Monday, December 21, 2009

God Gives Rest

People often think the first book of the Bible is about
the exact way God created the universe and our earth.

But this first Creation story is really about how God
created us... in God's own image, male and female.

And at the end of this good work, God makes
something holy.

And passes that holy thing on to us.

Time. God 'hallows' a day, the seventh day, and rests.
And thus gives us a day to rest.

No matter how busy we are, or necessary, or needed,
we are not more important than God.

And even God took a break.
And built, what Rabbi Heschel calls,
Architecture in Time.

God made a holy day.

I was recently reminded of this as the stress and strain
of helping to form a new Christian Community here
wore me down.

Several friends, and a few enemies, prayed for me,
and God answered their prayers by giving me rest.

We got snowed in at a friends house the whole weekend,
while over a foot of snow covered the roads
and blanketed our normally warm region.

So, I got to rest.
And I realized it was just the beginning of what I need.

I also need to remember that, with Ps 127:
Unless the Lord build a house, the workers labor in vain.
Unless the Lord guard the city, the watchmen watch in vain.
It is vain to rise up early and go to bed late,
for God gives rest to those he loves.

And God loves me.
And God loves you.
And the most beautiful thing in all creation
that God made, was the first holy thing on earth,
Time to rest and reflect and enjoy all the good that
God has done.

God blesses you with a sabbath day each week.
Accept this good and joyful gift.
And be like God.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Who Watches Who?

When people say, 'we go to Church' they may mean:
- the congregation is the audience
- the pastor and musicians are the actors on stage and
- the Lord is our cosmic director watching from a box.

But we don't go to Church... we ARE the church.
And God is not passively controlling our lives.
God is cheering us on!

Soren Kierkegaard said that
- the congregation are the actors on stage,
- the pastor is behind the scenes cuing lights and
- God is our audience.

We are performing for God, and whether our lives
are a drama, a tragedy, a comedy, a love story
or an action adventure... God is enthralled.
And deeply wants it to come out well in the end.

Where do you think we get our love of theater?
We were created in the image of God.

God is sitting on the edge of his seat,
wondering what you will do next.
God loves you!
God made us to enjoy us!
And God wants to see you in action!

Shakespeare penned, 'All the world is a stage,
and all the men and women merely players [actors].'
We are the Church as we go around life in the world,
not just as we gather for worship on Sunday.

But our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -
is not an audience passively watching or not caring.
- Our Creator wrote the script.
- Our Savior is on stage with us.
(Jesus became an actor just like us!) and
- Our Comforter (the Holy Spirit) is cheering us on.

And as any actor can tell you,
the audience's joy and rapt attention
is the really energy that drives you to perform well!

Our (Lord's) Prayer

When Jesus' friends asked how to pray, they spoke for us.
We often don't know how to talk to God.

So, Jesus said a simple prayer, we can pray everyday.

Our Father,
... Who art in heaven.
...... Hallowed be thy name.
......... Thy kingdom come.
............ Thy will be done.
............... On earth as
.................. it
..................... Is in heaven.
............ Give us this day our daily bread.
......... Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
...... Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
... For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.
Forever.

Amen.

As you pray this prayer everyday and think in new ways
about how God is working in you and speaking to you,
you'll see many different things in the Lord's prayer.

Many.

I've outlined above just one way to realize that the
parts of the prayer are connected to each other
and how they connect to our lives
and connect us to God.

God is our Father. Forever.

God has an incredible kingdom and power in heaven
- Jesus preached that God's kingdom is 'AT HAND.'
- God's kingdom and power and glory is not far off.
- God's kingdom and power and glory is WITH US!

Ps 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd) says,
- 'you lead us in paths of righteousness'
- (which means safe and true paths)
- 'for your name's sake.'
- we follow God. God leads us.
God's name is hallowed... made holy among us
- when God protects us from danger
- and saves us from trouble.
- if the only prayer we can utter is, 'Oh, God help me!'
- God's name is hallowed, and God will hear our cry.

Earthy kingdoms and ruling bodies are set up to
- make sure people pay their debts and
- punish people for breaking the rule of law.
God's kingdom, God's economy and rule calls us
- to forgive debts and things people owe us,
- to forgive people who trespass against us.
- even against 'our property'... because
- it's not ours, it's all God's.

We ask God, the maker of heaven and earth
- to make things 'as' they seem on earth
- like life really 'is' in heaven.
- Make US earth creatures like JesUS, a child of heaven.
And God does this by making US part of JesUS

But Jesus comes first.

Our little "i" must join Christ's Cross "t".
- that's the "it" at the center of our lives.

Amen. ('So be it.') Amen.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Accountability

To whom do you report?
When something goes wrong, or the unexpected occurs,
we often just shrug it off as 'not really our responsibility.'
It's not our fault.

But what in your life is?
What do you accept as your responsibility
no matter the difficulty or challenge?

Harry Truman was famous for his expression,
'The Buck Stops Here.'

Where does the buck stop with you?
Your relationships?
Your thoughts?
Your life?

Professionals can protect themselves by acting in a
'generally ethical manner' and documenting all we do.

But in our personal lives, this CYA approach doesn't work.
At the end of the day, our life is our responsibility,
even when other people are involved.

We're like a coach who is judged by the team's winning record,
a production manager accountable for the quality of all lines,
a governor responsible for the conduct of employees
he or she has never seen or doesn't even know.

Christians are held accountable, not just for what we do,
but what we do not do... and the negative situations that arise.

Our job, our responsibility, is to make peace.
The Bible says, We are given the Ministry of Reconciliation.

That's hard. It's not fair. It's 'unjust.'
But when we take seriously all that we do and
recognize opportunities to make things a little better,
we are joining in the work God came to do in Jesus Christ.

And that is what Christmas is really about.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Open Doors

God always has more opportunities than we imagine.
Everytime something unwanted happens, relax.

God's at work doing incredible things
with even the most horrible events.

So, smile. When you face any difficulty, know
God is leaning against the lamp post of your future
already waiting to lead you ahead.