Small Town Boy

My wife and I recently ate out at a local Mexican food restaurant and we kept running into people we knew.  All in all, we counted over a dozen people that we spoke to or encountered over the course of our meal.  Not all of them were Northsiders and I don't think any of them knew each other but we knew them.  When we were walking to our car we both commented on how Victoria is still a small town.  Things like that don't happen in Houston or Dallas and that is fine with us.  Don't get me wrong, it is a good feeling to go out and see a lot people you know.  We both said we like it that way.

When is a small town no longer a small town?  I think it is when you go out and never encounter someone you know at the grocery store or the restaurant or the mall.  So, though Victoria is growing, by my definition, it is still a small town.  I hope it stays that way.

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus was a small town boy?  He was born in Bethlehem.  It was classified as an "O, little town" even before the Christmas carol was written.  When the wise men came looking for him, they came to Jerusalem, of course.  When they inquired about where he was to be born, the scholars said, "In Bethlehem in Judea" another sign of a small town is when you have to say the name of the place followed by what region or county or state it is in also.

The prophet Micah had written in chapter 5 verse 2 and following. "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."  The word "least" could also be translated "insignificant."  God sent his son to come to earth in a place that people could have called insignificant if not for his birth.

Jesus was raised in Nazareth, not Rome, not Jerusalem, not even Jericho but Nazareth.  Everyone knew him as "Joseph's son."  That is another sign of a small town - everyone knows you and all your family connections too.  When Jesus began his ministry, he made trips to Jerusalem and to Jericho but the bulk of his time seems to have been spent in places like Capernaum - another small town.

So at your Christmas gatherings when your relatives are talking about their big city adventures and advantages and you are feeling a little insignificant, just remind yourself - Jesus was a small town boy.  When you travel out of town and meet your cousin's new wife from Dallas and she asks where Victoria is and as you explain she gets this dazed, confused look on her face as if she has no idea what you are talking about, just remember - Jesus was a small town guy.

He came to those who could be called insignificant to prove that no one and no town, are insignificant to him.  Merry Christmas.

for the journey...

Tim

Using Christmas

Perhaps he was the original "Bad Santa."  We know he was bad enough to be lynched by an angry mob, perhaps the last man in Texas history to meet such an end.  His name was Marshall Ratliff.  He borrowed a Santa Claus suit from his landlady and set out from Wichita Falls in a stolen car with three other men to rob the First National Bank in Cisco, Texas.

On December 23, 1927, Ratliff dressed in his Santa suit and armed with a gun, walked into the bank and announced it was a hold up.  He did not count on several children dragging their parents into the bank right behind him because they had just seen Santa walk through the streets of Cisco, Texas.  They walked into the lobby behind Ratliff, saw Ratliff's friends who had now entered from the back of the bank with guns drawn and one little girl began to cry, "They're gonna shoot Santa!"

Things turned violent very quickly.  There was a gun battle in the bank, a high speed car chase (for 1927 standards), a car jacking, a group of armed citizens joining the pursuit and finally a capture of the bank robbers.  In all, six people were killed and eight wounded. Ratliff later escaped from jail and was captured by a mob of angry citizens who lynched him.  Using Christmas backfired on Ratliff and his bank robber friends big time.

People still try to use Christmas for their own selfish reasons.  A man called the church the other day, telling a tale of woe.  He had just begun to attend our church, he said -  we had no record of him coming.  He was now calling "his pastor" to see if "his church" could help him by putting money onto his prepaid VISA card.  There was no other possible way he could be helped and it need to happen immediately he said.  I told him I was sorry I could not send money that way, but we would pray. We later saw he had been on our website fifteen minutes before he called and left his name and email address.

We can grow cynical and bitter about "the way people use Christmas," but maybe a better way to approach this season is to ask ourselves, "Are we letting Christmas use us?"  In all the commercialism of Christmas, the conflict about Christmas and the chaos of the world at Christmas are doing anything positive?  Are we being messengers of something different?  Witnesses of God's love in sending his son?  Examples of a better way to honor and celebrate the season?

I must confess, I am not as creative in letting Christmas (and of course God) use me as others are creative in using Christmas, but maybe it is not about my creativity.  Perhaps it is more about responding to what God is doing in the world rather than what the world is doing in Christmas.  Where is God at work this Christmas around you?  How are you going to respond?  Maybe that is a request I really need to respond to this week.

for the journey...

Tim

Do You See What I See?

The preschool kids were coming out into the foyer after their turn at the Northside Baptist School's presentation of "The Best Christmas Present Ever."  I was there in the foyer, at the Welcome Center, ready to hand out invitations to "The Sounds of Christmas" performance on Sunday and I heard their conversation. 

The first little boy in the line they were now struggling to stay in, turned and announced to the other preschoolers, "I saw my Daddy!"  Without skipping a beat the next little girl in line said, "I saw my Mommy and my Daddy!"  Then someone else chimed in to the new competition, "I saw my Mommy and my Daddy and my Grandma!"

As the teachers tried to keep them in line and coach them to walk back through the foyer for their appearance in the next act, the one-upmanship continued of who each one had seen. It was as if this whole Christmas program had been arranged for them so they could see their family. As adults we know the bigger reality is that all those people - family and friends - had not come there to be seen by the children but to see the children. 

We can read the Christmas story and see it is written from the human stand point of what we saw in that first advent.  Mary saw the angel, Gabriel.  The wise men saw a star.  Joseph saw visions in a dream.  The shepherds saw a host of angels and then they saw the baby in the manger.  These were all wonderful sights and those who saw them told others of the amazing things they had seen.

I wonder if from heaven's view though, we all are a lot like those preschoolers.  We can think about what we have seen in "Christmas" but the greater reality is that the reason Christmas happened in the first place is because we were seen.  God sent his son from heaven to earth because he saw our need and he acted on his love for us - just like the families in the audience came to see the kid's performance.

Perhaps this Christmas, we need to not take the perspective that all this happened for us to see, but it all happened the way it did first and foremost, because we have a God who sees us, who knows our need and who always acts on it.  The fact that we get to see him at all, is because he sees us.

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."  Genesis 16:13

for they journey...

Tim

The Cost of the Incarnation

"Most American evangelicals hold views condemned as heretical by some of the most important councils of the early church."  That statement from a Christianity Today article got my attention.  As I read the article I found that much of our modern confusion centers around things related to Jesus and the incarnation.  We are good at celebrating Christmas but not as good at understanding the implications of the incarnation of Christ.

Note that this survey is speaking to people, 96% of whom believe Jesus rose from the dead and 92% believe that salvation is found only in Jesus and 96% believe in the Trinity.  But nearly a quarter (22%) said that God the Father is more divine than Jesus with another 9% not being sure.  Also, 16% said that Jesus was the first creature created by God with another 11% not being sure.

The Bible does not teach that Jesus was created and it certainly never teaches that Jesus came into existence to come at Christmas.  It always teaches that Jesus was fully human and fully divine.  Somehow Jesus came into this world as a human but never lost any of his divinity.  He would even say that he and his Father were "one" (John 10:30).

It cost something for the Jesus, the son of God, to become a son of man.  People would never fully understand him while he walked on this earth and today we still don't. That was one price he bore in becoming God incarnate - being misunderstood. 

Our little minds can hardly fathom what it must have been like to leave the glory of heaven for the goriness of a human birth.  Perhaps C. S. Lewis caught this part best when he wrote this in Mere Christianity:

The Second Person in God, the Son, became human Himself: was born into the world as an actual man—a real man of a particular height, with hair of a particular color, speaking a particular language, weighing so many stone. The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a Woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.

We often think of what it cost him to go to the cross.  To fully understand him, perhaps we should first seek understand what it cost him to go to a stable in Bethlehem.

for the journey...

Tim

The poll can be found at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/october-web-only/new-poll-finds-evangelicals-favorite-heresies.html

Researching Thanksgiving

Last week as I listened to some other pastor's preach on giving thanks, I heard a statement like the following one several times, "Research shows that being thankful improves your health."  But the research was never cited or directly quoted, so I did some looking into that.  I found some studies on gratitude that came out of Harvard (Harvard Mental Health Letter, "In Praise of Gratitude"  November 2011 quoted in preachingtoday.com).

Psychologists Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael E McCullough asked participants in one study to write down a few sentences each week. One group was told to write down things they were grateful for in their week.  Another group wrote about what irritated them.  A third group just wrote down events of their week with no instructions on whether they were to be good or bad.

Ten weeks went by and then the groups were studied.  The ones who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic, felt better about life, had fewer doctor's visits and exercised more than either of the other two groups.

Another researcher, Dr. Martin E. Seligman tested 411 people, giving them various assignments and then studying the impact those assignments had on the individual's moods.  The most impactful assignment given to the group was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked.  Study group members immediately showed a huge increase in happiness scores after the assignment with benefits from the letters they wrote and delivered lasting for more than a month.

Though none of these studies show a direct cause and effect correlation, they point to the power of gratitude to change our lives for the better.  I doubt that a typical Thanksgiving dinner with all it's calories will improve your health and well being, but the act of thanksgiving surely will.  Writing things down seems to big part of that as well.  Why not write a thank you note to someone this Thanksgiving?  What have you got to lose?

for the journey...

Tim

Admirable

In this Thinksgiving week challenge that I gave us in my post last week (The Thinksgiving Week Challenge), the day I had the hardest finding an example verse for was the word "admirable."  If we are to think on things that are admirable, where is that in the Bible?  The Philippians 4:8 verse is the only place I found the word "admirable."  Surely there was admiration going on, especially of Jesus, but it does not use that word.

That is why I went with the word "marvel" and used the example in Matthew 15:31 that the crowd observing Jesus "marveled" at his works of healing.  We don't do enough marveling or admiring today, especially of Jesus.  Anger, criticism and judgment are much easier and much more prevalent.  When we think on those negative things, we do negative things.

Years ago I heard a story about a college football game where the coach had to make a tough decision.  The starting quarterback went down with an injury.  The back up was sick with the flu and not suited up.  The only quarterback left on the team was a freshman who had never taken a snap.  On top of all that, the opposing team had just downed a punt inside the five yard line.

So the coach called the freshman over and told him to go no huddle on offense and to hand the ball off on two successive plays to the running back, then on the third play to surprise the opposing team by punting the ball.  The coach knew the freshman had been a punter as well as quarterback in high school.  The freshman went into the game angry that the coach only trusted him to hand off and to punt, he knew he could do more than that.  His ego was bruised and he was steaming that his coach only wanted him to get the team out of trouble but he did what he was told.

The first handoff went for a minimal gain, but on the second running play, the running back took the ball and broke through the defense and down the field all the way to the opponents two yard line.  The freshman hurried his team to the line of scrimmage and just as he had been told, he punted it on the third play.  Of course the ball went through the end zone resulting in a touchback so that the other team got the ball on the 20 yard line.

When the quarterback got back to the sideline, the coached yelled at him, "What were you thinking?"  To which the freshman shot back, "That we have the dumbest coach in the country to call those plays!"

When we think negatively, we feel negative things and we act negatively - and it is all completely natural to us.  What happens when we learn to admire?   When we learn to marvel, especially at the things Jesus is doing?  Today, let's try to find out.  This may the be best way to turn "Thinksgiving" into "Thanksgiving."

for the journey...
Tim

Thinksgiving

No, that title is not a typo.  That is a specific challenge that I have given to us at Northside for the coming week.  If you are reading this without hearing the sermon, "Fixing Your Thoughts" on November 16.  We are studying eight things that Paul challenges the church there to think about from Philippians 4:8.

So if you are willing give this a try this week:

The Thinksgiving Week Challenge

Each day there will be focus word from that verse as well as another scripture verse to help us fix our thoughts on that word.

Day 1 – Sunday:  “whatever is true…”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6

Day 2 – Monday:  “whatever is noble…”

(From the Parable of the sower, speaking about the seeds that fell on good soil).

“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”  Luke 8:15 NKJV

Day 3 – Tuesday:  “whatever is right…”

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”  James 1:19-20

Day 4 – Wednesday:  “whatever is pure…”

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  Psalm 51:10

Day 5 – Thursday:  “whatever is lovely…”

“How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!   My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”  Psalm 84:1-2

Day 6 – Friday:  “whatever is admirable…”

“So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.”  Matthew 15:31 NASB

Day 7 – Saturday:  “whatever is excellent…”
“Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”  1 Timothy 3:13

Day 8 – Sunday:  “whatever is …praiseworthy…”

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”  Psalm 145:3

“…think about such things.”

A Little Peace and Chaos

"It was the biggest crisis of my life and I had peace.  It was incredible."  That was the statement I heard from a young man this week who was recounting how God worked in his situation. His premature, new born baby was in a neonatal ICU - struggling.  The young man's father had come to visit and he had a major health crisis and ended up in the ICU in another part of the hospital.  Crises do not usually crash into our lives alone.

So how do we get peace when your child and your father are both in ICU?  The interesting thing about where God teaches us peace (as well as patience, kindness, love and pretty much every fruit of the Spirit) is that it comes in the places where it is hardest for them to naturally exist.  In the places where it seems life takes peace, God teaches peace.  He takes us beyond the natural to grow the supernatural. 

Think about that in your life.  Have you ever learned patience without actually being in a place where you have to wait?  I haven't.  Peace is the same way; God teaches it to us in the crisis and the chaos.  If we learn it there, peace will be there when the crisis and chaos go away.  And the peace will be stronger.

This Sunday we are going to be learning about God's peace.  I have a sneaking suspicion that many of us are in a place to learn it  - right now.

for the journey...

Tim

Being a Peacemaker

It is sad that the only thing we know about two people named in Paul's letter to the church at Philippi is that they did not get along.  Euodia and Syntyche are called on by name to stop their squabble ( Philippians 4:2-3). 

What a shame.  They were probably really good women who served passionately in their church and in their community.  Maybe they fed the hungry, clothed the poor, ministered to the sick.  Paul even says they "contended by side in the cause of the gospel."  But the only reason they are remembered today is for the fight Paul called them to quit.  None of us want to be remembered that way, but how can we be remembered as a peace maker not a peace breaker?

I think the words of the former Chaplain of the United States Senate, Richard Halverson can help.  I am certain he saw his share of peace breakers so that the peace makers stood out this way.

"You can offer your ideas to others as bullets or as seeds.  You can shoot them or you can sow them; hit people in the head with them or plant them in their hearts. Ideas used as bullets will kill inspiration and neutralize motivation.  Used as seeds, they take root, grow and become reality in the life in which they are planted.

The only risk in the seed approach:  Once it grows and becomes a part of those in whom it's planted, you probably will get not credit for originating the idea.  But if you're willing to do without the credit...you'll reap a rich harvest."

Euodia and Syntyche were bullet shooters not seed planters.  They got credit for the bullets they fired at one another, that's for sure.  What will you be remembered for in your church?  Bullets or seeds?  This Sunday we will meet to evaluate where we are on this.  Maybe we will even plant some peace seeds.

for the journey...

Tim

Happiness or Joy?

Barbara tried to keep her balance as the bus lurched forward.  She had arrived late for work and work that day was very nerve wracking.  When she got on the bus to go home, it was so crowded she had to stand.  That added to her gloominess.  While she was holding on to keep from falling into a complete stranger, she heard a deep male voice boom out, "Beautiful day, isn't?"

She could not see the speaker or the one he was speaking to but he was the only one speaking on the whole bus.  Barbara continued to hear him comment on the spring day and for the first time she realized it really was a pretty day.  The voice commented occasionally on different things they were passing by and each time her attention was drawn outside the bus and outside of herself. The man mentioned a church as they drove by and the good work they were doing in the community.  As they passed by a park, he had positive comments on it.  It happened the same way as they passed a fire station and several other landmarks. 

The speaker seemed to know something positive, something not seen on the surface, about a whole lot of things.  Barbara found herself smiling for the first time that day.  When the bus came to her stop she just had to maneuver herself so she could see her positive bus ride commentator.  He was a plump man with a black beard, wearing dark glasses and carrying a long, thin white cane.

Barbara Johnson's story reminds me that sometimes we have to see the unseen to experience the joy that is possible in life.  If happiness comes or goes according to what happens, joy comes from how we choose to look at things.  Paul calls us to "Rejoice in the Lord always."  That may mean I have to look for what is present but unseen in order to rejoice.  We will look at that passage Sunday and Paul's call to rejoice, always.  I pray we all see things we have not seen before.

for the journey...

Tim

Death with Dignity?

I have heard much about Brittany Maynard and her plans as a 29 year old newly wed to end her own life.  If you have not heard of her chances are you will. You will probably not hear much about another young woman who is facing death but you need to hear about her story too.  Dr. Jim Denison addresses both in the article for which I have included the link below.  It is not long but I believe everyone of us needs to read this.  It is far better and more important than what I had planned to post today.  Please take a moment to read this.


http://www.denisonforum.org/cultural-commentary/1196-29-year-old-brittany-maynard-and-death-with-dignity

for the journey...

Tim

Rituals: Right or Rite?

Not long after I became pastor of one of my previous churches, one of the deacons came to me after a baptism and said, "Preacher, you are baptizing people wrong."  I asked what he meant by that, I was sure that I had gotten our last candidate totally immersed which I thought was pretty much the only real point for Baptists.  "They are facing the wrong way.  When we baptize people here they face the other direction" he said.  I wondered if there was some verse in Titus of Philemon that taught the proper direction to face when being baptized; perhaps I had been absent that day in seminary when they covered that.

I did not really understand what he meant and after a few more questions that only made me look worse in his eyes something dawned on me.  I asked him if my predecessor had been left handed?  The previous pastor had been there for many years and, yes, he was left handed.  I told him that I was right handed and wanted my right hand underneath people when they were baptized.  That was the reason they were facing the way they were when I baptized them.  That really wasn't good enough for him but we left it that this may in fact be a "disputable matter" not clearly spelled out in Titus, Philemon or even in the various interpretations of Revelation.

It is interesting what becomes a sacred to people and why.  I have had similar conversations with people when the Lord's Supper elements where not covered with a white sheet and when a baptismal candidate wore something other than white as they were being baptized.  It seems to often happen around our two "ordinances" that we observe as Baptists - baptism and the Lord's Supper.

This Sunday, we are going to do both and I will preach about both - how there is a common thread shared in baptism and the Lord's Supper.  From time to time we need to ask ourselves why we do what we do.  Is it out of ritual or out of a relationship?  

The truth is I think most of us who go to church often have some things that have become rituals to us.  We may not realize it until a new pastor comes in and baptizes people facing the wrong way.  Then what we have made sacred is revealed in our disappointment and we are forced to examine ourselves.  That self examination seems to be something I have read a verse or two about.

What is sacred?  What is not? What is right and what is simply a rite?  I hope you will be there.  I am sure there will be some comments.  I will even let you weigh in on whether our baptismal candidates faced the right direction or not.

for the journey...

Tim

The Squeeze of the World Around You

I saw on the news this week that a very creative farmer has been growing his pumpkins inside a precast mold this fall so that they grow formed to look like a "Frankenstein" head or some other Halloween associated character.  I tried to find photos for this blog but could not.  On the TV news video I saw, they looked like plastic but were in fact real whole pumpkins shaped like a head.

Let me say here that I am neither endorsing nor advertising Halloween decorations.  I personally don't like them but from my farm background though I do have to say this is a pretty inventive guy because he is getting $75 per pumpkin.  My hats off to his ingenuity though I will not ever pay $75 for a pumpkin no matter who it looks like.

All this did remind me of this verse from J. B. Phillips translation of the book of Romans -
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.  Romans 12:2

We live in a world that will squeeze us into its mold if we let it.  It will squeeze us financially, morally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally - any way that we can imagine being squeezed it will and often for someone else's profit. 

Those pumpkins don't have a choice but we do.  We have something strong enough to break the mold the world tries to put us into - the power of Christ in us.  If you are feeling like one of those pumpkins this week, I pray what we will look at Sunday will help you.  Let's all come to break our molds and be "unsqueezed."

for the journey...

Tim

One Thing

"There is more difference between 1 and 2 than there is between 2 and 10,000."  Elton Trueblood

I heard that in a sermon this week and as the preacher explained what he thought the Quaker philosopher Trueblood meant by that statement, my mind went in a different direction than his explanation.  Now I know all you engineers and math majors are going to say that statement makes no sense at all, but remember I am talking theology where Father (1) + Son (1) + Holy Spirit (1) = 1.

So what did my mind go to after the preacher quoted Trueblood?  It went to the story I had read earlier that a large, extremely rare 122.52 carat blue diamond sold for $27.6 million.  Stay with me here.  How does that relate to the statement above?

If you took that diamond and cut it into two, it would immediately loose its value of $27.6 million.  Oh each piece would be very valuable but probably not a total of over $27,000,000.  If you took the two pieces and cut them up until there were 10,000 each piece would be costly but not what that single, whole, huge diamond would be worth.  When something that precious is divided just once, that one divide makes a huge difference.  Perhaps that is not even what Elton Trueblood was trying to say but that is where my mind went.  A whole precious thing is worth more than many different pieces but that one splitting into two is where the biggest difference is and the the greatest loss.

What then is the cost of going from being single-minded to double minded?  From having an undivided heart and having a divided one?  How much is it worth to be single minded?  To have an undivided heart?  Again, we are talking theology where the numbers don't always work in ways we can quantify, but it is very valuable.

The Psalmist writes in Ps. 86:11, "Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name."  In Ezekiel 11 God tells the prophet in verse 19, "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them;  I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."  In both those places a whole, undivided heart sounds like it is something worth more than diamonds.

This Sunday we will look at where Paul talks about, "this one thing I do..."  He had found the worth of his life given whole and undivided to God.  He found great value in that, far above diamonds.  We can find it too.

for the journey...

Tim

Caught not just Taught

Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you: if you are not, you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God, how could he not live forever?

C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

I have read that quote often recently and it keeps speaking to me.  I seem to see something new in it every time I read it.  It helps me understand I cannot work my way to God but if I spend time with God, He works His way into me.

I also get the thought that this is what Paul was talking about when he says, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."  Philippians 3:10

Paul is not being a masochist nor is he suicidal. He just knew that the high point of all human history was when Jesus suffered for us and died for us out of his great love for us.  Paul wanted to know that kind of love and that kind of life.  It seems to me Paul is saying he wanted to be near enough to it to 'catch it by a kind of infection.'

Let's get together with God this Sunday, look at this more carefully and see what we catch.

for the journey...

Tim

Washing Windows

Recently we had a new glass storm door put in on our back door.  As I looked out of the new, clean glass and then looked at the windows near it, I saw how very dirty my windows were.  I needed to do something about this so I set about to wash our windows on Labor Day.  They looked pretty clean after I got through but since they have dried I have found numerous streaks and spots I missed.  I have gone back to clean them and I still see more!  It has become a little obsession of mine, when I look at a window, I look for spots.  This is very discouraging because I am realizing I can never get them completely clean.

One day this week while I was looking from the inside and seeing more missed spots, streaks and some new things that had blown onto a window, it is like the Lord tapped my shoulder and said, "You cannot get anything completely clean yourself, not your windows, not your life."  As I thought of that it also hit me the purpose of windows is to see out and let light in, not to only look for spots. 

It is that way in my spiritual life as well.  There has to be some sort of settling in my mind that I cannot get myself perfectly clean and never will.  I don't have to live with dirty windows in my spiritual life though because 1 John 1:9 tells me "if I confess my sin, He is faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness."  My spiritual life needs to include this "cleaning of windows" but that is not all their is, there is so much more.  There are spiritual windows that are meant to be seen through to things on the other side.  There are spiritual windows that let in light. I can get obsessed with just cleaning my windows and never seeing what is on the other side. That is not how I was meant to live.

This Sunday, we are going to look at "Two Paths to God?"  Can we get so caught up in the rules of righteousness that we never see the One on the other side of our spiritual windows?  Yes, we can and we do.  But if we let Jesus take care of this, we look through those windows and see the One who wants to clean us up and show us great things on the other side.  He also wants to shine in His light.  Let's pray we see things clearly.

for the journey...

Tim

Job Listings

Where does your job fit in on the "best and worst jobs" list?  Last year Forbes magazine published an article that pointed to a study that CareerCast.com did of 200 jobs in America.  The analysis looked at salary, job outlook, work environment and stress and ranked the jobs at the top and at the bottom.  Here are their top jobs:
- Actuary
- Biomedical Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Financial Planner
- Occupational Therapist

My first thought after reading that list was, "What is an Actuary?"  My second thought was, "It is church budget time, I'm glad pastor was not on the top jobs list.  It would not bode well for a raise."

So what makes a job a "worst job?"  Such things as always being on call and facing a deadline, working in a high stress environment, little pay, routinely working outdoors on the hottest and the coldest days and putting yourself in constant risk of serious injury or death.  My thought after reading that was, "Pastor is not going to make that list either."  Sure enough it didn't, but these are the top five jobs that made the "worst" list:
- Butcher
- Dishwasher
- Roofer
- Meter Reader
- Dairy Farmer

Hey, I grew up doing that last one.  My Dad was a dairy farmer for about 30 years and seemed, for the most part, to enjoy what he did.  I did not think it was that bad of a job but I am glad on these 100 degree days that God called me to be a pastor and that I live in the days of air conditioning.  I am also thankful not to be in a hay field in August.

In the end, though, I think it is not about a best or worst jobs list or even about the conditions you work under.  It is the attitude you have toward the work you do that is most important.  There are probably some unhappy Actuaries out there, whatever it is they do.  I have known some pretty happy people on the "worst" job list.

This Sunday we will look at "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."  Paul was writing this to those who were slaves.  I think that slave would have made the "worst" list. There was a way that God has for us to face our work with purpose, even if your job is on the "worst" list, perhaps even to let Him make you as content as an Actuary.

for the journey...

Tim

Independence Pass

On our recent vacation in Colorado, we decided on a whim to drive up to a place called Independence Pass.  It is a high mountain road where the pavement stops and a gravel road begins.  That is what we could tell from the map.  We could find very little information on what was there but it was near by and there was a break in the rain clouds so we decided to check it out.

We were amazed.  I have driven some other high mountain roads and passes before. We have been through the famous Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park but the sights we saw at Independence Pass rivals anything we had seen.  When you reach the pass at just over 12,000 feet elevation, you look down on some beautiful valleys and the mountain vistas you can see there seem to stretch on forever. 

It was stunning.  We were pleasantly surprised.  There was a large parking lot, restroom facilities, several trails that went off from the pass and numerous great spots just made for picture taking.  None of this was what we expected.

After spending some time there we began to make our way back down to get home before dark.  We descended down several switch backs and came to a place where three are four cars were parked precariously on the side of the road looking out over one of the beautiful valleys we had seen up above.

We passed these site seers in flash but the thought occurred to me to tell them, "The view is so much better further up."  I wished for them to know what was ahead, you don't have to park on the side of the road, there is a better place.  I wanted to yell, "Keep climbing, don't settle." 

I shared all this with Judith and she reminded me that it is human nature to want to settle when you have found something good without journeying on and knowing something even better.  How many times have we all done that?  How much do we do that in the Christian life?  We get to something better and try to hang on to it, settle into it and not loose it.  When all the time, there is something so much better if we keep climbing.

We will have a lot of opportunities to climb to new heights in our discipleship this fall.  I hope you will keep climbing.  I know God has some great experiences for us, just a little higher.

for the journey...

Tim

Sabbatical FAQ's

I'm writing this to mainly let all you faithful readers know that I am back and to kind of do a frequently asked questions about sabbatical post.  So here goes:
- Yes, it was refreshing and enjoyable.  I am very grateful to have a church that gave these six weeks off to me.
- Yes, we did miss you. We missed our church family and worship times together...ok, I'm feeling a little convicted here...we missed ALMOST ALL of you.  There that feels more honest.
- No, I did not have a colonoscopy.  Yeah, I was really disappointed about that one!  Turns out they have changed the medical protocols and I am not due for another for one until next year.  (If you want to read a blog post about a colonoscopy just go back in the list of posts and you will find one from a few years ago).
- Yes, I got some things done out at my parent's old place out in the country.  No, I did not get everything done but I did enough to find out that I never will get it all done and I am at peace with that.
- No, I did not get a good answer in my search for "What is a weekend?"  I think you have to be working a job Monday through Friday to really understand that one - which obviously, I was not.  Maybe preachers are not supposed to understand weekends.
- Yes, it is good to be back.  I don't have any great profound truths about life except that it is good to step away from things for an extended time.  It gives you a renewed perspective on things and fresh start to them as well.
- And finally, yes, I am looking forward to seeing you Sunday.

for the journey...

Tim

Sabbatical

Sabbatical  

noun: a period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job and is able to rest, travel, do research, etc.

Ok, I swore I would never do what I just did.  I have heard this done so many times - I promised myself I would not resort to using a Webster Dictionary definition to speak or write about something but now I have.  Maybe I need to take a break to recharge my creative batteries.

Thankfully, I have a church that understands that.  After ten years of pastoring at Northside, I was given a sabbatical leave of six weeks.  No, I am not making this up, just check with the Personnel Committee (as soon as they all return from their vacations).  I am writing this post to let you all know that I will be taking my leave for the month of July and the first two weeks of August.

We have a capable and hard-working staff here and I leave things in their well-equipped hands.  Mickey Ewing and Dean Meade will be taking care of my preaching/teaching responsibilities while I am gone.  They always do a great job and I know that you will support them well.  I will not be doing a blog, don't worry, you will find other things to read on the internet until I get back.  I promise you, you will.

What will I be doing?  There is a whole list of things – working on my parent’s place that I have long neglected, visiting other churches, having a colonoscopy, seeing my daughters and something I have never done before, going on a full two week vacation.  I keep hearing people talk about a “weekend.”  Since I have worked Sundays as a pastor for 26 years, I am going to try to find out just what is a “weekend?”  Maybe I should look it up in the dictionary.

for the journey...

Tim

What the Church Can Learn from the Spurs

I admit that I am a Spurs fan.  I know that some of you are not - I still love you and especially pray for you.  But allow me to share something I have been thinking about since the NBA Finals in a post today about five things that the church can learn from the five time champs.

1. Team work always trumps individual effort.  The Spurs beat the team of the "best player on the planet" by not having a single super star.  They played as a team.  We need to remember that in the church in a day of "superstars" and "celebrities" even in the church.

2. Selflessness always defeats selfishness.  The Spurs won by individuals giving up things for the sake of the team - the extra pass to the man who had the better shot.  The church functions best when it serves, when individuals give of themselves for the betterment of the whole.  In a spiritual sense, who do you need to pass the ball to?

3. We work best together when we get over ourselves.  Spurs' coach Greg Popovich said that one secret to the team's success is that they are a group of guys who have "gotten over themselves."  We only function as the body of Christ when we "get over ourselves."  If you have no idea what that means, then it is something that urgently needs to happen in you.  Have a little talk with Jesus.

4. Diversity can bring strength.  The Spurs are a diverse group from different backgrounds, ethnicities, languages and nations, yet they have found a way to use their differences as strengths not dividers. The church in heaven is made up of those from every tribe and every tongue and every nation.  The church on earth today needs to know that we do not all have to look alike, talk alike or think alike to be like the church in heaven.  That will bring strength.

5. The accomplishments of youth are celebrated.  When it was announced that Kawhi Leonard, one of the youngest players on the team, had won the Most Valuable Player award and not one of the veteran stars, the older, more accomplished players did not just politely applaud, they became like little boys in their affirmation.  Slapping, laughing, shoving, head rubbing and shouting their approval on their young team mate.  If we are to have a future, we must encourage and celebrate the accomplishments of those younger, even if it means we older ones don't get something we have "earned."

Someday all that the Spurs have done, as enjoyable as it is now, will pass away.  What we do as a church lasts for eternity.  Let's play as a team.  Let's get everyone in the game.  Let's follow our coach.

for the journey...

Tim

Bergdahl, Redemption and Me

Disclaimer:  In this post, I will be talking about a controversial figure in the news and decisions that were made regarding him that are equally controversial.  There are many others who will debate these topics much better than I will.  My goal is not to make any kind of point about the rightness or wrongness of actions taken by and for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl - though those are important discussions worthy of debate.  I simply want to share some analogies to my (our) spiritual life from what we are seeing in the news.

A few months ago, I could have told you that there was an American soldier being held by the Taliban but I could not have told you anything more than that.  Now we all know the name of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, we wish we knew more of why he left his post and what his intentions were.  There is still a lot of controversy and will continue to be.  It has caused me to do some reflection on my own spiritual life though, that is what I want to share in this post.

The redeeming of someone's life is never simple, clear, easy or cheap.  It is costly, controversial, difficult and messy.  So was my redemption from sin.  And always there is the question, "Was it really worth the costs?"  Was what was given up worth what was gained?  What will be the future repercussions?

I must admit that I, and every human being since Adam and Eve spoke to the serpent in the garden, have had questionable, unfathomable and totally illogical dalliances with an enemy whose sole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.

The very reason I needed redemption was because I had, in a sense, wandered away from my post - of what I knew to be right and what I professed to believe.  In so doing, I was taken captive by an enemy who used me to do his will.  I was lost and powerless to free myself.

My King, determined that I was worth redeeming, though the cost for that redemption was high.  It is said that six soldiers died in the search for Sgt. Bergdahl and they were not able to find him or secure his release, despite their best efforts and their supreme sacrifice.

My redeemer, sent to deliver me, did find me and secure my release at a great personal price.  Then there was the dealing with my wandering.  I was found guilty of my desertion that got me into trouble in the first place. 

Then here is the amazing thing - my redeemer then took my punishment for my failings upon himself. He took my sentence and died so that I could be set free.  Was I really worth it?  What could I give back in payment even if I devoted the rest of my life to fulfilling my duty that I had forsaken?  Nothing could ever be enough.  Yet my redeemer did all this lovingly and willingly.

This whole case shows me in a way I had not seen before the costliness of my own sin - it always costs me and it always costs others and it always causes a mess that I cannot clean up.  It also shows me the great love and sacrifice of my redeemer, who set me free.

This Lord's Day, we will come to the table to examine ourselves.  I have some new gratitude for my savior.  Will join me?

for the journey...

Tim

For Father's Day

My post on the video about Mother's Day - "The Toughest Job" is probably my most viewed blog posts.  So in following that vein, here is my post for Father's Day.  It is a video that answers the question, "What happens when kids tell the Bible story and the adults act it out?"  It was made by a group of adults at FBC, Marble Falls.

I hope you enjoy another video- blog because to be honest, I am too tired from VBS to write anything worth your time.  This is.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=WGYW6WNX

for the journey...

Tim

A Unit of Unity

This Sunday, we will look at unity.  How do you measure unity in a church?  You can measure baptisms and budgets.  You can count attendance and offerings.  You can list the value of buildings and property, but how do you measure unity? 

In the Bible there are measurements of "homers" and "talents."  There is never a mention of a homer of harmony or a talent of togetherness.  It does say, "they were all in one accord" but Honda has never released those numbers.  (Bad play on a really old joke, I'm sorry).

How can something so vital to the church be so immeasurable?  I do know this, when Hattie Marshall came to our church from a neighboring African-American Church, she and her husband Victor brought some diversity to our church.  Hattie had a unique voice, no one else sang like her, no one else shouted Hallelujah like her (no one else ever shouted but her) and no one else spoke quite like her.  But that difference, that diversity, brought a greater sense of unity.  We grew more diverse but not more divided, we became something more than what we had been and we became more unified.

Hattie went home to be with the Lord this morning.  She is now in a place where there will be people from every tribe and every tongue and every nation but that place is more unified than any place here on this earth.  In Christ, the greater the diversity, the greater the unity.   That is not what common sense would lead us to think - unity should come from uniformity - not with God.

Common sense would lead us to say then that we need to focus on diversity to get to unity but that is not the case either.  Unity and diversity are only possible in the church as we as individuals step out in faith as Christ leads.  Hattie always said that Jesus led her to our church.  No transition like that is easy but she came.  I really think Jesus did not lead her here for her but he led her here for us - and for a new sense of unity.  So the way to unity and the measure of it, is only something that happens when we obey Jesus.  Can someone say, "Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!"  Can you shout it today?  Hattie can.

for the journey...

Tim

Borderline Dangerous

I went to see a controversial movie last night.  It is being universally panned by media and movie critics.  Here are a few of their comments:

• "unintentionally grotesque" and "worthy of damnation" Rafer Guzman, Newsday
• "depressingly regressive and borderline dangerous" Christy Lemire, rogerebert.com
• The movie, "consigns the [main] character into Eisenhower-esque irrelevance" Inkoo Kang

Other words I picked up here and there by more than one reviewer, "sexiest" and "un-relatable."   I saw no positive reviews by reviewers.  What did I see?

I saw a Christian movie about two stay at home mom's who invite their pastor's wife out for a quiet dinner (with out husbands and children) called "Mom's Night Out."  I laughed harder in this movie than I have in a long time.  I did not have to feel uncomfortable about the humor because it was all clean and, for me, totally relatable.  Let's just say nothing goes as planned for the ladies and their families when they take a "Mom's Night Out."

I cannot see how so much negative has been spewed at a simple comedy with a good hearted message.  Of course, it is not something new to see a Christian movie being blasted by critics.  That will always be the case, but "borderline dangerous?"  Another reviewer spoke of how Christians should not even attempt a comedy movie because comedy by its nature had to have "tension" over things appropriate.  There was also the lament that the movie was not "as crass as I had hoped it would be."  Clean comedy is dead - at least to reviewers. Audiences though seem to be enjoying it.

As a Christian, do you feel that you are seen more and more as the enemy just because you are a Christian?  It seems that way to me.  This Sunday, we will talk about how Paul dealt with that.  It should be no surprise to us that if we really live for Christ we will really offend those don't by our mere existence.  This is not a problem without benefits and blessings though.  I hope you will join me Sunday for a message that I am sure will be "borderline dangerous."

for the journey...

Tim

Lottie's Prayers

 "...and a little child will lead them.  Isaiah 11:6

Over the past few years, we have been privileged to baptize around twenty students who have come from China to Victoria to study.  Our Chinese Fellowship has done a great job of reaching out to them and loving them to Christ.  This Sunday, there will be another baptism of Chinese visitors but this time it will not be a student but parents of a student.

A while back a young lady from China - I will call her Lucy - came to Christ while here in Victoria and she was baptized at Northside.  When she went home to visit, her parents could see a change in her life.  They wanted to know more about what had happened to her.  She began to tell them about Christ and the difference he makes.  They also were witnessed to by a sister-in-law here in the Chinese Fellowship.  They have found a church to belong to in China.

Sunday, they are being baptized here while in the U. S. to see their daughter graduate with a Master's degree and begin her career in New York City.  Lucy is a very small, quiet young lady but her life spoke volumes to her own parents.  I watched intently as I met with her parents about baptism and she translated and shared Bible verses in Mandarin from her phone.  There was a joy about her in being a part of this moment.

My, if pioneer missionary to China, Lottie Moon, could see this today!  A Chinese girl came to Victoria, Texas and met Christ.  Went home to lead her parents to Christ in China.  Now she takes the gospel with her to New York and her parents get baptized in Victoria and return to take the gospel to China.  God does answer prayers beyond anything we could 'dare to ask or even imagine.'

It all produces a joy.  A joy that the gospel can travel so far, overcome so many barriers and keep spreading through so many different circumstances.  It is the same joy the came into Paul in jail in Rome as he wrote back to the church at Philippi.  It is that joy that we can celebrate Sunday and everyday because the gospel does not stop working.  It is that joy that we can know because God wants us to experience it.  I hope you can be here to share it, but also know His joy knows no barriers.

for the journey...

Tim

The Toughest Job

What is the world's toughest job?  Watch this video as people hear about it and discover what it is (hint: it is not being a pastor).  Also notice the impact it  has on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93rXbY

for the journey...

Tim

Everlasting Love, Eternal Prayers

This week I lost a cousin and her husband, Margaret and Frank Hendrix,  in a tragic accident.  A blown tire in an oncoming truck only took an instant to cause the collision that ended their lives, but they live on in a better place with their Lord.

There was a very nice article written about their lives in the local paper.  My cousin, Margaret Ann (as a cousin I have the right to use her first and middle name just as she had the right to call me Timmy) was a long time elementary teacher here in Victoria.  The paper interviewed several former students about her life and her impact.  In the article, one former student related the following encounter she had with Margaret Ann long after her elementary years that led Margaret to pray with her former pupil.

"I was going through a divorce at the time, and it  had been a bad day for me," she said.  "I was trying hard not to cry, but she gave me a hug, told me to let it out, and as I cried, [Margaret] prayed over me.  I can't put into words what that single act of kindness meant to me."

Long after we are gone, what will remain at work in this world?  The love we showed and the prayers we prayed.  How and who we loved remain because people and love are eternal (1 Corinthians 13:13).  The prayers we prayed also outlive us because they touch the eternal.

The day they died was a pretty normal - until the accident.  The day Margaret prayed with her student was pretty normal for her as well - that is the kind of person she was.  Yet both of those days now are now marked in eternity; one in tragedy, one in kindness. 

On normal days, we do eternal things.  We love people who live eternally.  We offer prayers that live on in eternity too.  We may never see those moments coming or even recognize them when we are gone but they come none the less.

Today and everyday, we can love and we can pray and we can touch eternity?  How have you done something eternal this week?  Join me Sunday as we talk about the places in life where, "All we can do is pray."  We will find those are not moments of powerless but of touching eternity.

for the journey...

Tim

 

Joy Full

Some of the most joyful people I have known have been the people most unlikely to have it.  In my days of doing ministry in prison, I can recount some men who taught me a lot about having joy.  They did not talk to me about it, they simply showed it to me while living in some pretty dire circumstances - un-air conditioned, crowded, dreary dorms living among the desperate and dangerous.

I remember one young black man from Colorado; he was one of the best worship leaders I have ever been around.  We sang everything with out any instruments except for our clapping hands.  Every time he lead us, I always experienced a very real sense of worship, largely because he seemed to express so much joy in leading us.  He was miles away from any family.  He was in prison for a very serious crime, yet he was full of joy.  What he and others taught me is that joy is a choice.  I can choose joy wherever I may be circumstantially because I have a relationship with Jesus.

Joy, like many great spiritual experiences, is more likely to be caught before it can ever be taught.  Much like C. S. Lewis said about peace, joy is also something that cannot be had and does not exist apart from God himself.  If we really follow God long enough and close enough, he will lead us to joy.  It comes second in order only to love as a fruit of the spirit in Paul's list in Galatians.

Dallas Willard said, God is, "the most joyous being in the universe."  So how much joy rubbed off on you today?  How much got shared with others?  How do we grow in it?  These are some of the things we will look at on Sunday and beyond as we look at the joy of Paul in the book of Philippians.  I would enjoy your company in it.

for the journey...

Tim

Cell Phone Revelations

It was November 5, 2013, I would be helping a group as they watched the Billy Graham video, "The Cross" that evening.  It was a very important day; I was feeling a little nervous.  I got down on my knees beside my bed to pray and as I did I reached for my cell phone to put it away so I would not be interrupted for the next few minutes.

As I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket I realized it had been opened to my internet browser and it had opened BibleGateway.com to John 20:19.  I was shocked because I had not been searching on it recently and I was puzzled how it could "accidentally" gotten to those places.  Here is what John 20:19 says, "On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

I took it as something I really needed to read that day.

I read on and verse 21 said, "Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."  Now I really knew that was something that I needed to read that day.  I knelt there not really knowing what to pray, just trying to soak it all in.  Before I could even say anything in prayer, I had been shown what I needed to hear that day.

God is faithful, that night went well.  The gospel was shared, there was not a great response but I had a real sense that seeds were planted.  But more than that, I went to that gathering to watch Billy Graham's final message with an awareness that the risen Lord was with me.  That really changed my perspective.  I wasn't just going, I was sent.  I didn't have to be afraid, Jesus was there to bring me peace.  Just as surely as he showed up in that locked upper room, he was there that night in a borrowed living room with that group of people offering peace to us all.  What I set out to do that day was not changed.  My perspective on what I set out to do was.

I have read that passage numerous times.  I have read over the notes I wrote down that morning several times since then.  I sensed that this passage is what we need to focus on this Resurrection Day morning.  The resurrected Lord stands here among us and he offers us his peace, even if it doesn't just pop up on our cell phones.

for the journey...

Tim

Did You Mean to Pray That?

When we started this series on the Lord's Prayer, we found a group of videos about prayer we either used, decided not to use or could not fit in the time we have.  I have simply given you the link today to a YouTube that we could not find a time to put in a service but it is well worth the time it will take to watch it.  We will conclude our series this week.  I hope you will watch this before you come.  See you Sunday.

For the journey...

Tim


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLVzV9n69UY

A Forgiving Forgiveness

Last weekend I attended the Grace Journey Men's Retreat.  I appreciate prayers and support that many of you gave me about this.  It was a great experience where I got to connect with God and with a great group of men.

There were about fifty first time attenders and fifty team members who made the retreat a wonderful time for us attenders.  Nine or ten attenders or "retreatants" came to a clear understanding of a relationship with Christ and accepted Him as their savior.  A lot of other spiritual and personal changes could be seen.

I got to see God do some really neat things between people.  I got to see a very diverse group of men - ethnically, generationally, religiously - find what we have in common in Christ.  One retreatant who had recently gotten out of prison recognized another retreatant had been one of his guards while on the inside.  The two connected as brothers now on the outside; there was no animosity, just a new sense of unity.

Two of the team members had made the realization that while one of them was a police officer years ago he arrested the other.  The man who had been arrested lost his job and a lot of other things after the arrested but that spiral down led him to turn to Christ.  Now they served side by side to share what Christ can do in forgiving us and enabling us to forgive.

God does give us a forgiving forgiveness.  My receiving it - if I really understand the magnitude of it - enables me to give it.  When I can't fully give it, it means there is something more of it that I need to ask for and receive.

How about you?  Is there someone in your life that if you both showed up at the same weekend retreat you would say to yourself, "Oh no, not him/her?"  God wants to fix that right now, not someday.  He wants to give you a forgiving forgiveness.  We will talk about receiving and giving that this Sunday.

for the journey...

Tim

Defining Daily Bread

As we pray through what Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer, I am finding that I need to redefine, "daily bread."  What got me started on this was beginning The Daniel Plan this past week to get healthier and make better choices about food.

I have always thought this request of daily bread was about having enough to eat.  How often is that really a problem for us in America?  I am seeing it now as a prayer of how to handle "to much" rather than not having enough. 

There was a reason that God only provided manna for that day (except for the day before the Sabbath).  Yes, it was a matter of daily dependence but it also avoided any over indulgence.  God is very wise.

I have also been struck by Rick Warren's words at the beginning of The Daniel Plan.  He talks of growing up in a Baptist pastor's home where there was never any alcohol, smoking was also forbidden but food of any kind and in any amount was ok.  That is how they celebrated everything - food.  It was that way where I grew up too.  It has been that way for my children.  Perhaps there are new places and new ways to pray for daily bread.

Come this Sunday as we explore what that means and we let God redefine things.

for the journey...

Tim

Kingdom Come

One of our members was at an ATM machine this week, as he walked away he spoke to the stranger waiting his turn at the machine.  They exchanged pleasantries then the man asked the Northsider, "I'm new in town, can you recommend a church for me to try?"

The Northsider happens to be one of our folks who has committed to the 4XFour Challenge to invite people to church in 2014.  He had been in prayer for those efforts.  Here a complete stranger basically does everything but sign his 4XFour commitment card for him.

Was this ATM encounter a coincidence?  Our member did not think so.  We read at the beginning of our 40 Days to Easter devotional Draw the Circle that, "If you pray to God regularly, irregular things will happen on a regular basis."  Jesus told us to be praying that his kingdom would come, should we be surprised if the opportunities for the Kingdom come and knock on our door?

But what does it mean for the kingdom to come?  How can we see it?  We will delve into that a little more thoroughly Sunday, but the signs of the kingdom coming are not always in the easy, instant opportunities. The signs are sometimes in the places of obedience where it is tough or in the places of gradual transformation over the long haul of a lifetime.

I have seen the kingdom coming recently in a group of couples working on their marriages together and being transformed by a single verse of scripture that seemed to speak to every one of us in a unique but profound way.

I have seen signs of the kingdom in the new homeless ministry that is at work through our church - planting a garden and sharing the gospel in one of the toughest neighborhoods in our city.

I have seen more evidence of the kingdom coming as our Search Team works to bring a new Worship and Music Pastor to our church. 

When Jesus taught us to pray, the first request he taught us to ask was that God's kingdom would come and his will would be done.  We should not be surprised when we see it.  We should be surprised if we don't see it.  Are you seeing it?  Come join us Sunday and we will pray and search it out together.

for the journey...

Tim

Noah - Need to Know

It will not be long until another Biblical movie will be out - "Noah."  In what I have been reading though about the movie there are some things you need to know before you go, at least after I read them I felt like I should share this in some way.

So below is a link to what someone who has seen the movie wants us to know about it.  The post was written by Dr. Jerry Johnson, president of the National Religious Broadcasters.  You will also see within this post,links to other places that give 5 pro and con points about the movie.

This is a big spoiler alert so don't read this if you want to go and be surprised.  If you have read the Bible, seen the previews, expect the biblical story and then go to see it, from what I understand here, you will really be surprised.  The movie is set to come out March 18.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/march/noah-application-for-christians-and-hollywood.html


for the journey....

Tim

The Word Worth a Thousand Pictures

The movie "Son of God" has far surpassed it box office predictions.  It has brought in $26.5 on its opening weekend when projections figured it would bring in $17.5 million.  On March 4, it was Fandango's number 1 rated movie.  It's popularity is not with out controversy and certainly not without discussion.  No movie about Jesus will ever be a non-controversy.

I was not able to make it to the opening weekend because of commitments so Judith and I went to see it on Monday night.  I was moved, I was impressed and I struggled at parts of it.  I sat there at times getting into the story then at other times thinking, "Ok, that event is not in the right place chronologically" or "That is not how that happened in the John's gospel."  I finally made my mind up to watch it as I would a church Easter Pageant; there is simply no way to portray every detail of every event in the gospels in a movie format.  If it were up to me I would have done it differently. 

In the end, I am glad Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett made the effort.  I don't believe they were trying to mess things up; they were trying to bring a message out of the life of Christ.  It had flaws, it had it's high points.  I commend their effort and I pray that they may not go the way of Mel Gibson after he made the movie, "The Passion of the Christ."  They will receive criticism and pressure and I pray that their faith and their lives will remain strong.  I commend their courage though I don't always agree with how things were presented.  I would have done it differently but then I am not a movie maker.  I am glad and thankful they are.

One of the realizations I had watching it and critiquing it was that there is no way to put the life of Christ into a movie and make it as dynamic, as realistic, as detailed and as accurate as the written word.  God knew what he was doing when he inspired the scriptures to be written.  He did not wait until there could be a movie about his son, he inspired people to write.  Hopefully, the movie will inspire people to read.

I left with a greater appreciation of the Bible and the people who did write accounts of the life of Jesus as they were inspired by God.  No one will ever top that.  Even our best efforts to portray it or represent it will fall short but the Word of God will not fail or pass away (Matthew 5:18).  And that is how it should be. And that is how it will be.

There were a group of ladies from our church there at the theater the night we saw "Son of God."  One of them asked me, "You have already seen this haven't you?"  I answered, "No, but I have read the book."  Now, for a while, I will read it and think back on the movie.  I will see details they caught and I had missed.  I will see details they did not portray.  Hopefully, I will see the Son of God more clearly.

for the journey...

Tim

Atheist Deconversion

This week I read about something that fascinated me - a website that gives atheists 15 steps to converting, or "deconverting" as they sometimes call it, a Christian to atheism.  Here are direct quotes on these fifteen steps:

Think about your friendship. Are the two of you close? If not, try to increase your friendship before attempting to change their religious beliefs.

Educate yourself. The key to converting someone is to understand their position as well as your own.

Learn common arguments levelled by theists and the best rebuttals. Although it is not possible to prepare for every argument you should know some of the more common talking points in Christian apologetics.

Examine myths, urban legends, and superstitions and learn why people believe stories backed by little evidence. Understanding something about the psychology of belief will better prepare you for the challenges ahead.

Read and understand their holy book cover to cover.

Study basic physics and biology, as believers may form arguments using a flawed interpretation of physics or biology.

Get them in the habit of questioning their own faith. Sometimes pointing out a single fallacy every now and then is sufficient.

Let them try to convert you. Many Christians will automatically try to convert you.

Give your friend practical advice for their problems from respected books from respected experts in various fields.

Avoid logical fallacies and point out those used by your friend.

Socialize them. Help them mix outside their own narrow circle of believers to see other viewpoints.

Don't try to change them too drastically. Deconversion is a highly personal activity that inherently takes a long time.

Know when to back away. Don't let differences and debate cause the end of a friendship, know when to leave them be.

Be open-minded. Listen and understand their point of view. Learn what makes them believe what they do. Remember, we can't prove, in any absolute sense, that no gods exist.

 

As you read that did you see how Christians could take the same track to use with atheists?  If we just reverse a few terms, it is the same thing we should try to do if we wanted to share the gospel with and atheist or any unbeliever.  I am a little puzzled though, why would atheists want to convert or "deconvert" Christians.  They are not trying to keep us from going to heaven or going to hell since they believe in neither.  Could it be that for people you care about, you want to them to know what you have found, you want to share what is really important to you? 

I don't know the motivation but I do know that there is one huge difference in their list of steps and our list of steps.  When atheists seek to convert Christians they must do it all alone with no outside help.  When we share the good news with unbelievers, we recognize that we can do nothing apart from the power of the One who resides in us and changes lives.  We are not alone.  We are loved and we do this out of love.

As we gather Sunday to consider being a part of the 4XFour Challenge, let's let that be on our mind.

for the journey...

Tim

You can find these 15 steps at:
http://www.wikihow.com/Persuade-a-Christian-to-Become-Atheist