Every Day is a Do-Over

As a teenager, my church youth group was my most important social network. Each week, we started with either volleyball or 4 square (or both!) I was LOUSY at both. Yet, what was so uplifting about my youth group, was that everyone accepted me as I was. All the other kids who weren't athletic were accepted, too. Whenever we messed up badly, someone in the pack would shout out, "Do-over." And I would get a second chance and loving support, just because!

A life in Christ is to have a daily "do-over."  He forgives us, accepts us, and cheers us on. Sometimes we forget that Christ is counting on us to forgive, accept and be cheerleaders for the less-than-perfect people around us.  

As I contemplate the new year, I'm not interested in making resolutions. I've made the same ones over and over - lose weight, save money, get healthy. Yet, resolving to do these things has never resulted in actually accomplishing a single one of them!  However, putting Christ first every day of my life has given me the courage to tackle them all. And when I fail, I know I'm forgiven. And no matter how badly I fall, no matter what sin I commit, each day reconciliation in Christ is offered freely and fully for me and all humankind. Please join me in 2015 in the challenge to turn over more and more of our lives each day to the care and keeping of God Almighty. 

Mindfulness

There's a catch word that's the latest thing in the business world today: Mindfulness. Psychology Today defines mindfulness as "a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience." I've got news for all those who think this is a new thing - Jesus was doing it over 2000 years ago!
In the last 10 years or so, companies such as Google, Intel, Target, General Mills and Aetna have all embraced the concept on a corporate level. There are actually policies in place that encourage this practice. The benefits of practicing mindfulness include improved mental health, resilient physical health, lowered stress hormones, better leadership skills and sustained focus on what is most important. Duke and Massachusetts University Medical Schools are not only promoting the practice, but also beginning to produce statistical results for it. The practice of mindfulness involves meditation, yoga and other ancient pan-Asian practices. Though some would say it is Buddhist, the current trend is often among decidedly non-Buddhists. The point of mindfulness is to take a step back, pause, and, most importantly, to be compassionate with yourself and the world around you. (The word Sabbath comes to mind...)
Jesus was always in the moment. Meditation was modeled for us when he went up on the mountain alone to pray. He noticed things. He saw things around him that no one else saw: a tax collector who would walk away from his lucrative business and follow the stranger from Galilee; an outcast Samaritan woman at the well who would become an immediate evangelist; a woman who touched the hem of his cloak and was healed. Jesus stopped and gave his full attention to each of these.
Jesus  only passed judgment on those who were abusing God's plan for their own personal gain (like the Pharisees) or those who were abusing and /or ignoring God's people, the least of these. He taught us great lessons, and there are current studies showing that his leadership style was nothing short of miraculous! (pun intended)
Jesus was too blessed to be stressed! We have no recorded or anecdotal evidence that Jesus ever showed signs of stress. He was sad several times, and he wanted to remain with us just a little longer than God's design. But he didn't stress over it! He talked it over with his dad while some of his closest friends stayed nearby. Then he went on about the business of saving the world from sin and death.
Jesus was completely in the moment when he told his parables, using whatever analogies his listeners could understand. He knew his audience was eternal, so he used universal truths to teach us a better way. He used whatever was on hand when he fed the 5000.  He just took the loaves and fish and blessed them and multiplied them until all were satisfied.
Jesus had compassion. He cried over Jerusalem because he knew they didn't get it.  Even as he died on the cross, he was compassionate - "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing."
Jesus was all about love, and you have to be present and pay attention to truly love and be loved. So, Christians, let's remember to be mindful as we meditate on His word and our service each day. I encourage you to read up on the whole mindfulness movement, and not be scared away by the religions of many practitioners. Like prayer, meditation is simply one of the many tools we can use to approach the throne of grace. As my mom used to say, "Can't hurt; might help!"

Raving Fans

It's here, it's here, that most wonderful time of the year!!!!!!  March Madness is here! I love it! I watch all the ACC games I can and record those I can't. I won't promote any particular team here, but just to set the record straight my team doesn't wear red or navy or gold or maroon or green or black or orange or yellow. I'm just sayin'...I eat, sleep, and drink basketball this time of the year.  I watch other conferences and teams, too, but only college basketball. Pros bore me.

Come tournament time, I can be found in front of the TV for every ACC game. I sit dressed in my team colors, in my logo-decorated rocking chair, with my 64 ounce cup of water and some healthy snacks. I don't leave the games unless nature calls, and I try to time that for timeouts and halftime. I am an avid (some would say rabid!) ACC basketball fan.

There are many reasons for this. Probably the most influential was my father. My dad and I were so much alike, we clashed over almost everything. But when it came to our team's basketball season, we were united in cheering them on. He taught me the ins and outs of the game. He used his clout with Dean Smith to bring one of my favorite players to my school to speak at the Fellowship of Christian Atheletes meeting. He came to our house for dinner, and it was like having your teen idol come to dinner! I was awed! My dad supported my "habit" and joined in with the screaming at the refs and yelling at the coach. My dad was impressed when I became a statistician for the local Jaycees team. My dad and I came together in ways we couldn't in any other area of life (except our faith in Christ).

In his book, Raving Fans, leadership coach Kenneth Blanchard maintains that the employees of your company need to be its greatest fans. I think this applies to our faith as well. What if we were as rabid about our support for our church as we are for the Panthers, the Tar Heels, the Knights or the Checkers?  Do we make sure we hear every sermon and record the ones we miss? Do we eat, sleep and drink the Great Commision to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? Are we loyal to our "team" - Sunday school, small group, Bible study, etc.?

Do we carry our faith's brand with us? Can people tell we are Jesus fans? It was said of my maternal grandfather that "If the church doors were open, Charlie Borts was there." In fact, he probably opened the doors and stayed behind to lock up! Can that be said of any of us? They used to name classrooms and small groups after people who were so faithful they stood out among the faithful. As a child, at my house, you didn't miss church unless you were in the bed sick with a fever or worse!

Are we as parents upholding that kind of faith at home? Do we put a premium on time spent in prayer or Bible reading? Do we hold our children accountable for church attendance and youth group? Do we make it clear that homework needs to be done before Sunday so it's no excuse to stay home?

In this time of decline in the mainline churches, we all need to be RAVING FANS of our Lord and Savior. We need to pass that passion on to our children. I hear parents say things like, "I want to let them chose for themselves if they want to go to church or not." My response is, "Do you let them decide for themselvesif they want to use drugs or not?" There are certain values and non-negotiables that we hold dear, and it's our responsibility to pass those on to our children. Too many people today leave character education to churches, Sunday school teachers and pastors instead of starting and enforcing it at home. If Jesus matters to you, He matters to your children, whether they know it yet or not; whether they accept it for themselves or not.

What team means the most to you? Stand up, cheer and be proud of the Savior that gave his life for you. Go team!!!

THE BIG "DUH"

I have things all over my desk that occasionally catch my attention. Sometimes it's a God-thing which one I see exactly when I need it.
Today I was frustrated. Computer glitches. Phone issues. Life was challenging today. I kept trying to stay focused and get my work done. Did you catch that - MY work? Therein lay the problem!
So as I poured my fourth cup of coffee, I noticed a knick knack out of position on my desk. It was a fat little angel holding a placard that says simply, "God is in Control." DUH!!! No wonder I couldn't get anything done! For starters, I put together my to do list last night without consulting with God in prayer first. Then, as the wheels fell off, I kept trying to fix and do in my own power!
God must get so tired of us omitting the blessings from our lives by trying to do it our way. How patient he must be to wait so lovingly for us to get the point!

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

So, I started over about three o'clock this afternoon, and things are going much better, AFTER I turned it all over to God and let HIM set my priorities.

Snowball's Chance

What is it about snow that makes the whole world seem more peaceful? Maybe it is that everyone has to slow down, pay attention to what they're doing, and be cognizant of the world around them. Maybe it's because people stop to look at the beauty of God's handiwork. Whatever the reason, everything seems to be peaceful and calm.

Yesterday I walked out into the snow to take some pictures.  I found myself fascinated by this little bitty tree.  It seemed determined to have its head sticking out of the snow.  Today I went back outside to find my little tree.  It was nowhere to be found.  I suddenly felt very sad for the little tree.  It was completely buried under the snow.

Sometimes in life it feels like we’re under a pile of stuff.  Sometimes it’s stuff of our own making.  We over commit trying to please everyone to gain their favor.  We get heaped up with the unrealistic expectations of others and ourselves.  So we run around trying to do everything ourselves, just so people will like us.  We’re too proud to ask for help.  So we fall further and further behind as more and more stuff gets laid on us.  And before we know it, we are completely buried and invisible.  Actually, we only feel invisible.  We become so resentful and we expect so much recognition that if people don’t fall down and praise us, then we think we’re invisible.

We are never invisible.  God sees and God knows everything about us.  We are His beloved and He does not care if we are underneath a load of our own sin.  He does not care if nobody else loves us.  He does not care if we do anything at all, except love him in return and love each other.  You see, Jesus Christ knows what it’s like to be heaped up with a bunch of stuff.  All the sins of all the world were piled on top of him at Calvary.  Yet he still promised us,

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.         (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)

It’s not just that he takes our burdens for us.  He teaches us how to find rest.  If we will rely on him and not on our own skills, we will find that he leads us beside still waters.  Walking with him in listening to him, we learn not to take on more than we can do.  It’s easy because we are no longer trying to please others, we are trying to follow Christ.  When you see the world from that perspective, it really doesn’t matter what’s piled on top of you.  It only matters that you are rooted and grounded in Christ. 

“For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.”( Romans 11:16)

The Most Powerful Force on Earth

As I have gone about my business this week, I've become increasingly aware of how we treat each other.  You see, right now I am preaching on love, so it's made me keenly aware of my own and others' interactions as I go through my week.  The scriptures are pretty clear about this whole love thing.  First, in the Old Testament, it says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength.  (Deuteronomy 6: 5) And when Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment, he replies with the one I've just quoted, and then adds, " love your neighbor as you love yourself. " (Matthew 22: 37)
Those are the easy ones to remember, and everyone can agree they're pretty good ideas.  But God gets more specific, and demands much more of us as we love our neighbor.  First Corinthians 13 is the scripture that most people recognize as "the love chapter."  It says, "Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  Love does not demand its own way.  Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  Love does not rejoice about injustice by rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  Three things will last forever- faith, hope, and love -and the greatest of these is love." This tells us to be patient and kind.  Easy to say, hard to do.  The very day I preached on patience, I suddenly had to be very patient myself.  Someone hurt my feelings, and I had to not respond in anger.  My family put extra demands on me all of a sudden, and I had to take it all in stride.  In the big and in the small, life experiences require us to face trials, temptations, challenges and other obstacles.  God requires us to meet each of those with patience and kindness.  It doesn't talk anywhere about our rights, our feelings, or our desires.  Those we take to God, and leave them in his hands.  God handles things so much better than we do!  If we employ patience and kindness, then God will give us the words to say and the way to react to each situation in life.
Then there is Romans 12.  " Don't just pretend to love others.  Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Hold tightly to what is good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other." (Romans 12: 9-10) So we can't just smile and walk by.  We have to really care.  We have to show a genuine affection to everyone!  That takes a lot of work.  Who can do all that and do all that we do, too?  We're so busy we can't possibly adding anything else to our plate, RIGHT?  WRONG! !  The first thing we should add to our plates above all else is love.  It's only through patience and kindness that we can survive our busy lives.  Love will make people more eager to help us.  Love will make it easier to reach out to others.  Love helps us to prioritize what's important on our to do list.  Love brings us back home at the end of that day, with a sense of accomplishment, peace, and rest.
Walking in love is difficult, but not impossible.  And it is truly the greatest power on earth.  Romans 8:38 tells us that:

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking I want love on my side!

Remember the Sabbath

 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11 NLT)

We live in a 24/7 world.  We have devices that can communicate with us anywhere we are.  We're constantly inundated with noise, information, and other demands for our attention.  Our cell phones are like screaming children demanding attention.  Our televisions are constantly on - we don't even notice them.  It seems we always have to be plugged into something.
That is not God's intention for our lives.  God created us to have a rhythm to our lives.  We were designed in His image.  And He rests on the seventh day.  We need our rest and we must find it in the Sabbath.
God gives the Sabbath to the people of Israel as a gift to share with those around them.  He refers to the Sabbath as a day of complete rest, the Lord's gift to you, and a sign of the covenant.  In Exodus 31:13 he says, "Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation.  It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy." And Sabbath day wasn't just given to the Hebrew people.  "It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth but on the seventh day He stopped working and was refreshed." One of the things I really love about the way God gave us the Sabbath, is that he inscribed it with his very own finger!  It must be really important for us to get this concept, because it's repeated over and over again throughout the Old and New Testaments.  
There was a time when anyone who was a good person would go to church every Sunday. This is not the case anymore.  Some people have to work on Sunday.  Some people sleep in on Sunday.  Some people work in their yards on Sunday.  Some people go out to eat, others go shopping.  All of those are things that you can do on a Sabbath, but that's not what God told us to do.  In fact the Lord was pretty serious about what we could and couldn't do on His holy day.  He said that it should be a complete day of rest; a holy day dedicated to the Lord.  He said, "you must deny yourselves and show reverence toward my sanctuary."  The Sabbath is "an official day for holy assembly" and "must be observed wherever you live." It is a day to bring offerings to god, "in order to fulfill your vows by presenting them to the Lord."
My favorite thing that he tells us to do on the Sabbath is to enjoy it!  "Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord's holy day.  Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly." In other words, we are supposed to seek God and take our delight in him.  Many of us act as if God just isn't any fun.  Being in the presence of the Lord should make us happy.  But we have to STOP all that we are doing in order to hear God giggle with us.  In his book 2/46, Matthew Sleeth calls the new Sabbath "STOP DAY" because STOP seems to be the only thing we understand.  We must STOP everything.  We have six days to run around like maniacs, but on that seventh we have to STOP.  We need time to take personal inventory, and ask ourselves the question John Wesley asked his class meetings: How is it with your soul?  And after we've answered that question, we need to ask ourselves "What have you done lately for the poor, for your family, for your church?" And last but certainly not least, "What have you done for yourself?"
It isn't easy to shift from the 24/7 life to the 24/6 life.  It requires sacrifice on our part and we don't like that.  Just remember the sacrifice that was made for you on the cross!  In this age of instant gratification, we forget the benefit of slowing down to listen for a bird to sing or watch for a deer.  God's time isn't the same as our time.  God is eternal.  We are finite.  We have only this life to enjoy the benefits of God, and absorb all His blessings.  I challenge you to begin to live a 24/6 life, but I warn you.  When you stop seeing it as a duty, you might just began to enjoy yourself.  You'll also find that your blood pressure lessens, your breathing slows, and your mood lightens.  Down through the ages kings and governments have tried to do away with the Sabbath, but the people always bring it back.  We need a stop day in order to be physically, mentally and especially spiritually healthy.

The Post-Christmas Blues

It was a sad day yesterday, the day after Epiphany. It is the day that Christmas is officially over. All the lights, wreaths, trees, and stockings must come down. All the beautiful Chrismons and the Advent wreath at the church are carefully put away for next year. The sanctuary looks bare. Before too long, the solemn, somber season of Lent will be upon us.
The lectionary of the church calls this "Ordinary Time" or the Sundays after the Epiphany. It doesn't inspire one to burst out into song, this ordinary time. The paraments are green to represent a season of intentional growth for the next two months.
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could find a way to make every Sunday a celebration?  The early church referred to every Sunday as a "little Easter." How could we get that feeling of celebration that we get at Christmas Eve Communion into all services of the church? It's not going to be a highlight day every week, I know that. There are natural peaks and valleys. If we didn't have lows, we wouldn't appreciate the highs. Yet, our worship should always be FAR FROM ordinary.
The secret to keeping that celebration going is to be passionate about worship. Google defines passion as "a strong and barely controllable emotion, a state or outburst of strong emotion, [intense sexual love], an intense desire or enthusiasm for something, a thing arousing enthusiasm" and, finally, "the suffering and death of Jesus."
The people of the early church had such passion. They had emotions they could barely control. They often were noted for outbursts of strong emotion. Their intense desire was for Jesus Christ, and him alone! If ever they needed to rekindle their passion, they would relate the story of THE Passion of Jesus Christ.
Every kid you meet can tell you a story about Christmas; whether it's Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or the Nativity story, they KNOW what Christmas means to them. Adults, too, can recount their favorite traditions and what they mean. But, can everyone tell the story that really matters - that "God raised Jesus from the dead" (Acts 2:32) and that "you killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead" (Acts 3:15) and that "When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem." In other words, everyone in the early church could tell the story of Jesus Christ, his life death and resurrection. Not only could they tell it, they celebrated it! Every day they would get together and celebrate with the singing of songs and the Lord's Supper. In fact, the Lord's Supper was actually a full-blown supper! Every night!
Not only did they know the story, but they proudly claimed to be the bearers of the gospel to future generations. All of the passages quoted above from the book of Acts are only a partial quote. The full quotes read like this:

Acts 2:32 says, “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this."

Acts 3:15 reads, "You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!"

Acts 13:29-31 tells us, "When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel."

The way to recapture passion in our worship and in our lives is to witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is real, and he makes a difference in our lives! We are witnesses! If we are silent and/or awkward when talking about Jesus, then our witness is dead, drowned out by the noise of life.  If we keep trying to make our experience of Christ happen in the same was it always has, then we leave no room for growth in Christ. The best way to experience the passion of worship is to be passionate about the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ. 

We can't borrow someone else's witness. We can't get it out of a book (not even the bible!) It comes from an intense desire to share Christ with the world. It comes from spending time with God in prayer. It comes from seeing someone in need, and offering help. It comes from deep within and finds its expression in the songs, prayers and preaching during worship.

So............Instead of being sad this time, I choose joy. I choose to be a witness to the power and glory of a mighty God and Christ. I choose to witness to freedom and wholeness given to me as a result of faith in Christ Jesus. I claim that ordinary time will not be so ordinary this year. I pray that God will provide something extraordinary for each service of worship I preside over. Most of all, I choose to offer myself as a witness to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, my Savior and my King.