Father's Day

Father's day is here once again. How do I know? It's the
commercials! Everything you see or hear is telling you what is the best gift to
buy for your father and frankly I'm a little tired of it. How is it that a day established
to honor fathers has become a marketing ploy?

I don't golf, don't need a new car, I have all the after
shave I can use and I don't need another tie. Whatever happened to the simple
things? The days when the kids made you breakfast in bed or gave you a handmade
card? What about the simple hug around the neck and the best words in the
world, "I love you dad". It is the time spent together sharing a meal
and talking about our lives, sharing what makes us happy or is breaking our
hearts. I don't know about you, but I've been given "things" through
the years, but have very few of them now. The things that I have held on to are
the cards and the hugs, those special words and special times together.

How did our society go from intimate relationships with the
father to trying to imitate love through the giving of money or things? Back in
the 1970's there was a song by Harry Chapin that came out called, "Cat's
in the cradle". The song dealt with the life of a father and son. The
father was so busy making a living that he never had time for the son and when
the son became an adult he never had time for the father… life got in the way
of living.

Perhaps that's what has happened with our relationship to
our Heavenly Father. Most of the surveys I have seen show that church attendance
in our nation has declined in the past 50 years. The same surveys show that
many, many more mothers attend a church than do fathers (the example to young
men). It seems that we are so busy trying to survive, trying to make a living,
trying to enjoy life to the fullest, that we just don't have time for our
Heavenly Father anymore. We try to compensate for it by giving larger
contributions so that someone else might be hired to fill our place.

The greatest commandment, according to Jesus is to love
the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). If you don't, how will your children learn to do it
and how will they return it to you?

Another
favorite passage of mine is found in Deuteronomy
11:18-22 where God gives some special instructions to fathers. He says:
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols
on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when
you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many
in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the
heavens are above the earth. If you carefully observe all these commands I am
giving you to follow, to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him
and to hold fast to him…" It seems it is about relationships and
actually TALKING about what is most important…

Can
you say "priorities"? Perhaps that is the key! Oh and Happy Father's
Day!

Doing the Dance

I was talking with a coworker Daryl the other day about the
flow of the work we do behind the counter. It's a small space and we often have
to dodge one another or reach around one another to get to a particular piece
of equipment, computer or stack of papers. As the "trainee" I watched
him one day and told him that he "had the dance steps all down". In
other words, he had a pattern of movement, he knows how to move efficiently and
reach each machine or paper as it was needed.

When we serve our God we do the same thing according to a
pattern shown us in the New Testament. Paul encouraged Timothy regarding the
pattern he followed in

2 Timothy 1:12a-13 where he wrote: "Yet
this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am
convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and
love in Christ Jesus."

I
remember seeing an advertisement many years ago for a program to teach you how
to dance. You took paper cutouts that looked like shoe soles and placed them on
the floor in a particular pattern. Then you practiced following that pattern
with your own feet as you taught yourself to dance. If it worked everyone was
happy.

God's
Word gives us the pattern, the steps to follow for us to make God happy and to
be happy ourselves. If you want to know how to serve God, then follow the
pattern. Many today are telling you that the pattern of God's word is outdated
or no longer relevant, but that's not true. God has given us His Word and he
intends for it to last forever with no additions or subtractions. Now you can
argue with me about that, but how are you at arguing with God.

Jesus
himself said, "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If
anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described
in this scroll.  And if anyone takes
words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person
any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this
scroll." (Revelation
22:18-19)

So
could it be that as you dance through this life you need to pay a little closer
attention to the pattern which God has laid down for us?

I’LL GIVE YOU TIME TO GO NUMB

 

I had a
dental appointment this week and after the inevitable injection before a little
drilling the technician said while leaving the room, "I’ll give you a
little time to go numb." Of course this brought up the question, “How much
time does it take to go numb?”

What comes
to mind in a religious sense; is how much time does it take to harden your
heart? How much time does it take before you feel no sense of guilt when you no
longer look to God for guidance, let alone worship him?

I know so
many people who at one time had a love for God and a love for his church; then
unexpectedly it seems that they are no longer interested. They lost their joy; the
joy of gathering with others; to worship the God of the universe. Sometimes I
hear comments such as: "Going to church just doesn't excite me
anymore,"  "I can worship as
well at home," or "I find God on the lake or golf course."

How long
does it take for someone to go numb? Going numb is when you have a lack of feeling.
Could it be the responsibility of the people or place you have been worshiping?
Possibly it is, but more than likely it is a change in your own heart that has
taken place. Could you be going numb? Maybe you are already there!

The church
at Ephesus was a shining light for God before the people of the world. They
have a whole book of the bible devoted to the church there, most of it
positive. Yet, in Revelation 2:4-5
we read a message from God for them. He says, "But I have this against you, that you left your first
love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the first
works again; or else I come to you, and will move your candlestick out of its
place, unless you repent and return to loving me and putting me first."

How did
that happen? How could this God loving, Mission supporting, Evangelist church
forget God? When did they go numb? The answer is, One day at a time… one
thought at a time… one action at a time and before they knew it they no longer
felt what they had before for God and His church.

How about
you, how are you doing?

Inside

I was lying in bed saying my prayers the other night and I
said something that surprised me. I was praying for many of my family, friends
and acquaintances, many of who are struggling in their faith. These are the
words that formed in my strange brain, "Lord, inside of them is a
spiritual person struggling to get out." 

Isn't that true of so many of us? There is a struggle
within us to be more than we are, to have a better and stronger relationship
with our God. It is so easy for us to observe the outer person we see and
forget the ongoing struggle and the potential that is there. It's like looking
at the caterpillar before it turns into a butterfly. That caterpillar is not
the most attractive thing I ever saw, but hidden inside is that which can be
one of God's most beautiful creations.

You may be the one struggling to overcome the
"caterpillar syndrome". You may be wondering if you will ever be able
to be the spiritual person you desire so strongly to be. It is so easy to look
at others and think, "I wish I were like them," but we don't know how
they struggle or have struggled in their lives to become who they are today.
The change (metamorphosis) from spiritual caterpillar to butterfly doesn't come
easily for anyone, yet it is possible.

The apostle Paul used this Greek word
"metamorphosis", talking about our spiritual change in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 where he said:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory,
are being transformed (metamorphosis) into his image with ever increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

When you think
about the change you want for your life, don't limit yourself in the area of
time. Don't expect to be "transformed into his image" over night and
don't expect that of anyone else either. Just remember that inside of them (and
us) is a spiritual person struggling to get out. Jesus understood that also,
which is part of the power behind his words when he said in Matthew 19:26 "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible".
It may seem like a silly prayer to some, but I truly believe that inside
many of us is a spiritual person struggling to get out.

Dear God, I'm ready to listen

I had gotten a new tea mug about a year ago; you know the
kind with a neat saying on it. I was more interested in the fact that it was
huge and I like a "big" cup of tea, not one of those tiny ones where you
can't even get your fingers through the handle.

Anyway, I was sitting and sipping my tea the other morning
and took notice of the message printed on the cup. Now I know I have read it
before, but if you had asked me what it said, I wouldn't have been able to tell
you. It may just be that I am more in need of the message now than before.
Anyway, the message touched my heart this time. A simple message that said,
"Dear God… I'm ready to listen now". The other side of the mug said
in part, "God never puts a call on hold…. I can ask Him about anything and
he is ready to listen."

We seem to understand the part about God always being
ready to listen, but what about the other part, the part where we listen?

Part of the problem may be that we often expect an
immediate, clearly stated answer from God and He doesn't always answer that
way. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews deals with how God answers; take time to
read it sometime... Simply, God sometimes doesn't answer in anyway which is
perceivable to us. We continue to serve him and do what he asks of us anyway,
which is called, "walking by faith". "By faith," we read
that all of the great people of the Old Testament served God, never personally
seeing the end result of the promise of God.

They married, had children, dealt with the daily stresses
and problems, and went to work everyday having faith that God was in control,
and knew what he was doing even if they didn't. How do we do that today? By
believing that God is in control, one day at a time, or one hour at a time or
even a few minutes at a time, because he is either in control of this world or
he is not. That's the decision we have to make and live by.

Here
is how they did it: Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people were still living by faith
when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them
and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and
strangers on earth… they were longing for a better country; a heavenly one.."(NIV)

Someone else put it this way, "Each
one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but
still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved
their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live
this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home."

Living in
this world, looking for our true home! That’s the secret of living by faith and
listening for God. As the old hymn says, "This world is not my home, I'm
just a passing through…"

"X" marks the spot

As I view our
society, it seems like there are so many people who really have no direction in
there lives. They may have a general idea that they are traveling through life,
but with out a goal or a finial destination in mind. Many people (especially
young people) seem to have a sense of "lostness" about them. You
asked them what they are doing with their lives and they will tell you,
"I'm going to school", or "I on a sports team". If you asked
them, "Well, what are you going to do after that," some may tell you
they are going for a higher education, but it seems most really don't know.

It's not much
different for those who are older. If you ask many people about their3 plans,
the answer is "to retire". If you ask, "Then what", they
really have no answer, other that to say they want to visit some place.

The story is told
about Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of Princeton University in the
early 20th century. Einstein was traveling from Princeton on a train, and when
the conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’ tickets, Einstein
couldn’t find his. He looked in his vest pocket, he looked in his pants pocket,
he looked in his briefcase, but there was no ticket. The conductor was
gracious; "Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who
you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket."

As the conductor
moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and
knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The conductor returned to
Einstein; "Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are.
You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one." Einstein arose and said
"Young man, I too know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going."

So where are you going? Einstein was looking for his ticket
to tell him. Me, I prefer to look at the map for my life given by God. When you
spend time with God's word, it is much like reading a treasure map. We try and
get to the place where "X" marks the spot to find the treasure. That's
where I'm trying to go! I like treasure (if it's the right kind).

I
don’t know about you, but I treasure peace, happiness, kindness, love,
fellowship; a relationship with God and family and friends. As I thought about
this list I realized that "things" are not on my list of treasures. I
guess there is a reason for that… Jesus understood this and that why he said
what he did in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires
of your heart will also be."

So,
where are you going? Where is your treasure? I hope it is the right place and
you are following the right map.

New Challenges

Many of you know that I have recently made some major
changes in my life. I have retired from full time ministry and moved across
country from California to Ohio. Our motor home, (in which we intended to live),
sustained damage which made it unlivable for the present. We are living with
family until that is corrected. If that weren’t enough I have now begun a new
job in a new field in which I have no experience. I have lots of management
experience, but not in this type of work. I am having to learn a whole lot
quickly to succeed in this endeavor.

When I thought about the new challenge before me I thought I
would check out the definition and here is what I found out about this
particular challenge. The definition of the word is: "to arouse or stimulate especially
by presenting with difficulties". Well, to say that I have been
stimulated by being presenting with difficulties would definitely be the truth
about my situation. At times I feel totally unprepared for the challenge.

I'm reminded of some bible characters, who faced similar
challenges. Men such as a shepherd boy named David, who became a giant slayer,
an army commander and king of the nation of Israel. I doubt that while he was
in the field with the sheep that he would have imagined that he would be a
king, much less kill a giant with a sling shot. He did however trust that God
was in control of all things and he believed that God can do whatever he wants
with whoever he wants.

Another man who changed careers was the man who became the
Apostle Paul. He was someone who fought with all of his heart and soul against
Christians. He never in his wildest dreams would have thought he would become
one himself. Yet he became one of the most influential Christians to have ever
lived. He realized why he was so changed and why he was so successful. That is
what he wrote the words of  Philippians
4:13, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

What is your challenge? Are you up to it? You may not be,
but God always is! And you can do all things through him who gives you
strength.