Always Winter Never Christmas

I guess I have to admit that the snow is beautiful. Even for a "summer-lover/winter-hater" like me, it's undeniable. There's something amazing about fresh snowfall. The snow this morning reminds me of C.S. Lewis. One of his most powerful phrases from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is "It's always winter, never Christmas". In the context of "The Chronicles of Narnia", Lewis refers to a cold dark time in a fictional land when the joy and hope of Christmas was missing. The implications for us today are sobering. Christmas is the proclamation that an incomparable marvelous Light entered darkness. For me, Christmas is the bright spot in my otherwise least favorite time of the year. Days are shorter and I prefer light. Days are colder and I prefer warm. Animals withdraw and I prefer activity. Foliage dies and I prefer the flowers of springtime. Yet, Christmas is a reminder that Hope wins. New life is imminent. Some time ago the band Relient K released a song based upon the words of C.S. Lewis. The lyrics are worth considering during the season of hope.

"In Like A Lion (Always Winter)"

It's always nice to look out the window
And see those very first few flakes of snow
And later on we can go outside
And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side

It's always winter but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can't be lifted
Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

It'd be so nice to look out the window
And see the leaves on the trees begin to show
The birds would congregate and sing
A song of birth a song of newer things

The wind would calm and the sun would shine
I'd go outside and I'd squint my eyes
But for now I will simply just withdraw
Sit here and wish for this world to thaw

And everything it changed overnight
This dying world you brought it back to life
And deep inside I felt things
Shifting everything was melting
Away oh away
And you gave us the most beautiful of days

Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
Sometimes it feels like you're not with us
But deep inside our hearts we know
That you are here and we will not lose hope

Picking Up Butch

Here's a great video that was shown on ESPN's E:60. It's a great look at a sports program that features the great virtues of teamwork and tradition over the course of a 50 year demonstration of friendship to a very special man named Butch. The story begins right after the Gillette shaving commercial!

Listening to "Outsiders"

"The Outsider Interviews" is a book by Jim Henderson, Todd Hunter and Craig Spinks. It is a collective effort to listen to voices outside (and some inside) the church as they speak out about Christianity. The interviews were conducted in several locations. From Kansas City to Phoenix to Denver young people were asked to share their views about the Christian faith. Why should/would we care what these voices have to say? In fact, I believe there are many reasons. But, one of the primary reasons is to cultivate a skill that we seem to be losing: listening. One of the main observations of the "outsiders" is that Christians are poor listeners. A careful reading of the gospels indicates to me that compassion is very important. In my experience compassionate people are good listeners. Although there is much to share from the book, the authors lift up a thesis that rings true: "the church can no longer proclaim from a distance and do well with young outsiders...we must be with those around us. Our personal, even physical, presence matters." As I reflected on those words I remembered how God directed Philip to go down to a desert road so that he could encounter an Ethiopian who was struggling to understand the gospel. I cannot help but believe that God continues to direct us to individuals that God cares about.

Drawing near to God

Everything in our Christian life and service flows from our relationship with God. If we are not in vital fellowship with Him, everything else will be out of focus. But when our communion with Him is close and real, it is gloriously possible to experience a growing intimacy.J. Oswald Sanders

“Everything” is a strong word. Yet, it is not too strong for the truth that it conveys. Jesus taught that if a branch is not attached to a vine, it will die. In His words, “apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Everything in our Christian life and service flows from our relationship with God. God created us to enjoy relationship, fellowship and communion and He designed us so that ministry flows from Him - through us - to others. As we consider how to minister more effectively, we must begin with our relationship with God.

Mercy

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6

Tempted to be unmerciful today? What’s the difference in this list of ways to relate to God? Why contrast mercy with sacrifice and the acknowledgment of God with burnt offerings? Obviously, burnt offerings and sacrifices are outward measurable acts, presumably done out of obedience to God’s command. Mercy and acknowledgment are a little more difficult to measure. It’s not as though we can check them off of our “to do” list every day. They are expressions of a heart that has been shaped by God. From a merciful heart flows activity that acknowledges the mercy of God we have received. The language of Hosea is piercing yet beautiful. The poetry of the prophet reveals how shallow, how fickle our love for God can be. God says, “Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (Hosea 6:4) When our love for God is fleeting and shallow, our offerings and sacrifices are meaningless. When we show mercy, we show love for God through our love for those God loves.

Understanding the Gospel

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet
Frederick Buechner

Halloween is "celebrated" this Sunday night. Halloween has become a strange mixture. Our consumer culture now exploits anything that resembles a holiday by marketing goodies, gadgets and anything that can be bought and sold. Halloween is a perfect example. Stores begin early with costumes and candy. Not surprisingly, the darkside of Halloween has grown much much darker. Horror movies that were once extreme now appear comparatively mild with the latest releases. Now the paranormal extremes are the norm for "entertainment". I can't help but recognize a strange hunger. Our fixation with candy provides a good illustration. We hunger for pounds of sugar, even thought deep inside we know it's not healthy. I see much of what occurs on Halloween as a hunger for something spiritual. Spiritual hunger attracts many to the "candy" that the world offers. It is a poor substitute for a relationship with the supernatural holy God. This dilemna is a great place for the Gospel to shine. We are called to bring the Gospel to the dark places. We are light.

Suit Up

In Ephesians 6, Paul provides a descriptive outline of the facts of life for a follower of Christ. We face a battle (Ephesians 6:12). God has provided equipment for the battle (Ephesians 6:13-18). It is our responsibility to put on the equipment and serve God (Ephesians 6:11). Really, we don’t have a choice of whether or not there will be a battle. When we follow Christ, the enemy of our soul will bring schemes against us designed to distract us from our faithfulness to God. Our choice is how well we fight. Will we fight wisely? Writing about the lack of heart and accountability in American Culture, Connors, Smith and Hickman write,
“A nation of observers is not a nation of participants. If you sit on the sidelines watching the game of your life play out before your eyes, you relinquish your ability to affect the outcome…to remedy this darkening malaise, people must abandon the bleacher seats and take to the playing field.”

In order to enter the playing field in the game of life, we need to suit up with the equipment God has provided: Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel, Faith, Salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the opportunity to have an audience with God all day through prayer.

The Gospel

Richard Stearns (The Hole in our Gospel) writes,

"I believe that we have reduced the gospel from a dynamic and beautiful symphony of God's love for and in the world to a bare and strident monotone. We have taken this amazing good news form God, originally presented in high definition and Dolby stereo, and reduced it to a grainy, black-and-white, silent movie. In doing so, we have also stripped it of much of its power to change not only the human heart but the world."

Transformational Living

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:15)

Whenever days begin to grow shorter I begin to mourn the loss. Shorter days mean more darkness and less daylight and I don’t like it. Light transforms darkness. The words of Jesus remind us of His power to transform. He reminds us that it is a power that He has given to us. Our presence should make a difference in the same way that “a lamp gives light to everyone in the house”. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, writes

“being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world…when we committed ourselves to following Christ, we also committed to living our lives in such as way that a watching world would catch a glimpse of God’s character – His live, justice and mercy – through our words, actions and behavior.”

Transformation

Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1-2)

Yesterday in the morning message I made a quick comparison of “transactional” leadership and “transformational” leadership. Admittedly, it’s a broad subject for such a quick comment. However, the context of Luke 15 stirred me to make the comparison. Jesus shared three parables of grace and redemption in order to reveal something to the grumbling Pharisees who were disturbed by the sinners who gathered to hear Jesus. The Pharisees appear to be deeply threatened by such grace and redemption. The elder brother in the third parable exemplifies their offense. Redemption cannot be reduced to a mere transactional exchange. We can never offer anything that equals what we receive. God’s gift is greater than our offering. Instead God’s leadership (lordship) in our lives is always transformational. In exchange for our surrender, we are re-born and continually molded into the image of Christ. Transactional leadership maintains a healthy impersonal distance between participants. It also implies an ability to measure the exchange. In contrast, leadership that transforms stirs an image in my mind of a Father running toward a wayward son who is hungry, tired and empty-handed. The transformation begins thet moment he Father embraces him and it continues as leads him down the path home.

Perspective

I spent some time at Nick's school last night. It was an opportunity to meet his teachers and walk through his schedule. There's something interesting that happens when you go to school as a parent on a night like last night. Our actions somewhat mirror those of an eighth-grader. Last night we listened to the principle give us instructions. We listened for the bell to signal the beginning of each class. We walked through through the halls, talked to our friends (other parents) in between classes and then entered each classroom, found our seats, listened to the teacher, took notes and anxiously waited for the bell to ring to signal the end of each class. Judging from our actions, we looked liked eighth-graders. But we're not. Our identity is much deeper than what is observable from the outside. Within us lie experiences that give us identity, perspective and purpose. In the world we live in, we sometimes allow the "externals" to define us much more so than we should.

The Body of Christ

Timothy Keller in Prodigal God makes a strong assertion. It's neither common or popular in the current climate of Christianity in North America today. But, I agree with it. We need each other.

"Christians commonly say they want a relationship with jesus, that they want to 'get to know Jesus better'. You will never be able to do that by yourself. You must be deeply involved in the church, in Christian community, with strong relationships of love and accountability. Only if you are part of a community of believers seeking to resemble, serve and love Jesus will you ever get to know Him and grow into His likeness."
Keller goes on to quote C.S. Lewis. Lewis describes the beauty of being a member of the body of Christ:
"In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity. I want other lights than my own to show all his facets."

Courage and Faith

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" (Acts 26:28)
King Agrippa’s response to Paul’s testimony is memorable. The KJV reads “almost thou persuaded me to be a Christian”. Paul presented a passionate and compelling account of the Gospel. Agrippa listened and managed to muster up a fairly puny response. Waht about us? We have received the Gospel. None of us would dare to diminish the power of the Gospel with our words. I pray we do not diminish it with our actions. Agrippa lacked the faith and courage to move forward and accept Jesus. Moving boldly with our testimony requires the same faith and courage. Consider the words of Robert Quinn:

The land of excellence is safely guarded from unworthy intruders. At the gates stand two fearsome sentries – risk and learning. The keys to entry are faith and courage.

Servant Leadership

"human beings can make choices to live and lead at a higher level, to be serving rather than self-serving. But when you look at the leaders around the world—whether they’re running countries, businesses, churches, educational institutions, or what have you—too many people are choosing to be self-serving rather than serving. Why is that? Because they don’t have a different leadership role model." Ken Blanchard

Blanchard points us toward the ultimate leader. Most of us are quick to acknowledge what a great leader Jesus was (and is). Yet, how often do we consider his leadership principles as a model for our own leadership? Blanchard calls this the "choice" to lead at a higher level. I like his terminology. In biblical terms it is a choice to lead according to the tranformation of the Spirit rather than the desires of our selfish nature. The choice is made more difficult when we celebrate leaders who are self-serving (as we so often do in our culture).

Independence

I was watching a mother with her child. He was just a little toddler. No doubt he was just about four of five months into his adventure in walking. They were walking down the street and the toddler was pushing his stroller. I had to smile as I remembered how Nick used to do the same thing. This little guy didn't understand his inner desire to prove what he was capable of doing "on his own". All he knew was he was tired of being confined in the stroller and he wanted to be in charge of pushing it. Even though his mom was ready, willing and able to push him around, he would have none of that. This little boy was progressing in life and that is a good thing. Yet, I thought about how his craving for independence mirrors an unhealthy proression in our own spiritual lives. God walks alongside us. God provides a great deal of help and assistance. He gives us power to live and move and have our being. Too often, we prefer to push through life and reject or ignore His help. Why? It's because we have distorted healthy spiritual growth and development into an unhealthy dependence our own strength. We fool ourselves into thinking that we can make it just fine without Him. I'm not suggesting we ride through life in a stroller. I am suggesting a bit of irony. Trust and dependency on God's help is a mark of maturity.

More on Forgiveness

The story of forgiveness is a story of two kingdoms. The kingdom of heaven is a generous kingdom. It's a kingdom where workers get paid the same whether they begin the day at dawn or dusk (Read Matthew 20:1-16). It's a kingdom that is marked by God's righteousness more so than by what we deem is fair. That bothers us. It doesn't bother us so much when we are recipients of God's mercy and grace. But, in our kingdom, we tend to get envious, jealous and selfish. We tend to want rules to apply to others that we desire to escape. We tend to view forgiveness as something we deserve and yet ration it when it comes to dispensing it to others. Jesus knows us well. Jesus knows the difference between our kingdom and His. That's why He taught us to pray: "Father...forgive us as we forgive". More and more this part of my prayer causes me to pause. It brings a lump in my throat. It's easy to rush through it. It's easy focus like a laser on the forgiveness I need rather than the forgiveness I need to give. But, I dont' believe that is what Jesus has in mind.

Forgiveness

"The strongest argument in favor of grace is the alternative, a world of ungrace. The strongest argument for forgiveness is the alternative, a permanent state of unforgiveness."
Phillip Yancey

Yancey's words interest me. I'm studying forgiveness. I'm preparing for a message about forgiveness on Sunday. It's a lot easier to study forgiveness than it is to practice it. It's fine to keep it at a safe distance and comment about what Jesus had to say about it. It's quite another thing to be confronted with a real live person who has caused hurt. When it happens we build a case for what Yancey calls "ungrace". We wait for an apology. We crave retribution. We construct a list of will be required in order for someone to deserve forgiveness. And we wait for satisfaction. When these conditions are constructed by a heart that has chosen "ungrace", satisfaction never comes. In the midst of our "ungrace" we develop a profound case of amnesia. How many times have I been forgiven? Many. How many times did I deserve to be forgiven? None. These two questions have the potential to bring about a quick recovery from forgiveness. Meditation on own experiences with forgiveness can melt away "ungrace" and uncover the grace within us.

Nanny's going home

Sometimes we need the proper context to appreciate the greatness of the Word of God. There are moments in our lives when the truths of God take on new meaning. As I spend time with Lynn’s grandmother in the closing hours of her life. The obvious aspects of mortality seem to stare me in the face. Yet, immortality breaks through. It’s natural to focus on what is seen rather than what is unseen. It’s understandable to obsess over what is happening now rather than what is unfolding before us. But, we have an opportunity to rest in so much more and we find the words that reveal the truth.

It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Balance

Tonight in class we discussed balance. Balance is a tough subject. I think in some ways it's tougher to come by now more than ever. In the physical realm, I've never really amazed anyone with my sense of balance. I was never the kid who could dazzle anyone with my skateboarding talents. Nor was I the first kid to learn to pop a "wheelie" on my bicycle. Some of these struggles followed me into my adult life. But, I have learned some lessons relating to balance. In general when I speak about balance, I'm really talking about peace. Think about my opening statements about balance and plug in the word peace. It does seem to me that real peace is hard to come by these days. Why is that so often the case? One of the most graphic pictures of a lack of peace and stability is found in James 1. James paints a picture of a wave that is tossed around the sea by the wind. What is the remedy for such instability? It is faith. Specifically, James speaks of faith in God's ability to answer our prayer for wisdom. Peace comes when we ask for God's help and guidance and then trust God to provide it. Likewise God is our source of balance. God will give us wisdom for the choices we make from day to day.

Devotion

Sometimes it's easy to get sidetracked when it comes to being a Christian. We have this tendency to get caught up in doing Christianity instead of being. A friend forwarded a quote from Oswald Chambers (thanks Craig) that sums it up this way:

"Today we have substituted doctrinal belief for personal belief, and that is why so many people are devoted to causes and so few are devoted to Jesus Christ."

Causes are not bad. Doctrine beliefs are not bad. But, we become weary when our primary devotion is to a cause rather than Jesus. In fact, it is only through our devotional relationship with God that we can be refreshed and renewed for proper engagement in mission. Right thinking alone will not bring an overflow of love from our hearts. The love that we have for our neighbors is dependent upon our loving relationship with our Savior.

Great Devotional Thoughts

We were reading a devotional from Max Lucado's "Just Like Jesus" last night. I really like how he answers a couple of questions that I hear so often. How do I live in God's presence? How can you and I grow familiar with the voice of God? Here's his answer:

Give God your waking thoughts - Before you face the day, face the Father. Before you step out of bed, step into His presence.

Give God your waiting thoughts - Spend time with Him in silence.

Give God your whispering thoughts - Imagine considering every moment as a potential time of communion with God.

Give God your waning thoughts - At the end of the day, let your mind settle on Him. Conclude the day as you begain it: talking to God.

Why Father?

Here are some pre-Father's Day thoughts from Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed:

"The Lord's Prayer begins with Abba, Father. Jesus is decidedly lopsided when it comes to names for God: every prayer of Jesus recorded in the Gospels begins with 'Abba, Father except the famous My God, my God why have you forsaken me?' utterance from the cross...why does Jesus focus so narrowly on Abba as the name for God? God may be YHWH but that sacred name evokes mystery. YHWH may be King, but that term evokes distance. From a long list of names, Jesus chooses Abba. What Jesus wants to evoke with the name Abba is God's unconditional, unlimited and unwavering love for his people. In this name for God we are standing face-to-face with the very premise of spiritual formation: God loves us and we are his children."

Prayer

Recently, I have been reading a book by Scot McKnight called Jesus Creed. It's not a new book, but it's a good read. The short version of the Creed is "love God and love others". McKnight also shares some good teaching about how the "Lord's Prayer" relates to the creed. McKnight's message is about living the words of Jesus. Here's a quote that stuck in my heart:

"Prayer does not stop with the "Amen". It rises to its feet and walks off, with our built up yearning turned into action."

In particular, I like how McKnight describes what happens (or what should happen) when we pray: "built up yearning". In other words, our prayer life should create a fire within our hearts. It is a craving to love God and love others that is difficult to suppress. Too often we do not connect our prayer with our passion to live for God. Perhaps if the yearning is not there, we should pray more. If our prayer does not rise to its feet - maybe it should stay on its knees a little longer. Good thoughts for a Monday. Since it is Monday, I'll go ahead and substitue "sermon" for prayer. The sermon must not end with the "Amen" on Sunday. It rises to its feet on Monday and walks off with a yearning for action.

Did you Stretch?

I was complaining the other day about some muscle soreness. A friend, much younger than I, asked whether I had taken a little time to stretch before "over-exerting" myself playing a couple of hours of basketball on our men's retreat...I think you know the answer. Today I have been studying some passages about belief. Faith requires us to be prepared to stretch. We stretch toward our initial belief and we continue to stretch in order to exert our faith. The fact that I stretched a lot in my twenties doesn't help my muscles now that I'm forty-six! Faith requires us to stretch beyond the current comfortable shape of our lives. This neglect is evident today. Many of the arguments that I hear against the basic tenets of belief take aim at this simple truth. For example, I hear belief in God questioned because God doesn't fit into a pre-constructed box. Typically, the box is constructed in such a way that it is a foregone conclusion that God doesn't exist. Presto! Science has proved that God doesn't exist. Genuine inquiry into the existence of God doesn't exclude rationality. Nor does it exclude metaphysical realities that are ill-shaped for a box. This Sunday I will take a journey into John 9. It's interesting to me that the nature of the disciples and the "Jews" and their perspective on the healing of a blind man reveal the same kind of belief struggles that are so common today. Why am I surprised by that?

What Winter is it?

I was driving home a few minutes ago and heard on the radio that the temperature has dropped to 49 degrees. If you have lived in East Tennessee for most of your life, as I have, you know that it is "dogwood winter" or "blackberry winter" or "red bud winter" or something like that. There have been many names applied to the expected-unexpected shift from 80 degrees to clear, frost-warning nights. More than once I have been tempted to speak to the trees and call into question their sanity as they "bud" out too early and then suffer the consequences of the cold snap. I'm tempted to complain, but I know better. Change is expected. The weather is not predictable. Neither is life. Recently when I preached from the text of John 3, the words of Jesus took on a deeper meaning for me. As Jesus rebuked/taught Nicodemus a lesson from Spirituality 101 he drew from the principles of nature. We can't control the wind. We can't predict the wind. Frankly, we can't understand the wind. Jesus wasn't sharing a lesson for future meteorologists. He was sharing just how well he understands the human heart (re-read the closing words of chapter 2). My fresh view of this familiar passage speaks to just how difficult it is for us to accept this fact. We love to control, predict and understand. But, we can't. Our frustration with this fact often undermines our faith. I realize that faith is not just ethereal, without substance or form. Yet, we love to define faith in our own terms. When it comes to faith in God - God is never subservient to our own terms...wouldn't be God if He was. So, go cover up the plants and prepare for a cold night.

Questions

Jim Belcher's book, "Deeper Church", contains testimonies from people who come to believe in Jesus. One such testimony reveals that a young man came to Belcher's church and enjoyed it because "it was a safe place to ask questions". Sadly, the church has not always been a safe place to ask questions. I guess questions can catch the church by surprise (although they never surprise God). I'm not sure why this is the case, especially if we are familiar with the Gospels. For example, who would expect John the Baptist to send runners to question whether Jesus is the "one to come or should we look for another?" (Luke 7:20) Rather than a chastisement, John receives quite an endorsement from Jesus. Even though John the Baptist is a pretty special guy, to say the least, there's a message for us. As representatives of Jesus, we should be ready, anxious and willing to respond to questions. They may be stark questions about the "who", "what" and "how" of our Savior and the church. Actually, I have come to find questions refreshing.

Did Thomas get a raw deal?

How would you like to be known as "Doubting Thomas" for centuries? Just because he wanted to see Jesus for himself, it doesn't mean he deserves to be known for eternity as the "doubter". For the next few weeks I plan to do some studying on the importance of "belief". I don't think I would bet much argument that there is a bit of a "crisis" of belief today. But, we need to be careful how we characterize the crisis as well as how we address it. Sometimes we treat our doubts as if they are a choice to believe nothing instead of something. That mis-characterizes are journey from doubt to belief. Instead, I think it's important to hold up our doubts in the "light" and question why we have chosen to doubt. Timothy Keller in his book, The Reason for God, states "All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs". When we consider that doubting God's existence or God's providence or God's presence is really a choice to believe something else we can begin to compare the choices. Often the reasons for doubting are substantial...but, unrelated to whether God is God. So, I plan to give a little kinder treatment to Thomas than some. But, in the end, I am glad he listened to Jesus. "Stop doubting and believe"!

The Cross and an Empty Tomb

This week I have been thinking about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. That means I have re-examined the cross and the tomb. These are more than symbols of my faith. They are more than reminders of the reality of the incarnation and sacrificial death of the Son of God. My meditation on the cross this week has refreshed my understanding of just how devastating the impact of sin. It's impossible to read the account of the crucifixion without sensing what a brutal and agonizing death it was. Why the brutality? With each thorn, each beating, each nail comes a reminder that sin is horrible. The death of Jesus was so terrible because, "He who knew no sin became sin for us". The brutality was the outworking of a sinful world. His suffering was a portrait of a sinful world. After His death, Jesus was buried. Is it possible for my sins to be buried? Not hidden, but forgiven. The empty tomb reminds me of the possibility of such a miracle. The forgiveness of sin is a miracle. It is life after death. It is new life after forgiveness. The cross shows the ugliness of sin. The empty tomb declares the beauty and depth of God's love and the magnitude of His power.

The Church

What does it men to be the "body of Christ". As I reflect on the messages about the body of Christ that I have shared over the past few weeks, I think it is safe to refer to the Body of Christ as the "church". It's safe, that is, provided we think in terms of the church as a living organism and not a building. I ran across an old story this week that illustrates the presence of the living church in the world. It's about a Catholic priest in North Carolina. Although his name is Paul Bryant, he became known as Padre Pablo. Padre Pablo began ministering to the growing Hispanic population in NC by going to a Laundromat where many of the Hispanic community gathered to wash their clothes. Upon entering, he set up a small table and placed a hand-woven blanket on the table with some bread and wine. On his initial trip to the Laundromat he said mass for five or six people. As I read about Padre Pablo, I recognized a picture of the life of Christ that does not cease at the threshold of the church building. Nor does the heartbeat of the church stop beating at noon on Sunday morning. The church is alive in the Laundromat. If we are alive in Christ, His body is present in the Laundromat.

Inside Out

I was reading 1 Samuel 17 this week. You may recall the famous battle between David and Goliath. It may be the best known passage in the Old Testament. I love reading it again and gaining fresh insight. This time I noticed the vivid description of Goliath. We get a detailed picture of his stature and the weight and size of his weapons. Why does Goliath get so much ink? After all, he is the enemy and we know he's going down. I think it is because it develops a stark contrast that has already been provided in 1 Samuel. It is the contrast between the inside and the outside. It is the difference between the heart of a warrior and the physical characteristics of the warrior. Goliath was huge, but he wasn't bigger than David's God. Goliath's weapons were enormous, but they were no match for David's heart. When David was chosen as King Saul's successor God reminded the prophet that there was one overriding criteria. He needed to be a man after God's heart. It determines our success in our own battles today. It is what is our hearts that will determine whether we run to battle (and victory) with David or remain paralyzed with the rest of the army on the sidelines. It was not military ineptitude that kept Israel's army on the sideline. It was their fear. On the other hand, David's heart compelled him to run to battle and trust God to fight for Him.

Grandparent's, Parents and God

I was talking to Pastor John today about his granddaughter Lily. I told him that I was with Jeremy and Mary Beth on Sunday and saw his granddaughter Lily taking a nap. There is nothing more precious than a little child sleeping. When I was watching Lily I told Jeremy and Mary Beth that it doesn't really change as they get older. There are times that I still watch Nick sleep. I am beginning to understand what my parents have told me. It really doesn't matter if his big smelly feet are hanging off the bed, in some ways he will not cease to be my baby boy. Pastor John spoke to me regarding that point. He spoke with the wisdom and understanding of a father and a grandfather. He quoted from the gospel (Luke 11:13) which compares our capacity to give our children good gifts to God's capacity to bless us (with the Holy Spirit). It was a great reminder to me of how God views us as His children. We grow up. We grow old. Sometimes we take on some of the dirt and dust of this world in our journey. But God still views us as His children. He is the Good Shepherd who makes us lie down and rest in cool green pastures and I believe He still loves to watch us sleep.

Spreading Grace

I have been thinking through an illustration that I shared last Sunday. Paul wrote in Romans 12 that he spoke "by the grace" given him. Paul attributed his ability to share teaching with the church (as an apostle) to the grace of God. As I study the context of his writing it is clear that God's grace was not only the source of the message, but also of his authority and credibility. Last week I mentioned that God gives each of us grace. I compared it to carrying around a bucket full of grace that God expects us to pour on others each day. Now that I am a few days into the week, it's worth taking some time and considering how much my speeach and actions have been grace-filled. It's not always easy to reflect on such things. Every day I have encountered many people in many different situations. Certainly I have overlooked golden opportunities to pour out some grace. Sometimes I have been in a hurry, sometimes distracted. Sometimes I have been more interested in dipping into the bucket for myself rather than sharing with others. How much grace have you poured over others this week? I have noticed that as soon as I pour out grace God replenishes the supply.

Twinkle Twinkle

Last night I walked outside and gazed upward. It was a beautiful night. It was nearly cloudless. For me there is an overwhelming sense of the majesty and greatness of God. It was a Psalm 19 moment. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." I was pleasantly surprised when attending a group study this morning to hear Psalm 19 read aloud as part of the study. It was a great reminder of my stargazing experience last night and my awareness of the glory of God. My reflection brings joy and pain. My joy is obvious. My pain is the result of realizing that not everyone "hears" what the heavens declare. Not everyone listens to the speech that pours from the skies. As we discussed this morning, it is a tragedy that is explained in Romans 1. Even our ability to see what is obvious involves a choice. Paul wrote, "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened". Darkened hearts create deafened ears, ears that cannot hear the glorious praise of the heavens on a star lit night.

The Body of Christ

This Sunday I am beginning a series of messages about what it means to be a member of the body of Christ. It's one of the most insightful and challenging descriptions of our connection with Christ and one another. What a difference it would make if we applied the simple lessons we learn from the day to day functioning of human bodies. Every day my human body functions with both voluntary and involuntary movements. For example, until now I haven't really thought about my heartbeat...but it's been beating all day. I did think about walking to my car this morning and driving (some would argue about how much I think when I drive). The mindful movements such as my footsteps in a particular direction provide evidence of coordination and cooperation between my brain, nerves, muscles legs and feet. By now I hope you're thinking about the body of Christ. What are the mindful movements in the body of Christ? Movements that give evidence of coordination and cooperation? The Apostle Paul wrote about the body of Christ in several epistles (notably in Romans, 1 Corinthians and Ephesians). In Ephesians 4 Paul establishes the fact that Jesus is the "head" of the body of Christ. In another epistle Paul testifies of the importance of the members of body of Christ to have "the mind of Christ". Our testimony depends upon how our movement reflects whether are receiving direction from Jesus.

Recommended Book

I just finished reading The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. It is a book that I highly recommend. From the title you might surmise that the book is drawn from the famous parable of Jesus about a Father and two sons. It is. However, Keller's treatment of the parable is amazing for a couple of reasons. First, Keller presents the beauty of the Gospel. Somehow it seems to me that much of Christianity has lost the beauty of the Gospel. We have been so overexposed to the "good news" about Jesus that we are almost nonchalant about the radical beauty of God's love for us. Second, Keller reveals our tendencies to seek fulfillment in life apart from God's love just as the brothers in the story. As we do, we tend to mask or ignore our lonely existence in the pleasure seeking frenzy of the younger or the self-righteous bent of the older. I am serious in my use of the word "loneliness". Any attempt to live apart from basking in the magnificent love of the Father for His children is far lonelier than God ever intended. There are many reasons for my love for God. One of the greatest reasons is my hatred of "loneliness". Deep in my heart I have recognized that I was created by God to know Him and love Him in response to His great love for me. I have learned that His love dispels the loneliness that plagues our world.

Signing Day

There's a lot of news this week in anticipation of "Signing Day" for NCAA football. Projections abound. Rumors swirl. Bright predictions about "5 star" athletes allow the experts to rank the recruiting classes. Although I am interested in the recruiting class for the Volunteers, I am also aware that predictions can be (and often are) a little unreliable. There are a lot of reasons for uncertainty. Pardon the comparison between life and football, but predicting talent is a risky business. One of my favorite examples is found in the fourth gospel. Who's the "5 star" recruit...Is it Nicodemus or the woman at the well? Sorry for the incomplete bio, but the Bible doesn't give us her name. Nicodemus has the pedigree of five star recruit. Even Jesus describes him as somewhat of an "expert". On the other hand, the woman at the well looks to have the potential to be declared "academically ineligible" on signing day. Yet, I would challenge you to find a better game time performer for Jesus in any of the gospels. What's the difference? (1) A genuine life-changing encounter with Jesus (2) Heart. Most Jesus recruits that fall short haven't given enough attention to the latter. Even a radically changed heart requires exercise to stay healthy.

Peace

This morning I am preparing for my weekly adventure in Preschool Chapel. I will be sharing with them about "peace". We have been talking about the "fruit of the Spirit". Love and Joy are pretty easy to describe to three and four year olds. But, how do you impress preschoolers with the importance of peace? Whether or not I am successful, I am convinced that it is a very pertinent subject for the next generation. Just this morning I was reading some commentary about a suggested connection in our culture between consumerism and loneliness. It seems that as materialism has risen so has depression. In the lives of so many peace has disappeared. Simon Zadek has commented "the market in general and rage to consume in particular has crowded out or undermined friendship". If the trend in our culture continues this group of preschoolers will need to understand that real peace comes through relationships and not stuff. It begins with a relationship with the Lord Jesus whom Paul the Apostle described as peace personified. It continues as the Spirit of God produces peace within us.

Destination

It's so easy to live a nearsighted life, especially when it relates to the trajectory of our decisions and actions. When we track the well-publicized failures like that of Tiger Woods or John Edwards, we wonder out loud how they made tragic choices without considering the moral, personal, political, financial wake. Their choices sadden me, especially when considering the affect on family members. I have been pondering the importance of considering our destination. God has created us with a destination in mind. His plan is more than a mapquest that leads us home. It is a journey that leads to the development of Christ likeness all along the way. This week as I have continued to study in the book of Romans, I have had a fresh reminder that sin leads to death and serving God leads to holiness. Life leads us somewhere. Where are you going today? Alongside of the warnings of Romans is a great reminder that "U-turns" are permitted. Thank God for grace.

A Call for Greatness

How would you describe a "great" leader? Any study of modern leadership theories will include a list of traits that identify the best leaders. Never mind that there has been a significant shift in leadership theory from the so-called "trait" theories of the past. The image of what traits will make a leader great and predetermine those who are destined for greatness still persists. However, our search for traits usually stops on the surface. True greatness emerges from deep within. I believe we all have the potential for greatness if we begin by cultivating a great heart. In keeping with the holiday on Monday, I would like to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. regarding greatness.

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

Snow Time

It's snowing! What is it about snow that changes everything? Is "snowmania" hardwired into the genetic code of East Tennesseans? Even the forecast of flurries stirs up the inner child within. Secretly, I long for 90 degree weather. I dare not speak it out loud on a day like today. Everyone is excited. Groceries stores are packed. People are wondering how they will navigate through the 1 mm deep dry snow pellets that have already almost slightly covered some patches of a few spots in shady areas of one road somewhere in the highest elevations of the county. Fortunately, I have some leftover saltine crackers in my car just in case I get caught in a "white-out" on the way home tonight. All kidding aside, God made snow beautiful. It is an amazing phenomenon. Aside from "snowmania" there is something peaceful about snowfall. It makes me stop and look out the window for a moment. It is a peaceful pause to see the creative handiwork of God in the snowflakes that fall from the sky. Enjoy.

Looking forward

Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). The context of Luke 9:57-62 is challenging. Jesus issues an invitation to "follow" to several who delay their obedience due to a number of issues. Though it would be easy for us to justify the importance of those distractions that prevented them from following Jesus, we would be wise to recognize the profound message at the end of the passage. When we follow Jesus we are looking ahead and not behind. Without exception we all begin 2010 with issues and distractions that could hinder our commitment to follow Jesus this year. However, I am excited about following Jesus this year. I am encouraged to look forward to One who leads me. The illustration Jesus chose to make His point is that of a person who serves in the kingdom of God. It's a great reminder. Jesus leads us to serve in 2010.

Happy New Year

Today begins 2010. I began this morning with a split perspective. First, I reflected on the blessings of God in 2009. Then, I attempted to stretch my vision forward into the new year. At the same time, I was in the present moment. The combination of those perspectives refreshes my heart with a sense of the sovereignty of God. My reflections on the year were a stark reminder of the experiences of the year that I could not have anticipated. Each day provided a fresh experience of God's grace. I expect the same for this year. Last night Lynn, Nick and I ate at a "rainforest cafe". It's a great experience. Every thirty minutes, the cafe becomes extremely animated. Mechanical animals wake up and began to make noise. A simulated storm rolls in complete with thunder, lightening and rain. Then, on perfect queue, the storm ends. Despite that fact that there was the appearance of a great storm and a giant gorilla a few feet away from me, I was not afraid. Why? It was all controlled. Oh how we love control. It's quite a contrast to the genuine storms of life. We cannot control them. They do not begin or end according to our command. But, the peace we will have in 2010 does not depend on our control or the presence or absence of great storms. Several years ago I chose to reflect on the power of Matthew 7:25 as it relates to preparation for a new year. Again this year I have returned to meditate on the importance of building my life on the "rock" of Jesus.