Washed and Ready

The last novel I read included a scene that took place in a Civil War hospital. Among the horrific images the author painted of the wounded and the dying, he added a graphic description of a certain doctors surgical practices. His practice included performing amputations on a bed of sand, to better capture and absorb the massive amounts of blood. The nurse character in the story is rightfully mortified by the doctor's carelessness. She is even more taken aback by the doctor's refusal to wash before performing surgery, something we cannot even comprehend these days! We see Medical Drama's where doctors scrub and are gloved, cleaning and remaining clean while they perform a tasks that are messy at best. Psalm 119 asks this question - "How can a young man keep his way pure?" A more direct translation might be "How can a young man keep his way clean?" What this implies is that the scrubbing has already been done. The young man is clean. Yet he is, like any child, inclined to get dirty quickly. When God calls us His children, we recognize that the only way this can happen is if He cleanses us from our sin. In His grace and mercy that cleansing, that scrubbing, that once and for all bath has taken place in our baptism into the blood of Christ. We are made His children, as spotlessly clean as the Lamb who shed His blood for us. While we are clean, we are also children. We're kids who are attracted to the messier parts of life. How can we, God's messy little babies keep clean? The Psalmist answers, by God's Word. The commandments of God, His directions are not meant to DO the scrubbing, they're like the gloves that keep the hands clean in the midst of the mess. God's rules, statutes and testimonies help us through the hard times, to make choices that cause the least amount of mess. This work of the Holy Spirit keeps our hearts pure as we continually turn, listen and follow God's Word as His redeemed children in Christ Jesus. 

Holy Moses??

I love this picture! Old Chuck Heston. As time went by, I'm pretty sure he thought he was Moses!

In the classic film The Ten Commandments we encounter the life of Moses. We get a window into his tests and trials, along with the amazing feats he is able to perform under the guiding hand of God. But I wonder, is the story about Moses or about God? When I read the REAL 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, I can't help but to focus on the first words:

"I am the LORD your God."

The remainder of the text plays like a film of God's righteousness, His holiness. From His name, to His days, from His gifts to His regulations we see a being who is definitely NOT us! Psalm 19 begins with these words:

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." the heavens do not declare the glory of man - like Moses, or any of us - but the glory of God! David goes on in this psalm to meditate on the perfect law of God, His sure testimony and right precepts, His pure commandment and true rule. The Law of God cannot and does not give us a path to God! Instead it is a picture of the ever living and everlasting -  a film clip of the works of the Father and a trailer to the coming of the Son! Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to God - seeing Holiness as His gracious and merciful quality of love!

A Psalm of David...a Psalm of PRAISE

I know, I know...it's Lent.

There's a tradition in Lent, to put away the praise until we experience the cross and bask in the glory of the empty tomb.

I'm sorry - that's a crock!

If our lives are to be "lives of worship" - that means that each day, every day we stand before the Lord we do so in repentance, forgiveness, thanks and praise.

That means every day is a "sending up" to God -  a great a glorious Hallelujah to our God!

Psalm 22 starts with these words - the very words Jesus speaks for us from His cross:

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my god, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest." What a dark moment of realization for David. David has bared the deepest most raw place in his soul. David has been brought low - into the final consequences of sin - separation from a God who wished nothing else than he be a man after His own heart. Salvation seems distant. Cries go unanswered. Day and night living steeped in our own desire God is pushed out. Yet, for David and for us there is hope - 

"Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame."

David's faith in a God that will deliver is grounded in the praise lifted up by those who have been saved! How can we "put away the praise" when it is the very recognition of all Christ has done for us on the cross? We are, after all, Easter people! Those who bask in the glow of Jesus victory over sin, death and the devil every moment of every day! Must we recognize our sin? YES! But must we praise our salvation? DOUBLE YES! David reminds us in the Psalm:

"You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you offspring of Israel!" For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, He has not hidden His face from him, but He has heard when he cried to Him!" 

The Father heard the cries of the Son from the cross - as He alone was saddled with the sins of the world - the greatest praise offered by Jesus and the greatest praise we can offer in response to His love are all wrapped up into those final words on our Saviors lips...

"Father, into YOUR hands I commend my spirit."

HALLELUJAH!!!!

A Wonderful Message!

Friends - 

Check out this link to a wonderful message about the hope of Christ in the midst of the temptations of this world. The Questions and answers at the end are an interesting discussion of sharing the Word of Christ with others!

May God bless you in your hearing and living His Word!

http://media.lhm.org/lutheranhour/mp3s/7625.mp3

Called out...called off!

I admit that I have trouble with this picture.

A father, ready and willing to sacrifice his son - his only son - because God told him to do so.

WHAT? 

Why would a God who is all about love and life, a God who gave Abraham the gift of an heir in his old age, turn and tell him to commit such a barbarous act?

Those who don't believe the Bible is God's revealed word to us say that Genesis 22 is simply a moralistic story against the practice of child sacrifice. But the text really has less to do with the "why" and is more concerned with the "what". Building on the blog yesterday, Abraham is having himself a desert experience. Can you imagine the angst and doubt as a man struggles between heeding His God's command and the love he has for his son? I think you can. I know I can. What is in view here is temptation - the temptation to place the most precious gifts of God above God Himself. In our age, in the current church, one sees a sort of worship of our personal salvation and a praise of new found glory placed above worship and praise of God. How? Ignore the cross and you're left with this "theology of glory". That is to say, when it's all about me and my decisions for God, my acceptance of His gifts, my choice to follow Jesus in order to receive the crown of life, we've missed the point. The point is a sacrifice, of an only Son, made for us. The point is a ram caught in the thicket - and a place so aptly named "The Lord will provide". On the mount of the Lord, it WAS provided - once and for all. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is not for us to decide, to accept or to follow - but simply to praise a God who loves us beyond our measure of love and provides the most needful thing - shalom...everlasting peace.

Where are you?

Riding the motorcycle yesterday I was, once again, taken in by the scenery. A beautiful, partly cloudy day really highlighted the landscape. In the hills, greened with recent rain, the growth was amazing - double since my last ride toward the desert. The change is more sudden than one might think, over a winding peak and down into the wilderness. Nothing but sage and cactus, dirt and rock. No rain means no green - no growth. I've been here more than once. In fact, it seems like the wilderness is so familiar that I can fool myself into thinking it comfortable and hospitable rather than the dry and dangerous place we all know it to be. When I try to find my way, I end up in the desert. When I try to make my own path, it leads down winding peaks into the wilderness. When life becomes more about my truth and my desire I am suddenly in the sand - deep, and hot with no relief in sight. Psalm 25..."Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long." The question arose last week about Lent. What's it all about? Why observe 40 days of reflection prior to the celebration of Easter? Simple - we all wander into the desert, and it is from the desert that God calls, teaches and leads His people into the garden of His ways, His paths, His truth.  Lent begins in ashes and ends in glory. Remember His mercy and His steadfast love, they have been from old. It is God who rescued Adam and Eve from the desert of their pride, Abraham from the desert of his paganism, Jacob from the desert of his deceit, Joseph from the desert of his arrogance, Moses from the desert of his mistrust and each of us from the desert of sin, death and the devil. The cross stands at the entrance to the garden - let's walk together with Jesus as the story of His loving sacrifice of rescue is told.

So it begins...

A friend recognized that this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday - the beginning of the season of Lent.  He asked about the significance and mentioned an interest in why this season has been historically marked in the church. The lesson from the Gospel of Mark 9:1-9 for this Sunday, the Sunday of the Transfiguration, reveals the journey we'll take for the next 50 days - from mountain top to empty tomb, the journey of our God for us. When Peter, James and John's eyes are blessed with the view of the radiant Jesus they have a glimpse of the empty tomb. They see that Jesus stands as one with the Law and the Prophets, with Moses and Elijah as the complete revelation of God. In an all to human moment, the apostles wish to remain - to hold on to the glory, not realizing that glory comes with a price. The voice of God beckons, "This is my Son, listen to Him" as He tells them not to say anything until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. Listen to Jesus. The glory we desire cannot be realized without His cross. The glory of the empty tomb of Jesus cannot be apprehended without the temptation, without reflection, without repentance and without the consequences of our sin -His suffering and death itself- being realized. Next week I'll post more on the specifics of Lenten observances. Suffice it to say that we're beginning the journey once again, the journey to the cross, the journey to the Glory of God in Christ Jesus.

Holding on too tightly?

There is a part of being a pastor that I pray will never become ordinary or easy. Granted I serve a demographically young congregation, it is still a gathering that is occasioned by death. Standing by to support those who mourn the passing of their loved ones I have witnessed our all too human desire to hold on too tightly to the life we know and see. Never ordinary, never easy, death is loss. Even the strongest in faith still want one more moment, one more smile, one more "I love you." In reading 2 Kings chapter 2 one can note these all too human traits from the young Elisha, as his loved one Elijah is about to be taken into the arms of God on a fiery chariot of heaven. Elisha, however, has an uncommon opportunity occasioned by the death of his friend. As he defies the prophet, following him across the parted waters of the Jordan, Elisha witnesses God taking his servant unto himself. A double portion of Elijah's spirit is poured out on Elisha - helping him to let go of his friend and to receive the blessings not only of his life, but his blessed "death" as well. It reminds me of another role I have the honor to fulfill, one which is never ordinary nor easy. Studying this text brings to my heart each time I lower the head of child of God toward the waters of baptism. For me, Baptism makes death all too real, that God parts the waters to bring us from this realm of sin and of death to new life in Him. Do we try to hold on to life, a little too tightly maybe? Sure we do! That's what sin is all about! But the reality is that no matter how much we think we have lost in a life that God has consecrated Himself, we have actually received much more! We've received double portions of the Holy Spirit in the waters of our baptism into the death of Jesus!  Just as Elisha knows that life without his friend will be difficult, tearing his clothes as he laments a soon to be divided Israel, we know that the baptized life is never ordinary nor easy. Our question remains each day, as we have been translated from death to life in the cross of Christ, are we holding on too tightly? Or can we be, like Elisha, good stewards of the death of our friend?

Imitators of Christ

My earliest years were spent growing up in a large family led by a faithful and dedicated single mom. She often referred to herself as a "mother duck", moving through life with all her ducklings in tow. We learned faithfulness and dedication from her. We learned that love often meant going without so that others could have what they needed to grow. The words "I love you" were DONE to us, not just spoken. Friends - that's the gospel. It's not only the word that "God loves you", it's the action. God loved us even before He created us! He loved us enough to give us His Son and with Him the ultimate act of faithfulness and dedication, the Cross. The loving action of Jesus was for the glory of the Father - and in that act, the Father glorified the Son. Paul says that "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." This is love that gives no offense to those who believe, are searching for belief and even those who do not believe at all. Love does not seek it's own advantage, but instead it DOES Jesus to another. "Be imitators of me," says Paul, "as I am of Christ." Continue to imitate Christ, to DO Jesus to others - that some may know His love!

...of love

Great comments on the last post - I encourage you all to click on these comments and give them a read! Remember, this is YOUR conversation, I'm just here to point you to where true fellowship in Christ can be found! With that, let's move on!

Whether were looking at a little girl in Aram, a captive of Israel in the service of a great and mighty yet leprous commander or Jesus Himself reaching out to touch and to heal a leper in Mark 1:41 we see a common thread. It's a thread of pity, or compassion on one afflicted. The girl, moved by compassion for her captor directs Naaman to "the prophet who is in Samaria" the one "who would cure him his leprosy". Jesus, "moved with pity..stretched out His hand  and touched" the man afflicted with the same disease. Each was moved to an unnecessary act of compassionate love toward those who were historically marked as unclean. We hear nothing more about the girl. Her act of compassion, of trust and of love is met and fulfilled by the compassion trust and love Elisha the prophet has been given from God. So what's the response of Naaman after reluctantly dipping in the muddy Jordan? He returns to the man of God and proclaims there is not other God than the God of Israel! Amazing! A simple act of compassionate love results in a life changed, physically and spiritually. As for Jesus and his leper, well, we hear much more. The man Jesus charges to tell no one of his healing, but instead to go to the priest and offer for his cleansing, can't help but to speak freely and to spread the news! In fact, it got around so widely that Jesus could not openly enter a town for all those who wished to receive the same gift. Where does Jesus gift of love place Him? In the the desolate places - the places where the lepers often dwelled! What a beautiful picture of how a simple act of love is actually a simple gift of replacement. Our sickness for His health. Our sins for His purity. Our life for His blood. The love of  God is the sacrifice of He who was captive unto death in the cross and yet freed to life eternal in the resurrection! Remember this gift of love, for it is the gift you share...like a little girl who points the way to her healing hope!

A little gift

Good things come in small packages...right?

The smallest of gifts is a gift just the same. Yet it's the smallest of gifts that's often overlooked by our "bigger is better" hearts. Valentines day is this week, directing many of us to think about that perfect gift that will show our love for another.

2 Kings 5:1-14 isn't exactly the first place one might look for the enormous gift of God's love. Naaman, a warrior - commander of a foreign army - a "great man" , in "high favor"...yet a man with a bad rash! Leprosy- or "a skin affliction" as the Hebrews might say! Nasty, oozing skin sores! Naaman really needs a tube of Neosporin! In all of his greatness, all of his achievements, Naaman still needs something more. Naaman needs to be healed of this affliction, and that's no small gift! Well, good things DO come in small packages. Instead of the gifts of salves and medications, all the cures the sages can offer to such great man, Naaman gets a little gift from a little person. It's the smallest gesture, but the one which will have greatest impact on a man who is by all accounts outside the love of God.  Naaman is directed to one who has a cure for his affliction, a prophet of God - who knows and speaks of trusting God to heal - even if it means taking a bath in the scummy old River Jordan. Hmmm...water and the word that heals? The Jordan no less, where one would come and be baptized, a small thing that fulfills all righteousness. While the love of God may come in the small package called "trust" or "faith", this gift is no small thing! It is eternally huge, healing in the cosmic sense, restoration and life given as a precious gift. For what purpose? Well, that's for all of you to discuss and discover - for each of us has been healed by the cross of Christ, each of us has been endowed with this gift....NOW WHAT??? 

When God calls...

We've been discussing the economy of God, or how it is that God manages His resources...namely us. Watching Jesus pray in the Gospel of Mark, the context surrounding His prayer is striking. This first recorded prayer indicates not only His confidence in the Father to hear but the certainty of His own calling. There's a word that's thrown around quite a bit - call our a calling from God. Paul was fond of the term as a descriptive to God managing what rightfully belongs to Him. God calling us is married to Christ proclaiming the Good News of an perfectly economic God. The call is voice of Jesus, calling us into His Kingdom- calling us into repentance, forgiveness and new life. The call is the cross of Jesus where God's economy comes into full balance - our sins paid by His blood. The call is a one-way, toll free, crystal clear and eternally loud ring that cannot be silenced! The call is a call to you and to me, to drop all the pretense of pious prattle and to actually live the life God Himself calls us to in Christ - a life of joy in a balanced economy for us and a life that abundantly gives as we have been given!

Jesus Economy

Check out the Gospel of Mark - 1:29-29.

We'd agree that the economy of God is mysterious to say the least! Why He expends resources on a "stiff necked" people is challenging - except when we realize that's exactly who God is. His economy is revealed in His actions. Like here in the text where Jesus heals the weak (Simon's mother) the afflicted and the possessed. 

I am still amazed to see Jesus rising early and departing to pray.

What do you all think He's praying about?

Clue: It's got something to do with Jesus' highly economic task!

A question of economics

Thanks for visiting the blogsite! Last week we had a great conversation on passion - the passion God has for us which moved Him to give us Jesus - the passion of Jesus to lay down His life for our forgiveness  - and the passion we have, to take what we have been given and share it with our community. Notice that passion is all about that which is given in response to that which is received!

This week...it's a question of economics. 

A timely subject, to say the least!

Economics, in the proper sense, is all about management. The Greeks called OIKONOMIA the science of household management. It's about the balance of resources so as to minimize waste and maximize influence.

Let's set aside economics in the financial sense and think of spiritual economics.

Start by taking a look at Psalm 147. What does the Psalmist say about the economy of God?

We're all looking forward to your responses!

What Authority?

"And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he (Jesus) entered the synagouge and was teaching." Mark 1:21

That's where Julia is standing. In the ruins of the synagouge of Capernaum. The stone pillars surrounding date to the 200's A.D. - at least 150+ years after Jesus strolled in. Still rather breathtaking, as we were able to look through excavated floors to see the original structure below - the one he would have known. So, why bring this up? Well - we've been discussing passion this week and the very next verse can serve to fill out our understanding of our passion by seeing first hand the passion of Jesus. Mark 1:22 says, "And they were astonished at his teaching. for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes." Jesus took a tremendous risk with the message he was proclaiming. Mark 1:15 gives us the general content of the message - "the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." In order to call others to turn around, or repent and to trust, or believe - one must be able to back up the statement by an appeal to some authority. It just so happens that Jesus is not only given, but IS the authority. As the Word of God made flesh, Jesus far exceeds any scribe. Scribes can only talk about the Word. Jesus IS the Word! That's the difference! That's the authority! As the Living Word Jesus does what He alone has the authority to do - to live in passionate sacrifice for God's people. This means saying things they do not want to hear. this means going places He where His message is not welcome. Ultimately this means going to the cross - His passion realized for us! How do we translate Jesus passion into our own? TURN AND TRUST in the authority Jesus has been given to take way our sins and to move us into a life of service in His name! 

Passion, part 2

Great responses! It's obvious that the word passion has multiple meanings for us - but what does it mean in light of faith? Take a look at Psalm 111 and 112. These two psalms are complementary partners. The first sings of the blessings of the Lord while the second paints a picture of the one blessed. If we translate this into terms of passion, Psalm 111 is the source of passion while 112 is the result! In other words, passion is that which comes from God and is lived out in us. This is why each of us may have a unique and powerful passion that is inextricably linked to the passion of others. 

In Psalm 111 the thanks and praise that are lifted up to God are a response to His passionate love for us. It's God's passion to be gracious and merciful, providing for His people by "sending redemption" - in Christian terms, that's Jesus. Only in the passionate love of God in Christ Jesus can we expect, as Psalm 112 highlights, light to dawn in the darkness. Are you wondering what your passion is? Begin with faith that God gave you Christ Jesus - freely and from His passion. You'll soon discover that the Light of the World illuminates your passionate path! With a firm and trusting heart your passion, whatever it may be, will speak volumes of the love of God! In fact, your passion driven actions will speak louder than any words. What does that look like? Easy! It looks like that which you cannot live without sharing with another! It's your God given passion that melts the hearts of the wicked by your sacrifice. Just like God's passion lives in the sacrifice of Jesus for us.

Think and pray on passion  - comment as you wish - and as always, may the peace of the Lord, His passion, be with you! 

What is your PASSION?

I want to start a conversation this week with this simple question...

What is your passion?

Think about it. Pray on it. For the rest of the blog this week we'll discover true passion by opening our hearts to God's Word.

Let's hear from YOU!

What a day...

What a day!

As I keep the news coverage streaming I'm open enough to admit that watching the Inauguration gives me a bit of lump in the throat. The pomp and pageantry, history and heraldry touch even the smallest patriotic bones in the body! The idea that our country can peacefully and even cordially transfer the position of Chief Executive from one to another is amazing and still historically unique!

If you take a look at Psalm 62, David wrote about those who didn't want to offer the same sort of respect. In fact, they wanted him thrown down, toppled from his lofty place. With their mouths they bless, the Psalmist writes, but in their hearts they curse. Now, I don't pretend to know how Bush feels about Obama, but there is one thing evident in both men - a profound respect and honor for that which stands above both men. Both men profess faith in God through the cross of Christ Jesus. Hopefully that means that they find rest in God alone - knowing that TRUE hope comes only from the Rock of Salvation - a rock that cannot be thrown down or toppled! I certainly don't envy the position and responsibilities of either of these men. If fact I've been praying for both for some time. My prayer for the outgoing President is that in his reflection of the past eight years and in his continued service for this country that his faith remains always readily upon his lips in firmly in his heart.  As for the new President, I pray that he trusts in God at all times of both trouble and joy,that our God is forever strong and loving - rewarding those who serve others with faith in the heart. As for us, the people of God and the people of America, the prayer is that we keep God first, then family and then and only then country - trusting that our rest comes from God alone and our drive to serve from what He has done for us in Christ Jesus!

Simple water...simple word

I've been asked what makes being a Lutheran any different than one who practices any other religion. In the spirit of one of my favorite professors I always pause to pose the question, "Why do you ask?" 

What I'm trying to ascertain is what the querying soul means by "religion" - what's their definition of a word we throw around like an old softball. Religion, as I understand it, is that which helps us make sense of who we are, where we've come from and what our purpose is in life. This oversimplified definition serves as the springboard to my belief that Christianity is not religion - in the proper sense. With this definition swirling in my brain my answer to the initial question is equally vague- Being Lutheran is all about simple water and a simple word. In other words, it's about faith. Faith is different than religion. Faith trusts what God has done in and through Christ Jesus. The gift of the cross that is sealed in the gift of Baptism is the foundation of faith. Faith never looks to what can be done to make sense of who we are or we we've come from or even what is our life's purpose. Faith clings to being made a child of God in Christ through water and the Word. Faith sees that we have come from the darkness of sin into the light of forgiveness, again through water and the Word. Faith gives us the purpose to go and to BAPTIZE in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching others to follow all that Jesus has commanded. This faith has the result of the presence of our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier in our lives every day - even to the end of the age! What 's the difference? Well, it's eternal - the seal of water and the Word says everything about who God is and what He has done for you! Celebrate and live in FAITH every day!

Who is YOUR God?

Simple post today...

Who is YOUR God? Is He the one who receives all credit for all things in heaven and on earth? Is He the glorious one - the source of all strength and hope? Our God is the God who creates with a Word and sustains with patience we cannot comprehend. He is a God whose voice thunders might while it whispers peace. 

This is the God who welcomes you by giving you His most precious gift - His own Son - for your life now and always. 

This is the God you have the privilege of coming to in prayer. You have the opportunity to converse with the eternal, acknowledging His glory while believing that He has an ear...even for someone as small as you! What does this say about the importance of God's gift of prayer? You must ask yourself, who is MY God? Is He a God I trust and believe will hear me when I call? Is He a God I believe will give me His grace and His mercy every moment of every day in Christ Jesus? Is He a God who knows all pain, who soothes all hurts and who lifts all heads? 

If so, friend, REJOICE! Live what You believe! Live in the confidence that all you bring to God in the confidence of faith will and has been done in the cross of Jesus! To Him alone is all glory, honor and worship of those whom He has claimed through His precious blood!