Are we there yet?

Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.
St. Augustine

My thoughts are turning toward the life of Abraham. This Sunday I will begin a series of messages about Abraham's journey toward the "Promised Land". I enjoy studying Abraham's journey because of the raw biography that is provided in the Bible. Though Abraham is remembered for his great faith, he is also remembered for his struggles along the way. The life lessons are remarkably fresh. God still calls us to go where we haven't been...and it's not easy. We still owe our allegiance to what St. Augustine called the "city of God" though we are surrounded by pressure to belong to the "city of man".

New Life

What difference does the resurrection of Jesus make in my life today? It's easy to celebrate on Easter. Usually, Easter Sunday is one of the most exciting days of the year. Churches post record attendance. Enthusiasm and energy is high. How about Monday? Now it's time to live the life that Jesus raised to give us. Did we start the day with an awareness of a living God's presence? Did we take time to say "thank you" to God this morning? These are the questions that race through my mind after my "Easter" message yesterday.

Immanuel is not just for Christmas songs

I'm not sure that I have ever head the word "Immanuel" used in an Easter sermon. It seems a shame that we focus on this powerful description of Jesus (Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14) only during the Christmas season. Usually, we speak of Immanuel in terms of the arrival of Jesus, born of the virgin in Bethlehem and then we don't revisit those thoughts until next December. Today, I have been thinking about how God was with us when He knelt down in front of disciples and washed their feet. God was with us when he agonized and prayed in the garden as His friends slept. God was with us as He was hit, whipped and spat upon. God was with us as He was crucified. Moltmann's classic title describes the scene: "The Crucified God". God was with us when He demonstrated life beyond the grave. And before He ascended to heaven he spoke with human lips and was heard by human ears, "I will never leave you". His words to us, "I am with you, always".

Decision-making 101

This week fills my mind with reflections about Jesus: the suffering he endured, His sacrificial death on the cross, the intensive teaching that He delivered to His closest disciples...it all amazes and inspires me. But, today I am thinking about His prayer time in the garden. It is a difficult passage for me to read because I am by nature a sleepy head at night. But, I move beyond the lazy disciples to eavesdrop on the conversation of Jesus with His heavenly Father. It is a powerful moment. I have always admired people who are great decision-makers, people who do the "right thing" when the heat is on. Jesus illuminates the issues so well. When making a decision and facing unimaginable pressure to do the right thing, Jesus didn't hide from the issues at hand. He faced fear, apprehension, His humanity (and divinity) squarely and cut to the real heart of the matter - I want to do the will of Father more than anything. If we can distill our values and beliefs into some non-negotiable principles, decision-making is much more clear cut. Do I want to do the will of my Father more than anything? If so, He always gives us the courage to do the right thing.

Worship

We were made to worship. Sound like a good sermon title? It is the title of the message for Sunday. But, what are your thoughts about being created to worship? Do you think first about your favorite music? Do you think of a time on Sunday when you gather with others? Do you think in terms of worship as an obedient response to God's requirement? In an unusual conversation between a Jewish man (Jesus) and a Samaritan woman at a well, Jesus told her that God's idea of worship is a worship characterized as "worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). No doubt, His words carry a depth of meaning that cannot be covered in this blog. But, I can distill some of my thoughts into a couple of words. God wants our worship to be "authentic" and He wants our worship to be about Him. Real worship is inspired by God. We don't worship God without His help. We can't worship God without being touched by His love. It's not the extravagant expressions that we must offer. It is the simplicity of a heart that longs for God.

Preparing for the season

Next Sunday we will celebrate "Palm Sunday". For me, it's natural to think about the days leading up to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It's hard to grasp the range of emotions that are packed into those days. The gospel account of Palm Sunday reads like a crescendo of exuberant worship. The passover meal with his disciples has themes of tradition, love, friendship, betrayal and denial. His prayer time in the garden gives us a picture of isolation, agony and disappointment in his friends who were unable to stay awake with Him. A short time later angry shouts of "crucify Him" grow louder and louder. Perhaps the greatest swing in emotions is revealed in the women who watched Him die and then discovered He was no longer in the grave. The portrait of the Savior that emerges from these scenes is indescribable. As I often do, I like to find myself in the story. It is a way for me to examine my own relationship with my Savior.

Following is hard work

There are some common misconceptions about following in our "leadership" obsessed generation. Don't get me wrong, I am not demeaning the importance of leadership. I have devoted a great portion of my life studying leadership. However, we have come to believe that when leaders are great, following becomes easy. Even with great leadership, following is not easy. Just asked the disciples who were tortured and martyred in various ways. Sometimes we view following as a "passive" exercise. Once the vision is cast and a powerful and charismatic leader is in place, the following begins. Following is not passive. It requires focus and passion and commitment each step of the way. Following requires "self-leadership" principles of discipline and self-control.

Which way?

Believe it or not I was a boy scout once. Recently, I had some flashbacks to my scouting days. Later this month Nick is going on a hike with our Identity Ministry (4-6th graders) at Cades Cove. When I was about the same age as Nick I went on a hike at Cades Cove. It didn't really turn out as expected. First of all, "we" took a wrong turn on the trail and a 7 mile hike turned into an 11 mile hike. I would love to tell you that my scout troop was filled with ambitious and positive minded youngsters and leaders that didn't complain...well you get the picture. It was ugly. Instead of shouts of joy and discovery, "I'm tired", "I'm thirsty". "How much farther?" were the rallying cheers of the day. Well, all's well that end's well? Not quite. We arrived back at the bus to head home - only to discover that our battery was dead in the bus. So a long day got a little longer as we waited for help. Ahh, but memories were made. Thirty years later, I still remember the sights, sounds and smells of the day. A reminder as I think about what it means to "follow" this week: Make sure the person you follow knows the way.

Follow

Sunday, I will speak about what it means to follow Jesus. "Follow" is the third of the three words we have considered in the past few weeks. "Follow" is not a word that focuses on the moment. It is an open door to the future. In the context of Mark's purpose of introducing us to the Gospel, it is attached to a person. For Jesus, "follow" belongs with "me". But what does it mean to "follow" today. For the disciples that lived in the first century, it meant leaving their old lives behind. It meant that they were no longer fisherman by trade, they were apprentices to this radical teacher, the Savior. For us, we follow Jesus, yet for the most part we continue our vocations. We teach, we work in banks, in service industries, we do sales, marketing...yet we follow Jesus. What does it mean? That is a question that I intend to explore this week. I begin with the realization that we become like the one we follow. The effects are much more significant that changing vocations. Our transformation surfaces on the outside, but it begins on the inside. Following Jesus should affect the heart, the mind and the will. A sincere reading of the Gospels reveals that it was easier for the disciples to change jobs than it was to be transformed on the inside.