Pastor's Ponderings

Finishing Well

2011-06-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like lately there have been a lot of public leaders who've been in the news because of their own moral failings. This is nothing new, but it reminds me of how easily any of us can lose our focus in life and get off track. We might start well, but finishing well is what really counts. Someone running a marathon might explode from the starting line and look great. What happens at mile 14 or 19, though, can make all the difference. Staying focused on your goal, not giving up, refusing to be discouraged or distracted - all add up to key ingredients necessary to finish well.

Nobody in all of Scripture understands this better than Paul. Writing to his friends in Galatia about their apparent faltering in their faith, he wrote, "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you." (Gal. 5:7-8) They had gotten off track, lost their focus, allowed themselves to be distracted. So Paul exhorts them later in the letter, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up!" (6:9)

Perseverance is a lost art in today's instant gratification world. When a situation isn't to our liking or we're not happy, we're more likely to quit or compromise than to persevere with integrity. Knowing that human tendency might have inspired the writer of Hebrews to pen the words, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (12:1-3)

Giving in, giving up, or compromising our integrity because it's the path of least resistance is a formula for not finishing well. If we're to reach the end of our life and be able to say with Paul, "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing," (2 Tim. 4:6-8) then have to fix our eyes on Jesus, learning to live like Him daily. Daily following Jesus will get us to the finish line! You don't win a marathon in an instant. You win it by carefully executing a series of strides - each one as important as the next. So, make up your mind today and everyday to follow Jesus in your thoughts, your speech, and your action. Then, you'll finish well.

A Faith for Life's Moments

2010-12-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about John the Baptist for the last week or so as I try to get ready to celebrate Christmas in a few weeks. Many of the New Testament Gospel texts that deal with this time of year have John in them because he played such a pivotal role in helping people to get ready for Jesus' arrival on the scene. John is such a colorful and radical figure. He lived out in the wilds of the Judean desert. He wore a camel's hair tunic (no, not the nice kind of camel's hair coats you get at fancy clothing department stores) and he ate locusts and honey (talk about a great weight loss diet program). But all that aside, he was a straight to the point, no-nonsense kinda guy. There wasn't a lot of fluff or veneer to John the Baptist. I like John a lot, even though sometimes I wonder if I could've really related to him had I been around when he was alive and ministering to people.

There is one moment in John's life, though, that I feel a special kinship with him. In Matthew 11, John is in prison because he spoke truth to power and publicly questioned King Herod's inappropriate sexual liaison with his brother's wife. Matthew doesn't tell us, but I can only imagine that it must have been very disheartening and discouraging for John to be sitting in a prison cell, facing certain death, after all that he had done to live for God and share God's love with others. When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (11:2-3) As bold and strong a man as John was, he had questions and doubts too - just like a lot of us. John towers above many as a Godly man, yet even he had his moments. Having had a few "moments" myself over the years, I take great heart that I have a friend in John.

What's more, I love how Jesus responds to John's question. He could have uncorked both barrels on him and really let him have it. After all, if anyone should never have questioned who Jesus was it should have been John. You can almost hear Jesus saying, "Seriously John - YOU are questioning me? Of all people - YOU?" But, Jesus doesn't lambaste him. Instead, Jesus says simply, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (vv. 4-6) Instead of condemnation, Jesus reminds John not to lose sight of all that Jesus had done in the past and in the present - some of which John undoubtedly witnessed firsthand prior to his imprisonment.

In those moments when we're struggling or doubting or just plain wondering, "God, where are you in all of this," Jesus reminds us, "Haven't I acted on your behalf in the past? Don't forget that because it's your assurance that I will again."

Some Food for Thought:

Do you ever have "moments?"

What has gotten you through them?

How has the Lord acted on your behalf in the past? Where is He at work in your life right now?

If you could ask Him for one thing this Christmas what would it be?

The Rest of the Story - Jesus Makes Breakfast

2010-04-05T09:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Christians around the world celebrated the special day we call Easter - or as some refer to it Resurrection Day! In my little corner of the world we worshipped and reflected on the story of Mary Magdalene and the other Disciples' experience in John 20. It's an amazing account of unfolding events following Jesus' being raised from the dead. Yet, it's not the end of the story. As the commentator, Paul Harvey, used to say, "And now. . .the rest of the story!"

There's a lot to the rest of the story, but what sticks out in my mind right now is what happened with the Disciples in between the resurrection and the Day of Pentecost - when the Holy Spirit came and the Church was born. John describes one scene this way in chapter 21,

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.It happened this way: ²Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.⁴Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.

It seems as though the Disciples didn't know what to do with themselves. They had seen the risen Jesus, but hadn't yet gotten clear on what they were supposed to do. They were living in the in-between time learning to wait on God for direction. Not content to wait, they took matters into their own hands and went fishing. Being a fisherman myself I have nothing against spending a little quality time on the water (I'm all for it), but this isn't just about some R & R. They were reverting back to what they knew and were secure in rather than learning to wait on direction from the Lord. They were taking over and taking charge!

Do you ever do that? I am quite prone to this habit of trying to control my own destiny. Even after 28 years of walking this journey of being a Christ-follower, I am still learning to live a life of actively waiting on the Lord for direction instead of simply taking matters into my own hands.

Active waiting is not being passive and doing nothing - waiting for the heavens to open and a voice to speak, "DO THIS!" It is a lifestyle of faithful seeking, listening, discerning, paying attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit and taking steps of faith in harmony with that sense of leading. It lies somewhere between doing nothing and trying to do everything myself. Active waiting means that I join the action of my life to the timetable of God (which is often quite different from my own) and learn to move out only when and in the specific manner as God leads. It's a spiritual art form and not a pragmatic science - though it often leads to very practical action steps. Living this way can only happen as I stay close to and nurture a vital relationship with God. As Jesus put it in John 15,

⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Over the years I have experienced the reality that staying close to Him and learning to do it His way yields far better results than when I try to go it alone and do it all myself. And that's exactly what the Disciples learned on the lake shore that day too.

⁶He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.⁷Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.⁹When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.¹⁰Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”¹¹Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹²Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus revealed Himself to them by abundantly providing for their needs - once they decided to try doing things HIS WAY!

How about you? Do you ever struggle to "actively wait" on God? Do you ever try to take matters into your own hands? Is there something in your life right now that you need to seek His direction on and learn to live in-between?

Flaming Out for God

2009-10-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

I love the Fall in Idaho. Growing up in Northern Florida I didn't really understand how beautiful and how inspiring a true change of seasons can be. We basically had two seasons in Florida - hot and not-so-hot. I'm grateful for the warm summers here in Idaho, but I sure enjoy the crispness in the air and the brilliant colors that Autumn brings with it.

The other day I was on a walk in our neighborhood and I was completely surrounded by brilliant reds, oranges, yellows and the enduring beauty of evergreens. It was like someone had taken paint and splashed it on the canvas of creation. "Wow, I thought, this is incredible!" Yet, those colors are so short lived - in fact, after a windy weekend this past one, they're mostly gone. Have you ever asked yourself, "Why?" Do you ever wonder why the trees and shrubs produce such vibrant foliage this time of year? Yeah, I know, there are all kinds of scientific reasons that explain the loss of chlorophyll as they go into dormancy, etc. But so what - I mean some trees just go drab brown and really all of them presumably could do that and accomplish the same end result. But instead, they're absolutely stunning!

Maybe, just maybe, their Creator endowed them with this ability so that as they prepare to sleep for the long winter ahead they go out with a bang - one last shout of praise to the one who made them. What a shout it is!

Psalm 96 puts it this way:

¹ Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.

² Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

³ Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

⁴ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.

⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.

⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of his ^a]">[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his truth.

Let's not let the trees out-sing us - in Fall or at any other time of the year!!! I don't know about you, but I don't want to go out with a dull brown whimper. I want to flame out for God!!!!!

A Walk of Worship & Prayer

2009-07-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

I did something today I haven't done in a long time - I walked to work! It's 4 miles door-to-door from our home to the church. I needed some exercise and the forecast called for temperatures that were a little cooler than they had been the previous several days, so I set out and left the truck in the driveway to hit the road with a backpack and my iPod. I put on some worshipful music and began my journey.

A funny thing (or a lot of them) happened on my way into work this morning. . .
Standing at a busy intersection's crosswalk waiting for the signal to change so I could cross, the sounds of the busy roadway competed with the soothing worship music in my ear. "How fast we live," I thought! It seems we're constantly racing from one thing to the next. Suddenly I felt a great joy in the pace of a walk to work in place of the daily grind of commuting to work.

My walk soon took me past subdivision neighborhoods and my heart was drawn to prayer. I imagined the people and families that call those houses home and I wondered what life was like for them. I envisioned the hopes, the dreams, and the disappointments of people who lived there. I saw marriages struggling to survive, someone rushing out the door on a Monday morning to face another day on the job, kids with lots of stuff in their lives - yet still bored. I saw a stay-at-home mom sitting at her kitchen table with a morning cup of coffee staring out the window to the backyard and thinking about her life and wondering, "Is there anything more to life than this?" Even though I didn't know the people who lived in those homes, I know people like them and I know they're loved deeply by the Father - so I prayed: for blessing upon them and that they would find their greatest hope and joy in knowing the Father.

About halfway through my journey I came upon a fast-moving irrigation canal. Surrounded by dry, parched ground that is so characteristic of the high desert in mid-Summer, the Lord whispered in my ear, "I am the Living Water, the one who drinks of me will never thirst again." As I grew hot and tired around mile three and that irrigation water looked more and more appealing, the words of the Psalmist came to mind, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Ps. 42:1-2) How often my heart and life are like that parched ground - dry and in need of refreshment.

When I rounded the corner and headed down the homestretch my body began to complain all the more. "This is crazy," I mused, "it's only a 4 mile walk - Big Deal!" Yet, as my once lively step slowed somewhat my thoughts turned to the women and children of the developing world who daily walk that far and farther with jugs full of water on their head just so that they can have a small amount of clean drinking/cooking water. It seems we have it sooooo good in this land of ours'. We have much to be thankful for. Jesus reminds us, "anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." (Mark 9:41) "How can we," I wondered, "bring more cups of water (spiritually and physically) to people who are thirsty in Meridian and beyond?"

Finally, I arrived and boy was I glad to be at my destination. One day, how amazing and fantastic it will be to arrive "home" in the presence of the Lord!!!! I look forward to that day with a deep longing! How 'bout you?

Well, those are just a few thoughts from my walk of worship and prayer on the way into work this morning.

Have you ever wondered about some of these things?

How fast you're living - what would it take to bring some greater sanity to your schedule?
The people who live around you - maybe the next time you take a walk in your neighborhood you could make it a prayer walk for your neighbors
The state of your spirit - are you "dry" and "parched" or "well-watered?" Is Jesus your "Living Water?"
The needs of others - especially those who are struggling. What are you/we doing to serve the needs of people around us? Because, isn't life more than just what "I want" or what "I need?"

What do you think????

Blessings,
David

Admirer or Follower?

2009-05-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

If you have any knowledge at all of human nature, you know that those who only admire the truth will, when danger appears, become traitors. The admirer is infatuated with the false security of greatness; but if there is any inconvenience or trouble, he pulls back. Admiring the truth, instead of following it, is just as dubious a fire as the fire of erotic love, which at the turn of the hand can be changed into exactly the opposite—to hate, jealousy, and revenge. Christ, however, never asked for admirers, worshipers, or adherents. He consistently spoke of "followers" and "disciples."

—Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian (1813–1855)

It seems like these days that there are many "admirers" - of spirituality, of religion, and even of Christianity, in particular. At the same time, though, it appears that fewer and fewer people want actually to be followers, i.e., persons who have to "do" something with their spirituality.

For Christians - the word itself implies being a follower - you cannot separate the two. If someone is really a Christian (literally a little Christ) and not just giving lip-service to some amorphous, unaccountable spirituality then their lifestyle will look increasingly like Jesus Himself. To be a Christian is to follow in Jesus' footsteps. In fact, one of the chief complaints that skeptics make of Christians is that they may be good admirers of Jesus but seldom follow Him.

It stands to reason, then, as Kirkegaard claims, that admirers are quick to jump ship when the going gets tough. Jesus referred to folks like this as those in whom the seed of God's kingdom is planted in rocky or thorny soil - it soon withers or gets choked out.

On the other hand, a follower has left all behind in order to follow. Like Cortes burning the ships, the one who would be a follower forsakes all options of turning back.

What do you think? Are the skeptics justified in their critique? Are you more of an admirer or a follower? If you're more of an admirer, what would it take for you to become a follower?

Greed

2008-09-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

In view of recent economic realities this piece by David Roper offers some great grist for our spiritual mills.

One thought led to another…

I watched the stock market plummet yesterday, and thought about the effects
of fear and greed. Gordon Gekko's rant rang in my ears: "Greed is good!
Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the USA!" What fools we are.

Then I thought of that occasion on which a man asked Jesus to serve as an
arbiter and make his brother share their inheritance. Jesus refused the
request, but went on to do the man a greater kindness: He pointed out the
motive behind the man's request and it's consequences: "Beware of greed, for
one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses"

And then, because parables wake up things within us, Jesus told a story
about a man who harvested a bumper crop and began to make plans to increase
and enjoy his wealth. "But God said to him, 'Foolish man! This night your
soul will be required of you… So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and
is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:13-21).

All of which reminded me of a story I heard years ago about an investment
counselor who encountered a genie on the way to the office. When granted a
wish he asked for a copy of The Wall Street Journal one year hence and
hurriedly turned to the market page to plan his killing.

He got more than he bargained for, however. There on the opposite page he
spied his own face—in an obituary describing his death in an automobile
accident the previous day.

That's the trouble with greed, you know: it's not our goods that go. We go.

Jesus and Politics

2008-09-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

My friend and mentor, David Roper, passed this along to me recently. In light of the political season we're in the thick of right now, I found it very thought-provoking. What do you think????

7. Jesus and Politics: Is He Right or Left

All political issues today are seen through the prism of Right vs. Left, the
political "us vs. them." The categories are all-encompassing thought-savers,
knee-jerks that allow us to avoid thinking about each issue on its own
merits. But the categories, and the polarization they create, is even more
indefensible when applied to Christ because it means judging Christ by the
fallen world rather than vice versa.

The polarization is also harmful to morality because it lets us be
selectively moral, selectively idealistic-which means selectively immoral
and pragmatic. If we take the high road on abortion, euthanasia, and
sexuality, we can take the low road on war, poverty, and pollution; or vice
versa. Even when we focus on a specific question like whether all human
lives are intrinsically valuable, these categories allow us the moral
schizophrenia to say yes when we address abortion and no to that same
question when we address war and capital punishment-or vice versa. It's not
just that we give wrong answers (I'm not sure what the right answers are in
particular about a particular war or capital punishment in a particular
case), it's that we have self-contradictory principles.

Only from the viewpoint of the straight can we judge the skewered. Christ is
the straight, the plumb line-both when He is explicitly known, by divine
revelation, and when He is implicitly known, by conscience and the natural
law. He brings to all issues God's natural order to judge man's unnatural
disorders. Therefore, He does that to politics too.

He also unites the proper concerns of Right and Left, for He is the straight
path ("I am the Way") from which both Right and Left turns depart. He gives
a stronger reason for the rightful concerns of both Right and Left than
either Right or Left can do.

For instance, why feed the poor? Because the poor are Christ in disguise.
Not just because of political correctness or individual sentiment.

Why love sinners, as the Left does, and why ate sins, as the Right does? Why
love addicts to drugs, violence, money, or sex? And why hate their
addictions? For the same reason. Because Christ does. That's why we should
be more compassionate to sinners than liberals are and more uncompassionate
to sins than conservatives are. For the same reason: Christ.

Why preach and practice the "social gospel"? Not to be politically correct,
or to refute the Fundamentalists, but because Christ did.

Why be universalistic and inclusive and ecumenical? Not to sneer at
xenophobia, isolationism, and provincialism, but because Christ was and is
universalistic. Christ is not a local tribal deity.

Why insist on "the scandal of particularity," and on the concrete, visible,
particular, and exclusive claims of Christ to be the one and only Savior?
Not to stick it to the liberals, but because Christ is particular and
concrete and visible and exclusive and literal.

Why be progressive and radical and creative and in love with the new? Why be
open to the winds like a sail? Because Christ is. Why be faithful and
stick-in-the-mud traditionalist, like an anchor? Because Christ is "the same
yesterday, today, and forever."

Why be a "bleeding heart liberal"? Because Christ is. Why be a "hard-headed
conservative"? Because Christ is.

Many have substituted Liberalism or Conservatism or some other ism for
Christ, and co-opted Christ for their cause. Christ cannot be co-opted for
any cause; all causes must be co-opted for Him. All isms are abstractions.
Even the perfect ism, if there is one, cannot save us and cannot love us.

The special danger of the religious Right is to worship Christ's doctrines
instead of Christ, confusing the sign with the thing signified. The Right is
absolutely right to insist on being right and to insist on absolutes. But a
finger is for pointing at the moon; woe to the fool who mistakes the finger
for the moon.

The special danger of the religious Left is to worship Christ's values
instead of Christ. That is just as abstract as the Right's substituting
Christ's doctrines for Christ. They are also only pointing fingers.

The Right argues that the Left is vague, but even the true and precise
doctrines of the Right are vague compared with Christ. Everything is. The
Left argues that the Right is hard, but even the soft, compassionate heart
of a liberal is hard compared with Christ. Everything is.

Right and Left cannot convince and convert each other for the same reason
that the Pharisees and the Sadducees could not convince and convert each
other. For what a Pharisee needs is not a little softening of the head, a
little dose of worldliness, pop psychology, relativism, and subjectivism.
What he needs is Christ. And what a Sadducee needs is not a little hardening
of the heart, a little arrogance, a little bit of Scrooge or Machiavelli
or Darwinian "survival of the fittest" What he needs is Christ.

And our society needs nothing less, split as it is between Left and Right
today just as Jesus' society was split between Sadducees and Pharisees in
His time.

Earthly societies are not eternal, as souls are. Yet Christ is the Savior of
societies as well as souls. Our society is dying because it has turned the
holy name of its Savior into a curse word. Christophobia is the poison that
is killing our society. Our secularists are making us forget Christ faster
than we are making them remember Him: that is why our society is dying. Its
blood supply is drying up. The Precious Blood is evaporating. We are losing
more blood each day.

The answer is scandalously simple, unless Christ and Christianity and the
Bible and the Church and Christ's apostles and all the saints are liars. The
answer is that there is only one hope, for societies as well as souls: "What
must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be
saved." (Acts 11:14)

Is that too simple and childish for you? Are you too "advanced" and "adult"
for that? Remember what "advanced" tooth decay looks like. Remember what our
society means by "adult." Remember what "adult" movies mean. And then put
that against The Passion of the Christ And then "choose ye this day whom ye
will serve." (Joshua 24:15)

—Peter Kreeft, The Philosophy of Jesus (St. Augustine Press, South Bend Indiana, 2007) pp. 144-150

Busyness

2008-01-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

With the holidays now over and a new year underway, I am struck by how quickly we all slip back into our routines. Not that routines are a bad thing, necessarily. They often define the rhythms of our day to day lives. But sometimes those routines can get a bit out of control. We find ourselves racing from place to place with little chance to breathe or take stock. We are often so busy adding quantity to our lives that we rarely have time or energy to add quality to them.

I keep on my desk a booklet given to me by a friend entitled "Tyranny of the Urgent!" It's written by Charles E. Hummel. I return to this little gem time and again as a reminder to follow Jesus' example of balancing priorities. At one point, Hummel says, "We all know what it is to go full speed for long hours, totally involved in an important task. The resulting weariness is matched by a sense of achievement and joy. Not hard work, but doubt and misgiving produce anxiety as we review a month or a year and become oppressed by the pile of unfinished tasks. We sense uneasily our failure to do what was really important. The winds of other people's demands, and our own inner compulsions, have driven us onto a reef of frustration." (pp. 4-5)

Does that describe your experience in any way? How does the "tyranny of the urgent" impact your spiritual well-being? What have you found helpful in bringing better balance to your life? Is there something practical that you can suggest to help others find ways to bring that balance to their lives as well?

Blessings,

David