rainsbows on the floor

I was headed out to preach in a friends church two hours away. As I got dressed my message ran through my head bringing memories of peoples faces, smells, and God's faithfulness.

I was lost somewhere in myself when a little piece of rainbow on the floor caught my eye.
It was the size of a dime,
almost under our bed.

I've learned to ask God in these A.D.D.  "Lord, what is it you you are showing me?

...look for my presence and my promise in the places you least expect it. I am here already.

I did,
and he showed me,
and as always,
it was not what I expected.

As were getting ready for the service in the rented hall of a small, inner city Kenyan Church I began talking with Judith, the deacon. She was from Kenya, and had been trained by Church Army. I explained that I was Church Army too and she lit up with joy. She did not know that Church Army was in America! She thought there were only three Church Army workers in the country.  I was her promise.

And she was mine. I had come to bring the message and as always, God showed me where he was already working; in a lovely woman named Judith, who had a passion for Jesus, and an overwhelming desire to tell all those with breath of his love and mercy. God was before me.

That is the funny thing about light;
It has to arrive before you can see it,
doesn't it?
 

I will go before you
    and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.
                         Isaiah 45:2

Can we fix it? No we can't!

I had a professor in Seminary who looked out on our faces with this little smirk he would get. It would creep up at us underneath his mustache and whenever I saw it I knew that we would all soon have our spiritual nickers in a bunch.

You know, you are all saved by works. 

(a pause as the smirk grew and eyebrows furrowed)

What???

Our school was reformed! We believed that we were saved by grace through faith, clearly NOT by works! Didn't he read Ephesians 2:8-9!? What is he talking about!

and then as he watched us all squirm he continued 

Yes, you have all been saved by works. 

GOD'S Works, and don't you ever forget it!

A collective sigh came over the class as we breathed and relaxed parts of our bodies. Whew, he did read the Bible, and moreover, He never let himself forget that he had been saved by the works of God. 

This was the problem of Israel, this is the problem for us. 

I've often said that one of the "downfalls" of the Reformation was just this; we understood that we had nothing to do with our gaining our salvation and so we lost the power of what had been done. This is what is written in James 2:26. He is calling out those who claimed to believe that Jesus was the Messiah and with a snarky flair! So, you think Jesus was the One, well good, so the the demons!

What we profess and what we believe are not always the same. We understand this when we say "our actions speak louder than our words. Yes, I know, we are all sinners, the church isn't perfect, yadda yadda, blah, blah. 

Look at your life. What does it read. 

Does it read "I was saved by my God's works" or "I was saved by my works"

Beauty and Beast...dog eats bear

It sounded like my daughter was being being abducted by aliens as I raced around the corner, my heart beating in my chest. My eyes locked onto her, sobbing, running towards me, burying her tear-streaked eyes into my chest wailing:

Daddy! Austin is trying to eat Bear!

I glanced up and over her head and there he stood, motionless, bear hanging limply out of the corners of his mouth. Our eyes met and he froze. I did not have to say a word. I walked to him purposefully, announced with all authority "bad dog", and took Bear out of his mouth without any challenge. 

I held my girl and we checked bear for damage. He was fine and as I stroked her hair and came to realize just how much that lump of faded, flattened stuff meant to her and as always God pulled on soul and spoke about his love. 

Let me share what he showed me: 

Bear was given to Olivia when she was born and we have no recollection where he came from, he has just always has been with us. When Olivia was two or so my wife heard a tip from a friend and tried to find another Bear as an precautionary measure. This failed miserably after we found out he was a "retired" Beanie Baby. Months of ebay seaching yielded a "close but no cigar" bear that Olivia tossed aside and named "more bear". 

Now please bear with me (pun-intended). The Biblical record tells us that after Adam and Eve disobeyed God they were expelled from the Garden and His presence. I have always understood this, as most of have and should, as  God having a bit of anger and frustration but today I can to feel a bit of the sadness too. We see and feel it in  Jesus' tears over the death of his friend Lazarus (John Chapter 11). God feels pain and sadness over loosing his crowned jewels of creation. God was not pleased that day, he was not just angry. He was grieved.

Beloved, you are God's Bear, loved and lost, covered in drool from the happenstances of life.

You are unique and irreplaceable.
You were snatched out of the mouth of death by Jesus who placed himself in there your stead.
He escaped death after three days and wants to draw you from the tomb of death also.
He stopped at nothing to get you back (Romans 8:32).
Call out.
Now.
You are His Bear, he will run to you if you call on Him.
You will be made new.
I wonder. God says that he will wipe away every tear upon his return. Maybe, perhaps, he is talking about the tears he has shed over our death and pain too.

Yin-Yang dogs for Jesus' sake

"Oh what a cutie!"
"Thanks, but I'm married"
"haha, the dog"
"thanks, would you like to pet him? I'm raising him as a therapy dog to visit the abandoned and sick"

"Oh that is awesome!"
"Yeah, so I'm a pastor, and I figure since Jesus came to me like that me and my dog ought to do it for others"
"that is so cool. Would he like a drink?"
"Sure, that would be great., thanks"

...and so we sat in front of the natural food market, both of us looking adorable but one of us getting out ears scratched and belly rubbed while a worker brought a deli-cup full of water out. Folks walked by and asked in they could pet him and I just kept saying, sure, we're raising him as a.....

This is what happens when you place your whole life under the rule of God.
You just naturally talk about his wonderful love,
and he will send many, many, many people your way.

"oh, I love his colors!"
"Yeah, he's kinda like the yin-yang of dogs"
for Jesus' sake...

there are no small souls

A few weeks back as I drove through rural Maine I noticed that each small town had two things;

1. Each had a  gas station that seemed to sell gas, beer and bait.

2. Each town had a postage-stamp cemetery.

I was struck by the Holy Spirit that each life that lived and died in these little towns  in relative obscurity to the rest of the world was of infinite value to the creator of the universe. These souls mattered to God to the point of his death and offering of himself through Jesus Christ.

And I wondered to myself why do we view these souls as any less than those who are buried in the great cathedrals?

In God's economy a saint is a saint is a saint.

I imagine if we had this high-view of the souls of those around us as God does we would treat each other differently and re-order our lives accordingly.

What do you think?

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, 

you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

running the race

I love to run, especially long distances in the woods....I mean anything over 10 miles. 

When I say this to non-runners they call me crazy and make odd faces. 

When I say this to road runners they call me crazy and make odd faces. 

I run for long distances in the woods because it is good for my soul, and if it is good for my soul it is good for the souls of my wife, my kids, and my friends. 

The Hebrews knew that if the soul of one in the community was not right with God then it would infect them all. Jesus picked up on this theme and warned is inner-band of followers to be aware of the "yeast of the Pharisee's". 

Simply put, this means to guard your soul against anything that makes you believe you less than completely dependent upon God. 

I forget this a lot. 
We all do. That is the human condition. James warned us of this in his letter calling us to not be double-minded. 

This is why I run. 
It gives me time to think.
It gives me time to pray. 
It gives me time to listen. 
It gives me time to care for my soul. 

God cares for souls, so much so that He died to reclaim them. 

What are you willing to give up to care for your soul? 
What are you caring for most in you life? 
If it is anything other than your soul than stop and re-focus. 


"This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming."
2 Timothy 4:7 Message

I'm a dirty old man (it's not what you think)

“Study this story of the farmer planting seed. 

When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, 

it just remains on the surface, 

and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it
right out of that person’s heart. 

This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.

“The seed cast in the gravel—

this is the person who hears and instantly

 responds with enthusiasm. 

But there is no soil of character, 

and so when the emotions wear off 

and some difficulty arrives, 

there is nothing to show for it.

“The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more 

and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, 

and nothing comes of it.

“The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, 

and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

                                                                                                  Matthew 13:18-23 (Message translation)

I've been gardening for some years now. Like a Hobbit I have a passion for things that grow. I also have hairy toes but that is not the point. 

I love to watch God do his thing and his thing is this:

growth. steady.unstoppable.growth. 

I've been watching God do this in my life. Slowly, steadily, for many years the seed God planted in my heart has taken root. 

At times what was sown has felt like a cedar growing in the wind-swept crack of the highest precipice. Buffeted, exposed. Worn and twisted from the elemental forces.

Other seasons I have felt like a bed of cool moss hidden in the Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest. Thick and wet and full. Hidden and indwelling.

I have been through many season in this garden. 

Today, this day, I am alive and well and growing. 

 What I shall be season from season is known only to God and so I trust. 

The Master Gardener is making his masterpiece. 

I will do my best to not resist the work. I am being crafted by Glory for Glory.

...so this is what I have found. 

I once was refuse.  

God's grace composted into good soil. 

I am old. I am a man. I am dirt. 

By his loving work.

waiting for the harvest

A few years back we decided to plant strawberries in our front gardens for ground cover. They spread quickly, are low maintenance, and unlike other options you can eat them.

This birthed the annual tradition of watching for the first ripe berry. Each day the kids (and I) creep around looking under leaves for the Great Prize. They haven't figured out that the berries seem to ripen first alongside the foundation where the heat is reflected.

It takes more than heat and sun to grow a strawberry.
It needs good soil and lots of water. There are lots of wild strawberries on the sunny trails I run but they are tiny little things...although just as sweet.

It rained last night here. A good, long, soaking rain. The berries out front look like they are going to explode. They always grow after a storm.

This, God reminded me today, is true of our inner-self.

We are formed by all of the seasons of our life; the glorious days in the presence of God, the breaking down of the soil within us, and the deluges as well.

Take  lesson from the strawberry today. Sit and be still. God is growing his fruit in you. He is using it all; the Son and the rain. He is the Master Gardener. He knows when you are ready for the Harvest. Stay in the garden beloved. Stay near the Foundation, the Rock. Jesus Christ.

 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. 

For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine,

 and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. 

Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. 

For apart from me you can do nothing.

                                                              John 15:4-5

punk rock and the birthday candle

One summer the Ramones came to the Pink Flamingo in the Hamptons. It was the year of my punk-rock-surfer-angst days.

I went to the show dressed in black with an attitude greater than my 5'5" frame. I pushed my way through the crowd into the mosh pit followed closely by my friend Matt (Matthew Whittington III) who was 6 foot two inches with a mile-high Mohawk.

I by attitude was backed up.

The music was blaring, we were moshing, and the bouncers were bouncing all the folks out the back door who tried to dive off the stage. I was hoisted overhead to crowd-surf much much like an inflatable beach ball at  Jimmy Buffet concert and then they tried to toss me on stage.

The bouncers grabbed my head, the pit grabbed my feet and a tug-of-war ensued with me as the rope (across a wooden barrier I might add).

The pit won.  I was pulled back to safety.

Do you have days like that?

This is what my life of faith is like to be honest.

I forget that I have an all powerful God who will go with me but I simply just go marching in. I can't help it, the dark just seems so dark these days that I'm desperate to run at it with something.

I feel as if I'm a birthday candle 

in the deepest of space

 

Today I'm reminded that I am really only a birthday candle deep darkness but behind me is the Light of the World....and the darkness cannot overcome it. 

 I was snatched from death by Jesus,  lifted up and placed on safe ground. 

 

I ask you today, how is your candle doing? Don't try to light up the world. God has that covered. But do take what you have and light up what you can for his glory.

The Goats of Forgivness

“When Aaron finishes making atonement for the Holy of Holies, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, 

he will bring up the live goat,

 lay both hands on the live goat’s head, 

and confess all the iniquities of the People of Israel,

 all their acts of rebellion, all their sins. 

He will put all the sins on the goat’s head and send it off into the wilderness, led out by a man standing by and ready. 

The goat will carry all their iniquities to an empty wasteland; 

the man will let him loose out there in the wilderness.

                             Leviticus 16:20

God is clear;

Judgement will be made. 

Rebellion can only last so long. 

The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled about this! 

God has made provision for the huge sum we all owe and can never repay. These sins were placed upon the head of the Jesus Christ who was led into death by the hands of men. 

God accepted his payment on our behalf and led him to His side forever. And we follow him into freedom.

Those who have been called by his name into His pen must call out to those yet to enter. He was clear that there were many in his fold yet to enter safety. (John 10:16)

Who are these "many"?

They are the rebellious ones, those who are run from God and are wandering in the wilderness, of whom were.

Do you call back out to them,
the ones with all the marks of wandering on them? 
The ones with the filthy coats matted from years of neglect? 

These are the ones Christ came to call.....

are you going into the wilderness for them as he did for you? 

Lord, give us hearts to understand how far you went for us. Teach us to leave our safe pens and enter the wastelands to call the innocent ones who have been led astray.  

Grant us the grace to call to them, not yell at them. 

For this is what you did for us.  

Let us simply do the same.

What is your responce to Harvard's black mass?

I love the human heart and soul and it's capacity to stand and speak up when evil is exposed.

It spoke against slavery.
I spoke against death camps.
It spoke against segregation.
It is speaking against many great evils that destroy the lives of the innocent today.
For this, I praise God.

Yesterday the world was exposed to a great evil that was going to be committed at one of America's most prestigious universities and the human heart it rose up.

I am very glad. But....

Why were you not as offended the day before, or the day before that one? Why not the march, the voices, the affirmations of Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Why not?

Do you not think that Jesus was abased as deeply before? Are you so unaware? 

Public outcries are needed at times in the course of human events but the proof of the heart is exposed in the following days.

The Master said:

“These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their hearts aren’t in it.

I ask you, all of you who claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and King, you men and women, you husbands and wives, you grandmothers and grandfathers, all of you one simple question;

What will you do today if;

you agree that Jesus is King, 

that evil is real, 

and that the world is a mess?

 "What can I do?" you may ask?
Do what you did yesterday. Each and everyday.

In love stand and proclaim Jesus as your Lord.
In love speak out against those who do evil.
In love tell others that you are a follower of Christ.
In love tell your family that there are those spreading lies about God.
In love worship Jesus in the mundane tasks of your everyday living.

The question today is the same after Sunday Eucharist;
 what will do you do about it once you leave the doors?

The war has been won on the Cross but the battle still rages. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. His work is finished. You are not allowed to be passive.

"Let none of us grow weary in doing good. 

At the right time we will gather a crop if we don't give up"

             Galatians 6:9

 

responses to open letters, or more honestly a vent and a blessing.

So I get that there are lots of hurting people.
I have seen lots of it, trust me.

But I want to share a story of how to turn pain into joy.
If you are still reading this, well done.

When my son died tragically and suddenly in the hospital I told the doctors that I wanted to be the one to tell my wife when she came to after her emergency c-section. When she opened her eyes groggy from the meds she looked at me and I said the freaking worst sentence I have ever had come out of my mouth

"Honey, our baby died. I am so sorry"...

They began to work before her pain meds kicked in. She felt it. Her last thought and prayer (she has told me) as they wheeled her down the hall was "take my life God, save my child".

This is the prayer any mother will pray. It is a selfless prayer.

So I stood next to her as she lay there and I prayed a prayer that I am sure saved our marriage and perhaps more:

"Lord, we are here. We will hear the cries of babies and new life around us for days. 

Please be kind and do not allow our hearts to be hardened to their joy"

This is it.
When we can experience joy for others we are no longer living for ourselves. We are set free.

So, let me say that I am not saying your pain is not real.
I am not saying there are not scars and that the trauma of what happened to you.
I am not saying it does not at times well up in the least expected times.
It does for me and it hurts.
It sucks. 

I am saying do not harden your heart when others rejoice.

my crappy lawn and my sanctification

It started when a sub-contractor for the MDC came to replace the meter so they could take our money easier. The short story is that we had to have the water shut-off valve by the street replaced...this is another tale. 

They replaced my plot of weeds with what amounted to the "scrapple of lawn patches"ie the stuff that isn't really dirt.

I amended the mess with a higher quality of lawn scrapple, tossed down a high-end seed mixture in an attempt to fool myself, and watered it. Well, a few blades actually grew, bless their little chloroplast, but they were isolated in the wasteland.

This morning I went out to water my sandlot when I had a nudge to go to my composter  in my back yard and actually use the stuff I'd been making. Go figure.

This is when God started speaking, or rather I started listening.

I was shoveling dark, rich compost in my bucket and started to think about what God is doing in my life these days. God promised to make all things new, and he does it like a compost pile.

The Enthroned continued, 

“Look! I’m making everything new. 

                                                         Revelation 21:5

The new soil that God makes us into is the ground for this new life. The old soil won't cut it.  Notice how God says he not making all new things? He's taking our past and making it into his future. 

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

                                                      Isaiah 58:12

We need to offer up our past to Him who can make it new in much the same way we use the discarded material for the compost pile. What happens if we leave the waste on the counter? It rots, attracts fruit flies and will get us in trouble with the rest of our housemates! But if we put the waste of our lives  into Christ, we end up with fertile ground for the rich thing of God to take root and grow. 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? 

Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. 

I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. 

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. 

I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 

Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” 
                                                                          Matthew 11:28

Our lives are messy, just like making compost:

Our past gets changed in stages too and we need to work at it a bit. 

We need to turn things up the things that buried get air. Compost can die if it sits. Resentment can kill us.

...and it takes time. Lots of time. 

Some things turn into good things quicker than others. 
Don't force the change. 

So I ask, where are you in the compost of your sanctification? For me, I want to rush it. But God is teaching me to slow down. He has a plan. He is planting something new.  If you try to plant too soon, jump back in the pile for a bit. 

So I'm thankful this morning for my crappy lawn and my conversation with God

A final word;

Are you frustrated like me? Here is a little secret. 

A compost pile may look like nothing is happening but deep inside at the core is heat that is breaking the old down into the new. You can't see the heat, and most of the time is is buried deep in the pile but it is there. 

In you is the heat of the Holy Fire of God and it cannot be stopped. You will be made new. 

He promised. 

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.

 Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. 

I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. 

I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, 

believing and proclaiming God’s Message, 

from the day you heard it right up to the present. 

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind 

that the God who started this great work in you 

would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish 

on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
      Philippians 1-6

Christians who are too busy to eat lunch

The lunch hour is dead....
Staples has reported in a market survey that 19% of the working population does not stop at all for lunch. Another market group reports that 48% of a firm researched eats in less than 30 minutes (read it here )

We are being given a load of this 

I would argue that it is stupid for ANYONE to be so caught up in whatever they are doing to not stop and slow down and eat. The health benefits far outweigh whatever you can think about doing in an hour (accept maybe surfing, but nothing else!)

What are we actually claiming with our actions?
1. We are so important that if we stop working the whole machine will stop
2. I am the only one in the planet who can do what I do

When God told his people to be still and know that He was God he did not mean while you were in the bathroom, or watching TV, or doing a puzzle or anything else you do to "unwind".

He said it while his people where up the Red Sea with no paddle, in the midst of life with all kids of craziness happening all around them.

Was God being impractical?
..oh, but he didn't have my job, or my boss, or my....
No, He is God.

Stop. Breath. Let God be God.
Take a good lesson from folks who know what it's like to crash and burn
"Let Go. Let God."

....and clergy, this is really for us first, or are you too busy too?

The feet that saved my life

"crap, I wore my wool socks, I'm going to make floaters from toe fuzz". Admit it, many  have had those thoughts.

Foot washing on  Maundy (meaning "commandment") Thursday is actually meant to put us in a deeply reflective place. It's not merely a "reenactment"  of what Jesus had done in (John 3:1-17 ) but is a continuation of his actions.  It is a humbling act for the one washing and the one being washed. It was never meant to be merely a a manual act. 

Jesus commanded us to wash so that we may never forget that we were made to be slaves to each other, just as He became a slave to us. There is no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God. Foot washing was done by the lowest of slaves and this was a role Jesus took upon himself.

He came not to be served, but to serve, 

and to offer up his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

There is a large dose of humility required on behalf of the one coming to be washed as well. We must completely surrender control, pride, and humility.  Our feet are not naturally pretty, and "biblical feet" were all the more dirty, callused, and pungent.

 When he came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, 

“Master, you shouldn’t be washing our feet like this!”

 

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now why I am doing it; some day you will.”

“

No,” Peter protested, “you shall never wash my feet!”

“But if I don’t, you can’t be my partner,” Jesus replied.

Simon Peter exclaimed,

"Then wash my hands and head as well—not just my feet!”

John 13:6-9 

I washed biblical feet one year in Tanzania,  and it changed my life.

I was preaching I in a  village in Tanzania when the Holy Spirit asked me to call people up to wash their feet. This was odd. Visitors are held in great esteem in Africa whether they are from abroad or the next village over because travel is costly either in terms of hours (or days) spent walking or fuel spent driving. It shows great respect and honor to put ones' self out to visit. Mzugu's (rich white people) from overseas are placed even higher because they have spent lots of  money and time. It is a very big deal.

God spoke to them and me that day;

I had given the call to come forward and the first person to accept the offer was a old grandmother,  carrying her listless albino granddaughter.  (I found out after the service she had severe malaria)

My heart burst.

I had learned just the day before that some witchdoctors in the Eastern Regions had started a rumor that albinos were good luck. A horrific practice had begun where albinos were hunted down, killed, and dismembered for body parts to sell to the witchdoctor for charms.  The threat was so real that the government had issued a decree outlawing the practice. (I had actually read about this later in the paper while in Dar es Salaam).

I found myself, a visiting priest, washing the feet of a little girl who in the eyes of some of her own people was little more than a good-luck charm worth more dead and dismembered than alive and whole.  

Her feet were bare so I began to pour the water. They feet were gritty and covered in all the things that make up the ground in an agrarian society. The water turned instantly brown. As I rubbed her feet, the grit was harsh under my feet yet she didn't move or make a sound.

My heart burst again.

I was caught up in God and taught the deep truth:

In the eyes of God, this little one is of infinite worth to the Infinite One.
We are called to go, not weighing the cost. He traveled from Heaven and came to Earth.

We are called to get dirty, to use our hands, and to engage. Do not worry about what is on them. Sin is sin is sin.

We are called to willing lay aside our pride. Let others stare and tell us we are touching the filthy. He bore that same. We are called to remember that we are the least, the last, and the filthy.

We are called to remember that Christ washed us not only with water, 

but with his blood. 

In the Great Reversal, I was worth more to God alive than dead, 

so he choose death so I could have life. 

The feet of Jesus saved my life, because they walked to me.
We are called to walk as well. Get dirty beloved. Get dirty.

giving up meat for the Gospel

It took over an hour's drive to reach the church. We left well before the sunrise so that we could arrive before it became too hot under the African sun. Had we been driving in the States we would have not attempted to drive on the "road" without off-road suspension  and over sized tires. We passed by one motorcyclist who had to get his bike unstuck. The bishop was well used to navigating this terrain in his soccer-mom SUV.

In fact, his whole life, even his diet, was geared toward reaching his people. One day at lunch I noticed he only ate vegetables. When I asked him why he told me:

"As you've seen the people love thier Bishop very much, and we are a generous people, especially my tribe. When visitors come we always want to show our love and feed them! If I were to take what they offered everywhere I go I would be too fat to reach my people.  I walk, ride a bike or a motorcycle,  and I drive a car to get to them.  The only thing I don't do is fly the airplane! If I am out of shape I cannot walk  through the villages and talk to people about Jesus and encourage them in their walk with God. This is very important to me"

The size of the church didn't matter to the bishop. He had to get to them simply because they were fellow Christians and all of equal importance.

"In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, 

slave and free, male and female. 

Among us you are all equal. 

That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. 

                                                                                               Galatians 3:28

I was deeply challenged by this man of God, but I was even more challenged by the worshipers in this House of God. One side of their church had a gaping hole where the timbers had been eaten away by ants. This did not phase them from giving God the praise and glory.

We had come that day with the bishop to celebrate with them and to dedicate a new building project. They had been saving money to buy bricks so that the ants would not eat the church again. They were giving up from what little they had so that they would have a roof to sit under where they could praise God.

This is what Easter is all about: sacrificial love.

Most of us in North America will never appreciate or understand the sacrificial worship of most our sisters and brothers.  This is our loss.

The blind will see God

I found him sitting alone in the grass alone at the Anglican Church's school for the blind in Kitui, Kenya.

 

"Look, see him over there? He's handicapped too"

  

The girls were walking past him,  the ones with more sight leading the others. They laughed and smiled and acted like girls you would see in any mall . They would have gone shoe shopping if they had any money for shoes.

He sat there in the grass, little hands and arms pumping rhythmically, his head swaying back and forth.

The others lined up and began to sing for us so we were called over. I got up and began to walk over but glanced over my shoulder at the little boy I had been sitting with. The Holy Spirit called me back to him. So I went.

In addition to being a super-hero my wife is a Speech Language Pathologist. She has a specialty in deafness and a passion for the "complicated kids" with multiple issues. I've learned by watching and listening to her over the years how to connect with these kids. I sat next to him,  hunched over to his level and repeated his language back to him. He couldn't really speak but made these little grunting sounds so I returned.

And then the beautiful happened.

His broken eyes darted back and forth in his head, searching for the thing of something outside of himself who had heard his call and answered.  After repeating this for a minute or two He finally locked in on me. I placed a hand on his little shoulder and he turned his head, looking me directly in the eye and smiled.

He had found what he was looking for and so had I.

Whenever I travel to teach and preach anywhere I always pray "Lord, show me where you are".

  

He always honors this prayer.

I sat there grunting and talking, rubbing his shoulder when I became overwhelmed by the presence of God and moved to reach out.  Recalling from my wife that kids who suffer from dissociative disorders often wear weighted vests to help them feel connected to something other than themselves I placed by hand on his head and began to stroke his hair.

And then the beautiful happened again

He became stone-still.
he cocked his head, leaned toward me to within inches of my face, and grinned the most lovely grin I have ever seen. It was a wall of white, back-dropped with cocoa brown. It had the glow of the sunrise after a night of terror. It had the peace of a phone call from the doctor with negative results. It had the weightiness of arms in a sea of loneliness.

It was holy. 

I have only felt this sensation to this degree once before in my life. That was when I sat down upon a rock in Fort Collins, Colorado and prayed for the first time "Lord, I don't believe in you, but if you are real, please show me." I was bathed in the same light this day as I was then.

  

Beloved, this is our call; to bring Jesus Christ to those who sit in darkness. Although they cannot see him, they can feel his presence through our touch. It is simple formula.

  

1) Look for Him

2) Respond to Him

3) Sit with those to whom he sends you

4) Connect in their language

5) Love them for who they are

  

Why bother?

  

Because Jesus did the same for us. He came to those who could not see, the ones sitting on the side of the path, dirty and alone. He came down to our level, taking on the form of man and spoke our language.

He did stay with company of the choir of angels but chose to dwell with the the band of fools singing off key. Taking up a selfless life, he bore shame, beatings, mocking, and humiliation for us. 

Knowing that we were blind He did not withhold the antidote to our sickness, but freely gave his life in exchange for ours. Through his acts were shown what we could not see. We saw love on display.

And then the beautiful happened.

God gave him new life, and he shares this glory with us.

...the program had ended and I was called over. It was time to leave. I can't explain why but I can honestly say I found it easy to walk away from him. Perhaps because he will never leave me.
Perhaps because in the depths of my soul I know I will see him again.

But I am sure of one thing and it was confirmed when I was told that the little boys'  name was "Joseph"....I had seen the face of God.

Christian Marriage Swapping

"Ready, set..."
The hundreds of people crammed into the church who had gathered to witness this public event were dancing, shouting, and cheering joy and excitement. The couples participating were up front surrounded by friends and cameras. The choirs were singing, the music was pounding...

Then the bishop raised his hands to quite the chaos.... and shouted "Go!"

All eyes watched the spectacle as the wives started taking whatever they wanted. The cheers got louder and louder as they stripped the men of their goods. Hands flying everywhere! I had never seen such a event but there I was in the church in Kenya  in a town with no lights or running water and getting caught up in it all this madness.

It was Biblical.
It was beautiful.
It was hysterical,
 and it was not what I had expected.

Five couples had just committed to live their lives together. This was not a case of celebrated polygamy. Moments earlier these ten people had danced into the church with their wedding parties shouting and praising God. Choirs sang, paper flew, worship ascended, and Holiness came down.

They were not swapping partners, but they were giving up their lives to their spouses.

The Bishop  had just explained to the now married couples that they now  belonged to other. Everything they had was now the others property and could be taken freely. When had handed them their wedding licenses he jokingly referred to them as "ownership papers".  When he shouted "go" the wives started rummaging through their husbands pockets taking phones, wallets, watches, keys, whatever. It was so funny! Go, go" he shouted, take it, It's all yours!
then it was the husband's turn and they took purses, tissues, glasses, lipsticks... it was hysterical!

As I watched this the Holy Spirit spoke to me;
"this is what happens when you marry me. All I have is yours, and in turn, all you have,  is mine"

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.

 
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.

                                                                    Psalm 84:11

God gives freely to those who have pledged their lives to him. We have no need to pick his pockets, we only have to ask! He gives us good things out of his storehouse. 

“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. 

This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. 

If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? I

f he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? 

As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. 

You’re at least decent to your own children. 

So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?"

                                                          Matthew 7:11
 

We, the gathered church, are his Bride.
The Bride Groom stands with open hands, not closed fists. The gifts of the Spirit are ours for the asking!
 
Why then church do we live such destitute, powerless lives?

Today, join in the marriage swap Kenyan Style! Ask for the good gifts and he will give them too you!
...but don't forget, he gets to pillage us too!

But here is the deal. All he wants is the things that keep us from joy. He takes our pain and gives us his healing. He takes our sorrow and gives us his joy. He takes our death and gives us his life.

"This is God’s Word on the subject: 

“...I'll take care of you as I promised and bring you back home.

 I know what I’m doing. 

I have it all planned out—

plans to take care of you, not abandon you, 

plans to give you the future you hope for."

                                                                                                         Jeremiah 24:11 

Have you accepted from God what he has freely offered? He freely gave his life up for you. Will you claim your dowry? Do not delay! The Wedding Feast has begun! Are you withholding from Him? He will not take from closed fists. Open your hands and empty them so that He might give you more than you can imagine.

It is Biblical.
It is beautiful.
It is hysterical,
 and it is more than can be  expected.

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” 

And let the one who hears say, “Come.”

 And let the one who is thirsty come; 

let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

                                                               Revelation 22:17

 

            

we'll shoot! (no wait, don't)

Today's readings:

Psalm 61, Genesis 42:1-17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Mark 3:19-35

That Hatfields and the McCoys feuded is well known, why they fought is not.
A few may say it started with a dispute over a hog but the bad blood goes back to a scuffle with a returning vet from the civil war. The feud was fulled by sex, booze, guns, politics, and pride. It "started"  January 7, 1865 and "ended" June 14, 2003 when relatives from both families signed a declaration.

So much blood spilled over hate but masked as "family honor"

This feud was not God-honoring, but there is a feud that is. 

I can anticipate the response that is coming: 

“I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. 

Isn’t this also your experience?” 

Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. 

What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, 

but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. 

So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, 

it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

Romans 7:15 (Message translation)

We cannot have Godless feuds in the church family, but that does not excuse us from discipline. But we need to be careful of a few things. 

1. We must be very aware of our own spiritual health (Luke 6:42)

2. We must remind ourselves of our own sin-nature (1 John 1:8)

3. We must be quick to receive and welcome the contrite (1 Corinthian 5:1-8)

Why?

The goal of correction is turning around. When someone turns to face us, we should greet them with open arms, not a fist. 

amen

 

Happy Celebrate Slavery Day!

Today' readings:
Psalm 56, Genesis 41:46-57, 1 Corinthians 4:8-21, Mark 3:7-19

I am not anti-Irish.
Up front.
Period. 

The headlines tell us this year that today is about beer companies and mayors boycotting parades.  I am not commenting, just observing. Be honest, that is what is popping up in headlines.

We will not read about the man for whom the parades march so here is a bit of his story. It is about a man who was the antithesis of what most of Americans will do today to celebrate him .

Today will be (for many) a day of "kiss me I'm Irish, drink heavily, eat ethnic foods, and sing drinking songs.  This is "American Saint Patrick's day. So let's take a look at who he was.

Today, for some, it will be a day of national pride and remembrance.

Today, for a few, will be a day to remember a young boy named Patrick who's father was murdered and who's sister was lost when his homeland was attacked and he was enslaved until he was 22.

Today a few may recall that Patrick, after a perilous two-year journey back to his homeland, was visited by a vision while he slept and saw those whom he had lived amongst as a slave shout at him "“Holy boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.”

Today fewer will recall that he was persecuted by his family, his country, and his church to return to those who had enslaved him;
 
 "Of this opposition Patrick later wrote; “So at last I came here to the Irish gentiles to preach the gospel. And now I had to endure insults from unbelievers, to ‘hear criticism of my journeys’ and suffer many persecutions ‘even to the point of chains.’…And should I prove worthy, I am ready and willing to give up my own life, without hesitation, for his name…There was always someone talking behind my back and whispering, ‘Why does he want to put himself in such danger among his enemies who do not know God?’” Patrick had to sell his title of nobility in order to become the “slave of Christ serving the barbaric nation.”

I am not anti-Irish
I am not against green beer or bagels
I am not against celebrating heritage or citizenship

I am pro-Irish, pro-slavery, pro-partying.

Patrick was so pro-Irish that he gave his life for them just as Jesus had given his life for him.

Patrick was so anti-slavery to sin and the devil
that he enslaved himself to sinners to win their freedom 

Patrick was so pro-partying that he rejoiced with all the angels in heaven each time a soul was freed from death by the atoning blood of Jesus.

Today we can celebrate our slavery to Christ, or our slavery to ourselves. Ask yourselves WWPD? What would Patrick do? He celebrated with his whole life that he had died to sin and was made alive in Christ. Have you? This is Lent. Look at your life.

Sing the anthem that speaks of his life him. It is a celebration song of his slavery to Jesus. 

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man 

who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone 

who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.