When eagles fly ...

 In the book of the Prophet Isaiah at the end of the 40th chapter you will find this amazing promise ... "Yet those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength;  they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not get weary ..." 

It is a familiar verse to all of us who held our breath during the movie Chariots of Fire and marvelled at Eric Liddel's faith and fire.  Everyone of us who has ever laced up running flats has hoped for that renewal as we approach "the wall."

This morning in church we experienced that renewal. 

Sometimes the Lord chooses to sovereignly intervene in His house, to speak to His church, and to refresh His people.   Today was such a day.  Pastor never preached;  we didn't do announcements, and we just barely had a collection.  But we had CHURCH.  This morning there were calls to repentance, calls to obedience and calls to seek His presence. 

I love pentecost because we admit that God still rules in His house and the gifts of the Holy Spirit remain a part of the life of the church as well as a part of its history.  Our altars were filled with those who wanted to experience more of God and were not content with anything less than all that God has for His children.  I cannot wait to see what the Lord will do next.

I could not help but wonder if this was a taste of the great and marvelous things that He has in store for us.  I imagine John the Baptist heading out to the desert knowing only that he was called to be the forerunner of the Christ and to prepare the way. He could not have known all that would come to pass, but he boldly proclaimed that the Kingdom was at hand.  I am convinced that the Lord reveals just enough to give His people boldness if they will trust him for the next step.

I hope that what we experienced this morning is the forerunner of greater grace and a wave of revival.  It is marvelous in this season when we remember and celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus to anticipate a renewing work in His church.  Nothing would honor the Incarnation more than the church which He died to create becoming that shining city on a hill. 

Salt of the Earth ...

One of my favorite parts of the Gospels is the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus reveals just how radical and how different the Kingdom of Heaven is from the kingdoms of this earth.  When you read it carefully, it is inescapable that the rules of that new kingdom are so different from what we think and do.  In verse 16 of the fourth chapter of Matthew's gospel, Jesus said "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  (Matt. 4:16).  

That is so opposite from how we behave when left to our own devices -- we want everyone to notice when we've done something -- I always gather an audience to appreciate my latest painting project even if I put it off for months!  We all desire recognition and praise, but Jesus says that our motivation is that our heavenly Father will be glorified instead of us.   I know that the Father doesn't need my praise and His glory doesn't increase because I recognize it.  And yet we are commanded to bring glory to His name.  That's another reminder of how different our thinking is from heavenly thinking.

    I've wondered about the meaning of the verse that precedes this ... "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? ..."  (Matt. 4:13).  I've heard many conversations about how salt preserves and how the church is to preserve the culture.   I think that anyone who has ever eaten ham or prosciutto understands how salt preserves.   ... but I think Jesus was talking about salt as the flavor of life.

   Think about how salt is used in cooking -- you sprinkle it, a little salt is added to the pot, a little salt is mixed into the rest of the ingredients.  The measures for salt are always small -- less than a teaspoon, a pinch, a dash, but never a tablespoon or a cup.  When there's too much salt we gag.  When there's no salt the flavor is gone.  Salt is about balance  -- enough to enhance, enough to brighten, enough to influence without being seen for saltiness.   When salt is done right, you don't notice it.  You notice salt only when there's not enough or there's too much. 

   That's the model for how the Christian is to permeate the culture -- giving savor, bringing out the best in the others, encouraging, brightening and showing the joy that is our birthright in Jesus.  In Peter's first letter, he tells us that we are to be "ready to give everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that lies within you."   (1 Peter 3:15)  If we're really busy about being salt -- distributed in dashes, pinches, and teaspoons -- making all around us brighter, you will be asked and our heavenly Father will be glorified.

  Be salt!  Sprinkle!

Keep the faith.

Missing the Point!

The lighthouse at Nauset Beach no longer stands at the shoreline -- it's been moved inland a bit following beach erosion.  Its companion lighthouses known as the "Three Sisters" are now in a park that can't be seen from the water.  They, and the Nauset Lighthouse, are now memorials to what they used to be and do.  They are no longer serving as active lighthouses, but they look the part.  Sometimes our most precious institutions are like these lighthouses -- a memorial to what they once were.  They look marvelous,  but  you need a sign to tell you where the lighthouse is! 

The same is true in some churches -- if you didn't have the sign out front, you couldn't tell.  

This weekend the plans of an independent church in Gainesville, Florida  to burn copies of the Koran on September 11th  has been all over the airwaves.  Most of the commentators have entirely missed the point.  The confrontational aspect of the proposed burnings and its potential impact on US military stationed in harms way seems to be the principal objection.  It's not hard to find claims that Islamophobia is the motivation and primary issue.  However, the commentators simply don't get the real point.

Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount -- "Just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way."  (Luke 6:31).   Most of us learned that verse as the Golden Rule -- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  The pastor and congregation of Dove World Outreach Center haven't understood or applied this simple commandment from the One they name as Lord. 

Is there a Christian church anywhere that would not be profoundly outraged and offended by the burning of the New Testament?  Why, if Christians desire that others respect our sacred books, do we not extend the same respect to the books that others hold to be sacred?  Precisely because I hope that the Bible will be given its due respect, I will respect the feelings of Muslims everywhere and treat the Koran with honor.  That doesn't mean that we agree with it or with the claims that Muslims make for it, but we must extend to it a recognition that many hold it dear.

One of my favorite verses from the New Testament is found in Peter's first letter ... "always being ready to give every man a reason for the hope that lies within you, with gentleness and respect."  (I Peter 3:15)  There are two keys to Peter's command to the church -- that the hope that Christians have should be evident from our joy and peace and that when we talk to others about that hope, we are gentle and respectful.  In the almost thirty years that I have served Jesus, I've never met anyone who became a follower of Jesus Christ because they lost the argument!   Conversions happen when hearts are turned, not when the debate is over.    How will burning a Koran open a dialog with the very people you hope to reach with the Gospel?

As we approach September 11th and the circus begins in Gainesville, it should be the church of Jesus Christ which says to the world -- these people are being disobedient to the clear commands of the Bible, they're wrong and we object to their poor witness to the love and mercy of our Savior.

Keep the faith.

where's the real rest?

July is that time of year when we begin to actually take the vacations that we planned all year long.   We tell ourselves in the bleak midwinter that summer will be glorious.  As we are lacing up the winter boots, our thoughts turn to sandals and walking barefoot in the sand.  Mostly we tell ourselves that we deserve a good rest.  I trust that you have plans to pack a very light suitcase and go somewhere where you can smell salt in the air, eat BBQ and actually need to wear sunblock.

Last week we took a short trip to Portland, ME just to extend the 4th of July weekend and to see the lighthouses, rocky coastline, eat lobster (pronounced lobstah) and pretend that I really didn't have to go back to work.  On our way home, we stopped in the village of Biddeford Pool, found the Audubon Sanctuary, walked the trail, and were rewarded with a marvelous view of the Wood Island Light from a tiny rocky beach.   Needless to say, I did not leave without several photos of the lighthouse.  When I saw this working boat pass by the lighthouse I couldn't resist connecting the lighthouse with the reason for its existence -- the safety of working boatmen.  

When I got home and reviewed the pictures, I found a small slice of life in this picture.   If you look carefully at the back of the boat, you will see one of the fishermen on that boat dead asleep as they sailed past the markers and the lighthouse. (click on the picture to see it larger; use the return arrow to get back)  It reminded me of someone else who was asleep in the boat and could rebuke the wind and the waves (Luke 8:22-25).   How was it that Jesus could sleep in the midst of that storm?  Luke tells us that the boat was "being swamped" and that they were in "great danger."   His disciples included Peter, Andrew, James and John who made their living as fishermen on that very lake.  Their fear was based on experience, a knowledge of the strength of their boat and the strength of the storm. 

After He awoke, Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves - telling them Peace, be still!  (Mark 4:39) - when the sea became calm, Jesus had one question for His disciples ... Where is your faith? (Luke 8:25). 

Real rest begins and ends in faith.  Just like the fisherman in the picture, you have to trust the pilot and the boat to sleep.  How many times have we forgotten that our entire lives are played out in and by His grace?  Is our restlessness a statement about our level of faith or the difficulty of our circumstances?  The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us "there remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God." (Hebrews 4:9).  He has prepared a rest for us -- all we have to do is trust Him.

Keep the faith

Richard

real freedom -- it's worth celebrating!

Today, I had a conversation with a friend who described his 4th of July plans -- to take his grandchildren into Boston for the reading of the Declaration of Independence.  He said that this was a tradition that he wanted to pass on.  What made it all the more meaningful was his delightful Polish accent -- which took great pride in this tradition.   There are so many Independence Day traditions -- the fireworks, BBQ, the Bristol Parade, the Boston Pops on the Esplanade with the 1812 Overture -- all of which remind us of those amazing ideas that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights which include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Lately I've been thinking about what guarantees our lives, our liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  It's easy to look at our history as a nation and find those moments -- like George Washington at Newburg, like Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, like Martin Luther King Jr at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- where the spirit of the nation stood on the edge of a razor.  At each of those moments, a leader validated the promises of the Declaration with courage, wisdom and hope. We  rejoice in the good fortune, honor the men who graced us with their lives and take hope from the fact that men like Washington, Lincoln and King are part of our heritage.

There is a deeper guarantee -- one for eternal life, one that promises freedom from the bondage of sin and evil, and one that promises that the pursuit of happiness is not a chimera. In John's Gospel, Jesus told us that I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10).  The apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the church at Corinth -- if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold, new things have come.  (2 Cor. 5:17).  These promises -- of abundant life, or newness, that the old things are really behind us when we are in Christ -- animate the life of freedom that the Christian can live as a birthright.  We can live as redeemed children of God and know the life of peace and joy that Jesus set before us.

But there is a key to experiencing the fullness of the joy set before us.  It is the key of forgiveness.  C. S. Lewis made the observation that those who say that forgiving is easy have never had anything to forgive!  I am convinced that when Jesus told Peter that he must forgive his brother seventy times seven times (Matthew 18:22) He was being quite literal.  On the path to forgiving someone four hundred ninety times, you will learn the heart of forgiveness and stop keeping score.  You will also learn the power of the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples ... And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ... (Matthew 6:12);  that our experience of the joy of being forgiven is tied directly to how freely we forgive others. 

I am also convinced that along that path to forgiving four hundred ninety times, we will learn what Gandhi told us "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."  The strength to forgive comes from the understanding that none of us is perfect and from a heart that is grateful that it has been forgiven much.

If we would have life, liberty and pursue happiness -- they all begin in a life surrendered to Christ.  If we would find happiness and freedom, they are on the road of forgiveness.

Keep the faith

Richard

living independently -- how to celebrate the 4th

The Declaration of Liberty is a promise which continues to be fulfilled by each generation.  The first installment was the Revolutionary War.  The second installment was the Civil War.   In the Revolutionary War this nation was blessed to have a leader who choose to become a Cincinnatus who would walk away from power when it would have been easy to hold it.  In the Civil War the nation was blessed in the person of Abraham Lincoln.   When I look over the life of Lincoln, I can see a man who found wisdom and learned the value of letting go of pride and the freedom of forgiveness.  

Some of his practical wisdom ... "We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it."  When you look at his cabinet -- read A Team of Rivals -- and you begin to understand that only someone who could choose not to take offense could have worked with that team.   Lincoln also said  "I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice." and "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."  Those ideas came to fruition in his 2nd Inaugural Address which he close with this amazing paragraph.

With malice toward none, and charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 

Remember that those were the words of a president who was winning the war - a war in which more Americans died than all of our other wars combined.  A war that left deep scars on the nation's soul.   What is profound is that Lincoln  embraced mercy when vengeance would have been so much more popular.  The great tragedy of the 19th century in America was the failure to choose mercy during Reconstruction.  The legacy of  Reconstruction was an impoverished South, Jim Crow, the KKK and a nation that called a grown man "boy."  I often wonder how different the life of the nation would have been if the high calling to mercy and restoration had been embraced by a war weary nation.

The prophet Isaiah wrote "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4).  Jesus said  "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing"  (Luke 23:34) 

Peace is the lesson that the Lord would have us study -- He would have us perfect peace, not conflict.  He would have us practice mercy and leave justice to His wisdom.  Forgiveness is the heart of the Gospel -- it is what we need most desperately to receive, and it is what we most desperately need to give.

Keep the faith.
Richard

The Other Independence Day -- March 15, 1783

Very soon we will celebrate the 4th of July with picnics, parades, fireworks and a remembrance of just how extraordinary the Declaration of Independence remains. Some of us will think about the risks that its signers took -- placing their lives, their fortunes, and well being in the venture. As we celebrate, it's good to remember the courage and the blessing that the promise of the Declaration sets before the nation and the world. Each generation of Americans has invested that Declaration with greater meaning and brought its promises closer to fulfillment. It is a great blessing to live in a nation that declares as a foundational truth that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights. So many live in places where that promise is rejected out of hand.

We learned about Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Trenton, Saratoga, and Yorktown in school. We learned something of the very dear price that was paid for making the first installment on the Declaration. Perhaps we understood something about the cost of freedom if we listened carefully and used our imaginations to walk in the snows of Valley Forge and face the years of defeat punctuated by improbable victories. It would be easy to see the story of the Revolution and the years that followed that culminated in our Constitution as a stream that just had to occur exactly as it did. It would be easy to believe that the Constitution had to follow the Declaration just as day follows night.

It would be easy, but it would be wrong. A quick read of history tells us that most revolutions fail even when they sweep the Ancient Regime aside. Most become dictatorships or worse. So much depends upon the character of the men who lead the revolution.

By 1783, Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown and the negotiations with England dragged on in Paris. The English still held New York and the Continental Army was still mustered at Newburgh to hold that English army in the city. Unfortunately, the Congress struggled with exactly how to pay the army and many of its officers were close to mutiny. By March of 1783 a full blown conspiracy to march on the Congress in Philadelphia and force it to pay back wages was well underway. One of its leaders was Horatio Gates who had been involved in the Conway Cabal, a plot to replace George Washington during some of the darker days of the Revolutionary War.

George Washington was informed of this conspiracy by Alexander Hamilton and met with the rebellious officers at the Public Building in Newburgh. The rebellious officers were sullen, but when Washington paused before attempting to read a prepared speech, to put on his eye glasses he said to them ..."Gentlemen, will you permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in the service of my country." With that simple statement, the remembrances of shared ordeals and loyalty overcame anger. The heart went out of the conspiracy in that moment. The nation was saved from becoming just another banana republic with a dreary series of juntas and dictators to punctuate a sad history. We are a blessed people that when liberty stood on a knife's edge, good men remembered what they had suffered and sacrificed for. We were blessed to have a leader who knew humility is greater strength than boasting.

So as you celebrate the Fourth, think about George Washington's spectacles and how they saved us. We all need help remembering what the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, "In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Eph. 4:26-27) When you find that your anger is capturing your heart, remember Washington's spectacles. There is always more that holds us together than will pull us apart -- if we are willing to see it.

Keep the faith

Richard

Lessons from the Plum Beach Lighthouse

The lighthouse at Plum Beach was built in 1899 and was 39 years old when the Hurricane of 1938 sent 30 foot waves crashing into the tower. The two light keepers survived by lashing themselves to the weights of the clockwork mechanism that rotated the light. But it was not the storm that nearly destroyed this lighthouse -- the building of the Jamestown bridge made it obsolete in 1941. Only the sea birds inhabited this mighty tower until 2003 when the restoration began. It now stands proudly and its light once again shines in the night.

In John 8:12 Jesus said "I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." I think that those two lighthouse keepers understood just how desperately we must hold onto the light. The storms of life will come; they will threaten to sweep us away into that darkness. Only when we hold onto the light when all hope seems gone will we find just how precious the light is. The really neat thing is this -- as we hold on, He holds us all the closer. When our strength fails, His begins.

The neglect of this lighthouse after the bridge was built tells us that old victories will not win today's battle. The tower was abandoned to the birds, and sixty years of neglect was demonstrated in the 52 tons of guano that were removed during the restoration. Grace and mercy are like the crew that cleaned away the debris of neglect, restored the lighthouse to its purpose and turned its light back on. Grace and mercy rescue and make things new.

It reminds me of the Prodigal Son -- "But the father said to his slaves, quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it and let us make merry; for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; was lost and has been found ..." (Luke 15:22) I see something of the Father's style in this brave lighthouse -- because it was loved, it no longer is covered in bird droppings, it has a fresh coat of paint (the best robe), it has a ring (its light is on again) and it stands proud again (new sandals). Each year hundreds of visitors celebrate its victory and restoration and capture its image from boats, cars and from the shore.

We can take a lesson or two from this brave lighthouse -- we must hold onto the light and God is in the restoration business.

Keep the faith

Richard

don't forget to remember ...

This week I found a copy of a concert video which features James Taylor and Carole King performing at the Troubadour. They had a collaboration through the '70's that defined the very best of pop music at that time. Watching Carole perform so many of the songs from Tapestry reminded me of the places where I first heard them -- Ames, Birmingham, Cape Cod, Bridgewater, ... and the good friends who are part of the memories of those places and times. Watching James do the magic with the songs that will always be his fills me with a joy that there really are some things that for all the changes remain charming and true. I do wonder which of today's songs will have the same power 40 years later.

JT introduced You've Got A Friend and reminded all of us that Carole allowed him to release the single while she was cutting Tapestry. He went on to say that he's had the opportunity to sing that song every night ever since then. I am convinced that the reason why so many of us love the song is that we all need a friend like the one in the song and we all wish that we could be as good a friend as the song promises. The song speaks to a need and gives us a promise that the need can be met.

In John's Gospel (John 15:15 and 15:13) Jesus told the disciples -- No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends. Two verses earlier Jesus told them that -- Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. I am convinced that the real reason why we all cherish this lovely song --You've Got A Friend -- is because it has an echo of a deeper truth and it speaks to that greatest love and our first and best Friend.

Keep the faith!

Richard

Sisters ...

Last weekend, I spent a lot of time with Emma and Lila. There are few things better than a Saturday spent with grand kids. The girls are coming up on their common birthday in just a month -- Emma will be four and Lila will be one. There will be great celebrating on the big day. This picture celebrates the heart of that shared birthday -- the simple joy of knowing that you will always have your sister's hand to hold, a best friend who will help you walk when the world is wiggly and someone who thinks you are just the most fun in the entire world. Sometimes we forget the great gift of sisters and brothers, of family, of friends and get caught up in stuff.

Shame on us, because we really do know better.

The really neat thing is that being the big sister who's keeping the wiggly world safe or being the little sister who honors you with trust are both needful. We all need that hand to keep us steady; and we all need to be needed.

Jesus talked about our need to be connected to each other in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel. He said ... I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit ... I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends ..."

It's really all about leaning on Him, growing in His love, and letting Him produce fruit in your life. It's about putting your hand in His hand and letting Him make your world less wiggly. You can find joy beyond measure in letting your best friend help you walk.

Emma and Lila did.

Keep the faith!

a fresh look down memory lane ...

On Saturday, just because the promise of Spring exploded with 70+ degrees and sunshine, we drove to Newport to do the Cliff Walk. After parking at First Beach, I noticed these kids frolicking on the sand. It brought back so many memories of Sean, Cil, Pat and Becky playing on the beaches of Cape Cod.

It always started with running in the sand, then the shoes and sox were off. There was always a promise that "we're only going in to our knees." I always carried wet children home after they'd discovered that swimming was more fun than wading. We all knew how it would end; and it was part of the fun to see just how long they could hold out before the call of the water was just too much.

It's good to see that kids really haven't changed -- that there is nothing quite as much fun as a good run in the waves and flirting with getting completely soaked.

While we were in the Dominican, our friends in San Francisco de Marcoris taught us a song about swimming in the river of God. The verses say that I don't want to just get my knees wet, my shoulders wet; I want to swim in the river of God. We should be impatient with anything less than to be completely immersed in His love and His presence.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:14 - 16 "because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

I am mindful that as much pleasure as I took from watching my kids play on the beach and flirt with just how wet they could get, my heavenly Father takes so much more. He is watching to see just how deep we will get in the river of God's love. I know He smiles when we come up soaked in the Spirit!

Keep the faith

Richard

they that wait ...

In the movie Chariots of Fire, the Scot, Eric Liddell, preaches from the prophet Isaiah during the Sunday of the Paris Olympic games. The text is so familiar -- "yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:31) It is the marathoner's favorite verse and an encouragement to all who feel that they have given their all.

Recently, I had a chance to hear a friend talk about waiting on the Lord from a different perspective -- it isn't passively setting back and thinking positive thoughts. It is an active wait -- the kind of waiting that a birdwatcher in a blind engages in. You wait prepared, in a chosen place, because you expect to see a remarkable bird. Those sights are never seen by those who are not willing to rise early, to prepare and to set and wait. The reward is that you see what others miss. Photographers know the same truth about sunsets -- they pass quickly and only those who recognize the signs of a glorious sunset ever capture them.

On our return flight from the Dominican Republic, I found myself at Miami International Airport waiting for a flight back to Boston which was delayed because of East Coast weather. The windows faced west and I saw this glimmer in the sky -- there was a sliver of what is called the "golden hour" which back light the control tower. I spent the next half hour taking pictures of the glory that the Father shows us -- it renewed my spirit. If my heavenly Father provides such beauty which, like the lilies of the field, is here today and gone tomorrow, how much more will He show us when we spend eternity with Him! It is the certainty that greater things are coming; and that seeing Jesus face to face is greater than the most amazing moment we shall ever have on this planet continues to excite me.

At the end of the sunset, I saw a sky painted red and gold by my Father's hand -- He rewarded me for waiting upon Him and gave me the object lesson in active waiting. It is all about recognizing the signs of His coming and being ready to join in His work. If you don't look for the first signs of the golden light, you might just be in Starbucks waiting for a coffee when His handiwork is on display. As for me and my house, I want to see His glory -- I can get a cappuccino any day.

Keep the faith!


Richard



P.S. Remember the advice that Eric's father gave him ... "Run in God's name and let the world stand back in wonder"

Costly Grace ...

I've been reading Chuck Colson's book The Faith and have become stuck in a chapter called Exchanging Identities. In that chapter Colson writes about the real work of salvation and contrasts it with the ideas so common in America's re-branded Christianity.

The words "born again" and "being saved" roll off our tongues so quickly that we forget just how radical the idea really is. Sometimes when I read the third chapter of John's gospel, I think that Nicodemus must have left his thinking cap at home on the night he visited Jesus. "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" (John 3:4) The idea of a new birth is really hard to understand, especially when you have position and prestige.

It is the exchange of our old identity for the identification with Christ that is at the heart of being "born again." It's being ready to let go of who I am, what I do, and where I'll go that is at the calling. It is understanding that it's not about how I can change me, but how surrendering to Jesus will bring the real change in me. The point of being born again is not that I resolve my issues with guilt and sin, but that I take on a new identity. I choose to cooperate with grace and let His will be done in my life.

Colson tells of the radical transformation that comes with being born again. Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to faith in 1931 and changed. He became a leader in the confessing church which would not submit to Nazi control. He lost his university position, was denied access to the airwaves and forbidden to publish or speak in public. In June of 1939, he arrived in New York where he could have waited out the war in relative safety. His understanding of the cost of grace compelled him to return to Germany, spy for the Allies, and plot the assassination of Hitler. He could not stand idly by while the machinery of the Holocaust consumed its victims. His actions ultimately resulted in his execution only three weeks before the liberation of Berlin. While in prison he modeled the life that Christ calls us to. His prison camp doctor said of him,"In the almost fifty years I have worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God."

That is the radical change that being born again calls us to -- to choose to follow Christ when it would be easier and safer to stay away. To find the work that is set before us and do it unto His glory. When we think about salvation as something that is about us, we do miss the point. It is about living our lives under His control, for His purposes and for His glory.

The apostle Paul tells us how we are saved, who saved us and why we are saved in the second chapter of Ephesians -- For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10)

There's nothing so radical as being redeemed and born again. There's nothing so costly as the free gift of salvation, and no victory so sweet as surrender to Christ.

Keep the faith.

John's Nativity Story ...

I'm looking out the window of the sliding door to the deck onto the scene of snow falling on the trees and the pond. I can see the reflection of the lights of the Christmas tree on the glass. As I do, I'm considering my options -- do we watch "White Christmas," "Frosty the Snowman," "Home Alone," or the local weather channel? I think that Ralphie, the Red Ryder BB gun, and the "Christmas Story" might just win. Maybe it will be "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas."

I rejoice that families behave like families at this time of year. That we make and collect memories, tell the old stories, and get nostalgic over decorations, trees, and traditions. If nothing else happened, it would still be worth celebrating this outpouring of kindness once a year. But there is an amazing reality that sits just below the decorations, the celebrations, the music, and the giving.

In the Gospel of John we read ..."the Word became flesh and dwelt among us ..." (John 1:14). The scope of what John wrote is amazing because he also tells us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." (John 1:1). John has just told us that the Creator chose to live among us. That is the Nativity story distilled down to its most fundamental truth -- that God chose to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ.

I'm so happy that the other Gospel writers tell us about Mary, Joseph, the angel, the trip to Bethlehem. About the magi, about Anna, about Simeon, about Elizabeth, and about the shepherds. They gave us a way to comprehend the humanity of Jesus' birth and love the humility of it all.

I have wondered why the apostle John didn't tell us more of the birth of His Lord. After all, Jesus committed Mary to John's care ..."Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, here is your mother. From that time on, the disciple took her into his home." (John 19:26-27). John most certainly knew all of the stories that Mary hid in her heart. So why is John's Nativity story so different?

I am convinced that John knew that Matthew, Mark and Luke had given us the baby Jesus in their Nativity accounts. John wanted us to take our comprehension of the baby Jesus one step further. John wanted us breathless at the manger. He wanted us to be, like the prophet Isaiah, "undone" in the presence of the Holy One.

I love God's style. He gives us a heart message -- the story of the baby Jesus who we can all love because it speaks to our love of our own children -- and a head message that captures our imaginations. He wants our hearts and our heads, and He feeds both.

So, as you celebrate this amazing intervention of the Word into the world, hold your family especially close -- make a memory. And think about the deepest blessing of this season ... that He dwelt among us.

Keep the faith.

The Forgotten Man at the Manger ...

Christmas brings lots of memories -- family gatherings, watching "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Christmas Carol," and the "Christmas Story" are all near the top. They remind us of the blessings of family and how precious it is to spend this season with the ones we love. It's also a season to remember the One whose birth we celebrate. It is so easy to get caught up in the cards, the shopping, the decorating, the parties and figuring out exactly how far our budget can stretch that we can forget just what we celebrate.

There are moments when it does come back into focus -- when we think about that night when there was no room at the inn. That night when, in the words of John's gospel, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) I'm not sure that the Christmas creche is exactly right with shepherds, angels and wise men collecting in the stable on the same night. Matthew's gospel tells us that the wise men came to the house where the child was staying (Matthew 2:11), but I am sure that Joseph was present when Jesus was born.

Joseph amazes me -- he was asked to trust Mary who told him what must have seemed to be an impossible story. He had no visit from an angel to calm his fears or settle his doubts, and yet he stood by Mary protecting her and the Baby who would save them both. All that Joseph had was his love for Mary, and a dream (Matthew 1:20). I wonder how many of us would be willing to set aside our pride, our doubts and our hurts because of a dream that told us ... "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife ... that the child is of the Holy Spirit ... and that you shall call his name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

Somehow in all of our remembrance of Bethlehem, the inn with no room, the shepherds, Mary, the cattle trough, and the Magi Joseph seems to slip quietly into the background. I have come to appreciate the rare gift of humility that he demonstrates -- just do the loving and right thing even if no one sees it. But Joseph received an honor that the rest of us can only imagine -- he was chosen to protect Mary and Jesus, to provide a home for them, and to love that holy baby. What an awesome reward!

This song, written by Michael Card, is the only Christmas song that looks to Joseph and opens up the heart of that father. Think of this as an early Christmas gift -- I hope it gets you into the real Christmas spirit.

Keep the faith!

Follow me ...

Last Thursday I visited an old friend who is now in hospice care. I had the privilege of joining more than 20 other men who know and love Lloyd. The men were all part of a Bible study that Lloyd taught for many years. The men came to minister to him, but Lloyd remained that faithful minister of grace that he has been for so long. He had a word of encouragement for each and every man there, he shared his hope for a cure, and his confidence that His Lord was waiting to say ... Well done, good and faithful servant.

Lloyd did not forget that it was grace that saved him and that it is grace that leads him home. Each time Lloyd spoke, the words of Scripture were on his lips. When you spent time with Lloyd, it was clear what a radically transformed life really is -- it is filled with grace, love, and peace. Everyone who knew him has the same description -- Lloyd is Jesus' gentle giant.

When I think about Lloyd, I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's advice to the church at Corinth -- Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) This picture of a boat sailing on Narragansett bay at sunset so perfectly illustrates this -- you will note that there is a small boat being towed by the sailboat, following in its wake. For many, it has been a great blessing to ride along in that little boat following in the wake of this gentle giant.

Two days before the visit our Church Board and Deacons unanimously appointed Lloyd an Honorary Deacon. I am certain that no one has ever deserved the title more -- deacons were first appointed in the Jerusalem church to serve God's people. I don't know anyone who has been a more joyful servant.

Well done, my friend. I'm proud to sail in your wake.

Keep the faith!

New Again

Butterflies have long been symbols of rebirth and renewal -- their lives include metamorphosis changing from one form to another, sometimes appearing more dead than alive only to reveal after the final cocoon stage the magnificent creature that the Father designed. When we look at a butterfly, we can see the immense creativity that His hands possess.

Recently, I heard a song that brings into very sharp focus the One who is the ultimate model of renewal. The Lamb that was slain and sits upon the throne of heaven. It's part of an MP3 Christmas album by Sara Evans and is a duet with Brad Paisley. In this marvelous song, there is an amazing dialog between Jesus and Mary.

Always remember, because He became "new again" on Easter Sunday, His promise that He will give eternal life to all those who trust Him is something that we can believe and build our lives upon. We can become "new again" too.

Listen to the song and let His love speak to you

Keep the faith.

Richard

they that wait ...

On Columbus Day weekend, we spent an afternoon in Gloucester Harbor taking in the sights which includes a 2001 stature that honors the wives of the fishermen who have sailed out of Gloucester and never returned. It reminds all of us of the courage of these women who have, for centuries, accepted the risks, raised kids and displayed that quiet strength that's all about doing the right thing because it is the right thing. There is no movie like The Perfect Storm that chronicles their lives. Only their families know.

There is a second statue, an older statue, erected in 1923, that celebrates the courage of the fishermen who sailed from Gloucester harbor from 1623 to the present. The names of 5368 men who are known to be lost at sea, who never came home, are listed on bronze plaques that surround the statue of a fisherman at the wheel. The names tell the story of the immigrants who came to this corner of New England to make a life in the schooners and dories of Gloucester. It is a testimony of men who could pray, "Oh Lord, Your sea is so great; and my boat is so small."

Each of us faces an uncertain tomorrow. No one has been promised tomorrow, and we do not know the challenges that it may bring. Jesus told us "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33-34). He challenges us to live each day one at time and to trust our heavenly Father for the needs of today and tomorrow. It is a willingness to wait upon the Lord that gives us real strength and a confidence that even though the sea is so great and our boat is so small, His eye is upon us.

The prophet Isaiah encouraged the children of Israel at a dark time with these words. They remind us of where our sufficiency is and where our confidence must be anchored.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

Keep the faith!

Memorial Sunset

This weekend we spent a lovely afternoon in Plymouth and acted like tourists. We saw the sights and took the harbor cruise which I highly recommend. As we were returning to the dock, we saw the Forefathers Memorial from the deck of the ship as it overlooks the city. After taking yet another look at Plymouth Rock, the statue of Massasoit and the statue of Governor William Bradford (one of Candace's ancestors), we took the short drive up to Memorial Park. This was the image that greeted me -- a memorial silhouetted against the sunset. The Lord is so gracious to us as He shows us the work of His hands painting the perfect backdrop for this moment.

When you get a bit closer, you can see that the large figure that crowns the monument is Faith who is surrounded by statues representing Liberty, Morality, Education and Law. Candace and I were both amazed by this vision and understanding that Faith is the crowning achievement of our forefathers and it rests upon the virtues of liberty, morality, education and law. That it is not a thing apart, but the outcome. It is worth recognizing that liberty is not separated from morality, education and law. It is also compelling that these very American virtues are so intertwined.

Faith depends upon the liberty to follow your conscience; it is the outcome of a desire to know the truth (education); it is the fruit of a desire to live according to the truth (morality) and it learns from the law. Candace and I wondered if such a monument (this one was erected in the 1890's) could be built today or if political correctness would mute such a statement.

This memorial honors the Pilgrims and the faith that drove them to seek a new land where they might see the Gospel lived out. While it is a lovely thing to honor those brave men and women, we should not forget that the reward that they desired most was to hear these words when they passed on from this life ... Well done, good and faithful servant ...

Keep the faith

when you're out of step ...

While we were on vacation in Dennisport I spent some time watching sandpipers on the beach. They ran into and out of the waves as they were searching for a bit of food buried under the sand. They shared their beach with several ducks and sandcastle "architects." It didn't seem to matter to them that we were loitering about their home; they just kept doing lunch.

Unless you've been fully off the grid for the last few weeks, it's hard to escape noticing that the debate over health care has become heated with lots of misinformation from both sides of the issue. When you listen, you can't help but hear a lot of fear and frustration bubbling to the top. So much of the public debate has become rude that I wonder if anyone is listening anymore. Sometimes you feel like you've landed in a country where being gentle is considered a sign of weakness. Jesus didn't think so "... learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

As I've watched the process, I am reminded of a group of people who were exiled from their homes and were struggling with how to live in a strange land where they could no longer sing the songs of Zion. The prophet Jeremiah gave them this word from the Lord ... This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

God calls us to pray for the peace and prosperity of our nation even when it isn't feeling like home. He calls us to be about living, to be productive and to seek His blessing for the nation, especially when the politics and policies aren't your first choice. I suspect if we prayed with the same intensity that the town hall meetings have demonstrated, we'd see revival fall. Let's bring the passion into the prayer closet and see what God can do. As the old song says ... His eye is on the sandpiper, and I know He watches me.

Keep the faith