Happy New Year!
I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, probably because like most folks I don't seem to be able to stick to them very well. But with the unique designation 1/1/11, this New Year's Day makes me think along those lines. The concept of a resolution has to do, I think, with self-assessment and motivation. We can usually pinpoint some significant needs for improvement in ourselves. Weight loss, quality time with family, debt reduction -- these are among the more typical resolutions.
But what about this? The disciple of Jesus knows, as did the Psalmist, that God's love comes to us "new every morning." Not just the first day of a new year, but every morning! Those mornings when we don't feel good as well as those when we feel great. Those mornings when we are sad at the loss of a loved one as well as the routine days of work and relaxation. Those mornings where we seem too busy even to snatch a few moments of quiet time to pray as well as those days that seem unendingly boring. New every morning is God's love for us. Maybe one New Year's resolution might be to see if I can renew my love for God every morning!
Maybe you'd consider that, too.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Blessings!
Have you ever wondered what the dress rehearsal was like for the multitude of the heavenly hosts on that first Christmas eve? The archangel Michael was probably up on the reviewing stand when the angels took their places. Gabriel, horn in hand, was reminding everybody that this was, after all, Good News, and they should smile and look like it! Amid the flutter of angelic wings and the tuning of harps, there was the sound of a great bass/soprano/alto/tenor voice warming up for the Big Announcement. Everyone was excited. They’d been waiting eons for this.
Down below, there was business as usual. Merchants bought and sold. Children played. Soldiers marched, couples married, meals were prepared and cleaned up after, politicians argued, criminals lurked. And in a tiny out-of-the-way place, a young expectant mother was relieved to hear her beloved say, “We’re almost there. Bethlehem’s just over the next rise.”
But in heaven, it was anything but business as usual. Because the Day of days was at hand, a Day established before the foundation of the world in the glorious heart of the Almighty, a Day when the King of kings, the Prince of peace, the Son of God, would come to earth. And the multitude of the heavenly hosts would sing as they had never sung before. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth… peace
Down below, there was business as usual. Merchants bought and sold. Children played. Soldiers marched, couples married, meals were prepared and cleaned up after, politicians argued, criminals lurked. And in a tiny out-of-the-way place, a young expectant mother was relieved to hear her beloved say, “We’re almost there. Bethlehem’s just over the next rise.”
But in heaven, it was anything but business as usual. Because the Day of days was at hand, a Day established before the foundation of the world in the glorious heart of the Almighty, a Day when the King of kings, the Prince of peace, the Son of God, would come to earth. And the multitude of the heavenly hosts would sing as they had never sung before. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth… peace
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving witness
It's Thanksgiving Day, and in my neighborhood it's appropriately damp and cool. Relatives are coming over for dinner later. Yes, I know that Thanksgiving has been stylized, romanticized, even mythologized -- like other holidays. Still, for me it's a wonderful occasion, a reminder of what's most importI know ant in life, and the call to remember the Giver of all good things. I'm watching the Today Show broadcasting from Afghanistan, interviews with service personnel connected by video with loved ones back home. Heart-warming and humbling.
All the while, merchants are frantically anticipating the "busiest shopping day" tomorrow. At least so far this day does not go by the moniker Black Friday Eve! And it will be a day of football and feasting in many American homes. Friends and relatives will "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing." Or will they?
Many families will not think to do that. But we who follow Christ have the opportunity to give witness to those of our loved ones who do not know him. Not in any over-bearing way, of course. But by inviting all to give thanks to God, and in that expression of thanks, to remember the Gift of all gifts, Jesus Christ. It's a Thanksgiving witness.
All the while, merchants are frantically anticipating the "busiest shopping day" tomorrow. At least so far this day does not go by the moniker Black Friday Eve! And it will be a day of football and feasting in many American homes. Friends and relatives will "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing." Or will they?
Many families will not think to do that. But we who follow Christ have the opportunity to give witness to those of our loved ones who do not know him. Not in any over-bearing way, of course. But by inviting all to give thanks to God, and in that expression of thanks, to remember the Gift of all gifts, Jesus Christ. It's a Thanksgiving witness.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Prayer for the persecuted
Recently I was in a house church worship service during which Pastor Jean Hess drew attention to the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. She also showed video clips of testimonies from individuals in several countries who spoke about their experience of official and unofficial hardship for their faith. This is not an issue for those of us who live in a society that guarantees religious freedom and seems to espouse religious tolerance most of the time. Yet there are many Christians today whose life of discipleship is far more costly than mine. When churches are bombed, Christian believers are denied the right to assemble for worship, employment opportunities are restricted, death threats and prison loom, following Jesus truly is the way of the Cross.
The Christian movement has experienced persecution from the outset. Christ himself predicted it. And when disciples are faithful to Christ in the face of persecution, frequently the church grows. Incredible! For example, Christianity in communist China grew exponentially during a time of severe anti-religious sentiment in that nation.
When the capacity to evangelize is seriously inhibited by law or societal pressure, it is the faithful living of disciples that makes the witness. The willingness to be guided by the Word of God, to pray in the name of Jesus, to serve him through acts of kindness and compassion, to exhibit courage and joy in the face of oppression, these practices and attitudes are living lessons in genuine evangelism.
The reality that countless unnamed disciples still face persecution for their Christian faith begs the question of how I might react to a similar circumstance. I pray that I might be found faithful to the gospel in such a situation, that I might be granted a level of courage and faithful endurance that has not been tapped in my experience. Yet I am deeply humbled by the witness of others who are even now following the Lord, no matter the cost.
The Christian movement has experienced persecution from the outset. Christ himself predicted it. And when disciples are faithful to Christ in the face of persecution, frequently the church grows. Incredible! For example, Christianity in communist China grew exponentially during a time of severe anti-religious sentiment in that nation.
When the capacity to evangelize is seriously inhibited by law or societal pressure, it is the faithful living of disciples that makes the witness. The willingness to be guided by the Word of God, to pray in the name of Jesus, to serve him through acts of kindness and compassion, to exhibit courage and joy in the face of oppression, these practices and attitudes are living lessons in genuine evangelism.
The reality that countless unnamed disciples still face persecution for their Christian faith begs the question of how I might react to a similar circumstance. I pray that I might be found faithful to the gospel in such a situation, that I might be granted a level of courage and faithful endurance that has not been tapped in my experience. Yet I am deeply humbled by the witness of others who are even now following the Lord, no matter the cost.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Keeping up
It's not easy to keep up with all our responsibilities these days. Work, family, citizenship, community, church -- these all are deserving of our best. I have friends who have just returned from mission trips to Haiti and Colombia, others who are currently engaged in a mission trip in southeast Asia, others who have been working on home re-building for flood victims in West Tennessee, and still others who have helped repair the roof of a church in a very poor area of Birmingham. I think to myself: how do these friends -- who are every bit as busy as I am -- find time to do these things? The answer, clearly, is that they prioritize their time and personal finances for mission work of this kind.
Listening to their stories, I get the strong impression that these involvements really help give meaning to all the other activities of their lives. This kind of ministry keeps everything else in perspective. For them, it's not so much a matter of keeping up, as keeping in! Keeping in the unfolding purpose of God. Keeping in the mission and will of God. Through the sights, the smiles, the touches, the pain, the hope they encounter along these arduous journies, my friends are stepping in the footprints of Jesus. Talk about keeping up!
Listening to their stories, I get the strong impression that these involvements really help give meaning to all the other activities of their lives. This kind of ministry keeps everything else in perspective. For them, it's not so much a matter of keeping up, as keeping in! Keeping in the unfolding purpose of God. Keeping in the mission and will of God. Through the sights, the smiles, the touches, the pain, the hope they encounter along these arduous journies, my friends are stepping in the footprints of Jesus. Talk about keeping up!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Different "spokes"
Back in the day we used to say, "Different strokes for different folks." It was a way of acknowledging that people are unique, and they have their own likes and dislikes, their own way of communicating and of receiving input. That's true, too, when it comes to our desire to share the gospel in a meaningful way with others. We have to speak the language that will best communicate.
The apostle Paul knew that. In the city of Athens, for instance, he interacted with at least three different "audiences": the congregants of the local synagogue, the merchants and customers in the marketplace, and the teachers and legislators of the areopagus. He was speaking the gospel of Christ in each case, but doing so in a way that was designed for the particular audience. In a grammatically poor way, we could describe that as "different spokes for different folks."
How we communicate with teens and young adults about Christ is likely to be different from sharing the same message with the seniors among us. For the former the medium might be the internet or music; for the latter it could be in the context of a fall foliage tour. The message of Christ doesn't change. But our way of sharing it needs to be appropriate for the folks we're trying to communicate with.
The apostle Paul knew that. In the city of Athens, for instance, he interacted with at least three different "audiences": the congregants of the local synagogue, the merchants and customers in the marketplace, and the teachers and legislators of the areopagus. He was speaking the gospel of Christ in each case, but doing so in a way that was designed for the particular audience. In a grammatically poor way, we could describe that as "different spokes for different folks."
How we communicate with teens and young adults about Christ is likely to be different from sharing the same message with the seniors among us. For the former the medium might be the internet or music; for the latter it could be in the context of a fall foliage tour. The message of Christ doesn't change. But our way of sharing it needs to be appropriate for the folks we're trying to communicate with.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The real Halloween
As youngsters (and, strangely, many adults) prepare to don weird costumes and troll their communities this week-end for "trick or treat," it occurred to me that there is another Halloween going on, but it's not limited to one day of the year. It's the horror of world poverty. For instance, one-sixth of the world's human beings live on less than $1 a day. Fifty-percent of all people live on less than $2/day. That's 3 billion people, with a B. According to UNICEF, 25,0000-30,000 children die each day due to poverty-related illnesses and malnutrition. Almost one-half of all children in the world live in poverty.
One rule of thumb for defining what it means to be poor is to belong to a household with income less than 1/2 the national average for that particular country. By that measure, 60% of all the households in the world are poor.
Poverty in the USA is rising, too. In 2006 the poverty rate in the US was 12.6%, 36.5 million people. In 2009 the rate was 14.3%, 43.9 million residents of the US.
Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to declare the Kingdom of God. What does this mean for our missional thinking today?
One rule of thumb for defining what it means to be poor is to belong to a household with income less than 1/2 the national average for that particular country. By that measure, 60% of all the households in the world are poor.
Poverty in the USA is rising, too. In 2006 the poverty rate in the US was 12.6%, 36.5 million people. In 2009 the rate was 14.3%, 43.9 million residents of the US.
Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to declare the Kingdom of God. What does this mean for our missional thinking today?
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