Aurora... All We Can Do Now...

We don't always understand why the bad and senseless things happen in our world...   and we aren't always in a position to do anything about them when they do happen...  but we can always pray.

Today, we learned of a shooting rampage that occurred in Aurora, Colorado last night, as fans who were watching the new Batman movie, were attacked by a man armed with tear gas and several weapons.  At least 12 people died in the attack and many more were injured.  The various news stations on radio and tv can fill you in on other details.

At this point, the only thing most of us can do to help this situation is to pray...  for the people shot and injured, for those who were killed and for their families and friends.  I would suggest that we also pray for the gunman (who authorities believe they have in custody) and his family and friends who may be trying to make just as much sense out of this as the family and friends of those who were shot.

At times when our hearts ache, it is hard to know what to pray.  I saw this on Facebook and am using it in this post... if you are not sure what words to use as you pray, borrow these...   but also know that God's Holy Spirit is also praying to God for you with deep "groanings that cannot be expressed in words" (Romans 8:26 NLT).

This incident reminds us that life is fleeting...  don't wait to tell those you love, your friends and family, how you feel about them... and spend some extra time with them... and remember those whose lives have been changed forever because of this event, and countless others like it that never make it into the news.

Witnessing to God's Greatness...

For this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.                                                        ~2 Samuel 22:50

The 22nd chapter of 2nd Samuel is one of David's songs, a psalm if you will of praise to the LORD.  In the first 49 verses, David lists a multitude of things that the LORD has done for him, and then concludes by saying "for this", for all the things that you have done for me LORD, "I will praise you..."

As we read this song of David (2 Samuel 22:1-51) it is clear that he is praising God for specific things God has done for him...  Some of them include David's praising the LORD for saving him from real enemies who would have actually killed him in battle...  for giving him victory over enemies and making him king over Israel...  for giving him, as king, strength and power so that people of foreign nations submit to his rule...

As we read this song of David, we see how David is giving a testimony, a witness to the greatness of the LORD.

Like David, we can be a witness and give a testimony to the greatness of God.  We can remember things that God has done for us, and like David, say, "for this, O LORD, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name."

If you are willing to do this, you will find that God will provide opportunities for you to tell others what God has done for you... not to tell them what they have to think or to believe, but just to share how God has worked in wondrous ways in your life, and how you praise God for it.

Are you willing to be a witness of what God has done?

Renewal, Transformation and God's Will...

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will.   ~Romans 12:2


In what way do you go about "renewing" your mind?  How you renew your mind, and who or what you allow to be a part of that renewal, will most likely determine how you are "transformed"...  If you wish to know God's "good, pleasing and perfect will" for your life, then God's Holy Spirit must be the One in whom and through whom your renewal is accomplished.

Just something for you to reflect on as you go about your Saturday activities...

Prayer, Praise and Daily Devotions...

As you woke this morning and began your day, did it include a little time to say, "Praise you" and "Thank you" to the Lord?  Praising God simply for who he is and thanking him that you woke to see his newly created day?  The Psalmist reminds us:


"From the rising of the sun to it's setting the name of the LORD is to be praised."
                                                                                               ~PS 113:3 NASB


"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."                                                        ~Ps 19:1 NASB


"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting."
                                                                                               ~Ps 118:1 NASB


Did you give all of this day to the Lord?  Did you invite the Lord into your life, to guard your heart and guide your steps, as you live out the day? Or did you, as so many of us do, simply get started with the busy-ness or even the fun-ness of the day, thinking that there was so much to do, that you had no time now for a "devotional time" and you'd do it later?  


In his book, A Pocket Guide to Prayer, Dr. Steve Harper reminds us "God does not call us to have a devotional time but to live a devotional life."


There is much that can be said of what it means to live a devotional life, but in the context of this post, I believe it means prayer is to be ever present in every aspect and at all times of our daily lives.  


The Apostle Paul reminds us:
"Pray without ceasing;"  ~1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB


Prayer is not meant to be just another thing we do added onto the rest of the things we do in our daily lives... it is not meant to be another item to check off of our daily to-do list...  Rather, prayer is to be that which undergirds, infuses and invades all of the other aspects of our daily lives, in both obvious and subtle ways.  Prayer, as communication with God, is that which keeps us in contact with our source of strength and joy and wisdom and life, so that we might get through all of each days challenges - challenges that usually exceed our to-do list.  


Again Paul reminds us:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  ~Philippians 4:6-7 NASB


The day is not yet over... we can still give thanks and praise to the Lord for this day... we can yet connect to our source of strength and joy and wisdom and life for the living of this day.


Once again, borrowing from Dr. Harper's A Pocket Guide to Prayer, I offer this simple prayer for you to use as you begin to live your "devotional life":


"Dear God, I rise from my bed of sleep, to adore your holy name, to live for you this day, to work with you in the building of your kingdom, and to find in you eternal life.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen."


Don't wait until tomorrow morning when you are getting out of bed to pray this beginning prayer.  Wake up from your "sleep" and do it now!

A new commandment I give you, that you love one another...  John 13:34

Christology...

By the very definition of the word, Christology is the study of Christ.  We seek to understand Christ and the work that he did by asking the questions: Who is Jesus?  What is the significance of his work?  And even as we begin to look for our answers, we find that these are questions that were being asked even while Jesus still walked on this earth, as all who marveled at his teachings and at his miracles and at his mighty deeds asked themselves and each other, “What kind of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27 NIV1984)  The inevitable question that would have followed, even if it was an unspoken one was, “What does this mean?” 

It was the same question John the Baptist wondered, as he sent his followers to ask Jesus if Jesus was the Messiah.  In answer, Jesus told them to report to John what they had seen and heard of Jesus, so that John could answer Jesus’ implied question: What does my work tell you about who I am?   In asking those questions posed by the study of Christology, I find myself, like John the Baptist, being asked by Christ, “What does my work tell you about who I am?”  And then the next question is asked, “What does who I AM mean for your life?”

The Lenten Journey... Nearing the End

We are nearing the end of our Lenten journey...  the journey we began weeks ago... the journey with our Lord as we opened our hearts... searched our souls... asked forgiveness for our wrongs... and humbly walked with our Lord as he neared the time when he would pay the price that brings us forgiveness and life...

During this time we have known tragedy and triumph, joy and sorrow... we have grown closer to our Lord and stronger in our faith...

Perhaps we have thought that our journey was ours, alone... but we must remember that countless others, sisters and brothers in the faith, have also made this journey with us... so this has been a time of both intimacy and community...

Today is Maundy Thursday - Holy Thursday, as some call it.  It is the day during which we commemorate the Passover feast that our Lord celebrated with his disciples... and it was at this feast that our Lord "...took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.'  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'"  (Luke 22:19-20)

At the time, the disciples did not truly understand what he meant...

And I wonder if today, we disciples truly understand...  that Jesus' body had to be broken and Jesus' blood had to be poured out for us because there was no other way to reconcile sinners with a Holy and Just God.

We have journeyed with our Lord during this time of Lent... and perhaps we have drawn so much closer in our relationship with the Lord... but, like every other human being in our world, we are still sinners... and always will be... as such, we are all equal in the eyes of God... no one better or worse than any other person...

Today, as we gather to worship and celebrate Holy Communion on this Maundy Thursday, let us be reminded that it is ONLY through the breaking of GOD's body and the pouring out of GOD's blood, done because our Holy and Just God loved us so much, it is only because of this act of GRACE that we have forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God...

The season of Lent is drawing to a close, and we will soon see our Lord and Savior pay the price for our sins...

Lent will soon be over... but our journey continues on...

Trayvon Martin... Tragedy in Sanford, FL

A tragedy has occurred in Sanford, FL.  It happened a month or so ago...  a young man lost his life when shot by another person.  By this point in time, probably most of you who are reading this post have heard some if not all of the news coverage surrounding this event.

As I have thought about this, I have come to the conclusion that this tragedy shows that we humans still have a ways to go in how we relate to other people and in how, at the core of things, we think of and view other people.

Jesus viewed all with whom he came into contact through the eyes of love.  He went out of his way to relate to the people in his day who were thought of as being on the margins of society - women and children, "tax collectors and other sinners", the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf, those who were not Jews...  Jesus brought healing and reconciliation wherever he went... and his act of dying on a cross for us and for the sins of the whole world was the ultimate act of healing and reconciliation... 

In thinking of this, I wrote the following blog post and posted it on my Tumblr blog:
 dear world... postcards from life...  I offer it for your consideration.

Trayvon Martin and Hermeneutics for Life

I'm guessing that you may be wondering what the word "hermeneutics" means...  in theology, it is a fancy word for how people approach the reading, study and understanding of the Bible...  are we unbelieving or suspicious of Biblical scripture even before we read it ... or do we approach scripture with a mind-set of acceptance and belief before reading it?  You can think of these as ends of the "hermeneutics spectrum" with a whole lot of ways to approach scripture in-between...

Now you are wondering, "So what?"... 

I suspect we all have a hermeneutic for how we approach other people - our family, our friends, our acquaintances, the people we don't know... that this hermeneutic is different and shifting for the various people we encounter and the times we encounter them... that there are other complicating factors we are not even aware of that influence how we approach others... factors that have been ingrained in us through family and/or societal expectations from the time we were infants...

We rarely even think of any of this, as we see another person and evaluate, judge and approach them...

Again, "So what?"

I think we need to be honest with ourselves... to recognize and pay attention to the underlying factors that guide how we approach others...  our "hermeneutics for life", as it were... and I believe that we need to push back against the ones that would have us immediately be suspicious and perhaps fearful of the people we don't know, the people who are dressed differently, or who talk differently, or who (       ) differently (you can fill in the blank)... the people who we think of as "those other people"... 

Maybe Trayvon Martin might still be alive if George Zimmerman had done just that...  

Maybe all the Trayvon's of the world might still be alive...

A Saturday Devotional...

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone."

    ~Colossians 4:2-6  (NLT)

Ahhhhh....  Saturday!!!   That wonderful first day of the weekend!!!   We spent all day yesterday rejoicing that it was Friday (TGIF - Thank God It's Friday) because that meant today was almost here...  and now it is.  It is Saturday... we can do whatever we want... don't have to go to or do any work!!

Well....   that is almost true...  we may not have to go to our place of employment (unless of course your work week includes Saturdays), but we still have work we have to do for the Lord!  Our scripture today lets us know that we, as Christians always have work to do for the Lord... there are never "weekend" days where we are off work... Our scripture reminds us that there are some things we are always to be doing... no matter what day of the week it is:

1.  We are to be devoted to prayer... praying with a thankful heart and an alert mind for not only our needs and the needs of others, but also for the mission that we as Christians are to be on - that of sharing the good news of God's redeeming love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, through which we can have new life!!  And not just praying that our church leaders and pastors will be able preach and speak about this, but that we will also have opportunities and be able to do the same.  Jesus called all his disciples to do this!!

2.  We are to live wisely within our world... we will spread God's message of love in more ways than just speaking about it... we will mostly spread it by the way we live!  St. Francis said, "Preach often, and when necessary, use words."  In other words we must live in such a way as to proclaim the Gospel with our very actions...  and there is more to doing that than just going to church every Sunday and living by the legalistic expectations of whatever church you might attend...  Jesus said, "...learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'" (Matt 9:13).  We are to show our love and mercy to all people!!  Our words about the gospel message will be empty if our lives do not back them up!

3.  When we do speak with others about the faith, let's remember that God had grace and mercy on us, and we should be passing that grace on to others...  as the scripture says, our words should be gracious... attractive... open... inviting others to accept God's love and mercy... not judging or threatening or telling people they have to get right before God will love them... Scripture tells us that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8).  We don't do the cleaning up, we just do the catching... God's Holy Spirit, working within people's lives does the cleaning up!

So you see, my friends, there are no weekends off for Christians... we who call ourselves followers of Christ always have work to do!!  Let us do it joyfully!!

Meditate on this...

As I was looking through a book that I'd read a couple years ago (The Story of Evangelism by Robert G. Tuttle, Jr.) I found this on page 391 and thought I'd share:


The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The fruit of Faith is Love.
The fruit of Love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace.
    ~Mother Teresa

The Invitation

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.  I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.      
     Isaiah 45:2-3


As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”     Mark 1:16-17


From these two scriptures we can know three things:  
1.  God knows us... God calls us all by our name.    
2.  God has something for each of us to do... God equips and trains us and then sends us on our way.   
3.  But perhaps most important, God goes before us... God leads us and opens the way.  


Boldly going into an unknown future wherever our God, our Lord and Savior calls and sends and leads us is truly a "faith trek."  I invite you to undertake your journey, your faith trek "walking" side by side with me.