Driving through the Sapps community above Aliceville was a rewind of Tuscaloosa, and I wondered how anyone survived this.
Then I saw the Shelter.
The Shelter was a carefully engineered and built concrete and steel structure, rated to hold 96 adults while withstanding winds in excess of 240 mph, and it stood solidly in place while a structure just 50 feet away was reduced to kindling. During the storm, it was packed to the gills, with over 200 people crammed in. That's right, well over 200. I was able to chat with a couple of men who were among the last to enter, and in their words, they “just barely got in.”
Knowing human nature as I do, I suspect there were some inside that wanted to complain about close quarters or someone stepping on their feet, but no one ever said so to me. After seeing what became of their world outside, I doubt any of them had anything bad to say about their experience – except their determination to build a second shelter and make sure that everyone had access. The few who rode out the storm in their homes – surprised by its speed, caught trying to help someone moving too slow, or not believing the warning – dramatically tested their prayer life.
One of the men from the shelter told me that the storm came and went in minutes. There were hours and hours, even days of warning, but the storm itself did not tarry in one place for long. It was over almost before they knew it, leaving rampant destruction in its wake, and many surprised with the joy they felt in surviving even though they had lost almost everything.
They were glad they had heeded the warning and hid themselves from danger. I know about that.
As a child, I heard the warning of impending doom and sought Shelter in Christ. Ever since, my mission in life is to warn others of the Tempest and open to them the Door of Salvation. Don't wait until the Storm is upon you! Come into the Shelter while there's still time! One day very soon, it will be too late!

Matthew 7:26-27 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

My Hero

Mark 2:3 Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him.
I love me some hero stories, where a noble and self-sacrificing soul overcomes great dangers, snatching victory from the slathering jaws of defeat, and triumphantly wins the fair maiden. OK, I have caught my limit of “fair maiden”(one little Pie Baker), but I still love the danger and the triumph, and I love the Heroes.
I suppose it goes back to The Lone Ranger, which me and my buddies watched religiously every day after school. “Return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...with a cloud of dust and a mighty ‘HiYo SIL-verrrr! Away!'" Never missed him riding by that one big rock that must have followed him all over the West, but then he never missed with those silver bullets and always whipped the Black Hats and sent them off to their Just Reward. Plus he had a great theme song: Brum didee brum didee brum didee brum BRUM... It took me awhile to figure out that most heroes don’t come with theme songs, but that’s a story for another day.
Of course, I’m not the only one who loves heroes. Even Jesus noticed them and honored them!
Heroes like those 4 who tore off a roof to get their paralyzed buddy to Jesus: “And seeing their faith...” He didn’t admire their inventiveness, their roofing skills, or their unity. He never even mentioned their wardrobe choices. He rejoiced to see their FAITH - faith that He could help, that He would help, and that there was no one else to turn to. His admiration for their surprise entrance is obvious and immediate, and a bit surprising.
Mark 2:5 Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
To be fair, their faith in Jesus had some reasons behind it. He had been healing the worst diseases in their world right and left, but His first response addressing the internal (and Eternal) problems of their friend was probably not what they were looking for. It certainly took everybody else off guard, but He didn’t stop there. He went on to meet the obvious need, the one they thought they were there for, but He began with the one He saw most clearly - the Spiritual Need of one who was guilty.
Only the Lord knows the names of ANY of these men. Like our modern heroes, they keep their anonymity. They weren’t there to be noticed or glorified, but they have absolutely been remembered. Just so you know, when you come to the Lord with your troubles, be they large or small, He sees what you really need most, and for most of us it’s exactly what that paralytic needed: acceptance and forgiveness.
The heroic faith of these four “roof-raisers” inspires me, because I see me in them, and I want to be a Jesus kind of hero. My job is also to bring people to Jesus as they are, and let Him work His miracles in their lives. My understanding of their real need may be faulty, but His never is. He always does all things well.
Mark 2:12 ...they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

The Glory

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11

Glory: Beauty, Majesty, Splendor, Light. All of these parts of Webster's definition got me to thinking. How could anyone add to the Glory of God? After all, He's the source of it all. It's a mind-boggling thing, and hard to imagine, but when the twenty four elders drop to their knees and cast their crowns at the foot of God's throne, that's what they're trying to do, give Him more Glory.


So I tried to imagine what that was like.


Remember the moon landings? I was just a kid in '69 when Neil Armstrong made the first human footprint there. The pictures showed a gray surface that stood in marked contrast to the white spacesuits of the astronauts. Think about a full moon. Am I the only one who wondered how that dingy looking surface gave us the brightness and whiteness that we could see in the sky once a month?


I decided to refresh my memory by looking up some moon pictures on line. I got some bright full moon shots that reminded me of how beautiful it is – and why we have so many romantic songs and notions about it. “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!” Sing it, Dean-O! But I also got some less romantic pics. They showed not only the gray and dingy look, they also showed craters. Lots and lots of craters. Remember Complexion Drama? I know it's been awhile, but “zits happened”. One of the less appealing nicknames that flew around then was “Crater Face”, because when we saw closeups of our oldest satellite, we saw evidence of damage. Meteors have been smacking the moon in the face since she was born – better her than us – and leaving big ugly holes everywhere like she was teenager. But when we see the full moon in all her (ahem) GLORY, we don't see her flaws OR her short-comings, only her beauty.


The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Isaiah 60:19


In years past, some idio...uh, I mean, critics have scoffed at the Bible's account of the moon giving light by saying that the moon is just a big rock with no light source. Nit-picking at the use of figurative language helps them miss something pretty cool, not to mention important. Where does the moon's light come from? It reflects the sun. In the sun's light, she is gloriously beautiful, her flaws invisible.


How can I give glory to God? By being in the Light. Out of that Light, my flaws are painfully obvious, and I prefer to hide, but in His Presence, the Glory transforms me and brings honor to Him. Let me just say to you who think “My flaws and failures are too much”, take a look at the moon. If the sun can make that much difference in that dirty old rock, how much more can the Son make in you?

Upgrade Now!

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
So, I just bought a new tablet. No, not for headaches, or first grade, or even Commandments. It’s just your modern day version of a computer. When I bought it, the sign in the store said that it was ready to upgrade to the next version of the operating system. Got it home, turned it on, and a little “pop-up” popped up (!) on the screen, asking did I want to upgrade. “Sure, why not?” And I punched the “Continue” button. Immediately, it went to a screen that said (basically) “Don’t touch anything! Wait here!” Then the screen began to flicker as new software was being downloaded, then after a few minutes, Boom! The screen went dark as the tablet turned itself off.
“Oh No!” I whimpered, “Whatever shall I do?” Or I would have, if I didn’t know that was supposed to happen. After a few seconds, the tablet began to glow again, the welcome screen came up, and then I was free!
Free to wait while software updates started up.
A few of them even had to ask permission, but eventually it was complete, and my new device was somehow even newer! Maybe even Improved!
If only there was something in my experience that compared to that! If only there was a concept that could help me grasp this complex modern world!
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20
My “Old Self" Operating System (OS OS Ha!) was corrupt, in desperate need of something - really, Someone - to make a real change. I needed an Upgrade that would overwrite the corrupt and dying Self with new life-giving information. And the old stuff had to die to make way for the New. In the language of Computers, we call that an upgrade. In the language of the Church, we call it “being Born Again". (This doesn’t mean “got it all together", or “all my struggles are over". It means I have access to God and He has access to me. Like anything new, it can be a challenge to work it out and become adept. But it’s worth it!)
Something worth noting about this software upgrading process. The new stuff has access to stuff the old stuff can’t even see. If that sounds familiar, see our starting Bible verse. If I want my new device to function in the modern software world, it has to be upgraded. Otherwise, it eventually becomes so outdated it is essentially useless. If I want my spirit to operate in the Eternal Heaven Wide Web, it needs an upgrade. Otherwise, my old self can’t operate at that level, in fact it can’t even see what it’s missing. Happily, this upgrade has already been paid for, all that’s necessary is to download and activate. Ready? Continue!
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The Practical Son

He said to me, "I suppose one of my favorite stories is about the Lord Jesus and the practical son." Joe McKeever

We actually know him better as the "Prodigal Son", but that little slip reminded me of how easy it is to hear one thing and think another. I'm pretty sure that the person who said that had heard the word "practical" a lot more often than "prodigal", but I suspect that many of us who have heard (and used) "prodigal" have never given a lot of thought to what it actually means. For a long time, I even assumed that it had something to do with him coming back to his father, but here's what the dictionary says: "Prodigal - recklessly spendthrift, wastefully extravagant, lavish."
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. Luke 15:11-13
So, "prodigal" had to do with how he started rather than how he finished. He took his heritage - all that his father had treasured up to bless him with - and trashed it. He treasured trash so much that he blew his past and his future on present sensual indulgence. To add a little more sting to it, answer me this: When do you normally inherit? That’s right, after someone has DIED! So this son was basically saying, “Dad, I can’t wait for you to die!" This Prodigal had a Practical Plan with a Powerfully Painful Point.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."’ Luke 15:17-19
Practically speaking - pun intended - the son had to expect some "I told you so's", a couple of "just dessert's", and a major possibility of a "You wished I was dead, so now you're dead to me!" But he was out of options, so he dropped the slop and pointed himself toward home, practicing his speech, preparing for his humiliation, and pondering what might happen.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:24
There’s no practical reason for this response, but there is a very personal one. We call it “Love”. And it’s that same love that awaits every sinner who repents, a Heavenly Father calling for a joyful Celebration. It’s time to get practical, and choose the Prodigal’s return path!

Under the Rainbow

Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Kermit The Frog sat on a lily pad in a swamp and sang this song back in ‘79. Every once in a while, it becomes an ear-worm for me (can’t get it out of my head), though not as bad as Over the Rainbow. If happy little bluebirds fly; They’re in my head, why won’t they die, and freeee me?
One thing that really surprised me as I researched rainbows is that not every culture sees them as a blessing. A number of them see rainbows as giant, demonic snakes. They will make their kids go inside and forbid them to even look at them. Where we enjoy thrilling beauty, they go hide in the closet! I’m glad to have a different perspective, aren’t you?
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:13
What started me thinking about this was a quote I saw stating that the six or seven colors we associate with rainbows - Red and Orange, Yellow and Green, Blue and Purple, too (I can sing a Rainbow, can you?) - are a drop in the bucket when compared to the million or so that are also there but we can’t see. Which means we could be (actually are) immersed totally in light all the time, and perceive that we are in darkness, simply because we aren’t equipped to “see the light”. Infrared, ultraviolet, and who knows how many more. Actually, I know Who knows:
1 Timothy 6:16 [He] alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
It’s a good thing we have Someone to open our eyes to what we’ve been missing, isn’t it?
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
He is our “rainbow connection”, the full spectrum of all the Light that is. He is the fulfillment of the Covenant that marks the end of Death and the start of Life, revealing what cannot be seen otherwise, ALL the colors, and much, much more!
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore, [Jesus] is always able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.

Put Them Off

But now you must put them all off: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:8
There is a legendary story in my family, and if I have anything to do with it (hint: I DO), it will become ever more legendary as time goes on. It goes back to the olden days, when my first born child - let’s call her “Gary" to protect her anonymity - was only about a month and a half old. At the time, we were living in Fort Worth, and I had just changed jobs so I had no vacation time. We were desperate to take our newborn “home” to show her off to the grandparents and siblings, so, being young enough to physically pull this off, we pulled an all-nighter.
I worked all that day, got home about 5 pm, showered, loaded the car, and set off for Grandma’s house, about a 13 hour drive. Oh, and there was a record-setting cold snap that year that left all the gas-station restrooms (and not a few restaurants) frozen solid, making pit-stops a bit difficult. Mississippi and Louisiana are still not ready for single digit temperatures, and I doubt they ever will be.
Anyway, around about 3 am, I began to notice evidence that a diaper change was in order. You know the signs: eyes begin to water uncontrollably, the hairs in your nostrils spontaneously combust, oxygen masks drop from the ceiling. When we finally got to an exit, she was practically swimming - quite happily - in her, um, car seat. Immediately, with all hands on deck, we assaulted the problem using every baby wipe in the known world and brought peace back to our olfactory nerves, and dryness to the back seat.
The only problem remaining was what to do with her clothes.
We hemmed and hawed about it for a little while, but there was only one answer: rinse them out in a gas station bath room and put them back on her.
Ha! Only kidding! They went in to the next dumpster we found, and we never looked back. How ridiculous that would have been, knowing what those clothes had been through, reliving that desperate hour every time we put them on our precious little poop monster. It was no hardship at all to “put them off".
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:9-10
All that sin and iniquity that you were swimming in Before Christ is at least as offensive to God as that 3 am emergency was to me. You would never consider leaving a baby in such filth, why would you do that to your spiritual self? Put off that old stuff, put on Christ’s new stuff, and leave the stench behind!

Heart Written

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Whenever I’m asked to do a funeral, I always want to look at a Bible owned by the deceased. You can tell a lot about a person from that. It’s been said that “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not.” If the cover is pristine and the pages crackle as if they’d never been turned, that’s not a good sign. But what I’m really looking for is notes, underlining, and highlights. They usually tell me a great deal about someone’s faith.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to imply that if someone doesn’t mark up their Bible they are somehow not a Christian, or not faithful. Lots of kids were strictly forbidden from marking in any book (got a few of those spankings my own self), and that’s a hard barrier to cross. One way around that is to keep a ledger of Bible readings and especially those times when God speaks deeply to your heart from His Word. That’s a treasure beyond compare to your heirs, as they discover things about your walk of faith and your prayer life that they might not have otherwise known.
Trouble is, for a while now I’ve been using electronic Bibles for study. It’s possible to highlight text, but I don’t find myself using it in the same way, and electronic devices can fail leaving you with only your memories (and a fair amount of anguish). Which made me think of Hansel and Gretel.
Not the gingerbread house or the witch who was going to eat them, but the trail of bread crumbs - easy to leave, hard to keep safe. When you get right down to it, even marking a physical Bible has its risks. They can get lost or damaged or be inaccessible, inconvenient to carry around.
That’s why God says to write them on your heart.
I know, I know: “I have trouble remember-izing stuff. It’s hard!” Sure it is, which helps make it more precious when you discipline yourself to do it. Plus (and this should be a big bonus to those of us approaching Old Timers) memorizing Scripture (putting your mind to work) may actually help stave off dementia. Not to mention, if it’s in our hearts it’s easier to find when we need it. And we will need it in this fallen world!
I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Kintsugi

For in‭ [‬Christ‭] ‬all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,‭ ‬and you are complete in him,‭ ‬who is the head of all principality and power‭; ‬Colossians‭ ‬2:9-10
Kintsugi.‭ ‬If you say it with accent on the second syllable‭ ‬-‭ ‬kint SU gi‭ ‬-‭ ‬it sounds like a sneeze,‭ ‬especially if you’re using your bad Japanese accent.‭ ‬But it actually has nothing to do with sneezing,‭ ‬although it is Japanese.‭ ‬It means‭ “‬golden seams‭”‬,‭ ‬and it refers to the practice of taking a broken ceramic pot or vase,‭ ‬and repairing it using a lacquer mixed with gold.‭ ‬In the end result,‭ ‬you see the flaws,‭ ‬but they have been gloriously elevated,‭ ‬and they raise the value of the pot far beyond the value of the gold added.
Legend has it that a Japanese shogun of‭ ‬4‭ ‬or‭ ‬5‭ ‬hundred years ago had a favorite china tea bowl that had been broken.‭ ‬He sent it to his next door neighbor‭ (‬China,‭ ‬of course‭) ‬for repairs,‭ ‬but when it came back it was put together with ugly‭ ‬-‭ ‬and I’m guessing not too functional‭ ‬-‭ ‬staples.‭ ‬His craftsmen said,‭ “‬We can do better than that‭!”‬,‭ ‬and the result was a new art form,‭ ‬taking what was broken,‭ ‬even ruined,‭ ‬and making it more precious than ever.‭ ‬It got to be so popular that many were accused of breaking pots just so they could fix them up.‭ ‬They weren’t interested in hiding the flaws,‭ ‬but celebrating the recovery of the vessel.‭
We are all fragile vessels,‭ ‬living in a dangerous,‭ ‬sharp-cornered,‭ ‬hard-surfaced world.‭ ‬To live is to be broken,‭ ‬and we spend a lot of time trying to cover up our wounds.‭ ‬Most of us aren’t exactly thrilled when our shortcomings come to light,‭ ‬so there’s always a huge market for toupees and hair plugs and girdles and makeup and the corresponding psychological spackle from self-help gurus.‭ ‬Of course,‭ ‬that’s a lot more like fixing broken vessels with wax than‭ “‬kintsugi‭"‬.‭
‬Wax‭? Also according to legend,‭ ‬when ancient Romans were putting statues all over the place,‭ ‬unscrupulous vendors would make them out of flawed marble and fill the bad parts with‭ ‬"cera‭" (‬wax‭)‬.‭ ‬They could make it look good,‭ ‬until the weather hit it.‭ ‬Furious Italians then began to demand written money-back guarantees that their new statues were‭ ‬"sine cera‭" ‬-‭ ‬Without Wax‭ ‬-‭ ‬which became our word‭ “‬sincere‭”‬.
Looks to me like the Japanese came closer to godliness with their invention.
When someone comes to Christ,‭ ‬He begins to heal their broken places.‭ ‬He doesn’t do it with medicine,‭ ‬or religion,‭ ‬or philosophy,‭ ‬He does it with Himself.‭ ‬He fills those wounds,‭ ‬transforming the Ugly into the Beautiful,‭ ‬the Worthless into the Priceless.‭ ‬Feeling the pain and strain of a busted up life‭? ‬Call on Jesus,‭ ‬because He’s the only Craftsman who makes you complete.
But he said to me,‭ “‬My grace is enough for you,‭ ‬for my power is made perfect in weakness.‭” ‬So then,‭ ‬I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses,‭ ‬so that the power of Christ may reside in me.‭ ‬2‭ ‬Cor.‭ ‬12:9