It’s all about me . . .
How many times have you had conversations with someone where it was like . . . I know I just met them, but I really like them. Where you could talk forever with them. Like you are long lost friends. What is it about them that makes that experience so special?
I would say one reason is because that person is interested in you. They ask you questions and draw things out of you. They inquire about you and your family, and they are truly interested in what you have to say. Do you know what people’s favorite subject is? It is themselves. What their favorite word is? It is their own name.
So if two people get together and want to talk about, let’s say . . . themselves. Well, they both stand there with nothing to say. So the conversation drifts to safe subjects. The weather, sports, or anything that is not directed to the other person. It is indicative of the drift to self-centeredness we have become in the 21st century.
Technology has helped to accelerate this. Technology isn’t the big bad guy, but we have to be purposeful in how we use it. We have websites dedicated to ourselves such as Facebook and MySpace. We Twit about . . . you guessed it, what WE are doing. Aren’t you fascinated with the most mundane aspects of my life? “I just had a piece of toast”, “I love the color green”, “Going for walk outside”. Come on!
We should be more purposeful in what we do. Make everything we do count. I hope we start putting others ahead of ourselves on a more frequent basis. That we reach out and make difference in other people’s lives. That we encourage others, share in their joys and sorrows. A fulfilled life is one shared. A life lived for God is extending that hope that He gives into the hurting world around us.
Jesus gave us one commandment in the New Testament. To love one another as He has love us. I pray that we all find ways to extent that love into the lives of those around us.
John 13:34 (NLT)
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
Are You Moved?
A couple of weeks ago, I had heard some unexpected negative news concerning our Senior Pastor’s health. It was hard to believe. Here is a man who has instilled such great faith in all of his congregation. He is a military man, a rock, and a fighter. With all that he has taught and imparted to us about health and healing, it was stunning. Hello? How could this man, our pastor, be fighting something like this? Well, the fight of your faith commences.
My mom passed away a year and a half ago after battling cancer. She never gave up hope. She was believing for her healing up to the end. So, if she had such great faith and passed away, and now your senior pastor has a health related issue, what are you suppose to think.
So this week, our pastor was going to take some time away to aggressively treat it. Then the news last night, after preliminary testing to determine his treatment, they can’t find anything. Um, what? Nothing? Clean bill of health? Yes, that’s the deal! Great News! God gets all the glory!
So now where is my faith? Do I add up all the people with great faith that didn’t make it and all of the ones that did? I guess I am at 50/50 then. Is that what we are suppose to do?
I don’t think so. We are not suppose to be moved by circumstance. The “news” on the economy is not good. Should I be moved? So and so had a strong marriage and now they are getting a divorce, should I be concerned? My father in-law committed suicide at 50, does this mean our family is cursed?
If my eyes were on other people or circumstances for my faith, I would be toast. That is not your gauge. Some people disappoint, some people are great examples. Circumstances are always in flux. The only true measure is the hope and promise that can only be found in His word. That is your measuring stick. By keeping my eyes on the what He has to say, I find myself breezing through those stormy days. I find myself more grounded and less likely to be blown off course. So, may you find yourself relying on His promises as you navigates the waters of your life.
Good Friday “Holiday”
What the heck is Good Friday? Oh yeah, another day off from work! How many “Holidays” do we celebrate, without really doing anything to commemorate them or knowing what they are about? What is Good Friday anyway? Well, for Christians, Good Friday commemorates not just a historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ, which with the resurrection, comprises the heart of the Christian faith. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified and died and on Easter Sunday, he rose again to everlasting life.
Say what? All of Christian faith is boiled down to what takes place today and on Easter Sunday. Jesus was the only Sacrifice needed to enable 
people to have a proper relationship with God
Now this is the good stuff, the paradox. Just as the result of Adam’s trespass (sin) for all men brought condemnation, so also the result of Christ’s act of righteousness was the justification that brings life for all men. The “one righteous act” offered to all, was Christ’s death on the cross. One brought death; the other brings life. The provision in the one righteous act, therefore, is potential and it comes to the entire human race as the offer and opportunity which are applied only to “those who receive” Jesus as Lord and Savior.
God gave proof of His love by having Christ die in the place of humans “while we were still sinners”. Because of the sinner’s response by faith to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God has declared him righteous. Since the divine dilemma of justification has been solved on the basis of Jesus’ shed blood, believers will never be condemned to hell nor will they be the objects of God’s coming Tribulation wrath.
So does this sound like mumbo jumbo? Well it isn’t, it is brilliant! No one could ever make a story like this up! If you have never heard the story, or only know it superficiously, take a look at it again with fresh eyes. Marvel at the paradox, the simplicity, the love that was conceived for us. Yes, you and me. May you have a blessed Good Friday and Easter as you reflect on the love that was poured out for you.
In the smallest things . . .
This weekend we put the finishing touch on making our own syrup from the maple trees in our yard. We were inspired after reading an article in the Minnesota Volunteer magazine. We have thoroughly enjoyed having a vegetable garden, apple trees, pear trees, raspberry and strawberry patches, bluebird houses, and flower gardens every year, so this sounded like a nice addition to everything else we do in the yard.