Big Deal

Is there anybody out there?

More fun from nature. Actually, Renee took this one.

Jerry

Writing #9: Exodus & Numbers

The people at my church are engaged in a month long adventure to read through the Bible in a mere 31 days. These writings have been designed to be encouragement along the way. I prefer an honest look at what I read and the way life works. This is, after all, a blog about the way I see life and its myriad of varieties. But, I have a confession to make which I will get to in a moment or two.

I am a big fan of literature. I love to read--oh, and I love books. I think the proper term is bibliophile. To make matters worse, with very few exceptions, I'll read just about anything that consists of words: advertisements, books, essays, scholarly papers, novels, commentaries and magazines. To further complicate matters, I will read just about any genre of literature: Scientific papers, history, literature, poetry, opinion--whatever. If I thought I could get away with it, I would be a reader for a living; oh, wait--I am. But I have a confession to make. My love of books and my greater love of the words printed inside of books does not make it any easier to trudge through the books that have come to be called Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.

Now, I must be fair. Within those books there are, I noticed especially in Numbers, periodic episodes for the rote recitation of law is interrupted by grumbling, complaining, stoning or outbreaks of plague. I suspect that these episodes were inserted in the text for the express purpose of relieving the unmitigated boredom of reading who gave what, how much, when and how many of 'them' there were and where 'they' camped along the way. Let me give you an example from Numbers 7:

The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah. His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 14 one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; 15 one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; 16 one male goat for a sin offering; 17 and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

This is not so bad. Until you consider that these verses are repeated, word for word, twelve times for a total of 89 verses. Our modern ambitions would be a little less monumental: Ditto. And that is only one example. Another is in chapter 29 where we learn about the Feast of Tabernacles and the offerings that are to be made during the feast. There we are treated to a description of all the offerings that are to be made during the eight day period of feasting:

" 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the LORD for seven days. 13 Present an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. 14 With each of the thirteen bulls prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, two-tenths; 15 and with each of the fourteen lambs, one-tenth. 16 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.

" 'On the second day prepare twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect. 18 With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified. 19 Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

One the third day, the number of young bulls to be offered drops to eleven. On the fourth day, ten; and so on and so forth. It is an interesting chapter. I mean that sincerely. But if you think about it, at all, you soon come to realize that in the Book of Numbers there are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made. Everything the Israelites did involved sacrifice. Blood was shed for everything under the sun. There were even sacrifices that were simply called 'morning' and 'evening' sacrifices. Some animals ver even got to live because they were firstborn and belonged to the Lord: They could not be redeemed; they were born, they were killed (sacrificed). There were supplemental offerings, offerings for unintentional sins, sacrifices for the cleansing of water, Sabbath offerings, Monthly offerings, Passover offerings, Day of Atonement offerings, Trumpet offerings, Offerings for Vows and it seems to never end. It got me to wondering: how did they keep it all straight.

Then the answer became clear. The only way to keep all these and many more rules and commandments and sacrifices straight was to be reading the book of Numbers and Exodus and Leviticus every single day, every single minute of every single day to see what the Lord prescribed. Imagine that: they had to read the Bible every day. It's no wonder the priesthood was so important and so exempt from everything but tabernacle/temple duties. They had to be involved in the Word so that they knew what the Lord was prescribing each day. If a day went by where they were not in the Bible it seems altogether too likely they would mess up and forget something thus incurring the Lord's wrath.

This says something to the Christian too. If the Word of God is a Double Edged Sword, if it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, if it is like the Rain and Snow which are sent forth with a purpose, if the Word of God is our only rule of faith and practice--if all these things are true, then does it not behoove the Christian to be reading that Word every day to see what God has said to us about Himself, about sin, about righteousness, about the Gospel, about His Son Jesus and more? This month has been a challenge for me because I have put on hold most all reading projects (mostly the books) in order that I might concentrate entirely on reading the Bible. What I have found is that I am no less informed about the world than if I read the paper every day. No, in fact, I believe I am actually more informed, better educated, and more in step with God from having done so and I am only 17 days into the adventure.

I saw what happened to Israel when they got away from the daily preparation and sacrifice of reading the Bible: they fell into apostasy. They were so uninformed that God said this to them, "Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. For forty years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you." (Numbers 14:33-34) Later, it was as a celebration when under Josiah's leadership the Law was found and read. And, later than that, it was Ezra who came back from captivity, well versed in the Law, and made a daily habit of reading to the people God's Holy Word. I just wonder what would happen in the Church if we spent more time reading the Bible than reading Joel Osteen, Rick Warren or Max Lucado. Not that I have anything against these fellas, but I think even they would confess that their words pale in comparison to God's.

Writing #8: Exodus

I finished the book of Exodus today. What an amazingly diverse book. What a profoundly sincere look at the ordered lives of those Israelites who were led out of Egypt into 'freedom' as God's Covenant people. They moaned at times, "Why have you led us out here into the desert? In Egypt we sat around pots of meat!" After reading the book of Exodus, in a lot of ways I have to agree. The life of faith, which is necessarily the point of Exodus, is, at best complicated, and at worst, difficult. Anyone who tried to read or live the book of Exodus would have a difficult time doing so apart from faith. And when I say faith, I mean much more than 'yes, I agree this is true.' I also mean, 'yes, this makes sense to someone even if I agree with it and it makes no sense to me.' Put blood on the ear lobe, the thumb, and the big toe in order to consecrate Aaron as a priest. Yes, in the world of faith this makes perfectly logical sense.

But I read somewhere that faith is believing all things make sense to God even when they don't make sense to us. Someone asked me Tuesday evening what the blood on the earlobe, thumb and big toe meant. I responded that I had little idea, or, maybe, it was a way of saying you are consecrated head to toe. Or, maybe it was a way of saying, "May your ears, your hands and feet be found doing the work of God always." Or, maybe it was a way of saying: "Even the smallest parts of your body have been redeemed by the shedding of blood; don't take anything for granted when it comes to your redemption." Faith issues are not nearly as complicated as, I believe, some want to make them out to be. True, faith does sometimes involve that so-called 'leap', but more often than not the we take the leap knowing full well that the leap makes sense to God even if it does not make sense to us. That is to say, we don't put our trust in the leap itself, but in the God who may or may not have told us to take the 'leap' in the first place. We know the end result of the leap and we trust God with the landing or the not landing.

At the beginning of Exodus, Moses' mother took that leap of faith when she 'saw that he was a fine child.' She took another leap when she hid him in the river. She took another leap having Miriam go and watch for him. And her faith kept going and going. It took faith for Moses' to go back and declare before Pharaoh: Let my people go! And it took faith for Moses to approach the burning bush, and throw his staff onto the ground, and raise his staff over the Red Sea and hope the water split in two. I think it took a tremendous amount of faith, perhaps more than was required when he went before Pharaoh, for Moses to go before his own people and say to them, "Follow me." This man of faltering tongue and shallow self-confidence had the faith to go before the most powerful man on earth at the time and demand that God be recognized. Faith is the victory that overcame the world. I suspect it still is.

I think it also took sincere faith to follow a cloud around through the desert. I'm one for knowing where I am going and it seems to me that following a cloud around in a windy desert could be hazardous to our plans. Therein, however, I think is the key to faith. Their journey's were not a matter of going where they wanted to go but God's. So is ours. It is, and I say this humbly and passionately, entirely too easy to go where we want to go and do the things we want to do. Only faith gives us the courage and stamina to stay on course when God invites us to go His way. I'm not saying the journey is not filled with trouble along the way. On the contrary, wind blows clouds all over the place, everyday. Our job is to seek the cloud and follow it. "In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out--until the day it lifted." What he means is, we have to pay close attention to what the Lord is doing and follow Him. To do otherwise will inevitably result in peril and disaster.

Writing #7: 1 John, Colossians, 2 Peter

I'm sorry if you were expecting a writing or two in the last couple of days. I do have children and a wife. We are always so busy. I have been getting finished later and later each day--I think. Well, blah, blah, blah.

I know I should not make excuses that way. I'm sorry. I'm trying to be honest here but I confess that life gets in the way too often. The world--have you noticed how much death there is in this 'not altogether intelligently designed' (George Will: http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will1.asp) world--is driving me crazy, and not in a very good way. Frankly, if I may be frank for a mere moment, I'm a bit tired of this world. It is getting near the point of stupidity. Last year a tsunami killed--how many people? Last week an earthquake killed close to what, 40,000 people? Is life that fragile? Is life that cheap? Can life really be so devastating, so unimaginably, profoundly meaningless? Are we like the millions of 'Canadian Soldiers' congregating on and around my house that are here today and dead within a week? It seems that way. And I confess that there are times when I allow the cracks in my personal veneer to show. This must be one of those times.

You see, I not only believe; I want to believe. But, and here is the part that is frightening, I cannot comprehend what it means that 40,000 lives are suddenly not here any more. There are probably some strong atheists, and theists too, that have all sorts of answers that make sense. I'll bet the esteemed Dr. Dobson, the one who 'knows more than he should', has a pretty good idea what the Lord was thinking the other day when he announced to the god of this earth 'their lives are in your hands.' I'm a little deeper than Mr. Dobson; I have no idea. Enter John's first letter to the church and his comment, brash as it may be, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." And the one that is worse, "...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that this means there are a lot of people who are not going to overcome the world. The key, we are told, is to build more, spend more, eliminate more and more of this or that. I wonder if these things will really solve the problem of death in this world. I wonder why it is that no one is asking the really important questions like: What will the world be like now that 40,000 people are gone in a matter of minutes? Or, I wonder where those 40,000 people are right now? People keep saying we need to do something to fix the earth so that such things will stop happening. We need to 'solve' the problem of global warming. We need to 'solve' the problem of shifting tectonic plates. We need to start driving more hybrid vehicles that burn less fossil fuels. We need more politicians who have a greater vision for the future. Blah. Blah. Blah. I wonder why no one is asking the really important question: If a tsunami can take out 100,000 people in a matter of minutes, and an earthquake can take out 40,000 in a matter of minutes, and a hurricane can wipe a city off the face of the earth in a matter of hours--if all these things can happen 'there', what is to stop them from happening 'here' and wiping out the entire planet in a matter of minutes?

I'm no alarmist or fatalist. I'm a firm believer that per Colossians, He has all things under control. It's not a matter of 'what if', but a matter of 'what when.' It is a matter of whether or not we are going to be prepared for whatever hits here and what will happen when we are suddenly no longer here but find ourselves, instead, there. The question is, Are we ready for there? Will we overcome?

I don't thnk it is a matter of if, but when. Peter makes it quite clear: The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. I imagine a young Simba from The Lion King practicing his roar on a lizard that walks by while he sits on a rock. He squeaks out a baby roar. Then another. Then another. At the end he belches out a roar that echoes down the ravine. We get the idea next when the ground starts to shake, rocks rattle, and the roar becomes the deafening stampede of a herd of wildebeests. These earthquakes, tsunami's, and hurricanes have nothing and everything to do with global warming. They have more to do with small belches, small groans 'while the creation awaits for the Sons of God to be revealed.' Soon, someday, later the baby belch will become the full blown roar of an adult lion, heard for miles around the Serengetti.

Peter's question becomes ever more poignant as the days, and natural disasters go by, 'Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?' His answer is even more devastating, 'You ought to live holy and godly lives..." Sooner or later people of this planet need to figure out that we are not helping ourselves when a disaster strikes and we, in the power of the indomitable human spirit, simply shrug it off, throw a dollar at it, and rebuild it bigger and better than before. Woe are we if we continue to miss the question. Woe are we when we get the question and supply the wrong answer. But I am not merely content to rebuild what is broken. I want to overcome. I don't simply want the structure, the framework, the shell of what was. I'm looking for something entirely new and pristine: But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Jerry

What Time Do You Give to the Lord Jesus?

Two weeks ago, when I preached my sermon, I said that we need to give ourselves away.

Last week when I preached to you I read to you scripture that informed us that the properly grounded Christian life is one that is lived sacrficially.

This week, as we formally kick-off our faith promise campaign, I want to share with you some thoughts about a rarely spoken of sacrifice that the Bible does speak of concerning the Christian. It is the sacrifice of our time. And when I say the ‘sacrifice of our time’ I mean the bringing of the minutes and hours and days and years of our existence under the Lordship of Jesus. I think the thing we guard most jealously in our lives is our time. Sometimes I think that when it comes to Christianity and service in God’s Kingdom it is easier for American Christians to simply throw some money at it and let someone else do it. Indeed, this is an American thing in general. As soon as the hurricane hit we started hearing about the need not for human compassion, human hands, but for money.

Now don’t think I am overly, hyper-critical of those who give money and those who ask for money. I think money is important in so far as it is a means to an end. Time on the other hand is much more valuable than money and perhaps that is why we are so frequently guarded when it comes to our time. It means, in the words of Scripture, redeeming the time. It means making every minute count for the Kingdom. It means that if the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God Almighty then how much more does the every waking minute of our lives belong to him?

And I don’t know exactly where the problem began. Somewhere along the way a widow put two mites into the offering box, all she had, and since she did not also give a couple of minutes or hours we came to believe that all that was required was to put our pennies in the plate and then our obligation to the Kingdom was satisfied. Or maybe it was when someone said ‘do not forsake the gathering together’ and so we thought we did our part when we came to worship on Sunday morning. A friend of mine who is not a Christian reminded me yesterday that he saw a reminder of an oft mentioned expression and rarely practiced one: Enter to worship, depart to serve. The Sunday morning is not our primary time for service, evangelism, or anything but worship of Almighty God.

The sacrifice of your time, however, is not just about being busy for the Lord as if he needs us. It is about being busy in the Lord. It’s not just about praying that the Lord bless what we are doing. It’s about being in the place and doing the things that God is blessing. It’s not about squeezing the Lord into our daily schedule or making time for God each day. It’s about making time for everything else we do. It’s not about giving something back. It is about giving all it back. One reason why I asked you to join with me in reading through the Bible This month is because I wanted you to get a taste of what it means to devote something, everyday to God—namely, your time. Because I know from my experience, and I am a reader, that I have had to give up quite a lot—football, baseball, all other reading projects, video games, and more. I figure if we can start with something as simple as reading through the Bible then all the other stuff should be fairly uncomplicated.

I’d like to talk a little about time this morning by simply looking at some passages of Scripture and at the end I would like to challenge you. First, let’s look to Luke’s Gospel, chapter 9:

57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
59He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family."
62Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

First I would like to point out that the easiest thing to do when it comes to Kingdom service is make excuses. Really when it comes to time it is a matter of priorities: what matters more to us. And I also know that I am fighting an uphill battle. I’m not trying to be harsh, but you have to admit that this is frequently our area of expertise. I would like to challenge you to overcome whatever adiction you may have to excuse making.
Next let’s look to Romans 13:11-14:

11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature

There’s a couple or so of different things happening in this passage of Scripture. The one that stands out to me is this: The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. I believe that Paul is saying that we are almost out of time to make a difference in the lives of lost people. The unfortunate thing about life is that if the Bible is true, and I believe it is, then there is going to come a time when it is too late for us to do anything for the Kingdom or for the people who are lost. Another idea that seems to be floating around in here is this: We need to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others: do not think about how to gratify the flesh. We live in a very self-centered culture which is one reason why I am convinced that the Church must not emulate the culture in order to grow and produce fruit that lasts. We must be counter-cultural, we must not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed. And if this is true for the Christian then it is true for the Church.

Like excuses, it is fairly easy to continue thinking about ourselves. It’s my life. It’s my time. It’s my day. But Jesus had an interesting take on the ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’ culture: He said he who loses his life for my sake will find it. And,

28Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

He is telling us that we need to set our priorities. And he did not say that it would be easy, or uncomplicated, or that it would not hurt, or that it would not involve sacrifice. On the contrary, leaving behind such things or such people, does hurt. This is, nevertheless, what he has said: Give it up. When we are willing to part with something so abundant and free as time then I believe it will be much easier for us to part with, lay on the stone of sacrifice, all other things in our lives as well.

Third, there is passage of Scripture again found in Romans that I have come to love perhaps more than any passage of Scripture in the Bible. It is found in the fifth chapter:

6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I just got to thinking: God did all the work of salvation at just the right time. He was not early. He was not late. He was just right on time. Now here’s what I got to thinking: What if when we make ourselves available to the Lord, what if when we do, what if we are available at just the right time for Him to do something amazing, something useful, something that will bless someone else? How many opportunities are made available to God when we simply surrender ourselves to his good, and pleasing and perfect will? How many opportunities are lost because we are simply unavailable, too busy, or down right uncomitted? But let me suggest a hypothetical scenario: what if every Christian in America, starting in this church right here, would give back to the Lord our God who made our salvation possible at just the right time just one hour per week of our time—and I do not mean the hour or so that we spend here on Sunday mornings when there is nothing else to do.

Finally, there is John chapter 9 and I only wish to read a small scrap of this chapter:

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

I note in here the same theme we came across in Romans 13. But note that Jesus says ‘as long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.’ We must be about his business. And again Jesus makes it clear that a day was coming, and a day is coming, when it will be dark and we will no longer be able to do the work of him who sent Jesus. What then will happen to the lost, the hopeless, the dying, and the dead? Who will preach? Who will send?

This month is about faith promise, but I want to make it perfectly clear that the Kingdom of God advances not because we give money but because we give ourselves. The Kingdom of God turns the world upside down not because Peter and John had money to give to a beggar but because Peter and John proclaimed the Gospel. I’d like you to ask yourself a couple of questions.

How many times this week have you wished the Church was growing faster?

How many times last week did I invite someone to worship with me this morning?

How much of my time this week did I dedicate to serving Jesus? I don’t mean praying or reading the Bible. I mean how many minutes or hours did you dedicate to serving him in someway by helping someone or serving someone or doing something for the congregation of which you are a member?

I had a conversation with a member of our congregation this past week. In the course of the conversation she said to me, I gave up doing such and such a thing so I could give more time to the church. I’d like to introduce that person to you—not because I think she needs the attention or to brag but merely to set an example. Her name is Natalie (and I did ask her permission to tell you this).

Tuesday night she was here and led the choir. Two Tuesday’s per month she comes to our Planning & Outreach meetings. Last summer she served as VBS director. On Wednesday evenings she meets with Randy, Ryan, and me and we practice our music for at least two hours. On Saturday mornings she comes to the church building for prayer meetings which take about an hour or so. This month she has also been spending her Saturday mornings or afternoons cleaning the church building. She also spends time several times per year preparing the communion cups and bread. It is almost unfair to say that she is here every time the door is opened; it’s more like she is the one here opening the door every time the door is opened. On top of all this, she works a full time job. And she told me this week, totally un-self-consciencely that she gave up giving flute lessons and earning extra money for herself so that she could give more time to this church. And there is a lot of work that goes into taking guitar lessons too and paying for them and practicing each night, helping me plan the worship, leading the worship, and so on.

Now I don’t tell you this because Natalie wants your attention or your applause. I am confident she does not. But I do tell it to you because she is setting an example for all of us. And I don’t single her out to the exclusion of the several others in the congregation who are giving their time and talents to see the Kingdom of God advance. But I am telling you because the challenge to all of you is to follow her example. But I would be remiss if I did not take the time to point out to you that when it comes to the Kingdom of God, when it comes to His church, your time matters. What I want you to understand from Natalie’s example is that there is work that needs done each month, each week, each day—and she is doing what she can. Now I’m not asking you, but I want you to ask yourself: Am I doing what I can?

It’s a tough question to ask. And lest Natalie go home feeling especially wonderful about herself, I want her to ask herself the same question all over again: Am I doing what I can? If the Body of Christ is us, if we are the Body of Christ, what part are you? A hand, a foot, a leg, a heart? And when you are missing, when that part of the Body is absent from service, who does what you have to offer?

Now don’t go away from this sermon mad or angry or thinking that I am accusing anyone of anything. I have to ask myself the same questions and I do. I have to think about each minute of each day because it is easy for me to grow complacent about service since I am paid to be here. I am asking these questions as a means of self-examination for each of us. It’s important that we understand what needs to be done and that we do it. And be certain of this: there are things that need done around the church building and around the church and around the community. So here’s the challenge I promised:

You are by the grace of God given 168 hours per week. I think all of us would find it easier to tithe a paycheck than our time; 16.8 hours per week of service to the Kingdom would be quite a large sum to give back by the grace of God! So let’s start small. Let’s start by doing this: I challenge everyone here to give one hour per week of the time graciously given them by God to the Church. If you are already giving one hour then I’m asking for two. If you are already giving two then I am asking for three. And so on. Here’s a partial list of some things that can be done.

We have a prayer meeting every Saturday morning when there is nothing on the planet to do.
Or come earlier than nine—I’ll meet with you earlier and pray.

Come up and make phone calls to people who missed worship. Or come up and send post cards or make follow up phone calls to those who worship with us on Sunday as guests.
Come up and pray during the week.

In the bulletin you can see I am trying to put together a food pantry team to work at the new Madison Ministerial Food Bank. I need four or five people to form a team.

We have three different Scout groups that meet here during the week. Come up during their meetings and be a helper, or a greeter, or prepare beverages or light snacks.

Come up and clean the building. Come up and do some of the finishing work on the balcony: trim, dusting, clean up, etc.

Come up here and spend an hour or so talking with the preacher who always needs encouragement. Don’t sit around waiting on him—go to him.

Go to a nursing home and do some volunteer work. The Bible says that God has made us and re-created us to do the good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do. He has prepared good works for you to do: are they getting done?

Sing in the choir. Paint a room. Decorate a bulletin board. Come to Bible school on Sunday mornings (although this doesn’t count!). Clean a window. Vacuum a floor.

Come up and organize a classroom or a storage room. Come up and write some lessons for a Bible School class. Come up and make baskets for the welcome center. Come up when we have a planning and outreach meeting. Take out the garbage. Wash a dish.

The bottom line is that the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. You don’t need me to stand up here this morning and tell you what needs to be done in the church or for the church. You are the church.

So I will stop short of begging you to do something for the church, but I will say that the church is only going to go as far as the members of the church are willing to take it. We all have to be involved in the work. All I am asking you for is one of the 168 hours per week that you are given. That is 60 minutes 10080 you are given each week. That is 3,600 seconds of the 604800 seconds you are given each week. It’s 52 hours per year 8736 hours you are given each year.

I’m not demanding you do anything. I’m asking you to consider what you are doing and to ask yourself if you can do more. I’m asking if the work you do with your 168 hours per week is work that has lasting, Kingdom value. Jesus said: (John 6)

26Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Only you can anwer the question. And you don’t have to answer to me. But if the Bible says that someday we will have to give an account for every single word that we utter in this life, then how much more will God himself require of us an accounting for every single second that he gives us on this earth. Are you doing the work of God each day?

Writing #6: Judges/Prophets/Romans

I’m sorry if you were looking and did not find anything here yesterday. I got busy and ran out of time (mostly I wanted to watch a baseball game ; ) ). I hope I did not let you down. As of right now, 11:25 PM, Friday, October 7, 2005, I have finished 20 of the 66 books of the Bible in less than a week of reading. Of course, as you might expect, I put all other reading projects on hold. I don’t look at this as a race to the finish. It is a baptism of sorts. That is, a baptism of complete immersion. It is about feeding my mind, my heart, and my hands and feet with the Word of God and allowing my stillness to be animated by His will. "Every move I make, I make in you Lord Jesus. You move me Lord Jesus. Every breath I breathe I breathe in you, Lord Jesus" (David Crowder Band, The Lime CD.)

This morning I played a short 9 holes of golf with a friend of mine. It was cold. It was rainy. It was windy. I had no business playing golf in that sort of weather. On the other hand I had not business sitting around this afternoon and rotting my mind either. Tonight we shared dinner with some friends. Great company!

As you can see I have titled today’s writing with three different books. These are books (prophets = several minor prophets) that I have read over the past two days. I have nothing profound to remark about concerning these readings except to note this one thing that stands out in particular: All of the books are remarkably consistent when it comes to the way the Righteous God of Scripture will deal with sin. Romans is quite clear that the sinners have no part of God and they have been righteously judged for their sin. Romans also makes it quite clear that even though no one is guiltless when it comes to sin all have equal opportunity for salvation from sin and its power through Jesus Messiah. Romans is a very personal look at sin: Who will save me from this wretched body? Paul asks at one point. But if he is confident in the complete and utter failure of the flesh he is also remarkably hopeful and optimistic about the future: Nothing can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

When the prophets speak about sin they are blistering. Zephaniah would never make it as a preacher or a writer in today’s world. He comes on the scene to proclaim his message and the first thing he says is this: "‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord." First of all he did not preach a happy message that made people feel good about themselves and second he dared to declare that his message came from God. No one is interested in ‘thus sayeth the Lord’ anymore. He makes clear the reason for God’s anger: Baal worship, idolotrous priests, worship of the starry host, oppression, rebellion, disobedience…and so on, and so forth. However, if God’s declaration through Zephaniah is that the world will be wiped out and the inhabitants therein, he also reminds us that some will be saved, "Then I will purify the lips of the peoples that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder…The remnant of Israel will trust in the Name of the Lord."

Then there is the book of the Judges. This has to be one of the most complicated and disatisfying stories I have ever read. It is full of violence, murder, blood, greed, immorality and unfaithfulness. It is not a pleasure to read this book at all. The book does not even end on a positive note: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." Even those who are meant to be the Judges, the Leaders, in the book are among some of the most ruthless, double-minded, underhanded scoundrels in any book of literature known to me. The entire book follows a cycle: Israel sins, they are oppressed by another nation, God raises up a Judge who delivers them, there is peace for a period of time, Israel sins… Chapter 19 is scathing and graphic and when I read it I am reminded of a certain community of people not too affectionately referred to as a sort of ancient twin-cities, namely, Sodom and Gommorah. That’s what Israel became ‘in the days Israel had no king.’ Eventually the nation erupts into civil war. And why? "But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!" But if Israel suffered for their sin we are also reminded that God is merciful, "And God could bear Israel’s misery no longer." Another Judge was raised up.

Sin we learn is prevalent: He will destroy the entire world. Sin is complete: All are guilty, Jew and Gentile. Sin is predictable: Note the Judges cycle. Sin is vile: Again see judges. Sin needs controls: Israel had no king—even God’s presence had no lasting, permanent effect on the Israelites. But if the Bible goes out of its way through preachers, prophets, apostles and ancient scribes to show us how miserable sin makes the human experience it also goes out of its way to show us the glorious inheritance that is promised for those who are found in Christ. In Judges God always raised up a deliverer. In the prophets we frequently glimpse the Promise: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). And in Romans, and indeed all the New Testament epistles, we are flat out told that the Deliverer, the Ruler, the Judge, the Savior is None other than Jesus Messiah.

My point is that the Bible is remarkably consistent. Sin is a problem not just for our generation but for every generation. It is not an American cultural phenomenon, it is a world, flesh phenomenon. But the Bible never skirts the issue or brushes it under the rug; the Bible deals with sin head on in a major confrontation between the Prophets and Preachers and Apostles and the liars, thieves, and false prophets. The good news is that sin loses in the end. The better news is that Jesus gives us hope for salvation from sin. The best News is that sin will be finally and forever eradicated. Some day righteousness will rule and the dwelling of men will be with God.

Jerry

PS--I am sorry...well you know. My spell checker does not work. And the Blog spell checker does wierd things to my posts--like messing with my formats, etc.

Writing #5: The Gospel According to John

I just finished band practice. My fingertips are rather raw and are stinging like they have been stuck with a thousand tiny pins. I must be brief. Furthermore, you may be seeing this late, as in the next day, because I had trouble logging onto my blog tonight (10/5). I don’t know if it’s a server issue or what but I could not get there (or here). I thought I would write anyhow in case I do get here sometime.

The sky is black tonight and clear and speckled with millions of visible stars. Well, truth is, I might only be able to see a hundred or a thousand but it may as well be a million. The night is cool and it is relatively quiet even though I still hear the periodic car wooshing by every so often. I wish I could have one night where the cars don’t drive by all night long. Unfortunately that would probably mean the road is blocked off for construction or that I lived some place else—neither option seems desireable to me. So here I sit, window cracked, cars whizzing by, the small voice of my son catching my attention and some other less ambient noise in the background. My fingers hurt from mashing guitar strings for two hours tonight.

I read John’s Gospel tonight. I hope you have read it. Everyone always says that John’s Gospel is so much different from that of Matthew, Mark and Luke. I suppose stylistically it is—to an extent. I try very hard not to worry too much about what others think of the Bible. I read it. I believe it. I try to live by it. I am always interested to see how the various writers convey their message—the words they use, the sentences they construct, the stories they included or excluded. John wrote, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written." I don’t know about you, but that whets my appetite. I’m curious: What else did Jesus do? What else did He say? Where else did He go? I suppose it is too dangerous to speculate, so I won’t, but I am still curious and I hope someday I get to know.

What struck me about John’s Gospel is that he actually told us why he wrote it: "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." He also said this at the beginning, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his hame, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." Now here is the key to John’s Gospel.

He is writing, essentially, and evangelistic tract. Go ahead! Read it again. You will note that, with the possible exception of two chapters (I won’t spoil which two), John mentions that he is concerned with whether or not his readers believe in Jesus. "The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you may also believe." (19:35) John is always telling us that the objective is belief in Jesus. He even said there are consequences for unbelief: "I told youthat you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins." There are also benefits, "Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." It is God’s will that we believe, "For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will rasie them up at the last day." And, as if all that were not enough, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life."

There’s more but I would like to you to do your own investigation. In the meantime, ask yourself, Have I believed in Jesus? John’s Gospel, like every other book of the Bible, is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. His objective is to make Jesus known and in so doing compel belief. "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." And finally, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Have you believed in Jesus?

Jerry

PS--as always I am sorry about the grammar and typos.

Writing #4: Ruth October 4, 2005

Day four's reading schedule has taken us a long way. So far, I have kept mostly to the schedule and I have finished nine of the sixty-six books of the Bible. I will probably read a little more this evening before bed, but right now I am satisfied that I have made good progress through four days of reading.

If you are following the reading schedule you also finished Genesis today. I also read the book of Ruth last night before I slept. I love that story of Ruth. It drips with love and affection and kindness and compassion and grace. I can't imagine anyone showing the sort of love to a foreigner that Ruth showed to Naomi. The question that I believe we are meant to ask, when reading Ruth, is this: Will Mara ('Bitterness') ever become Naomi ('Pleasant') again? Strange then, to me, that the one who helped Naomi realize that life is not all that bad is one who had very few reasons to help her see that. Ruth could have left and gone back to Moab with Orpah. But instead she clung to Naomi and would not let go. Such devotion is remarkable and moves me when I read this story.

Something else, however, is involved in this story. It's not just Ruth's devotion that is so striking it is the motivation behind her devotion. She is utterly self-less. She seems to be the type of woman who either a) has all these plans worked out ahead of time or b) is so uninterested in her own self that she scarcely thinks beyond the moment. She is so willing to help Naomi recover what she lost (her pleasantness) that it is scary. She did anything Naomi asked. She went wherever Naomi went. She very literally became the Jewess she said she would become (1:16-18). The self-lessness is utterly confounding. Why do it? Why be so giving? So unselfish? No one has such motivation to do such things when there is not something in it for themselves. Strange that the story is called Ruth. It is so not about her. It should have been called Naomi. "Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, Naomi has a son!" That's what one gets for being selfless. Yet Ruth is one of four or five women given recognition in Matthew's geneaology of Jesus.

The first will be last and the last first. There is something to be said about being no one in particular. Apart from Ruth's selflessness perhaps David never comes into existence. It does make me wonder what results our own self-lessness might produce or what impact they might make on this world. Then again, to think about the results they might have would be utterly selfish. We can hardly go on into the realm of selflessness while thinking selfishly about results. The essence of selflessness is the simple action of emptying the self, abandoning the right hand to obscurity while the left hand is callused, and the right hand to glory while the left is forgotten. Ruth did not do what she did to get mentioned in a book a thousand years later, she did not think about her great-grandson being the greatest human king ever, and she did not think of even marrying someone so God-like as Boaz. Those simply were not her motivations. Her motivation, strange as it may seem to our prickly ears, was Naomi's happiness.

I am inclined to believe that the world in general, and the church in specific, could use more of such an attitude. Just imagine if we developed the sort of Jesus like attitude that says, "I am not here to be served, but to serve and to give..." Can you imagine a church where the most important thing to take place on a Sunday or Monday or Tuesday is the happiness of someone else? Can you imagine how less complicated life would be if each person in the church looked out for the interests of others first and themselves very last indeed?

The idea of emptying the self for the sake of others is not original with me. It is radical, it is stunning, it is counter-cultural, but it is not original. Jesus said it best, and in fact was the originator, 'He who saves his life will lose it, and he who loses his life will save it.' The church needs more members to give themselves away, more people to lose their lives, more selfless and emptying people. What will the church be when the most important person is not me?

What will the Church be
When the most important person
Is not me?
What can the Church be
When all that anyone can think of
Is anyone but the 'me'?
What will the Church do
When all that I can think of
Is only, always you?

Reading #3: The Gospel According to Mark

I started out the day strong as far as the daily readings are concerned. I had two books knocked out before 8 AM. Then I got busy: A hike, a movie, time with the family. Now it is late and I am rushing to put the finishing touches on my daily excursion into the well of God’s Word. But you understand that the point of this adventures is more than a mere excursion. I’m not simply looking to take a side trip every day. The point of getting in every day is to get in every day. It’s about making the Word the meal, not the snack.

So today I spent considerable time, as much as it took, reading the Gospel according to Mark. Mark has been, for a long time—forever—, my favorite Gospel. I like its fast pace and his wonderful ‘sandwhich’ style. His language is rough, quick, and earthy. I like it because it resonates with a sort of blue-collar sound. Mark is down home cooking and since I am a down home sort of fellow it strikes me as personal and real. I like Mark’s Gospel for those reasons. I have preached from it more, taught it through more, and read it more than any of the other three. It was the first Gospel I formally studied when I went to college.

But when I read it today, for the umpteenth time, I noticed something that I knew what there but that I had paid little attention to in the past: there is a battle going on in the pages of Mark. We are first introduced in the Chapter 1: "and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan." From there it gets not better. One of Jesus first miracles took place in the synagogue in Capernaum: "Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out… ‘He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’"

I also get the sense that every time Jesus heals someone from leprosy, or blindness, or a mute tongue or whatever that he is also rebuking the devil’s authority on this earth and over people. In fact, it got so bad that the religious leaders once even accused Jesus of being in cahoots with devil himself. "He is possessed by Beelzebub!" Those are harsh, scathing and utterly false words. Even the scene in chapter 4 where Jesus calms the storm on the Galelle appears to be an attack from Satan and his ilk. I say this because Jesus ‘rebukes’ the wind and the waves much in the same way he ‘rebukes’ a demon in chapter 1 verse 25. Chapter 5 there is another encounter with demons—this time a lot of them. When he sends his disciples out to preach in chapter 6 he ‘gives them authority over evil spirits.’

There are a few others. For example, after coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus is met by a raucus crowd that cannot figure out why his disciples could not heal a boy with a demon. Jesus is relentless in his offensive against the forces that oppose him. He said, "In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up tehs trong man. Then he can rob his house." Jesus was intent on robbing the strong man of as much of his treasure as possible. I suspect that this battle is still going on—even though I am also certain that this strong man has been bound. Now is the time to rob the strong man’s house.

Still I wonder. I wonder if we use the power of Jesus or if we are among those disciples who rebuke others who cast out demons in Jesus’ Name? And yet Jesus said, "Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us." He said this in direct response to his disciples’ efforts to keep all the demon-driving-out-power to themselves. Personally, I agree with Jesus: we need a few (or a lot) more people in the world who are willing to stand up to the forces of hell and cast the demons and devils right back to the abyss where they belong. We too often forget that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church’s offensive. And, if I may be honst and blunt, I think it is time for the church to stop sitting around and praying for the right people to be elected to high office or high court so that they will be our mouthpiece or puppet or the power behind our offensive. It is time for the church to go on the offensive against the gates of hell and start tearing down those strongholds, start robbing the strong man, and start acting like the team that has all the strength and power at their disposal that is necessary to demolish such an enemy. It is time for the church to launch an offensive with the power of Jesus and in His name.

Jerry

PS--my contacts are sticky and spell checker is not working. I am profoundly sorry for any typos or grammer errors.

Genesis 12-25/Luke 1-24

Two more chapters and I will be finished with today’s reading schedule. I have had a lot of fun reading today. I mostly read today because the world of sports was dull and disappointing. Well, I read because I honestly would rather read. I confess, however, that I did look at the idiot box every now and again. I never enjoy watching the television as much as I would like too. I always end up feeling like I have wasted time, energy and imagination.

So I spent considerable time in Genesis and Luke today. In Genesis I read chapters 12-25. These chapters cover primarily the story of Abraham and his wife Sarah. There are a few stories scattered in here and there—stories about Lot, Sodom & Gomorrah and other thigns. The story of Abraham, though, takes center stage and it is on this story of Abraham I would like to point something out to you reading this.

Abraham certainly had some issues in his life. First, he had a hard time believing that God was actually going to produce a child of the covenant through he and his wife. Second, Abraham lied every now and again about his relationship to Sarah claiming she was his sister in order to save his own skin. There is another side of Abraham that stood out of the reading for today that intrigued me: It was his relationship with God through worship.

It is difficult not to notice this side of Abraham when reading through these chapters. I noticed at least five occasions when Abraham moved somewhere or went somewher that he built an altar to the Lord. Wherever Abraham lived his life was centered on worship of God. Wherever he lived there would be a constant reminder of God’s presence in the form of an altar. Since altars are the place where sacrifices are made perhaps this was Abraham’s way of constantly being reminded of his need for God’s grace. Whatever the case may be, it makes me wonder how many Christians have the same attitude. Do we construct our lives around an altar that we have built to the Lord? And don’t say we don’t need one because Paul wrote in Romans 12 that we are to offer our bodies ‘as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord.’

We are also told of more than one occasion when Abraham fell facedown in the presence of the Lord. This was, evidently, a standard way of greeting the Lord. But then what other way is there? I wonder sometimes if we are not just a little too friendly with God when we worship. Another time Abraham won a military victory and when Melchizedek came out Abraham gave a tenth of all he owned to him. This event became so important to Christian theology that the author of the book of Hebrews holds it up for his readers as an example of the way a Christian should behave towards Jesus.

A final aspect of Abraham’s life that intrigued me was his life of sacrifice. He left his family, his country, and set out on faith to a place he had never been. But that’s not all. Remember, he set up altars everywhere he went and I am convinced that if we are told he did it on three or four occassions we can likely, safely assume he did it everywhere he went. Then there is the great sacrifice scene in chapter 15 when God establishes his covenant with Abraham. And there is also the great scene in chapter 22 when Abraham builds an altar, offers his son Isaac, and worships the Lord. Abraham shows himself to be a man who makes the tough choices for God when God asks him to and even when God does not ask him to. Abraham is a man who made sacrifices.

All in all the scripture suggests that Abraham was a man of worship and deep devotion to God. And there is more than what I have written. Read it for yourself and see what Abraham can teach you about being devoted to the Lord God.

Jerry

PS--Sorry for any typos or grammar issues.

PSS--I thought the comparisons between Abraham/Sarah and Zechariah/Elizabeth in Luke were interesting. And I found a reference to a 'daughter of Abraham' and a 'son of Abraham' in Luke as well.

Genesis 1-11/Matthew 1-28 Reading for October 1

I am just about finished with today’s reading of Matthew 1-28 and Genesis 1-11. I am not finished but I am sufficiently versed in the content of Genesis 1-11 that I can make a few comments before I have actually finished the reading. Matthew is finished. Wow! What a tour de force! What a whirlwind adventure! Matthew’s Gospel is amazing, and more amazing every time I read it.

The sun is setting behind me as I write. Today went fast. I awoke early and started reading Matthew. In the midst of my reading I went to two soccer games, chopped a ton (not literally) of wood, and listened to the Indians lose (again). This was also the first of seven scheduled days of fasting that will take place in October. I have learned that even when one fasts life goes on and must. Jesus said, "Put oil on your head, wash your face and keep it between you and your Father." Act as if nothing in the world is going on between you and God to the world; act as if everything in the world is going on between you and God to God. Today has been a blessed day but not because I did any or all of the above.

So while I read I asked questions. I’d like to share a few of those questions with you just now and offer some preliminary musings towards answers—if answers are needed.

First, Why did God choose to start the Gospel story with the Creation story? Why does Matthew begin or continue the Gospel story of the Son of God by reminding us of the son’s of men? I heard someone say one time (concerning abortion) that ‘life begins at conception because it cannot begin anywhere else.’ I got to thinking as I read Genesis, Maybe the Gospel begins at creation because it cannot begin anywhere else. I wondered if Jesus would make sense if we did not have Genesis 1-3. And I also wondered this: If Genesis 1-2 were ever conclusively proven to be a lie would the entirety of the Gospel would fall apart?

Second, Why is each day in Genesis 1 pronounced ‘good’? It is necessary for us to understand that God did not create a world with sin, but that sin entered the world by a free choice. Genesis teaches us why God created: He saw that it was good. That is, creation was originally a reflection of His goodness (note that he proclaimed not one thing 'bad'). And that goodness would ultimately be reflected in Man because of all that God created the Bible says only man was made in His Image.

Third, Why does Matthew begin his Gospel with a genealogy? I got to thinking that it must have something to do with showing this is the point of history. This is God breaking in, but also in control of what has been going on since the beginning. What we are about to read is no mere accident. This is no blip on the historical timeline—this is happening for a reason, and by design. It is not about establishing Jesus’ pedigree, nor is it about knowing the names of dead people. It is about seeing the hand of God in the midst of history (especially noted by Matthew’s mention of five women in this genealogy). It will get even better when you note how often Matthew mentions that something in Jesus’ life took place to ‘fulfill what was spoken through the prophet’.

Fourth, When Herod heard about the star the Magi were following why didn’t he just go outside and look for it himself? I also wondered why it was that foreigners from the East saw the star but natives in the Land did not. Was the star hidden? Had it faded so that the Magi had only their calculations to go by? I just wondered.

I have some more things I wondered about, but I figure you have read enough today. And if you are reading this—well, you’re probably tired by now! I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the Day of Worship. You can write in your own comments or questions about today’s reading by clicking the comments link below. Have a nice evening.

Jerry

Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car

[Friends, this is a text from a sermon I Preached a couple of weeks back. It's about grace.]

American Idols, pt III
Luke 15:11-32


There once was a father who had two sons. Both served him well until one day when the younger of the two sons came to his father and said, "Father, I wish to have my share of the inheritance that will come to us when you die."

The Father, shocked as he was, agreed and divided his estate giving the younger son the customary one-third of the estate that was rightfully his under the current laws and customs of the times and culture. The younger son received what he believed was his even though he was rather certain that he should have received more. The father sent him on his way.

The boy was industrious even if he was rather ungrateful. He moved to the city and wisely invested his money and took a job. As time went along he prospered. His bank account grew and eventually he had saved enough to open his own business. Shortly after he opened his business he got married and eventually he had a couple of children of his own.

And he forgot all about the life he once knew…the life at his dad’s business, working hand and hand with his older brother. In fact, he became so successful that he forgot entirely about his family—but then, being so successful, he had no reason to remember. He had no need of going back. He had all he needed in his self-sufficient world. It is said that his father died one day while sitting on the back porch looking off in the direction his son had gone when he first left.

Simone Wiel once wrote, "It is to the Prodigals…that the memory of their father’s house comes back. If the son had lived economically he would never have thought of returning."

CS Lewis wrote in his book, the The Problem of Pain, "The dangers of apparent self-suffering explain why our Lord regards the vices of the feckless and dissipated so much more leniently than the vices that lead to worldly success. Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger."
________________________

In a word, I think, grace is ridiculous. In another word, it is absurd. In yet another word, it is frightening. Someone else wrote, "It is scandalous, irrational, and revolutionary." (Stockman, 114) Philip Yancey says that grace is an unnatural act. I say that for all intents and purposes grace is outrageous.

I confess, it makes very little sense. Just think about yourself because only you know about yourself and what you have done, and who you have been, and where you have been—who you are when no one is looking—just think about yourself and tell me honestly that grace makes sense. I can scarcely look myself in the mirror with a straight face and think about grace. If the Bible insists that grace ‘comes to people free of charge, to people who do not deserve it…’ it also insists that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.’

Grace is the divine ability to take those things which we consider misery, ugly, and make them spectacularly beautiful. If you really think about it, grace is hard to get in our grasp. Consider this story from Matthew 20:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ " ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. "He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ "But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

_____________________

There once was a man who had two sons. They both worked hard for their father. Then one day, the younger of the two sons came to father and said, "Father, you have worked hard all your life. You have everything you need. I need to have a go at it, dad, and I need to have my go at it now. Uh…I…uh…was thinking…uh…maybe…I could have…uh…my share of…you know…my inheritance…uh…today."

The father gladly agreed to do exactly what the younger son asked. The father was a wise man. He knew what the young man was up to but he gladly gave the young man everything he wanted because he fully expected that once the young man saw all there was to, so to speak, he would come back home. You see the father valued the young man more than all the wealth in the world—of which he had plenty in piles. To let the son have his pittance was nothing to him. "Gladly, my son. We will make the arrangements this very day." And they did.

The next morning, the younger son left home. The father never saw his beloved son again. The son, doing exactly what the father knew he would do, went out and spent, and spent, and spent. "He went out there in search of experience, to taste and touch, and to feel as much as a man can…" He raised parties. He hired dancers. He bought only the best booze and only slept with the finest looking women…or men. He did whatever he could and whatever he could buy. Nothing was above or below his appetite. He whored himself around to anyone who was willing. Time went on but the money did not. His once bottomless checkbook gave way and he sank into disrepair. He turned to a life of crime in order to support his habits. He got in trouble day after day with the law.

He often thought of home. Oh, that warm house and clean clothes. There’s enough there for everyone. But he thought that all that was far beyond him. He could not go back. "My father would never accept that I had done this to his money, his reputation. I have brought shame upon my family…here I am in rags, disease-ridden, filthy, addicted…" and he wept and wept. But he never returned home. He never returned home even though, day after day, the father would stand on the porch looking, watching, waiting for his beloved, bedraggled son to come walking down the road…to return home to all he had to offer.

"Therefore God gave them over in their sinful desires of ther hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised." (Romans 1:24-25)

"My father is a rich man, he wears a rich man’s cloak. Gave me the keys to His Kingdom, Gave me a cup of Gold. He said, ‘I have many mansions, and there are many rooms to see.’ But I lefte by the backdoor, and I threw away the key." –U2 The First Time, Zooropa

_____________________

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame.
Removes the stain.
It could be her name.
Grace, it’s the name for a girl
It’s also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything.
…
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings.
Because grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things.
Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.
--U2, Grace, All That You Can’t Leave Behind

I wonder about this grace…this irrational behavior that God demonstrates towards us feckless and obtuse creatures is beyond comprehension and so we ought just to accept it and be done with it. It is so easy to take advantage of grace, so easy to forget it, so easy to misunderstand it. Grace makes it almost too easy to be human and yet too hard. For if the Bible says we are saved by grace it also says we must repent. And who has time to repent when grace abounds?

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

_________________________

There once was a man who had two sons. They both worked hard for their father. He was a stearn man. He worked hard, but he was fair and just. One day the younger son came to his father with an important question: "Father, I’ve been thinking. I’m of age and I have worked hard for you. I’d like to set out and see a little bit, try my hand at business, give it a go on my own for a while. I think I’ve earned that much of an opportunity. What do you say?" The father thought for a moment or two before finally agreeing with the younger son. Later that day he had the appropriate papers drawn up and by the next morning the son was on his way—camel under his butt, money in his pocket, dreams and ambitions all out there in front of him.

All was going well but he was growing wild. His new wealth had brought him a cornocopia of friends from varying places in his new community. He suddenly realized that he had a certain pinache for throwing parties and so he began to throw them more and more frequently. He began doing drugs and drinking a lot. Eventually, he fell into bankruptcy and all his friends abandoned him. He looked and looked for a job before settling for collecting garbage. But it was of no use. He was so far in debt that he was barely making interest payments on his loans and soon after was eating from a dumpster.

One day, he had a revelation. "Even though my father split the money between me and my brother, I am sure there is still enough for me to go back home…I could ask dad for a job at the shop and I’ll work off my debt. Dad will help me out. He has to, after all I’m still his son. What dad would turn away a son?" He set out that instant. And, as he thought, his father was waiting for him…as if he knew he would be coming. But, to he was shocked by what he heard. "Ah, there you are. I’ve heard about your condition. I’ve heard of all that you are into. I’ve heard about your debt. I’ve heard you eat from dumpsters. I’ve heard you wasted all of my money on wine and women and parties. And you still have the nerve to come back here? What for? See your older brother here? Look at him! Has he wasted all the money I have earned? Has he squandered away my life’s work on worthless adventures and schemes? See the ring on his finger? See these fine clothes I have given him? Do you think you have any part of this? Go! Leave! Don’t come back! You have no share in this family."

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

_____________________

Henri Nouwen pointed out, ‘God rejoices, not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end, not because thousands of people have been converted and are now praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found." (Yancey, 47-48)

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

"When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

"The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

"But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

" ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’"

The prodigal knew he could go home to daddy, but he was, I believe, unprepared for the welcome he received. This was something not expected, not dreamed of, not even hoped for it was so far beyond the realm of possibilities. And yet there it was; there it happened. The old man making a fool of himself in front of everyone. He sees his son coming from afar and starts dancing, and jumping, and rejoicing. He had let the son go, but he rejoices that he has returned.

You can almost hear the sounds of voices, "This irresponsible reprobate! How can he let this son come back. Jesus you have it all wrong that is certainly not how this story should end."

"That boy was a poster child for sinners worldwide. He should be judged. Jesus no man in his right mind would act that way. And no Righteous, just God would either."

"Jesus, I don’t know who you are or what you are about, but that is not the God we serve."

"Mercy for one such as that child? A warm-hearted response? A tender grasp? What are you about Jesus? That story is ridiculous."

________________________

Philip Yancey comments, "Obviously, Jesus did not give us the parables to teach us how to live. He gave them, I believe, to correct our notions about who God is and how God loves." (What’s So Amazing About Grace?, 48)
________________________

You’re a precious stone, you’re out on your own.
You know everyone in the world, but you feel alone.
Daddy won’t let you weep.
Daddy won’t let you ache.
Daddy gives you as much as you can take.
Daddy’s gonna pay for your crashed car.
…
He gives you the keys to a flamin’ car
Daddy’s with you wherever you are.
Daddy’s a comfort
Daddy’s your best friend.
Daddy’ll hold your hand right up to the end.
Daddy’s gonna pay for your crashed car.
Daddy’s gonna pay for your crashed car.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday…

Waking Up

At 6:00 o’clock in the morning
My alarm clock sounds the warning
That if I do not rouse my weary eyes
And face the morning’s dreary skies
My day will soon waste away.

At 6:00 o’clock in the morning
The sheets and blankets are so warming
That I’d like to stay and rest my eyes
Instead of facing the still black dawning skies
Where the heat of day is on the rise.

At 6:00 o’clock in the morning
The thoughts of living are so thickly swarming
That I wish I could just go to sleep
And dream of things not quite so deep
Where I run, and laugh and play.

At 6:00 o’clock in the morning
My alarm clock sounds the warning
That it’s time for me to think of time
And all the stanzas of life’s little rhyme
Of which I might be a verse or a reprise.

At 6:00 o’clock in the morning…

Saying Hello

Hello. I will be posting again in October. Hope you will come back soon.

Jerry

Creatures

Here are some fun photos taken in my side-yard. The large spider was photographed in the Prince William Forest in Virginia. The next day she was spotted inside a urinal in the the bathroom. Strange. The spider is huge.

Jerry

Another View

Friends,

I am simply astounded how often I see butterflies now that I take the time to look for them. They are everywhere, and they are beautiful. Here is another view of the previous picture.

Jerry

Just Today!

This gorgeous creature was photographed just outside my house today, July 23, 2005. It is resting, feeding, on an echinacea flower. Simply stunning!

Jerry

Mowing & Shaving

"Then we reel out love's long line alone toward a God less loveable than a grasshead, who treats us less well than we treat our lawns."--Annie Dillard Holy the Firm
________________________

We go through it at least once per year, sometimes more. Heat. Very hot, suffocating heat. The sort of heat that causes one to sweat even when standing still.

Heat so hot even the breezes sweat,
Hot so hot even dry is wet.

That sort of heat. I'm sitting in a snowstorm in my study. It melts into rain; vanishes into steam. Humidity is on the rise and there appears not to be a cloud in the sky.

Chicago, a place where I am not, is suffering too. A report from San Antonio, Texas, reported that Chicago residents are 'suffering' through another day in the mid-90s. The article then goes on to remind the reader of the 'killer heat wave' that claimed more than 600 lives in the mid-90s. (I'll bet most who suffer are in their mid-90's.) Then, as if the sun were not in the cloudless sky, the article reminds us, "Chicago has had five warnings for unhealthy levels of ground ozone pollution since June 20." Seems fair: Clean up or you will have more dead citizens on your hands.

Seems fair enough, right? Ground ozone pollutants. Warnings. Ignorings. Death. It seems a simple path. But here is what is profoundly interesting, the next paragraph: "Residents were asked to restrict driving and lawn mowing although the drought has turned many lawns and city parks brown." Maybe all of us should all be in politics; this can't be made up, it must have come from a politician. Or maybe we should all become writers for the press because who would not want this essay on their resume? (If you care, http://www.woai.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=02FB7187-81B9-42C5-99BF-58DD96746878)

I know the first thing I think about doing when the heat index rises is going to the shed and breaking out the mower. Do they even have grass in Chicago? I wonder if the grass at Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park is brown or if the Cubs or White Sox players will skip showers after their games tonight? Are fish being asked to cut back on their intake?

This has nothing to do with the sun. I'm concerned about cutting grass or mowing lawns, and even that depends on which side of Chicago you happen to hail from.

_______________________

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass whithers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."--1 Peter 1:24-25

_______________________

Grass is doomed to sun stroke or blade stroke, but either way it is doomed.

We practice mowing down all our lives. It starts when we are young. One of my sons asked just the other day, "Dad, how old do we have to be before we start shaving?" Once you start, you never stop. I remember the first time I was asked to cut grass. The grass has not stopped growing and I have not stopped mowing. I shave every day.

Every year, I suppose in an effort to make shaving a more erotic experience, razor companies add blades to their disposable skin-scraping devices. They say it is to make our skin feel smoother. Why not take off our faces? One blade used to do the job, but now it will not. Then if you had two blades you were considered wealthy. Three blades, now four blades; how long before there are five? And yet if you go to a barber, he still takes out one long blade, sharpened on a leather strap, and scrapes it across the fully exposed face and neck of a very trustworthy man.

Grass has always needed cutting. People used to have goats and cows. Now we live in suburbs and need fancy lawn mowers. And there is no room for those old push mowers that consist of exposed curved blades rotating around a hub. No longer. Now mowers are self-motivating and hardly have to be touched. I have even seen mowers that are mere robots. Turn them on and they go--cutting grass all day long without so much as a drink.

Then there are riding mowers and electric razors. Why has no one invented the riding razor? It won’t be long.

We are like grass. Maybe some cosmic razor is scraping across the earth today. Maybe the grass needs cutting or mowing. Maybe we simply don't want to admit it.

______________________

If we are like grass standing in the sun, at the mercy of powerful steel blades, where is the best place to be, to grow? Nestled around a comfortable rock? Right out in the great wide open? Hidden under a short tree where there is shade and protection? Growing out the side of a cliff, precariously, over a fast flowing creek? Where is the best place, as grass, to embrace the struggle? If I care for my lawn, does God care any less for His?

The grass never complains. It just keeps on growing. And for as much as I have shaved over the course of my 35 years, my face is still here. I have not managed to scrape it away entirely.

In the Backyard

I found this happy chap standing nicely, proudly, in the backyard of a friend's house. It looked wonderful, standing in the sun, not sweating. I wonder if toads really rest their feet on these beauties. I would.

Cecropia Moths in the yard

Friends,

These gorgeous creatures were photographed outside my house. Cecropia moths are seen here. I read somewhere that the only purpose the adult serves is to mate and lay eggs. That is to say, they cannot even eat and, worse, do not even have an apparatus with which to eat. It looks like I caught them at just the right time. I feel blessed beyond reason that these two creatures chose my 'hotel' (read: Backyard) with which to fulfill their purpose in life. What beautiful, magnificent creatures these are!

Jerry

Red Bird House

Friends,

Now that I have figured out how to post pictures I will be having too much fun. Here is a shot I took with my digital camera. The picture was taken at my Mom and Dad's house. The bird is roosting on a small birdhouse that my sons and I made for my mom two Christmases ago. I wish I could take clearer photos, but I'm just learning to appreciate what to snap and when. Later I'll learn how.

Jerry

Blue Butterfly

Friends,

Here is a picture I took this spring of a Blue Butterfly. It was resting thoughtfully on the ground in my backyard. This is one of several shots that I took of this glorious creature.

Jerry

Out and About

Friends,

I've not posted for a while, but I will hopefully have some more time in the coming days. I have not forgotten; I have been reading. If you get the chance check out Eugene Peterson's newest book (2005) Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. It is worth the money and the time. Also, a classic Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard should be required reading.

I spent some time watching
The moon creep across
The sky,
Wishing that I
Were too.

DG

Lions, Bullies & Frightening Days & Nights

Well, I have been doing some thinking lately about my childhood. I do this sometimes. Psychologists would probably say I do so because I want to feel sorry for myself. I think it is a trick of the Enemy, that ancient serpent called the devil. Someone said, When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. That might be to slander celestial beings which is forbidden, but it is somewhat humorous.

I have a collection of three short (first draft) poems that I wrote this past Saturday evening that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy them.

The Lion's Share

Why can’t you just leave me be?
What do you care?
Does it make you feel stronger,
When your hand’s in my hair?

What is so fascinating
About the way that I look,
That you’re always in my face?
What’s so fascinating,
About the things that I have,
That you always seem to want them?
What is so fascinating,
About the places I go,
That you always seem to be where I am;
As if you’re following me.
And what is so fascinating,
About the things in my mind,
That you always need to know?

You’re hot breath reeks.
The rage in your eyes
Says more about you than me.
I’m in control because you hunt me—
I determine where you go.
I determine what you say.
I determine what you think.
And you cannot stop thinking of me.
I can make you run to places
You’d rather not go.
Because you think I am weak,
Because you don’t understand the meek;
I am in control.

Your only fear is someone bigger than yourself.
But still you fear.
And who looks the fool?
Me because I take your beating?
Or you because you are stronger
Than the bleating?

_____________________________

Some Circle

I remember the day
When the lions breathed down my neck,
When they chased me through the grass,
When they hunted me in a pack.
Today it seems so long ago.
Tomorrow even longer.
I remember the day
When dogs and lions swarmed
Against me, waging an attack.

It seems so long ago,
And yet the hurt and shame still linger.
It seems so long ago,
That I was weaker than
My father’s little finger.
And maybe that is why today,
In the present, so close,
I am afraid to let
My weakness show.

It feels like only yesterday,
That I ran towards the swollen creek.
The water ran fast, and deep
I was singled out: the weak.
The lions—those fierce beasts
Hungry for blood—don’t weep
For their prey; they eat.
They drink. They be merry.
I swear they laughed.

Oh God this hurtful thought
Still streaks across my mind.
The lions chasing me once again—
Searching through my pockets,
What will they find—
Lord will you make them go away?
It’s always the weak who suffer,
Who hunger and thirst.
Here all these years later—
Lord, I will not be a hater—
My heart still breaks.
But not for myself.

Lord my prayers you hear,
My petitions will bend your ear.
What lions can I hunt?
Better, what lambs can I protect?
What small ones require
The strength of an angel,
In the weakness of the flesh?
Lord, my heart breaks for the weak,
Because yours does too.
And, Lord, let me be an instrument
Of Thy peace. And mercy. And grace.

__________________________

The Lion Hunter

I will be a lion hunter,
Not a lion tamer.
Lions need no cage,
But a coffin of earth and dust.
Let them circle back around,
And fall to the ground.
Let them be consumed
By the worms they tread upon.
Let them be laughed at
By the fawns
That walk before their hard,
Empty, dry lifeless eyes.
I will a lion hunter,
A slayer of the slayer,
A killer of the killer,
A destroyer of the destroyer.
Only you, Lord, raise the dead.
Only you, Lord, give life to the
Weak.
Just speak.
And I will hunt.

_________________________

That's all. Try not to think about these too much. They were unguarded moments at around 1 or 2 AM. I was thinking about why God put me on this earth and what my experiences mean in the greater context. That's all.

DG