People sometimes refer to poignant statements in Scripture as "nuggets." (The first image that comes to mind is a tub of chicken nuggets, although I am quite confident that the intended reference is gold nuggets.) Reason being, studying Scripture can be like mining for gold - you sometimes have to do a lot of hard work before you stumble onto the things of substance that drew you there in the first place. This sometimes frustrating reality is by Divine design, though I won't get into the reasons why right now. Rather, I want to polish a chicken, er, I mean gold nugget for Christmas.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Nuggets, Nativity, and a Hebrew Word
People sometimes refer to poignant statements in Scripture as "nuggets." (The first image that comes to mind is a tub of chicken nuggets, although I am quite confident that the intended reference is gold nuggets.) Reason being, studying Scripture can be like mining for gold - you sometimes have to do a lot of hard work before you stumble onto the things of substance that drew you there in the first place. This sometimes frustrating reality is by Divine design, though I won't get into the reasons why right now. Rather, I want to polish a chicken, er, I mean gold nugget for Christmas.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Sin Clog (you know you want to read this one!)
I worked my way through college on the campus maintenance crew. Periodically I would be called to one of the ladies' dorms for a slow shower drain. Inevitably a crowd would gather as I ran an elongated coat hanger down the drain. The girls would gather in closely as I turned the hanger around and around and slowly began to pull it to the surface... I'm not sure what they were anticipating, but by the time the wad of slimy hair, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a cat-sized rat, was resting on their shower floor, there was not a girl in sight. Above the clammer of slamming doors echoing down the hall I would shout "Hey, it's YOUR hair!" Maybe this is why I had to go off campus to find a bride, but that is neither here nor there.
In similar fashion, the Word of God reveals our hearts to us. The contents of hate, lust, and all kinds of evil (Matt 15:19) shouldn't surprise us, but all too often our deceitful heart (Jer 17:9) tells us that our problems must either have originated els-ware, or they aren't so bad after all. Then, rather than standing and dealing with what is revealed we run away screaming like a college girl. Rather than being grateful for the messenger who applied the tool of God's Word to our life we look on him/her with disdain, forgetting that the "clog" came from our own heart.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Bikes, Cookies, and Ecclesiastes
It was one of those days with totally messed up timing. All I wanted to do was go for a run. The morning limped by, then the afternoon – interruption upon interruption, with no opportunity to get away. Finally, when my 7 year old got home from school, I could escape, and, to my delight, he wanted to ride his bike while I ran. As we left the house together I thought of how thankful I should be that the day went as it did. Now, I could have my run and spend some one-on-one time with my oldest son. But then, with the front yard still in view, his bike chain popped off. This wouldn’t normally be a deal breaker, except that this chain has been popping off with increasing frequency. It was time to tinker with the bike, or I’d be stopping every 20 yards to put the chain back on. I had to give up on the day’s run once and for all. What did I do then? Well, what do you do when your exercise gets interrupted? I ate a cookie.
You have your own versions of this story, each ranging between funny and heart breaking. These experiences are the materials used in Solomon’s construction of the book of Ecclesiastes. He begins with those words made famous by the old KJV, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” We find other offerings in various translations like, empty, futile, or meaningless, to name a few. My Hebrew Professor told us the best translation is the phrase, “frustratingly enigmatic,” which is kind of funny to me because trying to understand what that means is frustratingly enigmatic. In reality though, whichever rendering you prefer we’ve all experienced it and know exactly what Solomon is talking about.
Solomon’s conclusion to this journal of frustrating enigmas is not, “go fix everything that’s broken.” Rather, he sums up his learning in a few phrases like, “enjoy the fruit of your labor,” “enjoy life with your family,” and most importantly, “fear God and keep his commandments.” Vanity will come. The only question is, will we learn from Solomon’s vast experience with it? The next time the bike chain pops off your plans my prayer is that you take it as an opportunity to evaluate your relationship with God in light of His commandments, reflect on the blessings provided in your loved ones… and then of course, eat a cookie.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Glory
So many powerful words are lost in the obscurity of the familiar. Worship, glory, fundamental, awesome, church… we could each add to the list with words we know we use poorly, but have them so engrained in our churchy vocabulary we just keep saying them without reflecting on their fundamental meaning. Oops, there I go already…
Glory. We want to glorify God, we sing of His glory, praise Him for His glory, but what is His glory? The word itself has a shockingly ordinary origin, being used to describe all manner of things, both good and bad. Here are some examples of the bad:
The Old Testament usage applies the word to contexts of great significance, or heaviness, both figurative and literal. In summary, a glorious something is something of great substance.
In a volatile world such as ours where everything is in a state of flux from governments, to terrain, to that which quantifies beauty and humor, our souls scream for something constant. Something of lasting substance. Something of glory.
In this universe there is only one such thing. God. The glory of God will never change, never fade, never hide. We can see it in nature, experience it in the attributes that reveal His image within us, and if we do it right, share it in the Church (Ephesians 3:20-21).
So, how do we glorify God? By living in such a way that our lives reveal the one thing of true glory that exists. To love as Christ loved. To live as Christ lived. To die to self and selfish gain and point others to our source of life and happiness. This concept is nothing new. It is as old as, say, the glory of God itself.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Cowboy Coffee?
The aroma was inviting, the music was the weird, the lighting was pleasantly dim while not so much as to inhibit my reading. Sipping my steaming, grande Americano in the thought-provoking ambience provided by Starbucks, I almost forgot what world existed outside the door. Everything was as you would expect in every Starbucks from Boston to Seattle, but suddenly, something didn’t fit. There was a noise totally out of place, pulling me from my leisurely read back into my new reality. I turned and saw a typical college girl whose likeness you would expect to see a dozen times during any visit to any Starbucks anywhere in the world. But the guy she was with told another story. From his Stetson, to the western cut shirt, pie-plate sized belt buckle, all the way to the culprit of the noise – spurs strapped to his manure caked boots, this guy meshed with the Starbucks scene like Joel Osteen at an old time tent revival. But here, somehow it works. Spurs in Starbucks. Only in Wyoming. Oh, and the best part? He ordered a skinny latte with room for sugar. Wimp.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pastor's Job Description
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Prayer
Monday, August 23, 2010
God is doing something
“The assumption of spirituality is that always God is doing something before I even know it” (Eugene Peterson).
God is extravagant with His resources. Wyoming landscape proves it like nothing else I’ve seen. Our tendency is to cram as much as possible into as little space and time as we possibly can. God spreads His creation over the unplumbed depths of space. He has extended His plan of redeeming His beloved from our rebellion against Him from before the annals of history and will continue long after my bones return to dust. He is not in a hurry.
If I claim to be spiritual I must assume that I know that. He is already working, and this work comes at His speed, not mine, for His purpose, not mine, according to His agenda, not mine.
Even as I write this blog I am fighting the urge to cram everything on my mind today onto a single page. God senses no need to be so stingy with time and space.
Trust Him. He knows what He’s doing. He invites us to join Him, not visa-versa.
"So the task is not to get God to do something I think needs to be done, but to become aware of what God is doing so that I can respond to it and participate and take delight in it."
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The gentle rain
Friday, July 23, 2010
The adventure continues
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Adventure
- Thank God for His Word being preached in his absence
- Pray for a blessed reunion (Or this case union since there can be no "re" to something that hasn't happened yet. But, you knew that already, didn't you?)
- Spiritual strength for all parties involved
- Thankfulness for the Spirit of God at work
- Rest in God's faithfulness
- A foundation of love
- Wisdom
- Purity and blamelessness
- Discernment (perhaps the prayer conspicuously absent from Galatians?)
- Joel has a tendency to get car/plane sick
- The boys' sleeping patterns in leu of the time change.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Scribbles on the Heart
Two days ago we celebrated Joel's seventh birthday. Today, we celebrate his new birth! At a little after 7:00 this evening Joel trusted Christ as His Savior! During supper, out on the patio, we were reviewing Ethan's memory verse for Sunday School - "The lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all He has made" (Psalm 145:13). So, does this mean we can trust God to give us a new bicycle tomorrow? Our kids apparently have a touch of the prosperity gospel in them because Joel and Ethan both answered in the affirmative. "But did God promise us a new bicycle?" Of course not, so what did He promise? "A new body when we die," Joel answered. Who will get this new body? "People who are saved." Are you one of them? "Ummm... no." And so, the real conversation began. For some time now Joel has been able to articulate saving faith very clearly for his age, and for some time he has known that saving faith is something he does not possess. We have been encouraging him to think about it, pray about it, ask questions about it, and when he is ready we will be thrilled to walk him through expressing this faith to God in repentance. So tonight I simply asked, "What is stopping you?" "Well, I just don't have the time." We all know what a seven-year-old's schedule is like, what, with all the car playing, Veggie-Tale watching and tree climbing. I told him that when he's ready we will make the time, no matter what. He said, "Then I guess we ought to do it tonight." Exactly what I was hoping for!