Hope

When the alarm went off again he just rolled over wishing the "snooze" button lasted more than eight minutes.  There had to be a way to postpone the day.

 

When the light turned green she knew that meant she had to drive closer to what she had dreamt she could avoid.  Why is it that stop lights are only long when you want to get somewhere?

 

He watched the clock on the wall wishing the work day would last longer and he wouldn't have to face the home and its brokenness again.  It seems the arms do double time during vacation and half time when you wish they would slow down.

 

She felt the weight that no one could see.  It was a strange heaviness that seemed to be like a cloud on the outside and a growing tumor on the inside… how does it do both?

 

To my friends who are going to live another 24 hours with regret as a companion, screaming in your ears sometimes and other times silently getting in your way-

 

May the season of  Spring give you the flavor of new hope.

 

May the Spirit of God remind you of what does and what doesn't last.

 

May you be wise enough to listen to God speak grace into your life.

 

May you find quiet rest from the weight through real time with the Lover of your soul.

 

May anticipation and faith take root in your spirit so that you are soon feasting on the fruit of joy.

 

This morning my heart is heavy for those who have regret as a constant companion.  You are living less than your Maker intends.  There is more of what you need and less of what you dread.  Listen close enough for Him to remind you of that.  I have no trite answers or religious clichés, just a loving call to not give up… God's up to something new.                                

Someone needed to read that.

 

Blessings, 

Pastor Dave

Unlearning

This morning I sat in my chair (I'm an old grandpa man, so I have "a chair" now) and picked up the book I've been going through again, William Law's, A Serious Call to A Devote and Holy Life.  This is a book that was written in the 1700's so some of the thoughts are difficult to apply with 300 years of calendar dust on them, but the core truths apply now as much as then.

I read the first paragraph of the chapter on humility and underlined a thought that was really good… since then I have forgotten it, but it was good.

Second paragraph, kind of reading and kind of thinking about the previous thought that was good.  Then my eyes scrolled across the end of the first sentence in the second paragraph of chapter twenty-seven.  As they did the forces of nature and the cosmic powers that be invaded my room with a time freezing zap that locked my eyes on the last few words of the sentence.  

I will readily admit that I'm not the sharpest tack in the bunch.  There are plenty of theologians that understand far more than I can grasp.  Every Biblical historian remembers far more than I do. There are countless pastors that have more skill in their ears than I have in my entire being, but I like to learn.  I really like it when something settles in my brain and the blue bird of knowledge sits on my shoulder and chirps something new to me.

So, imagine my shock when God made me stare at the William Law phrase, "has a great deal to unlearn."

For me to be a student of the Word and a follower of Christ I must be willing to unlearn what would hinder my growth and doesn't line up with God.  

So, I thought through what the "unlearning" encyclopedia would hold.

Success.  We've got to dump what culture has taught us about success.  We know that, but we continue to run on the treadmill to nowhere grasping what doesn't last hoping it makes us "look" right.

Christian.  We've mangled that word up so much it's hard to recognize.  Here's a hint – a Christian is like Christ.  We need to unlearn how we have defined that word.  A Christian who doesn't follow Christ - isn't.

Rights.  You have the right to die for Christ… everything else is a privilege not a right – even if the government disagrees.

Sin.  Sin is not what we've decided is right or wrong.  Sin is not what offends us and if it doesn't – it's not sin.  We've learned that our culture of expectations we place on others is somehow what defines sin, but we are wrong.  God defines sin.  Someone puts a cigarette to their mouth and we're ready with the "s" label.  Someone else harbors a bitter spirit and we calmly understand.     

Church.  Do we have to unlearn some things about church?  This is not the place for us to bash the Body of Christ or attack denominations, but I wonder if what we have learned (taught ourselves) about the weekly gathering is off the mark.

Worship.  We've reduced worship so far that it is little more than liking or not liking the music during the hour service on Sunday.  That's not "worship" that's entertainment.  I can't "not like" worship… worship is an action of proclaiming the value and worth of God.  How can I not like or like that?  We've got unlearning to do.  

Obedience.  We've allowed obedience to be reduced to doing something we have to do.  That's not right!  Obedience is when the Creator (God) loves the created (me) enough to point him or her in a direction to fulfill the plan of the Creator and the purpose of the created.  Obedience should be our greatest source of joy!

Husband.  What about some of the roles we fill?  Have we learned what is not right about how to fill that role?

Discipleship.

Prayer.

Friendship.

Holiness.

Submission.

Parenting.
 

I've been thinking this morning about stuff that might need to be unlearned so that I can relearn from the Teacher of my soul and Provider of my eternity.

Maybe we need an unlearners support group.

Still Thinking,
Pastor Dave
 

Friday...

Mark 15:16-37
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.  They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.  And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).  Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.  And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.  It was the third hour when they crucified him.

The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.  They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,  come down from the cross and save yourself!"  In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!  Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."  One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last….

"And Lord God, may all my friends who read this find themselves at the buffet of your grace, tasting until their soul is satisfied and your will is fulfilled.  May your words find new corners of their spirits to illuminate and heal.  May the moments between Friday and Sunday be occupied with the work of your Spirit breathing new life and infectious wholeness into their soul.  May you ready them for Sunday.  God, get them ready for Sunday!  Get their voice ready to praise and their spirits ready to celebrate.  Get their hands ready to applaud you.  Get their feet ready to follow you.  Get their anticipaters growing and their wanters pure.  Get them ready to dive into the river they may have been wading in. 

May we all, all of us – young and old, the teen who is worried about the life in front of them and the adult who regrets the life behind them, the comfortable and the ravished, the one who hungers and the one who hides, the one who is new in faith and the one who has forgotten the heartbeat of newness, the one who had a rotten week and the one who has found reason to smile.  May we all be ready to take up the cross and leave the tomb in new life!!!

In the name of JESUS our Savior and Lord – Amen. 

Loved and In Love,

Dave

Getting Ready for Easter

Getting ready for Easter

How could we get our spirits ready for Easter?  We can make all the dinner plans and get the menu ready - but does that get us ready?  We can buy new clothes and eat a dozen chocolate peanut butter eggs a day (fyi - did you know that some things that taste good aren't good for you... Shocking!) But how do we really get ready?

Ideas-
1. Easter doesn't happen without a Good Friday.  Have I laid my life down for Christ?

2. Drama fits for dramatic things.  Am I ready to engage in an eternal supernatural exchange with God, or is this just a Holiday?

3. Resurrected people don't live like dead people.  Can I risk the radical life change of being unwilling to embrace what doesn't fit with new life?

4. Faith requires that I believe in something greater than me.  Can I expect and trust in a miracle from the hand of God.

5. The casual and the extraordinary don't mix.  If I am yawning because I have no expectation of change should I be shocked when I receive in line with the yawn and not the gasp?

6.  Prayer into the day would be a good start.  Is there a logical piece we miss by not asking the risen Christ to make this day all that His will intends for it to be?

7.  When the power of the risen Christ is given permission to change me I shouldn't be surprised when life is different.  Is it time for a reformation that causes us to avoid the gunk that Christ calls us out of and boldly go where most are too spiritually timid to go?

I'm thinking about Easter.  I'm wondering what will make this one different.   I imagine an overflowing church.  I have faith that new life will be more than a slogan.  I trust for some of us Easter Sunday will change everything that matters.

Glad God Rolls Stones,

Pastor Dave