The Easy Path or the Hard Road....

I've been in a funk.

For the past few weeks, I have been cranky, overly demanding, broody, snippy, kind of a "know-it-all" and just an overall unattractive version of myself.

And it has come naturally.

Being angry or frustrated, mean or foul-tempered - is relatively easy as human beings.

It is easy to see what is not going right or to plan in our lives. It is easy to look at someone else and decide they have something I deserve. It is easy to think that one thing or one success will make everything better. It is easy to focus on the lack rather than the abundance. It is easy to wallow in self-pity rather than be content in any situation.

But what I have come to realize is that I don't want to do what is easy. I don't want to go down the easy path. I want to do what is hard. I want to climb the mountain and traverse the rocky path. I want to face the obstacles in my life and with God's help I want to soar over them.

Taking the hard road - the difficult path - is not an easy choice, but it is who I want to be as a child of God. I don't want to fall into the trap of the easy answer - because the easy answer leaves me in a funk. I want to strive for the hard solution because in doing so I will be given the tremendous gift of seeing God's beauty and His presence all around me.

Scripture

Philippians 4:11-14

Quote of the Day

“Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little.” Marguerite Gardiner Question of the Day What is the one thing you can focus on that will help you be content? GUMY SUNDAY....

 

You are Not the "Not's"

Whether you are thirteen, thirty-three, sixty-three or ninety three, obstacles will always be present in your life. 

Being told you are not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, not ....just "not", will happen nearly every day in your life. How you choose to react to the "not's" will determine how you grow as a person.

The"not's" or the "not enough's" have a way of tearing down the person you were meant to be. They chip away at your self-confidence, your self-worth and your self-image until all that remains is self-pity.

If you listen and embrace the "not's" your answer will change from "I can" to "I can't". And when this subtle change occurs - with one apostrophe and one "t" - your view of yourself will change. With this shift, you will allow the outside of you to transform the inside of you, and you will lessen the who God has planned for you to be.

Some days, all you will hear is the "not's" about yourself, but when you are bombarded with the "not's" you have to hold onto the "you are's".

You are known by God (Jeremiah 1:4-6)

You are planned to do great things (Jeremiah 29:11)

You are chosen above all others (Deuteronomy 10:15, John 15:16)

You are a part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)

You are loved (John 3:16, 1 John 3:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:13)

You are a beautiful, chosen, beloved child of God.

You are so much more than any "not" this world can throw at you.

But you must believe it. You must hold onto and embrace the "you are's" and allow your inside "you are's" to transform your outside "not's". And in doing so, you will become the holy, chosen, rare gift God created you to be.

Because: you are enough, you are special, you are beautiful, you are worthy, you are...you are just who God made you to be.

Scripture

John 16:32-33

Quote of the Day

‘“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

St. Catherine of Sienna

Question of the Day

What "not" do you believe about yourself and how can you embrace a "you are" to wipe the "not" away?

GUMY is this Sunday...

Sneak preview...you are going to get to throw stuff...

Now...you wouldn't want to miss that would you?



God at Work

When did you last experience the presence of God?

Did you notice Him when you were watching TV last night?

Or how about when you were reading that new magazine?

Did you feel His presence at school or while you were crunching numbers for a new account?

Did you notice God when you were sitting in the pew yesterday morning?

Sometimes we can be so caught up in this world that we do not recognize God in our midst.

All too often we need to take a moment in the middle of the every day common activities of life and recognize God's presence in our lives. When Jesus returned to God the Father the Holy Spirit came to rest upon us, in us, through us and in the world.

The Holy Spirit is God's living, breathing presence in this world. He acts as a conduit of God's grace, truth, righteousness and love in this world. He is God with us.

God is constantly moving and acting on each of our behalves. But if we allow our lives to be consumed with the mundane and the everyday we can overlook God at work.

We are not the first people of God to overlook His work, the disciples even missed God at work and they walked with Jesus, but we should learn from those who have come before us.

We have the distinct and blessed opportunity to see God at work - active and alive - in every single moment of our lives. By recognizing God in small things of life we will know how to call upon Him in the giant things.

God is ALIVE. God is MOVING. God is WORKING.

Don't allow the world to turn your eyes from the glory God creates out of the mundane - you just might miss a miracle.

Scripture

John14:15-17

Quote of the Day

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Question of the Day

How can you carve out time to see God in your "every day"?

GUMY is this SUNDAY NIGHT!

 



And We Wait...

And we wait.

In Galatians, Paul tells us that the fruit of the spirit is love, kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness and patience.

Patience...

Part of being a disciple - living for Christ - is the patience we have.

We wait patiently for God to move.

We wait patiently for God to answer our prayers.

We wait patiently for Christ's return.

And like the disciples thousands of years ago, we wait patiently this Saturday for Easter and the rising of God's Son - Our Savior.

The gift we have is foreknowledge of what will be; of knowing the future past. We know that Christ rose from the grave. We have the freedom and the joy in that knowledge.

Our brothers and sisters who waited two thousand years ago, did not have that gift.

They waited in fear.

They feared for their lives.

They feared they had lost all hope.

They feared the unknown future without their master.

Their patience turned to fear...and still they waited.

True patience is about trust. Trusting that God is Who He says He is and He will do what He said He will do.

And true patience does not live apart from the rest of the fruit of the spirit. True patience is marked by love and by goodness and by faithfulness and by joy and by self-control and by gentleness.

The men in the upper room had their faith shaken on Friday. They waited through the Sabbath in fear.

But Jesus' female disciples were faithful in their waiting. They knew they would need to return to the grave to anoint Jesus for burial. They didn't know that their faithfulness, love, patience and goodness would be marked with the joy of finding an empty tomb - but they patiently prepared.

As we wait for Sunday morning, we must also remember that our patience in preparing for an Easter celebration is only a foreshadow of the patience we need as followers of Christ in waiting for his ultimate return. We are learning patience to help us bear the indefinable wait of his second coming with joy, love, faith, goodness, gentleness, peace and self-control in our hearts. Because, what happens next?

We wait...

Scripture

Galatians 5:16-23

Luke 23:50-56

Quote of the Day

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.

Dutch Proverb

Question of the Day

What can you learn in the waiting?

Don't forget....Easter Sunrise serves @ 7AM at the Log Cabin. Breakfast at the church starting at 8:15. Main Worship Service at 10:30 AM

and... GUMY is BACK next week regular times!

Happy Waiting Day!

The Good in Good Friday

Today marks the remembrance of one of the most solemn, sacred, sorrow-filled days in the Christian calendar: Jesus' crucifixion.

Intellectually we know that Jesus had to sacrifice himself so that we can be reunited with God, but emotionally the gift of his death for our sins can be overwhelming.

When I first recognized what Good Friday actually represented, I couldn't understand why such a day was marked as "good".

Jesus was wrongfully accused, persecuted with out a fair trial, flogged, betrayed by his friends, rejected by the masses who had five days earlier worshipped him, nailed to a cross and placed in a tomb.

Anyway you look at this day, it was not a good day for Jesus or for those who love him.

But, God made the day, so therefore it must be good. He orchestrated the entire day to bring about His greatest desire: to be reconciled with each of us.

Good Friday, in so many ways, is tied to Genesis 1.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ...God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.  (Gen 1: 27, 31)

God created man and it was very good. God desperately wanted to be reconciled with His "very good" creation which had become "very not so good". He wanted the reconciliation so badly that He gave up His Son, a part of Himself, as a sacrifice to atone for all of the world's sin.

As much as it pains us to remember the sacrifice of Jesus - as many tears as will be shed on this day in sorrow over the gift - let us not forget that God declared today "good" because today allowed us to begin to move back to being the very good creation of His heart.

Today is good because God also gave us Sunday.

In the midst of today's sorrow and grief, remember with aching joy that you have a Savior who loves you so much he was willing to allow the most horrific death to befall him so that you would one day be called God's "very good" creation.

Scripture

Luke 23 (as hard as it is to read - please take a few moments to read the story today)

Quote of the Day

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.

  ~St. Augustine

Question of the Day

How does your view of Good Friday change in light of knowing you are God's good creation?



Being in a Great Moment

I wonder...

Do you think that the people who were at Kitty Hawke beach the day the Wright brothers walked on it to fly the first airplane knew what kind of day it would be?

Or what about the crowds that heard JFK's inaugural address?

Or the men and women who sat in a room and helped any president decide to run for office?

In the midst of a great moment, do we understand that it is a great moment?

If the moment is framed and set for us - perhaps we do know. But if the moment appears to be like any other day - like an experience we have had for decades - how do we know that it will one day be viewed as a great moment?

As the disciples were in the upper room, sharing the Passover meal, Jesus introduced Communion to them for the first time. This was a sacred and holy moment - which was followed by bickering and confusion.

Jesus knew the time he had was quickly closing and he desperately wanted to prepare his followers for the long hours ahead, but they were unaware.

At the conclusion of the supper, the disciples began to argue who was the greatest - most important amongst the band of brothers. Jesus explained to them that following him meant that the greatest should be the least; that as a follower of Jesus we are supposed to lead by serving:

Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus tried to share with them that their bickering was useless and that they had everything they needed in their relationship with God through him.

But as we often are in the midst of great moments, the disciples were clueless. They continued to be blinded to the lesson Jesus was trying to share.

Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Nothing,” they answered.

³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷ It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’^[b]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

³⁸ The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”

“That’s enough!” he replied.

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In the coming hours the lesson would begin to become evident.  But in the moment, the disciples could only see their human needs. Jesus was trying to share with them the strength and the fortitude the coming days would demand, but the disciples could not fathom what would come.

Jesus told the disciples that day 2000 years ago there would be trouble, and we are reminded today that the road of Christian discipleship is not always an easy one. The path requires a servant's heart willing to walk a different road that most others in the world. The path will lead to ridicule and bullying by the world around you. The path can be hard and difficult.

But the path also is walked with us. The path we follow as Christians is shared by a walking partner: Jesus.

Just as Jesus was telling his disciples all those long nights ago that he would be with them, he tells us the same.

And with each step on the path of faith we walk with Jesus, we are in the midst of a great moment  - because he is there.

Scripture

Luke 22:7-53

Quote of the Day

 “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”

Oprah Winfrey

Question of the Day

If you were sitting at the table that night, how would you have reacted to Jesus' teachings?

Betrayal...

Betrayal.

The word evokes images of pain, strife, misery and deceit, all at the hands of a friend.

Friends know us at the deepest places of ourselves. They know what makes us happy, what we value, and what we believe.  They also know what will hurt us the most.

A true friend is someone we trust implicitly, without reservation.

And when that person uses those innermost thoughts against us - that is betrayal.

As we approach the climax of Holy Week, we cannot forget the ultimate turning point in the story: Judas' betrayal of Jesus.

Without Judas seeking to turn his back on his friend, mentor and guide the events of Holy Week may have transpired differently. But it was not to be. Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus. He sought out  those leaders who were searching for a way to rid themselves of the man they saw as a nuisance.

We can't be certain why Judas betrayed Jesus. There are many theories ranging from his desire to start a revolution to his lack of commitment to the mission. We do know that Satan used him (Luke 22:3), but after three years of sitting at the feet of the ONE who would save the world - the ONE who was truly the Messiah - how could he have turned so quickly? As with most betrayal in life there isn't an easy or a singular reason. We may never know why a friend chooses to betray us, but it doesn't lesson the feelings of pain and confusion which follow.

God used Judas' betrayal of Jesus for the good of mankind. We can see that now. But at the time, in the midst of the heightened passion of Holy Week, there would have been no way to know exactly how God would weave together the broken pieces of that relationship to make a more beautiful tapestry for the future.

If you are betrayed by a friend, you may never know the reason why, but you need to trust that God, even in the middle of your pain and anxiety, can create something good and beautiful and life giving out of what at the time will feel like the greatest of tragedies.

Betrayal is awful.

Allowing betrayal to define your life is pitiful.

Follow Jesus' lead and allow God to use your pain and sorrow to create something beautiful. Don't allow someone else's actions to define who you are.

Scripture

Luke 22:1-6

Quote of the Day

To betray you must first belong

Harold Philby

Question of the Day

When have you been betrayed by a freind?

Who are you?

Do you know who you are? Really know?

Everyday the world, society, even your teachers and peers challenge who you think - who you believe - you are.

So... Do you know who you are?

Jesus knew.

After the triumphal entry, Jesus continued doing what he had been doing for the previous three years: preaching, teaching, healing and sharing God's love and compassion.

He did this even in the face of direct challenge, circumspect and deceit. He spoke truth clearly into the people of Israel despite the leaders of the church challenging him at every turn. The church leaders were trying to find a way to trip Jesus up; they wanted to have the people turn on him naturally - to force him to slink away in humiliation.

But they failed at their first mission because Jesus knew exactly who he was.

Jesus knew who he was and what his mission was. He knew that his time as a great teacher was coming to an end and his time as the Savior of the World was about to commence.

Jesus was able to stand strong because of his innate knowledge of his true purpose. And he never faltered in the midst of the challenges.

You too have a mission. You to have a purpose.

The way to stand strong in the midst of the challenges this world throws at your belief of who you are is to know WHOSE you are.

You are a beloved child of God destined to share his love with the world.

Know who you are...And no challenger will ever overcome you.

Scripture

Luke 20:1-19

Quote of the Day

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

--Maya Angelou

Question of the Day

Today, take a moment ... or twenty...to remind yourself you are God's beautiful and wonderful child.

Flipping Tables for Jesus

What does it mean to you to be bold?

(And I don't mean "control - B" to bold your words in an assignment or a document)

When you are bold...what does it feel like? What do you say? How do you act?

As Christians, we are called to be bold; to stand up against injustice; to fight for the rights of those less fortunate than ourselves; to speak the truth when everyone around us believes a lie.

Boldness in your everyday life can be a little scary - even intimidating. But being bold doesn't mean you are the loudest person in the room or that you are the bully/leader who forces people to do things your way. Being bold is about living a life in truth and for truth. Being bold is about aligning your words with your actions under the umbrella of God's grace and truth.

Jesus was bold.

Sometimes he was bold in a gentle way in his speech and touch...but there were times when he was extremely bold with his words and his actions:

 ⁴⁵ When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. ⁴⁶ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’^[c]; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^[d]”

At the very beginning of what is now considered Holy Week, Jesus went into the temple and began flipping tables and driving merchants out of the courts with a whip. He was standing up against the status quo and standing against the injustice of reducing the temple to what was essentially a mini-mart.

At the time, people used the temple courts as a place to sell and buy what was needed for the ritual sacrifices to God. It was a place of convenience shopping when it should have been a place of mediation and sanctuary.

Jesus boldly went into a place of religion and pointed to the mistakes and missteps of the peoples interpretations of what was truly right and just in the eyes of God.

And, he flipped some tables for God.

Today, we face the constant struggle between fitting in and being bold. Standing up for what we believe as Christians can be difficult in a secular world constantly telling us what we hold true is intolerant.

But if we trust in the Holy Spirit and hold onto the Truth of Salvation through Christ we will know when God wants us to step out and be bold for Him.

So...where is God calling you to flip some tables?

Scripture

Luke 19:45-48

Quote of the Day

Put a grain of boldness into everything you do. 
~Baltasar Gracian

Question of the Day

Where is God calling you to be bold in your everyday life?

From Cheering to Jeering...

If you were in the crowd on Palm Sunday, would you have been one of the ones cheering, or one of the ones jeering?

Jesus entered Jerusalem a popular teacher and preacher; a healer of the sick and diseased; a friend to the friendless; But most importantly he arrived in the city as the "king who comes in the name of the Lord".

His entry into the city at the beginning of the week was a time of celebration and excitement, but for some who feared his growing followers it marked a critical moment when they had to strategize how to stop this teacher they believed was merely a man. If I put my human cap on, I recognize that Jesus' enemies exponentially stepped up their plans when they saw how quickly and easily their once faithful followers were turning to a new leader. They saw Palm Sunday as the critical turning point. If they allowed Jesus to continue growing in power and followers they would lose their control. They would lose what they believed were their identities and what truly made them in their eyes great men. With the triumphal entry, Jesus went from being an annoyance in the suburbs and countryside to being the most popular kid in school. In their finite minds, they felt they had no choice but to stop him by any means. 

As followers of Jesus in 2012 we have the advantage of hindsight. We celebrate Palm Sunday with a mixture of joy, sorrow and impending tragedy; similar to how we remember Good Friday. We know that the celebrants and the sycophants will be short lived. We know that many of those who waved palms to celebrate his arrival into Jerusalem, hurled insults on Good Friday morning screaming hysterically for his death.

And yet, there is so much truth and reality in the celebration of Jesus' entrance into the city.  We know that those who greeted him had true love in their hearts. They saw with clear eyes the Messiah they had been waiting thousands of years to see. They knew who he was without any prompting. Their hearts were pure...that day.

But, as can happen to so many of us, their hearts began to listen to the mummers and lies being spread throughout the city. Gossip travels with greater speed than light and by the time Jesus was arrested on Thursday night, the crowds' hearts had been twisted and deceived. They did not listen to their minds that knew all of what Jesus had taught and accomplished in the previous years. They did not rely on their memories, but rather the cheering squad on Sunday became the jeering masses on Thursday and Friday.

Jesus knew all of this would happen even before he sent the disciples into the city to fetch the young donkey to signify a king coming in peace. He knew this would happen before he healed Peter's mother-in-law, before he rose Lazarus from the dead, before he went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, before John the Baptist baptized him in the Jordan. Jesus knew all of these things would transpire even before he went to the temple at twelve years old.

He knew everything that was going to happen - which is why he wept at the Mount of Olives and it is why he said:

“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Even as he approached the last week of his life, he was trying to help those who would soon be his murderers. That is a gracious and loving King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is the only Author of Salvation and Giver of Life.

As we begin Holy Week, we have the true gift and burden of seeing into the future past and knowing what Jesus knew as he entered the city. But the joy in the knowing is that the story doesn't end on Friday but begins on Sunday.

Scripture

Luke 19:28-44

Quote of the Day

He who has surrendered himself to it knows that the Way ends on the Cross -- even when it is leading him through the jubilation of Gennesaret or the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Dag Hammarskjold

Question of the Day

If Jesus rode into Columbus today, what would the atmosphere be like?