Finding Treasures

A pretentious, showy life is an empty life;    a plain and simple life is a full life (Proverbs 13:7)

Yesterday Daniel, Cecelia and I went on a treasure hunt.  Really.  There is this great activity that's been around for the past 12 years or so called "geocaching."  It's an online community of "treasure hunters."  Treasures are placed all over the world by members of the community, who then log the location by latitude and longitude.  Treasure hunters find the hidden caches by using their GPS.  The "treasures" aren't valuable in a monetary sense.  Sometimes there is nothing but a piece of paper to sign in on.  Sometimes there are little coins or other inexpensive trinkets.  Yesterday, Cecelia found a seashell necklace.  Whenever you take a treasure, you are required to leave one of equal or more value.  We left a rope necklace with a little olive wood cross on it.  If you are interested in more details, go to www.geocaching.com.

These days it seems to take a lot to entertain us.  We have so much technology.  And kids are getting harder and harder to excite.  But what a wonderful time we had yesterday and we only used a little gas to treasure hunt right here in the little town of Lincolnton!

If we are not careful, we will lose our ability to be amazed.  We can see the world from our couches on our IPads so why bother going anywhere?  But the most beautiful images on our screen can't beat the incredible sunset we see from our own front porch.  The rush you get from the most realistic XBox game can't beat the joy of tracking down and finding a homemade seashell necklace.  Sometimes we get so sucked into virtual reality, that we forget the wonders of real, true reality.

Reconnect with the simple things in life.  Commit to enjoying nature for a period of time each day.  Take a walk at lunch time.  If you can't get around well, just sit outside for a while and listen to the birds and watch the squirrels.  The simple things really are the best.  And they are usually free.

Father,

Thank you for a beautiful world.  Thank you for birds and sunsets and trees.  Thank you for treasures of all kinds.  Amen.

Come and See

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29 NIV)

I remember when the internet was relatively new to the average home.  I was trying to explain this amazing new thing to my mom.  She lived in Florida so it was over the phone and she just wasn't understanding.  It would have been so much easier if I could have just turned on my computer and showed her.

Some things just can't be explained with words... the internet, a beautiful sunset, the birth of your child, grandparenting... or our relationship with Jesus.  Our faith is something that defies explanation.  We have to invite others to come and see.  That doesn't necessarily mean to invite people to church, though that should be a part of it.  We should invite others into our lives so they can see how Christ changes our lives for the better.

We can't simpy tell others that we don't worry so much about life's problems, they need to see how we handle those problems without worry.  We can't simply tell them that our lives are more joyful, we have to show them how that joy manifests itself in our lives.  We can't just tell them that we have love for others, we have to show them how we show that love.

Our invitation to others has to be so much more than words.  People are being driven away from the Christian faith these days because they hear a lot that they don't see lived out in the believers' lives.  They hear "love" but see anger and sometimes even hate.  They hear "trust" but see fear and worry.

If you invited someone into your life to "come and see" what would they find?

Lord Jesus,
Help us to live our lives in a way that makes others want what we have.  Help us to see you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly.  Amen.

Croak Away!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth! (Psalms 100:1)

When we lived in South Florida, Richard and I would often go canoing down the Loxahatchee River. I loved when we would first set the canoe out in the early morning.  At first it just seemed very quiet... but then you would hear it... the awesome chorus:  birds, frogs, crickets, alligators, the splash of fish jumping and birds diving and the gentle breeze rustling the trees.  None of the sounds by themselves is very impressive.  But if one of the sounds were missing, well, it just wouldn't be as perfect.

God wants ALL his creatures to participate in the chorus of life.  He didn't tell the frogs to remain silent because they make an ugly croak.  Even an ugly croak sounds beautiful when it is combined with the individual songs of the other creatures.

So who are we to tell someone their song is too ugly to contribute?  Of course, I'm speaking metiphorically.  I can't imagine a Christian telling another not to sing!  But unfortunately, we know that some Christians tell other Christians that they can't serve in their own unique way.  Some tell divorced people they can't assist at communion (or sometimes even take communion).  Some tell women and/or gays they can't preach.  I know of a women whose pastor found out she had had a few drinks at her friends' wedding and took away her Sunday school class that she had been teaching for years.

God called the frog to join the chorus of life.  God did not even tell the frog to change his song first.  He just commanded him to join in and give it his best!  And when we do, the results are beautiful when combined with the rest of the chorus.  We all sound like frogs in some areas of our lives.   Hopefully we are listening to where and how he wants us to apply our songs.  God called me to write devotions.  I'm sure of it.  We cannot tell another that God did not call him/her to where they feel called to sing.  That is between them and God.

Father,
Help us to know where and when to sing our song and teach us to allow others to sing when and where you have asked them to.  Amen.

New

“Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5 NKJV)

A popular phrase these days when refering to a change in life circumstances is "the new normal."  It could be something good like a marriage, new baby, graduation, or retirement.  Or it could be something not so good like divorce, death of a loved one, a traumatic injury or an act of violence perpetrated upon us.

I like the phrase "new normal."  Whether it is refering to a good change or not, the phrase bings a sound of hope... the acknowledgement that, with God's help, we can handle this change in our lives.

In the New Testament alone, a quick search shows 55 uses of the word "new."  Almost all are filled with a sense of excitement and hope.  For instance:

• new commandment
• new covenant
• new kingdom
• new tongues
• new garment
• new teaching 
• new life
• new creation
• new self
• new birth
• new earth
• new song
• new name (given by God)
• all things new 

A new normal is what we get when we decide to follow Jesus... not just believe in him, but follow him, trying to be more like him.  We have to leave behind a lot of the old.  Some of it is hard to give up. Not all of it was even bad... just not useful for our new lives.  But the new normal in a life with Christ is so much more exciting!

Lord Jesus,

You have made all things new.  Renew us each morning with a sense of excitement and hope as we try to follow you a little more closely.  Amen.

No Longer Hindered

Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (Luke 5:23, 24 NIV)

Forgiveness is about change.  Change is hard.  Even good change.  Sometimes, especially good change.  So much of our sin is more about comfort than about wanting to do evil.

I find it interesting that most of the instances in the gospels where Jesus utters the words "Your sins are forgiven," someone is physically healed of a limitation he or she has lived with a long time... blindness, leprosy, issue of blood, paralysis.  And what huge change the healings call for.  They can no longer be beggars.  They have to go out into the world to be productive.  They can no longer blame their maladies for their lack of contribution to their community.

I think many of us hold on to our sins and refuse forgiveness because we don't like the kind of change forgiveness would demand of us.  Not only would it force us out of our comfort zones, but it would take away our excuses for not living our lives to their fullest.

Forgiveness demands a response.  It demands that we turn away from the comfort of that sin.  It demands that we begin doing the things that sin has kept us from doing.  It demands a newer and fuller life.

Sometimes it's just easier to refuse forgiveness and wallow in our sin.  But if we take hold of that forgiveness and allow ourselves to be healed we have so much more in store for us... a full, abundant live that is no longer hindered by blindness and paralysis.

Lord Jesus,
Forgive us and heal us and give us the courage to accept your forgivenss and healing and grab hold of new and exciting lives.  Amen.

Use Your Brain

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:17 NIV)

From the very beginning God has encouraged us to use our brains.  God didn't have to put a forbidden tree in the center of the garden.  If he didn't want Adam and Eve to eat from it, he could have left it out.  In putting it there and telling them NOT to eat from it, God was making very sure they absolutely WOULD think about it.  Just like that "wet paint sign"... we are not happy until we touch it to see if it really is wet paint.

If God had told the lions or the the dog or the the sheep to not eat of that tree, it wouldn't have bothered them.  They do not have analytical brains.  That's just for us humans.  And God expects us to use them.  He knows it won't always lead us to the right choice.  Just look at that very first decision!  But he expects us to use them.  God could take away all our choices and just cause things to happen the way he wants them.  But what kind of life would that be?  We would be just like the lions and dogs and sheep.  No need for a better brain... just take what life gives us and act out of little more than instinct.

God expects more of us because he gave us more.  He has given us the ability to choose.  The choices are not always clearly good or bad, right or wrong, yes or no.  That makes it hard.  And that is the main reason we don't always get it right.  Life is way more complicated than black/white.  But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.  It doesn't mean we shouldn't think about things  and challenge the way "it has always been done."

God gave us brains to think and to question... even to question him.  God is big enough to handle our questions.  He is big enough to handle it even if we stray from "accepted theology."  Actually, I think he encourages thinking along those lines most.

Give your brain a good workout today.  If you are on the internet a lot, find a "fact" someone passed along to you (if you agree with it, even better) and research it.  Find both "for" and "against" arguments and then use your brain and come up with some original support for your decision.

Creator God,
You have crowned mankind with an amazing brain.  Scientists have only scratched the surface of its abilities.  Help us to use it more instead of simply accepting the work others have done (or claim to have done) with their own brains.  Amen.

Remember the Sabbath

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Exodus 20:8 NIV)

What can this commandment mean for us today?  ...today in a world where life and work and activities go on 24/7?  If both spouses work away from home all week, doesn't the house need attention all weekend?  If our  "Sabbath rest" is to include not cooking, doesn't our going out to eat mean that we force others to have to work on the Sabbath?  And do we really want to put others out of work by having all church-going Christians not patronize restaurants and stores on Sunday?  So what is this commandment about?  What is the heart of it?

I see people today and the frantic-ness of their lives.  There just aren't enough hours in the day to earn a living, spend time with the kids, keep the house at least livable, and catch 4 or 5 hours of sleep before starting it all over again.  Do you ever stop to wonder if it all makes sense?  Our struggle to live is so all-consuming that we don't have time to do any real living.

I think this commandment is about taking time to realize that the world can, and does, go on without us.  I think it is about hearing God say that we are valuable to him, not because of what we do, but because of who we are.   Keeping the day holy is about reconnecting with our Source and reenergizing for another six days.

Sometimes it can't be Sunday.  But we need to set aside a day to be free from the world and its expectations.  Sometimes it can't be at church, but we need to take time to reconnect and reenergize our spirits.  We need worship and Bible study and prayer.  We need to sit down and breathe.

Of all the rules and laws that can be found in the Old Testament, God set aside 10 as the most important.  We don't usually treat this commandment as one of the top 10.  Certainly it is not as important as "do not murder" or "do not commit adultry."  Or is it....?

Father,
Help us to understand the importance of this commandment so that our lives will ultimately be more abundant.  Help us to rest, and not feel guilty about it.  Amen.

God's Wrath?

God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6 NIV)

Read carefully the verse above.  God SETS the lonely in families.  God LEADS the prisoners with singing.  But there is no God action when it says, "the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."  What did they rebel against, I wonder?  Perhaps they rebelled against being SET in a family or LED out of prison... so they are left behind.  God doesn't force us into greener pastures if we insist on living in a wasteland.

This "God of wrath" that we hear so much about in the Old Testament... I do believe he is a god made up in the minds of humans who need someone to blame for the sun-scorched circumstances they find themselves in.  The rebellious don't need to be punished by the hand of God.  They have punished themselves.  God has everything good to offer us... family, broken chains, abundant life.  But if we rebel, we find loneliness, bondage and desolation.  Only because we choose it.  Only because we insist on doing it our own way.  Only because we can't let go of the things God tells us will hold us back.

God's wrath?  No.  God's heart breaking?  Yes.  Any parent knows the pain of watching their children make wrong choices.  They don't need to be punished.  The consequences are almost always more punishment than we could dish out.

Following God is not always the easy way.  And yes, bad things will still happen.  But the hope and the deep-in-the-soul joy that we always carry with us will keep us out of the desolate, sun-scorched land.  We will always have a family in Christ's family.  We will always be free from the bondage of sin.  We will always have within us that well-spring of abundant life.  Why would we choose anything else?

Father,
Thank you for loving us even when we choose wrong.  Thank you for continuing to offer us cooling water even when we choose the drought.  Amen.

Ask, Listen, Act

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9 NIV)

From The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew, by Barbara Brown Taylor:

"The problem with miracles is that we tend to get mesmerized by them, focusing on God's responsibility and forgetting our own. 

...Stop waiting on a miracle and participate in one instead.

However much you have, just bring it...and believe it is enough to begin with, enough to get the ball rolling, enough to start a trend.Be the first in the crowd to turn your pockets inside out; be the first on your block to start a miracle."

We certainly need prayer in order to see miracles happen.  But we cannot remain on our knees.  We must be participants.  If the boy had not offered his bread and fish, there would have been none to multiply.

This is why we have to understand that prayer is more than just telling God what we want.  It has to be a two-way conversation.  We have to listen.  We have to learn to hear God's voice as he speaks to our hearts.  If we only pray to ask and never to listen, never to adore, never to just be in God's presence, we are missing out on 99% of the prayer experience.  And we are likely to never see those miracles we ask for.

Pray first, last and always, but be sure that a large part of that prayer is listening.  And then act.  Offer your meager bread and fish when needed.  Take that bold first step to organize a new ministry or revive and old one.  Ask, listen... and then act.  You will see miracle after miracle after miracle.

Father,
We know miracles still happen all the time and you have them ready for us.  We only need to know what to do to receive them.  Help us to recognize your voice amid the noise of our lives.  Help us to hear you and then give us the courage to act.  Amen.

Joys:  Taking both our granddaughters to church yesterday (so much fun, but it sure wore us out!); nice days and rainy nights; graduations

A Stiff-Necked People

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. (Deuteronomy 10:16 NIV)

My devotion yesterday talked about a Bible study I am doing at church on Wednesday nights.  I am also doing another study with my reunion group on the book of Ruth using a book by Liz Curtis Higgs call, This Girl's Still Got It.

This morning we talked about the daughter-in-law that did not stay with Naomi, Orpah.  She is known in Bible study circles as "the stiff-necked one."  Throughout the Old Testament, it seems that God is always telling his children that they are a "stiff-necked" people.  I always took it to mean "stubborn."  But a question in our Bible study made us look at the word a little more literally.  Why "stiff-necked?"

Think about what happens when you wake up in the morning with a stiff neck.  You pretty much want to keep your head looking straight ahead.  You don't want to turn, or look over your shoulder.  It hurts!  Orpah is the stiff necked one because once she decided to leave, she didn't look back.  (Maybe the image of the women she loved but had to leave would hurt.)

We are still often God's stiff-necked children today.  We get going in one direction... so often the wrong one... and we don't look back.  We don't want to feel the hurt of what we are leaving behind.  We may even hear God call us to "come back,"  "return."  And yet we keep our faces looking straight ahead as we continue down the road to false gods with false promises.

We all have those false gods we run toward when life seems too hard... you know... those things that crowd out the one True God from our lives.  If we could just let our necks become less stiff... look back... look at the abundant life we leave behind everytime we fall for the lies of our false gods.  Look back.  Yearn.  Return.

Father,
Your call to return isn't just during Lent.  Each time we drift away, you are there calling us back.  Help us to hear you each time we think we have found an easier way.  Amen.

Joys:  Spending summertime "in the Word"; a nice newsy, chatty phone call from my newly-est wed son; Richard coming home

What Do You Want Me to Do For You?

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. (Matthew 20:32 NIV)

We had a very thought-provoking Bible study on the book, The Circle Maker last night.  In this session, we learned to make our desires known to God by knowing what it is we really want and by being specific and bold in our asking.

I believe the main key is knowing what it really is we want.  Any parent knows when their child really wants something or when they are just bored with things as they are in the moment.  Adults are no better really.  We see a huge sum of money ready to be given away in a lottery and rush right out to buy tickets.  But do we really want hundreds of millions of dollars and all the change and headaches that would come with it?  Or are we just bored with the way things are at the moment?  Maybe what we really want is simply to not have to worry about paying our bills every month.  Or maybe we are just looking for the kind of respect we imagine would come with that kind of money.  "What do you want me to do for you... REALLY?"

The thing is, God already knows our heart's desire far better than we do.  And he probably has it all polished up and ready to give to us.  He just wants us to be able to articulate it.  That's important.  If we know what we really want so well that we can ask for it specifically, than we can participate in the process of answering that prayer.  And what's more... we will be able to see with certainty when that prayer has been answered.

Father,
Help us to examine our hearts for what we really want you to do for us.  Help us to cut right to the core of it and ask you plainly, specifically and boldly for what we have figured out to be our deepest desires.  Amen.

Joys:  A nice day spent with Cecelia and Daniel; a good Bible study last night; sleeping to the sound of rain

Gumming Up the Works

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” (2 Corinthians 1:19 NIV)

All the grocery stores have debit card readers these days. The problem is, they all ask different questions and in a different order.  You have to stop and think about what you are saying "yes" or "no" to each time.  The one question that always gets me is (in these or similar words), "Do you accept this amount?"  If I was really truthful, in these days of spiraling inflation, my answer would be, "no, this is totally unacceptable."  But I'm afraid being truthful would just make me be the cause of gumming up the works and making everyone behind me wait.  So, dutifully, I press, "yes."

I have to wonder if some of us are like that in our churches.  Too many dutifully just say, "yes" to whatever we are told by our pastors and other leaders.  Too many are afraid of gumming up the works by raising questions.  And if we are honest, we all have them.

Actually, many people are questioning their churches these days.  The problem is, they do not do their questioning within the church.  Or if they do, they are ostracized for doing so.  Instead they leave the church and become "spiritual, but not religious."  And they miss out on one very important aspect of our faith... Christian community.

I am so glad to be a part of a church that is not afraid of questions, because I am a questioner, and had my questions been discouraged I would certainly be one of those "spiritual, but not religious" people. I think it is really those who press the yes button automatically without thinking or questioning who are actually the ones gumming up the works.  Just accepting the status quo keeps us from growing. It keeps our hearts closed to God's voice.  And when we don't hear God speak, we miss the whole point of being in Christian community.

What are your questions about faith, God, Jesus, and church practices?  I know you have them.  Are you afraid to ask?  Remember, none of us have all the answers.  But sharing what we think those answers might be is a great way to grow closer to God.

Father,
Help us to not be afraid to ask our questions.  If we are in a church that makes us afraid to ask, give us courage to seek a more encouraging and accepting community.  Amen.

Joys: Helping to host a fun birthday party for the folks at Heath House last night; having Cecelia for a sleep-over; a lazy morning at home.

The Table Set Before Me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  (Psalm 23:5 NIV)

Most of us are pretty familiar with the 23rd Psalm, even those who have never read the book of Psalms probably have heard this one a time or two.  But did you ever think about verse 5 and what it might mean that God "has prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies?"  What does that mean?  Does it mean that I'll have a table filled with food while my enemy is forced to look on, hungry?  Does it perhaps mean that we will have seperate tables, but my food will be way better?

Our sense of fairness and justice wants us to believe that whatever comes after this life, those I don't approve of just aren't going to have it as good as I will.  We really can't tell by the words of the psalm, but I think that by looking at the sweep of scriptures to tell us about the character of God, I would bet that he has something entirely different in mind...

Perhaps the psalmist is telling us that God is preparing a grand table where friend and foe will finally eat together with joy and peace.  And not just you and the neighbor who lets his dog get into your trash cans.  I'm talking Christian and Muslim, and Israeli and Palastinian.... or even Liberal and Conservative.  Can you imagine it?

Perhaps the Psalmist is talking about a different kind of meal.  The kind that is set before us on the altar in our places of worship.  It is where we all come together with different problems, different needs, different perspectives on life.  And yet, at the very depth of our inmost being, we are all very much the same.  We need Christ's body and blood poured out for us.  We need that forgiveness of sin, because we all have sin and ours is every bit as bad as our enemies, because ALL sin creates a barrier between us and God.

But let's think about the senerio of being seated with our enemies in the life to come.  Those first moments are going to be... well... awkward.  So we might want to start in this life to overcome any hatred that might lie in our hearts, to seek to mend any relationships we might have trashed, to heal conflicts that are going on in our lives right now, so when we meet at that table that God has already set for us, we can just dig in, because there will be no enemies if we have already made them friends.

Father,
Help us to see that we are so much more like others than we are different.  Help us to overcome our fears of those we see as so different.  Help us to be friends, because we will be in the end anyway.  Amen.

Joys:  Getting home and in the house only seconds before the downpour started yesterday; Richard's procedure going well and not feeling as bad as the last time he had it done; a quiet morning.

Plan to Be Careless

Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:10 NIV)

In a world that keeps telling us that we need to be more and more and more efficient, it is a joy to hear God command us to not be too efficient.  Being too efficient leaves others out.  When airlines fill every single seat, those on standby are left standing by.  When bread companies make exactly enough bread for those who can afford to buy it fresh, the more affordable day-old stores go empty. When every minute of our day is planned, we don't leave room for the Holy Spirit to bless others through us.  God WANTS us to be a little careless!

I remember as a child when my parents were facing a longer than usual period of no money and six kids to feed.  They found $60 cash in a parking lot (like finding $200 or more in today's cash).  What a blessing for us that someone was careless.  To this day, when I am careless and lose something valuable, I comfort myself by believing that someone found it who needed it as badly as my parents needed that $60.

But I believe the thing we need to especially be careful about holding onto too tightly is our time.  When we schedule every hour of every day, we leave no room for the Holy Spirit to inspire us or act through us.  We don't feel that gentle prodding because we are too focused on what we need to do next.  We miss so many opportunities to be Jesus to someone because we are too busy with the next "important" activity.

Slow down.  Pay attention to what is going on around you.  Could you ease the burden of someone around you?  Could you add a little joy to the life of someone you would otherwise simply pass by?  Life is not about filling up the hours.  Life is about relationships... even our relationships with people we have never met.

Plan to be a little careless today... with your money or your time or your belongings.  Someone will surely be blessed by it.

Father,
You certainly want us to be good stewards, but that also means a little planned carelessness as we also take care of one another.  Help us to be especially mindful of being too efficient with our time, so that we may allow your Holy Spirit to work through us.  Amen.

Joys:  a week filled with a wedding, family time, lots of one-on-one with Emma; time with a friend; back to devotion time after over a week without.