Category: Christian Faith

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Easter Monday

The problem is not belief in the resurrection,
but whether we live lives that would make no sense
if in fact Jesus has not been raised from the dead.
~ Stanley Hauerwas (Matthew)

I’m a bit distracted this morning by thoughts of Easter. I did my part in the production of Easter Sunday, but has my life changed? As Hauerwas entreats, do I live a life that reveals my knowledge and complete belief in the resurrection of Jesus? I wonder. Josh Dew, a friend who wants to create a coffee shop missional church plant, got me thinking about the concept this morning with his Facebook post. He’s kinda artsy and edgy and loves Jesus like crazy. Here’s part of his envious perspective from coffee shop conversations with those far from Christ:

I heard a lot of grumbling and complaining by people who don’t believe in God or the Bible. These people believe that hypocritical Christians try to mix Christ with pagan culture and lie to their children about what’s real and what’s not.

How does the world see Easter? As the festivities quiet down, has anything changed? How can we break from the mold that society casts on us?

Whew! A lot to consider. Perhaps I’ll read Lamentations over and over!!

Before getting too far down on myself for my outward behavior, I hope to remember the words of scripture that help lift me:

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 96:11-13

I will join in creation, I will rejoice and be jubilant with all my heart.

It’s no surprise to Jesus when we deny him, times when our actions betray him; our humanity will show up at the worst of times. Just after Peter’s proclamation and Jesus’ declaration that Peter will deny him three times, our Lord pauses to provide this reassurance:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God;
believe also in me.
My Father’s house has many rooms;
if that were not so,
would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am.
You know the way to the place where I am going.”
John 14:1-5

One of Rich Mullins’ last songs on earth, That where I am, there you may also be, fills my mind and captures the moment.

Pentecost is coming, June 4, 2017 this time around the sun. Lord, may I live a life that is different because of Easter.

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Easter: Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Read: John 20-21

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

Tradition that reminds us to remind ourselves of this spectacular, pivotal event in history. I was raised with such rich tradition, with Easter Egg hunts and candy treats, with early Son Rise services as we sang hymns on cool Easter Sundays. The Easter Lilies that adorned the sanctuaries bloom to remind us that the Lord of Creation is the Lord of the Resurrection.

A lot of these traditions are old now, but I’m thankful for the heritage, the fond memories of watching our girls run around with Easter baskets finding treats around the house. One of my favorites was in Colorado where we “hid” Easter eggs on top of the snow! We sectioned off the area by age groups and watched the girls and their friend find eggs on top of the Spring snow. They didn’t miss a beat. The joy with which they collected eggs and the celebration that followed is heart-warming even today. I miss those days, but I’m thankful for the memories.

It’s a different world and a new time, but the course of history was changed by this single moment. All four Gospels cover the most significant event in history: the Resurrection of Jesus! Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21

Each provide a different perspective of the account of eyewitnesses that attest to this miracle above all miracles. John provides some details, a wonderful record of events from the early discovery through appearances to the disciples (the eleven).

I want to read more about the event, but John simple states:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31

But he couldn’t stop writing! Chapter 21 adds more details:

Finally, he put the quill and ink to rest:

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:25

Brett Andrews sent an email to the New Life Christian Church staff asking for prayer in many specific ways. He ended the email with verse three from an old hymn some one hundred years ago that captures the moment:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
The Love of God, Frederick Lehman, 1917

Many of my friends are busy this morning as they serve local churches in various parts of the country. I pray that our commitment to serving the church doesn’t make us so busy that we miss the splendor of the day.

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

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Something Beautiful for God

The title of this book came from Malcolm Muggeridge’s infamous interview and subsequent 50-minute documentary on Mother Teresa. Muggeridge explains, in appropriate British fashion, how he felt the filming of the interview was flat, not the least bit compelling. In his words,

The verdict on the Mother Teresa interview was that, technically, it was barely usable, and there was for a while some doubt as to whether it was good enough for showing at all except late at night. In the end–again thanks to Oliver Hunkin–it was put out on a Sunday evening. The response was greater than I have known to any comparable programme… Muggeridge, p. 31

The authenticity of this truly wonderful ambassador of Christ won the day. People responded by sending donations and the interview was rebroadcast by demand with an even greater response. It’s interesting. There was no controversy, no mud slinging, no fingers pointed. Mother Teresa was purely authentic. She had committed her life to serving the poorest of the poor, seeing Jesus behind the pain and agony of disease and destitute. She led by doing, not by talking about doing and many others came to join a cause for Christian love.

Far beyond a social program, Mother Teresa offered the love of God to people who were tossed out, those who society wanted to forget.

Nowadays we have found medicine for leprosy and lepers can be cured. There’s medicine for TB and consumptives can be cured. For all kinds of diseases there are medicines and cures. But for being unwanted, except there are willing hands to serve and there’s a loving heart to love, I don’t think this terrible disease can ever be cured. –Mother Teresa (p. 99)

I have yet to find a copy of this interview, but I look forward to seeing it one day–or perhaps not. The words and description of the Sisters in action fill my mind with hope for honesty in the world.

The question that rattles around in my head: what do I do with this information? Do I pack up and move to Calcutta? Or Boston? Do I learn from her example and truly love people as God loves us all? At the very least I hope I have learned that each life matters to God and so it must matter to us. I must have willing hands to serve and a loving heart to love. Whatever inconveniences I encounter, as I surround myself with worldly comforts, pale in comparison to real life struggles and pain.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

Mother Teresa’s Way of Love

  • On Love of God. Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
  • On Prayer. Our activity is truly apostolic only in so far as we permit him to work in us and through us, with his power, with his desire, with his love. Love to pray–feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray.
  • On Silence. We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
  • On Holiness. I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God.
  • On Humility. Let there be no pride or vanity in the work.
  • On Submission. True holiness consists in doing God’s will with a smile.
  • On Suffering. Without our suffering, our work would just be social work, very good and helpful, but it would not be the work of Jesus Christ, not part of the Redemption.
  • On Joy. Joy is prayer – Joy is strength – Joy is love – Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.
  • On Kindness. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.
  • On Our Lady. Let us as our Lady to make our hearts ‘meek and humble’ as her Son’s was.
  • On Thoughtfulness. If you learn this art of being thoughtful, you will become more and more Christ-like, for his heart was meek and he always thought of others.

Daily Prayer for the Children’s Home

Dearest Lord, may I see you today and every day in the person of your sick, and, whilst nursing them, minister unto you. Though you hide yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you, and say: ‘Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.’

Today

Take time to listen to someone. Slow down and hear that which surrounds you. Look, there is Jesus in the least, the lost and the lonely. He died for all. You know this if you are a Christ follower. Now, be Christ to someone else.

 

1 Something Beautiful for God: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, by Malcolm Muggeridge, Copyright © 1971 by The Mother Teresa Committee.

 

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Psalm 139

As Easter season is fully upon us it seems prudent to take time to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for all of us for all time. I have friends that give up Facebook for Lent or various things definitively seen as worldly. I haven’t followed their lead because I tend to resist doing things (or not doing) that are trite and trivial in the first place. At the risk of sounding pious: if there is something I should sacrifice for Lent, perhaps I simply should let that go.

Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, calls me to stop and reflect, pray and try to get my mind around what happened on the cross. Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus, Easter about the death and resurrection. I can get pretty excited about a baby being born–after witnessing the miracle of birth of our four daughters, but it’s hard to get excited about the brutal torture and death of Jesus, even though I know resurrection is around the corner. It’s hard because death is not something I celebrate and resurrection is beyond my comprehension.

One of the new songs I’ve learned at Hope Fellowship (thanks to Worship Pastor, Beth Ehlert) is based on Psalm 139. Simply titled 139, the song’s third verse is short is punctuated by whole notes that tell me to listen to these words carefully:

I open up my heart please search me through
Does anything displease you?
Lead me in the way of the cross.

139, David Moore, © 2012 Gateway Create Publishing

When first heard the song the question “Does anything displease you?” haunted me, it stuck out so boldly. I imagine God’s answer to that is something like, “Sit down boy, I have a list of things that displease me…”

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

After a short rest the song picks up the answer that is beyond comprehension: the cross. On the cross Jesus covered my sins–all of my sins. He covered sin for all who would daily pick up their cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24).

This year I will stop. Listen to the whole notes. Ask God to search me, to even test me, but when I fail: lead me in the way everlasting. I might even take time to go through the Stations of the Cross to guide my thoughts. In any case, this is a season to listen to the whole notes and hear what God is saying.

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Psalm 27

I’m processing Psalm 27…digging deep. Makes me think of a Spoken Word piece. Here’s the way it came out as I typed an email a few days ago, slightly edited today.

Though King David’s problems dwarf my tiny issues,
I still cry out to the Lord of all through tears and tissues.

My enemies taunt and jeer and make their plans deceitfully
but my Lord will calm my fear and love me unconditionally.

Oh yes, I ask this from the Lord and this I constantly seek:
to see His beauty in His temple every day of the week.

For in the day of trouble, not when or if it might come,
I long to be hidden in His tent, His place to call home.

He will lift me above those who curse me I know
and I will lead the chorus for everyone to show
that our God is the merciful king of the strong and the meek.
Don’t hide your face from me Lord, I am terribly weak!

My savior, my Lord, do not reject me or turn away,
Though my parents have failed, perhaps lost their way,
teach me, lead me, because of my oppressors,
don’t let me follow the way of unholy transgressors.

I remain convinced of this truth every day of my life
that You will be good to those who are torn by strife
yet wait for the Lord, You are strong and courageous
yes wait for the Lord even though it’s outrageous.

Oh yes, I ask this from the Lord and this I constantly seek:
to see His beauty in His temple every day of the week.

I will wait for the Lord, You are strong and courageous
yes wait for the Lord even though it’s outrageous.

Amen.

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Daily Devotions

Daily Devotions — I didn’t realize how “churchy” that phrase was until just a few days ago! Every segment of society, in and out of the church, has some form of devotional. Athletes would use the term workout or practice, but it’s really the same idea: do something consistently and effectively, every day, and over time you get better at whatever has your attention. As Christians, we call this a daily devotion.

Daily devotions are critical to our continued growth as Christ followers. One of the key passages that I love to reflect on is the one where Jesus explains that he is the shepherd and we are his sheep. The sheep know his voice and the shepherd knows his sheep. (See John 10).

For years, my wife and I have taken a few minutes in the morning to read Our Daily Bread (http://odb.org/). It is really easy for couples to grow a few verses at a time by reading the same scripture reference and reflecting on the short story every day.  This simple act expresses our devotion to growth in Christ–our daily devotional.

The best way to know the voice of Christ is to listen to him every day. The best way to do this is to read the Bible every day.

One of the best ways to grow as a couple is to focus on the same scripture every day, even when hundreds of miles separate you for whatever reason. Take some time to look at the variety of devotionals that are available, especially online, pick one and commit to it for six weeks.  Talk with each other about it in casual conversation.

As couples put God first in their relationship they will naturally grow closer together. Daily devotions are just one part of a growing, healthy relationship with Christ and with each other.

 

 

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