YahBut: Abundant Living!

Tim Tebow, Dallas Willard and the Failure of Christianity

2012-01-10T14:05:00.004+11:00

My husband Mike wrote this on his blog and I wanted to feature it on mine because I thought it was really good. We are both reading the Dallas Willard book (I highly recommend this author):

Here is an interesting excerpt from "The spirit of the disciplines: understanding how God changes lives":

... Christianity can only succeed as a guide for current humanity if it does two things.

First, it must take the need for human transformation as seriously as do modern revolutionary movements. The modern negative critique of Christianity arose in the first place because the church was not faithful to its own message -- it failed to take human transformation seriously as a real, practical issue to be dealt with in realistic terms. Fortunately, there are today many signs that the church in all its divisions is preparing to correct this failure.

Second, [Christianity] needs to clarify and exemplify realistic methods of human transformation. It must show how the ordinary individuals who make up the human race today can become, through the grace of Christ, a love-filled, effective, and powerful community.

Author Dallas Willard wrote that in the preface to the book.

It strikes me that Willard's 'many signs' are embodied in large part in the emerging church movement. Author Scott McKnight says of the emerging church movement:

Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures. This definition encompasses nine practices. Emerging churches (1) identify with the life of Jesus, (2) transform the secular realm, and (3) live highly communal lives. Because of these three activities, they (4) welcome the stranger, (5) serve with generosity, (6) participate as producers, (7) create as created beings, (8) lead as a body, and (9) take part in spiritual activities.

I thought that was what the church(es) have been supposed to be doing all along, but clearly, they have not, as we see by the declining numbers in America's conventional churches. There is too much hatefulness in these conventional churches; they have too much in them that is contrary to what Christ teaches. They may 'welcome the stranger', if the stranger is socially acceptable; they say they identify with the life of Jesus, but the most cursory examination shows they do not.

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has ignited the flames of controversy with his public worship and praying. It even has a name: 'Tebowing.'

Personally, I think young Tebow is sincere in his faith, and his demonstrations are merely a manifestation of that sincere faith. I cannot find any reason to agree with the multitudes of sports writers, analysts, announcers, and so on who have ridiculed him for his demonstrations. These are the same characters who have no problems in ignoring or winking at the criminal shenanigans of any number of professional athletes who, were it not for their favored status, would be candidates for a good stretch in the local prison system. Their ridicule of young Tebow is, however, another manifestation of the failure of Christianity to show '... how how the ordinary individuals who make up the human race today can become, through the grace of Christ, a love-filled, effective, and powerful community.'

Nonetheless, through his public displays, Tebow is divisive. First, how does he reconcile his demonstrations with Matthew 6:5: 'And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.'

In that statement, Jesus is not questioning the sincerity of those whom he is addressing. Rather, he is telling them not to behave like those who lack sincerity. That's how it reads to me. So why does Tebow go against the teachings of Christ? He is, isn't he? I don't think he is a modern-day Pharisee, so why would he want to demonstrate like one? What's the point? What is he hoping to accomplish?

How is this creating division? Most of us have seen the chain emails flashing around the 'net, like the one that has a picture of a group of Muslims praying in New York City or some other American metropolis, captioned, "Why is this OK?" It isn't a photo of crazed Islamic fundamentalists hanging dismembered bodies from bridges, or beheading a bound and gagged hostage. It's a photo of Muslims in America, praying peacefully. A second photo is of Tim Tebow 'Tebowing', and is captioned, "And why is this not OK?" At best the message is that Muslims, simply by being Muslims are committing a wrong by the simple act of praying, and at worst, simply by being Muslims, are evil, murderous creatures undeserving of the freedoms inherent in those truths we Americans supposedly hold to be self-evident.

Why is it OK for Muslims to pray in peaceful manner in New York City? Could it be because this is the United States of America? Why is it that the Christian Right just doesn't get this?

And who says it isn't OK for Tebow to 'Tebow'? A collection of media maggots? Has Tebow been stopped? Has anyone dragged him off the field for his demonstrations? Has he been imprisoned for it?

It's Christians passing this around.Evangelical Christians. People who claim to 'identify with the life of Jesus', yet who in their pathetically childish question, 'Why is this OK but this isn't' put the lie to Christ's New Commandment, in John 13:34-35:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How do these emails and their ignorant hyperbole fit in with John 13:34-35? The short answer is that they do not. And so the senders and forwarders of these things are hardly 'identifying with the life of Jesus', so when they get up at church on Sunday morning professing to be one with Christ, they may have credibility with their like-minded brethren, but they do not have any credibility with the unchurched, or with those of the church who ask, 'how does this fit in with a commitment to living a life for Christ?'

It doesn't, and that is why we have an emerging church movement, and a continuing drift away from the established church. Embracing Christ and his lifestyle is without doubt one of the greatest of human transformations, yet by using Tebow's public demonstrations of faith to take cheap shots at other 'ordinary members of the human race' who have done no one any harm is certainly no testimonial as to why one should become a Christian.

It also demonstrates that the church has a long way to go in correcting its failure.
What do you think?

Reflections on the Christmas Story

2012-01-07T05:35:00.002+11:00

When I was a child I was a "Little House on the Prairie" book series expert. I had read every book and was quite excited when the television series started. However, the more I watched, the more the series disappointed me because it really strayed from the story line of the books. This affected my enjoyment of the series. Had I not been an 'expert' because of my exposure to the books, the series probably would have been quite enjoyable standing on its own. But the longer the series continued, the more it drifted from the experiences of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the thoughts and views she expressed in her writing about those experiences. The series was an imposter.

Most people feel that books are better than television or movie adaptations. TV and movie writers have to cut things out because too many details interfere with the visual flow of the story, and time constraints - and budget - limit the options. The only way to do a really well-written story justice in video format is to present it as a mini-series, or as a main production followed by sequels. Hollywood productions of the Christmas story are no different, and the book is definitely better.For the 2011 Advent season, I wanted to concentrate on the chapters in Luke and Matthew that dealt with the birth of Christ. I didn't bother with the genealogies. I concentrated on Luke 1 and 2 and Matthew 1:18 through 2. I read these chapters in sections and tried to put them in order as best I could. I then wrote in my journal detailing my thoughts about the scriptures. It was a great way to spend my devotional time for the month of December. Next year I want to research and add the prophecies, but that's for later posts.

To begin my study, and the Christmas season, I decided to watch a recently-produced DVD of the Christmas story called "The Nativity Story." The film is pretty well done as far as presenting the cultural milieu of that time. I really like the scenes before the birth of Christ; however, when it does get to the end of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem and to the birth of Christ I find the movie drifting further and further away from what biblical scholars tell us was a more realistic and more likely flow of events. In the video story, the writers had Mary in labor as soon as she and Joseph reached Bethlehem. That same evening, she was in the stable, delivered Jesus, and lo and behold, there were the shepherds, who must have really had their sandals flapping as they hustled to town after the angelic visitation! Meanwhile, on the day Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the wise men were visiting with King Herod. They arrived at the stable almost as soon as the shepherds, with the screenwriters posing the group in such a way that it looks like an on-screen Christmas card. I found that to be a bit much, if the truth be known.

The wise men arrived just in the nick of time, with gifts that would help Mary and Joseph travel to Egypt that very night. In this film, Herod apparently figures very quickly that the wise men have tricked him, rather than determining this after the sages have made their trip to Bethlehem and back. So, that very night, when baby Jesus is not even 12 hours old, the old tyrant hands down his edict to slaughter male babies under two years of age. So in a mad rush, the script writers made everything that scholars tell us probably took quite a bit more time - years, possibly - in the scriptures happen in one night. And we can't point only at this video for this; most versions of the Christmas Story are very similar in sequence and timing of events.

If you like the movie I'm talking about, that's fine. I like it up until the very last scenes. However, if your kids or grandkids watch it I think there is good opportunity for discussion with them. They need to know that the real nativity of Christ and the events that took place surrounding it did not happen in a mad Hollywood rush. God actually took his time in allowing his child to be born. Luke 2:6 says, "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son ..." It does not say "as soon as they arrived ...". The Holy Family also stayed in Bethlehem a while. Luke 2 says that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem to be circumcised on the eighth day like the Law required. The chapter also describes how Simeon and Anna told everyone within hearing distance that baby Jesus was the Messiah. Even though Jerusalem isn't that far from Bethlehem, we find that the Holy Family traveled to the Temple and returned to Bethlehem without interference from Herod. In fact, Herod had no clue that the Christ-child had been born until the wise men told him. Then, the wise men visited Mary, Joseph and Jesus in a house - "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him ..." Matthew 2:11. Matthew also refers to Jesus a child, not an infant.

The point at which the wise men actually visited either Herod or Jesus is difficult to determine, but the fact pattern presented in the Bible clearly does not point to this happening on the day and evening of Jesus' birth. As far as the timing goes for the flight to Egypt we cannot be sure. However, given that Herod's orders were to kill every male child under two years old, it would seem that Herod did not issue those orders the same night of Jesus' birth, and further, that Herod - and the wise men - were unsure of exactly when Jesus had been born.

These are details that may seem nit-picky, but I think they greatly affect the flow of the story, and the dynamics of the relationships of the players involved. The story really is about the birth of a child who will be the salvation of humankind - as well a threat to the established order within the existing religious structure, and culture, and to the power of the Roman empire - and all the drama that unfolds as these things become known throughout the land.

Hanukkah

2011-12-21T03:41:00.005+11:00

Happy Hanukkah!

Today is the first day of Hanukkah. All over the world Jewish people will celebrate the Festival of Lights. It is a time of remembrance - it is a commemoration of the rededication of the Second Temple at the time of the Maccabean revolt in the second century BCE.

Read about it here.

Click here for readings and meditations on Hanukkah.

The Christmas Crazies

2011-12-17T02:14:00.000+11:00

A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with an illness that I know I have had for some time. Is this illness contagious? Yes. Is it fatal? It could be, depending on how far advanced it becomes. Do I have to change my lifestyle? Yes. Is there a cure? I think so.

The illness is what I call the Christmas Crazies. I diagnosed myself with it a few years ago and I've been trying to overcome it ever since.

So what are the Christmas Crazies?

The Christmas Crazies are brought on by ... Christmas. The disease reappears each year before Thanksgiving (sometimes as early as September) and fully involves its victim by Black Friday. Its symptoms include both compulsively impulsive and planned obsessive spending, high degrees of frenzied baking, making things, shopping, decorating, party-going and eating. Christmas Crazy victims feel an uncontrollable urge to drive to the mall or some other store, send Christmas cards to everyone in their address book, decorate every room in the house or even make their own wrapping paper. They also make sure that their houses are the the best-lit on the block, even to the point of causing power outages. Other symptoms include high irritability, which is often seen most when driving or waiting in long lines; zoning out; obsessive list making, and the need to stay up late at night to work on projects. Those who suffer from Christmas Crazies may even become severely irritable or depressed if a lack of money or time prevents them from fulfilling these deeply felt urges. Christmas Crazy victims may call in sick to work when they are not ill or may skip church in order to sleep in or work on projects. Not all Christmas Crazy victims exhibit every one of these symptoms but most suffer from at least two. My symptoms include obsessive baking and making things, although I haven't tried making my own wrapping paper - yet.

So what is the cure for this onset of craziness that usually ends in a heap of exhaustion on December 25? Practicing the discipline of simplicity. According to www.renovare.us, "Simplicity is the joyful unconcern for possessions we experience as we truly 'seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness' (Matt 6:33). Persons living in simplicity realize freedom from anxiety by viewing possessions as gifts from God, remembering we are stewards to care for God’s gifts to us and making our goods available to others. Simplicity is a declaration of war on materialism and it reorients our lives, perspectives, and attitudes."

Simplicity is lived out in the Christmas story. As we see in the scripture, the Holy Family did not have many possessions. They even had to resort to delivering the baby Jesus in a stable because there was no room for them in the inn. Yet, Joseph and Mary were both righteous and obeyed God by allowing him to use them to bring his son into the world. It is an amazing story - one that convicts and encourages me every time.

Although poverty forced Mary and Jospeph into a simplistic life, they did not resent it. We as American Christians must strive to practice freedom from materialism. As we attempt to do this throughout the year with the help of the Holy Spirit, I believe we will sense a spirit of freedom by Christmas that we have never previously felt. Somehow the bondage of having to do so much and buy so much will be lifted and we'll enjoy the holiday for what it is - the birthday of Jesus. I am going to strive toward this for next year (because I've already blown it this year). Will you?

Keeping Christ in Christmas

2011-12-14T03:02:00.001+11:00

During your Christmas celebrations, remember our brothers and sisters in Iran. It seems like they are making a dent and are about to be dented themselves. This just in from Crosswalk:

Pre-Christmas Rise of Threats and Intimidation Against Iranian Christians

Reports show a sharp increase of activities against Christians in Iran in the weeks leading up to Christmas, including the interrogations of house church members and activists at local state security offices, ASSIST News Service reports.

A number of Christians in Tehran and six other cities have been ordered to show up at the state security centers after the Islamic police were instructed by a senior general to "be on guard to find out the reasons behind this massive and country-wide distribution of the Bible. It is obvious that this illegal act could not have been done without the help and cooperation of Christian businessmen, and we are looking for proof of their involvement."

Iran's top Islamic leaders say they will continue to follow the Supreme Leader's direct orders to prevent the spread of house churches in the country.

Here in this country Christians feel persecuted because the clerk at Walmart wishes us a happy holiday rather than a Merry Christmas. In light of what our Iranian brothers and sisters are going through, our complaints about greetings and about replacing the word Christ with an "X" in the word Christmas seem microscopic by comparison. "Pathetically petty" does not seem too strong to me, especially when contrasted against the vision of ordinary people being dragged out of their homes by Iranian secret police, or the mullahs' "Islamic police."

In fact, before complaining about "X" replacing Christ in Christmas, I encourage you to read this article:

The origins of Xmas

from the Christian Resource Institute.

Even if people are trying to replace Christ with an X because they don't like him their plot has been foiled by the historical context, wouldn't you say?

The best way to keep Christ in Christmas is to keep him in our hearts and remember those who are less fortunate, as our imaginary pal Ebenezer Scrooge found out in Charles Dickens' work "A Christmas Carol."

God bless your day.

All is not well in Egypt

2011-12-03T02:35:00.000+11:00

A few months ago the world was shocked to see that Egyptians were rebelling against their government in hope of a better life. Now we see, however, that a better life only depends on who you are, and in Egypt, you'd best not be a Coptic Christian.

Here is what I read on Crosswalk news this morning. You can sign up for daily news at this site.

Egypt: Thousands of Muslims Attack Christians, Kill Two

Thousands of Muslims attacked and besieged Copts in the majority-Christian village of el Ghorayzat, killing two and seriously wounding others, as well as looting and torching homes and businesses, ASSIST News Service reports. A property quarrel between a Coptic man, John Hosni, and his Muslim neighbor, Mahmoud Abdel-Mazeer, on Nov. 28 led to Abdel-Mazeer calling some extremists to set Hosni's store and home on fire; Hosni then hit Abdel-Mazeer on the head, leading to his death later in the hospital. Fearing backlash, Hosni fled the village with his family, and in revenge, a Muslim mob stormed the village, murdering two Christian brothers and going on a rampage of looting and burning Coptic-owned homes and businesses. "This is not revenge; this is simply an excuse to kill people because they are Christians, as well as loot their property," an eyewitness said. Despite the attack, the Muslims insist they have not yet avenged Abdel-Mazeer's death, and they have refused to bury Abdel-Mazeer until they kill "all Copts in the village."

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Egypt. The heritage of the Coptic Christians can be traced back to the gospel writer Mark.

People are like trees

2011-11-25T13:44:00.001+11:00

Today's reading: Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Today's Psalm reminds us that the righteous will be blessed. They will be like a tree that lives next to a stream - a tree that is well-watered, healthy and vibrant. By 'healthy' I do not necessarily mean in a physical sense. There are many believers who are not physically healthy, nor are they financially secure. Some people will tell you that these believers are not real if they lack health and finances, but that is simply not true. Jesus did not have riches when he lived on earth, so why should we expect to have them? There are also believers out there who are gravely ill and who are a blessing to others because the roots of their hearts extend down into that fresh flowing stream of faith. They have used their illness as a way to get close to God and it shows. They can't help but spill God's goodness out onto others. I think'healthy' in this sense refers to one's spiritual health.

Psalm 1 reminds us that the wicked - or those who choose not to walk with God - will be punished. This is a common theme in the Psalms, perhaps because the writers of these poems were often oppressed by more powerful people. These people may seem triumphant for a time, but Psalm 1 tells us that they will one day blow away like dust, or chaff, in the wind. Their ways will eventually lead to destruction.

The longer I live, the more I see that this last principle is true. People who disobey God on a regular basis do not thrive. They may appear okay for a while and they may be happy for a time, but eventually, without the help of the Holy Spirit, life and the choices they make beat them down. They may grow depressed or bitter. Old habits may catch up with them. They blame others for their problems. People either hang around them to get something from them or they may have driven everyone away. At the core, they are not happy.

Those who do obey God on a regular basis, may have difficult times, but they are able to rise above them. They may struggle with depression but they are not self-centered. They may suffer terribly but their attitude is generally positive. At the core of their being they are contented people. Their roots, like our tree in the scripture, are rooted in fertile, well-watered soil.

The reason I have used the phrase "on a regular basis" in regards to obedience and disobedience is because these acts have to be cultivated regularly in order for a person to be known righteous or wicked. In order to be like the righteous person the Psalm describes, one must accept Jesus and then practice righteousness. Of course salvation is not by works, but how can we please God if we are not faithful? God sees us as righteous once we accept Christ, but there is a lot of work that needs to take place on the inside. Once we are healthy on the inside it shows on the outside.

Just like a tree is identified by careful examination of its leaves, trunk, bark, etc., a person can be recognized as righteous or wicked by careful examination. That fits with what Jesus said in Matthew 7:

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "

Thus, a righteous person is known by what he or she does and a wicked person is known by the same. Of course it is not good to judge someone just because he or she commits one sinful or righteous act. We must get to know people first.

Mike and I like to take nature photographs; however, we have found that it is not so simple to distinguish one tree or plant from another. It takes careful examination. For this reason we have bought books that describe and picture the flowers, trees and shrubs that are common in Colorado and the southwest. As a result, we've learned a few things about what we're photographing. We've also learned that we were not identifying some plants correctly.

This is true of people too. Someone who may look righteous, may be disparately wicked in his or her heart and vice versa. As the old saying goes, we can't judge a book by its cover.

As I've been studying and reflecting on the Psalms in my journal I've been amazed at what thoughts they provoke. I hope you enjoyed reading some of my thoughts on Psalm 1. What are some of yours?

Quiet, but not silent

2011-11-11T10:13:00.011+11:00

I've been pretty quiet lately as far as the blog goes. I don't know why but I lost my zeal to write on it for a little while. Plus, I've been on Etsy a lot trying to get my business up and running.

I've been quiet, but not silent. Almost every night for the last few months, I've been reading a Psalm and writing about it in a composition notebook I picked up at Walmart for 25 cents. Now I'm on to my second notebook. This project has been completely captivating. The Psalms are so powerful and they are alive even in our day and age of non-judgmentalism and political correctness. I say that tongue and cheek because - I suppose you could call me negative - we are just as judgmental as any age has been in the past. We just try to be more politically correct about it.

This is why the Psalms resonate with me so. I just finished Psalm 72, which ends David's writings, and I have identified with them so closely at this point in my life. It's almost like David allowed us to open his private journal to read what's inside, only his "journal" wasn't private. Most of his psalms are written to a director of music for the purpose of public worship. See, even back then King David knew that people felt just like he did about life's issues. The good thing about his psalms is that they convince us to have faith in the Lord. No matter what, according to David, God is good all the time.

Who could say it better? David was betrayed by his friends, chased all over his country by a rabid king, and had to flee for his life on several occasions. That is something with which I cannot identify, but I do identify with betrayal and feeling depressed. I also identify with the extreme goodness of the Lord.

There's more I want to say about the Psalms, but I think I will hold off until later. I want to talk a little about the benefits of journaling. Journaling is a spiritual practice that has been going on for thousands of years - probably since people drew carvings on cave walls. It is also, for some, a hobby.

There are also different types of journals. There are journals in which people just write (that's what I do most of the time) and there are art journals. Art journals are usually made from scratch or are developed from an existing book. In an art journal, the author uses all sorts of different mediums like paint, text, bling, pictures, etc., to create symbols for what he or she is feeling.

If you are interested in this type of journaling, I have found that this is a very good book for beginning:

Art Journals and Creative Healing: Restoring the Spirit Through Self-Expression by Sharon Soneff.

There are photo journals, travel journals, sketch journals, business journals, the list goes on. The main thing all these journals have in common is that the journalist is writing or creating something in a book of some sort. He or she is recording something that is personally important. Whether or not the author shares is completely up to him or her. The journal itself can be as inexpensive as pieces of paper gathered in a folder, or it can be as expensive as a journal with a cover made of wood or leather. It's up to the person who is journaling.

So why do people journal? Why do I journal? Journaling is a way to empty the soul of the day's garbage. It's also a way to focus prayer. God doesn't care how well you write, God cares that you speak with him. Journaling is a way to record what has happened to you. In the spiritual realm, it's a way to record what God has done. There's nothing like looking backward in your journal and reading about what God has done in certain situations. It builds faith and it inspires confidence.

Perhaps this is what the Psalms are about. David knew that by sharing his thoughts, his private thoughts perhaps, that his people would be encouraged to follow God and to stick with it no matter what difficulty had arisen in their lives. I believe that is one of the reasons why the Psalms were included in the scriptures.

What do you think?

A Powerful Psalm

2011-10-08T02:08:00.000+11:00

In July, I started studying the book of Psalms. I have found that they inspire great confidence in God. I have found this to be especially true of Psalm 46.

In Psalm 46 two verses have received much attention in Christian churches. The first is "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble," and "Be still and know that I am God."

Both are great verses that help believers internalize important facts about God; however, when the verses are read within the entire context of the Psalm, they really inspire confidence.

"God is our refuge and strength ..." the Psalm begins. It then goes on to describe God's adequacy as a helper during the midst of a cataclysmic catastrophe similar to what the characters in a disaster movie like "2012" would suffer. "Therefore, we will not fear ..." when the earth literally collapses beneath us; when Judgment Day comes or, when our own personal worlds fall apart. This Psalm alludes to all of those scenarios.

Psalm 46 also gives us a shocking view of God, in light of the focus we moderns place on God’s loving nature. In Psalm 46, the earth melts at the sound of his voice. This is meant to be symbolic - all trouble fades away when God comes on the scene. The psalmist seems to be extremely confident of this - so much so that he or she quotes God as saying, "Be still, and know that I am God.” The term “be still” does not mean that we quit moving and sit quietly. It simply means, "Trust me. Don't fear what you see going on around you, no matter what it is.” It means “… still your fears, your concerns, your worries … “ … and know that I am God.” What fear do you need to turn over to God this week?

A little chicken scratch

2011-08-10T12:46:00.001+11:00

Chickens seem to be the thing this year. For some time now our feathered, egg-laying friends have appeared in art work, baby's hats, bibs and decor for the house. If you love the country or primitive decorating schemes, there is a good chance you have a chicken or rooster somewhere in your house.

This year, the love for chickens has reached new heights. People are now keeping chickens, real chickens, in their backyards because they want fresh eggs. On Etsy yesterday, I found this chicken coop:

Pretty fancy, huh? You can find them at America's Finest Chicken Coops. They even have coops with linoleum flooring. What will they think of next?

I've been amazed by the fact that people are keeping chickens. In eastern cities they even have people who will "chicken sit" for a mere $15 a day if you are away. When we were in Barnes and Noble recently there was a pile of books about keeping chickens. There were also other books about turning your backyard into a productive farm-like area, canning and preserving, and other country almanac type books.

Perhaps if you already live in the country this seems rather silly to you, but for someone who lives in a large city, this is revolutionary since most of the items one would grow or raise are abundantly available in stores. Country folk do this stuff because some items aren't readily available. Out here on the eastern plains of Colorado, some towns are isolated. They are at least 60 miles from the nearest Walmart or Safeway, it makes sense that they would grow things and raise chickens out of necessity.

What I think people are looking for in the cities, however, is fresh food, and they want to know from where their food comes. I can't blame them. I like to know those things too and there is nothing like eating fresh from your garden. I've never had fresh chicken before. Maybe keeping chickens is something we might want to consider someday. Mike says he can have a coop up for me over the weekend, and he'll show me how to 'prep' them.

All this talk about chickens has a point. This morning while reading Psalm 17, I came upon these verses:

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

(I bolded the verse that has to do with chickens.)

For protection from his enemies, the Psalmist (David, most likely) asks God to stretch out his wings like a mother hen and protect him from his enemies. It is a touching example.

Since I don't own chickens and therefore do not know their habits I did some research and found this on Wikipedia (not the best place, I know, but this article is accurate):

"The hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the first egg hatches, and during this time the newly hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching ... After hatching, the hen fiercely guards the chicks, and will brood them when necessary to keep them warm, at first often returning to the nest at night. She leads them to food and water; she will call them to edible items, but seldom feeds them directly. She continues to care for them until they are several weeks old, when she will gradually lose interest and eventually start to lay again."

As you can see, it did not take long to find out why the Psalmist related God's love to a mother hen who "fiercely guards her chicks and will brood ("... to protect by covering with wings ..."- Free Online Dictionary) them when necessary ... "

In Matthew 23: 37, Jesus also uses chickens as an example:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

I have also found an example of this in children's literature. In a book about the childhood of Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Wilders had moved to Missouri and experienced a flood. After the flood when they were looking around to see what could be salvaged, they found a dead hen in the brooding position. Upon lifting up the hen, a brood of little chicks poured out from under her, peeping and calling out. In the midst of great danger the hen had given her life to protect her young. The biblical imagery came to mind immediately. God in his desire to see his creation live abundantly, sent his son Jesus to die on a cross in order to free us from sin. It is like the chicken giving up her life. The little chicks came out from under her wings and went on living in the way their mother taught them to do before she died. Once we as humans accept Christ's sacrifice, we go on living. We live a rich life learning to do and then doing what Jesus taught us. Eventually we will see Jesus, but for now we live in his ways. This results in an abundant life.

Fortunately, unlike the chickens in the Wikipedia article, Christ does not lose interest in us. He does, however, expect us to grow and live like he said we should. And, unlike the little chicks, we never fully grow up completely. Christ will always be there brooding over us and hiding us under his wings when times get rough. All we have to do is ask.

So I hope you've enjoyed my little diddy about chickens today. I wasn't sure why they were on my mind, but now it all seems to come together.

God is in the small things

2011-07-29T05:08:00.003+11:00

Did you know that it is possible to find God's presence in the necessary tasks of life, like in doing laundry?

Household chores in general are not my favorite thing to do. I don't keep the house obsessively clean; I'm comfortable with a small amount of clutter and I don't mind if the laundry piles up during the week. I'd rather do it in one fell swoop on one day rather than devote bits of time to it during the week. I think this drives my husband nuts. He would devote bits of time to doing the laundry during the week if he could. Sometimes, he will even put in a load when I'm not looking and then tell me about it as he leaves for work. Bless his heart. At least he's not above doing the laundry.

Dishes are especially not my favorite, but these are all things that need to be done so they get done. That's one of the reasons for letting the kids do it. They need to learn these things, right?

Anyway, back to laundry.

In our house, the kids do their own laundry and we all have days of the week especially set aside for this. For instance, Stephen does his on Wednesday, Jon on Saturday and Andrew on Sunday night. I do mine and Mike's on Friday (and whenever Mike sneaks in a load). I don't mind this schedule, in fact this summer I've rather enjoyed doing laundry. No. I'm not mentally ill, really.

Ever since energy rates have skyrocketed, we've made some changes at our house and the way we do laundry is one of them. The big change is we're not using our dryer. It's proved beneficial. In June we saved $60 from not using our dryer. Oh yeah, and the oven. With the heat we figured it would be more beneficial to run our air conditioner and use the grill. The dishwasher, on the other hand, was not even considered in this deal. We are still using it. I haven't gone completely mad. You're welcome, boys.

Using our clothesline for laundry has proved beneficial in more than just saving money. It has helped me slow down a bit. It takes time to hang clothes on the line and while doing this I enjoy some quiet time and the beauty of nature.

It hit me the first time I took a basket of clothes outside. On that day, the sky was a deep blue. There was a gentle breeze and since summer wasn't in full gear yet, the sun felt warm and inviting. I that moment, I thanked God for what he had created. And then I got a good chuckle from the birds. They were scolding me from the treetops for interrupting their feast on the birdseed we put out everyday. They had flown away when I came outside.

"Just wait. I'll be gone soon," I told them.

A few days later I was out in the yard and two blue jays were eating at the bird seed trough. The other birds flew away, but those two stayed. I watched them from the clothesline for a while. They didn't even care that I was there and for some reason, I felt energized and a little closer to God because of this.

And when our wildflowers began blooming, I got to enjoy the blue sky, the gentle breeze, the squawking birds, the warm sun and colors of the wildflowers all at the same time. It's amazing how delicate and perfect the wildflowers are. Each one is unique in itself - just like us.

So why would a task like hanging laundry and enjoying nature have such an life-giving effect?

Author Michael Phillips put it this way in his book "Dawn of Liberty":

"The Fatherhood of God is one that must not merely create, it must continually imbue with life, it must generate his own life."

Perhaps that is why.

Phillips also wrote "Men and women are drawn to the earth; many do not even know why. They cultivate gardens and tenderly care for its trees and flowers and shrubs. The wise among them, however, acknowledge what gives the garden its glory. Kneeling down to plunge their fingers into the moist earth, they recognize that the miracle of God's very creation is before them. When they pluck a blossom from a cherished rose, to offer in affection to a loved one, they perceive their participation in the greatest truth in all the universe - that the goodness of the Creator has been lavished abroad upon the earth for his children to behold, discover truth from, and then enjoy ... if they will but look up, behold his face of love, and learn to call him Father."

Nature - the birds, the flowers, the leaves blowing in the wind, etc. - like humans, are a part of God's creation. When we quiet our hearts and enjoy the beauty around us, we experience a feeling of oneness and we open ourselves to the quiet lessons about God that nature has to teach us.

No wonder Paul said: "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Nature is tangible evidence of God. Nature itself shows God's divine fingerprint on everything. No wonder we feel so close to God when we incline our inner ear to its teachings.

Who knew that hanging laundry on a clothesline could bring about such a positive experience?

One of the good things about hanging laundry, too, is that the smell of the outdoors lingers on your clothing. This was especially noticeable to me when I opened my backpack on vacation. The clothes, which had been enclosed inside for several hours, immediately gave off the scent of outdoors. When the aroma reached my nose I was reminded of my time outdoors and I thanked God again.

Hanging laundry. Who knew??

Be the change

2011-07-28T02:07:00.003+11:00

Here's a pretty cool prayer that a pastor prayed at a NASCAR event:

Under the video there was a comment made by Water4Jeremiah that two people liked on Facebook. It said:

"If all Christian pastors loved and appreciated life this much I'd still be a Christian."

I've heard this type of comment a lot and I can see why people say it. Many times we Christians take ourselves too seriously and burden people with a brand of Christianity that is not biblical. However, this person's comment also causes me to ask whether or not he or she is letting other people dictate his or her relationship with God and the church.

I speak from experience on this matter because I've been in the church since early childhood. I've heard and believed the Word, been loved by wonderful people, been active in almost every position imaginable except church treasurer and repair person. I've also been a pastor's wife. That position brought me within close proximity of some pretty awful stuff wrought by so-called saints of the church. These were the people that others seemed to look up to. The popular people. The movers and shakers.

On the surface these people appeared wonderful. However, underneath they were full of hatred, anger, malice and they spread gossip more smoothly than margarine spreads on bread. These were the saints that also hurt my family.

After my husband died and I was out of the ministry - thanking God everyday that I was out of the ministry, not that my husband had died - I realized that I had a lot of pent up anger inside. I'm going to be very honest here and admit that if it wasn't for my children I would have drifted away from the church. I had a good relationship with God and reasoned that I did not need a bunch of hypocrites in my life.

This was because I was hurt and as a pastor's wife, I had no way to express my feelings. Remember that I had a good experience in the church as a child and teenager. As an adult leader though I was blind-sided by people who claimed to be saved and sanctified; people who didn't understand that living a holy life meant that you still confessed sin and asked the Holy Spirit to renew you on a daily basis. These people did not understand that a life of love is intentional, not something that was magically brought about just because he or she had made two trips to the altar.

It has taken several years to come to terms with this reality, but I believe that I have done so, though it is still a work in progress to varying degrees. Through this experience I think I have learned to be more forgiving, compassionate, quietly prayerful and outspoken at the same time. I have learned that living at peace with people doesn't necessarily mean that I have to put myself in a vulnerable position with them. Sometimes this means that I don't talk to them beyond "Hi. How are you?" unless necessary.

I have also learned that I must work to be the change that I want to see happen in the church. Discovering the faults of others has caused me to look in the mirror and ask "Do I do that?" then ask for forgiveness and seek to change if the answer is "yes".

This blog is another way I become the change I want to see happen because it allows me to speak out against the hypocrisy I see on a wider scale. This hypocrisy is happening all over the place. If anything, the little comment I read this morning proves it. We used to say in the newspaper business that if one person was saying something, ten more people felt the same way and we were usually right about this. In this situation, however, I don't have to guess. There are blogs all over the place like mine and there are books regarding these matters.

If you are in a church that doesn't have these problems, wonderful. Thank God for that. But also, pray for those who are in churches where the hypocrites seem to run the show. Pray for the strength of the pastors and for those who are trying to live the Christian life for real. It is through the prayers of others that those who are suffering at the hands of other "Christians" will be able to rise up and lovingly say, "This isn't right," and then hang in there for the fight. As a result, the hypocrites will either repent, leave or be effectively neutralized.

If you are suffering in the church, hang in there. Pray and ask what God would have you do. Sometimes it means that you need to go somewhere else, but oftentimes it means that God may call you to be the change that you want to see happen. Seek out other Christians who feel the same way you do and pray together. Start keeping a journal about the subject and write about your angst either through art, the written word, or maybe a recording (that you should keep well hidden). In this way you can pour your feelings out to the Lord rather than dumping them all over people who may not be able to handle them.

The main thing is to follow the advice given in Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Take a break!

2011-06-29T05:41:00.002+11:00

One of the keys to living an abundant life is taking time off.

We all get tired. We all need a break from the norm, so whether it's a short coffee break in your favorite spot - a ten-minute vacation, if you will - or an actual let's-leave-the-house-and-travel vacation, or somewhere in between, all are valuable to one's spiritual growth. These breaks give us a chance to back up and see life from a different perspective. Breaks give us a chance to evaluate our goals and to look at the direction in which we are heading. Breaks allow us to see if our daily activities are actually moving us toward our goals or if we have somehow strayed.

An actual vacation can also renew our spiritual vigor. It is equivalent with filling the ol' car up at the gas station and can be just as expensive!. What would happen if we were cruising down the highway on an eighth of a tank with the dummy light flashing? At some point the tank will empty and we'll be in serious trouble if we can't get off the road in time. This too can happen in our lives. There are so many activities and so many expectations we can literally run out of gas as we are cruising down the highway of life. Running out of gas may show itself through general irritation over things that don't usually bother you, emotional outbursts, a sense of dullness or melancholy, a sense of anxiety, a loss of interest in the normal activities of life, mild depression and in a worse case scenario, could result in severe depression or a mental and/or physical breakdown.

This is why I believe that taking a break is sometimes the most godly thing one can do. In college one of my psychology professors said that he changed something major in his life every seven years, whether it was his job, his location or whatever. He felt that this was crucial to his emotional health and I agree for the most part. The important thing, he emphasized, was to follow the biblical example of change that we find in the Law. Every seven years people were to pay off debt, free slaves, not grow crops, etc. Even Jesus took time off to pray.

The point is to not grow stale.

Recently, Mike and I were blessed by being able to take a vacation to North Carolina. We've been doing this for the last three years to visit his family who live on the eastern coast. This time we revisited one of our favorite spots, Shackleford Banks.

Shackleford Banks is an island off the coast near Beaufort that is approximately 10 miles long and 3/4 mile across at its widest point. And, although the National Park Service takes care of it, the island is really rustic. There's only one bathroom that I know of and there is no fresh water unless you want to dig for it. In other words, you have to pack everything in and take whatever trash you have out. People are usually pretty good about taking the trash out so the island is a rather pleasant place.

Mike and I went there on a beautiful, sun-splashed day with very low humidity. We arrived by ferry at 9 a.m. and took off walking on the sound side of the island, with our cameras, plenty of water and snacks for later. I also had an extra bag for shelling since this is an activity that the Park Service allows.

Here is a pic of the sound side that Mike took:

It was a very pleasant morning with the wind blowing in from the north. Mike and I chatted while we walked and took pictures. We saw blue crab scurrying along in the water beside us. We watched boats come in. People were fishing and swimming but we couldn't understand why they would blast their radios in all that beauty.

One guy thought he was taking a break, but I don't think he really was:

Maybe he had a good reason for talking on his cell phone, but I couldn't help wondering what the point was of surrounding oneself with beauty without leaving the world behind.

Mike and I walked up the coast for an hour or so (we ended up walking about 7.5 miles that day) before we saw three of the island's horses.

Yes. Horses.

Shackleford Banks is the home of about 100 or more horses that have descended from steeds first brought over by Spanish explorers more than 400 years ago. These horses are wild and have never done a day of work for humans in their lives. They are quite magnificent and are not afraid of people (although I would still exercise caution with them. They are wild and don't need people feeding or harassing them).

They seemed perfectly content to pose for pictures:

The harem's (that's what horse families are called) mother and I seemed to connect:

Maybe, since her child was with them, she was wondering where mine were. Who knows? I just remember feeling happy and peaceful as we looked at one another. Maybe she sensed my anxiety over my oldest son graduating from high school. Maybe God was telling me through her that kids leaving the nest is natural, to relax, to go with it.

Yeah, I think that's what it was. Do you believe that God can speak through nature? Scripture tells us in Romans 1: 20 that God makes himself known to the world by way of nature. It is a doorway through which one can hear from God if you recognize the very basic truth that he created it all - not how long it took or how he did it, just that he did it.

After we left the horses, Mike and I continued up the coast. Our goal was to walk through the interior forest of the island and then walk back to the ferry landing by way of the Atlantic Ocean side of the banks.

See how the salt spray has gnarled the oak trees?

The forest is quite dense.

Spanish moss and vines hang from the trees. Sunlight is filtered through the trees and creates interesting patterns on the forest floor that dance when the wind blows through the tree tops. The forest floor is covered with leaves and piles of horse poop.

As we were walking into the forest, the cicadas were buzzing in the tree tops. They ceased buzzing the further we walked into the forest and there was a quietness all around. I would say stillness, but that would not be correct. The forest was alive. Birds sang, the wind blew in the tree tops and occasionally I heard a horse breathe nearby; Mike caught strong whiffs of their smell but we never saw them. As we neared the edge of the forest the cicadas were back, buzzing in all their glory. We could still hear them as we headed out onto the dunes. Here is what it looked like as we left. Like I said, it was dense. I got a few scratches from tree branches, but they were worth it

Here's Mike on the dunes, just as happy as he could be:

Walking was a little slow going here. There were nettles on the ground in some spots, but there were also flowers and grass. The island is a wonderful place to bird watch as well.

As we walked on the dunes, we got whiffs of salt air and every now and then we could hear the ocean waves crashing against the shore. I couldn't wait to get there. By this time I was ready to eat something and wanted to dip my feet in the water. I was not prepared for the beauty I saw as we crested the dunes.

Here it was. To our left:

And to our right:

I've never seen anything like it. Miles of untouched beach with no people and shells so thick on the sand that we had to wear our shoes just to walk on it.

It was magnificent! I had a Psalm 19 moment.

In Psalm 19, David - I don't know if he was watching a sunset or a sunrise or what - is writing about the beauty of the sun, the perfect order of its course and it's all-encompassing scope. As he did this he began to reflect on God's word and its perfection.

David said that nature speaks about God yet it has no voice. We feel this speech in our hearts whenever we are pleased by beauty, or when we feel wonder over the complexity and perfection of plant life, insects or the beauty of a newborn child. All we have to do is recognize that God created it all in order to make that feeling complete, to fully revel in the moment.

I must confess that Mike and I were quite happy on our walk back to the ferry landing. We ate apples and then he fell asleep on the sand while waiting for the ferry, and I looked for more shells. It was very wonderful.

In the Psalm David didn't stop reflecting once he acknowledged how perfect God's law was. He then began to turn his focus inward asking God to check him out. David was so caught up in the beauty and wonder of God's world that he could only feel naturally humbled by it all. And, that is where the refreshing comes, from recognizing God's place and my place and realizing that as long as he is in control of my life everything will turn out for the good. No matter what happens. The horses on that island - who have survived hunger, thirst, storms and other disasters - are proof that life goes on. God has cared for them and will continue to do so just like he cares about us. We just have to let him.

Why can't we agree?

2011-06-23T06:11:00.000+11:00

The other day I read this from a religion news feed I receive:

Resolution Affirms Biblical Doctrine of Hell

"Southern Baptists approved a resolution affirming the Bible's teaching on hell during the Wednesday morning session of their annual convention. The resolution on hell, which urges faithful proclamation of the Gospel to those who face eternal suffering, was one of six passed by unanimous or nearly unanimous votes upon recommendation of the Resolutions Committee. Baptist Press reports that the resolution on hell came as part of an ongoing response to the publication earlier this year of Michigan pastor Rob Bell's book 'Love Wins.' Bell's controversial book 'called into question the church's historic teaching on the doctrine of eternal punishment of the unregenerate,' as the resolution described it. Messengers in Phoenix affirmed 'our belief in the biblical teaching on eternal, conscious punishment of the unregenerate in Hell.' The resolution also urged Southern Baptists 'to proclaim faithfully the depth and gravity of sin against a holy God, the reality of Hell, and the salvation of sinners by God's grace alone...'"

The aforementioned book is this one:

It's on my shelf. I've read the first four chapters but then I got hooked on "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy" and put it down.

So far, from what I see in Bell's book, he's only trying to open a conversation. Does he challenge traditional thinking on hell like the Southern Baptists claim? Yes, but I don't see anything wrong with what Bell is writing. I'm not saying that I completely agree with him because I have not reached any conclusions on the matter. I have to finish the book. For now, I will say that his book is intriguing.

To me, Bell seems to be challenging the unloving and careless attitude that a lot of Christians have about people going to hell. This was portrayed by former governor Mike Huckabee when he welcomed Osama bin Laden to hell after the terrorist was killed by Navy Seals. We think that evil people deserve to go to hell and perhaps rightfully so, but do we mourn for their souls and care for them while they are on earth?

I've also seen this in the church: People who have been going to church all their lives are upset with death bed confessions, saying that it is not fair that they had been living the for so long and suffering so much when all a person has to do is accept Jesus on his or her death bed and get in to heaven with the same benefits. That attitude reeks of a works attitude: "Dog gone it. I deserve to go to heaven! I've given up smoking, drinking and dancing and going with girls (or boys) who do and that person did everything he or she wanted." It's almost, as Mike says about that attitude, "Screw you buddy, I got mine ... why should you have any of it?"

But when we compare ourselves with a holy and perfect God do any of us deserve to go to heaven? It's by God's grace, not man's grace, that souls are saved. It's clearly God's decision, not ours; it's just our job to present the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do the work.

I understand what the Southern Baptists are doing. They want to make sure that their people know that they are not letting go of their doctrine of hell as being a place of eternal, conscious punishment for those who are unregenerate. They want to make sure that they do not lose the perspective that sin against a holy God is serious business. I applaud that. Sin is serious business. It ruins our lives and the lives of people around us. It keeps us from living abundantly here on earth.

The Naked Pastor had an interesting cartoon:

This is certainly not the real attitude of our loving Christ, but it seems that many Christians must think it is, otherwise they would not act in such unloving ways.

Recently, in honor of the day G.K. Chesterton went to be with the Lord, I blew the dust off his book "Orthodoxy" and read some selections. In it he talked about George Bernard Shaw, a friend of his, with whom he disagreed on almost everything. That phrase caused me to stop reading for a few minutes. He disagreed with his friend on almost everything? That's certainly not the way things are done today. Usually we are most comfortable with the people with whom we agree. It's hard for us to even respect people who disagree with us. This is one reason why Washington can't get it together and another reason why the church is not as strong as it should be. We find it very hard to live at peace with one another (Romans 12:18). You see, it's not a new problem.

On the other hand, over in 2 Corinthians 13:11, Paul encourages us to agree with one another. It seems like he's almost begging his readers to agree so that there won't be any divisions among them (1 Corinthians 1: 10). Why? Because division stops the work of Christ and ruins the communion of the saints. Can we lead others to Jesus if we are divided? Can we enjoy each others' company when we are divided?

It is a quandary. No two humans will agree on everything. If they agree on everything then one isn't necessary (I don't remember who said that but I like it).

Good debate, even disagreement sharpens and fine tunes the soul. People are better when their views are challenged. Unfortunately, however, we tend to get angry and sullen when someone disagrees with us. When this happens we waste time affirming what we already believe rather than opening our heart and concentrating on how we can be more productive.

In the church we would be better off agreeing to disagree on some subjects; have healthy debate, avoid debate when we are angry and agree on this:

Apostles' Creed

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic* church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

*Note: this means the church universal, which includes Catholicism and Protestantism

For further reading about God's grace, check out Matthew 20: 1-16 and Ephesians 2: 8 and think about what you're reading. I'd love to hear your views in the comment section.

Abundant living

2011-06-18T06:02:00.000+11:00

One of my favorites of Jesus' sayings is found in John 10:10b:

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Now normally on this blog I quote the New International or the New Revised Standard Version, but for this quotation I am using the King James because I like the way it is worded and because that's how I memorized it before my church adopted the N.I.V. back around 1983, about 10 years after it was published, Speaking of which, have you ever noticed that a lot of churches run at least a decade behind? But that's a rabbit trail to another story, and that's the end of the rabbit trail, I promise. For now.

Because I love this saying, I decided to use it in the redo of my blog. I've been thinking about a redo for a while. I kept the name Yahbut because that still fits me. I'm still arguing with the way the church does things and with some of the beliefs we have that are not biblical; however, the Recovering Fundie aspect of my personality is changing. No longer am I trying to come to terms with the new things that God is showing me. I embrace them and because of this I have received a more abundant form of belief - a much happier, less legalistic version. This, I believe, is one of the things Jesus meant when he talked about abundant life. And so now on this blog I want to explore what abundant life means, and how we can go about achieving it.

Many people believe that the abundant life begins after death. They say that there is too much sin and sorrow in this world and that they cannot overcome their sinful nature so there is really no chance to have abundant life.

I respectfully disagree. We can overcome our sinful nature through the power of the Holy Spirit and we do not have to sin in word, thought and deed every day. Christ can help us overcome the temptations in our lives that lead to sin and we can be free (see 2 Corinthians 5:17 and I Corinthians 10:13).

A beautiful thought, isn't it? Or, perhaps you're thinking that I am one of those Christians who says that I've never sinned since accepting Christ. If you are, you'd be wrong. I may not sin everyday but I do slip up more often than I want. For instance, I am a worry wart. This is a weakness in my nature that I can't seem to defeat. It's like what Paul called a "thorn in my flesh" and I have to ask the Lord's forgiveness quite often. I have also asked God to remove it from me, but he seems to say that his grace is sufficient and that I'm going to have to learn from that particular trial and tribulation. Does that mean that God has not overcome worry in my life like I so boldly mentioned earlier? That's a difficult question because we all have hang ups, don't we?

In 2 Corinthians 12: 9, Paul wrote: "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Scholars don't know for sure what Paul's weakness was but I know what mine are and if this verse is true God's power overcomes my weakness. I still have them, but maybe God wants me to use them to rely on him more.

For example, some people are delivered from desires right away after they accept Christ. One may be released from the desire to smoke cigarettes. Another may have to pray and use all kinds of methods to quit. They have to be disciplined and depend on God and as the desire weakens God proves his strength.

Back to worry. If this sinful behavior seems to be part of my makeup how can I overcome it? Didn't God make me that way? I don't believe he did, but somehow I have learned it over the years (maybe it's in my genes passed down through family connections!) or maybe it was modeled by so many people that I just thought it was the way things were done. Whatever the reason, it is something that I have to trust God about. Eventually it will be overcome through maturity and in the life to come. Some things just take time. To these we must trust that God is showing his power through us.

I know this post is getting long, but I just thought of an example of this. When my first husband Gordon was going through his battle with pancreatic cancer, I seemed to rise above it all in regard to worry. I just knew that God would take care of our family and he proved it over and over. It was amazing. It was the kind of thing that destroys people, yet I've never been that strong before. Or since, for that matter.

In comparison to cancer and losing a spouse, the things I worry about now seem inconsequential. I just have to keep reminding myself of that fact.

As for sinning everyday, if we are maturing in our faith why do we keep on voluntarily sinning? Doesn't the very definition of "sin" as found in the free online dictionary indicate a choice born of free will?

a. Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.
b. A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.
c. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.

The whole reason Jesus died on the cross is to save us from sin. Part of living the abundant life is getting help in overcoming sin in our lives. Sometimes we need counseling, sometimes we need to be accountable to our fellow Christians and sometimes we just need to stop when it is in our power to do so. God, in all the grace provided through Jesus, is there to help us and to light the way so that we can be free.

But what about sin committed by others and the resulting sorrow it wreaks in the world? Can we still live abundantly in the midst of it? I believe so. We may not be happy with our circumstances but we can always find something for which to be grateful - even if it's just the fact that your coffee tasted extra good that morning or maybe just because you had coffee. And there is always the gift of the day itself.

I love the story that Corrie ten Boom told in her book "The Hiding Place." Corrie and her sister Betsy were prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp which was plagued with fleas. Corrie was upset about the fleas, but Betsy helped her see that the fleas were keeping the guards out of their barracks and because of this they were able to share their faith with the other prisoners. Isn't that a good attitude? It may be a little sickening at first, but if your mind is in the right place Betsy's point makes sense. In this way she was living abundantly despite deplorable circumstances. I think many people confuse "abundant life" with an abundance of material things. But we see from Corrie ten Boom's experience, it's really an abundant spiritual life, and material things may or may not accompany that.

Right now I am reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. It is a brilliantly written biography of one of the church's greatest theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer, whose life was cut short by a Nazi executioner for participating in a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler, lived an abundant life. However, I found that he also fought depression and he seemed to accept that his life's mission could end in seeming failure. Read something he wrote:

"And we simply cannot be constant with the fact that God's cause is not always the successful one, that we really could be 'unsuccessful': and yet be on the right road. But this is where we find out whether we have begun in faith or in a burst of enthusiasm."

That statement really seems to knock down the "God wants you rich" theology doesn't it? But that confidence that Bonhoeffer had of being on the "right road" seems to be connected to living the abundant life.

More about waiting

Earlier this week I wrote about awaiting the good. Here is something that I wrote in my journal a few weeks ago as I thought about Romans 8:28:

"The verse doesn't say: 'And we know that God will snap his fingers and everything will work out well for those who love him.' It says 'God works toward the good.' There's a lot of free will involved in that because I can screw up what God is working toward. God works toward, it doesn't say that God succeeds every time. It says that we should have faith in God because he is working everything out for the good. He's a behind the scenes kind of God. We can count on him even though we can't see what he's doing."

To add to this thought, the verse says to me that I need to get in step with what God is doing in my life and submit. I don't want to thwart his plans. That, my friends, is part of the abundant life.

In closing, here is a verse I read in my morning devotions:

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." *

Blessings!

*The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, S. Dt 30:19-20

Awaiting the good

2011-06-16T06:02:00.000+11:00

Hi, everyone. It's me again.

I realize that I have not posted since the day after Mother's Day. The month of May was absolutely insane around here. First, my oldest son Andrew graduated from high school so there was a lot of preparation going on for company and our open house. I also did not anticipate the emotional drama that accompanies this life change. I'm afraid that I've been whacked ever since!

In spite of this whackery we managed to keep things pretty simple at the open house and I had a lot of help for which I am still grateful. I guess breaking two from-scratch cakes in half in the same day was the Lord's way of saying "Just buy one. Save this for another time, honey." I was going to be super mom and decorate the cake as well. Oh well, c'est la vie!

I have also been crafting and creating greeting cards. While we were in North Carolina last week on vacation, I sold two ten-card sets of "A Day Down East" to Kim, the owner of Davis Shore Provisions General Store. She believes that the people over there will enjoy my photographs that were transferred to card stock via a chemical process. I also hope to have some available on Etsy by the end of this week so you can see them too.

Thank you, Kim! And if any of our readers ever drive through Davis, North Carolina stop in to the store. They have wonderful products and they sell fabulous pastries and lite rolls with cheese. Yum!

Along with North Carolina pics, Mike and I are also working on cards that will feature Colorado (some will even have recipes), different birds and wildflowers. Churches will be another feature. You can find galleries of our North Carolina trip linked from posts on "View from the Pizer."

While growing up, I watched my mom sew and after reading the "Little House" books I tried to sew my own rag doll (It really did look like a rag after I was done!) and in school we made gifts for our parents at Christmas so crafting has always been a part of my life. My grandmother and aunt also made quilts and Christmas ornaments for each of their grandchildren to use when they left home. Grandma always made sure that I received some type of crafting device for Christmas. I think she wanted me to try different things so that I could find my niche. This happened when my first piano teacher introduced me to needlepoint, I was hooked. Ever since that time creating items for gifts has always been enjoyable.

Even though I don't needlepoint anymore I still love to make things. Now I crochet and create with paper. I enjoy the altered book process as well but I've only dabbled in it.

Here are some items I have created. They are for sale on Etsy:

Bright Day Journal, $10

Simple Journal, $10

"From My Heart to Yours Card Set", $10

And, "Sweet Baby Crocheted Blanket", $40

So, will writing go by the wayside? I don't want it to. This year, since I quit my job at the paper, has been a journey of discovery. It has not been easy, but it has definitely been worth the effort. Somehow, the Lord assures me, it all works together.

In the King James Version, Romans 8:28 says:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

The Lord is showing me that this is true but it takes time. Good doesn't always happen right away but it is worth waiting for.

Reflections on Mother's Day

2011-05-10T04:42:00.013+11:00

Another Mother's Day here and gone. This is my 18th year as a mother so I thought that I would talk about the blessings of the day and my kids.

Meet (from left to right) Stephen, Andrew and Jonathan. Aren't they handsome?

I am a blessed mother. My kids are normal teenagers, a bit aggravating at times, but they are not in trouble with the law nor are they doing anything that makes me sad. They do their best in school and they have dreams and aspirations. I'm grateful that they are healthy and that they are active in life. Andrew, Jonathan and Stephen are the lights of my life and now I have four grandchildren to add to that glow. Michael, Tayler, Elena and Ethan are a lot of fun and I am very proud of them.

Another handsome bunch ... in the back we have Michael and Tayler; in front, Ethan and Elena.

Yesterday we all got together and ate a wonderful lunch here at the house. Dee (my stepdaughter who is an awesome mom) made a really easy potato dish and I assembled another easy dish of mixed veggies with cream cheese, butter and spices. Mike marinated a brisket and slow cooked it in the roaster all morning long. Wow. It was good. We had ice cream sundaes for dessert - no extra cooking there. The kids gave me some crafting supplies and Jon recorded three songs that he played on his bass guitar. Mike gave me the new book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer - now I just need time to read it!

We like celebrating Mother's Day in a simple manner. No restaurants, no traveling (right now anyway, eventually - in a decade or so - there will be more grandchildren and great-grandchildren to visit), just a simple get together. This year on Saturday there were so many school sporting events that Mike didn't take the kids shopping like usual. Andrew, who just got his driver's license this year, took care of that.

Last night Mike and I took a walk out in the country. It was hot yesterday and the wind was blowing, but the sky was a brilliant blue and the way the wind blew through the newly planted crops made them look like flowing water. When we reached Timpas creek there were two ducks swimming upstream. They were kind of glancing at each other and quacking quietly as if in deep conversation over whatever ducks talk about when they are together. Watching a movie with Mike and the kids at the end of the day just topped it off perfectly.

I don't know why God has blessed me so much, but I am grateful. We've had some hard years. The boys and I lived through the death of their father and now God has blessed us with more family. Mike is a wonderful husband who works hard to make sure that I am well taken care of. And, of course, my parents are still living and as active as they can be in our family all the way from Arizona. It's just a good life and I thank you, Lord.
I hope you all had a nice Mother's Day and even if it wasn't everything you wanted it to be, remember that God is with you and understands your heartache.

Meanwhile, thanks boys for making me a proud mother. I love you with all my heart. I now look forward to a new chapter in motherhood - graduation and the first departure from the nest. I'm sure there will be more on that later!

Praying with the newspaper and the Bible

2011-05-05T05:56:00.005+11:00

Balancing prayer with the newspaper and the Bible

I've been pretty quiet lately. For those who like my blog, I apologize for the lack of posting but I've been concentrating on making some things to sell. During my short hiatus, however, the news has supplied plenty of thinking material and opportunities for prayer.

Karl Barth, the great German theologian, is attributed with saying, "read the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other." There is no solid proof that he said this but someone wise has changed this quote to say "pray with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other." This is a good quote to remember lately, don't you think?

Usama bin Laden

The first thing that comes to mind because it is the most recent is the death of America's enemy Usama Bin Laden. I, like every other American, felt a wonderful sense of pride in our armed forces and in our resolve after I learned that it happened. I'm still glad it happened, but I've come down a bit from the initial reaction.

How should we as Christians respond to the death of an enemy? Here is a great blog post on the issue: Alise Write. Alise, I don't know you, but you say it well.

Killing bin Laden was good for our country but we shouldn't go overboard in rejoicing over the fact that our enemy is dead. The things that he did were evil and he was a lost soul. As much as we want to deny the fact - because it doesn't fit in with our "favored Christian nation" rhetoric - God loves bin Laden and every other terrorist on the planet just as much as he loves we law-abiding citizens. The Bible says so, does it not? Of course we need to defend ourselves against such people and we're glad that the vein through which evil did its work through bin Laden has been cauterized, but we still should mourn the fact that another sinner will face punishment.

Praying with the newspaper in one hand alerts us to issues outside of our own sphere that need prayerful attention. We don't know if others are praying, but if we feel drawn to pray for an issue we should do it. Praying with the scripture in the other helps shape our minds and hearts so that we can pray for our enemies and even bless those who curse us, as Jesus said. This is not an easy thing to do, especially when so many bad things happen because of the evil that people do. We will be blessed if we do this because our actions will not be fueled by hatred or anger; they will be motivated by love and compassion.

The Ravaged South

The plight of the people in the South who were recently ravaged by a scourge of tornadoes calls for this type of balanced prayer. Without the newspaper - or the newscast blaring in the background - we would be unaware of their plight. Their plight has been overshadowed by bin Laden's killing, which I think is rather cheap, but they are still in need both physically and spiritually. I say "spiritually" because it is at these times of great disaster that the question comes: "God, why did you do this?"

One person on the news who went through the tragedy seemed to believe that God was simply showing his great power to we puny people. That reeks of the "we are worthless" theology that I wrote against a while ago. Do we really believe that our loving God would wreak havoc on his creation that he so dearly loves? This thought seemed comforting to the person who said it, but to me it seems a cheap fix to guard against the questions and the anger that one must feel after this type of event. Wouldn't you be hopping mad at God if your neighborhood were destroyed and possibly some of your loved ones had died, especially if you felt like he caused it? But is it a reasonable anger? Did God really do that? Pat Robertson said that the earthquake in Haiti was nothing more than God punishing the Haitians. Do you believe that is true? Following Robertson's thinking, should we believe that God was punishing the people of Alabama or anywhere else in the South?

Of course there is the issue that God, if not causing these events, then allowed these terrible tragedies to occur. Look at Job. God allowed Satan to do everything he could to make Job lose faith. Job lost his family, his possessions and his health yet he still trusted God. He even trusted God after the Almighty basically told him to mind his own business when Job questioned God. "I had my reasons," God seemed to say. Note that the Bible does not condemn Job's questioning as sin. Remember that "Doubting Thomas" remained one of the disciples even though he initially doubted Christ's resurrection.

My late husband Gordon had to make a decision to trust God after his two-year-old nephew was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Years later Gordon told me that he tried to walk away from God because he was so angry. "It was the most miserable time of my life," I remember him saying. Finally, one day God whispered to his spirit: "You can either go through this with me or without me." It was a moment of decision and Gordon chose to go through it with the Lord. He remembered what a great relief it was to finally give up his anger at God.

Tornadoes, destruction of homes and communities, the death of loved ones - none of these are easy to deal with. The only answer I can give is to trust God anyway because the Bible says that God is good and loving. I have also had to believe this in my own life, and this has been my experience, as well.

As for Job, the one thing I take heart in is that God heaped blessings on him after the tragedy -some might say "trial" - was over. We can only hope that it will be this way for our friends in the South. So we pray for that and trust the Lord for this outcome.

Prayer changes us

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~Søren Kierkegaard

Praying with the newspaper in one hand will certainly give us much to do, but we must remember too that having the Bible in the other hand is the only way to balance the nagging doubts that come when we pray this way. We must understand the Scriptures and allow God to use them to shape our thinking. By doing so we will be endowed with godly compassion - a compassion that allows us to pray for the bin Ladens of the world and the people who have been caught up in tragedy without condemning them as sinful and in need of divine retribution. These are issues that we should consider deeply, and avoid following the thinking of Christians who revel in a harshness they attribute to God's judgment.

Maundy Thursday

2011-04-22T05:00:00.003+11:00

This blog entry was written last April by my husband Mike, who is pictured at left, for his own blog Observations, Chit Chat and Idle Gossip in the Smile Hi City. I thought this blog was appropriate today. Enjoy!

Today is Maundy Thursday.

That's one that gives the kids giggle fits. "Monday-Thursday"?

Nope. Actually, it has to do with one of the most significant of Jesus' acts, but one which today is missed by many who claim to be practitioners of the Christian faith(s).

Christians like to cite John 3:16 as the cornerstone of why we should Believe. You can even get golf balls, Christian golf balls - or perhaps they are Gospel Balls - with John 3:16 imprinted upon them. One can only presume that swatting such balls will get you on God's foursome.

But without John 13:34-35, which cites Christ's New Commandment, does John 3:16 have any real substance? Without at least a good faith attempt on the part of the faithful to comply with Christ's commandment, does a simple belief in him do the trick? Does a simple belief in John 3:16 carry an implicit acknowledgment of that New Commandment - and more importantly, an acceptance of Christ's charge to his disciples? If it is implicit, is it perhaps too subtle for many people? Christ was pretty direct when he laid the commandment on, but the focus is always on John 3:16 - those golf balls, again - rather than John 13:34-35.

BTW ... you won't find John 13:34-35 on any golf balls.

Maundy Thursday has to do with that New Commandment, which Christ symbolized by the washing of his disciples' feet. "Maundy" is derived from the Latin for "command" or "commandment". Peter initially refused to have Christ wash his feet, but was told, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." Why?

Some churches actually do have a foot-washing service, but generally, Maundy Thursday and the ritual foot-washing as a symbolic display of acceptance of the New Commandment are not observed by most churches, at least in this country. Why? Too much focus on getting out to the golf course after the Easter service and swatting a few of those John 3:16 balls?

Food for thought

2011-04-21T02:58:00.003+11:00

Well, I didn't return on Tuesday like I thought I would and I don't have much time to write today. However, I thought I'd leave you with some food for thought. I read this quote on Sunday from "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals." Hope it gives you some light for your journey:

Eighth-century martyr Andrew of Crete wrote, "Let us say to Christ: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us wave before him like palm branches the words inscribed above him on the cross. Let us show him honor, not with olive branches, but with the splendor of merciful deeds to one another. Let us spread the thoughts and desires of our hearts under his feet like garments, so that he may draw the whole of our being into himself and place the whole of his in us.

Pretty good, huh? Kind of like succulent Porterhouse steak nicely seasoned and straight off the grill to your plate.

Grand Theft Donkey?

2011-04-19T04:59:00.003+11:00

This is Holy Week. And, with its onset, our family is having some interesting discussions at the dinner table. I don't know about your family, but ours likes, or often gets into, religious discussions. So last week with Palm Sunday coming up - it was yesterday - Mike wanted to know if Jesus committed a crime by having his disciples take the donkey from the house of whomever it belonged.

My instant reply was, "Of course not."

And he returned with "Don't you think you're replying that way because of everything you've been taught? Why don't you think for yourself?"

It went downhill from there, but Mike has a tendency to ask questions that I'm sure not many people think about and I like that. As for the boys, Jonathan likes to get into it, but the other two usually remain silent. However, I hope that in their silence they are listening and absorbing what we discuss because they are good times to teach the kids how to give answers to other people outside our family and "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks (them) to give the reason for the hope that (they) have ..." I Peter 3:15.

So using some of the discussion for Grand Theft Donkey as my basis, I will show you some of the basic principles that we are trying to teach the kids. We usually don't spell them out but here they are.

1. Read the Bible.

It sounds so simple, but how many times do we defend something we have always believed without actually knowing where it's found in the Scriptures? These days it's pretty easy to find any verse if you have Google, but for those who don't, or for those who do not want to use the computer, there is usually a concordance in the back of many Bibles.You can also skim through the passages if you have an idea where the verses can be found. The Triumphal Entry is pretty easy to find. Most Bibles have headers so you can just skim through those to find the story. For this question, I checked all four gospels because I knew the story was in all four and because each writer includes different details - amazingly so - about the alleged theft. Observe:

Luke 19: 28 - 35: "After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road."

John 12: 19: ^"Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written ..."

Matthew 21: 1-3: As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” Some footnotes may include that the Lord will send it back right away, or something similar.

Mark 11: 1-3: "As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

Mark's account is the clincher. The disciples said they would return the donkey shortly. But why didn't the other gospel writers say this?

Differences of opinion

First of all, we must remember that each gospel writer was a different person with a different personality who was writing with a different audience in mind. Some details may have not been as important to Luke's audience as they were to Mark's, for instance. Also, Luke and Peter (whom many believe was telling his story to Mark) have very different backgrounds, and very different educational levels. All of that comes into play when writing. We must also remember that they were Jewish men living in the first century. We run into trouble if we discern what people did in the Bible with 21st century American eyes because there is a huge difference in our perspective. Mike, as a retired police officer, tends to examine the gospels as he would witness statements. He looks for conflicts and inconsistencies, and questions them. On the other hand, a first century Jew may see these statements as par for the course according to their customs, or it may have something to do with what all the writers have left out - whether or not Jesus made prior arrangements with the owner. We don't know any of this for sure. Some of it is clearly conjecture. All that is truly important to the writers is that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9:

"Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

I can almost hear what some of you may be thinking. Isn't scripture inspired by God? Yes, it is, but God didn't sit down with the gospel writers and dictate every word they were supposed to write down. The differences in the gospels show this plainly. As Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3: 16 - 17, Scripture is "God-breathed." In other words, it worked for them like it works for us. We sit down to do something and we feel "inspired." We may even feel God directing us either through thoughts or impressions. Ever have that feeling? That's what I think it was like for the Biblical writers because they were people just like we are whom God was using for his purpose.

2. Read commentaries

After reading the scripture, go to the commentaries. There are plenty online from a variety of perspectives or your pastor would probably be glad to let you read from his or hers if you don't have any. Some people may disagree with me saying that scripture alone is sufficient. However, reading the work of people who have studied scripture in the actual languages in which they were written brings a refreshing and sometimes a better perspective to anything we may think of ourselves. I am often amazed by how the Holy Spirit brings my thoughts together after I read the work of another person.

3. Discuss ... But do this with gentleness and respect

There are two issues that most people do not like to discuss: religion and politics. Why? They are like time bombs. People usually get really emotional over these two subjects and before you know it, the conversation explodes leaving bits and pieces of human wreckage everywhere. However, these are two issues that really need to be discussed so the latter part of I Peter 3: 15 - "but do this with gentleness and respect" - is timely and timeless advice for anyone who loves these topics. This is especially true when discussing the scriptures, because if you speak arrogantly it will turn the other person off. By speaking with gentleness and respect, we also give the other participants time to share their feelings. They will be more likely to listen to us and consider what we say. We do this out of love for Jesus and for the other person. Wouldn't you agree? By speaking with gentleness and respect, we also allow room for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of the other person.

4. Pray

This is my final suggestion. We cannot hope to understand scripture or to explain it to someone else without connecting to the one who breathed scripture to its writers. We also cannot hope to speak about such an emotional issue without gentleness and respect unless we have spent time with God so that he has time to develop these attributes in our lives.

Have a meaningful Holy Week. I will be back tomorrow.

Sometimes screaming into a pillow is the best solution ...

2011-04-14T07:33:00.004+11:00

Ever have one of those days when you hit one button on your computer and you lose everything? Frustrating, huh? Sometimes grabbing a pillow and screaming into it is the best solution, wouldn't you say?

I've had such a morning. Since I started working from home there have been days or, at one time weeks, when productivity was barely detectable. I'm used to the newspaper world where I have written two articles within two hours and where there was always a completed product everyday by 12:30 p.m. In the newspaper world it's go, go, go. Produce, produce, produce. Family? Forget them. They'll be waiting for you when you get home. They'll just have to understand. It's not a job; it's a lifestyle.

Although I fought against adopting that attitude, it did get in there somehow. Or, perhaps, my personality is such that I feed off of that type of work environment. Yes, that's it. The personality was and is definitely there.

So, when I quit my job and decided to work at home I had a lot to get used to. It took me about a month to come down from the frantic pace and I thought I was doing pretty good, but today I backslid.

Go. Go. Go. Get 'er done, done, done.

Get what done? I'm working for myself. Things are getting done.

The trouble is that results aren't always readily visible when you work from home. It takes time to build from scratch. Sometimes visible results are available even at the office. That's difficult when your boss is looking over your shoulder, asking about the project. Sometimes, even when your boss isn't looking over your shoulder, you may still drive yourself.

"Get this done! You'll get fired if you don't hurry!" Hurry, hurry, hurry. After a while you begin to feel like a hamster on a wheel during the middle of the night. Run. Run. Run. I don't know where I'm going but I must hurry!

Yesterday I came across this prayer in my morning devotions from "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals." The book is set up by dates and you follow the readings for that day. In doing this, you would think that prewritten devotions would not apply to your daily situation. Not true, for the Holy Spirit works in marvelous ways. Here's the prayer:

"Give us patience and humility with our feeble efforts at faithfulness. Bless the minute things we do in your name that our small acts of faith may find witness among many and thereby give you glory."

In the past I've always taken exception to words such as "feeble" or "minute" in this context. Doesn't God regard anything we do out of faithfulness as great? Well, probably, but when comparing myself to God, some of the things I do are "feeble" and "minute." It is God, however, who takes those "efforts at faithfulness" and makes them into something great in the life of someone else for his glory.

In God's economy no act is too small. He is the one who provides the dividends. Our job is to be faithful. Patience, faithfulness and prayer. These are the three huge things that God has been working on in my heart lately. I didn't ask for it. It came with the territory. Remember too that one of Richard Simmon's steps to permanent weight loss is patience. Patience not only covers weight loss, it covers a lot of other things as well. We perfectionists struggle with that mightily.

And so grabbing a pillow and screaming into it can help, but it should be followed by prayer. I've always had the suspicion that we should be completely honest in prayer.

This may shock you but in Old Testament 101 during my first year at Point Loma Nazarene University, Rueben Welch, the professor and a great Bible teacher, was talking about prayer and asked a class full of students:

"Have you ever told God to go to hell?"

You can imagine the looks of shock that were exchanged in the room that day. I was one of those shocked students, but the question never left me. It speaks of brutal honesty in prayer. This kind of honesty is how we mortals can keep from going nuts in a world gone mad.

Here's a quote from an article I've been chewing on the last two weeks. It's called "Prayer and Personality: Prayer as Primary Speech," by Ann and Barry Ulanov. The article can be found in the book The Study of Spirituality, edited by Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright and Edward Yarnold, SJ:

"In prayer we speak to and of ourselves, of what lies heavy on our minds, of what rumbles in fear at the pit of our stomachs, of the grudges and resentments we hold behind our eyes below the surfaces of our outward being. We speak what we have to say, whatever that is, and however we are moved to say it ... If prayer works, the human personality always increases. It never diminishes. The self that emerges this way comes forth unshackled, scoured, clean, uncovered because anchored in God ..."

And, a few paragraphs later:

"There, in prayer both private and liturgical, we find a space for aggressions, hatreds, discouragements, chaotic urges, and undirected longings to be experienced, brought into conversation with God. Slowly they take on shape to be used in our shared life. When ignored, these unharnessed energies are acted out by us against our neighbours and ourselves. The anger we do not understand whips out at our defenceless child. The love that is undirected and unreceived turns to hate."

Pretty deep, huh?

And yet, so simple.

Right.

But it's the only way to make screaming in a pillow worthwhile. After you're done screaming the pillow is still there, you're still there and worse yet, the problem hasn't gone away. You just feel more relieved, for about a minute or two. It is through prayer that we find relief, help and sometimes answers. When the answers don't come, peace is there when we give up our "right" to know the answers. Funny how God works, isn't it?

And so I advocate this method. Screaming into a pillow, yes, sometimes, but prayer always. God will be there when you call.

Woman's Secret Diaries Surface Decades after Holocaust

2011-04-08T04:00:00.004+11:00

Ever since I first read "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom as a young girl, I have been fascinated with literature about the Holocaust because these stories demonstrate unlimited faith and the will to survive against unspeakable odds.

The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister is one of those stories, but was kept secret for approximately five decades as Bannister dealt with the pain and waited for the right time to tell her family. It's a really inspiring story, which begins in Russia and tells how Nonna and her mother traveled to Germany as laborers. I'm sure you will learn a lot from it.

To find out more about it read my review at Suite 101. It's called "Woman's Secret Diaries Surface Decades after Holocaust."

Keeping our eyes on the prize

2011-04-07T08:59:00.007+11:00

Can you believe it's April already?

The days are flying by quickly. It's already baseball season. Pretty soon summer will be here and all of those fruit and veggie stands in the Arkansas Valley will be open. Our own garden will be producing peppers and squashes by the dozens and there will be flowers in bloom.

With all that to look forward to it would be easy to want this day to hurry up and get over with so that we can advance toward warmer days. But I can't. As I look out my window, I see that today is beautiful and there is plenty for which to be thankful. The tulips are in bloom. I have five bright pink ones in the backyard that I can see from my kitchen window. The blackbirds sang joyfully outside my bedroom window this morning and the wind isn't blowing - much. On Sunday it threatened to blow us to Kansas. Thankfully, the wind brought a nice wet snow that melted by noon.

There is a lot happening in the world right now. Have you noticed? The people in the Middle East are bravely trying to gain their freedom from powerful dictators, the Japanese are still dealing with the affects of that awful earthquake, Washington has finally agreed to let the 9/11 conspirators undergo trial with a military tribunal, and the 2012 election is right around the corner. We're already hearing about it. Dog gone it.

Oh yeah, and don't forget the fact that our elected officials can't seem to form a budget so that our nation won't go bankrupt.

In Memphis earlier this week, a terrible windstorm felled trees and killed six people. One woman on the news said that she was blessed to not have been in her car, which had been crushed by a tree. I almost laughed at her understatement, but realized that it was all she could say. The newscaster said she was lucky. I disagree. The lady's guardian angel must have been working overtime.

Right now I am grateful for a peaceful existence for the moment. There have been times when my life seemed like it was in chaos. Now I can look back on those times and thank God for bringing me through. I can also see how he brought me through in a lot of ways. Hindsight is 20/20, you know.

With all the upheaval in the world, it would be easy to give into depression. When things happen we often catch ourselves wondering why God would allow such chaos. It's easy to lose focus on the fact that we live on a fallen planet and that God doesn't send bad things our way.

To survive spiritually, we must have faith. Paul likens it to a prize. Consider Philippians 3: 12 - 14:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

And I Corinthians 9: 24:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This means we should keep the faith no matter what. Paul's athletic metaphor is quite fitting, especially in our time. Athletes are heroes in our society, but they don't become that way without a lot of hard work and discipline (and sometimes steroids, but that, like some of the attitudes and behaviors of some our athletes is for another time, eh?).

I learned this during college when I was required to take a physical education class called "Fitness and Movement." I called it "Running and More Running." At that time in my life I hated exercise and sweating. I didn't like the feeling of my heart thumping hard. I didn't like being out of breath. So when I had to take this class, I was mortified, but I knew that I had to get through it. I also knew that I wanted an "A" to help make up for an embarrassing "C" I had recently earned in tennis.

In order to earn an "A" in this class we had to show improvement in running a mile, and it had to be under six minutes. My first attempt was around 10 minutes, so I had a lot of work to do. The first thing I learned was that if I kept my breathing regular and concentrated on it, running was a lot easier. I didn't get side aches and I was able to run for longer periods. I also learned that if I focused on the above verse from Philippians that I didn't think about the agony I was suffering (well, it wasn't really agony, but that's a matter of perspective). At the end of the course I achieved the six minute run. It was a personal milestone and one that I still think about once in a while.

Concentrating on scripture, praying and disciplining ourselves to read the Bible regularly will help us when times are rough, but we must do these things when times are good so that we receive the benefit later on. Again, exercise is a good example. If we exercise and keep our body in shape when we are healthy, our times of sickness will be fewer and we'll recover more quickly. Getting my knees and legs toned up now when I am still relatively young will be a great benefit years from now. Barring anything unusual, I should still be able to climb stairs and walk well later in life. By listening to my doctor now and by doing my best to ingest 1,000 mg of calcium a day, I should have an excellent chance of having strong bones later in life.

Do you see my point? Some people call it paying it forward. The good you do, the discipline you undergo, the way you take care of yourself all add up and you reap dividends in the end. The spiritual life is similar. The time I spend studying my Bible and praying will benefit me greatly when times are rough. These practices will act as an anchor in the storms of life. They'll keep me from drifting all over the place and losing my way when it seems like God is hidden by dark, billowing clouds.

Meanwhile, if you need a little encouragement, here's a song to get your blood pumping. "Keep your eyes on the prize" is a Freedom Song from the civil rights era. Bruce Springsteen has a great rendition of it here: Keep your eyes on the prize

Keep running!

Got Coffee?

2011-04-02T03:10:00.003+11:00

If you love coffee like I do and are concerned about social problems, you may want to buy your next cuppa from Just Coffee.

This company was developed by Presbyterian and a Roman Catholic who had the novel idea that helping Mexicans stay on their farms because they had a good source of income was a way to help solve the immigration problem. I don't know about you, but I think this is really cool - Christians uniting to help solve a social ill is a great way to show the world that Jesus cares. Give the article a read. Who knows? You might come up with a great idea as well.

Join the discussion

If you have any ideas that may help others, let us know. Put in a comment or start a discussion on Facebook. Let's show the world we care!

The importance of "standing stones"

2011-03-31T03:23:00.003+11:00

Two weekends ago, Mike, Stephen and I traveled to Limon so that Stephen could play in the Rotary basketball tournament that took place at the high school gym. It was quite the deal. Kids grades 3 - 6, boys and girls, from all over the eastern plains of Colorado participated. Swink's 6th grade boys took second place. You can see pictures of the tournament at WritingPlaces.com in the photo galleries section under basketball/Limon Rotary Club Tournament.

Because of the many teams that were playing throughout the tournament, the scheduling was such that after two games on Saturday, Stephen's team had to wait until 7 p.m. Sunday night to play in the championship game. With gas prices the way they are, we decided to stay around Limon to see what there was to do, rather than go to a mall in Denver. Well, we found that there isn't much to do, at least on Sunday afternoons, but we had fun anyway. We had our cameras. What else did we need?

Before heading out on our "explore" - to borrow a phrase from Winnie the Pooh - Mike collected some area maps and found a wildlife preserve out at Kinney Lake. At this little lake we saw lots of birds along with a covey of quail that I frightened out of hiding quite by accident. I missed the pictures of the quail because they quickly hid in some high grass, but I did get to see them. There were also some cows out there that were really annoyed when we parked our van. However, other than staring us down, they were no threat. That was fun for about an hour. Kinney Lake isn't that large and the sky was too washed out for good photos, so we decided to move on. We did get some pictures of a windmill out on the prairie, as well as an abandoned house, and then we drove over to Genoa to see what there was in that neck of the woods.

The mostly abandoned town was a photographer's paradise. Sort of. We took some pictures of the town, including this one:

Mike and I have a twisted sense of humor so we got a good laugh over the fact that the Christian Prosperity Crusade's sign was hanging on a building that could only be described as derelict ... bedraggled ... tumble-down. The building was full of what appeared to be dust-laden junk. Had the Crusade become so prosperous that they needed to now store stuff that they really didn't need?

But we started thinking about what the Crusade had been. Was it a charity organization that had sought to bring good will and prosperity to the people of Genoa? Had it been a project of hope, turned to dust? Or was it a crusade of prosperity preachers who claimed that God would bless individuals who supported them with great riches and nice new cars?

Clueless, we did a web search and other than finding another person's pictures of the building, we found nothing. There was no history on this movement on the Internet. And, the town of Genoa's history only consisted of a rather anemic link on Wikipedia. So where are the standing stones?

The building is a standing stone, I suppose, but there is no information readily available to show what God did in that place, or what was attempted in God's name. And that's the important part.

"So, wait. What are standing stones?" you may be asking at this point. There is some good information about them at followtherabbi.com. They are essentially huge rocks - monoliths - that ancient peoples erected to mark a spiritually significant event.

In the Bible, a clear example of this is when Jacob set up a stone at Bethel after he had the dream of angels walking up and down a ladder in Genesis 28. The standing stones marked the fact that God had met him there. It's purpose was to remind Jacob but it was also built so that people would ask questions. Standing stones are like any monument that we set up here in America, except that they had spiritual significance. Ancient people usually set them up to tell others about what their god had accomplished.

A form of standing stone might also be a feast that reminds us of what God has done such as Thanksgiving, Passover, Christmas or Easter. True, they aren't huge rocks, but they are reminders. Other reminders could include something that you buy, such as a ring or some other token to signify something that was important. I once read a magazine article that talked about collecting small rocks at special places. The article suggested writing the place name on the the rock with permanent marker and collecting the stones in a jar. The gathered stones would help remind the family of their trips together.

You know, this could also be a practical way of keeping track of spiritual milestones, thus providing a visual reminder of what God has done. Visual reminders help us share our story with others as well so that they too can learn about God's goodness.

So what happened at the Christian Prosperity Crusade building that made it significant in the town of Genoa? What has happened in your life that might be an encouragement to others? What has happened in your church or anywhere else that a visual reminder could serve to share about God's goodness? Let us know.

P.S. Okay. There was something to do on a Sunday afternoon. We could have visited the Wonder Tower, but Stephen was getting hungry and well ... we decided to feed him. Maybe next time.

New article on prayer

2011-03-29T07:40:00.002+11:00

Hi everyone, With spring break now over it is easier to write. Check out my article at Suite 101 called
Thinking, feeling, and the will make prayer vibrant

Now onto graduation! Yikes!

An example of persistence in prayer

2011-03-19T15:22:00.002+11:00

Here is Chuck:

Chuck is our family dog. He's a daschund/beagle mix and the color of his fur matches my kitchen cabinets. I think the fact that he blends in so well with our cabinets pleases him because Chuck's favorite place is the kitchen.

Whenever I get ice for my drink, open the refrigerator, or open a Ziploc bag I can count on Chuck charging up the stairs or through his dog door to sit at my feet. He's there most of the time when I fix dinner as well, especially when I am cutting meat. Chicken is his favorite beyond anything else. Mike will feed Chuck the entire skin and fat from a Walmart roast chicken, saying, "I'm killing him with kindness...".

Another favorite of the dog's is green chili. He loves the spicy stuff and sits around licking his chops for a little while between bites, but he always goes back for more. It's a hoot.

As you can see from the photo, Chuck has huge brown eyes that are very expressive. He has many things to say: Pet Me, Feeeeeeed Me, Go Away, Please, will you let me snuggle next to you on the couch just this once?, Let's go for a walk, How dare you?, I want a treat, etc.

When I'm in the kitchen cutting meat, his eyes are demanding. I look down and there he is eyeballing my every move, no matter how small. When we eat dinner, Chuck is there under the table with his head on someone's knee. His eyes become Oliver-like. You can almost hear him say, "Please, sir, may I have some more?"

"I've already fed you, dog," I respond, but Chuck doesn't move. He sits there waiting.

The dog is no dummy in his pursuit of snacks. When our grandchild Ethan was a little squeaker, Chuck would follow him. If Ethan was holding something to eat Chuck was right there ready to pounce on whatever the little guy dropped. The dog has no shame. After all, he has learned that if he waits long enough, he'll get something. However, sometimes he has to wait a long time but he never gives up.

There was once a widow who wanted justice so she went to a judge to get it. The judge, however, was not a nice man so he told the woman to take a hike several times. Despite that the woman kept returning determined to get what she wanted. 　

Finally the judge said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’" Luke 18: 4 - 5.

Jesus told this story during his ministry to show his disciples that they should never give up in their prayers. The lesson still holds true today. Maybe Chuck proves it.

Have you seen this?

2011-03-18T06:43:00.004+11:00

Have you seen this letter on the Internet?

Apparently, according to some biblical code that ebiblefellowship was able to crack, Jesus is coming back to get his church on May 21, 2011 and God will destroy the earth on October 21, 2011. The author states "No man knows ...".

No man knows? That's an interesting statement. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24:36:

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

What part of Jesus' words are not clear?

Jesus also said in the same chapter verse 4 and 5:

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many."

In the same chapter, Christ gives us things to watch for: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains."

There will also be persecution among other things. Revelation talks about the Antichrist, but this person is not part of ebiblefellowship's "prophecy."

I'm really wary of stuff like this. The only way to check it is to refer to scripture and pray for wisdom. We can watch for the signs, but as we have seen within the last week in Japan and the Middle East, wars and earthquakes happen almost everyday in our world. All we can really do is just be ready for the Lord to come back at any time.

None of us has assurance of tomorrow or even the next hour anyway. We need to trust the Lord and not get too caught up in trying to find a definitive answer to Biblical prophecy.

He, she, it? Gender-neutral argument is revived

2011-03-16T06:30:00.002+11:00

Today, Crosswalk.com announced in its "Religion Today" news briefings that the brand-spanking new 2011 translation of the New International Version has hit the shelves. But, many people are upset because of the gender-neutral content. For those who don't know, gender-neutral means that instead of using male pronouns in verses that really mean everyone translators will insert neutral or more inclusive pronouns. It is not a novel idea; the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been doing this for years.

Here is an example from the New International Versions:

In the 1984 NIV version, Galatians 1: 1-2 reads

Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead and all the brothers with me ...

While the 2011 version reads:

Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me ...

Since [a] indicates a footnote here it is:

Galatians 1:1-2 The Greek word for "brothers and sisters" (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18. Note that the translators did not change the phrase "sent not from men nor by a man." The original Greek used words that specifically translate as "man" or "men."
What is wrong with this? Fundamentalists are highly agitated over this because they fear that the translators have given in to what started as feminist arguments for more inclusive language. But, if the Greek word indicates both men and women, what's wrong with putting that in? Doesn't it make the Bible more inclusive rather than just a book written by men who lived in a culture that considered women property? And is it not a more accurate translation?

One of the fears of fundamentalists is that pronouns for God will become female. But I ask ... who ever said that God was a male? Who said that God was a female? In my opinion, God is neither. God is God. In the scriptures God describes Godself with male and female attributes. Observe:

Luke 13: 34: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."
Here is a list of such usages compiled by the Women's Ordination Conference.

And here is a male attribute: "Our Father, who art in heaven ..."

In all this, those of us who like the gender-neutral language - at least those who think like me - do not like God being turned into a goddess in order to appease radical feminist. God is holy and to be respected for whom God is. God is much larger than any label that I use to describe God.

In the Bible, God, and the writers who describe God, use male and female terms so that humanity can relate. Jesus did this all the time in parables and so did the prophets.As for Jesus, it is perfectly correct to describe Jesus as a man. Jesus, who is God, is an actual historical figure who was a man. If you think about it, Jesus had to be a man because there was no way his culture would have identified with him if he had been a woman. This is evidenced by the way the men in the Bible treated women. For example, women were not counted in Biblical times. Scholars figure that the numbers of people that Jesus fed in the gospels can be doubled because of that custom. Another more moving example is found in John 8 where we read that a woman was brought to Jesus because she was caught committing adultery. But with whom was she committing adultery? It definitely takes two to commit adultery. Why didn't the Pharisees bring her adulterous accomplice before Christ?

The attitude of Christ toward the woman - he saved her from being stoned - demonstrates the attitude that his followers were to have toward women. They were to respect them and treat them as equals. The twelve apostles lived this out in the church since scripture talks about several women were ordained as ministers. Later on in the church's history, this example was ignored and certain denominations exclude women from leadership roles.

In some denominations that do not exclude women, there is often an underlying attitude that a man is better when it comes to ministry. I'm not entirely sure why this is true but it is. Women have to rise up against that attitude and do what they believe God has called them to do.

Another example of our attitude toward women shows in this gender-neutral argument since some are fighting its appropriate usage in the scriptures. In this regard, don't pick a fight with those who know the Greek language unless you know it at least as well.

We need to trust that our translators who are interpreting the scriptures do not have an agenda, or at least less of an agenda than in the past.

We need to drop our prejudices and remember that Paul wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

"Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals"

2011-03-16T06:18:00.002+11:00

I just added a review to Suite 101 on this fantastic devotional called "Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals." You can either purchase the book at through the link or connect with www.commonprayer.net to read some of the prayers. I find the book challenging and refreshing.

Revelations of Divine Love

2011-03-09T12:49:00.002+11:00

On Sunday my discussion group looked at a portion of "Revelations of Divine Love," by Julian of Norwich.

I wrote something about it at Suite 101. You can read it here.

It's Fat Tuesday and the Coptic Christians are protesting

2011-03-09T06:29:00.008+11:00

I've been watching the news this morning while enjoying my Solar Roast coffee and checking e-mail. I've learned that Egyptians - Coptic Christians to be exact - have taken to the streets to protest the treatment they are receiving. Of course the story isn't as big as the earlier protests, but it is something about which Christians from around the world should be praying.

As an example, here is a news brief I got this morning from Crosswalk.com.

Egyptians Protest As Church Torched and Coptic Homes Attacked

A mob of 4,000 Muslims attacked a church and Christian homes on the outskirts of Cairo Saturday. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that the mob was a reaction to the relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, which is forbidden under Shari’a law. The woman’s father was reportedly murdered by a cousin for refusing to sanction the honour killing of his daughter, and the cousin was in turn killed by the woman’s brother. The attack on Sool allegedly followed the cousin’s funeral. The mob initially prevented fire fighters from containing the damage to the church. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, told Reuters news agency that the army would rebuild the church before Easter holidays. More than 1,000 Christians and Muslims banded together afterward to protest the attacks.

In case you're wondering, Coptic Christianity is an ancient branch of the church, which was started in Egypt some 1,900 years ago or so by the same Mark who wrote the gospel. They have a fascinating history that you can read here and are credited with starting the monastic movement. They even developed a system for blind scholars to read manuscript long before the invention of Braille.At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, "the Coptic Church was unfairly accused of following the teachings of Eutyches, who believed in monophysitism. This doctrine maintains that the Lord Jesus Christ has only one nature, the divine, not two natures, the human as well as the divine." However, the Encyclopedia Coptica says that the church has never believed this. Like other Christians they believe that Jesus was human and divine:

"Copts believe that the Lord is perfect in His divinity, and He is perfect in His humanity, but His divinity and His humanity were united in one nature called "the nature of the incarnate word", which was reiterated by Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Copts, thus, believe in two natures "human" and "divine" that are united in one "without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration" (from the declaration of faith at the end of the Coptic divine liturgy)."

I don't see the difference between what we call Christianity and what the Copts call Christianity. What western Christians believe is that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. I think the Copts just explain it better. From what I've read, it looks like the Copts and the Roman Church are trying to reunite. We'll have to see what happens. In any light, the Copts need our prayers - not just because they are fellow believers but because they are people whom God loves.

Meanwhile, we are having a pleasanter time of it here in our country. Today is Fat Tuesday, more properly known as Shrove Tuesday or Shrovetide. Many Christians are preparing for Lent by, uh, pigging out. Lent is a traditional time of sacrifice. My husband Mike, who is a recovering Catholic, told me the other day that it's a way to gear up for Lent.

I remember when we lived in Michigan that these pastries were sold on Fat Tuesday:

Paczek (pronounced POONCH-eck).

"The Polish tradition is for Christian households to make paczki by using up all the sugar, lard and other treats that they will be forsaking during the 40-day penitential season of Lent, starting on Wednesday. Paczki devotees say eating the 600-calorie pastries makes it easier to give up sweets in the weeks ahead."

600 calories? One article in my Google search encouraged people to eat Paczkis but to watch the calories. How? By only eating one bite? By the way, Mike adds a bit of cultural lore here ... his mother, whose maiden name is "Urbanski", is the daughter of Polish Catholic immigrants. He recalls her referring to the kids as "pooncheck" as a term of endearment. According to mom, the term literally refers to a sweet pastry; when used as she did, it is like calling a child "sweetie."

Blessings.

A new book

2011-03-08T10:27:00.004+11:00

My next review is of the second edition of Bruce L. Shelley's "Church History in Plain Language." Though I'm still on the first chapter, I thought I'd offer a "preview review."

So far it's good. Shelley's writing style is smooth and easy to understand. Shelley has divided the history of the church into eight sections:

The Age of Jesus and the Apostles
The Age of Catholic Christianity
The Age of the Christian Roman Empire
The Christian Middle Ages
The Age of the Reformation
The Age of Reason and Revival
The Age of Progress, and
The Age of Ideologies

So why am I reading a book on church history?

I developed an interest in the subject while studying Spiritual Formation at Northwest Nazarene University. That program is in many respects like a survey of Christian literature, so we read a lot of material from the early Christian writers. We also studied a little bit of church history and through that I found a whole new world that was previously unknown to me. I am always amazed by the rich history that forms the background of the service, or mass, of the Catholic church. This is also true for the Greek Orthodox and some of the older Protestant denominations like the Episcopal, Lutheran and United Methodist. As a Protestant who attends a relatively new denomination that was founded only a century ago - in the church a century is "new" - I was not aware of our history, except for what I had read in the gospels and the book of Acts.

There is much to learn, however. Here are some questions that I have and that you may have:

* How were the books of the Bible selected?
* How and why did the early Christian churches - Roman, Eastern, and Coptic form?
* What are the sources of our doctrines?
* Why did we fight the Crusades?
* Why were the different orders of priests and nuns formed?
* What influences have the Catholic saints and other church patriarchs and matriarchs had?

I'm sure there will be more questions as I read so I'll let you know if I make any earth-shattering discoveries.

Here is a quote from the author to consider regarding the importance of knowing church history:

"As a consequence of our ignorance concerning Christian history, we find believers vulnerable to the appeals of cultists. Some distortion of Christianity if often taken for the real thing. At the same time other Christians reveal a shocking capacity for spiritual price, hubris. Without an adequate base for comparisons they spring to the defense of their way as the best way - their party as the superior party. Finally, many Christians engage in some form of ministry without the advantage of a broader context for their labor. When they want to make the best use of their time or their efforts, they have no basis for sound judgment."

Pretty interesting, huh?

In closing, I want to thank the people who said that they "liked" my blog on "Positive and Negative Thinking" on Facebook. I always feel a little funny writing posts like that because I know that I am imperfect. More confirmation about that post came when I was reading an article about the civil rights movement in "Our State" magazine called "A Part of Us All." For those who don't know on February 1, 1960 - years before Selma and Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus bridge - four black men sat at the counter of a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, asked to be served and then refused to leave when they were denied because of their skin color. These four men were part of a larger movement across the country that sparked momentous change in the way our nation treated people. In this article, the writer related some of the dastardly things that black people suffered such as being burned, hanged, their churches bombed, mutilation, murder. Pictures of these happenings are hanging in the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro. He then writes:

"These images are not here to disgust us or depress us. They are here to remind us that racism needed to be acknowledged before it could be changed."

I think this applies to problems in the church, and anywhere else as well. If we don't acknowledge problems they will never change. Thus, more people will leave, or stay and become embittered, and be discouraged from service. The resulting negative reputation in the community brings shame to Christ when it all comes down to it.

Well, enough of that for now. Blessings to you as Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday on March 9.

A couple of things ...

2011-03-04T13:09:00.003+11:00

There's a great interview with Bono, the lead singer of U2, an outspoken Christian and a well-known philanthropist, over on The Poached Egg. You can read it here. Thanks for bringing this to our attention over on Facebook, Lola.

Also, I finished "Condoleeza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me." You can read a review of this well-written biography at Suite 101.

Positive and Negative thinking

2011-03-04T05:01:00.004+11:00

I've been doing some thinking about Richard Simmon's first step in permanent weight loss since I wrote about it earlier this week.

Think positive

Not bad advice, especially when there is so much that is negative in our world.

However, I don't think Simmons - nor the apostle Paul for that matter - meant that we were supposed to be Pollyanna - someone who thinks that life is just peachy when death and destruction are everywhere. That's a little extreme, but it makes my point. I think we're supposed to be realistic as well as positive.

We want to always accentuate the positive. We want to encourage people when they're down. We want to bring positive solutions to negative situations. We want to have a positive mindset.

But, we don't want to ignore the negative things that are going on around us. Historically speaking, if people had glazed over the negative these things would not exist:

Civil rights for blacks here in America.
Women's sufferage
The nation of Israel
The United States of America
Free speech
Freedom of religion
Freedom of the press
Child labor laws
OSHA

The list could go on. The things I listed plus many, many other positive changes are a result of people paying attention to the inner voice and not being content to sit back and be comfortable in the status quo. They did not ignore what was negative, but instead confronted it and did the hard work that was needed to make change.

Change is hard work. To change anything we have to overcome ourselves and people who are comfortable with the status quo. Sometimes, it seems that getting them to change is almost as hard as swimming in the ocean off Point Loma when your feet are caught in the kelp. Is that negative thinking? Yes, but it's also realistic.

Despite difficulties, things can be changed. Change is possible. Our ancestors have proved it.

Another thing that makes change difficult is that people who do not want to change can be downright mean. It happens everywhere - in the church, in the community. Sadly, I have found through my experience in the church both as a layperson and as a pastor's wife that no one is more miserable than someone who does not want to listen to God. The longer someone goes without listening to God, the more that person's misery increases, and that often translates into meanness. This drives people away from the church, which is bad enough, but it can also drive them away from God.

The unfortunate thing is that these people would never call themselves mean. They feel justified in the way they treat others because they are "mature" Christians and are doing good things for the church. Their attitudes, however, are not good for the church.

In regards to prayer, Thomas Merton wrote that we are in a dangerous place if we ever think that we know what we're doing. To echo Merton, I say that we are in a dangerous place if we ever think that we know how to treat everyone. When we think that we have cornered the market on Christian love, we should immediately ask the Lord to make us more sensitive to those around us. The reason? Not everyone is the same. We are all complex creatures, each with different pasts and experiences that make us who we are.

Are these thoughts negative? I suppose, but I've seen this go on for so long that I'm quite weary of it and want to expose the problem so that God can heal us. I'm tired of people trying to gloss over the negative so that everyone will just live in peace. That's not peace. Peace is found after dealing with inner and outer junk in our lives and, with the help of God, overcoming it.

I read recently that one should always present a possible solution when criticizing. So what's my solution? Ask God to search your heart every day. Confess your sins and ask the Holy Spirit to change your heart in the areas that he points out. Ask God to fill your heart with love for people. Didn't Jesus say that this is how people would know that we are his disciples - by the way we love each other?

I was watching the news today with one of my sons and heard that the Supreme Court ruled that Westboro Baptist Church has a right to picket funerals of soldiers. I agree that they have the right, but they are very mean. I don't understand how they can justify their behavior and attitudes when the Bible clearly says that we are supposed to love people. In this vein, I don't understand why Christians don't forgive or why they gossip or maybe we should just say talk about other people. This is not love.

I've been in the church a long time and the lack of love really grieves me. It seems like that many of us have a little bit of that Westboro Baptist Church attitude within us. We just don't show it as prominently as they do - we'd rather do it behind the backs of others and in the secrecy of our inner circles of friends. Sometimes we may even disguise it as concern or a prayer request. Most of the time it's just talk. This talk spreads like a cancer and it leaves the talked about person wondering what he or she did wrong. They leave the church because no one will accept them.

This should not be folks. As a pastor's wife I watched this happen and was not able to say anything. Now I can. If I've made you angry think about why you feel that way. If you feel proud of yourself for not being this way, pray. We all have work to do in this area. God make us willing.

Exercise for fun and profit

2011-02-27T10:09:00.003+11:00

I hate exercise ... or at least I thought I did. For years I allowed myself to be unfit and fluctuate in weight because of diets or lack thereof. Now I think I'm on to something and it feels good - exercise!

After several years of failed attempts I am finally on a regimen that works and I feel so much better and stronger. How did this happen and why do I consider it important? What were the road blocks to success?

First of all, success became possible when I decided that it was time for a life change. I couldn't stand it anymore. God had given me a perfectly healthy body and I was having trouble walking up stairs! I also realized that I would not be able to walk and carry on an active life in later years if I didn't do something. Twisting my knee and ending up on crutches for six weeks taught me that painful lesson, and there were also a number of other things telling me that I could be more useful in God's kingdom if I took better care of myself. I'm probably not going to run a marathon, mind you, but at least, Lord willing, I'll have more energy and be able to go where I need to go! And, perhaps I'll get to see my children's children and enjoy their company for a while.

A spiritual component

Exercise, believe it or not, has a spiritual component. Medical doctor Larry Hull and his twin brother Jerry , who is a professor at Northwest Nazarene University, wrote a book on spiritual formation called "Fully Alive." Larry, who writes about habits, exercise, fitness and weight control, says "Strong character and good habits are inseparable." It's true. People with strong character usually do not favor the easy way out. They know that good habits will benefit them and others in the end.

Please do not misunderstand me. One does not have to exercise in order to be strong believer. God loves each of us and works to form our characters in many ways. What I am saying is that exercise is one of those means by which God can build character. For example, the habit of perseverance that one learns in keeping up with an exercise regimen, is carried over into other areas of life. It builds confidence and shows the person exercising that suffering can have a useful end. I write that with a grin. As one who did not like to exercise, I was not so thrilled about sweating, aching muscles and heavy breathing. I used to consider that suffering. Now I find that sweating tells me that I'm doing well. I also found that getting in shape may take a while, but the end result is exciting. Exercise now feels good. Besides, if it is a well done exercise program, muscle pain is not an issue.

My roadblocks

As a young person I lacked self-confidence. And, not being particularly athletic, I dreaded P.E. classes. When other students would get mad at me for missing a ball or some other klutzy action, I just went further into myself thinking that I was a failure. As I became an adult, I left physical fitness out of the equation for my life because it had been painful. Now I look back on my life and realize that what I was missing was fun. Think about it. As a little kid, before junior high hit, didn't you like to go out and play? I did. My friends and I rollerskated and played Horse. We rode bikes all over the neighborhood and played hopscotch and foursquare on our driveways. We exercised, but we didn't know we were exercising because we were having fun. My challenge as a middle-aged adult has been to find something active that I enjoyed.

As fitness guru Richard Simmons says in one of his "Sweatin' to the Oldies" videos, "If it ain't fun, it ain't gonna get done."

And that is true. I have found now that I really enjoy bicycling on the country roads around our house and "Sweatin' to the Oldies" (Mike calls it "Dancin' with Dickie") on days when I can't go out. Walking is also fun, especially when you are with a friend or spouse or the dog.

Simmons says that there are six steps to self-esteem and permanent weight loss:

Think positive
Practice patience
Be forgiving
Shed the past
Have faith
Count your blessings

These steps have Biblical roots. In Philippians 4:8 Paul writes, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Isn't that what Simmons calls "positive thinking"? There's nothing wrong with patting ourselves on the back for succeeding in a good habit. The best thing to do is start small, as Larry Hull writes. Do a little at a time and congratulate yourself for succeeding in that one thing.

Simmons' second step, practice patience, is encouragement to develop one of the fruits of the spirit. It really does take patience to succeed in anything. In an exercise program, you won't realize overwhelming success all at once. It takes time. That's why you have to congratulate yourself for what you do right and then get back on the bandwagon if you fall off.

The last steps are self-evidently biblical and I may write more on them next time. However, right now in closing I want to share with you the steps that Larry Hull talks about. They are very helpful:

Start simple: one exercise
Do it consistently: five days a week (I'm not there yet)
Do it by cues: certain time of day, such as when you get up, when you get home or right before dinner (Now that I'm not working at an office I do it after I get up. I used to exercise about 30 minutes after dinner on nights when I didn't have to go out.)
Make it fun
When you forget or miss, do not quit
Get positive reinforcements by telling yourself you are in control and capable of changing your habits.

Hull writes, "Your long-term goal is to live better with less health problems, increased energy, more confidence and greater self-esteem. You might live longer as well."

Living longer? Living better? Sounds pretty good to me.

A Blast from the Past

2011-02-25T07:29:00.004+11:00

Yesterday I was in my kitchen scrubbing potatoes. Just before I began scrubbing I thought to myself that the house was really quiet. The boys were at school. Mike was at work. The dog was outside rejoicing in the elements. The heater was off because the temperature was in the 60s. It was just really quiet.

For a split second I considered turning on the tube for background noise but then decided against it. Quiet can be good, especially when there are five people living in the house along with a dog who thinks he's one of the children. So I left the television off and began scrubbing potatoes.

I was then aware of the sounds - the scrubbing, the water running - and I had a flashback to the 80s. An old song by Phil Keaggy from his "Getting Closer" album that I listened to for hours during the 80s on my little Emerson cassette recorder, popped into my head.

In the song, Keaggy sings about hearing the voice of the Lord everyday. In turn, he makes sounds that he hopes are pleasing to God.

I believe that God has a sense of humor.

There I was, scrubbing potatoes, and this song popped into my head. I realized then that the sounds that I was making were just as much for him as was Keaggy's wonderful guitar music. The potatoes were for my family and I was quite cheerful as I was scrubbing them. Weird, huh? But doesn't God want us to give our offerings cheerfully?

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9: 7, NIV.

I admit that I'm taking this verse a little out of context. In the surrounding chapter Paul was referring to a monetary gift that he was encouraging the Corinthians to make, but the idea of the chapter is good counsel for anything we do.

So remember today - whether you're scrubbing potatoes, sick in bed, working hard; whether you are with people or alone - what you do matters. Whether or not anyone sees what you do is not as important as remembering that God does, and he will bless accordingly. It's all in our attitude.

By the way, the potatoes were pretty good. The kids and Mike said so. We didn't feed any to the dog, much to his chagrin. And even though the meal was pretty simple, their compliments were "music to my ears." I was glad to do it for them. I hope that attitude was a good sound in God's ear.

Finding my way

2011-02-24T05:19:00.014+11:00

Tomorrow, February 24, marks the two month anniversary of my last day at the newspaper. Crazy, huh? Quit an established job, in this economy - especially when I was managing editor.

It's not so crazy if not losing your way is your highest priority.

I recently watched the movie Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams. The story reaffirmed again my decision to quit. At the end of the movie, Pacino, a highly respected detective, advises a young cop who is about to throw away evidence that would implicate Pacino's character in a crime: "Don't lose your way." The movies relates how Pacino's character had lost his way and had become morally corrupt, and how he came to regret it.

Don't lose your way

Keep walking in the light that you've been given. It's all the same. And hopefully one day we will all hear the Good Lord say, "Well done."

Building frustration

While working at the paper, especially during the last of my three and a half years, I was continually frustrated by the long hours. They really took advantage of salaried employees, who often worked from early morning to late night finding and writing the news. During the last year I was especially frustrated by an unreasonable boss and because of him, a shrinking staff. By the time I left there were eight people on the editorial staff writing for four papers. One paper was a Monday through Friday rag and the others were weekly. We could not write enough content to really keep up, and it became increasingly difficult to write anything meaningful for the community.

The clincher

I had been managing editor for seven months when La Junta Mill, a local business, tried to get taxpayer money from the Urban Renewal Authority to bail them out. They were being fined by OSHA for outright negligence regarding worker safety, as we later discovered through a Freedom of Information Act request made not by the paper, but by Mike and I as individuals. This business wanted the taxpayers to buy their old mill for $500,000 so that they could build a new $3 million facility. They claimed that they had no money. To me it seemed like a sham pure and simple so, in order to protect the taxpayers, I published articles about the situation that had been reviewed by and approved by the publisher. Shortly thereafter, the owners of the mill came in and pulled their advertising - $10,000 worth - thus hurting the family of their ad rep and bullying the paper through economic means. Attempts at economic bullying probably happen a lot in the world of journalism. It happened twice during my last year at this paper. However, the second time the paper gave in to the bullying and I was told that I was not to publish anything related to the La Junta Mill story. It was because of this that I quit. If the free press allows people to push it around, it is no longer a free press. It becomes a public relations firm.

In the newspaper business, I was constantly reminded that there are many people who cannot speak up or stand up for themselves. Those were the people for whom I tried to write - people like the La Junta taxpayers who might have paid for an employer's outright negligence or drivers on U.S. Highway 50 who were endangered by a company that refused to follow the law and repeatedly caused a road hazard when their gravel trucks entered a two-lane highway without access lanes. As editor I tried to encourage my reporter to write for these people as well.

Help along the way

Not only have I received encouragement for my decision from those closest to me, but Cameron Strang, editor and publisher of Relevant magazine wrote an editorial for the January issue that was quite timely indeed. You can read it here, but basically, Strang told his readers that editorial content was already decided for an issue before his crew sought advertising. He told readers that he wouldn't allow content to be influenced by advertising, which is good because Relevant often covers issues that are controversial in order to encourage its readers to to live like Christ in a world gone mad. As it turns out, God seems to be blessing Strang's decision. The magazine, which is geared toward 20 somethings and older people like me who are recovering fundamentalists, seems to have a variety of advertisers, including some that are well known throughout Christendom.

What I'm doing now ...

Now that I am not working 12 to 14 hour days, for the last two months I have been tossing around ideas about what to do and trying to find my way. Although at times I felt like I was lost, I had not been, not really. I have been at a fork in the road. I stopped writing on the blog for a while because I had no idea what to say. I was cooling off. I have kept myself busy though. I have written six articles for Suite101.com and I am working on starting a business. There will be more on the business as it develops, but here are links to my articles:

Cinema classics provide inspiration before and during Lent

Bernard of Clairvaux Described Stages of Christian Love

Francis de Sales on the Devout Life

Rural Colorado School Implements Prevention Program

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Resonates with History

Is Being Green Wrong for Christians?

I hope to develop this blog more closely now. I want to use it as a help for people who are trying to find their way. By doing this, I hope that the blog will be more personal and useful. Here are some books that I am reading that I plan to comment on in the near future:

Condoleezza Rice: A memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me. A good read for Black History Month during February.

Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

The Resurrection of the Son of God (Along with the bibliography, this book is more than 800 pages. We'll see if I finish it!)

And my Sunday Discussion Group is reading Devotional Classics: Selected Reading for Individuals and Groups.

I also like to read hobby books and magazines. Right now I am thumbing through:

The Complete Guide to Rubber Stamping

Green Craft Magazine" Vol. 4

so the blog will cover a little more than religious topics since my business will be centered on freelancing and crafting.

Other magazines I read regularly and that may induce comment from time to time are:

National Geographic

Taste of Home

Relevant

My goal is to review as I read for your benefit and for mine. I've always loved to read. Who knew that one day I'd blog about it? Well, enough for today. God bless!

Is being green wrong for Christians?

2011-01-29T10:43:00.002+11:00

I have an article up on Suite101, about the issues facing Christians regarding the 'green' movement:

Is being green wrong for Christians?

Francis de Sales on the Devout Life

2011-01-29T10:40:00.000+11:00

I have an article up on Suite101, about Francis de Sales' views on leading a devout life:

Francis de Sales on the Devout Life

Here is some background on Francis de Sales:

St. Francis de Sales

Christmas memories bring comfort and joy

2010-12-18T03:46:00.000+11:00

Last year, right after Christmas, I picked up a book, marked down in price, titled “Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays,” by Elaine St. James. As far as I know it is not a religious book, but it is something that everyone should read because, as church people know, the hustle and bustle the holidays bring is no different for us than anyone who does not attend church regularly.

One of the first suggestions St. James asked her readers to do was to reflect on what they used to enjoy about the holiday. I thought this was a good exercise so I took time to think about it.
The interesting thing was that all of my enjoyable reflections centered around family and friends.
There were the nights before Christmas when my cousin and I huddled under the covers listening for Santa and his reindeer to land on the roof. My cousin claimed to have heard this once. I never did. However, I did hear a lot of rustling and stifled laughter coming from the living room as our parents got everything ready for the big morning.

There were the long ago Christmas Eves spent with family, when we ate in a restaurant, went to church for the annual pageant and then, at midnight, after unwrapping some gifts, sang carols while another cousin accompanied us on the piano.

There was that first Christmas away from family when as a newlywed couple, my first husband and I had the best time ever opening gifts that had been a struggle to buy. Of course, my parents vowed never to spend another Christmas apart from us and that was good, but that first year sure was special.

There were three Christmas mornings on which three separate children experienced the joy of unwrapping gifts for the first time. While the little one didn’t know what was going on, we grownups and the older children sure had a good time laughing together.

And then there were the last four Christmases spending time getting to know a new family and learning to come together.

Reflecting on these simple, enjoyable times make the holiday truly wonderful. It’s not the presents; it’s not all the hustle and bustle. It’s about enjoying the season together. And, if you think about it, that’s all Mary and Joseph had on the very first Christmas – each other, and the brand new package literally sent from heaven. It probably was not easy for them, but they were together, warm and cozy in that stable, listening to the shepherds speak about singing angels. I’m sure that is a memory that lived in their minds for years to come.

This Christmas season, before the rush of the big week begins, take some time to think about what you enjoy about the holiday and thank God for it. Gratefulness will bring you great comfort and joy.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

"If I had a tiara ..."

2010-12-14T09:01:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took a short trip to Trinidad and stayed overnight in a bed and breakfast. While in the otherwise very nicely restored Victorian, I felt strange. It just felt like there was something in that room that didn't want me there. I promise that I am mentally sound; I really felt this.

In the church we are taught that there is a "great cloud of witnesses" watching us. These are the saints who have gone on before us. We are also taught that there is another dimension to this, an evil one that also watches. This seemed to be what I was feeling.

"Go away," I said while sitting in the room alone. "I am a child of God."

And guess what? I didn't feel that strange feeling any more and our time there was very enjoyable.

The next day I was wandering around a gift store and found a notebook that said "I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world." I chuckled at this because I remembered all the times in college when I thought that my contributions to society would actually save the world. And then I thought of the wealth given to the kings and queens in this world and how they might be able to solve some problems. The statement seemed to hit me on many levels so I bought the book.

After a while I started thinking about the incident in the hotel room and the saying on the notebook. It's true, you know. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is royalty. We are co-heirs with Christ to the riches of God. "Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory," Romans 8: 17 (NIV).

I may not have a tiara or a cape but I am connected to the greatest king that ever was and ever will be. Perhaps in some small way I can "save" the world. Maybe,in some way God will use me to change the corner of the world in which I live. All I need to do is use my talents in the best way possible and trust him for the results. I may not know what effect my actions may have, but that's okay.

What am I thankful for?

2010-12-14T08:59:00.001+11:00

This week our newspaper is asking for readers’ stories about what makes them thankful. So, I thought with Thanksgiving coming I’d start the ball rolling, so to speak, and write about what I am thankful for in David Letterman style, no less.

So here it is. The top 10 things for which I am thankful ... drum roll please ...

10. My dog: I know, it’s weird, but that furry little dog brings me a lot of joy, even if he does tear up the furniture when hunting for mice.
9. A warm house: Winter is coming. I thank God for the blessing of living in a sturdy, warm house.

8. My job: Many in this nation do not have jobs right now. I am grateful to have one that I enjoy. Remember those who may need our help this holiday season.

7. Road trips: Mike and I had a great mini-vacation last weekend. We drove around appreciating Colorado’s beautiful scenery. This truly is God’s country!

6. America: This country may have its problems, but it is the best nation on earth in which to live. We have an astounding history and our Constitution is like no other country’s founding document. Thank God for the wisdom our Founding Fathers had when they thought through the concept of our nation.

5. My church, pastor and his family: I cannot think of all the times that my church has been there for me when I am in trouble. On Sunday it felt good to worship freely and without fear.

4. My coworkers: Everyone in this office is friendly and works hard. We do a lot during the week and I think at the end of the day we can rest knowing that the day’s work was a job well done.

3. Family: I love my boys. We’ve been through some rough times, but things are working out well. I am also thankful for Mike’s side of the family and my parents. God has indeed blessed me.

2. Husband: My husband is very good to me. We have a strong friendship and a deep affection for one another. That’s something that doesn’t happen every day.

And the number one thing for which I am thankful (drum roll):

1. Abundant life: Life as a Christian may not always be easy, but it is worth every minute. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me.

Stop sometime this week and think about 10 reasons to be grateful. The reasons are there, sometimes you just have to stop and think. I knew an old preacher once that used to say “Count your blessings. Weigh them ton by ton.”

That’s true, you know.

The Hound of Heaven

2010-11-12T08:02:00.001+11:00

Our dog Chuck is a daschund-beagle mix, which means that he is a hound and is a good hunter. There are two classifications of hounds: hounds that track by sight and those that track by scent. Chuck is definitely the latter. In fact, he is often our first clue that a mouse is in the house because he'll start sniffing all over the place - obsessively.

Bloodhounds are especially tenacious and were originally bred to hunt large animals. Now they are used by law enforcement to track down people. Bloodhounds, like all scent hounds, have high endurance levels and can track their quarry for miles. They can even track a scent through running water, according to dog-names.org.uk.

Have you ever heard God referred to as the hound of heaven? The term came from a poem written by Francis Thompson, who describes running from God like trying to escape a hound: "From those strong Feet that followed, followed after. But with unhurrying chase, And unperturbèd pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, They beat ..."

This term for God applies to my dad's experience. In 1967 as a soldier in Vietnam, my dad was rummaging through his locker one night and picked up a Bible that my grandmother had given him. At that time, my dad, who was not a Christian, prayed, "God, if you get me out of here I promise to serve you."

What my dad did not understand at the time is that he had unleashed a baying hound that chased him for another five years until he was caught. Like so many have said about being caught, all they could do was give up and serve. The ironic thing about the story was that my dad told it during his annual church treasurer's report. Not only had he kept his promise, he had served God by doing a job in the church that not many people want!

All of us have a story to tell about God chasing us. If you haven't been caught, you might as well give up. The Hound of Heaven is tenacious. You'll be happier (and more peaceful) if you just let yourself get caught.

Note: "Hound of Heaven" is also a poem written by Francis Thompson.

Headless chicken syndrome, part 2

2010-11-12T07:59:00.002+11:00

Just like so many other attributes of the Christian life, the key to rest is in our attitude. Jesus said it best, of course. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount he told us it was not enough to refrain from murdering; one has to purge hatred from the heart. Also, it is not enough to refrain from committing adultery. One has to abandon lust as well.

So it is with rest. It is not enough to say that we will take a nap on Sunday afternoon as part of our rest (although I do enjoy my naps religiously, so to speak). We must listen to the Holy Spirit concerning what activities we need to involve ourselves with, or abandon. “Rest” encompasses much more than simple physical rest; it is necessary to take the time to recharge our “spiritual batteries.”

We must refrain from what I have formerly called the “headless chicken syndrome.” This is when we run around like a chicken with its head cut off, going from activity to activity desperately trying to fill our time for one reason or another, caught up in the “hamster wheel” of 21st century life.
Of course some days or weeks are headless chicken days or weeks. Oftentimes, we cannot help being busy and sometimes circumstances are beyond our control. However, like I said, it is our attitude that counts.

The next time you find yourself running around the proverbial barnyard in an aimless fashion, ask yourself, “Why am I doing what I am doing?” It could be that you are trying to please someone, or perhaps you have trouble just saying “no.” It could be that you feel guilty about something and you are trying to pay penance. The only trouble with paying self-induced penance is that it will never be enough. Maybe you are too busy because you are disorganized.

There are a multitude of reasons as to why we run around in a frenzy. However, once we start figuring out the whys and wherefores of why we are doing what we are doing, we have to be careful not to fill our time with other needless activities. That’s why the attitude is the heart of the matter. We will never be cured of the headless chicken syndrome until we get to the root of our behavior.

So what is this attitude of rest that I am trying to describe? It is peace. It is simplicity. It is the ability to maintain the right priorities. It is the desire to live a godly life; to develop a personal relationship with God. It’s the realization that you can pitch your Blackberry into City Park pond and everything will still be okay. That is the attitude of rest. It is worth working toward.

Don't hide your head in the sand

2010-10-23T09:43:00.004+11:00

My family sometimes has a sick sense of humor and it often comes out at weird times. This instance took place Wednesday night at Villiage Inn where we ate supper. There were only three of us. The other two were participating in school activities, so it became a rare moment when we parents could spend time with the youngest.

Eventually, after ordering and some light chit chat, the conversation turned to school. I asked Stephen how school was and Mike asked him more specific questions about his classes. Apparently in science that day, the class had talked about weather. In this discussion, the teacher talked about Hurricane Andrew, the third most powerful storm to hit the United States. Stephen, who is really interested in the weather, was full of little tidbits of information, including that some animals from a zoo had died.

“Do you know how the ostrich died?” Mike asked, with that gleam in his eye that meant some type of fabrication was coming.

“How?” Stephen asked, between bites.

“He buried his head in the sand with his butt in the air and the wind sandpapered the feathers right off his butt.”

I snorted. Stephen resumed inhaling his dinner. Apparently, Stephen didn’t get it so Mike asked him how high the winds were.

“About 175 miles per hour,” Stephen said.

“So, if you were an ostrich with your head buried in the sand and your butt in the air, and the wind at 175 mph ... he’d get sandpapered so bad he’d bleed to death.”

Stephen raised his eyebrow and subtly answered, “Or, he could have died because the wind blew him over and snapped his neck.”

All three of us laughed at that. Mike and Stephen exchanged high fives.

See? We have strange senses of humor, but out of that came a thought. If we’re too busy hiding our heads in the sand from fear when a storm is approaching, we will not survive. The storms of life can be just as brutal as Hurricane Andrew and we need some good solid ground on which to stand so that we won’t cave in to the pressure.

Do you remember the parable Jesus told about the wise man who built his house upon the rock? The rains came down and the floods came up, like the Sunday school song says, and the house on the rock stood firm. What happened to the house built on the sand? It went splat! Jesus is likened to that rock and I know that during times in my life when I’ve been afraid, Christ was always there to help me face that fear rather than bury my head in the sand like an ostrich. Jesus will help you face your fears today. Just let him.

Frenzy affects Sabbath rest

2010-10-15T12:10:00.004+11:00

If God were rewriting the 10 Commandments for the fast-paced, high tech 21st century, he might add: “Thou shalt not run about as if thou were a headless chicken” as a variation of “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” This is something that I’ve been struggling with lately. Remembering the Sabbath, whether you celebrate on Sunday or Saturday, is definitely worthwhile. It brings a day of rest, something everyone needs whether they admit it or not.

However, I’m convinced that in order to achieve a Sabbath rest, we must be careful about our time during the week.

What I am talking about is something I’m going to call the “headless chicken syndrome.” I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We enter so many activities onto our calendars that there is no white space; we get out of bed in the morning and hit the ground running, without stopping until we fall back into bed late at night. We could also call this the “hamster syndrome.” In this syndrome, we live our lives running endlessly in the same direction without stopping. It seems that we lack purpose, even in our flurry of activity.

Lately, I’ve been trying to slow down. It isn’t easy. I’ve even had to resign from a couple of activities that were worthwhile in order to work toward a more peaceful week. I’m sure as I continue this journey, the Lord will reveal more things that need to be cut from my activities, and I must be willing to do that.

It’s all about priorities. We should determine what is truly important. What we believe God is calling us to do. Although most of our activities are good, some aren’t really necessary. Perhaps someone else could handle the activity just as well or even better. Maybe our energies need to be directed elsewhere. Perhaps our children need more attention. Maybe the job we have needs our undivided attention. God can use us in any capacity, we just have to be open to his will.

As we work to live a more simple life God will shape our attitudes so that the Sabbath will be more restful, whenever we celebrate.

The political scene

2010-10-06T03:55:00.001+11:00

It's election time again and if you're anything like me, you can't wait until it's over. The biggest reason for me is because I tire quickly of watching politicians sling mud at one another through endless e-mails and political ads on television. Rarely does anyone address the real issues, and, if they do, it leaves me wondering if they are simply following notes written by their staffs or if they have actually read about the issues.

Today's political scene is especially lacking, especially in the Coloradan Republican camp. In the governor's race, for whom is a Republican supposed to vote? Maes lied about his police service record and all Tancredo has done is split the party while appealing to conspiracy theorists and the rest of the extreme Right. He has all but cinched a Democrat gubernatorial win. So that leaves me wondering if Hickenlooper will follow his predecessor in taxing and feeing Coloradans without doing anything to curb special interest spending in order to balance a budget that is out of control. Unfortunately, taxing and feeing more and more doesn’t control the budget – it just gives “them” more of our money to waste.

And, speaking of taxes, who was the genius behind Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101? If these three pass, our cities and towns will be stripped of their services and schools will suffer even deeper budget cuts. These three are supposed to make the average taxpayer happy by cutting taxes; however, the three also limit government's ability to borrow and limits the amount of money the state can use for operating programs and transportation. The thing to remember with all of this is that it will eventually hurt the entity that it was meant to help - the taxpayer. Yes, if these three are passed, we will pay less in taxes, but how will we benefit from potholes that can't be fixed or services being cut, such as city buses, amenities at the library, senior center, sanitation, etc. The solution is not limiting government revenue in this manner; the solution is in electing officials who understand priorities and restraint.

Not only are there financial issues looming on the ballot, but this year Colorado voters get to decide when an unborn fetus really becomes a person. Supporters of Amendment 62 take the position that if you do not support their view, then you support abortion. They are completely black-and-white on this, attempting to ban the most common forms of birth control in use today, and making no exceptions for rape or incest. This vote, in my opinion, really puts people who believe that life begins at conception – a term poorly defined by supporters of Amendment 62 – in a bad position because we are in effect saying that nothing is more important than that developing life even if the mother's life is in danger. If a pregnant woman suffers a miscarriage, tubal pregnancy, cancer or infertility that just may be too bad for her if Amendment 62 passes. Why would we want to limit treatment for these women, who if they die, will also take the developing life along with them? Why should the less developed, who cannot survive outside the womb, have more rights that a person who can? Why not pump the money being used to push this amendment into crisis pregnancy centers, WAIT programs and in taking care of women who suffer a crisis pregnancy? Why don't we use this money into programs to make adoption more accessible? Why are we trying to legalize a moral issue?

I've said enough for this week, but more will follow in the body of our paper as we bring the candidates and the amendments to you. I encourage everyone to think for themselves, rather than vote along party lines. Feel free to write me - e-mail is best. Please keep the word count around 250 words.

Criminal behavior spreads like bacterial infection

2010-10-06T03:53:00.002+11:00

During the summer of 1985, southern California was under a dark cloud of terror.

That summer was when Richard Ramirez, known as The Night Stalker, was executing his reign of terror, committing the most heinous murders, mutilating corpses, sodomizing and raping people. In fact, in 1989, after being on trial for four years, Ramirez was “found guilty on 43 counts in Los Angeles County, including 13 murders, and charges including burglary, sodomy and rape,” according to about.com. After being sentenced to death, he shrugged it off saying, “Big deal.”

On the day that police released a composite drawing of Ramirez on the news, Californians memorized the face. Within days the killer was caught after walking into a liquor store. “It’s the Night Stalker,” the clerk yelled. Ramirez took off with a crowd following him. He tried to steal a car and the man who was under it doing repairs started chasing him. The man and the crowd jumped Ramirez right on the street and kept him contained until the police arrived.

The people in that neighborhood were heroes in my eyes. They were an ordinary group of citizens who decided to catch a murderer when the opportunity presented itself. I am sure that if they had been fearful and hung back instead of jumping Ramirez, that The Night Stalker would have disappeared again and more people would have died. No one would have blamed them, though. The man was a walking nightmare.
At the beginning of this week there was a shooting incident. People refused to cooperate with the police in identifying the suspect. I believe that they did so out of fear. Who can blame them? But, there is something larger at stake - the peace and tranquility of our city. I am convinced that if we citizens band together and cooperate with law enforcement when these things happen, then people will think twice before bringing their malice here. That’s a lesson we can learn from those average, everyday people in Los Angeles.

We are lucky to live in the Arkansas Valley where people are generally nice and take care of one another. Unfortunately, however, that can change. All it takes is for people to remain silent when wrong is done. Silence is a petri dish for criminal behavior. Under this “glass” of American neighborhoods, criminals thrive and their activities grow in that “perfect” environment until they dominate their area. Today, we see bacterial infections that do not respond to traditional treatments like antibiotics. It then takes drastic measures to get rid of bacteria.
In the community it’s the same. When criminal activity becomes entrenched, drastic measures must be taken to overcome the “bacteria,” because people who are bent on breaking the law do not respond to traditional disciplines, like discussions about their behavior or community censures. They have to be disciplined by the law. They also need our prayers so that they will change.

Let’s not let behavior like this continue here. Let’s keep the peace and tranquility of our city by being tough on crime. It’s the only way.

The stench of coverup

2010-10-06T03:53:00.001+11:00

Secrecy appears to be a scourge nowadays. Seems like if you have money or position, you can get away with anything. This has become clear in two stories that have crossed my desk in the last two weeks.

This past week the Pueblo Chieftain carried an article about La Junta’s former police chief Charles “Chuck” Widup. Widup was reportedly at fault in a traffic accident in which six individuals suffered injury. Widup was charged with DUI, according to the Pueblo Chieftain, with a blood alcohol level of .233. That level was recorded two hours after the accident, and is almost three times the legal limit in this state. Widup was issued a summons and given a ride home, with no requirement to post bond or cool his heels in jail.

Because of this, people in town are angry. People believe that Widup received special treatment because he works for the Department of Corrections, and has “connections” with the leadership of the Pueblo police department.

I did a little research about this and discovered that there is no law that says a drunk driver has to go to jail. Drunk driving is a traffic misdemeanor under Colorado law and is a releasable offense. It really is up to the officer; however, each community may decide what they will do. In La Junta, according to Police Chief Todd Quick, all DUIs go to jail and have to bond out, unless there is an extenuating medical condition. In that case, the person is turned over to a responsible party who agrees to keep them until they are sober.

So, if Widup had been soused in La Junta, he would have gone to jail. But he wasn’t. He was in Pueblo, where apparently the police department is “confused” about policy.

Sure they were.

As editor, I have been asked several times this week whether or not I am going to publish something about Widup’s accident and I fully intended to do so. It has taken so long because none of the involved authorities have been forthcoming with information. On Monday I called the Pueblo Police Department to get the report and I was told that it had already been turned over to the district attorney and they couldn’t discuss the matter. The clerk gave me the D.A.’s phone number so I called them. At the D.A.’s office the nice lady told me that she didn’t have the case and that she would call me back.

As of today, that call has not been returned. I still have questions about the incident. For example, there is a two hour time limit between the time the arrestee last drove and the administration of the breath test. From the Pueblo Chieftain account, Widup’s test may have been outside that two hour window, and therefore inadmissible in the Department of Revenue license revocation hearing. And, without that test, no judge will take action against his license. I can’t confirm that because of the two-stepping ’round the scales of justice by our law enforcement community in Pueblo County. But if that is in fact the case, what do we have? Yet another bit of “confusion” on the part of Pueblo Police Department? Way to go, there, public “safety” officials.

In another matter, Rep. Wes McKinley (D - Walsh) was accused of sexually harassing a young lobbyist. He is also protected by secrecy. A ruling called Joint Rule 38, a rule developed by legislators for legislators, keeps the public from learning what becomes of our mustached, guitar-pickin’ cow-pie kickin’ good ol’ boy politician and any other lawmaker that gets caught. According to Face the State, the news agency that broke the story, all Wes gets is a slap on the wrist. He gets to go to a class.

I’m sure that will keep him from harassing anyone else. It works so well in other cases. Way to go there, elected representatives, who seem to have forgotten who hired them. We are, indeed, the very people who need protection from these types of people.

These coverups are enough to make me sick. Do I like knowing other people’s dirt? I must because I’m a journalist, right? Wrong. I don’t. But when public officials and law enforcement personnel are caught doing wrong, then the public has a right to know. These people are paid by our tax dollars. We should know whether or not the right people have been hired. We should be able to vote with the right information, or in Widup’s case, be able to complain about his behavior to the proper people. We should let law enforcement officials know that we are not pleased when they break the very laws that common people are booked for every day. We should let the legislature know that they should set an example for the rest of us.

What happens if this kind of thing occurs here in La Junta? More of the same? The incompetence and untrustworthiness of the Pueblo Police Department and our elected officials smears all with the same stench.

Rules, common sense, and following the law

2010-10-06T03:52:00.001+11:00

On Monday, my boys came home from the first day of the new school year. They reported that their teachers had all spent a great deal of time going over “The Rules.” They seemed a little put off by all the emphasis on those rules, especially since this wasn’t their first year at the school.

This caused me to reconsider the events over the last couple of years. At the height of the presidential campaign, the business world seemed to come apart at the seams. Major corporations, especially those associated with home loans, were self-destructing. The people who ran those corporations had not followed the rules established for them, or else those who made those rules ignored the basic rule of common sense. Because of that, unimaginable debt was forced upon ordinary Americans - who were not to blame for the crisis - by our government in order to bail out those corporations. It was all driven by greed for the almighty dollar.

More recent cases of this have occurred earlier this year. We have seen a British Petroleum oil rig blow up, killing 11 workers. We found that the company ignored basic safety rules, and we found that government inspectors were complicit in this. That too was driven by greed, and now the Louisiana coast is seriously damaged, marine life is suffering, small businesses along the Gulf Coast are in peril, and thousands of families who depend on that interconnecting system face a very uncertain future.

It happened again with salmonella bacteria introduced into the market place that made at least 2,409 people sick and resulted in a national recall of more than 550 million eggs. Conditions at the farms from where the eggs originated were deplorable, investigators found. All of that was from not following the rules, and greed.

What are we to do about this? Should we quit drilling offshore? Should we quit selling eggs? Should we make more regulations? I don’t believe that is the answer. The first two choices are ludicrous. The third would just give us more rules to ignore. Why don’t we begin by enforcing the laws we already have with substantive penalties that will make businesses think twice about succumbing to greed. Why don’t we decide as a people to think about our neighbors rather than falling to the temptation to make more money than we could possibly use in wise way? And why don’t we hold our government accountable? Once our government interjects itself as a regulatory authority, it assumes a moral obligation. Government these days doesn’t seem to understand the concept of “moral obligation” any more than does private business. Where are the penalties for either private business or government, when both are responsible?

On the local level, we could take this advice to heart as well. Here at the paper we’ve received a couple of letters about animal problems. We need a balance here. I agree with the reader who asked for more regulations regarding animal abuse. I also believe that people need to follow basic common sense and think about what’s good for their animal and for their neighbors. Is it really advantageous for the community to let dog dung pile up in the yard? To let dogs bark insanely? To allow pets to run loose destroying private property? Perhaps some should reconsider owning pets if they don’t have time to care for them. Like all of the cases above, it depends on perspective. Are we completely self-focused or do we also think of others?

As my children will see, and do already see, rules are important. Going over them from time to time does not hurt anyone, especially if the rules are followed and enforced, along with good common sense.

A lesson from Herbie, the goldfish

2010-06-04T08:53:00.000+11:00

When I was in first grade, my elementary school conducted a carnival. I remember this day pretty well even though it was a long time ago, because that is when Herbie came into my life. Herbie was a small goldfish that I won at the carnival. It was one of those happy childhood days. My mom came to the classroom and walked through the carnival with me, steering me clear of the fish until the very last. She didn't want to carry it around and risk the bag breaking. It must have been clear that everyone could win a goldfish.

When I won my fish, I was elated. The little guy swam around in the plastic bag filled with water and I held it carefully all the way home. When we got home my mom filled up a large glass bowl that had a stem -- at that age I thought it would be a neat drinking glass probably because I had seen people drinking from smaller, similar glasses on television -- and we dumped Herbie into the water. I watched my little goldfish swim around making "o" shapes with his mouth as he breathed.

My favorite thing was to feed Herbie. I liked to watch him swim to the surface and suck in the little pellets that I sprinkled on top. He was always so eager. I think this was the only excitement Herbie had -- that is until we cleaned his bowl.

Cleaning the bowl was a job for my dad. I watched and helped the best I could. It always amazed me to see Herbie swim really fast as my dad chased him around the bowl with a net and then flop around once he was inside and had hit air. Herbie always seemed grateful when we dumped him into a glass of water while we cleaned his bowl.

The one thing about Herbie is that his life was immersed in blessing. He was surrounded by his life source, water. He was well fed and had no real worries. Even the net was his friend because if we had let his bowl grow increasingly dirty, Herbie would have died.

Herbie is a lot like us. We are immersed in blessing. It may not feel like it sometimes. God may drag his net around in our bowl so that he can clean out our lives, but like Herbie, we are surrounded by our life source. God surrounds us and immerses us in his love. There is nowhere we can go to get away from it. If we did get away we would die spiritually.

Most people swim around in the fishbowls of their lives without realizing that they are surrounded by blessing. It is easy to take things for granted. However, God will remind us from time to time that he is there and that we are indeed blessed. It may come in the form of more blessings being sprinkled onto the surface of our lives, or, it may come in the form of trouble, when our world is turned upside down so that God can discipline us. These are the extra blessings in life. We are already surrounded in God's blessing. We are literally swimming in it.

What does creation have to do with politics?

2010-05-21T11:53:00.002+11:00

A recent article I read on the CBS news website has my hackles up again about the separation of church and state. And, as I’ve said before, I will say again, religion and politics do not mix.

Here’s what’s bugging me. Gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne of Alabama is being attacked by a “shadowy” group called “True Republican Political Action Committee” for suggesting that “evolution best explains the origin of life.”

Why in the world does it matter what a gubernatorial candidate thinks about evolution or creationism? Why do we care what any candidate for any office thinks about Genesis or Darwin? How does what one believes about the origins of the universe figure into whether or not he or she will govern fairly and do what’s best for everyone?

Now it could be said that a candidate who believes in creationism (i.e. the six - 24 - hour - day theory) also believes that humankind is made in the image of God and that makes them precious and worth treating fairly. That could be true. However, Mr. Byrne is an outspoken Christian who says that “everything in it (the world) is a masterpiece created by the hands of God,” and that he believes “every single word of the Bible is true.”

What is really happening is this political action committee is trying to discredit Byrne and they are using his faith and the minds of blindly conservative fundamentalists to try to create an uproar so that their candidate will win.

Not only is this tactic filthy and underhanded, it goes against the very things for which our founding fathers stood. Many of our fathers were Christians, some were deists, but they did not believe that politics and religion should mix. The reason? Absolute power absolutely corrupts. A cursory glance at history will demonstrate my point. Whenever the church and the government are ruling together, the people suffer. Anyone who dares to disagree with the state established religion either ends up in prison, sanctioned in some way, or dead, usually in very messy and pain-filled fashion.

That is not to say that Christians should not be involved in politics. They should. What better way to show the power of God than to live a life that is moral in the midst of an almost amoral environment? Our Christian beliefs should deeply affect our actions, our sense of morality, and the decisions we make, but faith should never be forced upon someone else. That’s not what Christianity is all about. On the flip side, no American should use someone else’s faith as a weapon against him by twisting his words in order to incite small-minded voters. That’s really low rent; but while unfortunately it is politics, it is decidedly un-Christian, no matter what anyone says.

Whether God created the earth in six 24 hour days or in 6 billion years is immaterial. Whether the Bible is literal or metaphorical or combination of both is immaterial. The fact that God did it is what matters. Anyone who asks a candidate what his or her opinion is on this matter is fishing for something else and he or she should proceed with extreme caution.

Imago Dei - Have we lost it?

2010-05-15T08:38:00.002+11:00

I’ve recently come across the Latin phrase “imago dei,” which means “image of God.” At first, I thought it was a nice phrase, something to remind us that we are made in God’s image.; it made me feel warm inside. However, over the last couple of weeks, the phrase has taken on deeper meaning as I studied it for our Sunday discussion group at church.

The book of Genesis says that when humankind was first created, God said “‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (1: 26, 27, NRSV).

If you’ve spent any time in church at all, you know that after God uttered these words, humanity fell miserably. We fell under a curse which meant that we had to work hard for our food, suffer pain in childbirth and were under a physical death sentence. Before the fall, we lived in complete joy and harmony with our Creator. After the fall, there was a wall of sin between us.

Since the first century, most Christians have agreed that the image of God referred to an original spiritual possession that was lost in the fall. To what degree you believe that spiritual possession was lost depends on what theological bent to which your denomination subscribes. Some Christians believe that humanity only lost the supernatural aspects of that image, such as “sanctifying grace,” justice, immortality and integrity. What was left was a wounded human nature that still had the powers of reason and free will. Others believe that humans lost everything related to that image after the fall, including freedom of will. Still others believe that the image was so corrupted that whatever remains is horribly deformed.

I like what Matthew Henry said, “The soul of man, considered in its three noble faculties, understanding, will and active power, is perhaps the brightest clearest looking-glass in nature wherein to see God.” Henry believed that Christ was the exact image and that humanity was the most like God in relation to any other being.

By watching the news alone, anyone can see that at the very least the image of God within humanity is wounded, but there is hope. Colossians says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator,” (3:9,10, NIV). The image of God can be renewed through Christ. We may not completely live up to that image, but it is something for which to aim. God will help us. All we need to do is ask.

Why practice creation care?

2010-04-30T07:48:00.001+11:00

With the passing of Earth Day, I’ve been thinking a lot about social justice and creation care. As Christians, what is our part in taking care of the earth and in ensuring social justice for those who cannot fight for themselves?

The issue is more complicated that it appears, unless you look at it from a biblical standpoint. There are many verses that talk about taking care of those less fortunate — the poor, the widow, the orphan — and in Genesis we find a mandate to “have dominion over the earth.” This means to rule over the earth and to take care of the earth as God would, according to some commentators.

When looking at scriptural references to creation care, which really includes social justice if you think about it, the desire of God seems straightforward. According to Jesus, we are to treat others as we want to be treated. We could use that same thought process when trying to decide how to treat our only home, the earth.

The matter gets complicated, however, when real life enters the picture. Nothing, except the love of God, is black and white in this world. Ethical issues complicate matters. We just need to follow God’s word and prayerfully try to do what is best.

Recently, a well-known radio and television talk show host, Glenn Beck, made matters worse by placing the desire to win social justice on the same level as communism and naziism. He said, “I beg you look for the words social justice or economic justice on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. … Am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!” According to several news sources, later on in the show, Beck held up a picture of a swastika and one of a hammer and sickle, declaring again that “social justice” has the same philosophy as the Nazis and communists and that the phrase is a code word for both.

If Beck is drawing his conclusions from the Jesuit practice of ‘liberation theology,’ which incorporates a strong social justice component, he may have a point, but he also misses a very significant point. The Jesuits became politically active in support of the poor and oppressed of Latin America, especially Central America. In so doing, they tended to lean toward revolutionary movements with Marxist ideologies. The point that Beck misses - or chooses to deliberately ignore - is that the oppressive regimes of the nations in question were so far to the right they were arguably fascist. But most importantly, those fascist governments were backed by the United States — something that Beck fails to mention. In their exercise of liberation theology, seeking relief and justice for the poor and the oppressed, the Jesuits chose the lesser of evils.

Average Christians in America simply want to help the suffering. If that means changing laws, so be it, but we will follow the process of democracy, Mr. Beck. We have no inclinations toward death camps and genocide, thank you very much, and to insinuate that any mainstream Christian church would support such things is an unconscionable pandering to those who see conspiracies under every rock. But then, that is how Mr. Beck makes his living.

In Genesis 18, we find Abraham pleading with the Lord about Sodom and Gomorrah. “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” Abraham asked the Lord, taking the number down to 10. The Jewish Study Bible commentary says that Abraham was practicing social justice and we must do the same. It’s not communism, Nazism or socialism, it’s biblical. Creation care and social justice means simply to care for others — treating them as we would ourselves.

"Jar-based" Living

2010-04-16T14:21:00.001+11:00

As I sit on my couch writing this commentary, I am enjoying a beautiful spring evening. The doors are open, letting the fresh air in, and I can hear birds chirping. I can also hear my son and his friend, who are outside playing catch. They are yelling and having a good ol’ time. In the kitchen, my other two sons are making dinner and joking around. It’s all very pleasant indeed.

These evenings won’t last long. They’ll be gone in a flash. Next year my eldest son will be a senior and that year will go quickly. It seems like yesterday I was starring at his wriggling form just after he was born wondering what to do.

The apostle Paul said that “we have this treasure in jars of clay …” The term “jars of clay” describes human beings perfectly. We are here today and gone tomorrow. One day we are a child, the next we day we are graduating from high school. Two days later, we’re retiring and our bodies just aren’t what they used to be. Well, I’m not anywhere close to retiring and my body is not what it used to be!

A church in our town is conducting a class called “A Bucket List for Dying.” The Rev. Terilynn Russ derived the name from the movie “The Bucket List,” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. In this movie, the two men, who are dying, make a list of everything they want to do before they die. Their adventures get a little crazy, but it’s a great idea. While Russ’ class is not so much about doing everything you want before “kicking the bucket,” so to speak, it is about making preparations before death, such as what kind of care is desired and living wills.

As someone who became a widow before the age of 40, I cannot stress the importance of thinking about death before it is necessary, before emotions are raw, or before an accident happens. I will never forget what it was like to sign a “do not resuscitate” order right in front of my husband minutes after the hospice worker told us that he only had a few days to live. I will also never forget that one of our last conversations, just a couple of days before cancer stole his voice, was how he wanted his funeral to be conducted. No one thinks that they will go through this kind of thing before they are old, but remember “we have this treasure in jars of clay.” Jars of clay are easily broken. We have to be prepared as much as is humanly possible.

God has given us good things in life. As Christians, we can also look forward to eternity with him, but taking care of those we leave behind is essential. It is the best kind of care and will relieve some of the burden for ourselves and our families.

The Church is in a good position to stop abuse

2010-04-09T13:18:00.002+11:00

In a recent online poll, our newspaper asked readers if the Catholic sex abuse scandal affected their opinion of the church. Out of 82 total respondents, 12 percent said “Yes, I’m Catholic and I stopped going to church when the problems surfaced before.” Thirty-nine percent of respondents said that they were Catholic, but they didn’t believe that all priests were bad and that the scandal has had limited impact on them. Forty-three percent answered, “I’m not Catholic, but clearly church officials shouldn’t have covered up the abuses.”

My answer to the question would be the last two choices. I’m not Catholic, but I believe that there are good priests as well as bad. As a Protestant who’s been around for a while, I can say the same thing about our leadership too. There are good leaders and bad. As much as laymen like to deny it, pastors are human beings too. They may have a so-called “special” call from God, but they are also susceptible to temptation.

Hurting people hurt people, a pastor said on Sunday, and it is true. Many pastors and priests go into the ministry with skeletons in their closets. Or, if the skeletons have come out of the closet, so to speak, they are shared in dramatic testimonies while parishioners stand in awe. Those skeletons can either be redeemed through prayer, professional counseling, if necessary, and a lot of love from the body of Christ. If the skeletons have remained hidden, they will haunt that leader and eventually a congregation in terrible ways.

“I’m not Catholic, but clearly church officials shouldn’t have covered up the abuses,” is easy to say from a Protestant standpoint, but none of us can point fingers. Remember Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker? These men fell, but they are the ones who are out in the open. What happens to the ones who are not? Most of the time, they move from church to church imposing their brokenness on everyone they meet.

Shifting a priest from parish to parish, just like allowing a Protestant minister to go from church to church, just reinforces the behavior. The intricate web of deceit and sexual abuse keeps reoccurring, thus increasing the number of victims and the amount and intensity of the hurt. It also continues to hurt the abuser. They are incapable of helping themselves. The source of temptation must be removed. They must have counseling and spiritual renewal. Certainly, sweeping these kind of situations under the rug never helps, it only makes things worse.

Pope Benedict is in a good position right now to stop the pain. Despite his past mistakes of sweeping incidents under the rug, the pope can decide to take a very tough stand on this issue so that dysfunctional priests are removed from their positions and placed into counseling. Priests, like pastors, are in a position of trust. I believe when this trust is broken by something as heinous as sexual abuse, it both saddens and angers the heart of Jesus. Why would we hurt Christ and insult him by allowing these sins to continue?

The reason this happens is because we view the church as an organization that must be preserved. We may say that this preservation is in the name of Christ, but is it? Would Jesus allow sin to continue?

These are hard questions, but they require answers. The world is watching.

"Christian" militia? That's not Jesus

2010-04-02T13:05:00.001+11:00

A few years ago, Christian singer Wayne Watson came out with a song called “That’s Not Jesus.” In the song he describes how Jesus is embarrassed publicly whenever Christians behave badly and how the body of Christ is to demonstrate what he is really like by their obedience to his new commandment.

Well, once again “Christians” have espoused unlawful violence in Jesus’ name and engaged in other spiritually embarrassing behaviors.

In light of the celebration of Maundy Thursday, I just wanted to expound a little on the so-called “Christian” militia group that was recently arrested for plotting to kill a police officer and others who attended his funeral.

This group claims to be preparing for the last days when they will have to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ while they are at war with the Antichrist, once a one-world government is created.

Now, without getting deeply into the complicated genre of Biblical prophecy, we can say that they are partially right; however, I have read the Bible several times and I have never found a passage that says, either literally or metaphorically, that Christians are supposed to kill anyone in order to defend the gospel. Period. Self-defense is a separate issue that we won’t touch at the moment.

As we celebrate Maundy Thursday, we are reminded that Christ gave his people a new commandment: “... just as I have loved you, you also should love one another,” John 13:34, NRSV. Jesus gave his disciples this command after he completed the degrading task of washing their feet before eating the Passover together — a task that was usually reserved for the lowliest servant in the house! Within 24 hours, Jesus had sacrificed his life on a cross after suffering a horrendous scourging — more degrading experiences that he did not deserve.

The truth is that Jesus loved people unconditionally. He also commanded his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Jesus did not overthrow any governments, nor did he take out his aggressions on innocent people (the defilers of the temple were hardly ‘innocent’). This militia group does not represent the Jesus I know and love. I really wish the media would call them what they are: an “extremist group” rather than a “Christian” group.

Are Christians supposed to stand up for what is right? Yes, but when we do conflict should not be our goal. Unfortunately, conflict is often an inevitable result when we stand up for what is right because there are many who will not agree with us. However, I do not believe that we are supposed initiate a conflict, nor are we supposed to aggravate one maliciously. We are not supposed to be at war with people within our spirits, nor are we supposed to be “puffed up” with pride because we believe that we are right.

In fact, our life should flavor the situation in which we find ourselves. Remember the salt concept of which Jesus spoke? “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other,” Mark 9:50, NIV.

This is not an easy way to live when we depend on ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit to help us, and this is what Maundy Thursday is about.

Let no one grieve at his poverty ...

2010-03-31T03:11:00.007+11:00

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.

John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople; sermon, ca. 400

Theologian: Most Christians Infected with Prosperity Gospel‏

2010-03-31T03:08:00.001+11:00

A reprinted article:

The Prosperity Gospel

Most professing Christians in America are infected with at least some measure of the health and wealth gospel, said one theologian.

That is, believers have no concept of a love and a joy that does not eliminate hardship and heartache, Sam Storms of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City said at a pastors conference this week.

"For most professing believers if God is love He must promise to minimize my struggles and maximize my pleasure," he lamented. Many believe it's their spiritual birthright to experience comfort and prosperity and that it's God divine obligation to provide it.

It's a disease that's rampant in the culture and in the church. People are inundated with messages from powerbrokers, media, entertainment, TV evangelists and bestselling authors that say joy is inextricably bound up in material prosperity, physical health, relational success and all the comforts and conveniences Western society provides.

For most people, joy and suffering are incompatible, Storms noted.

Thus preachers have a difficult task at hand in communicating to such a culture a genuine joy found in Christ.

The so-called prosperity gospel that teaches wealth and good health is a sign of God's favor and blessing is prevalent in the church, Storm lamented. Underlining the seriousness of the problematic theology many preachers have picked up, the Oklahoma City pastor called it a "corrosive and disintegrative pox" on the church and "a disease far more infectious and ultimately fatal to the soul than the worst bubonic plague and the affects it might have on the human body."

"We have to fight this infection in the body of Christ," he emphatically told pastors at the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis.

But the blame for the rampant "disease" shouldn't fall on the TV evangelists, Storms noted.

"I want to lay it (the blame) at our feet," he said.

"It's the pastors and leaders of the church today who fail to explain from the biblical text how hardship and tribulation are actually used by God to expose the superficiality of all the human material props on which we rely," he explained. "We failed ... to show ... how hardship and persecution and slander compel us to rely on the all-sufficiency of everything God is for us in Jesus."

That failure has left most professing Christians unable to grasp "the simple truth" that "infinitely more important and of immeasurably greater value than our physical comfort in this world is our spiritual conformity to Christ," Storms noted.

And conformity to the image of Christ is orchestrated through trials and hardship.

"If I suffer it is because God values something in me greater than my physical comfort and health that He in His infinite wisdom and kindness knows can only be attained by means of physical affliction and the lessons of submission and dependency and trust in Him that I learn from it," he said.

"That's how suffering serves joy."

Everyday people are hearing about a joy less durable and far inferior than the one offered by God. Yet, Storms asked pastors, when was the last time you expounded on the nature of the fullness of joy, ... the superior beauty of God?

Citing the work of 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards, Storms advised pastors on how a "Christian hedonist" should preach on the pursuit of joy.

"The pursuit of God brings 'delights of a more sublime nature', 'pleasures that are more solid and substantial . . . vastly sweeter, and more exquisitely delighting, and are of a more satisfying nature . . . that exceed the pleasures of the vain, sensual youth, as much as gold and pearls do dirt and dung,'" he said, reading from Edwards' sermon "Youth and the Pleasures of Piety."

He continued, "Loving God 'is an affection that is of a more sublime and excellent nature’ than the love of any earthly object. Such love is always mutual, and thus the love one receives from Christ 'vastly exceeds the love of any earthly lover.'"

"Edwards argued that the problem isn't the pursuit of pleasure but the willingness of uninformed minds to settle for comparatively inferior joys when God offers us unsurpassed and far more durable delights," Storms explained.

The Bridgeway pastor reminded fellow ministers that delighting themselves in the Lord isn't a choice, but a command and duty. Sin, he said, is denying a fillet mignon so you can fill your bellies with rancid ground beef.

We are not pursuing pleasure without God, but in Him, Storms stressed.

Speakers at the Feb. 1-3 Desiring God conference devoted their talks on the foundation of Christian Hedonism, a term coined by Desiring God's John Piper, and the pursuit of joy.

Bob Blincoe, U.S. director of Frontiers in Phoenix, Ariz., defined Christian Hedonism as "the desire for God," "desiring Him more than all other things" and "the confidence that there is nothing else worthy of our desire, nor rival treasure to treasuring Him."

"Christian Hedonists ... neglect every distraction, every attraction, every seduction, every sinful thought, and every temptation because we have set our hearts on the far exceeding treasure: God Himself," Blincoe said.

Getting back up, is up to us

2010-03-26T14:38:00.000+11:00

Have you ever seen the movie “The Ghost and the Darkness,” starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas? It’s really a good flick and illustrates a concept that I have had to take to heart many times.

In the movie, which is based on a true story, a construction camp in Africa is harassed by man-eating lions. These lions are unusual because they kill for sport, which made the movie downright creepy in a few parts. As the plot thickens, Kilmer, who plays engineer Col. John Henry Patterson, has a chance to kill one of the lions and fails. Afterward, he feels terrible, especially after professional hunter Charles Remington (Douglas) chastises him for making an error that hunters usually don’t make.

Remington is a good guy though. After he chastises Patterson he said, “We have an expression in prize fighting: ‘Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.’ Well my friend, you’ve just been hit. The getting up is up to you.”

Proverbs 24:16 says, “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again ...” According to the Puritan minister Matthew Henry, this means that a “sincere soul falls as a traveler may do, by stumbling at some stone in his path; but gets up and goes on his way with more care and speed ...”

Henry said that the fall should be understood as adversity rather than actual sin and in the context of the other verses surrounding it, he is correct. I also think, however, that this is also a good principle to remember when we commit sin or, perhaps, when we have unintentionally hurt someone. First John 1:9 says that whenever we confess our sins God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In addition to this, we also have to forgive ourselves.

Many of us, including myself, have a hard time forgiving ourselves when we’ve done something wrong. We ask for God’s forgiveness, but that doesn’t stop us from wallowing in self-pity or self-blame. I’m sure that God understands this because he knows that we don‘t want to do wrong; however, when this happens, I picture him saying something similar to what Remington told Patterson in that African jungle.

Yes, there are times when we may fall. Life is not easy, but that doesn’t mean we should lose faith and quit. We should put the incident in the past, get back up, dust ourselves off, make amends, if necessary, and keep on going. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but it is an essential part of life.

What the cross means to me

2010-03-21T13:05:00.004+11:00

Presented as a devotional, La Junta First Church of the Nazarene's Lenten service and dinner, March 19, 2010:

Like any woman, I like to look at jewelry, and the more sparkly it is the better. Sometimes when we’re at the mall or at Sam’s, the light hits those jewelry counters just right and something catches my eye so that I change my course of direction and go right toward the sparkling gems. “Oooooo,” is my first reaction as my husband groans. I laugh and say, “It’s sparkly,” and then continue walking. He responds, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

I see this as a little joke. I’m not really into buying a lot of jewelry, but it’s still fun to look and it is fun to hear him groan. I don’t know why, it just is.

Have you ever noticed that every jewelry store has crosses for sale? They come in gold, white gold, silver. Some are plain, some are adorned with jewels. Even though the jeweled ones are pretty, I prefer wearing my plain cross. There’s just something funny to me about adorning something that was used as an instrument of torture.

Beyond the jewelry store, the emblem of the cross comes in various forms. They are sold as religious objects, decorative pieces for the home, and as art work. Crosses are depicted in stained glass, like the one you see above my head in this sanctuary. There are jeweled crosses, crucifixes, crosses with scrolled edges. We see them carved into tombstones and they are erected upon hills. We even see flowered crosses beside the road from time to time marking the place where a loved one left this world and entered the next.

In my home, I have a photograph hanging on my wall of the plain wooden cross that stands across from the entrance at Point Loma Nazarene College. I walked by that cross several times a day for the four years that I was working on my bachelor’s degree. It’s in a beautiful spot. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean and there are flowers and bushes all around it. That cross seems to tell people who enter the campus that the school stands for more than just academia. We also assume that people who wear the cross or who have depictions of it in their home do so because the cross means something to them. But what does it mean?

Well, I don’t think that I have to tell you, a group of people who attend church regularly what the cross means. We all know it is where Jesus suffered a horrible death to become the sacrifice for everyone’s sin, so I thought that I would focus this devotional on what the cross means to me.

Simply put, it means the same thing. It means salvation from sin and ultimately escape from eternal punishment, but there’s more to it. Arthur W. Pink, an evangelical writer from the 20th century said, “The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist. He announces a savior from hell rather than a savior from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness.”

A little boy once prayed, “God if you can’t make me a better boy, that’s OK. I’m having a good time the way I am.”

Isn’t this how we are? Changing is hard work, yet, that is what Christ calls us to. I believe changing, is one of the elements of faith that Christ was talking about when he said. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34.

A literal example of this truth was Simon of Cyrene when the Romans forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. One of my commentaries says that whenever someone was forced to carry another’s cross he had to walk behind the condemned. I’m sure that Christ used the example of carrying the cross to describe what it was like to follow him as a word picture because it was familiar to his audience. The Romans crucified thousands of people. This was a common punishment for those who rebelled, so I am sure that the Jewish people knew exactly what Christ meant. Jesus added a new dimension to the word picture, however, because people who carried crosses were usually forced. And although Simon was forced to do this, God does not force us. Carrying our own cross is our only option if we are to follow Christ and it is our choice.

What does carrying the cross mean? What is our cross?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was a German theologian, went to prison for participating in a scheme to dispose of Adolf Hitler during World War II. From prison, Bonhoeffer wrote “The Cost of Discipleship.” In this book he said that the Christian enters daily an arena of temptation and that he or she must bear the sins of others and forgive them. A Christian must “abandon the attachments of the world,” he wrote.

“When Christ calls a man,” Bonhoeffer wrote, “he bids him come and die.”

St. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” (Galatians 2:20, NIV).

So from this verse it sounds like that the cross we must carry is faith in Christ. According to Bonhoeffer, we must shun the temptation to sin; we must bear the burdens of others. In addition to this, as Galatians says that we must also bear our own weight. In essence, we have to give up our very selves to God and put Christ in charge of our lives. This is the cross we must bear – to die to ourselves and allow Christ to live his life through us. In this way he uses our gifts, our lives, our personalities to do his will in a way that is unique to us. That is how Christ lives in us. We allow Christ to do this because we are grateful that God loved us and gave himself for us.

My generation is visually stimulated and that’s why movies speak to us so effectively. It started when I was seven. The late Johnny Cash narrated and sang songs for a movie called “The Gospel Road.” As a young person I watched the movie about Jesus’ life with great interest, and then, when the Roman soldiers pounded the nails into his hands, the sounds of the blows seemed to fill the sanctuary and I began to weep. “I did that to him,” I thought over and over, so when the invitation to come to the altar was given, I went forward and gave my life to Christ. That movie, with its blonde Jesus no less, seems a little tame now when I watch Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ.” The pain and rejection and the sickness of man just blows my mind when I watch that movie. I can’t get over the fact that Jesus, a gentle, faultless lamb, would go through all of that pain and rejection for us, but he did. I am grateful for the cross. I am grateful that Jesus suffered so much so that I could have abundant life.

That abundant life comes through denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. It comes from recognizing and accepting the salvation that only Christ provides. True joy comes when we follow this pathway in life because we become united with God, our creator and we allow him to mold us into what he wants us to be. This process is very difficult at first because we want to be what we want to be. But, as we give up our lives bit by bit, the turmoil is replaced by joy as we realize that we are becoming who we were really meant to be. True union comes when we feel joy with God over this fact.

So this is what the cross ultimately means to me—union with God and everlasting joy in him as I give my life away. The cross is not a trinket, it is a lifestyle. It is through the cross that we become reconciled to God and how we live for him.

Replenishment: a natural process of spring

2010-03-19T12:00:00.001+11:00

The first time I ever saw a crocus was when we lived in eastern Michigan. My kids and I were outside sometime during late March or early April and there was snow on the ground. While the boys explored, I stood in a corner of the yard watching them.

"Mommy, look," said Andrew, who was three at the time. "A flower!"

"A flower?" I walked over to where Andrew stood pointing and saw a tiny purple flower adding regal beauty to the white snow. Later on that day I asked one of our friends about it. She told me that it was a crocus, the first flower of spring. I had never heard of a crocus. I knew about tulips and daffodils, but not about these tiny flowers.

I will never forget that day. Michigan is cold during the winter and it stays cold longer than other places I have lived. That crocus was a simple reminder that spring and warmth were on the way.

I now have crocuses at my house in Colorado and, today, Andrew, now 17, called me to say that the crocuses were coming up in the garden. They seemed later than usual this year so I thought that I would have to buy more. It delighted me to hear that they were returning to brighten the world for a short time.

Good moments from creation don't last very long, but they bring a deep satisfaction to my soul. These moments are a constant reminder of my creator. He is the same creator who fashioned the earth with such intricate detail that a little flower, with a bulb the size of a hazelnut, will appear for a short time in spring, fall dormant and then return year after year. Returning bulbs and birds that habitually migrate year after year always seem to impress on me how orderly creation is.

Although we may have chaotic times, fire may destroy foliage, tornadoes may come, lightning may strike, or floods may ravage the landscape, we can still count on God's creation to replenish itself, often in a way that is more beautiful that it was previously. God has instilled the same drive in humanity. Trouble may come, but our desire to live carries us forward, hopefully more resilient than we were previously.

Spring is also a reminder that God is in the business of constant renewal and remaking the old. He is constantly working to renew us and make us better people.

God is good, isn't he? Spring is a great time to make that known.

The cure for "showy" spirituality

2010-03-13T09:56:00.001+11:00

When our family lived in the small town of Bad Axe, Mich., the circus came to town. It was a big deal. It seemed like everyone in Huron County showed up to go to the circus and we were no different. Although we liked living in Bad Axe, after growing up in Southern California, we found the small farming community a veritable entertainment vacuum, so the circus was our chance to “get out on the town,” so to speak.

This circus was no different than any other small circus. There were clowns, elephants, trapeze artists and huge snakes. The boys seemed to enjoy the atmosphere and so did we. The circus seemed to have a good display of showmanship that was fun for everyone.

Unlike the circus, spirituality is best enjoyed when it is not showy. Jesus once told a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who were both in the temple one day. The Pharisee stood up to pray and thanked God out loud that he was not like the scumbag tax collector. Meanwhile, the tax collector prayed silently asking God to forgive him for all the things he had done.

At the end of their prayers, Jesus said, the tax collector went home justified. The tax collector’s heart was in the right place. He didn’t care about the opinions of others. He just wanted God’s approval.

M. Robert Mulholland wrote in his book “Invitation to a Journey: Road Map for Spiritual Formation,” that the cure for showy spirituality is to fix the heart. This is done by practicing three spiritual disciplines: silence, solitude and prayer.

Silence, Mulholland said, “is fasting from speaking to listen to God.” By giving up our voice, silence helps release control of our relationship with God. Through our silence, God takes the reins and begins to tell us what we need to know.

Practicing silence leads to solitude, which is fasting from fellowship with others to be alone with God. Part of solitude is drawing away from others, Mulholland said, but the main crux of the discipline is to be ourselves with God and to “acknowledge who we are to ourselves and to God.”
Out of this recognition and the peace that it brings flows prayer, In prayer we offer everything we are to God. It is through prayer that God works to change us into what he wants us to be.

Through this process of letting go, we become more and more comfortable with who we are and with who God is. When we reach this point it does not mean that we have “arrived” at a place where we no longer need God to work in our lives, it means that we look at ourselves realistically and, therefore, we do not need to compare ourselves with others to make ourselves feel better. It is through these disciplines that we become able to have compassion on others and ourselves as well.

Movies provide good viewing for Lent

2010-03-06T02:37:00.002+11:00

During the time I was growing up in the Nazarene church, the church had a prohibition against watching movies.

I guess with the advent of the VCR and later advances in home movie viewing, it became increasingly difficult for the denomination to enforce such a rule. Instead the church encouraged a guideline: to watch whatever was true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. The guideline works much better than the prohibition, especially when Hollywood is producing movies that have great moral themes. I have watched two recently that would be excellent to watch during Lent because of their strong scriptural undertones of Biblical reconciliation and forgiveness.

The first film I would recommend is the 1998 version of “Les Miserables” (or, if you are really ambitious, read the book by Victor Hugo). In this classic tale, Jean Valjean is imprisoned for stealing bread and is freed after 19 years of hard labor. After his release, as he makes his way to his parole officer, Valjean has a life-changing encounter with a priest and learns about reconciliation and forgiveness. Valjean then spends his life giving this gift to others, sometimes at great cost to himself, while being pursued by a former prison guard who recognizes him.

The second movie is the 2001 flick “To End All Wars,” which is based on a book written by Ernest Gordon. Gordon was a British POW in Thailand during the Japanese occupation of that country. He was one of thousands of POW’s who was used as slave labor to build the “Railway of Death.” After World War II, Nelson was ordained in the Church of Scotland and later served as Dean of the Chapel at Princeton University. The movie adaptation of his novel shows what happened to four allied POWs who were in a Japanese prison camp during World War II.

“We were treated worse than animals,” he said years later, as quoted by The Internet Movie Database. “The conditions were worse than you could imagine.”

The prisoners learned to live in their circumstances and also won limited sympathy from their captors by conducting secret classes in which they studied the classics, including the Bible. Because of lessons learned through their study, some took beatings for others, and one died in place of another who did not deserve it. This caused considerable consternation among their captors, who followed the Japanese warrior code of Bushido. The movie demonstrates the evolution of the concepts of forgiveness and eventually reconciliation between prisoner and captor.

Through such dramatic and interesting examples, the movies give us a glimpse of what it is like to live triumphantly in adverse circumstances and to truly forgive. While watching these movies, I asked myself several times whether or not I could forgive like Jean Valjean or Ernest Gordon, or ultimately as did Jesus.

“Faith thrives when there is no hope but God. It is luxury and success that makes men greedy,” Gordon also said.

In our day of relative ease and comfort, perhaps it is through the sacrifice practiced during Lent, the praying, fasting and giving of alms, that helps makes this kind of forgiveness possible.

Church not the friendliest place in town?

2010-02-18T10:13:00.002+11:00

We've all been there. We're in the church foyer before Sunday morning services talking to friends, when a new person walks in. Whispers of "who is that?" ensue as we all watch the official greeter lead the person to the guest book. When greeting time comes during the church service, we might shake a visitor's hand, but that is not the time to establish conversation; it's too noisy.

A few Sundays ago, I was in the ladies bathroom at church washing my hands when a new person walked up to the sinks. She smiled at me and I smiled back. I finished washing my hands and left. Why didn't I speak to her? I guess I was too busy thinking about my own issues.

According to a recent "State of the Church" survey conducted by Group Publishing, conversation ranks fourth in the top five most important factors that make a place friendly. Number 1 was "making me feel like I belong," second was "making me feel comfortable," third was "making me feel at ease," and fifth was "smiles."

The survey found that out of a sample of 500 Christians and 259 non-Christians, only 16 percent of respondents reported that church was the "friendliest place in town." This figure was sandwiched in between home as the friendliest place at 35 percent and a restaurant or sports bar at nine percent.

In the 'friendliest people in town' category, close friends came in first at 70 percent, family members were in second place at 65 percent and in third, neighbors at 15 percent. Co-workers came in fourth at 12 percent. Pastors and priests ranked fifth with 10 percent of the vote.

After reading the results from the poll, I wasn't surprised. I've been to many churches in many cities throughout the United States and I have not found any church overwhelmingly friendly. Unfortunately, most people have to have a reason to speak with someone and Christians are no different. Our quandary is that not only that our social culture expects more from us, but Christ's teachings demand more from us.

Jesus said that people would know that we are his disciples by our love for each other. In the church I've noticed that a lot of Christians just plain don't love fellow believers, much less non-believers. If we truly love our fellow believers, the love we have will spill out onto the rest of the world. We won't be able to contain it. We won't want to. Jesus didn't contain his love for all of us, and he did not differentiate between believers and non-believers. So why do we?

As a Christian myself, I'll be the first to tell you that I don't have this love thing down, but I'm trying. So maybe next time, I won't be so concerned about me. God help us all.

Unity comes through a commitment to change

2010-02-05T16:01:00.002+11:00

The call to pray for unity is often heard in the church. Paul’s words about being “one body” are often echoed, and even though his thoughts are sound, achieving unity is a far cry from being accomplished.

Of course, the best way to attack this problem is to start at the local level, or right where you live. I can do nothing about the churches in Kansas, but I can try my best to promote unity within my own church here in Southeastern Colorado.

Unity in the church, as with any other organization, is important. In 1858, the future president Abraham Lincoln spoke before the Illinois Republican State Convention. In reference to division of the country on the issue of slavery Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This echoed Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:25 when he said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

This is true for a country, a household and yes, even the church. The Holy Spirit will not miraculously hold a church together if the people do not choose to be unified.

So how can the church get there?

In his book “Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation,” M. Robert Mulholland writes about four stages of the Christian journey that fit well in this instance.

The first is awakening, which occurs when we become aware of some part in our lifestyle that is not Christlike. Our positive response results in the second stage, purgation. This is when God begins to deal with our unlikeness. The next stage is illumination, through which the new person that we are becoming begins to emerge and becomes a benefit to others. The fourth stage, union, is when we experience wholeness and a oneness with God because of the healing that has taken place.

The first two stages are crucial when it comes to church unity. I believe that the church has awakened to the problem, but we have not responded well. As a result, we have not moved to purgation and without this stage there is no hope of illumination and union.

The steps in purgation are unpleasant at best. Mulholland says this involves renouncing blatant sins and willful disobedience. It means that we become aware of previously unconscious sins and omissions and that we begin to allow the Holy Spirit to change “deep-seated structures of being and behavior.” This will then result in a deeper trust in God.

In other words, the church will not become unified until we repent of that which causes us to not live in unity. The moment members of a church body become defensive about their part in the lack of unity, the progress of purgation is in serious danger of ending. If it ends, then the problem only gets worse.

If we are to become unified, the entire church body must commit themselves to change no matter how unpleasant. I think that when we see churches show real growth (i.e. winning souls to Christ), this process is taking place and God is honoring it.

Worry not ...

2010-02-01T12:18:00.002+11:00

Most of us are comfortable with spiritual formulas, especially those that reduce complex questions and concepts of morality, personality, and spirituality to simple black and white explanations. But for me, there are not many areas of life that are that simple, that are black and white. There are many shades of gray, and I believe God manifests himself in those uncertain areas. Nonetheless, I also believe there are certain foundations, or guidelines, which are necessary. For example:

"If you want a good litmus test of your spiritual growth, simply examine the nature and the quality of your relationship with others." M. Robert Mulholland, a New Testament scholar from Asbury Seminary, said. Mulholland wrote a book called "Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation." In this book he wrote about how essential relationships are in spiritual formation. Of course this is not a blanket statement. We cannot judge our spiritual life by whether or not everyone likes us; however, we can judge our growth by our general attitude toward everyone. Does love rule our hearts and actions? Do we honestly try to think the best about people? Are we critical? Judgmental? Do we forgive when wronged? Can we separate wrongful acts on the part of others from the person? In other words, do we take issue with the wrongful act, or with the person?

The other day, I awakened with many worries. I carried these worries until I remembered another guiding phrase from Mulholland: "Biblically, anxiety and care are symptoms of a failure of trust." I felt gently rebuked and also encouraged. As I apologized and asked the Lord to take care of my problem, I felt a sense of release and calm. I learned once again that it's much better to trust God with my worries than to carry them myself. He is a lot stronger than I.

If I am feeling anxious or worried, am I wholeheartedly trusting God? Definitely not. In Matthew 6:25-28, Jesus talks about worry, citing how the the birds of the air depend on God to feed them. "Are you not much more valuable than they?" Jesus asked in verse 26. We must be, if Jesus suffered so greatly for us.

"A good barometer of what's important to you is listed in your checkbook ledger, or your credit card statement." I picked up this phrase from a sermon on finances and added the part about the credit card. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that "where your treasure is there your heart will be also." Good questions to ask might be: How much am I giving to God's work? Am I at least tithing? Do I give to people in need if I have what it takes to give? Have the needs of my family been met? Do I pay my bills and/or meet my obligations before buying things for pleasure?

Remember, these statements are guidelines, not rules. By considering them from time to time, I allow the Spirit to work more closely in my life as I uncover potentially destructive behavior.

Christians should not avoid the culture

2010-01-22T12:53:00.002+11:00

My church was pretty conservative while I was growing up. We preached no movies, no dancing, no smoking, no drinking; the list went on and on, it seemed. I thought our church was really conservative until I attended a private school of an even more conservative denomination. At this school, students were required to sign a contract that said we would not listen to secular music, wear pants (girls), watch movies, etc. The list was longer than my own church's list.

The thinking behind all of these rules, was that Christians were supposed to be different from the people in the culture at large. We were supposed to be "in the world, but not of the world," a "peculiar people." What we ended up being, however, was isolationists. We removed ourselves from the culture (or world) and created our own subculture. Symbolically speaking, the Christian world packed up all its worldly or secular goods, and went to live on a hill called "WWJDland." In this world, we developed our own books, movies, music. There are even mints and chocolates with a Christian theme. We created our own stationery, cards, gift items, art, key chains, T-shirts, and now jeans, toys, video games and anything else you could want, including John 3:16 golfballs. It's like we've left one culture that we despised for its materialism and created our own with the materialism included.

We would not call ourselves materialistic, however. We would say that by using these things we were witnessing or edifying ourselves for God's glory.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, I suppose, but what happens when I develop a friendship with a person who does not go to church? Actually, would that happen? After all, a lot of us surround ourselves with church activities and people; we can even work at Christian ministries and become more and more isolated, if we want. I know this. I've been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, and all the while wondered why the church wasn't growing. Anyway, when we actually strike up a conversation with "outsiders", they realize our disconnect with the culture rather quickly. The typical Christian response to this is "Good, they'll ask me why I'm different and I'll talk to them about Jesus!" That falls rather flat, and while we might be doing okay with "... the far corners of the earth ..." we are not doing so well with " ... Jerusalem ..." (Acts 1:8).

Hmmm ... seems like if I don't know what's going on in my own culture, the outsider might consider me sheltered or even a prude, and could not care less about my Jesus, especially if I have a supercilious attitude. I have encountered this attitude from the body of Christ more than once.

The best interpretation of the verse I mentioned should be "in the world, but not completely sold on the world system." The difference in interpretation means that I will work on my attitude instead of concentrating on rules. It means that instead of avoiding the culture, I'll check out popular movies and music, to perhaps find talking points and even carry on a conversation that might lead to more than a superficial relationship. I may not embrace the central themes of a movie, but through this approach I'll be able to explain why without sounding self-righteous. This interpretation will cause me to regard church as a place to refuel rather than hide. I'll still have Christian friends, but I'll also be able to introduce those friends to my non-believing friends. The difference will be that Christ's spirit will be in the center of my being where ever I am and people will know that I am a Christian by the love I have in my heart for others, rather than a Pharisaic infatuation with rules.

Does this ring true with anyone? Or, are we comfortable living by the rules? It's a lot easier, but in the gospels, we find that Jesus would not have favored the "rules" approach at all. He was involved with people, whether they believed in him or not.

Why do people suffer?

2010-01-15T04:10:00.002+11:00

The recent remarks made by Pat Robertson of the 700 Club about the Haitian earthquake that has taken over 100,000 lives so far, caused me to consider once again why people suffer.

Robertson said on his famous television show, that the country of Haiti was once under the "heel of the French" and made a pact with the devil to get out from under French rule. Since that time, Robertson said, the country has been "cursed by one thing after another." They live in poverty, while people in the Dominican Republic, a nearby island, live in comfort because of their wealth.

People in Haiti "need a great turning to God," Robertson said, apparently oblivious to the fact that 80% of Haitians are Catholic and 16% Protestant. He then tagged on that he was hoping that something good would come out of this tragedy.

As a journalist and a lover of history, I would like to know where Robertson got his information. He quoted no sources for this "fact" he presented, he just said it on a show broadcast internationally. Way to go, Robertson. Kick the Haitians while they're down. Whether the "story" is true or not, now is not the time to say things like this, especially on television or in print.

Can you tell that I'm a little miffed over the whole thing? When I saw one of the comments on YouTube that said, "See how they are?" "They," meaning Christians. I just hurt all over.

So why do people suffer? I've thought a lot about this, especially since my first husband, a God-fearing and compassionate pastor, died of cancer. If anyone did not deserve to suffer it was him, but he did, terribly. Why didn't God spare him? Why didn't God spare Haiti, a country that hadn't had an earthquake in 200 years?

The truth is, I don't know. What I do know is that God is not the one who causes suffering. Because of sin, which was initiated by our human ancestors in the garden, our human existence and the very earth itself suffers because we are under a curse. We don't have to make a pact with the devil; bad stuff is going to happen. Besides, in any depiction of making deals with the devil, the contractee always enjoys great material wealth and secular power and influence ... until the time comes to pay up with the soul in the hereafter. So Robertson makes no sense at all. In Ecclesiastes it says that the "rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous." Proverbs says that "a righteous man falls seven times and seven times he gets back up." In these two sentences, scripture assumes that bad things will happen.

I cannot believe that a good God would cause such devastation. What I do believe, however, is that God is there to help people through this awful time. By studying Genesis, we find that God did not intend the world to be this way.

Anyway, there are 115,000 Nazarenes down in Haiti who are in my prayers. All of the people are in my prayers. May God's help, deliverance and blessing be upon the Haitian people and everyone else who is suffering from that quake.

For another perspective on this, please see:

Pat Robertson blames Haiti quake on 'pact with the devil'

Talk to God in the busyness of life

2010-01-09T01:11:00.001+11:00

This week has been incredibly busy with work and family obligations. So much has been planned for this week that I feel like there has not been much time to breathe.

When life gets busy, I do strange things. I drift. I lose focus. I stare at the wall. Afterward, when everything is finally accomplished despite my drifting, I end up feeling mad at myself because I did not plan my time well and because I neglected other important obligations in my life while I strove to get other things done.

Such is life. All of us are busy. More often than not we flood our lives with so much to do that we become overwhelmed. If you look at my desk this week, you’ll see that I am hardly qualified to tell you how to manage your time or to simplify your life. So consider Brother Lawrence, a lay brother who lived during the 1600s and loved to talk to God while he went about his everyday tasks in a monastery kitchen.

Here are his words:

“The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

Brother Lawrence became so adept at this discipline that his story “The Practice of the Presence of God,” said that “he was more united to God in his outward employments than when he left them for devotion and retirement.”

Isn’t this how life should be? Shouldn’t we concentrate on learning to talk to God and commune with him in the midst of our circumstances?

Setting aside time for rest and concentrated prayer is certainly essential. Jesus shows us this by example in the gospels and if doing this was essential for the Son of God to accomplish his task, then it is important for us as well. However, the example of Brother Lawrence shows us that during the busyness of life we can live confidently, knowing that God hears us everyday. All we need to do is talk to him.

Did Scrooge have a point?

2009-12-27T06:01:00.000+11:00

I’ve been having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this season and because of this, I find that I can relate to old Ebenezer Scrooge before his conversion in Charles Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol.”

I read the other day that cynicism stems from being hurt. Old Ebenezer was hurt throughout his early life and it made him cynical. He found his solace in money and in business; unfortunately, he used both to hurt many people. However, Scrooge changed when he found out that his life mattered and that God wanted to use him to help others.

For a long time, I’ve struggled with the pain of the church not being a safe place. During my childhood, it was safe and I loved it, but during my adult years I have found that church was not what I thought it once was.

The safety I felt during childhood created a bond that will never break, I’m sure. I will always seek to serve Christ through the church because I believe in its mission. Unfortunately, however, I believe that mission is in jeopardy here in the United States.

At the beginning of my master’s degree program on spiritual formation, I asked the question, “How can we make the church a safe place?” After much debate, no one in my cohort, including me, could not, or perhaps, dared not, answer that question even after two years of study.

Why is the church not a safe place? I believe this is because the church has failed to love. We are so anxious to get the message out that we fail to allow God to create a depth of character within us. At the root of that depth is love. Why do I think this? Because Jesus said that people would know that we are disciples by our love. Because of this deep, unconditional love for God, each other and for the world, people would either be attracted to us or afraid and I believe neither one is happening.

Some would say that the negative remarks against the church are because of fear, but I don’t agree. A lot of the remarks I hear and read are not full of fear, they are full of anger. People are angry at a church that doesn’t love, that looks down on people who believe differently (both inside and outside the church), that fails to love its own. This element of the church is making it difficult for those who are trying to follow Christ in love and for those who may want to follow Christ. Therefore, the church is not a safe place.

This is not a very chipper Christmas message, but it is something that needs to be said. Perhaps it will become a New Year’s resolution on the part of the church, that we will love each other and the world first. Before the world will hear our message, however, they will have to know that we are making a serious effort and this might take a while. This will only happen when we truly believe, like Scrooge, that our lives matter and that God wants to use us to help others.

God bless us, everyone.

Sacrifice echoes throughout eternity

2009-12-23T08:26:00.002+11:00

In 2007, former Massachusetts governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said, “Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover the most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together or perish alone.”

I like this statement because it is indeed true that both religion and freedom need each other to survive. Religion requires freedom so that it can grow and express itself freely. Freedom requires religion because religious beliefs provide a moral compass by which citizens guide their actions. Without that compass, a society will become lawless and ultimately crumble.

For freedom and religion to survive, our nation has had to fight numerous wars in the interest of democracy. Granted, our leaders have not always made wise decisions about which wars or conflicts to enter, but within those events brave men and women have fought, suffered, and too often died so that our society could enjoy freedom and the freedom to worship as we please.

For that reason, whether a religious group believes in fighting wars or not, it is important for us to recognize veterans because of their sacrifice — of time, of their own freedom to live the way they wanted, of their health and, yes, of their lives. Their sacrifice echoes Christ’s sacrifice, and the martyrdom of the saints, across the generations.

Recently, I watched the movie “Gladiator.” In the beginning of the movie, Russell Crowe plays the part of Maximus, a Roman general who is about to lay waste to rebelling Germanic tribes. Before going into battle, Maximus tells his soldiers “If you find yourself alone riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you are already dead!” Maximus also tells his soldiers “… what we do in life echoes in eternity.”

Christ did not consider his equality with God something to exploit, so he died for everyone (Phillipians 2: 6, NRSV). The apostle Paul considered himself already dead (Galatians 3:20, NIV). Paul was willing to do anything for Christ because he had died to his selfish desires. This is a common theme throughout humanity’s conflicts, either physical or spiritual. Matthew Settle, playing Lieutenant Ronald Spiers in “Band of Brothers”, told a young trooper, “… the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead”. Veterans who fight for their country die to themselves as well. No one can successfully go into the heat of battle, or to war, without already dying to selfishness. What they have done and are doing for us will echo throughout eternity.

Are people worthless?

2009-12-23T08:23:00.001+11:00

I once heard a preacher talk for two hours straight about how worthless he was and about how worthless everyone in the congregation was without Christ. He also said that he – and we – were not worth Christ’s sacrifice. By the end of the sermon I was asking myself if it was true. Does God see us as worthless? Does my worth drastically improve the moment I accept Christ?

I then began thinking about the parables of Jesus, particularly those of the Lost Coin and the Pearl of Great Price. These parables depict people who are going to great lengths to search for something. In the church we often interpret the parables of the lost coin and the pearl of great price as how we, as humans, should respond to the Kingdom of God. I think these are good interpretations.

However, what if we were to look at these parables as how God responds to us? If we were a valuable lost coin, God would ransack the house looking for us. If we were an extremely valuable pearl that God found he would literally sell everything he owned to buy us and to make sure that we were safe from others who wanted to buy us. In reality, God did this. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8, NIV). Does that sound like we human beings — either believers or pre-believers — are worthless?

A few years ago my denomination revised its hymn book. In that revision, one hymn that had the line “for such a worm as I,” was changed to “for sinners such as I.” As a traditionalist I was upset about this at first. I like the original form of songs, but when I began to think about the change, I realized that the denomination had a point.

A worm is defined as an unfortunate or unhappy person; a despicable or contemptible person. It is true that we can be these things as sinners, but are all sinners like this? No. Some people who don’t know God do good things and some are even happy. If we are honest, all of us, believers and pre-believers alike, must admit that we have issues. This is because we were born in a fallen world under the curse of sin. I hardly think that this condemns the human race to a state of worthlessness. If we were, God would have wiped us off the planet eons ago rather than sending his only son to die for us.

The church would do well to take a more positive view of humanity. Yes, human beings have definite problems. We can even be despicable; some are evil. However, most of us spend our weeks getting beaten down. No one wants to go to church and hear that they are worthless. The church should be saying that although everyone is a sinner, Jesus died for us at just the right time even before we believed in him. The preacher that started this thought process was dead wrong. Jesus obviously not only thought we had worth, he thought that we were worth dying for.

A 'non-religious' Christmas

2009-12-23T08:22:00.001+11:00

On a recent Christmas shopping trip, an interesting thing happened. I was making my purchase and before leaving I said “Have a Merry Christmas” to the friendly clerk.

“Thank you!” she said enthusiastically. This happened more than once that day. In almost every store in which we shopped, the clerks did not wish us a Merry Christmas, but joyfully received our good tidings.

For years, the common greeting “Merry Christmas” has been scorned for its religious overtones and this year the adjective “non-religious” seems to have been attached to the Christmas season.

For example, in the New York Times there is an article describing how the White House’s current social director told former social directors that the Obamas would not be using the traditional creche in the East Room. The reason? The Obamas wanted to celebrate a non-religious holiday this year. The article said that there was an audible gasp from the audience. To keep a long story short, the creche is in its traditional location once again.

In the Los Angeles Times there was an article about humanists groups launching a $40,000 ad campaign that says “No God? No Problem.” Smiling people — some wearing Santa hats — adorned the brightly colored ad. There is even a Web site so that other humanists will know that they’re not alone.

Christmas without God. This is an unattractive yet interesting concept to someone who has spent most of her life in church. How can you have a “non-religious” holiday that is based on one of the most significant religious events in human history? I don’t, however, feel threatened by the concept. After all, we live in a pluralistic society in which everyone is supposed to respect each other.

The problem is we don’t.

How many times have we heard about Christian groups who are “outraged” over, say, an ad, a movie or a book? There is name calling, vandalism and rage all in the name of Christ. Christian groups even attack stores that don’t say “Merry Christmas.”

On the other side of the coin, some groups want to erase Christianity from our culture. The Obamas didn’t want to celebrate a “religious” holiday because they wanted to be “inclusive.” How does that fit? We exclude one group — a group that has great significance to our history — while including all the others? That doesn’t make sense.

According to the 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, approximately 78 percent of the population considers themselves “Christian.” Only 4.7 percent categorize themselves under “other religions” and 16.1 percent consider themselves “unaffiliated.” If such a large percentage of the population aligns themselves with a certain way of thinking and living, why are their fellow Americans attempting to shove them aside? That is definitely not what the founding fathers had in mind constitutionally speaking, and everyone – Christians, non-Christians, atheists, and even Presidents – really must keep that in mind.

So this Christmas season, I still intend to bid others a “Merry Christmas.” If someone chooses not to wish me the same, I’ll respect that, but I hope that they respect me as well. If someone chooses to celebrate the season without God, that’s their prerogative. However, I agree with what Rabbi Elliot Dorff told the Los Angeles Times: “They are depriving themselves of some really rich resources for moral insight.” Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas traditions

2009-12-23T08:21:00.001+11:00

Why are some traditions repeated year after year at Christmas? Here are some reasons behind the traditions that have been held dear for centuries:

Origin: Mention of celebrating the birth of Christ did not appear in church literature until 200 C.E. and there are two theories as to why Dec. 25 was chosen, according to “Biblical Archaeology Review.” The most noted reason is that the date was borrowed as a substitute for pagan celebrations taking place during that time of the year (this was suggested in the 12th century). The second is that Dec. 25 is nine months after March 25, which is the Feast of the Annunciation, or the commemoration of Jesus’ conception. Jesus was believed to have been conceived and crucified on the same day of the year. The second reasoning seems to have existed in the 200s.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: the period between Dec. 25 and Jan. 6 (Epiphany).

Nativity set: St. Francis of Assisi created the first living Nativity in 1223 because he wanted to enact the birth of Christ “in all of its impoverished glory” (www.livingcatholicism.com). Before this, mangers bedecked in jewels and gold were set out in churches to represent the king who laid there. Living Nativity enactments continue to this day and there are many different types of sets available for purchase. Many people display the entire set throughout the season, but others try to be more realistic by adding certain characters on certain dates (for example, they place Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas day and add the wise men around Epiphany).

Santa Claus: The legend of Santa Claus is derived from the beneficent character of Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna, who lived in the 4th century A.D, in what is now modern Turkey. Bishop Nicholas used to give gifts to poor children to encourage them. Bishop Nicholas was later named a saint and became the patron saint of children and seafarers (www.historyofchristmas.net)

Wreath: Hanging a wreath at Christmas is also a century’s old tradition. “Most wreathes are circular, and the circle has long been symbolic of the unbroken span of eternity, as well as the circular nature of life itself. Used in mid December at the time of the Winter Solstice, the circle symbolizes the certainty that the endless cycle of seasons will once again bring the return of light,” Elisabeth Ginsburg wrote on www.naturehills.com. Both the Romans and the Germans used this tradition in their homes and early Christians adopted it as a symbol of life and eternity.

Trees: Since ancient times, people have been using greenery to brighten their homes during winter to remind them that spring was coming and to stave off evil spirits and sickness. In 19th century Germany, devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes as a symbol of hope and faith. It is also said that Protestant Reformer Martin Luther first used candles on his Christmas tree after taking inspiration on a starlit evening. Christmas trees became popular in America after German-born Prince Albert, Queen Victoria of England and their family posed before a Christmas tree for a newspaper sketch. Because Queen Victoria was so popular, fashion conscious East Coast observers brought the concept to America (www.history.com).

Holly: According to allthingschristmas.com, legend has it that holly plants sprang up from the earth wherever Christ stepped. “The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed,” the Web site said.

Stockings: “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care …” Clement Clarke Moore wrote in his famous poem “The Night Before Christmas.” But why? This story comes from ancient times when the generous St. Nicholas heard the plight of three young women whose mother had died and their father could not afford a dowry so that they could get married. The young women, who did all of their own chores, used to hang their stockings by the fire to dry. One night, while the family was sleeping, Saint Nicholas placed a bag of gold into each one, thus giving the father enough money to afford a marriage for each daughter. Since then, children have been hanging Christmas stockings “in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there” (www.allthingschristmas.com).

Mistletoe: Mistletoe has always been revered because it had no roots and stayed green all winter. Ancient cultures believed that mistletoe had “magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility and to ward off evil spirits” (www.allthingschristmas.com). The Romans saw the plant as a symbol of peace and Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love. “Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year” (www.allthingschristmas.com).

Candy Canes: This sweet treat has been around since the 17th century, despite what anyone tells you about a candy maker from Indiana who wanted to create a candy that symbolized his faith. It’s a nice story, but that’s all it is. Folks from Europe began decorating their Christmas trees with cookies and candy confections, including straight white sugary sticks called candy canes. The red stripes were not added until the 20th century. The one religious connection may be found in a legend that says that candy canes were shaped into crooks to represent the shepherds. These crooks were passed out to children during the living nativity scene at the request of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany so that they would be quiet (www.allthingschristmas.com and www.snopes.com).

“Xmas”: Should Christians be alarmed when the term “Xmas” is used? Absolutely not. The letter X represents the Greek letter “chi,” which is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. The symbol is similar to the letter “X” in the modern Roman alphabet. “The usage is nearly as old as Christianity itself,” according to Snopes.com.

Americans deserve better from the press

2009-10-13T11:19:00.000+11:00

“As journalism goes, so does democracy.” So says Bill Moyers, president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and the host of Bill Moyers’ Journal on PBS. Nothing could be more true, especially after looking at recent news reports about ties between the corporate world and major media outlets.

In my lifetime, I have seen the demise of an objective media. Around the time I was born, Washington Post reporters like Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward were uncovering the Watergate Scandal and Sydney Schanberg of the New York Times wrote about the top secret U.S. bombing campaign of Cambodia — a campaign about which President Richard Nixon brazenly lied to the American people. Where is this kind of journalism today?

For the most part, journalists these days, for whatever reason, write for editors and publishers who cater to political agendas, political parties, what group becomes most angry, to moral agendas and to whoever has the most money. Reporters will take at face value almost any statement from politicians, and do little if any follow-up as to the truth of those statements.

Recently, we’ve seen in the news that corporate America has invested in the media. For example, GE has been tied in with MSNBC, and ACORN, so-called community reform advocates, is financially tied to “The Advance Group,” a media relations organization with hooks into what we now call “the mainstream media,” or “MSM.” ACORN also received $800,000 from the Obama campaign, has been embroiled in charges of voter registration fraud, and is currently involved in a spectacular scandal wherein some staffers have been giving advice on how to smuggle in underage girls for work in government-mortgaged houses of prostitution. Fox News and bloggers are covering this. Where are the other major media outlets?

In my short time as a reporter, I have seen many newspapers, including our own, endorse candidates and take positions on amendments and ballot issues.

With this kind of activity taking place how can a free press in the Jeffersonian tradition write objectively? How can the press keep public officials and corporations accountable when it is in bed with its subjects?

The media needs to wake up. Newspapers all around the country are failing, they say, because of the Internet. This is true, but I believe that they are also failing because they refuse to print the truth. Bloggers on the Internet have done the job that the media at large has failed to do: expose corruption at its core.

In 1733, a Colonial printer, John Peter Zenger, said, “The loss of liberty in general would soon follow the suppression of the liberty of the press; for it is an essential branch of liberty, so perhaps it is the best preservative of the whole.” This statement was written long before the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were conceived. If our forefathers understood this, why don’t we?

This quandry is not entirely the fault of the media. It is also the fault of the American people who have tolerated “press candy” for far too long. As a country, we have let the media shape our thinking through excessive viewing of mindless shows and news reports. We have let the media do our thinking for us rather than delving into the writings of the nation’s founders and learning to think for ourselves. Because of this, we have failed to keep the media accountable. During the August town hall meetings, we saw demonstrations and protests against the government’s arrogant effort to ram a frightfully expensive, and ill-thought health care bill down our throats without taking the time for debate and reasoned discussion. The American people have been called derrogative names because we dared to question these politicians. The press, the mainstream media, should have been doing the questioning, and should have called these politicians to account for behaving so poorly.

The media is failing us. We are Americans. We deserve a press that lives up to the ideas the Founders framed in that First Amendment to our Constitution. We deserve better than what we are getting.

Make me a blessing

2009-10-13T11:17:00.000+11:00

As I sit down to write my commentary this week, I have no idea what to write. Sometimes that happens, especially when I have a lot on my mind or when I have put all of my energy into a particular commentary like last weeks.

Sometimes there are periods of non creative flow. I've experienced that this summer. In fact, last Monday was the first time I arrived at the office with an idea for a story rather than having to sift through my email or talk to someone.

Like anything, a clear mind comes and goes. There are some days when there is not a care in the world and the creative process and everything else just seems to flow. On other days there is not enough money (or coffee) in the world to get the juices going.

Our spiritual life can be like that too. One day every thing's great. We seem to have a direct line to heaven when we pray, our heart sings and all is well. Other days prayer does not come easily and we feel listless. The only prayer we can get out is "What have I done wrong?" or "Where are you God?" and the response is stony silence.

Throughout my Christian experience, I've learned that when I have those listless days, I may not have necessarily done anything wrong, nor am I harboring sin. It may be that I don't feel well or that I am experiencing some type of subconscious dilemma. During those times I try to be honest with myself and with God about how I feel and ask God to help me stay encouraged as we work through the problem.

I pray that I have the wisdom to recognize this form of discouragement in others. There have been many times when I have been blessed by someone who just listened or said something kind. I pray, like the old song that God will help me to bless others.

Here are the words to the song. I hope that it is your prayer too.

Make Me a Blessing
Ira B. Wilson, 1909

Out in the highways and byways of life,
 many are weary and sad;
 Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
 making the sorrowing glad.

Refrain 

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
 Out of my life may Jesus shine;
 Make me a blessing,
O Savior, I pray,
 Make me a blessing to someone today.

Verse 2

Tell the sweet story of Christ and his love; 
Tell of his pow'r to forgive: 
Others will trust him if only you prove 
true ev'ry moment you live.

Verse 3

Give as 'twas given to you in your need;
 Love as the Master loved you; 
Be to the helpless a helper indeed;
 Unto your mission be true.

Something on which to depend

2009-09-16T12:44:00.000+11:00

I was riding my bike on the country roads surrounding Swink last week when I noticed that the sunflowers were drooping. Other signs of fall were also present: burlap bags of onions standing in the field; empty cornfields where tall stalks of corn had swayed in the breeze as recently as the day before; stacks of pumpkins gaining their orange glow as the sun finally peeked over the horizon and touched the rotund squashes with its rays; the slight chill in the air.

All of these signs of fall are refreshing after the long summer. True, I will miss the fresh garden produce, the warm days and the kids being out of school, but fall brings a whole new set of delights. School has started, the holiday season approaches, the leaves will turn brilliant shades of orange, burgundy, yellow and red before they blow to the ground. There is butternut squash, candied apples, candy corn and hot apple cider. We can also unfold the heavy blankets and pull sweaters out of storage. People decorate with smiling scarecrows, golden bales of hay, pumpkins and brightly colored mums.

When my boys were small, I used to rake a huge pile of leaves under the slide in our backyard. I enjoyed hearing their squeals and laughter as they dove into that pile and disappeared under the crunchy leaves before bursting out and scattering them everywhere. As a child, I remember looking forward to fall because I loved to stomp on the crunchy leaves in the gutter as I walked to and from school.

Some people do not appreciate fall because they know that winter is coming and that's all right. We all have seasons that we prefer. However, some people do not adapt to change well in any circumstance--weather, careers, family.

A pastor's wife once told me that "the tide goes in and the tide goes out." In other words, nothing lasts forever. Nothing except God's word, that is. During this time of the year, Isaiah 40: 8 comes to mind: "The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever" (NRSV). No matter what changes are occurring in your life, rest in the fact that God has always been there, is here now and will always be with you. You can depend on that, because it will always be true.

"Hope for a new day"

2009-09-10T07:53:00.000+11:00

At Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif., a large wooden cross was erected on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It is close to the entrance, so everyone who enters sees that cross as they drive onto the campus.

One year, my dad took a picture of that cross at sunset and it is hanging in my house. He called the photograph "Hope for a New Day." Not only does it remind me of my college days, it also reminds me of the hope I have in Jesus.

This Friday is the eighth anniversary of that harrowing day when 19 hijackers took control of four airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania (that airplane was meant for the White House, but the passengers thwarted terrorist efforts). Approximately 3,000 people died in the attacks and over 6,000 were injured.

That was an awful day. I remember listening to Dan Rather on the radio describing what was happening in New York City when suddenly he said that the second trade tower was falling. The announcer fell silent and listeners could hear the deep rumble and then the roar of a once giant building imploding.

Afterward, I remember some rescue workers erecting a cross in the rubble. The makeshift cross was made of steel cross beams that had come from one of the towers. It was an emotional scene; yet, it spoke volumes about the people involved in the rescue and clean up efforts. Erecting that cross meant that those people still had hope, no matter how small, in the midst of tragedy. They also had hope for the people still buried underneath the rubble--that they were in a better place, that they had arisen to a new day.

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" Because of what that cross represents, we have hope for a new day. No matter what life throws at us we can still trust in the God who cares for us--the God who sent his son to die, to cleanse us of our sins, to salve our spiritual hurts, to bring us a new covenant and a new commandment, so that we could have hope for a new day.

Community

2009-08-22T09:28:00.001+11:00

"Community" is a big topic these days. I wrote an article on it last week and on Sunday my pastor preached about it. I've also received emails about it.

Rarely do I write on the subject two weeks in a row, but I'm still thinking about this one. After last week's article, someone asked me what "community" is. It was a good question.

So, what is "community" in the biblical sense? In Acts we read about how the disciples of Jesus shared everything they had with one another so that no one was in need. Older versions say that they had all things in common. They had fellowship.

Now I can do fellowship. In many churches fellowship means food--good food. Many church people excel in making good food.

Somehow, though, I don't think that this is what the biblical writers had in mind. Of course sharing food (and recipes)d is part of community because that is what humans do; however, this phrase, according to Strong's Concordance, comes from a "primary preposition denoting union." Another word that may be more familiar to us that describes this is "companionship."

In companionship there is closeness or camaraderie. People like being together and there is a sense of being family. I think I sensed this the other day when my church grilled burgers at Music at the Junction. There were several of us there and we all got along. We had a common purpose--to raise funds and to be part of the City of La Junta as well as our church--and our group did a great job working together (a couple of us actually started grooving to the beat, but that's for another commentary). All of us really enjoyed ourselves.

Isn't that what the church is supposed to be doing? Working together for a common purpose? The purpose of the church is to tell others about Christ and to help disciples grow. In helping each other grow, we are supposed to build that familial sense, that camaraderie of brotherhood (and sisterhood) in Christ. We are to help each other and also be available to the community outside our four walls (this is a topic for another commentary as well. Many people tend to equate the "church" with the building rather than thinking of it as an abstract entity of people as described in scripture.). That sense of community comes when we all get along working together for that same purpose.

When I grow up ...

2009-08-22T09:27:00.001+11:00

(originally published as a commentary for the local newspaper)

When I grow up, I want to be a queen. No, not just any queen like Elizabeth or Victoria, but a queen like the ladies who were contestants at the 2009 Arkansas Valley Fair Silver King and Queen contest, an event I recently covered for the paper.

Each woman displayed traits to which I aspire. So, in honor of them, I want to share them.

Cora Cassaras, 82 sang a song in Spanish for everyone. She did a beautiful job. May I always have courage to display the gifts with which God has blessed me.

Clara Chamberlin, 95, a fellow Nazarene, joyfully showed the audience what exercises she and other residents of her care facility tackle every morning. May I always use the strength with which God has blessed me to do what I can, when I can and whereever I can.

Mildred Clauson, 95, wished that she could give a donation to the La Junta Presbyterian youth group instead of wishing for something for herself. This wish was fulfilled through a collection taken by the audience at the contest. I pray that God will strenghthen me to think of the needs of others before I think of myself.

Maxine Freemyer, 97, gives hugs daily to everyone she meets. May I be blessed with her ability to show compassion and love toward anyone.

Floraida Manchego, 87, learned how to dance even though she was stricken with polio as a child. May God grant me the tenacity to do things beyond my own ability with joy.

Ruth Sanders, 82, is proud to say that she delivered the first baby born in Rocky Ford in 1962. May I always be proud of and love my children no matter where life takes them.

Roberta Tolbey, 89, makes rosaries for the church and for the poor. In her lifetime she has made 70,000!. May I always care about the spiritual lives of others and enable them to worship God effectively.

Only one of these women won the contest, but they are all queens in my book. "A (woman) of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies ..." Proverbs 31: 1 (NIV).

Going back to school

2009-08-22T09:24:00.000+11:00

(Originally published as a commentary in the local newspaper)

It's that time of year again. Registration is over and now everyone is waiting for Monday, Aug. 24--the first day of school.

I remember those days. I used to get so nervous, especially when I entered a new school in which I didn't know anyone.

Most kids around here are going to the school they have attended since kindergarten, but what I write is for them too. It's for everyone attending school, especially teenagers. As one who has lived 22 years past high school and 18 years past my undergraduate years (yikes), here is some advice (Don't worry, no one's parents suggested this!).

Study hard (2 Timothy 2:15): This is your last chance at free education before college or vocational school. Don't blow it off. Even if you never plan to go to college, earning a high school diploma will put you one step ahead of those who don't have one. Believe me, in every career or job, being able to read and write adequately are a must. Learn it now while you can, while it's still easy.

Be wise (Proverbs 7: 1-27): Just because you are young and think that you are indestructible, don't use your junior high and high school years to experiment with drugs, start smoking, or see how many conquests you can make among the young men and ladies. Remember, you have a future. Having a baby, messing around and getting a disease or scrambling your brains on some drug will affect you for the rest of your life.Ê As one who has known people affected by lung cancer, I can't stress enough how harmful smoking is. Think about this stuff before you regret making foolish decisions.

Stay in shape (I Corinthians 9: 24 -26): Do this on a physical, spiritual and emotional level. All of these levels go along with being wise. Making poor decisions will affect you physically, spiritually and emotionally. Also, don't give up exercise just because you hate P.E. You will be thankful for it later (especially when you can outrun one of your own kids!).

Be content (Philippians 4: 11-13): Life is exciting right now. That's great, be excited and look forward to the new privileges and responsibilities that lie ahead, but don't forget to be grateful right now.

Remember God (Ecclesiastes 12:1): I have never heard anyone say that they wished that they had not remembered God in their youth. It's usually the opposite. Remembering God means following God and this will lead to a better life. There are many times during my high school years when I wished that I had followed God more closely. That's why I'm writing this to you.

We here at Blogger central wish all students a safe and happy school year. You students are our future, make it count!

The abundant life: Vacation has spiritual benefits

2009-07-23T07:31:00.001+11:00

In college, I had a psychology professor who said that he made one major change in his life every seven years. In this way he provided his own "Sabbath rest." At first I thought that this concept was a little radical, but now I am convinced that he was right.

The benefits of rest as a deterrent to stress have been proven medically, but in our fast paced society we often scorn rest as laziness.

The good news is that rest is a spiritual principle. The concept of taking a Sabbath is not new. In Genesis, we read that God the Creator took a "day" of rest after working for "six days." But how does one get rest like Scripture says we should? What my professor did is unrealistic and out of God's will for a lot of us, so we must all find someway to get rest.

It is noteworthy to mention that rest is different from sleep. Although sleep is very important in fighting stress- and fatigue-caused anxiety, rest is actually time spent awake refreshing oneself.

Personally, I have found that to be healthy mentally, spiritually and physically, I need several types of rest. I should have daily rest, weekly rest and yearly rest.

Daily rest is short. Every night before I go to sleep, I read one or two chapters from the Bible. Afterward, I try to pray and listen. I am not always successful. On nights when my mind is cluttered, I either need to write in my journal or talk. Without this daily practice, I find myself getting stressed out.

For weekly rest, I go to church and spend the day with family. For a real Sabbath rest, worship is essential. Activity should not revolve around regular work, if possible. With different working schedules, however, others may rest on another day. That's fine. The point is that a rest should be taken every week.

A yearly rest is paramount. Even if one can not get away, taking a week of vacation to clear the mind is downright spiritual. By vacation I mean doing activities that help you relax--even if that means sitting on your porch drinking tea, watching the world go by.

By separating ourselves from the normal routine, we realize that most of what we worry about isn't essential. Our problems become more manageable. Through rest we reconnect with the world around us and see beauty in small things. It is through rest that we are able to approach our working lives with creative energy and experience more of that abundant life.

The act of balance

2009-07-09T08:34:00.000+11:00

Throughout my life I can say that I have learned at least one life lesson from each minister or youth pastor that I have had. One youth pastor used to tell me that there had to be balance in life.

At the time I did not realize how valuable that lesson was, but as I look at the Church, I think about what Pastor Juan used to say and wonder why his words haven't spread very far.

Sadly, the church lacks balance. Politically, we tend to be either Republican, Democrat or completely inactive. Some feel that Christians should embrace 'liberation theology' and use the church to stand for the oppressed and neglected. Theologically, we are either Catholic or Protestant. Protestants are either Calvinists or Arminians; pentecostal or conservative. We either study the Bible in depth or we accept what our preachers say without question. Some say that the King James is the only version. Christians either believe in a literal six day creation or believe in the evolutionary process. Some Christians either want to sing all hymns in church or all praise choruses.

And God help the brother or sister who disagrees.

There are literally a multitude of issues about which Christians do not agree. But where is the balance? Why is it so difficult to open our minds to another point of view?

Balance is essentially a form of love. When we truly love our neighbors we can coexist and still maintain our identities without feeling threatened. Who should we love? God, and our neighbor as we love ourselves. The balance is wrapped up in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

So, for example, if your political views differ from mine, I can respect you even though we may never agree. We may argue furiously, but in the end we are still friends. Why? Because we love and respect each other.

Scripture says to love our enemies. We may find it ridiculous to consider fellow Christians our enemies, but how do we usually feel when someone disagrees with us? Threatened. And when I am threatened I am defensive, therefore, you become my enemy and I will defend myself. Do you see my point?

We in the church need to stop viewing others as the enemy and move toward that love about which Jesus spoke. In this way we will have balance, a much more effective witness and a better relationship with God.

Keeping mindful of 'the big picture'

2009-07-03T09:11:00.001+11:00

I love the Fourth of July. Not only do I enjoy picnics and fireworks, I enjoy the meaning behind the holiday. It makes me feel good to be an American, a country where I can be free to worship and express my opinion openly.

I am also proud because of my heritage. Sometime during the 1600s, my family left England and traveled across the "pond" to the shores of the New World. They braved the rigors of that world and took an active part in shaping our country.

Four of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence and sacrificed tremendously for doing so. My family is proud of that. During the Civil War one of my relatives was decorated for alerting the Northern army about nearby Confederate troops. We're proud of that too, even though we are a little embarrassed that our relative was trying to go AWOL at the time.

I think that my desire to write and share my opinion stems from that tradition. My dad would say that I "come by it honestly." He also said that my personality is such that I would probably have fought in the Revolution alongside my relatives. I believe he is right. I just hope that I would not have gone AWOL!

Consider this: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12: 1-3).

Keeping our eyes on "the big picture" rather than concentrating on the little things that cause temporary discomfort or angst is what helps us succeed in self-sacrifice. Jesus did it and so did our ancestors. Whenever we feel the pinch of sacrifice, we should keep our mind on our predecessors. That's what the Fourth of July is all about.

Where is the balance?

2009-07-02T08:09:00.000+11:00

By Recovering Fundie and Catlover

Throughout my life in church I can say that I have learned at least one life lesson from each minister or youth minister that I have had. Pastor Juan, one of our youth pastors back in California used to tell us that there had to balance in life.

At the time I did not realize how valuable that lesson was. And now, as I look at the Church, I think about what Pastor Juan used to say and wonder why his lesson didn't spread further than my youth group.

Because, sadly, the church lacks balance. Even politics has become a division. The Republicans seem to have made getting into heaven part of a political agenda. The Democrats are considered by many to be against the church. Yet others in the church believe that Christians should never, absolutely not, become political activists. Theological divisions split the church: we are Catholic or Protestant and never the twain shall meet. Protestants are Calvinists or Arminians; pentecostal or conservative; evangelical or non-denominational 'new life'. If we study the bible exegetically others in the church say we border on heresy, for there is naught but the King James version that is the literal Word of God, seemingly handed down by God to Adam and Eve fresh from the Zondervan presses. Other Christians see evolution as an example of God's on-going work. Even music splits the church with some wanting all traditional hymns and others all "Jesus is my boyfriend" type praise choruses. Then there is the major issue of the color of the carpet in the sanctuary ...

I could go on. There is literally a multitude of issues on which Christians do not agree. But where is the balance? Where is the compassion that we should have for one another? Why is it so difficult to open our minds to another point of view, even if we don't agree with it? Isn't the point to be open to people, to other Christians? How can we grow if there is no give and take, no discussion, no contemplation freshened by other perspectives?

This is part of what is killing the church, by driving people from the church and by failing to present a challenging theological environment. Do you see your church life as 'comfort food' for the soul, or do you see it as a challenge, moving you to an expanded, closer relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit?

God blesses a righteous man

2009-06-19T02:15:00.001+11:00

“Hallelujah. Happy is the man who fears the Lord, who is ardently devoted to His commandments,” Psalm 112: 1, (Jewish Study Bible).

In my commentary before Mother’s Day, I paraphrased Proverbs 31: 10-31. While studying that Scripture, I came across commentary that said that the counterpart for the woman in Proverbs was found Psalm 112, the description of a righteous man.

We often hear about the traits of the wonder woman of Proverbs, but how often do we hear about the super man written about in Psalm 112?

According to Psalm 112, a righteous man loves God’s commandments, he fears, or lives reverently before, the Lord; he is compassionate and gracious; he is generous and lends freely; he conducts his affairs with justice; he is never shaken; he has no fear of bad news because he trusts in the Lord; his heart is steadfast, or prepared, firm and/or established. The righteous man gives to the poor.

Because of his righteousness, the man’s children will be mighty and blessed; he will have wealth and riches; he will be remembered forever; he will have dignity and it will be well known. The righteous man will also see the defeat of his enemies.

At first glance, the verses might lead us to think that happiness is linked to material items and self-fulfillment. That, however, is not the case. Throughout Scripture, true happiness is linked to a right relationship with God. Wealth and riches do not necessarily mean financial blessings. Wealth and riches are a state of mind that is shaped by a right relationship with God, the one who fulfills all of our desires and fills our spiritual emptiness.

Following God’s values and purposes leads to stabilization in life, the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary said. A stabilized life can lead to financial prosperity, but not always. In any event, with any such increased prosperity, the righteous man remembers those who are less fortunate by giving generously. It is out of his gratefulness to God that he gives to his neighbor.

It is interesting to note that when you get down to basics the same standards are also placed on women in Proverbs 31 as well, “a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised.” According to this Scripture, a man who fears the Lord shall also be praised. God is equal in all his requirements.

For further study, parallel Psalm 112 with Psalm 1, 2 and 111.

Packin' a piece in church

2009-06-19T02:14:00.000+11:00

A recent article from christianpost.com reported on a Kentucky church that is celebrating Second Amendment rights by encouraging "responsible hand gun owners" to openly wear their unloaded sidearm in a secure holster to an "Open Carry Celebration." People were asked to bring a friend and a can of food. There was a drawing for a free handgun.

The church has received a lot of flak, so to speak. People are asking whether or not Second Amendment rights are synonymous with following Christ.

Some say that Jesus condemns guns. Others remember Jesus telling his disciples to carry a sword. Some say that Jesus condemned the use of guns by telling Peter to put his sword away during his arrest.

In context, the situation in which Christ told Peter to put away his sword meant "Put that away or you'll get killed!" Also, by fighting the soldiers, the disciples were going against God’s plan.

One person who commented on the christianpost.com story said that he carries a gun to keep peace. Members of the New Life Congregation in Colorado Springs are probably grateful that certain members were "packin' a piece" the day two gunmen decided to shoot up their congregation.

Jesus told his disciples to carry swords in order to protect themselves, so it seems probable that if Jesus lived on earth today he might tell his followers to carry guns for the same reason. One commentary argues that from reading Scripture we do not know if the disciples ever carried weapons, however, this may be because it was a common practice.

"Blessed are the peace makers," Jesus said. For Christians, whether that means packin' a piece or not, being a pacifist or an advocate of just war is up to one's conscience as he or she is guided by the Holy Spirit. Because of the time period in which Scripture was written, the fact that people carried weapons was probably assumed. Scripture speaks against murder and violence, not self-defense.

It was in this light that the framers of the Constitution insisted on the Second Amendment—self-defense.

In the U.S. the decision to carry is synonymous with spirituality because carriers should have a proper view of life and humanity. If we choose to carry, we should do so responsibly with the intention of keeping the peace. Neither side should condemn the other. Carrying a gun does not tell the world whether I am a Christian or not, it’s how I use the gun that matters.

What's up at First Naz

2009-06-17T03:05:00.000+11:00

All events are at the church, 10th and Topeka, unless otherwise noted.

Women of Hope ministry is offering a six week bible study led by Pastor Brian. The study addresses women in the bible, as well as examination of some of the scriptures regarding women that are often misinterpreted. The series is held at the home of Holly Lewis, 302 Vista Drive, Swink, Monday evenings at 7:00 PM.

The Women of Hope ministry is sponsoring a Rummage and Bake sale on Saturday, June 20. Proceeds go to the Ladies' Winter Gala fund. Bake sale items can be delivered on Friday between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, or Saturday morning before 7:30.

Men's basketball is every Thursday evening at 7:00 PM, in the church gym. You do not have to be a member of the church to play. Everyone is welcome.

Northwest Nazarene University's "Covenant" will be performing in concert June 22 at 7:00 PM. This is a free event and the public is invited. There will be a teen fellowship with eats and games following the concert.

Judging: Some advice from Matthew Henry

2009-06-12T03:20:00.001+11:00

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" Matthew 7: 1, 2 (NIV).

"Don't judge me" is a common phrase nowadays. It is most often said when one person voices displeasure with or disagrees with the action of another. Seems you can't say anything anymore without someone complaining about being judged. In our society, judging is considered an insolent or impudent act worthy of censure and exclusion.

A long time ago, Jesus told his followers not to judge, but what did he mean? Did he mean that we were not supposed to develop opinions about right and wrong? That we weren't to determine that which is best for us and for those about whom we care?

Not forming an opinion goes directly against the context of Scripture. Forming an opinion is also called discernment. Having discernment helps us judge what is best. If we were not supposed to judge between right and wrong, we would be in a terrible mess. So how am I supposed to approach those with whom I disagree over lifestyle choices?

Matthew Henry, the Puritan preacher who wrote a commentary originally published in 1706, has some good thoughts on this subject. I'll paraphrase them because his language is a little antiquated.

Henry said first that we should only judge our own acts and intentions. We should not take this authority over others because we are supposed to be subject to one another. We must not speak evil of or despise anyone; we must not pass a judgment that results from jealousy, an "ill nature," or a "spirit of revenge."

We must not judge people because of one act, or because of the way they treat us, because (I love this) "in our own cause we are apt to be partial."

Henry also said that judging someone's intentions puts us on God's throne, a place where we definitely do not belong.

So what are we to do? Henry said, "Counsel him, and help him, but do not judge him." To do this, we have to let God kill the pride in our heart. Thinking that we are better than someone else causes us to judge. This is judgment based on sinful pridefulness rather than sensible or rational evaluation of a given fact pattern, and it is this kind of judgmentalism to which I believe Jesus referred. It is that pride that will cause us to fall and fall hard. We should work hard not to allow that pride to rise within us.

Economic downturn? God still takes care of us

2009-06-12T01:35:00.001+11:00

For the last year or so, the news has been buzzing about the economic downturn and about how terrible everyone has it financially.

Granted there are people suffering because of the greed of CEOs and the ineptitude of the government bureaucracy, but when this crisis is compared to the Great Depression, I get a little steamed. Only my grandparent's generation truly understands the Great Depression--the lines for food, the 24 percent unemployment rates, cardboard shoes and only having a bowl of ketchup or sliced loaves of bread spread with lard, instead of butter, to eat for dinner.

While some are at this point financially, or are nearing it, it isn't that way for most of us -- and hopefully, they won't get there. Economists are beginning to confirm what was predicted last fall: we are past the worst of it on the broad national scale unless government meddling makes it worse.

In the midst of this crisis churches in general seem to be holding steady on a financial level. A study released by Leadership Network in April 2009 found that "while all churches are closely monitoring their finances, and the situation is worsening for some, in general most churches are cautious but holding steady--and churches that are growing are doing well economically."

According to the survey, churches are still not doing as badly as the economy. A survey of 1,000 randomly chosen Protestant churches, conducted by LifeWay Research, found that the average church saw offerings grow four percent in 2008 and that in January and February 2009, pastors report giving ahead of budget. They are also finding that there are more requests for help from people outside the congregation and that there is a greater excitement about the opportunities to minister to the needy.

Since there are also more requests from people inside the congregation for help, churches are stepping up their efforts in ministry. Instead of holding tight to their pocket books, they are using the recession as a basis for practical ministry. Many churches are offering financial classes, groups or seminars; pastors are preaching sermons on finances and generosity; there are annual stewardship drives; churches are making financial/generosity pamphlets available; they are making volunteer budget/debt counselors available and they are offering increased online/electronic giving opportunities.

Other churches are offering job fairs; symposiums on home foreclosure, accessing unemployment benefits and other public benefits; they are offering classes on starting businesses, practical job search skills, career coaching, first time home buyers classes; financial counseling and are offering food pantries.

This is great. In fact, it goes right along with what John Wesley, the famous English preacher of the 17th century who was responsible for starting the Methodist movement, said, "Without social holiness, there is no holiness." It is because of this saying that when it comes to sharing my faith, I tend to lean toward social action. Nothing shows people that God cares better than meeting a heartfelt need.

However, like Wesley, I do not lean toward this approach entirely.

As a young college student majoring in Sociology and wanting to save the world, I found through my courses and internships that people will not really do well until they have learned to trust God. In my personal life, as I have struggled financially and in other ways, I too have learned that I will not really do well unless I trust God.

Trusting in God and knowing that you are following his will brings a certain peace that trouble cannot take away. Oh sure, there are times when I give in to worry or fear, but the Lord is faithful to bring me back to that center, where peace abides--where he abides.

If we are to minister to the whole person, we must not forget this element as we provide for physical needs. We do not want to be pushy; we want Christ's love to exude from our pores. In this way, we will find that God will meet the needs of people and of our own as well.