"Be Still"

Most mornings, I read the Charlotte Observer, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. That is a tough way to start the day. Global turbulence is on the increase; terrorism, economic upheaval, violence, abuse, fear, polarization and human trafficking. Distress screams at us. Somebody, do something! The need for change is a constant. We need a fix.

Jesus said, “Follow me.’  If we are serious followers, we ask daily, “What is the redemptive thing to do?”  Christians live out their faith in real time and space. Yes, your beliefs matter but the evidence is in how you live.

Fred Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  In other words, God’s call comes to us in real time and space. Not just in sacred seclusion. At some point, we put wheels on our faith and jump into the tough arena of Christian obedience. At some point, we have to get out of the stands, put on the uniform, get in shape, and get in the game. The material world is not the enemy of the spiritual world. We are body, mind and spirit. We are expected to be salt, yeast and light in the world. Christians are expected to be catalysts for good in this world. Christian compassion shows up in the flesh.

After reading the papers, I take time to pray. Yes, I express my praise to God and my concerns. Add to that, I allow some time for silence. I need to listen for God’s prompts. “Be still and know that I am God.”  The psalmist was insightful. Sure is hard in this culture to embrace that stillness!

Blessings,

"Celebrate Salvation"

One of God’s insights for me came when I realized God’s love for me is expressed in Jesus Christ. I can give love away because I have experienced it – unconditional love through the Savior.

Thankfully, I am loved, imperfections and all. There is no demand for perfection. Romans has it, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  God loves us just the way we are but he does not expect us to stay that way. In John 3, it talks about “everlasting life”.  In other words, God’s love for us comes from an inexhaustible supply. I celebrate salvation in Christ because it is not based on my behavior. That’s the significance of God’s grace.

Here is the liberating element; we do not have to perform in order to experience the love of God. Are good deeds important? Yes. However, that is not the basis for our acceptance in this redemptive program.

We cannot do anything to make God love us more. That love will not embrace bartering of any kind.  Our obedience to God’s Word is a response to God’s love. God wants a relationship with us.

St. Augustine put it this way, “Love God, and do as you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

What is this all about? When others refuse to change, we do not withhold love. We share that love with no strings attached. It is true even when people are hostile towards Christianity.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13.

Blessings,

"Celebrate Freedom"

The quest for freedom in America was a royal pain for King George, III. The freedom established by our forbearers in this remote agrarian backwater has miraculously survived and thrived. Today, we are party to the longest-running revolution in the world. So, we celebrate America’s birthday party, July 4. Parades, speeches, cookouts, picnics, Sousa marches, doubleheaders, demonstrations and fireworks are all part of Independence Day.

America’s contribution to the world is in the realm of ideas and ideals. This county is still the biggest market for foreign goods and the most powerful magnet for foreign capital. Our greatest challenge is in the area of values. What do we cherish for ourselves and our neighbors?

The Lady in the Harbor cries, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

Robert Bellah poignantly stated, “Freedom is the most resonant deeply-held American value.”  America embraces freedom from arbitrary authority. We want nothing imposed in terms of work, family, politics or religion. Less than half the people on this planet have the freedom we do!

The freedom we celebrate on July 4 was a religious concept long before it became a political concept. It is the nature of God to give freedom to all people. For me, there are two great symbols of freedom; the Statue of Liberty and the Cross of Christ.  No, you cannot equal the two.  Political freedom is built on the formation of spiritual freedom; the majority will govern but the minority will not be oppressed.  Every freedom we have was paid for by somebody else. That’s worth pondering.

Blessings!

"Christian Compassion"

Do you ever think about that old song, “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”?  The Bible never promises that Christians will always have it easy. No rose garden! The Bible says that the Savior will never leave us or forsake us. Even in life’s dark places, we are not abandoned. Repeatedly in the New Testament, Jesus was filled with compassion as he confronted the lepers, the blind, the hungry, the paralyzed and the desperate. As followers of Jesus Christ, our compassion takes us into some dark places. We too confront despair, anger, anxiety, alienation, estrangement, guilt, shame and sin.  Romans 8 reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Out of Orlando’s tragedies, we saw signs, posters, pictures, candles, crosses and notes. The persistent theme of the notes was a longing for harmony, love and peace. I believe Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  He is the source of my peace. He longs to partner with us in opposing hate, killings and terrorism.  Jesus is my source of hope. My job is to be hope with skin on it while I am on this earth. My prayers reach out to the Lord on behalf of all the Orlando folks touched by these tragedies.

Emotional deprivation is dangerous. Love is not paid back, it is only passed on. The Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.”  Christian compassion does take us into some very dark places. The good news is, “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.”

Blessings,

"Mercy in God"

There is more mercy in God than sin is us. The Bible says, “The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.”  That sure sounds like infinity to me.

To be in the Church, the body of Christ, is to have some insight concerning the mercy of God. The community of faith always has been, is, and no doubt will be an amazing mix of fallible souls. Only the mercy of God would allow us the opportunity to claim to be part of the body of Christ.

Somebody said, “I love humanity; it’s people that are the problem.”  Fortunately, those of us who claim to be part of the Church know that our salvation is an ongoing process. I have had the privilege of serving eight Presbyterian congregations. All of them have been made up of leaders, followers, comics and critics. They are always present; only the faces change.

That’s why we must keep remembering our calling to be new creations in Christ Jesus. The Sacrament of Holy Communion is a constant reminder that we have been bought at an awful price for a redemptive purpose. If there is one place in our culture where we are on equal footing, it is at the Lord’s Table.  We are all sinners in need of being embraced by God’s mercy and grace. Grace is God’s unconditional love for those who don’t deserve it. Having celebrated the sacrament, we leave the Lord’s Table with a sense that we can start over.

It reminds me of the old Vince Gill song, “One More Last Chance.”  There is more mercy in God than sin in us.

Blessings,

"Millennials"

Millennials are hard wired to embrace change. Their world knows that change is a constant. The difference is that change hits them at warp speed. “The speed of information allows transformation to happen at an exponential rate.”

Who makes up this Millennial generation? One third of Americans are Millennials. They consist of people born between 1981 and 2000. These are without doubt our most technologically-literate Americans. They are often described as skeptical of all institutions, liberal, global in their worldview, and ethnically diverse.

These folks want to discover meaning in life. They want their lives to count. Renew, reshape and re-imagine slips into their vocabulary on a daily basis. No institution, including the Church, is immune from this revolutionary mindset. Teamwork fits their style. Affirmation, cooperation and encouragement energize them. They embrace change.

My friend, David Kinnaman, has written extensively on the dropout phenomenon of Millennials from the institutional church. He says 65% of Millennials rarely or never attend church.

Are they rejecting Jesus Christ? No, they have become disenchanted with the institution of the Church. They see the Church as insulated from the world and as a result, unable to impact the culture with the Gospel. They love authenticity. Many ache for a relationship with God. They know God wants a relationship with them and not a performance.

My job and yours is to challenge this generation to live out the Christian Faith in holiness and sold out to sharing the Good News. One Millennial wrote “God seems missing from my experience of church.”

The Church is not real estate. It is a living body, the body of Christ, devoid of barriers. It is not a corporation. As Christ said, it is a spiritual entity. Thankfully, God has not disenfranchised any of us from the body of Christ.

Blessings,

"Humility"

I seem to have a hard time with people who are self-promoting. I am much more comfortable with people that are self-effacing. They tend to be attentive, good listeners and gracious. Self-promoters always make me question their sincerity and the extent of their desire to manipulate.

Humility is a marvelous attribute. Egotism is ravenous for recognition. Humility does not need to prove superiority all the time.

1 Peter 5 says, “All of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble!’

Humility comes before wisdom. There is plenty that we do not know and that which we do know is limited by our perspective and biases. At some point we have to realize that we are not the General Managers of the Universe. The world does not revolve around us. I often think of Copernicus and his theory that the Sun did not revolve around the earth. The culture despised him for that. He was proven to be accurate.

Our love of truth must have a higher priority than our love for popularity. We all need people around us who will speak the truth – affirm, convict, inspire, discipline and direct us. In humility we should celebrate those courageous members of our circle of love and thank God for their candor.

Blessings!