Jesus

Finding God in the Valley

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“‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.’ The psalm does not pretend that evil and death do not exist. Terrible things happen, and they happen to good people as well as to bad people. Even the paths of righteousness lead through the valley of the shadow. Death lies ahead for all of us, saints and sinners alike, and for all the ones we love. The psalmist doesn’t try to explain evil. He doesn’t try to minimize evil. He simply says he will not fear evil. For all the power that evil has, it doesn’t have the power to make him afraid.

And why? Here at the very center of the psalm comes the very center of the psalmist’s faith. Suddenly he stops speaking about God as ‘he,’ because you don’t speak that way when the person is right there with you. Suddenly he speaks to God instead of about him, and he speaks to him as ‘thou.’ ‘I will fear no evil,’ he says, ‘for thou art with me.’ That is the center of faith. Thou. That is where faith comes from” (Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark).

The valley of the shadow of death is where you go from knowing about God to really knowing God, where faith goes from intellectual assent to confident trust and heart-yielded allegiance.

Some of you are in that valley right now. You are walking through the shadow of death. You can cling to the hope of the God who does not see you from afar, but who walks beside you through that valley.

God in Jesus knows all about walking through that valley, because Jesus’ goal led through a valley to a cross on a hill. He walks with you. Therefore, you can fear no evil, for He is with you.

 

 

Believing is Seeing

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“When John Kavanaugh, the noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, he was seeking Mother Teresa … and more. He went for three months to work at ‘the house of the dying’ to find out how best he could spend the rest of his life.

When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. ‘What do you want me to pray for?’ she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: ‘Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.’

‘No,’ Mother Teresa answered, ‘I will not do that.’ When he asked her why, she said, ‘Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.’ When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said: ‘I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.'”

“Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen” (Hebrews 11:1, The Voice).

“Seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing” (The Santa Clause).

What we need isn’t clarity as much as faith. What I need isn’t to know how everything will play out in my life for the next five years, but to have faith for the moment that God is still working everything for my good.

Trust more, worry less. That’s a good mantra to practice in the middle of the week when Friday seems impossibly far away and Monday still seems right behind you in the rear view mirror.

Trust more, worry less. That’s something good to repeat to yourself when you’re less than confident in your own abilities and decisions.

Trust more, worry less. That’s the best stress relief/relaxation/detox/calming way to live that I know of.

Trust more, worry less.

Stranger Blog Posts

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Once again, I’m hooked.

I’m feeling nostalgic all over again and wishing it was really 1984, so I could head over to an arcade for an afternoon or maybe hit up the mall for some good tunes at an actual music store.

Season 2 has definitely got me anxious. I’m trying to figure out the good guys from the bad guys (with the bad guys tending to be authoritarian in nature for the most part). I’m also trying (and failing) to figure out how the storyline will play out.

I love wi-fi and smart phones and hi-def, but part of me would gladly give all that up to be 12-years old again with those days where I didn’t have adult responsibilities and my future had endless possibilities.

I sometimes think it’d be the coolest thing ever to have a time machine or some other means to travel back in time, if only for a day or so. I could visit with relatives who have passed away or go to my childhood home and wander around. Maybe just sit and soak it all in.

The reality is that for better or for worse, I’m stuck in 2017. Even if I could lay my hands on one of those Deloreans, I can’t go back.

But you know what? Here’s good. The present is a gift because I’m alive to open all its endless possibilities. I may have a job and bills and boring adult stuff, but that means that I survived and that I’m still here, a privilege not everyone gets.

So I’m thankful for this day, October 30, 2017. And I have three more episodes of Stranger Things Season Two to get my nostalgic kicks in and live vicariously back in 1984 again.

On a side note, I’d have a really hard time giving up Netflix to go back in time.

 

The Whole Gospel for the Whole Person

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This Sunday, my pastor Aaron Bryant touched briefly on the recent White Lives Matter rally in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro. Basically what he said was that any group that puts itself up as superior to others and treats anyone different as inferior is missing the heart of the Gospel and categorically rejecting those whom Jesus lived and died for.

I say that whenever you decide who is eligible or not eligible to receive the Gospel message of salvation in Jesus, you have in essence rejected the message of the Gospel. When you choose to define the people or people groups for whom Jesus died, then you reject what He did.

Starting in Genesis, the Bible teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God and bear the Imago Dei, the image of God. The Bible says that God so loved the world– every human being– so much that He sent His only Son.

That means that every single person is someone created in the image of God for whom Jesus died. Every single person has worth. Who are you and I to dismiss or degrade someone for whom Jesus bled and died for?

That goes for people you disagree with politically. That goes for Presidents you don’t like. That goes for both liberals and conservatives (and us independents, too). That goes for people who hold racist, sexist, and other despicable views, bearing in mind that the Gospel message is that even the worst of humanity can be redeemed and transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just ask the Apostle Paul.

Never think for a minute that I condone their beliefs or their actions. I’m saying that I believe that when you exempt anyone from the grace of God, you nullify the grace of God itself.

In the Kingdom of God, there’s room for everyone. Every single race, ethnicity, tribe, and language will be present in Heaven, all united in adoration and fixed on the beautiful face of Jesus.

 

 

 

A Brisk Evening

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“God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left” (Lamentations 3:22-24, The Message).

I trekked once more over to downtown Franklin for Pumpkinfest 2017. I had the incredibly bright idea to park at the Factory and walk the rest of the way.

It was cold.

Halfway there, I began rethinking the brilliance of said idea. But I also had the thought of how much I’d like to be at a bonfire right about now.

I still think that fall is my favorite season, especially when the temperatures dip into the 40’s and I finally get to pull all that flannel out of the closet and start wearing it.

I’m thinking right now that for me, the best day ever is still today, because that’s the day full of new mercies and fresh grace. That’s the day where you find God speaking to you. Not in yesterday or tomorrow, but today.

I didn’t quite calculate my arrival at Pumpkinfest just right. When I arrived, most of the booths were tearing down and there were few people still around. I still managed to have a spectacular Greek salad from Taziki’s and some stellar hot chocolate from Frothy Monkey. And I got my 10,000 steps in.

Speaking of flannel, I have my flannel shirt hanging on my closet door, ready for me to put on in the morning when my brain is in pre-coffee mode and needs all the help it can get. It’s really sad.

Still, tomorrow will have those new mercies and fresh grace that I’m so fond of. I can’t wait to see how God will show up at The Church at Avenue South (and later on in my Life Group).

A good time will be had be all.

A Little Pencil

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“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world” (Mother Teresa).

In case you forgot, you’re still the only Bible some will ever read. That’s not to put the almighty guilt trip on you, but to encourage you to live well.

No one gets it right all the time. No one’s perfect (or even close to it).

But while you may not do great things with your life, you can always do those little things with great love, to borrow another one of Mother Teresa’s saying.

You never know who’s watching and deciding on what they believe about God by how you speak and how you behave.

What they need to see isn’t another list of rules and don’ts, but a life lived passionately because of the Passion of Christ dying for you.

Remember, it’s not you doing the writing. God’s the one writing the love letter and you are His instrument, the parchment, and the ink. Your life is a part of the Grand Story He’s telling.

Make it a good one.

 

Making My Nerdy Little Heart Happy

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During my most recent thrift-a-thon, I picked up a copy of the NIV Harmony of the Gospels. I had it back in my seminary days, but I somehow managed to lose it when I moved to Nashville.

I love the fact that you can read, for instance, the account of the transfiguration, and get Matthew’s, Mark’s, and Luke’s versions all on one page. You can see what each included or left out.
Mark’s Gospel was really the Gospel of Peter as recorded by Mark. It’s interesting how in his account of the transfiguration that Peter opens his big fat mouth (as he’s known to do from time to time) to suggest making three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. This account goes on to say that he didn’t know what he was saying and how all of the disciples present were scared in such a way that none of them had to use the restroom anymore (to put it in Baptist terms).

I can relate to Peter. I’ve been known to start talking and get halfway through before my brain catches up and I realize that I have no earthly idea of what I’m saying. I take after Peter that way.

I still am blown away that this Peter with the eternal foot-in-mouth disease becomes one of the primary spokespeople for the early Church. He’s the one who is as bold as they come when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel.

Why? He’d seen not only the crucifixion but the resurrection. And that changed everything.

I also got an older version of the Harmony of the Gospels by A. T. Robertson in some translation called the English Revised Version. I mean, why only have the one when you can have two?

Hopefully, this book will help me see a more fully formed portrait of Jesus as revealed in all four gospels, and in doing so, I will become just a little more like Him.

 

Happy Half-Birthday, Peanut

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Between all my activities (including a Kairos Greeter Team Pumpkin Carving Event Where No Actual Pumpkins were Carved), I almost completely forgot that my little rescue kitten is now 6 months old.

I didn’t actually forget as much as I’m really bad at math.  Based on the fact that she was 11-weeks old at the time I adopted her from the shelter on June 30, I guesstimate her birthday to be on April 15. That means her actual half-birthday was this past Monday. But I’m guessing by her very relaxed, semi-comatose state that she’s not too terribly upset.

She’s been nothing but a joy and comfort to me since my old cat Lucy crossed the rainbow bridge. She’s absolutely hilarious and her name fits her very well, as she’s a nut.

I’m still adjusting to life with a geriatric cat to life with a kitten. I forgot that kittens are so energetic and clumsy. They can also be super cuddly and affectionate.

I absolutely think that Peanut being in my life is a God-wink. He knew I needed a furry little critter to love and He practically put her in my lap. As with most God-moments, it wasn’t what I was expecting but just what I needed.

I’ve told the story about how she rescued me at the shelter (as well as how she herself got rescued from I-65). You might have to go back a few blog posts to find it, but it’s there.

I’m hoping and praying that she lives at least as long as Lucy, who made it all the way to 17. However long she lives, I’m sure it will be filled with love.

At the moment, she’s laid out in front of my laptop (so excuse any typos) and very much content. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

 

Lessons from My Latest Thrift-a-Thon

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First, I should probably define what I mean by thrift-a-thon. It’s not any kind of fundraiser, but rather a planned out (sort of) day of visiting thrift stores. And one record store.

I started out at Phonoluxe, which is a country mile down Nolensville Pike. Translation: it’s a haul. Then I moved South down Nolensville and hit up both Music City Thrift and ThriftSmart. So not exactly a -thon in the strictest sense of the word.

I had some decent finds. At Phonoluxe, I ran across a couple of CDs I’d been on a quest to find for quite a while. I love that feeling I get when I see it and know that it will soon be mine.

I just now had a thought. In the parables of the lost items, did the owners feel the same way? I think from Jesus’ description they did. They rejoiced and threw a party.

I also wonder why I don’t have nearly the urgency when it comes to helping lost sons and daughters find their way Home. Sometimes, praying for lost people isn’t even a blip on my agenda.

I’m pretty sure God feels at least that kind of excitement when one of His lost ones comes Home. Look at the way the father in the prodigal story (who obviously represents the Heavenly Father) practically sprinted toward his wayward son. And back in that day, old men did under no circumstance ever, ever run. At least no dignified old men would.

My music finds were Derek and the Dominoes and Simple Minds, which will probably not thrill any of you who aren’t complete music nerds like I am.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful that God wasn’t complacent when I was lost. He sought me out and drew me in with words of lovingkindness. That’s a good thought to end the day on.