Archive - December, 2006

Leaving the Past

December 29, 2006 in Jesus, Starting the Day with 14 Comments

coffee_cup_4.jpgI’m back at the Murfreesboro Panera Bread this morning.  I came here to spend an hour or so working on the message for Sunday.  (I’ve learned that when I am on a trip like this, it is much more enjoyable if I can spend a few early mornings during the week thinking about Sunday’s message.  Makes the rest of the week more enjoyable.)

 
While away, I have also done some reading in preparation for a preaching conference next week in Kerrville, Texas.   There are seven books to be covered in this conference.  One of these is Elie Wiesel’s Night.  One evening, I had trouble sleeping at my mother-in-law’s house, and so I decided to read for a while.  I picked up Night and read the entire book.  I must have been out of my mind to read this and expect to go to sleep afterward.  A disturbing, sad, troubling book written by an eyewitness of the Holocaust.  An important book — but better read when one does not want to sleep afterward.

 
Meanwhile, I really am trying to pay attention to the present.  But, this isn’t the easiest thing to do.  Sometimes the past and future can become all too consuming. 

 
I like these words penned by Peggy Noonan about former President Gerald Ford:

 … Ford seemed happy when things turned out well for America. That was apparently his primary interest.

 
He seemed lacking in vanity. There
is no evidence that he was obsessed with his legacy. He didn’t worry
and fret about whether history would fully capture and proclaim his
excellence, and because of this he didn’t always have to run around
proving he was right. He just did his best and kept walking.  What a
grown-up thing to do.  Former, current and future presidents would do
well to ponder this approach. History would treat them more kindly. The
legacy of a man who spends his time worrying about his legacy is
always: He worried about his legacy.

Men and women don’t deal with the future by worrying about their legacy.  They deal with the future by doing what is most important in the present moment. 

 
And my past?  Well, my past can really impact the way I see and experience the present.  What I am facing in the present might be the consequence of a choice or decision made in the past.  The impact of some of those decisions may be quite small.  Perhaps you made other decisions that were actually quite monumental.  So what do we do with the past?

 
The past is out of my control.  I can’t go back and undo bad decisions.  I can’t return to the past and rewrite my life.  What I can do is learn from my life.  Most importantly, I can leave the past in Jesus’ hands.  The cross and resurrection are big enough to redeem any sin, failure, blunder, etc. 

Can you relate to this at all?  Do you ever find yourself just totally consumed by what happened in the past?  Do you ever find yourself giving more power and energy to the past instead of releasing it to the one who is able to handle this?

Life is Happening Right Now

December 28, 2006 in My Family, Renewal, Starting the Day with 14 Comments

CoffeeCup_BW.JPGLast night, we drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to be with Christine (our older daughter) and Phillip.  We plan to spend a few days with them.

 
Christmas happened, and it was great!  Family.  Friends.  Lots of food.  The football game — the uncles versus the nieces and nephews.  Well, we did borrow a niece and nephew for our team.  Seeing young children who have grown.  Seeing older relatives who have aged.

 
I enjoy going to Florence (Alabama) each year.  My wife is from there.  Our children were born there.  Our family lived there almost eight years (when our children were very small).  Some of the most important and defining years of my ministry were spent there.

 
Christmas this year reminded me that life is happening RIGHT NOW.

 
Some people, on the other hand, seem to think that life is what happened in the past.  They refer to the past as if that was the time that real life happened.  Some parents show little, if any, interest in their adult children’s present lives.  However, they are ready to relive their high school senior play ("Remember, you had the lead role!") or a high school football game.  The problem is not their interest in the past.  The problem is that they see the past as the time when life happened. 

 
There are other people who get lost in what they hope for the future.  For these people, life is not what is happening now.  Life is what will happen "someday."
 

  • "One day, we are going to have a lot of money."
  • "One day, we will have plenty of time to spend together."
  • "One day, we will travel and go wherever we want to go."
  • "One day, we will be able to slow down and really spend some great time with our kids."
  • "One day, we will do all the things we’ve talked about wanting to do." 

 
One day …

 
Meanwhile, life is what is happening right now.

 
So, I want to open my eyes, take a deep breath, and live today.  Life is not wishing we could go back.  Life is not waiting for everything to finally come together.  Life is happening today.

They Are Still Here

December 26, 2006 in Relationships with 10 Comments

Yes, they are still here.  The remainder of the peanut brittle.  A cheese ball.  Chocolates.  Leftover toffee from Waco friends.  They are all on a table at Me-me’s. 

 
They are still here.  A house with a number of suitcases open in various rooms.   Shaving kits in the bathrooms.  Cars parked outside.

 
They are still here.  It is the day after Christmas.  Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews are still in town.   Yesterday, I sat at my mother-in-law’s kitchen table with my three-year-old niece and five-year-old nephew playing "The Winning Cheese."  Okay, I made up this game.  I hold both hands in front of me, fists closed.  They guess which hand the cheese cube is in.   When one guesses the correct hand, I cheer loudly and then they eat one of the winning cheese cubes on a plate.  (You say that sounds goofy?  Hey, they are just 3 and 5 years old!) 

 
They are still here.  ("Here" is Florence, Alabama.)  We lived in Alabama for almost eight years.  My wife was raised here.  Many friends still live here.  Today at noon, Doug and I were at Rick’s Barbecue (eating wonderful barbecue — pork of course, this being the south).  We were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant.  Old friends began to come in for lunch.  Walter and Norma Patterson.  Colby Butler.  Marlon Miles.  We asked about one another’s spouses, children, and parents.  It was so good to see these people and to be reminded again that they are still here.

 
I am glad that some things, some people, and some realities are still here. 

 
In particular, I am glad that God is still God.  I am happy that his forever presence (the Holy Spirit) is within me.  I am grateful that Jesus loves me — with an incredible, lavishing love.

 
It is a good day!

 
(Just a reminder that posts over the next week or so may be sporadic as I am still out of town.  Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas!)

Merry Christmas

December 21, 2006 in Spiritual Life with 8 Comments

wlife.jpgWe are about to leave for Christmas.  I will try to post occasionally during the next seven days.  Have a Merry Christmas!

What I Would Do Differently

December 20, 2006 in Spiritual Life with 8 Comments

2006 is almost over.  How amazing!  We are about to begin a new year.  On the audio toy to the left, I reflect on things I would like to do differently in the upcoming new year.  This audio is just four minutes long.  Enjoy.

(Click on the green button on the right.)

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Richard Foster: Prayer

December 20, 2006 in Books, Prayer with 4 Comments

I suspect that many who read this blog are familiar with Richard Foster.  I suspect many others who read this blog are not that familiar with him.

 
Foster is a Quaker and a man who has a passion for knowing God.  One of his earlier works was quite popular — a bestseller entitled Celebration of Discipline.  A number of years ago, he founded RENOVARE, which is dedicated to renewing the church.  

 
The following is an excerpt from his book Prayer: 

The offering of ourselves can only be the offering of our lived experience, because this alone is who we are.  And who we are — not who we want to be — is the only offering we have to give.  We give God, therefore, not just our strengths but also our weaknesses, not just our giftedness but also our brokenness.  Our duplicity, our lust, our narcissism, our sloth — all are laid on the altar of sacrifice.  

 
We must not deny or ignore the depth of our evil, for, paradoxically, our sinfulness becomes our bread.  When in honesty we accept the evil that is in us as part of the truth about ourselves and offer that truth up to God, we are in a mysterious way nourished.  Even the truth about our shadow side sets us free (John 8:32).

 
There is, therefore, no need to repress, suppress, or sublimate any of God’s truth about ourselves.  Full, total, unvarnished self-knowledge is the bread by which we are sustained.  A yes to life means an honest recognition of our own evil, but it is also a yes to God, who in the midst of our evil sustains us and draws us into his righteousness.  

 
Through faith, self-knowledge leads us to a self-acceptance and a self-love that draw their life from God’s acceptance and love….

 
(Foster, Prayer, p. 31) 

What Is That Aroma?

December 19, 2006 in God, Relationships, Spiritual Life with 20 Comments

cookies.jpgI read the other day that dairy promoters are putting up special signs at bus shelters in San Francisco.  On the signs are the words, “Got Milk?”  What is unusual about the signs is that they
have put scent strips on them that create the smell of freshly baked
cookies.  The idea is that as people are
waiting for the bus and smelling the aroma of freshly baked cookies, they will
want a cold glass of milk.  Hmmm.

Nice try.  Who knows? 
Maybe it will work.  I know one
thing for sure: I am attracted to the
scent of  cookies baking in the oven.  What
an aroma!  Think chocolate chip.  Sugar cookies.  Oatmeal raisin.

 
Maybe the promoters are right.  They are counting on people smelling the scent of freshly baked cookies and wanting milk.  Perhaps people catch a whiff of our lives and it reminds them of something — or someone.

 
This happened last Sunday morning in our church.  A father told me earlier in the week, "I need the church to pray for our family on Sunday."  This family had been in a crisis that week.  Their son (just out of high school) had been involved in breaking into and vandalizing a nearby high school.  Security cameras caught them and the film was broadcast throughout our area on the local news.  Then, the boys, escorted by their parents, turned themselves in to the police.

 
At one moment during our Sunday morning gathering, this entire family, including the young man, sat on the front row asking the church to pray for them.  I watched people (about 75 to 80) get up from their seats and come to the front to join them.  Most of our youth group stood around this young man.   I read a statement from this family.  The statement was candid regarding the incident.  No excuses, blaming, etc.  Yet, they also declared their desire as a family to love their son through it all. 

 
So — we prayed.

 
I sat down after praying and watched as person, after person, after person hugged each member of this family.  I watched as those in our high school group hugged this young man.  At the conclusion of our assembly, I watched as still more people came to hug this family — grandparents, other moms and dads, and more teens.

 
Last Sunday morning, I caught the whiff of a scent that reminded me of Jesus.  The love and compassion of these people reminded of what we are called to be as a church.  It was a wonderful aroma.  I left that morning wanting more. 

 
What was the aroma?  The living presence of Jesus at work in a group of people.  It reminded me of Paul’s statement many years ago in which he said, "…For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life…" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

 
Can you think of a moment when you knew you had caught a whiff of the aroma of Christ?  Can you think of a moment that was particularly meaningful to you?

 
(You may recall a post I did recently in which I mentioned a wonderful book entitled Pilgrim Heart by Darryl Tippens.  Last evening, Darryl posted a comment on that post.  You might enjoy reading this.)    

Tip of the Week

December 18, 2006 in Spiritual Life with 8 Comments

Three suggestions for Christmas family gatherings.

 
In just a few days, Christmas will be here.  One week from today.  This weekend, many will be in the middle of family gatherings.  For many of us, Christmas is a time for a large family meal complete with turkey, dressing, and ham.  Along with the meal will be cousins, uncles, and in-laws.  Lots of conversations.  Lots of time — together. 

 
This can all be wonderful.  It can also be very stressful.  Some families arrive at their destination excited and full of anticipation only to leave frustrated.  The following are a few suggestions that may be helpful when you are at these gatherings.

 

1.  Make it count.  This may be the only time during the year that you will see some of these people.  Far too many people get overly focused on the obnoxious uncle or that sister-in-law.  Instead of getting overly focused on these people, consider those with whom you rarely visit.  Consider those who just might enjoy a brief conversation with you.

 

2.  Leave them better.  I remember seeing a sign in a park once.  "Please leave the picnic area better than you found it."  Now I like that.  God can use me to leave people better off than when I found them.

 

  • Point out the good in someone.  Look for the good in others.  Believe me, there are always people in every situation who are doing just the opposite.
  • Sincerely compliment.  Sincere compliments can be very encouraging. 
  • Look for opportunities to express gratitude.  Gracious people understand that everything they experience is by grace.  It is so important to receive Christmas gifts with graciousness.  How sad when someone receives a gift and chooses to complain. 
  • When possible, elevate conversations instead of bringing people down.  Some families get together and actually spend their time telling stories that humiliate other family members.  Most families have funny stories that could be told.  Funny stories are wonderful.  However, stories that cause other family members to feel exposed and humiliated might get a laugh — but at someone else’s expense.  Why tell a story that will only cause someone to feel stupid in front of other family members?  This Christmas, why not tell a few stories about wonderful, encouraging, service-oriented moments in others’ lives.

3.  Let it go.  Expect to overlook some things.  Some things are just not worth it.  Try not to make a big deal about things that are not big deals.  Some things are big deals.  Pray about those.  Consider whether or not God might be calling you to forgive someone this Christmas. 

Soren Kierkegaard: The Prayers of Kierkegaard

December 18, 2006 in Books, Spiritual Life with 0 Comments

Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who lived from 1813 to 1855.  He lived much of his life in Copenhagen.  He published many works on a variety of subjects during his life.  He was well known in Copenhagen among the common people as well as the intellectual and religious leaders.  Near the end of his life, he became very controversial due to his attack on the "…mediocrity and pretension of the bourgeois Christianity of his time" (LeFevre, The Prayers of Kierkegaard, p. 125).

 
The following two prayers are from Perry D. LeFevre’s (editor) The Prayers of Kierkegaard.

God in Heaven, let me really feel my nothingness, not in order to despair over it, but in order to feel more powerfully the greatness of Thy goodness.

 
Father in Heaven!  Thou hast loved us first, help us to never forget that Thou art love so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment.  But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom Thou has commanded us to love as we love ourselves.

 
(LeFevre, The Prayers of Kierkegaard, pp. 6, 13) 

The Real Mary

December 15, 2006 in Books with 8 Comments

Mary_book.jpgIt was a very cold night.  The young couple, Mary and Joseph, appeared to be cold.  Mary and Joseph were by the manger, eyes focused on the little one who had recently been born.

 
Meanwhile, we slowly crept ahead.  We were in a very nice and warm van.  On that Sunday evening, we had joined several families as we drove through this drive-thru nativity scene.  Mary and Joseph were at a distance on that cold night.  We had time to pause only for a moment as there were many cars waiting to drive by this nativity scene.  That was many years ago.

 
Meanwhile, I continue to learn more about this story.  I recently looked at Mary up close rather than settling for a drive-by.  This happened after reading Scot McKnight’s new book on Mary entitled The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus.

 
Scot paints a picture of a Mary who is unlike the passive, quiet Mary we often see portrayed.  This Mary is a person with a robust faith who in turn serves to point others to Jesus.  In the chapters, she is described as:

 

  • A woman of faith.
  • A woman of justice.
  • A woman of danger.
  • A woman of witness.
  • A woman of sorrow.
  • A woman of wonder.
  • A woman of surrender.
  • A woman of ambivalence.
  • A woman of faithfulness.
  • A woman of influence.

Finally, she is described as a woman to be remembered.   Perhaps this is one of the greatest values of the book.  Scot McKnight reminds those of us who are not Catholics that we have forgotten Mary.  For many of us, any talk of Mary invariably focuses on what we do not believe about Mary.  In the book, there are two very fine chapters on the Catholic-Protestant controversies about Mary.

 
This book is not about the veneration of Mary.  Nor does it in any way encourage the reader toward traditional Catholic teachings about Mary.  However, it does invite the reader to embrace the Mary of the Bible.  She is the Mary who once uttered the words, in response to the angel Gabriel, "I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said" (1:38).

 
Anyway, I encourage you to consider reading The Real Mary.  I’m glad I did.  Yes, I came away impressed with Mary.  But even more important, I came away impressed with a wonderful God who would use this young woman to send Jesus to the world.

 
In the meantime, Sunday is coming and I am preaching on Mary. 

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