Living Alive

Some breaking news stories today involve to alleged murderers. What’s “new” about that? Well, both of these defandants are women.

With Mother’s Day fresh in my memory, these women come to mind, painfully: Melissa Huckaby & Casey Anthony.

The first is the former Sunday School Teacher & granddaughter of a pastor who’s accused of killing (and other awful things) a young girl (no relation).

The other is a young mother accused of killing her own preschool-aged daughter.
Both of these cases turn my stomach as a parent. They grieve my heart as a person. People’s inhumanity toward other people is a theme that runs through the myriad tragic stories of human history. Yet it still shocks me.

People say “things happen for a reason” – yes, and often it’s a bad reason: someone’s acted inhumanly or with malice, rage or negligence.

Ms. Huckaby just pleaded guilty, presumably to avoid the death penalty. Ms. Anthony will face a jury trial. Neither case has any power to help the victims – these young girls are gone. Their families, victims in their own right, may be “helped” by the outcomes. The justice system does have some advantages.

God can always bring “good” out of bad. Not that God causes the bad in order to accomplish more good. Read Romans 8 carefully, especially, 8:28… “God works all things for the good for those who love Him and seek to do His will.” (It’s a verse that tends to get mishandled).

But my bigger point here is forgiveness. I wonder if a family member might ever be able to forgive one of these cold-blooded murderers, regardless of their tear-filled explanations of their inhuman acts.

More than that, I wonder if either of these women, during their long incarcerations, has been (or ever will be) able to forgive themselves.
What do you think?

It may be possible (indeed I know that others have experienced this) that a murderer comes to know Christ in a powerful, transformative way.
David Burkowitz (remember 1970s NYC, “Son of Sam” murders?) claims to have had a life-changing conversion to Christianity while serving a life-sentence in prison. I have heard him give his testimony. I (reluctantly) am convinced that his faith is real.

More importantly, I know another criminal on death row who came to believe in Jesus. One thief on the cross next to Jesus experienced immediate forgiveness & eternal life!

And even more, I know Jesus. Jesus forgives everyone who asks. Thank God for that! I can personally vouch for my thankful heart. I might not be as quick to forgive (or to want to), but I thank God that Christ is in the forgiveness business, for everyone, even murderers . . . even me & all my mistakes!

If you’re carrying guilt for anything, God forgives! Just ask.

I have to have a cup or 2 every morning! I love coffee. Particularly first thing in the morning. It’s a habit, a ritual. It’s good.

But lately, I’ve been thinking more about where my cup of coffee comes from. Some “Joe” has had to work pretty hard for this luxury of mine. There’s a whole string of connected lives that end up blessing my life with this simple too often taken for granted drink.

I don’t get up & say “I think I wanna make a cup of coffee that’ll be bad for the environment & exploit farmers and their children in developing countries.”

No. We just don’t think about it.

But there is such thing as a fairly traded cup of joe. It’s not about me getting the cheapest cup possible. Its about paying the workers better so that their children can have a better future. And it doesn’t cost me much more – may be a few cents, but it makes more sense.

McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and others offer the alternative “fair-trade” cup o’ joe.

Sometimes there’s more to life than saving a few pennies. There are people to be mindful of when I make economic choices – even the choice to enjoy a cup of coffee.

Maybe that’s something you’ll think about when the pot is brewing?

For more info, goto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade_coffee

How do you feel when the party’s over?  There’s a bit of a “come back down” feeling.  The Winchester area has that after the great Apple Blossom weekend.

The painted blooms on the streets are still visible, but they’ve lost a bit of that anticipatory flare! The grandstand’s but half what it was a day or 2 ago.  Some of us are sunburned and still have aching feet. Such is the toll of celebration on the human body.

Still the human spirit looks forward to the next celebration.  Don’t you?

There’s some down-time. That’s how life goes. But the heart already looks forward to what’s next. The bible calls it hope.

I’m looking forward to the next “party.”  Not  Cinco de Mayo (tomorrow, May 5th). Not Memorial Day cook-outs.

I’m talking about Sunday (sure it’s Mothers’ Day) – the little resurrection day!

I’m talking about Sunday – every Sunday – as a little Easter!  A day to celebrate -anew- Christ’s resurrection!  A day to appreciate & anticipate our life-everlasting with God.

So, as the parties come & go, and another celebration winds down in your life, always look forward to the next great event: this Sunday!

Come celebrate Christ-is-Risen! with me at Macedonia Church – any & every Sunday!

The growing oil slick & the devastating consequences have preoccupied my mind this weekend.

While we in Winchester celebrate God’s glorious creation at Apple Blossom festivities, the Gulf Coast braces for another disaster – this time not from above, but from below.

Humankind has again damaged God’s good earth. I’m no tree-hugger but my heart sinks as the oil continues to rise.

Join me in prayer this weekend for a quick solution to the crisis in the Gulf, for the fisherman and families who’ll be affected economically, and for the wildlife that will surely die before we gather again in worship.

In Genesis, we learn that God created all things, and called this creation good. God gave us dominion over creation – which includes the awesome responsibility of taking care of this earth.

I pray that people at fault (international corporations) will be held accountable, that people who are able will rush to help, and that all of us will take more care & responsibility with the earth under our own feet.

May God bless you & yours today!

I almost ran over a kid’s scooter at the end of my driveway. Almost. But I missed it.

And that’s when I reflected theologically on the simple message stamped on my side rearview mirror: “Objects are closer than they appear.”

I think that there’s a spiritual lesson here. Life works somewhat differently from the rearview mirror.

Looking back, we often see things differently. “Hindsight is 20/20″ we say. Because time, circumstance and experience teaches us to see better, to know better, and to rethink what we’ve done.

But often, many of us look back and re-run the events & the way we acted & the choices we made – and all we do are doughnuts around the dead-end road of regret.

We re-run and re-live past painful events. And that’s not so good for us, emotionally, or spiritually.

It’s like the rearview mirror is all we’re looking at. (Not bad if all you’re doing is headed backwards in life – but God made us to move forward).

The first spiritual lesson might be: make sure that your windshield is larger than your rearview mirror.

Another is: objects in the rearview mirror are *farther* away than they may appear.

Your past is behind you. It’s “behind” God, too. Once you are forgiven in Christ, your sins have already been forgotten by God, buried on the ocean floor. They’re as far away as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:10-12).

Objects of our unhealthy preoccupations with our past are farther away than they appear.  Why not look ahead, instead!

So, you know I watch sports. I’ve always been fascinated by aspects of sports psychology: what motivates people to acheive, excel & what accounts for swings in momentum within games. There is a sense of “team spirit” – a spiritual-physical-psychological entity that is greater than any one single player.

Anyway.

Recently, I have been thinking about many players (particularly basketball players this spring) who’ve come back from surgeries or other injuries to re-enter the NBA in time for the playoffs.

There is something deeply psychological – that is, beneath the conscious thinking level of the mind – that makes a body tentative about “giving it all” as you normally would. Instead the player is holding back, not doing his best. The player is more reluctant to “go for it” – to use his full potential.

It’s due to a fear of reinjury.

To re-injure oneself would be to risk the same negative experiences, the same pains, the same time spent on rehab and all the sweat of recovery. You’ve just been through all that – and the body *fears* going through it all again.

I wonder if it isn’t the same in human relationships. I imagine it’s the same in our relationship with God.

To love is to risk injury. To love continually in life is to alway run the risk of reinjury.

We all know the pain of a broken heart. We know the consequences of hurting, and trying to live normally all the while… sadness, sorrow, slowness to engage other people. and then…

The fear of reinjury. I don’t want to get hurt again. If I trust this person, I may likely be let down again.

Here’s my perscription: Love anyway.

What? And risk reinjury.
Yes, consider Jesus. What if he were “out of the game” for good at the first insult, injury or back-stabbing betrayal? No way. Jesus stayed in for the whole game: the shame, betrayal and heart-breaking reinjuries of the Cross.

All for you.

Love. In the face of fear. For God’s love is yours. Look:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” 1 John 4:7

Love is God’s work. Let it in. Let it flow through you. It’s not that you have to do it on your own strength.

We fear because we actually believe “it’s up to me.” Christ died – and lives again! – in order to show us that it’s not up to us, it’s not *your* burden alone.

Love with God’s love. He’ll heal any injuries.

God is love. And God loves you – eventho’ we “re-injure” God’s heart. So take heart and love anyway!

Jesus is about peace-making.

I was saddened to learn of the tragic story of Phoebe Prince, a teenager who took her own life, likely as a result of the painful bullying she received relentlessly at the hands of schoolmates.

What do you think of her story?

For a summary of the story of Phoebe Prince:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Phoebe_Prince

Jesus’ story is one of love in the face of those who hate, suffering in the face of bullying-scourging-torture and crucifixion.

What do you think Jesus would say to the bullies? What about you?

I’d love to hear from you. Please post a comment or email me directly: pastor@macedonia-umc.org

Please join me in prayer for the family of Phoebe Prince and for all the children & youth presently enduring such harsh ridicule and bullying. And yes, let’s pray for those kids engaged in teasing and bullying.

God is a God of order and peace. (1 Cor. 14)

In Luke 15 Jesus tells a series of “lost-n-found” parables. They are each insightful.

One of these “lost-n-found” stories happened to me the other day.

On a day off, my family & I were running some errands. We had to pick up some things for a household project, and when we got to the check-out line, I could not find my credit card.

Yikes! Panic: self-contained, but still a quiet, internal, cold-sweat-kinda-panic. Jennifer was there to pay for the stuff, but the frustration I felt – questioning myself “what were you thinking, where did you put it?!!” was my focus.

For the kids it was sheer delight! Wow. Dad loses stuff, too!?! No way! They immediately started joking on me.

“What do you always say to us dad! ‘Jesus said “Seek & ye will find!”

They turned it into a playground sing-song litany as they skipped through the parking lot to our car (which has never seemed so far away).

Seek & ye will find! Seek & ye will find!

By the time everyone stopped singing & laughing. Jennifer had remembered another one of my *famous* maxisms & she “maxed” it in my face: “‘A place for everything and everything in its place!’ – so where’s the place for your credit card, Jason?”

Arrgh. The what-goes-around-comes-around truth of being a *preacher* at home. When ya stumble, there’s a ready stream of free advice on how to not stumble and fall.

Man, I sure know what it’s like to listen to me now. LOL!

BTW, the credit card was safe at home in my suit pocket. Like most things I “lose” they just waiting undiscovered in one of my many Pockets!

And, as always with lost things, they’re in the *last* place ya look!

SO…This experience has reminded me of the pains of the lost, and of the joy of finding.

So may you Find, whatever is lost in your life.

So, I’m working out in the yard – beautiful weather this Easter weekend.  I moved an antique milk container (probably 20+ pounds).  Under it were green flowers, stubbornly pushing UP!

How’d they liven under that heavy, metal, rusting can? (I’ll come back to that; please read on, O fair reader. Thank you.)

“Happy Easter!”  or better “Blessed Resurrection Day!”  (I sound like a weirdo then, don’t I?)

I’d rather we say: “Christ is Risen!”   That’s the meaning of the season.

“Easter” has no scriptural meaning – it’s a cultural name we’ve attached to a very Jesus-centered holy day: Resurrection Sunday.

“Easter” claims its roots in the pagan god Eostre, who was venerated by feasts in the month of April, certainly celebrating spring, new life, etc.

But so much for word studies… the Bible also says not to wrangle over words (in other words, don’t major in the minors).  So I won’t belabor this….

My thought is:  Focus on the meaning of this spring-Easter-season by focusing on Christ!

Christ rose UP from the grave!    Because God can do that (power over death, nature, evil, etc)… God can do anything – and everything good (”up”-lifting) in your life!

UP  is the message of Easter.  UP is the direction of Life! 

We see everything of God moving UP – spirits soar, love lifts hearts, encouragment of others in down-times.

Like the bulbs below the heavy milk can in my flower garden, push UP,  reach UP, as God raises you in Christ!

Before Easter, remember first the cost: the Cross of Jesus.

American Protestant Christians (that’s me) are so quick to celebrate Easter. I know that today, our church will have a Good Friday service, which will likely be the lowest attendance of any service of the entire year.

We know about the cross- but we don’t want to go there.

I’m glad Jesus went there.

In church on Easter (or any given sunday) you’ll hear “God loves you; God forgives you.” That’s right. That’s good – thanks be to God.

Still *forgiveness* must be understood at the foot of the Cross. There’s no “cheap grace” – grace cost God His Son.

True Love, God’s love, is best seen through the Cross before the Empty Tomb.

Conviction, repentance (turning from sin) and confession are “crosswords” that are to accompany our understanding of God’s love & forgiveness.

Here are some signs that you may believe in “cheap grace” and not the real thing: 1. I don’t want to change (nor do I make any effort to mend my behavior/attitude); but I want forgiveness. 2. I’ll give God time on Sundays just so I can hear ‘I’m loved & forgiven’; but there’s no need for me to do much else. 3. “Confession” is either a 1-time-thing or generic like “everybody makes mistakes.” 4. Repentance is for other people; I’m good.

If any of these apply, then try this: 1. Acknowledge you are a sinner in need of God’s saving grace (like me, everyday). 2. Confess to God in prayer the specific ways you’ve fallen short. 3. Seek to change your behavior; ask God to transform your heart and life. 4. Bring your Bible & yourself to church to seek God’s direction for your daily life.

the Cross of Jesus cost Him everything. What does it mean to you?