Healed

  Many years ago, in the great city of Jerusalem, there was an area near a popular gateway known as the pool of Bethesda. In Aramaic, Bethesda meant “house of mercy or grace”. This was the place where sick people came to be cured of their illnesses or injuries. With its five porches and various walkways, the people would wait, many of them blind, lame or so ill they could barely stand, or if they were lucky, walk. Here they waited for the waters to stir and the possibility of being made whole again. When Jesus passed by the area, He took notice of a man, whom He knew had been afflicted for many years and feeling compassion for him, Jesus approached him surrounded by the crowded walkways.

For thirty-eight years this man had been crippled, unable to walk. His only hope was the pool of water that was said to be blessed periodically by Angels. The pool would bubble and all the people around it that were waiting to be healed would rush toward the water trying to be the first one in. According to religious tradition, the first to enter the pool at this moment would be healed. Whether or not that was true or ever happened we don't know, this part of the story doesn't tell us that. What we do know is this man was never first in the pool. It's quite possible that he was pushed aside and trampled due to his disability, by others that had just a little more mobility. And yet he stayed, hoping that one day his healing might come. You might wonder, how did he keep from getting discouraged? If you had asked that man before he met Jesus, I’m sure he might have laughed or even had a response with some amount of resentment or anger. What else was he to do? When Jesus met him he didn't offer to move him closer to the pool or to sit with him and help him when the waters began to churn. He asked him a simple question, “do you want to be healed?”

We all have our handicaps in life. Whether they be physical, financial, or emotional; perhaps being abandoned or betrayed. All those things that we go through in life that beat us up and tear us down. We call out to God, “God, deliver me from this”, “God take this pain away”, and “God, help me to find the right person”. But do we really want to be healed? I've lived a long time and suffered my share of tragedies, illnesses, loss, and my share of abandonment, and betrayal. I've prayed those prayers over and over, “God deliver me from this”.

Saturday

The Marvel of Hope

During the week of Jesus’ trial and eventual execution by the Romans, He taught through many parables and made predictions of the things to come, both far and near. Most especially, He foretold of His impending death and reminded them that on the third day, He would rise again. No doubt the subject matter of many songs and writings, the events of these three days have become cornerstones of today’s Christianity. Although we have the luxury of historical perspective to aid us in our understanding; the eyewitness accounts of the empty tomb, and the personal testimony of His sightings by many, are numerous and make a great foundation in our faith that He did what He said He would do. We also have historical data that supports the life of a man named Jesus, the Romans recorded His execution, and the type of punishment was in line with the times for Rome and her rivals. The accounts and testimonials during these three days vary slightly from person to person, nevertheless, the narrative remains consistent; However, there may be something in-between Friday and Sunday that we need to consider.

Saturday was a definite day of emotional and spiritual darkness for the followers of Christ. Most of them did not understand the complete salvation story playing out in their very circle. They had heard the predictions and knew of His power to renew and restore, but who would do that for their teacher? That seems like a skeptical and heretical thing to think or say, even now as I write it. Of course, they thought as we would, God would come for His son, but how would that look, and what would it mean to those left behind? Death occurred on Friday, life was predicted for Sunday, but what about Saturday?

The Bible tells us of a man named Abraham. By all accounts Abraham lived a Godly life, trusting God, praying for others, if anyone would be blessed by God it would be him. But year after year his wife, Sarah, was not able to conceive a child. In those days it was imperative to have children to pass along the family history, and sometimes the land or authority of the family name. Especially important, would have been a son, a name bearer, a continuing heir. Abraham had none of that, and I’m sure there were rumors as to why. What sin or terrible thing had they done for God to “punish” them in this way? If you’ll read through their story, this couple went year after year believing in an outcome that would seemingly never arrive. They had gone through much adversity together, their ‘Friday’ of longsuffering and doubts had caused turmoil and confusion. At one point, they took things into their own hands to “help God out”, what a disaster that turned out to be. When Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham so that she could bear him a son, it caused all kinds of suffering in their family, including jealousy, and resentment. And just think, a new dad at 86 years old. When God renewed His promise to Abraham some 13 years later, Abraham laughed at becoming a father at 100 years of age. Yet, God did what He promised, and 99-year-old Sarah had a son, Isaac.

Fast forward a few years later. Can you imagine how proud Abraham was of young Isaac? His first-born son of Sarah, a promise of God fulfilled, and as trials sometimes follow triumph, Abraham was about to experience another biggie. One day, God spoke to Abraham and told him to take his son Isaac to a far-off mountain top where he was to build an altar. He was to supply the wood and the burnt sacrifice to God there in that place, the wood they carried, the sacrifice followed along, in the person of his son, Isaac. Without hesitation, Abraham gathered the supplies necessary for the trip and told Isaac, let's get going, God has called us to make a sacrifice and it’s a long journey, three days the bible tells us. Along the way, young Isaac notices that they have the wood, flint, and knife to slaughter the animal, but no animal. As young children do, he asked his dad about what he thought might be an oversight. ‘Hey dad’ he says, ‘we have everything but the lamb for the sacrifice’. Abraham answers him saying, ‘God will provide’. I cannot imagine the struggle in Abraham's heart at that moment. Believing that obedience to God would not lead to destruction and knowing God had promised to bless his children and the many to come, still his heart must have been heavy. He was certainly in-between his own Friday and Sunday, not knowing what would come next.

Finally, they reach the mountain for the sacrifice, Abraham leaves the helpers and the animals and tells them, ‘We’ll be back after we worship God’. Notice he doesn’t say, ‘I’ll be back? He still has faith that God’s promises are true, and both he and Isaac will return. At this point, I’m not sure how a father goes forward, but the alter is built, the wood is laid into place, and somehow, with words that I cannot find to elaborate, Abraham tells young Isaac that God has called him to be the sacrifice. How can that be? To let go and let God… This is a moment in time that I cannot fathom. Abraham ties up Isaac and lays him on the altar before God, raising the knife, I imagine him with his arms held high and his eyes closed, trusting God, and just as he gives in to obey God’s command, an angel calls out to Abraham. ‘I’m listening’ he says. Don’t hurt Isaac, still your hand and put the knife back in its sheath. God sees your faithful heart, lacking any hesitation to follow His commands, He will pour out blessings to you, and your family will thrive. As promised, God sends a ram, caught in a nearby bush as the final sacrifice. Together, Isaac and Abraham return to their home, Sunday had come. God’s plan had fulfilled itself for both to see, blessed them in their faith, kept Isaac safe, and protected a dad from a heartbreaking decision. God had provided a rescue from a decision and circumstances because of faithfulness.

 

The End of the leash

who's holding yours

Our family dog Chance is a wanderer. Any time he gets an opportunity to run at full speed away from home, he will explore and disappear as fast as he can go. He needs to be tethered to something or we know we might never see him again. Being a spirited adventurer, he requires some exercise from time to time and as is our tradition, or our duty whichever the case may be, we attempt to take him on occasional walks up and down our country road. At times, this is a comical event in and of itself. Chance will pull you this way, then that way, always jerking your arm right to the end of the rope. The longer the leash you use, the more tugging he will do. So, we’ve learned that the shorter the lead he wears the easier it is to direct him and keep him from hurting himself or one of us. It's funny, I always thought it was us training him, it turns out it was training for the both of us, but the more we take control of his leading the safer he is and the fewer opportunities for him to be lost.

It seems interesting to me that I can be a little like Chance the dog when it comes to my life and in general, my walk with Christ. There is certain obedience to the will of God that is necessary to follow Christ, and even more if you want to be a disciple. Much like the control of Chance's leash, my obedience to God is there to keep me and others safe. It's there to direct my path in the right direction and yes, I think God sometimes needs to give us a tug to set us straight. In my case, it's more like a good yank at times, and that's where I want to point you in this message. 

Peter was one of the earliest to be called to follow Jesus, even though it didn’t seem that he came across as much of a follower at all. Many opinions of his attitude are described as bold, somewhat of a hotdog, and quick to react. Peter was the one follower to stand up and leap out of the boat as they saw Jesus coming to them on the water, then ends up being distracted and underwater in Matthew 14: 28-30. Matthew 16: 22-23 says that Peter takes Jesus aside to chide him for speaking of his own death in a way that was upsetting the followers, only to be righteously corrected immediately. Later, in a very dark power grab by the church officials of the day, Peter attacks and cuts off the right ear of a slave belonging to one of the high priests who came along with the local Roman detachment of soldiers to arrest Jesus while He was praying in a garden named Gethsemane. Immediately, the ear of the slave is restored by Jesus while He reminds Peter, and the entire group, that He has preached and been in the temple often, and they had never acted against Him in this sort of violent way. But now, at night with clubs and torches, they had come for Him as if he were a common robber or villain. Reminding Peter yet again, not to pull so hard on the leash, God’s plan was being carried out by every action they witnessed, both good and bad. 

In John 13: 8, Peter isn’t understanding the servant lesson of simple foot washing that Jesus is trying to teach to His followers. Again, he is resistant, pulling at his tether to the Lord, saying to Jesus, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” What Jesus is telling the group and Peter is, this is who I am and what I have come to teach, if you can’t accept it then you won’t have a share or part in building my kingdom. That’s a big revelation for them I would. Jesus is emphasizing that serving humbly is part of the calling towards the kingdom of Heaven. Peter’s adamant, “not me Lord, never!” exclamation was another yank of the chain in his obedience to Jesus’ teachings, and yet the Lord pulls him back to the real meaning of discipleship. 

Simon Peter seems to have a habit of pulling on the leash, only to have Jesus tug him back to His side. There are even a few hard yanks in the examples we just read, yet clearly, Jesus knew that Peter loved Him and had a rousing ambition to share the Gospel message. When Peter heard the teachings that sounded good and led to a more abundant and prosperous life, he was all in. Certainly, he had a heart that was fully in love with Christ, he just had the occasional wandering attitude and temper of a fisherman. His faith, like the others, was not fully mature, which led to his occasional impatience and impulsive actions. Does that sound familiar to you? It does to me. When serious illness strikes a loved one, or an evil action affects our family or town, we often think, how could God let this happen? When bills and debt pill up or we lose a job, do we tend to react by criticizing God and saying, "Hey, are you paying attention, I'm hurting here?". I think we all say or think those types of things at one time or another. Perhaps you have taken a job or attended a college without seeking wise counsel or praying about it, and now you've created a mess, and the blame, well it must be God's fault because He is supposed to be in charge, right? 

The God I know is not usually one to stop you from making bad choices. Peter denied he even knew Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted he would; though Peter was warned and knew it could happen, the poor choices and denial were still carried out. A decision I am sure, that lingered in Peter's mind until the day he died. That one thing you've done that you wish you could undo... My point is this, even though we make bad choices, we try to pursue dangerous things for us or stray far off the path from God’s plan - if we truly give our lives to Christ and have Him living in our hearts, He will give us that tug towards His path for us, just as he did so many times for the future leader of the early church, Peter. We don't always understand it, and yes, sometimes the consequences of the tug can hurt - a lot. This I know, the Lord of Lords loves us far more than we do our favorite pets. If we do so much to care for and guide our furry family friends, how much more will Jesus do to stay by our side? Whether He is guiding us through our successes or life’s trials, He’s keeping you safely in sight. He will not allow you to be lost or wander too far away as long as you are connected to Him. He desires to keep us moving toward the goal of the gospel, reaching others that do not know Him, helping those who have stumbled and have self-inflicted wounds, and healing those who have been hurt by “good intentions”. He is stretching and molding us into His likeness and that sometimes feels like somewhere we are not ready to go. 

Maybe today you are not tugging at the end of your leash or yearning to stray off the path to discovering something new. But still, obedience is a learning process that we pass and fail with regularity. Just remember this, Jesus sees the full plan, He knows the path with its dangers and its rewards. Our reactions can tend to be like Peter, brash and quick, or unsure and faithless, we just need to keep our eyes and our lives focused on Jesus. Try every day to be the best Christ-follower you can be, that’s my goal. I fail a lot, but I hear my Makers calling, his tether to my heart, I know that I cannot do any of this “goodness” on my own, but- with one foot on top of the water, who is ready to do something miraculous. 

NASB Version 

Matthew 14: 28-30 ~ Matthew 16:22-23 ~ John 18: 10&11 ~ Luke 22: 51-53 ~ John 13:8

The Compassion of Christ

I’m sure many of you have seen the popular movie known as Passion of the Christ. It made box office history a few years ago by telling the story of our Lord’s journey to the cross. Jesus betrayal and public execution began the turning of the tide in Jerusalem, His love and sacrifice were put on gruesome display as this film portrayed the last days of Christ as a flesh-bound man on Earth. However, I want to cover a different viewpoint of His life’s work in this message, one that meant the world and eternity to those that it touched. The compassion of Christ.

Years ago, when my son was small, while I would do yard work, he would bring his little plastic lawnmower and follow me in the yard. He was probably only four or five years old and as I would use the real thing, he would follow in my footsteps making the noises like a little kid’s version of a walk behind mower. A few years later when he was older, he took over for me while we were again outside doing yard work. This time he took the reins of the real mower and I quietly watched from the side. He went straight down the line of cut grass turned around and kept going back and forth. As he mowed, small pieces of grass were left uncut here and there where he wandered back and forth. Like little cowlick hair follicles, they stuck up here and there across the yard. When he was done, he approached me and said, “how’d I do”? My answer was, “you did a great job”. We talked several times that day about how good he had done and how proud I was of him. For the next few days, I told anyone that would listen how good he had done and how he had stepped in to mow my yard. I was a proud bragging dad.

I think God looks at us with those same eyes, ears, and heart. He sees his children toiling about here on Earth with our trials and our hurts, and then we turn to him and we ask for help; we plead, we read books, we pray to connect to him, and sometimes we feel that what we do isn’t good enough, that our efforts somehow have to look polished or refined. That not spending enough time in the church might make God not want to listen to us, or by failing to have enough faith that he sometimes won’t answer our prayers.

I’m reminded of all the times that Jesus showed compassion and not judgment, which would have been his right, but was not His mission. Something that stood out the other day in my reading was his mother at the wedding party where he performed his first miracle. His mom knew that the party had run out of wine, which in those days would be a major insult to the wedding party and host. She directed the people serving to fill the jugs with water and present them to Jesus so he could bless them and presumptively do something “out of the box”. Jesus politely reminds his mother that it’s not his time and almost recuses himself of her request. But then, it seems, he does the compassionate thing and proves his mother’s faith and belief in her son to be well-placed. He not only turns the water into wine, but he turns it into the very best wine. In fact, Jesus publicly shows his compassion many times over the course of his ministry. Matthew the tax collector, a highly educated man in a hated position among the Jews. Come and follow me he told him, most assuredly against the “good judgment” of His current followers and the onlooking eye of the temple leadership. He dealt with Peter a notorious hotheaded fisherman and the rest of the disciples who at times could hardly understand his direction and teachings. He even stopped to discuss dangerous accusations with a woman on the street one day, noting that her accusers had all left once he asked them which one of them was without sin. He showed compassion on this woman all the while knowing that she had failed, not condoning her failure or telling her it was okay to keep on failing, but telling her to go and do it no more.

On his last day in the flesh here on Earth, Jesus used his final few breaths to show compassion to a man who had also been beaten and publicly humiliated that day. The thief on the cross who begged Jesus to forgive him and remember him when he came into his kingdom was there during the last minutes of Jesus life here on Earth. As his strength failed and his breathing became more and more difficult, he spoke to the thief and in compassion reassured him that “today” he would be with Him in Paradise. I want to impress on each one of us, Jesus was always first to dispense compassion, grace, and love on those who many times seemed unlovable. He taught us that the ambition of all Christians should be to learn to love one another, to show love as he had loved them, as He loves us.

 This is the way that we will stand out from the rest of the world, by our propensity to love, when loving isn’t easy. They will know that you follow Me, by your love.

Jesus could have come into this world to judge and condemn wayward people, to create a kingdom of servants and followers, but he didn’t. We often think with horror of the torture and pain that Jesus endured during his last few days before he was hung on that cross, and rightly so, it was our actions that nailed him there. He could have called any number of angels or changed a single heart or circumstance to overcome His ruling of execution. But he didn’t. Jesus did not come to rule over a kingdom of servants, he came to save a world who were and are His children. When he looks at your life and mine, he sees that poorly mowed yard with the stitches of grass still sticking up here and there and the edges not sharply mowed. He sees the feeble attempts to paint the beauty of nature with the wrong colors, the areas where we’ve gone outside the lines. When we fail to love as we should or find the good in others and say the wrong things. When we seek possessions and power instead of loving our neighbor or giving the gift of compassion. When we step on the weak to get ahead in our own lives. When we push others out of our gatherings because they don’t look like us or act like us. When we think thoughts of lust for things that are not ours. When we finally and shamefully come to the realization that we have wronged others, ourselves or God and come before him with hearts that are broken, beaten, worn and trampled on; like a proud dad would, he gives his sons and daughters a big hug and tells us what a great joy we are. He encourages us to keep going, keep learning, keep pursuing and running the race.

It’s hard to imagine why God would continue to pursue us in His loving, patient way when we run so very hard in the other direction, but He does. No matter whether you’re the hated tax collector. No matter whether you are a hard-headed and hot-tempered person. No matter if you are involved with infidelity or sexual sin. No matter if you are a thief in your last few hours of life, Jesus has compassion and acceptance for you. Forgiveness is waiting for you if you’ll only ask for it, it’s definitely a step into the abyss of faith. You see the story of this thief and Jesus in those last hours on the cross did not go like this, ‘Jesus reached out to the thief and ask him if he wouldn’t please consider one last time believing in him’. No, the thief saw one last opportunity and took it. Paradise was his that day because he decided that the message of the Gospel was not a fantasy or just for those who were cleaned up and in the right club. His life in eternity changed direction on that day because the thief spoke up in faith, took that difficult first step and believed in the compassion of Christ.

John 13: 34-35

ONE...

Loneliness to Friendship

   We often talk about the meaning of the word ‘one’ in our churches today. Worshipping for an audience of one. Being ‘one’ with God. In the secular world, we tell people to be one with nature or get one-on-one with a task or important person. It seems we as a people and society put a lot of importance on being singularly good at who we are, or is it being good at who we want people to think that we are? Certainly, being independent is a good trait to aspire to, it has its upside when it comes to being successful in life. My regular career has always been centered around a job requiring a great deal of individual thinking, and self-motivation. So, I concede up front that it’s not a bad thing to be self-sufficient. It can, in fact, save your life.

   The idea that I want to explore here is where do you go, what do you do, when your individual, self-created plans and ideas run into roadblocks? When you come against walls in life or obstacles so huge that you feel overwhelmed or defeated before you ever start your day. Maybe today, you could barely get out of bed because depression weighed you down from the moment that you opened your eyes. It could be that life-shattering news about your health or the health of a loved one has beaten you up, and you feel as though life is not bearable or even worthwhile. There are millions of reasons to be in that place in your life today. Bad life choices can put you in ugly financial wreckage, or personally in an emotional prison. Or, you could just be living the life of Job. Where do you find yourself in this story of one?

   Sometimes in our life, we feel like we're a single entity against the world. Like it's us against them. I think back to all the friends that my father had in his lifetime, and how he kept many of those same friends until his dying day. After he retired, he used to go and have coffee with them. They would sit together at a local fast food restaurant and buy ten-cent coffees and apple pies and then talk about all of the world issues and of course grandkids. One day, they decided to come to my house to work on a plugged sewer line. Arriving home at dusk and after a long day at work, I found three or four of these old guys at my house. All of them were in their 70s or 80s, working away digging up the front yard doing their best to suggest the proper repairs for my house’s plumbing issues. It was a thing of friendship beauty. These gentlemen were mostly World War 2 era men; the “let's get it fixed” crowd of people that never stopped to ask if it would be hard or difficult, they just got involved. They made a plan, rolled up their sleeves, worked hard with the knowledge that they had as men of hard knocks and life lessons, then they fixed the problem. Funny thing, I had come home thinking that I would have to work several nights to resolve this problem, their gift to me was that they had resolved most of it for me. What a gift it was too, not so much the actual repairs, but knowing that they would give of their energy and time, to help me and my family for no real reason at all except compassion and charity. I am still amazed by their actions today. Several of them only lived a short time after that day, my dad included, but they taught me so much through their actions.

   You see, each of these men, as individuals could not have helped me resolve my plumbing problems, the harshness of the digging and working underground on that old pipeline, would have overtaxed any one of them individually; however they were not working alone, and that was the lesson that is, to this day, not lost on me. The ability to come together to take care of the needs of one with the strength of many, that was their greatest asset and their path to success. It seems there may be much more here than the obvious though, so let’s look deeper together.

   We’ve discussed the obstacles and trials of life as causing us to feel alone and beaten, so how can we combat it? There are many others that seemed alone but were part of the bigger plans of God. Obviously, Jonah, whom I have written about before. His plans were so opposite from Gods, that he boarded a boat sailing in the other direction to get away from God. Gods plan and the actions of unaware bystanders brought him back to fulfill his destiny. Moses was left to die in the desert, alone. This young man was raised with everything. His family was rich, he had power beyond anything most of us can imagine, yet his story in God’s plan left him alone and defeated. I often wonder how long Moses wandered without knowing if he might live. Don’t you think that he was convinced many times that he would die in that desert? In time, God brings him to a place where Moses understands and realizes the big picture; even then, there are supporting friends and loved ones that fill in where Moses falls short.

   You see, the friends of my dad, the old guys who worked together to fix my house’s plumbing issue, they knew the power of coming together, to labor and toil with a common goal. It made their friendship stronger and brought them pleasure through the accomplishment and success of their deed. This is the basis for community and building blocks of the church. That feeling is something I find lacking on many days in my life, the camaraderie of friends who will step in to “do” life together; and sadly, it is the downfall of many churches were they talk about it but rarely carry it out, holding hands with the dying, taking food to the sick, it’s more than thoughts and prayers, it’s actions to provide help to someone that needs it. It’s taking the time to go to someone’s house even without them asking and fixing a plumbing problem. Almost daily I think of how I have arrived at the place in life, where knowing friends like my dad had, is a rarity and painfully absent in my life, maybe it is the same for you.

   In Ecclesiastes 4, verse 9 there is a rather famous line of the Bible, and the Amplified version says it something like this, “two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up. Again, if two lie down together, then they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” It certainly isn’t easy, this idea of finding a like-minded partner to help you carry the load; after all, people fail, they lie, and they betray. So where is the middle of that proverbial road? And how do you and I find that elusive friendship if we’ve already lost faith and sight of it in our lives?

   I believe there are a few things that can prepare and guide us toward this rewarding relationship if we work at it, perhaps together, you an I can give these a try. First, examine your relationship with God. Sometimes we don’t know why He tolerates us at all. We fail, we fall short of being “good people”, we have bad habits, the list goes on and on. Remember, Jesus called out to his disciples while they were still fishermen and tax collectors. They weren’t rabbis from the local seminary, they were failed sinners, far from perfect, and they continued to fail even while following Jesus. They didn’t understand, they lied to protect themselves, they were violent, yet they still went on being used by God. Find your place and talk to God about who He wants you to be.

   Second, we must seek the right kind of friends. Those who keep us accountable to what is important to our goals and what God is calling us to be and do. People that always tell you that you’re great, when you’re not, may build you up in a way that makes you believe in something false. Believe me, that isn’t helping you. We need honest people around us that can help us grow, be there when we stumble, love us when we’re dirty from sin, and help us up when we fall. Those people are usually just like us, friends that have been there, done that. That’s why they know you need help. Value these people and make them your friends, protect these alignments because really good ones are hard to find. Don’t kid yourself here, good friends are not easily found or kept, they are a precious commodity.

   Third, well I really don’t’ have a “third”. It really comes down to this, when your relationship with God is good, your relationship with others can be good as well. If you are estranged or absent with God, you will never find peace or alignment with the type of friends we’ve been talking about, I am quite sure of that. My dad had those friends because he lived an honest, respected life. He said what he meant and meant what he said.

To most of those guys, his faith in God wasn’t what they respected most about him, but because of his faith in God, he lived in a way that they could not help but respect.

   Do you see how that works? He lived his faith and told his story in a way that made him easy to have as a friend. He was trustworthy, he was kind and positive. He was faithful and patient. The reason he could exhibit these traits was that he worked at keeping his relationship right with God. He would be the first to tell you if he were here, that he was so very far from perfect. I saw that distance myself on a few occasions. The answer though, is that he kept trying. He kept allowing God to work in and through his life.

   Where are you today in that walk? Are you on a path toward God or away from him? Do you try to avoid Him when He speaks to you or do you listen even if it’s after you have to hear it a couple of times? I can tell you where I am, I’ve been standing still listening. Like being in a vast wasteland or dense forest, sometimes it’s hard to find your way. I think I have walked a little in each direction, towards Him and away, we all do that from time to time. But if you want to stop being lonely, if you seek those friends that can help you up after you fall, as I do, then we all need to walk with purpose toward God, and a little less self-condemnation and excuses about how we’re not worthy or we’ve gone too far the other way. Jesus made you and I worthy to walk towards the throne of God, what we have to do now is be willing to accept that we can, that He welcomes us, and is ready for us to be at His table. When we do that, we are no longer only ‘One’, we’re mishpachah, home with family.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 (AMP)

"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified^® Bible (AMP),
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission. www.Lockman.org"

It's That Time of Year Again - A Christmas Family Short Story

The Prince of Heaven

This is a fictional story of simple kindness and the result of being available to be used by God - in His timing. The characters and events in this story are not meant to be biblical accounts, just one of many other possible stories that could be told of the birth and life of Jesus.

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Sightseer

This year, our family has been actively traveling a little more than normal. Some of the places are our usual hangouts, the Mojave Desert in spring, Sierra Nevada’s in the summer. Over Easter vacation, we visited Arizona; taking in Route 66 in Williams and the Grand Canyon. It was fun seeing new things. The Canyon was inspiring and beautiful just as you might think, stunning its visitors with colors and grand views. It even snowed on us as we visited the south rim. We stood on a corner in Winslow… well, you get the point. We also found a few places along the way that we were sure we never wanted to live, or even spend the night. Those places were desolate, dry, and void of services and people for the most part, but we were enjoying our sightseer status, eating in new places and taking in all the surroundings.

We sought out interesting and different things that caught our eye, just like many people do when they go to new churches. Not only trying out the taste of the food spiritually but the sights and sounds as well. The Christian life can be a little like being a sightseer. You enjoy the fun parts, the beautiful scenery, and then when things get serious or dried out, you move on to the next point of interest. The term ‘Day-Tripper’ comes to mind, I’m sure a lot of you might remember a song by that title. Big concert settings can give us that feeling, a fun-loving and fast-paced free sense. At certain times, a well-organized church camp or retreat can give you a real ‘mountain top experience’; you know the ones, you hear a great worship band or a speaker that gives you goosebumps every night when they share. While you’re there, you almost start to feel like a Super-Christian. Someone with a mission to accomplish and vision to see exactly what that mission is. If you’re like me, when you come home, you find it more and more difficult to see and find the mission, much less feel like a super anything. The ‘real’ world returns you to reality with a thud.

Lord, help me not to be a Daytripper Christian.

It is a process that I continue to struggle with yearly, how do you keep that fresh and vibrant sense inside when it comes to serving God. Lord, help me not to be a Daytripper Christian. One that bounces from spiritual high to spiritual high; who fades and moves on when the work gets tough, or the people get hard to deal with. If we think about it, there might be some wisdom in the vacationing story I mentioned earlier. Do you ever go away from home on a much-anticipated trip, only to find that near the end of that time, your remembering how nice your home is? For the campers out there, maybe it’s the soft comfortable chair or taking a long hot shower. Or maybe you love coming home to your own special bed. Whatever you think of when it comes to home, it always seems a little better in our minds, when we haven’t been there in a few days.

Escaping the ups and downs of life, in general, is likely impossible for most of us to do, but there are some things that Jesus spoke about in a major sermon He gave during his ministry. These are some of the footsteps of growth that are still relevant today and will be every day of our lives.

• First, realize that you are blessed. Through all of our successes and trials; when we are lost, hungry, made fun of, and content, these times teach us things about ourselves. They help us to have perspective and grow stronger in our faith in God and acceptance of His grace.
• Another is to accept your mission as the salt and light of this world. Our lives show others that God does make a difference when you walk with Him. We go to our schools and workplaces, and flavor the relationships by showing grace, and offering mercy, things that are given freely to us, and intended to be shown to others. They will know that we are Christians by the difference they see in the way that we respond to adversity and cruelty. By doing these things as often as you can, your life will produce light, a ‘light’ that is put into this world through Jesus to lead others to Him.
• Don’t make promises or enter into partnerships that you know aren’t healthy or productive, keep your word. If you promise something, do it.
• This one is really difficult for most of us, love your enemies.  I don’t think that this means let everyone run roughshod over you so that you can shower them with love; but I do think it means to walk away from someone who is provoking you, whenever you can. Defend yourself and loved ones when it’s necessary, that is your responsibility, but don’t write off those who come against you. Be generous with your prayer and kindness. Anyone can enjoy being around people that they already get along with, but Jesus says walk those extra paces toward those who are difficult. God loves each of those people that you and I can’t stand, and He sends His blessings to everyone equally; wherever and whenever you can - love those people, even if it never feels like they deserve or want it.
•  Don’t put your faith on stage for everyone to see. Being a leader in worship or being on stage is different than putting your faith “on stage”. In other words, your motives should be to love and help others see Jesus through what you do; if that is in leadership from a stage that’s ok, if it’s mopping the nursery after a busy Sunday, that’s great too. Just remember who it is that you’re serving, and make sure that someone isn’t you.
• Pray. Prayer scares many people, they are afraid that they don’t know the proper way to do it, and where do you learn all those special words that they hear used on Sundays, or from TV personalities. Keep it simple; sometimes you need to find a personal and quiet place or time so that you can just let your heart pour out. But don’t let that become restrictive, pray all day, any time and place is a good place to talk to God. He wants to connect with each of us in this way; keep it a two-way relationship. Don’t just ask for things, offer your praise and thanksgiving for what you have. It’s the number one way to keep yourself in tune with God’s plan in your life, and one that we all need to do more of.
•  Make sure to use your wealth wisely, even if you’re like me and not a “rich” person. In spirit, we are made rich through our relationship with Christ. So, whatever you have, whether it is a lot or a little, don’t put it on a pedestal and make it too important. Be generous, and don’t make a public show of your intentions. This goes for looks as well as money; looking good does make us feel better about ourselves at times, but don’t let it be your judge and jury when it comes to worth. God loves you and I the same, without any strings; rich, poor, skinny, heavy, bald, or anywhere in between, His love never fails. Be faithful and wise with what you have.
• Live a life that values those around you. It should be obvious but bullying others or constantly criticizing people will eventually be returned to you, and that boomerang can be painful when it lands. It’s a pretty simple philosophy that we used to teach children at a young age. Treat others like you want them to treat you. If you don’t know what that is, think of actions and things you would like, and then go do some of them for others. Try it.
• Lastly, there are no shortcuts to living a Godly life. Don’t treat your faith like one of those ads offering instant weight loss. We all fall for things we later find out to be too good to be true. Learn from that. Things of value take honest effort, including your walk with God. Do and be genuine in your effort to know God and live the best life that you can. We all trip and fall missing the mark, just keep asking Him to help you up.

So, what does this all have to do with having ups and downs in our life, and being a spiritual sightseer? Everything. Each one on its own is a good thing, but putting these steps together create a mindset of living. Living in a way that will build in you and me an ability to appreciate what we have, be positive in perspective, and proactive with our time and talents. Finding a way to tell your story through living it to the fullest. I need to do this more in my life, I struggle with nearly every one of these steps, and sometimes I feel as though I’m never quite content, or that it’s just a step or two in front of me, not quite close enough to be caught. Are you in that same boat? I am sure that the Gospels recorded this sermon of Jesus on the mount for that reason, we needed the roadmap. The reminder that faith and walking with Him was like anything else, you get out what you put into it. To quote an old Christian pop hit, I don’t want to be a casual Christian, sightseeing my way from one touristy place in life to the next. Now to just put these actions to work in our hearts and lives. May our journeys become more effective and lead us to a place of serving Him with fewer and fewer mountain tops and valleys, but a meaningful, rewarding and level path of serving and loving others daily -as a family.

           

Mathew 5,6 &7 MSG

Sermon on the Mount

A Child at Heart

 Mark 10: 13-16          

There is a commonly told story in the Bible about the disciples and Jesus, where parents are bringing their children to see Him, seeking an audience with Jesus and His blessing. While those closest to Him attempted to shoo them away, telling them to step back and leave Jesus alone. What happens next seems to be a popular lesson, both inside and outside of the church, Jesus steps up and says, “Stop! Let them come to me, don’t dare get in their way”. There is a little more to what He says in the passage, but during a recent Bible study, I found an interesting sidebar to this story, some things that make it even more personal to me, and perhaps to you also.

If you read prior verses to this incident, you’ll find that Jesus and the disciples had been ministering nonstop for weeks, perhaps months. Every manor of the question had been discussed and argued. The dialogue was often deep, and most times the disciples must have felt like they were grasping desperately to understand what Jesus was trying to teach them. From hiking through the mountains with nothing short of miraculous happenings going on all around them, to healing one person after the next; they dealt with every sort of illness and demonic encounter. The debate and instruction carried on and on, day into night.

In Mark 10 verse 10, they arrive at what is noted as “the house”. After further examination, I found that many scholars seem to think that this reference to a ‘house’ might have actually been a home owned by the group, a close follower, or at least was a home base of sorts. I had never thought about Jesus the adult and missionary traveler, having a home. A place where you might go to find Him on a Tuesday evening, sitting with His friends, having ‘Tora’ study. I would love to see that church flyer, “hey everyone, Bible study this Thursday night at Jesus’ house, 7 pm - dinner will, of course, be served”. We might laugh at that, but it sounds as if they were arriving home after a very long stretch of out of town ministering. Frankly, and not surprisingly so, the last thing on the minds of the disciples and His traveling companions was to have company over for the evening. But according to Mark 10, chapter 13 this is precisely what was happening. I don’t think that they were just random kids hanging out, like your friendly junior high and high school youth leader’s house, it says that the people were bringing their children over for Jesus to bless. Imagine this, if you believed that Jesus was a very high-ranking rabbi, maybe even heavenly connected somehow, and he lived in your village or a neighboring community, wouldn’t you try to slip by for a visit? And knowing the importance of having your children blessed by “the church” during this era, how could you blame any of these people for “dropping in”.

After all the long days of walking and discussions, nights sleeping here and there, you might understand now why the disciples were tired, and not in the entertaining mood. As ministers of His modern message, there is a clear lesson to us in this small story. Not just that Jesus valued children, if that is all you’ve heard about this story, then you are only halfway to the real illustration. Jesus angrily admonished His close friends and reminded them again, this is why we’re all here! Let these parents and kids in. The common lesson we hear from this is that Jesus so loved the children that he wanted to see them and that they were amongst the idealistic versions of what we needed to aspire to as Christians. The child-like faith and acceptance they had for Him was a teaching moment that Jesus could not resist sharing with the disciples, and us. The fact that we might need to ease up on all the technicalities of life; that simple faith was the answer to life everlasting, and perhaps the main focus of this whole story.

I think there is also another very valuable illustration here that we often miss. After telling the disciples to let the children and parents in, He took the time to meet each one separately. Talking to them, lifting them to His lap so they would know he was interested in them personally. Hearing the concerns of the parents. One at a time, each of them came to see and talk to Him, and He prayed over them and gave them encouragement, one by one, working His way through the crowd. There was no rebuke of the guests. No ‘come back tomorrow when I am not tired from my mission’. Not even a hint of bragging about how important and great His trip had been. Just Him spending time with them, listening and praying over their needs.

I hope that you can see the subtle message here to all of us in ministry. And dare I say, we all have a mission field to minister in, so don’t miss this point; God calls us to be His eyes, His hands, His feet. No matter our status, energy level or emotion, we need to be willing and open to being used by God. Certainly, we can all only do so much, but sometimes we think, “I’ve done enough” or “let someone else take care of that”. Occasionally, I find myself thinking that I can’t take on anything new or out of my comfort zone, or that I am not equipped to do what I hear God calling me to do. But how do you justify those excuses when it is God who has called us to “let the children come”. Moses, Jonah, David, none of their reasoning let them off the hook with God either.

And that brings me to the center of my thinking surrounding this passage and story. Perhaps on the alternate side of this lesson, Jesus has an illustration that says, “Come to me, climb up on my lap. Tell me what you’ve done, and where your heart is”. “Let’s talk about you, me and us for a bit”. Jesus tells the disciples, in verse 15, anyone that does not come to the kingdom with the faith and acceptance of a little child, those people will not enter heaven. That’s a pretty direct statement to make, throwing out a profound question right into the hearts of His disciples, and us. Jesus is saying, if you can’t freely and openly trust me as these children do, you won’t get to heaven. Lay off those ideas you have about what good things you’ve done, or how many Bible books you’ve read. Never mind your doctorate degrees in theology or your successes at work, can you trust Me He asks as if you were one of these small children?

I believe they struggled with this question there in that house, just as you and I do. It’s a simple plan God has for our relationship with Him, but we’ve complicated it with emotions and sin. We are too proud to think He loves us just because. Too afraid that He can’t forgive our personal legacy of squandered chances. However, nothing could be further from His truth. He was trying to tell us all that very thing through this story, from His home with the children. To us, He is saying, come on by. Stop in and visit with me, tell me your concerns and cry on my shoulder about your pain. His interest is individual and specific to each and every one of us, just like those children and parents on that day. We each should know that He is attentive to our call, one by one, listening and spending the time to know us, bless us and hear our hearts cry.

In my mind, I see the lesson of this story as much bigger than Jesus loves kids and wants them to be included. I sense that Jesus is showing us a glimpse of ourselves and saying, “you are all my children, in you I will invest my time, my grace, and my love. If you will only come to me and seek me out as a child would seek its parent”. The kind of circumstance where there is no judgment or fear, but acceptance and pure love, without rules and man-made hoops to jump through. It was and is, an important lesson to drive home with His disciples and each one of us, that unless we simply accept His love and grace, as young children do, then our own pride, selfishness, and greed may very well keep us from knowing the real potential of His selfless gift to us. Forgiveness. Sometimes we may need to just stop, put down our false armor of adulthood, and climb up into His lap of understanding and grace, and remember that He is our father, our Abba. He always makes time to listen and know our doubts and fears; He is ready to bless us with His goodness and mercy. The road to real peace and blessings may look different for each of us, but isn’t that just another sign that He listens intently and covets our individual relationship with Him? Imagine that for a few minutes, the God of creation longs to have a specific and personal relationship with you, and with me. He says, “Come and sit with me, let's talk and get to know each other. Bring me your concerns and let’s work them through together”. He told us what it takes to have that kind of bond with Him. He said that we must seek Him with the faith and heart of a child. Nothing fancy, no long and flowery introductions or fanfare suited for a king, but rather an offering. An offering simple in thought and concept. The trust and expectation of a hopeful heir to the King, and the faith and commitment of a child at heart.

Forever..

Let’s talk about us for a minute…

                I am sure you’ve heard the saying, ‘nothing lasts forever’. The longer I’m here on this merry-go-round of life, the more I realize how true that statement is. Lately, I have been reflecting on life and my place in it; the things that seem to matter the most here in this world, are the hardest to hold onto. Children grow up, jobs come and go, friends come into your life and fade from view. What makes me “me”, seems to be harder to define with each passing day, certainly a little more with every personal and major life event. The things that used to be low on my list of importance, now occupy hours of my time, which I lose track of more and more with ease. When my wife and I were first married, we had priorities that focused on who we were, and what we enjoyed. As all of you know life happens, and in our case, a family takes form in the way of children, and in the span of what seems like moments, our priorities and our hobbies suddenly revolve around them. In most cases, that’s not a bad thing. We need to be attentive to our family and children, the time is well spent, and I never regret being with mine for fun adventures and just being a family.

          For a few minutes though, let’s talk about what happens to us personally when we don’t keep a part of ourselves focused on who we are, our passions and purpose in life. You can have your kids as a passion and certainly, they can give you purpose, but what happens to the rest of your story. In my case, I used to have a specific personal direction in my life, one that I could define and knew well; perhaps you did too, or still do. But if we lose sight of that on the inside, it can affect how we act on the outside, and certainly it can or will eventually cripple our ability to find joy with our family and others because we have lost ourselves in the drive to fulfill the passions and purposes of everyone but who you are on the inside.

Here is one thought that I commonly find in my random personal fear file, ‘how will I ever live in this house without kids running around in it?’ Even with a wonderful wife in my life, whom I feel closer to every day, I fear loneliness. It’s like a hungry animal waiting for its next meal, and I’m their prey. I try to hide from it, but I’m terrified of being exposed, I run from one comfort replacing idea to the next. No amount of “things” can bring me peace. However, looking back to when my dad was alive, I realize that he was my ‘peacemaker’. I always felt safe around him. I suppose him being gone now, leaves me feeling more revealed than I imagined possible, more unsure of how to process happiness. He was indeed my hero and mentor; now the question is, how do I pass that on? Sometimes we think of how things could have been in our lives, instead of how they really are. One thing my dad said to me time and time again, “be happy with today, right where you are”. And he was good at that. But how…

How do we relate that positive philosophy to our living with changing priorities and losing sight of our personal direction and purpose in life? It seems to me that many of our major life events make and mold how we see ourselves, how we value ourselves. No doubt that we have each enjoyed many happy moments and periods of time in our life where we were happy and living the fun and fulfilling dream that you envisioned for yourself and possibly your family. But those painful times, they find every one of us. Whether it’s illness or tragedy, the loss of a loved one, financial ruin, or divorce; the list is long and depressing. It’s hard to plan for fun or experience happy adventures when all your life’s valuables are seemingly falling in ruin at your feet.

 I believe that it's during these times that most of us allow the internal drive and purpose of our lives to become altered. Where the vision for our happiness becomes skewed or blurred, or maybe even completely blocked out by the hurt of an illness or the depression of a sudden loss. It’s during these times that the second part of what my dad used to say to me comes into play. He would ask, “what are you doing that for?” In other words, is this your passion or someone else’s? I will take that question one step further here in our thoughts together and ask, ‘who... are you doing that for?’ ‘Who do you wrap your life’s purpose around?’ The answer to that might shed some light on the reason behind our sudden and sometimes debilitating internal struggles with our life’s purpose and the fears of failure and loneliness. What or who is at the focus of your life? And when these hard times come to us, and truly they will come to us all eventually, then what is the foundational center of your life? Certainly, don’t spend all your time looking too far ahead to see your path change, and don’t fall into the trap of constantly looking back into your past. It takes a lot of effort to focus on today, regardless of our feelings, and see the good in a bad day, a bad month or year.

You see, how you live on the outside, depends largely on how you live on the inside. And your belief that you are a valuable asset to God’s plan during and after your trials, will hinge on whether you live with Him at your center to start with. You and I may not always know our purpose in this life to the exact measure He intends to use it, and our direction will certainly alter course over the years. Remember that most things of value require refinement of some type. In John 12: 24-25 the message of the Bible goes something like this. Until a seed of grain is buried out of sight and lifeless to this world, it cannot grow, it’s just a seed. In fact, it is only after the seed is left underground and experiences the trial of darkness that the miracle of change begins. Eventually growing into a plant fully capable of producing new seeds for many new plants to grow. It continues the lesson with these words to us. Like a seed, if we hold on to our lives so tightly as to prevent change, you will die. The seed will eventually become inert. But if you let go of your fear, and love God with careless abandon, then you will know real love, real grace, and fulfilling purpose, forever.

We are the seeds of God’s kingdom, and yes, we go through all sorts of trials that test our resolve and faith in Him, and each other. This lesson was taught by Jesus just days before His crucifixion. His reminder that through our struggles and heartache, we become more and more valuable to His work here amongst our families and friends. It is the center of our life, the question that I asked you earlier, ‘who… do you do life for’? Though we all fail, if you will put God at the center of your life, your foundation will not move. Your purpose will be steady and fulfilling through all your trials. Today this message is mine as well as yours, I struggle. I hope that together we can remember that struggle is part of sprouting into something new. It’s part of growing and reproducing, but what are we reproducing? Is it worthy of your life’s work? An example being passed down from us to the next seed? Think about that, because your life will leave a legacy somewhere, in someone.

Some of you may not yet have taken that step to trust in a God that you can’t see or touch. After all, the rest of the world tells you that He does not exist, that it’s all just legends and stories told to make us feel better and safe. I won’t debate you on the reality or proof of God, I’ll only tell you that I believe. I felt it inside myself many years ago, as I believe you do too, I knew that I needed Him. It isn’t complicated to stop and tell Him that you want Him in your life. Just talk, God will listen. And though I am not worthy to be His messenger, I pray my legacy and offspring are many who continue to look to God, even in times of darkness. When the light is not seen, and when we feel as though the world has left us for dead and considers us useless; when our priorities and personal direction is in turmoil, I pray that you and I will seek the center of our lives in the presence of a loving Father, whose number one ambition is to show us love and grace. That should be our focus and our gift to those who come after us - today, and forever.

John 12: 24-25

Carousel

Colorful horses galloping around in beautifully synchronized herds. Brightly painted structures with lights and loud sounds of joy and laughter; benches and rest for the tired and feeble to rest yet still be part of the group. You might think I am describing a race track, or park somewhere in the past, with horses and carriage rides as part of the day's normal series of events. Actually, I am thinking more along the lines of the great carousels that used to dot the countryside a few decades ago. If you look closely, you will still see a few grand ones here and there. From really large and extravagantly decorated ones in the popular theme parks to the modest few that you find at the country fair, carousels are still a popular ride with the young and old alike. Lines to ride them are full of every race, age, and personality type. Interestingly enough, the ride isn't just about one kind of horse or pony or one particular color. There are ponies that are dancing wildly and ones that look to be walking peacefully, and everything in-between. When you get on the ride, you search for just the right one, and suddenly, there it is. There isn't a way to describe it, maybe it's your favorite color, or the look painted on the horses face; perhaps it's just a mad rush to find an empty one. What about the real carousel with the two benches on it? Why the bench? Isn't this about the fast animals, and enjoying the "ride" and the wind? It seems that not everyone is ready, or able to sit in the saddle.

    When I look at my life some days, it feels a lot like a carousel of craziness. A merry-go-round of work, kids, volunteerism, after-school sports, taking care of loved ones, and on and on. As young adults, we stand in line waiting for our chance to mount our life's steed. We pick the color and the type of "life" we think that we will lead, but in reality, most of the time, it's just a mad rush to find an open ride, to find our path onto, and around, the carousel of life. Wouldn't it be good just sometime, to sit on the bench? You see, sitting on this bench isn't like being out of the game, this bench is on the ride, just a little more laid back than the "mounted horses" part of life. I can certainly attest to my life being busy like that, too rushed to find a way to enjoy the view. I keep waiting for it to slow down so I can catch my breath, or change my position, but as we all know, you can't move around until the ride comes to a full and complete stop, and life rarely does.

    The really interesting part that I learned about carousels was this, if you found yourself a little sick or dizzy, you could look at the center of the machine. This part usually housed the moving engine mechanisms. Sometimes it even held the organs and musical equipment of the older types; but best of all, it always seemed that it was just barely moving, in relation to the rest of the surroundings. With all of the outside structure rushing around, one horse chasing the horse in front of the other, the center of the whole thing seemed to move slowly, and with purpose. Focusing on this would give you less sense of movement, and it always helped me to feel better when I started getting green from going in circles.

    If your life is a spiral of out of control dizziness and unobtainable goals, even a small part of the time, maybe it is time to focus on the center of your life. When you look at where your values and central thoughts lie, what do you find? Do you see your job, your impressive new car, or maybe your kid's latest sports schedule? Do you see the long list of needs or debt piling up? Let's imagine for a minute what God thinks of that picture. 

  

ShoeBox Thoughts - The Book, it's here

     As many of you know, I have been working on a book that would bring these messages into physical form and today I have finally accomplished that task. Over the past two years I have put together past published works, and some new pieces just to keep it fresh, into a devotional book called, "ShoeBox Thoughts, Messages from the ShoeBox Prophet". I know, it's a surprise title choice isn't it? But my purpose has always been to share these thoughts and life lessons with as many people as I could, so this book is an extension of this blog ministry, perhaps going where the internet cannot, or just giving someone a chance at real world, hands-on time for some basic heart and  mind thinking.

    The past two years were not without hardship in our house; losing my mother, both parents are now with the Lord, and my wife being diagnosed with one of the worst forms of breast cancer, I can say without a doubt, that going through these messages and editing often reminded me the author, that I continue to need them, and to be reminded that I need God's grace and mercy every day. In fact, my wife Michelle says on occasion, you need to go back and re-read what you wrote about how your acting. Just confirming that I will never be more than one beggar, showing other beggars, where to find food and shelter in Christ.

     It is my earnest prayer that after reading these messages, and listening to God's whisper in your ear, that you will share them with those who are hurting and lonely, without the hope that we cling to through the Good News. They need us to show them that "all have fallen short", and we walk together. This book is just another tool to allow us to share the message of love and grace that keeps us afloat and alive in a life of continuing storms.

UPDATE 12/5/2017:

     Use the link below to check out my sales page for ShoeBox Thoughts, both versions are now on one page for your convenience. It is for sale on Amazon, and various outlets around the world.

Use this link to visit Amazon to buy your copy today

Click here to go to my Amazon sales page for Paperback & Kindle

     Also, you can follow the link below to my authors page on Amazon. It will give some additional background from time to time, and also gives others links back to this blog. 

Use this link to see my author page and follow my books

    More than anything, I want to say thank you to everyone here that has commented and left me notes or sent email. I am doing life every day just like you are, and the encouragement and friendship mean a lot to me. I hope to return to writing more blog pieces now that the editing for this project is complete, it has been a great experience but an exhausting one creatively. Now, back to writing.

God’s mercy and blessing be with you all.

Randy

Perfect Pitch

A Story of Worship

  Whether it is the off-key voice of the person behind you on Sunday morning, the guitar solo that wasn't so hot, or the muffled sound of the voice from stage singing a song you've never heard before, how do you perceive the noise we call worship? Can you hear the beauty in it's offering, or are you the judge of its ineptitude? Worship has many different styles and even more methods of delivery and presentation. Most people think of music when we talk about worship, with many churches all over the world hiring a guy or gal that we refer to as the worship leader, but do we look at our worship as their job to create and administer the worship time? To manage what is said and done, to direct the church body into a position and realm of worshipful expression. Perhaps for the corporate time together that answer is mostly yes.
  Yet worship is so much more than people getting together to sing songs, whether flashy lights and loud music is your thing, or you pine over the soft and subtle folk sound of acoustic everything, maybe you prefer the realism of no sound system and just enjoy the harmony of voices bringing life back to the hymnal. None of these are wrong, or better than and more pleasing to God than the other. As a former worship leader, and longtime sound engineer, concert producer, and rock singer at heart, I have my tastes for what I like to hear on Saturday night or Sunday morning. But is that all there is to worship? The sights, sounds and endless opinions. I think that we have focused far too much on the style differences and have forgotten, or at least minimized the real purpose and motive of worship.
Worship has a purpose behind it in this world, just as life has been a series of changes and learning experiences, worship isn't something that you master on the first try. Although it's purpose is one of expression, the ultimate reason for it is far beyond this world. As a famous science fiction movie line once said, and I will paraphrase into the realm of worship to make my point, worship surrounds us, it binds us together, it helps us to see through eyes that are not our own. It is the light that we share with one another, an ally when we are alone, and as a little green guy once said, a powerful ally it is. Okay, so enough with the movie thoughts, but they are pretty powerful thoughts when you put them into the real world in which we live. While many of us think that we might enjoy being a movie hero and having special powers, how many of us develop the special powers and gifts promised to us by God through His word? Some of God's gifts would surely seem extra-special if we were to suddenly start healing people with a simple word or touch. Or perhaps healing the emotional issues on the inside that we all seem to suffer through would be an even greater feat. Imagine a church body full of believers that have prayed their way through the hardships of their own ragged lives, a group of people who have learned the full value of grace and forgiveness. People who might even have discovered the destructive power of loveless judgment and conceit, and find no room for it in their group and individual lives. A truly special power that would be.
  Worship without the distractions of failure and doubt, where everyone is valued and the stories of life tell of our undeniable need to ask God to form us into His likeness. Letting the past be the past, and removing the scales from our eyes, the inability to see life and others through the eyes of a loving Father. One who grieves when we are resistant, but One who party's with all of His creation when we come to Him and say, "I need you, I am sorry for making a mess of my life, please take over and guide me in the path that leads me to the heart of your perfect love, help me to hear the voice of that ally which you have sent to be with us. Through your grace and mercy, remake my heart into your heart, and show me the purpose and pathway to true worship". There are many words that you could say and have the same meaning, don't get hung up on the words of your prayer, it is your heart that matters to God. He knows it well, and if you're sincere with Him, the words that you use won't matter.
  Worship to me is far more than a song, or music; it's a state of being. A mindset that we need to use to talk to and visit with God. Before you theologians seek to reprimand me over what biblical purposes are called out for worship; yes, I agree that it is to exalt Him as Lord and as such it is an offering not always a two-way conversation, (at least the Pharisaical friends that I know like to point that out), but I believe if you look at worship as a single directional state of being, then you are missing out on the truly powerful message of the gospel. Jesus was very clear that our relationship with God was a personal one. Not something that could be done by remote or through an intermediary, but through time spent together. Having the knowledge of what each other is thinking and what their plans are. Certainly, we have reverence for God and His position as Lord of lords, over everything earth and sky, but He hugs us through His spirit, comforts us when we're sad, and enjoys every minute that we spend in His presence. As we intertwine our lives with His, we become a bound force, a shared power flows from Him through us, changing our darkened hearts into beacons of light. And though we have our faults and weaknesses, His light and His grace continue to burn through our messy lives, casting light into our shadows and failures.
  Normal three-dimensional thinking just cannot explain this connection that we have with Him. It is definitely difficult to explain to someone that hasn't at least attempted to experience it for themselves. The wonderful and inexplicable part is that He seeks our hearts to be one with His. For us to find a relationship with Him, through our rags and dirty mess of a life, He doesn't seek to judge that; What He does seek to do is celebrate our homecoming, our release back to Him that which He created, us. Worship is surely not about being a great singer, or fabulous guitar player, those people are fun, and I love to hang out with them and hear them use their gifts for praising God and sometimes just entertaining people. It isn't about how big a church building you have, or whether or not you have moving lights in your service. New songs or old hymns, Leslie organ, or keyboards and strings, let those arguments go. That isn't worshiping. It's about your heart? Are you conversing with God and getting to know His heart, or just judging the surroundings when you go to church. Don't wait for service times to worship, if you do, you're missing out on all of the time you could be spending with Him. Worship is every day, small minutes of your time, saying hello and thank you to Him for your blessings that very moment. Talking to Him during the first half of a walk, then listening to Him for the second half. I know that sounds a lot like prayer, maybe it is. The point I want to make is that worship is a lifestyle, a thought process that will help to bind your heart to God's. Maybe it's a prayer of worship and thankfulness: talking, singing, thinking of beautiful things. I look at those times as worship, agreeing with Him that I appreciate His creation and long to be more like He intended me to be. Worship isn't about having perfect pitch and singing like an angel, worship is about using what you have to enter into a relationship with God so that you can recognize His leading and influence in your life. And truly, what could be better than knowing that you have the ear of God when you call to Him and that He is as close as your breath when you need Him most. Off key or not, with my mouth or my hands, I will keep looking for ways to worship Him until I can do it in person.