Where Are You?

Now that we have celebrated the birth of Jesus, what’s next?  The story of Jesus’ early childhood includes several special characters.  I often find it interesting to wonder about which of the characters I would be if I were in the story.

First we have Joseph’s family in Bethlehem.  They apparently invited Joseph and Mary, his betrothed to come on down from Nazareth and stay with the family while they were involved in the Roman census.  We’re not certain if Joseph and Mary were married when they arrived in Bethlehem, but we do know that Mary was pregnant and about to deliver.  They were asked to stay on the first floor (or in the rear of the house) with the animals because of the ritual uncleanness of childbirth, and the family didn’t want to tie up a guest room for several days.  What the family didn’t know was that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would be hanging out with them for a couple of years.  I wonder if it was really an angel who came to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt or was it the rest of his family sending subliminal messages to move on.

Next we have the Magi.  They were the astrologers or wise men from the east.  We know that there were more than one of them, but we don’t know for sure how many there were.  In about the 8th century we decided there were three and we named them Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar.  Who knows why?  They traveled for two years following a star. That seems a bit over the top to me.

Then we have Herod who was the Roman King of Judea at the time.  He got ticked off when the Magi didn’t obey him and report back Jesus’ exact whereabouts, so he decided to kill all male children two years old and younger in Bethlehem and surrounding areas.  I guess he didn’t like it when the Magi called Jesus “King of the Jews.”

What about Joseph?  An angel of the Lord first appeared to him in a dream and told him to go ahead and take Mary as his wife, even though she was already pregnant.  Then after about two years in Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in another dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill Jesus.  Then after a while in Egypt an angel of the Lord appeared in another dream and told him to head on back to Nazareth, because Herod had died and his son Archelaus was now king of Judea.  I think if I had been Joseph, I might have been afraid to go to sleep.

Don’t forget Simeon and Anna in the temple in Jerusalem, and of course, Mary, “But Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 NIV  I’m not sure where I might have been in this part of Jesus’ story, but I’m blessed to know that I’m included in the part that’s playing out today.  Where are you?

Are Christians Like Viruses?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8 NIV

Being on lockdown for two weeks has caused my brain to occasionally spin out of control.  This is especially true when I wake up in the middle of the night.  One or two nights ago I had this thought that Christians are somewhat like viruses.  A virus is little more than a chunk of DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein coat.  It can’t reproduce on its own nor can it join with other viruses to make a muscle or a neuron or an artery.  Recent studies have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is causing the current pandemic can live in a respiratory droplet or aerosol in the air only about 3 hours, but can live on plastic and stainless steel for up to 3 days (24 hours on cardboard).  HOWEVER, if the virus finds a nice healthy human host cell, like those that line our respiratory tract, then it moves in and takes over like Cousin Eddie on Christmas Vacation.  The virus uses the host cell’s reproductive machinery to make more protein and more DNA or RNA.  When the virus has used everything the host cell has to offer and has essentially killed the host, all the new viral particles leave to infect other host cells.

Now some of us Christians can be pretty obnoxious at times, but the term “Christian” implies a love for GOD and NEIGHBORS.  Few would move in with a friend, eat all his food, spend all his money, shoot his dog, and then leave him to die with nothing.  On the other hand, this collection of cells that I call “me” will last only a few short years, no matter whether I fly around in the air or sit on stainless steel.  Jesus said, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, but apart from me you can do nothing.”  Sounds to me He is recommending that we become like viruses.

The Gospel of John also tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” John 3:16-17 NIV. That certainly makes Jesus sound like a good host for us viruses. We can’t kill him because He has already died for us!

Finally, Jesus prays that all us viruses will remain in Him, and that all of us will go out and bring our virus friends to live in Him also.  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” John 17:20-23 NIV. 

So, are we just viruses with a wonderful host named Jesus? It gives you something to think about – at 3 o’clock in the morning. And by the way, please continue to pray for our government leaders, for our healthcare workers, for those heroes who work daily for our benefit, and especially for all those so terribly affected by the illness and death caused by this SARS-CoV-2 virus. Our host would like that.

RBL

Lessons From Xoy

Luke 10
Last month, nine members of our congregation traveled to the village of Xoy, Yucatan, Mexico. Xoy is a village of 800 inhabitants deep in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. The folks there have a proud Mayan heritage. We went to Xoy to work with our brothers and sisters of the Divine Savior Reformed Presbyterian Church on the installation of a batch water treatment plant, and the education of their community as to how to use the purified water. We had previously entered into covenants with both Living Waters for the World and with the Divine Savior church that we would support the plant in Xoy with our prayers, our finances, and whatever technical expertise we could provide. God blessed both the installation and education portions of the work, and the mission, therefore, was felt to be a huge success. At the end of our week there, we celebrated with many from the village and some folks from surrounding villages by worshipping together and sharing the purified water from the plant.

Needless to say, all of us who made the trip were richly blessed from our participation. As I look back on the experience, I think the thing that I will remember most is the laughter of the children who came every afternoon for the skits, crafts, songs, and games. The lessons, however, that will stay with me are the same ones from Luke 10. In verses 27 and 28, Jesus confirms to the Levite that he has correctly identified the commandments of the law for eternal life – love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. What I found in the members of that small Presbyterian church was a joy that welled up from deep within them; a joy that was irrepressible and easily overcame cultural differences, language differences, and especially socioeconomic differences; a joy that seemed to come from a conscious choice each morning to follow Jesus by living out His commandments to love God and everyone else.

Another lesson for me was that I need to pray for the enlightenment to recognize when I should stop plodding along as a “Martha”, and spend more time as a “Mary”, as Jesus points out in verses 41 and 42. Sometimes our love for Jesus (and others) requires only that we be present. A third lesson follows this second one close behind. In Acts 20:35, Paul quotes Jesus to the elders in the church at Ephesus stating, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Sometimes for me, giving is much easier than receiving. Along with my prayers to become more of a “Mary”, I also need to pray for the humility to become a better “receiver”, for it is in being a gracious receiver that we allow others to give.

Yes, maybe we were able to help the villagers in Xoy with purified water for their bodies, but I want to thank the members of Iglesia el Divino Salvador for being such good examples of the One who is Living Water for our souls. Gracias!
RBL

Malchus and the Terrible Earache

Malchus lived in Jerusalem.  He was a servant in the temple.  His boss was Caiaphas, the high priest.  We really don't know much about Malchus.  In fact, Matthew, Mark, and Luke don't even mention his name, so we're left to our imagination.  I imagine that Malchus did many of the same things that our temple servant, Michael does – clean up the sanctuary after worship, set up and take down tables for family dinners, change light bulbs, and clean bathrooms.  I expect that Malchus liked his job and was on a first name basis with the rabbis, priests, and scribes who frequented the temple.

It was Passover, 33 AD.  The Feast of the Passover was a festive time in Jerusalem.  Jews had come from all around to celebrate God's deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt.  Itinerant rabbis from everywhere were rolling in to give lectures on the scriptures.  Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth turned rabbi had also come.  He had ridden into town on the back of a donkey while a large crowd yelled "Hosanna to the Son of David.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"  As soon as he got into town, he closed down the farmers' market in the temple and began to speak in parables about a Kingdom that is not of this world, a Kingdom ruled by his Father.  He was calling Himself the Son of God and the Son of Man.  He not only knew the scriptures, but knew how to interpret them and make them come to life.  None of these things made the Sadducees and Pharisees any too happy, and so they plotted with Caiaphas to have Jesus killed.  They made a deal with one of his disciples to give him up on the night following the Passover meal.

That's where Malchus comes in.  He was doing his chores in the temple when he overheard the plans to arrest Jesus.  He sent a text message to some of his relatives about what was going down, and they decided to follow the crowd to Gethsemane that night.  It was dark with the only light coming from a few torches.  Malchus was standing on the outside of the crowd when Judas kissed Jesus to give him up.  The crowd seized Jesus, and the next thing Malchus felt was a burning pain in his right ear.  Peter had sliced his ear off with a sword.  Jesus told Peter to put the sword away, and then kneeled and put his hand over the side of Malchus' head that was now gushing blood.  The bleeding stopped and Malchus' ear was restored.  I suspect that it was meant for Peter to have poor aim, since if he had been a few inches to the left he would have cleaved Malchus' head and that restoration would have been much more dramatic.  So dramatic in fact, that I doubt that any of the crowd would have hung around to arrest Jesus.

That's about all we know about Malchus, except that one of his relatives who was in the garden recognized Peter later that night and caused him to deny Jesus the third time.  I suspect that Malchus followed the proceedings on Friday to the court of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.  Pilate tried his best to release Jesus, but the crowd would have none of that.  When asked who should be released from prison, as was customary during the Passover, the crowd yelled "Give us Barabbas."  Barabbas was a revolutionary like Jesus, but one who revolted against the Roman rule and not the Jewish elders.  I have to believe that Malchus was standing in the back of that crowd too, but was quietly saying "Give me Jesus!"

My prayer for each of us at FPC is that on this upcoming Good Friday we, along with the Church universal, will stand, and with one voice proclaim, "Give us Jesus!" and then will go out and show that we mean it by our actions.

Hear! Hear!

A Labor of Love

To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."  To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.  Genesis 3:16-17

My job requires me to do pre-employment  physical examinations for local employers (pre-placement exams if you know about the Americans with Disabilities Act).  A few days ago, I was looking over an applicant's exam form when my eye caught his occupation – "laborer".  It caused me to pause and think - you know, truth be known, we are all laborers.  Whether we clean septic tanks, oversee multibillion dollar organizations, or chase protons around the Hadron Collider in Switzerland, "through painful toil, we eat food from the ground."

Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, was a laborer.  He made furniture for the people of Nazareth.  For at least 15 years Jesus labored as a furniture maker himself, before setting out as an itinerant rabbi.  Jesus' first disciples were also laborers.  Most of them were fisherman, drawing their livelihoods, not from the cursed ground, but from the Sea of Galilee.

Because of Eve, childbirth also generally follows a course of painful labor.  The process of natural human childbirth is hard work, and not without its share of discomfort.  Most moms, however, quickly forget the pain and hard work (at least within a few years).

Even dying can require labor.  I've had the opportunity to be present at the deaths of several patients and family members.  The final hours of the natural dying process with the changes in respiration and circulation often represent the final labor of the dying person.  This is no more evident than in the crucifixion death of Jesus, where His body labored to end the pain.

So, labor is always with us – at birth, during life, and often at death.  We are indeed all laborers.  Advent, however, is when we celebrate the labor of a teenage girl in a stable in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.  We thank you Mary for your labor of love.

May the peace of that Baby in a manger, the fruit of Mary's labor, be with you this Christmas.  Rest from your own labor.  Celebrate Emmanuel!
RBL

Memory

 "This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."  Hebrews 8:10-12  NIV

God says in the New Covenant through Jesus that He will remember our sins no more.  You know, that strikes me as somewhat of a miracle.  Here we have our God who knows everything about us ...past, present, and future...saying that, if we but accept His New Covenant in Jesus, He'll not only forgive us but will totally wipe our slates clean and FORGET all of our sins.

September 21st is World Alzheimer's Day.  My Dad died from this terrible disease, and God has allowed me to care for several others with various forms of dementia, most commonly Alzheimer's. I've seen first hand the heartbreak it brings to families.  Nancy Reagan was right.  It truly is "the long goodbye."  I had the opportunity a few years ago to speak to a group of residents at one of our local nursing homes.  The words seem to be appropriate this week as we pray for a cure for Alzheimer's Disease, and for peace among those who care for their loved ones.

"I have been amazed for some time now by the miracle of the human brain.  Each of us uses only a small portion of the available nerve cells in our brains.  Our brains control the involuntary aspects of our lives, like breathing and blood circulation, as well as the voluntary aspects of our lives, like our senses, our thought processes, and our memories.  Our senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch keep us in tune with what's going on around us, and they also provide the input for what goes in to
our memory banks.

As we age, we sometimes lose what scientists call our short-term memories, like where we park our car in the Walmart parking lot, what we may have eaten at our last meal, or the name of someone right after he introduces himself.  Scientists have found that situations to which our senses are subjected repeatedly, or those which may have more of a lasting impact even after a single exposure, tend to go into our long-term memory banks.  Sometimes we affectionately refer to these deeper, long-term memories as being locked away in our hearts.  My short-term memory is certainly not what it was 20 years ago.  The good news is that we still keep wonderful memories locked away in our hearts – our deep, long-term memory banks.

Who can forget all the wonderful sensations that our eyes, ears, noses, tongues, and hands have brought to us over the years.  Who can ever forget seeing a mountain or an ocean for the first time?  Who can forget the face of your wife or husband on your wedding day?  Do you remember seeing your children immediately after their births?

Can you remember falling asleep as you hear the rain falling on the roof or outside an open window?  Can you remember the voice of your mother or father calling you to supper?  Do you remember the silence of a snowfall?  Do you still hear the giggling of your brothers and sisters as you all tried to go to sleep on Christmas Eve night?  Can you remember the words of one or more of your school teachers or Sunday school teachers?

Do you remember the smells in your grandmother's kitchen on Sunday at noon when everybody gathered for dinner?  Who can forget the smell of freshly cut grass, or a fragrant rose, or the air after a spring rain? Do you remember the smell of wood smoke or coal smoke in a fireplace on a cold winter night?

Can you remember the taste of hand-cranked, homemade ice cream?  How about the taste of warm, homemade bread right out of your mother's oven?  Who can forget the taste of grandmother's fried chicken, or watermelon in the back yard, or cotton candy at the county fair?

Do you remember the touch of your mother's hand when you were ill, or your father's strong hand on your shoulder when you were learning to ride a bicycle?  Can you feel the warmth of a handmade quilt on a cold January evening?  Can you still feel falling snowflakes on your tongue or a warm bath after a hard day's work?  Will you ever forget the touch of your husband or wife as you walked hand in hand at the end of the day?  Can you still feel the cold, wet nose of your dog as he tried to snuggle under your arm?  Do you remember feeling the waters of your baptism?

You see, I believe that God wants us to keep these memories so that we'll know a little about heaven before we get there.  That's why He makes sure that we store them in the deepest, most secure areas of our brains.  He is especially kind in allowing us to continue to see in our mind's eye the faces of the dear ones with whom we have shared these memories so that when we see them again in heaven we will not forget them or the pleasant memories associated with them.

God also uses our senses to produce memories that remind us of His presence in our lives.  In September 1996 our daughter Jennie was involved in a serious automobile accident.  I can still hear the voice on the other end of the telephone as clearly as it was on that morning at 2:00 am, "Do you have a daughter named Jennie?  She has been involved in a serious automobile accident."  I can remember the voice of my wife as she prayed aloud in the car on the way to the scene.  I can remember the flashing lights of the emergency equipment, ambulances, and helicopter.  I can remember the smell of the diesel fuel from the vehicles.  Most of all, I remember the voice of my daughter after she was extricated from the small truck in which two of her friends and she had been riding, "Daddy, I'm sorry," she said.  I held her hand for a few seconds and then I knew that God was going to take care of her.  After two major surgeries and a lot of rehabilitation, fractures of Jennie's pelvis, hip, leg and forearm began to heal.  She now leads a normal life as a mother of three great kids.

I think that God allows me to hold on to the memories of this accident as a daily reminder of His presence and power in my life.  He seems to know which images I need to store in long-term memory and which are OK left in short-term memory where they may get lost.

So is it really important to remember what we had for breakfast this morning or what we had for dinner last evening?  I think not.  The memories that are really important are locked away in our hearts – our long-term memory banks.  The next time that you can't remember where you put your glasses or your sweater, remember that our God is also forgetful.  Through His Son Jesus, He is able to forget all of our sins."
Peace

Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  Proverbs 3:5

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything here on the site, and I suspect that some of you had hoped that maybe I had moved on.  Not so.  I'm back.  Actually, I took a week off from work last month.  My wife and one of my daughters decided that I needed to go on a Western Caribbean cruise.  Ordinarily, if I take a week off, I generally like to finish up some projects at home or go to a warm beach somewhere with internet access.  I like to dabble in writing code for Linux and to play with AutoCad and Adobe software. 

Well, cruise ships generally have internet access, but it's expensive for any significant band width.  So, I was left with sitting on the deck watching the Gulf of Mexico go by, long talks with my wife (not so bad), and reading.  Now, I have never been one who reads for pleasure, unlike the rest of my family.  But during this one week, I read four books - more than I had read in one summer since the summer reading contests at the Hopkins County Library when I was at Pride Avenue Elementary school.  I read A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking, Jesus Wants to Save Christians and Love Wins by Rob Bell, and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  I can honestly say that I would recommend all four. Of course, you need a curious but open mind to appreciate any of them, especially the Stephen Hawking book about cosmology for dummies.

Love Wins has created quite a stir on the Christian blog sites since even before it was released.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book because Bell openly and scripturally discusses many of the topics that a lot of us more conservative folks have been hesitant to bring out of the closet.  More than anything, the book focuses on a God who cannot be put in a box, who loves us more than we can imagine, and who will stop at nothing to have a loving relationship with everyone who has ever lived and who will ever live in the future.

Love Wins, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and Crazy Love are all about the ministry of Jesus and His commandments to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbors (friends and enemies) as ourselves.  Often times, nonChristians seem to do a better job of loving neighbors than we who are believers.  The books are also about the Kingdom of God being here and now.

As I reflected on the message of each book, I decided that the lesson of the week for me was "trust" - trust in a God whose very nature is love and who was there at the beginning of time, no matter what exactly happened next; and trust in His son, Jesus, who taught us how to live and to care for one another.  Oh yeah, He also took on the sins of all those who came before Him and those of us who have come since.  He was put to death by "religious" people like us, whom He loved dearly.  He walked out of the tomb, having reconciled all people back into the relationship that God had intended, and lives with us still through His Holy Spirit.

I also learned to trust that a 17 story floating hotel will neither roll over nor sink, that (2) 23,000 horsepower propulsion systems are enough if one breaks down, that there are no Somali pirates near the Cayman Islands, and that the nice fellow from Mumbai who serves the scrambled eggs does not have Norwalk virus.

RBL
ps.  Speaking of God's love, you may want to check out this post by David Ewart, "What Does God Do with a Dead Terrorist?" 

Kids Say the Darndest Things

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."  Matthew 11:25 NIV


“Kids Say the Darndest Things” was an important segment of the Art Linkletter House Party on radio and television from 1945 until 1970.  Bill Cosby hosted a TV show by the same name from 1998 until 2000.  Both men exploited the innocence and lack of inhibition of 4 to 7 year old children to coax some really funny comments.  My wife taught preschool for several years.  She used to keep a journal of funny comments, although she never had to encourage any of them.  During the final program for parents at the end of the school year she would share some of those comments.  One that I’ve never forgotten was when Lillie Ann invited A.J. to go to McDonald’s for lunch because her dad had “catched him a job.”


I’ve heard that grandchildren are the reward for not killing your own kids.  We now have eight rewards and I love them all.  A couple of years ago I was sitting in the stands during one of Jack’s first T-ball practices.  He fouled off one pitch straight up in the air. When it came down it struck him on the top of his batting helmet.  His only comment was, “Hmmm. I guess that’s why they make you wear these hats.”  Not long after that he was in church participating in the Junior Sermon.  The youth leader asked the group, “What do you have to do to get into Heaven?”  Jack raised his hand and when called upon stated, “Well, of course, first you have to die.”  As you can imagine, all the “concrete-thinking” adults in the worship service that day thought that was pretty funny…but wasn’t that just what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."  We must die to our old self-centered ways and be reborn of water and the Spirit.


Earlier this year Ella and her mom were getting ready for bed and talking about what they needed to pray for.  After going through an extensive list, Jennie suggested that they should pray to have Jesus live in their hearts.  Ella responded, “Mom, if Jesus were to live in my heart, He would stick out all over.”  Jennie assured her that “sticking out all over” is exactly what Jesus wants to do.  After all, didn’t He say “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if I stick out all over (actually, if you love one another).”  John 13:35 NIV


Kids do say the darndest things, but listen carefully.  What sounds like a “concrete thought” may end up carrying an abstract message.  Remember the words of Jesus, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”


Anyone want to teach the preschool Sunday School class this summer?

Springtime in Kentucky

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.  1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV

“What a wondrous time is spring, when all the trees are budding;
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.
That's how it is with God's love;
Once you've experienced it, you want to sing, "It's fresh like spring";
You want to pass it on.”  Kurt Kaiser, 1969

Don’t you love the beauty of the Kentucky springtime?  It’s almost as if God has taken the drab canvas of winter and splattered it with a million colors.  First the crocus, forsythia, and pear trees; then the redbuds, jonquils, and dogwoods; and now the azaleas, tulips, irises, roses, and hundreds of other flowers.

My wife loves to play in the dirt, especially when it comes to caring for flowers and shrubs.  Over the years she has learned which plants need more shade and which ones need more sun; which ones need more water and which ones don’t need soaking; which ones need more acid soil and which ones do better when the pH is higher; and on and on.  She has also learned which ones need pruning or dividing in order to live and grow.


The new growth and colors in the spring remind me of the rebirth that we Christians should pray for daily.  Each day we need the Holy Spirit to trim away more of our self-centeredness in order for us to become more Christ-centered.  This is the process of Sanctification of which Peter spoke – dying a bit more each day to self in order to be reborn more Christlike.  It’s the process of maturing as a Christian.  Through our practices of prayer, study, worship, and Christian action the Holy Spirit is able to prune, shape, and mold us into the image of Jesus.  Of course, we’ll never get there in this life, but we’re called to walk the path.


This process of pruning to become more Christlike is obviously not pain free, but necessary if we are to bear the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.  So as we enjoy the beautiful Kentucky springtime, let it remind us that we too are to be reborn, not only each spring, but each and every day a little more in the likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Pass it on.

A Taste of Easter

Have the long winter and the cold March rains put a damper on your Lenten excitement?  If so, try a dose of this little tune about Mary's first Easter morning written by Gloria Gaither and performed by Sandi Patty and Louisville's own Larnelle Harris.  The video is from a Gaither Homecoming at the Kennedy Center in 1999.  If you're still not excited about Easter after you listen to this, you'd better check your pulse.  The late Vestal and Howard Goodman seemed to enjoy it.

A Tribute to Richard

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV)"


And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. My friend, I’ll say it clear. I’ll state my case of which I’m certain. I’ve lived a life that’s full. I’ve traveled each and every highway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.” These lyrics were written in 1968 by Paul Anka for a French tune “Comme d’habitude.” The song “My Way” is often quoted as being the most remade song in history, but its real popularity came from recordings by “Old Blue Eyes,” Frank Sinatra and “The King,” Elvis Presley. I doubt that Paul Anka ever met Richard, but this song should have been dedicated to him.


Richard was a cantankerous fellow. For him there were only two ways to do anything – his way and the wrong way. There was only one appropriate route from his apartment to the post office. He refused to have his mail delivered, choosing instead to have someone drive him to the post office 3 or 4 times each week. He also had routines for doing his banking and for shopping at his chosen market, pharmacy, and restaurant. During the 2009 ice storm, he had to move from his apartment to the Red Cross shelter. Trying to be helpful, I went to a pharmacy and bought him some over-the-counter antacid tablets, since he chewed up several each day. He promptly informed me that I had bought the wrong brand and I would need to go to his pharmacy and get the right brand. It wasn’t that Richard didn’t appreciate assistance; it just always boiled down to the two ways to do anything.


Cantankerous, yes, but devoted. He was devoted to his God and to his church family. When he was healthy, he rarely missed Sunday School or Worship Services. In Sunday School class, you could always anticipate that Richard would have an answer or an opinion, and he was always happy to share them. He was also devoted to his wife. When Louise’s health began to fail, Richard was always at her side. He gave real meaning to the vow “For better or worse; for richer or poorer; in sickness or in health.” Richard was a writer. He wrote about his life experiences and about his daily walk with Jesus. As with his opinions, he liked to share his writings with others. At his funeral, Lon shared an excerpt from one of Richard’s writings about the Body of Christ. He wrote, “We are all like beautiful musical instruments, beautiful but worthless. Worthless until we are played by the Great Musician.” There is no doubt that Richard was played by the Great Musician. In the symphony of life, I tend to picture him as a bassoon, much like the Grandfather in Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf.”


As with the death of anyone in our church family, Richard’s death will leave a hole, much more than just an empty seat on Sunday mornings. We have lost a sound in our orchestra. We thank God, however, for the lessons He taught us through the life of Richard Dunham: devotion to God, family, and church; journaling our life experiences; not being timid in sharing our love for Jesus; and, of course, patience.


“Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again too few to mention. I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way.” Father, we thank you for sharing Richard with us and for showing us how, through Jesus, Your way can become our way. Oh, and if you don’t already know by now, he likes the “Extra Strength Antacid Tablets” from RiteAid.

Facebook vs. City Cafe

"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:6 NIV


I grew up in Madisonville. Most of my relatives, however, have lived in the South – south Hopkins County, that is. In fact, both sets of grandparents, two aunts and uncles, and two cousins all live or lived in greater Mortons Gap. In the 50’s and 60’s, my grandmother Lottie and her sister Mary owned and operated the City Café in downtown Mortons Gap. Their chef was a lady named Florence who could cook anything as long as it could be fried in lard. Of course this was before the age of cholesterol enlightenment. I always liked to go to the City Café. From the hamburgers and fries to the chocolate and coconut cream pies with mile-high meringue (that sat in a three-level glass display case on the counter), it was my favorite place to eat.


When I was younger, we would go to the City Café on Friday nights after visiting Claude’s Barbershop for my bi-weekly flat top. If there weren’t too many patrons in the café, I would put ashtrays (once again, before enlightenment) under the back legs of one of the pinball machines. By flattening out the surface, I could play all night for a nickel. Tommy, the pinball wizard, really didn’t have much on me.


As I grew up, I found that the City Café was a great place to learn what was going on. At lunch, L&N train crews, local business people, miners from White City Mine, and many town folk would gather for one of Florence’s famous hot plate lunches. You could always find out who had been sick, whose kids were going where to college, which families were planning weddings, who had joined which church, and who might need a little help. There was the essence of a caring community right there in the City Café at noon.


Sadly, the City Café is a thing of the past. A lot of community building, beyond that occurring in church worship services and social events, now often comes from electronic communication such as e-mail and social networking websites. Recent studies have shown that both Facebook and Twitter are fairly popular with adults, while MySpace is more popular with kids. Most churches now have websites, blog sites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and YouTube accounts. Even Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging Roman Catholic priests to use the “rich menu of options” of the internet to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Now, don’t get me wrong. My training is in engineering and I still have some slide rules around. I could probably even find an old pocket protector if I look in the desk drawers. I’m really a geek at heart, but I still miss the smiles, handshakes, and face-to-face communication of the City Café. I also miss the warm chocolate pie with a slice of butter on top and a glass of cold milk.


I can't imagine that it's too important to God "how" we spread the Gospel of Jesus and "how" we care for one another, as long as we "just do it." After all, He posted the first blog over 3400 years ago on a couple of tablets (not iPads) held by Moses. That blog is still the best guide for our lives today.  By the way, you can follow FPC on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Blogger.


See ya in church and catch ya in cyberspace.

Another Lap

Since childhood I've been attracted to all things mechanical, especially automobiles (or "motorcars" as our British friends call them). My first car was a used 1962 Corvair. I got mine before Ralph Nader decided he needed to protect us from them. It was light green with tan vinyl upholstery. The Corvair provided me with my first opportunity to tune and care for an automobile. It had fancy wheel covers, a tachometer on the dashboard, and a green 6 ball for a gearshift knob. Of course it had dual glasspack mufflers so it sounded pretty bad, but with only 102 horsepower its bark was much worse than its bite. In 1967, with my Corvair as a trade-in and with money saved from working every summer and Christmas break, I was able to buy my first new car - an Oldsmobile 442. With over 360 hp, its bite was substantially larger.


I've often dreamed of driving a Formula 1 race car. How cool would it be to fly through the streets of Monaco in a McLaren-Mercedes revving at 18,000 rpm? I've always thought that the life of an F1 driver like Juan Fangio, Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher would be glamorous and exciting.


With the arrival of a new year and a new decade, God has reminded me that my life is a bit like a Formula 1 road race. The faster I drive, the faster each lap (and each year) goes by. I sometimes seem to be going so fast that the scenery along the course is just a blur. The faces of those standing alongside the track are all but indistinguishable. My grandmother knew what she was talking about when she told me that the older you get, the faster each year goes by.


This month I have felt God asking me to trade my McLaren-Mercedes for something much slower, maybe even a bus so others can go with me. I think He wants me to look into the faces along the course and to even take some of the side roads off the track. He has shown me that the faster I go, the more difficult it is to follow the last half of Jesus' commandment - to love our neighbors as ourselves. I think He's trying to tell me that this "love" of which Jesus speaks is much more than just the passive opposite of "dislike." I need to do a better job of actively sharing His love with those in my community. My prayer for 2010 is to have a lighter accelerator foot and better vision so that I can recognize those daily opportunities to share the love of Jesus, and the courage from the Holy Spirit to stop and share rather than just race on by. Any riders?


An ex-Michael Schumacher wannabe

Two Shepherds’ First Christmas

Overheard on a hill overlooking Bethlehem, 0 BC


"Woof! Woof!"

"What is it Lassie girl?  Another wolf, or has one of those not-ready-for-Mensa sheep wandered off again?  Whoa!!  Wake up Sam! Look at the size of that star!  It seems to be lighting up the whole city, but especially that old stable.  What are all those lights flying toward us?  Goodness gracious!  It's a herd of angels!  Sam, did you forget to take that wandering sheep back to Mr. Schmidt's flock?"


"Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people."


"Fear not, my foot!  I may have to change my undies."


"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."


"A Savior, which is Christ the Lord?  Whatta ya think that means, Sam?  Maybe a leader like David who can smack down all the lions and gladiators in the coliseum and help us send these Romans packing?  Or could He truly be the Anointed One, the Messiah, sent by God to rule the whole world?"


"And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."


"Well, I guess that explains the big star."


"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."


"Sam, I'm still not sure what to make of all this, but I think we should check it out.  Get your staff and let's go pay our respect to this little "Soul Man".  Lassie, you watch the sheep. Hurry Sam!"


"Hold on Dave, I'm coming."

The Gift

As I was considering a new post for this Advent season, I began to think about Lon's Advent sermon series on "The Wonder of a New Baby."  I also sought some guidance from my best friend (my wife, of course).  She suggested a blurb about "The Gift."  We have three wonderful children who have three wonderful spouses.  They have now gifted us with eight wonderful grandchildren.  As I think back on the births of our children and grandchildren I can still recall the wonder and awe as I held those little bundles of cells who, in only nine months or so, had become perfect little beings.


I suspect that Mary and Joseph must have had those same feelings, but maybe a bit more "wonder" (if that's possible) about what Jesus' life would be like.  Gabriel told Mary that her son was to be named Jesus and that He would be great and called the Son of the Most High.  She was told that Jesus would be given the throne of his father David and that He would reign over the house of Jacob forever and ever.  Gabriel didn't mention anything about a cross.  As I consider Mary's thoughts, I think about the haunting lyrics of the Christmas song, "Mary, Did You Know?" by Mark Lowry.  I expect that Mary was told only what God wanted her to know in order for her to lovingly raise Jesus as her own.

While in residency here in the late 1980's, we had the pleasure of meeting Greg and Diana Botkin.  Greg was also in the residency program and they had children as well.  As busy as they were, they took the time to home-school their children.  Diana is an accomplished artist and provided much of the family's income with her paintings.  While they were here, she won several awards and was commissioned by Mead Johnson to do some Enfamil art work.  Both Greg and Diana are devout Christians and much of her work has Christian themes.  As I considered the idea of "The Gift" associated with "The Wonder of a New Baby," I remembered a piece that Diana had done in charcoal some 20 years ago.  To me, it speaks volumes about a God who loves us so much, and wants so much for us to love Him, that He came into the world He created, and in the only fashion possible reconciled our debt for sin and justified us once again into a right relationship with Him.  She called it "Behold the Lamb of God Who Takes Away the Sin of the World".  To me it is "The Gift."

Thanks Giving

"I will praise God's name with song and glorify Him with Thanksgiving." [Psalm 69:30 NIV]

Thanksgiving Day is rapidly approaching. You know, that Thursday before the busiest shopping weekend of the year. As I ponder all that I have to be thankful for, I am reminded that many of my blessings are associated with FPC. Here's a "Thanks Giving" list of just a few things that come to mind:

• for the freedom to worship openly and without the threat of persecution by our government or others,
  
• for all those who have come and gone before us; those who for 175 years have worshipped here, prayed here, and worked here, and now worship elsewhere or dance at the feet of Jesus,
  
• for both our Pastors, Lon and Rob, who teach us, nurture us, and challenge us to continue growing in grace,
  
• for our prison ministry, led by RevPete, where being "free in the Spirit" has real meaning,
  
• for our wonderful musicians, led by Mike and Ann, who bless us with their voices and instruments,
  
• for a caring staff, Dawn, Suzanne, and Darrell, whose ministry is the "business" of our church,
  
• for all those who volunteer to lead our worship, teach our classes, serve on our Session and church committees, lead our youth groups, prepare our meals and snacks, and give of themselves in any other way to make FPC an active part of Christ's Church,
  
• for those who give unselfishly and anonymously to keep our facilities attractive, functional, clean, and comfortable (warm in winter and cool in summer, not vice versa),
  
• for the joy of having been the host of the Madisonville Great Banquet for over 25 years and having witnessed the changes in lives that Jesus has wrought through it,
  
• and, of course, for that "paid in full" stamp on the charge ticket for my sins; paid for by my risen savior, Jesus, whose earthly birth we'll celebrate next month, but whose spiritual birth we celebrate anew in our lives each and every day.
  

So, before you head out to the shopping malls on Friday, enjoy Thanksgiving Day with your family, and during your "Thanks Giving" prayer, remember the blessings we share at FPC.

Feeding the 5000

The year is 30 AD. The location is Galilee, around the Sea of Galilee (or Sea of Tiberias, or Lake Gennesaret - depending on where you live). A young journalist, Matthew Matthews from TV Station WWJD is traveling with an itinerant carpenter/prophet, Jesus of Nazareth. "Matt the Mouth", as he's known is reporting on the teaching and activity of Jesus with this new micro-blogging communication tool called "Twitter". He's been tweeting reports fairly regularly and they're beginning to get really interesting. Lets join him now and see what this Nazarene carpenter is up to. Click the link below and remember to read the tweets from the bottom up. "Jesus Feeds the 5000"

Pilgrim’s Progress Redux

An Adventurous Journey 

Lisa and I just returned from a 3,464-mile journey to Moab, Utah.  We met relatives in Kansas, experienced the joy of a leaking air mattress while camping, and saw some incredible scenery.   During a four-mile hike in Arches National Park, we tried to imitate houseflies in clinging to a rock "wall" to avoid sliding into a muddy pool of deep water.  With teamwork, we were successful.  The journey involved a lot of driving.  Lisa and I had the time to read about another great and adventurous journey.  We read to each other "Pilgrim's Progress."  

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678.  It is regarded as one of the most significant works of English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print.  John Bunyan wrote the book while in prison for preaching outside of the approval of the state sanctioned Church of England.  Three years after its publication (1681), it was reprinted in colonial America, and was widely read in the Puritan colonies.  Many of our ancestors had at least two books; the Bible and Pilgrim's Progress.  The story, though old, is still meaningful and deep, as it explains some of our growth process as we journey in our Christian "walk."  The main character's name is Christian, although he was previously known as Graceless.   

The allegory shows how we face temptations, trials, grace and growth as we progress from accepting Jesus as Savior to being glorified in heaven.  Christian journeys from his hometown called the City of Destruction (the world in which we live) to the Celestial City (Heaven).  He meets people who are wishy-washy, who talk the talk but don't walk the walk, and who are strongly opposed to religion.  He also meets folks who are full of truth, encouragers, and helpers.  He is just like us.

Lisa and I are going to lead a Sunday school class through the book.  If any of you tried to read Pilgrim's Progress many years ago, take heart.  We will use a version in modern English.  We will go slowly enough to read the story and tie it together with the appropriate scripture.  So, if you are not actively involved with a class, we would like to encourage you to consider journeying with us, and a man named Christian, as we grow with him.  Our class is for young adults, but aren't we all young at heart?  We are going to begin our journey on October 18.  The journey will be fun, instructive, and will have some challenges.  With good teamwork, it will be great.  We hope you will join us!

Mike Ladd

The Best is Yet to Come

Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."  John 2:7-10 NIV

This was Jesus' first miracle, performed only three days after he was baptized by John. For years, this water/wine thing has provided fodder for theological arguments. Did the 150 gallons of wine that Jesus made contain real ethanol and if so, was the wine 1% alcohol, 6% alcohol, or 10-15% alcohol like the wines of today. We do know that Paul admonished the church in Ephesus, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18 NIV 

I think that when we dwell on the "proof" of the story, we miss the real message. In the wedding celebration, Jesus acknowledges that God created humans as social beings. We are meant to live in community with one another. As the saying goes, when we share our lives with one another sorrows are divided and joys are multiplied. Another part of the message is that Jesus desires to fill every corner of our lives. There is no request too small or too large for Him to fill. Whether we ask Him for a few extra gallons of wine, or for peace during a job interview, or for healing from metastatic cancer, He wants to provide what we need.

Finally, I believe that the most important part of the message is the promise that the best is yet to come. Those who remained at the wedding celebration after the first batch of wine was gone were rewarded with the best wine of the party. Many of you have heard the story of the woman who asked to be buried with a fork. As a child, she learned that whenever her mother or grandmothers told her to keep her fork after a meal, it meant that dessert was on the way, and for her dessert was the best part of the meal. Our lives in this world are not always easy or pleasant. In John 16:33 Jesus says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." The author of the letter to the Hebrews alludes to life in this world as a long race. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1 NIV. "Perseverance" is the key. It's not important who wins the race, but that we all finish. This perseverance comes from living in Christian community and from relying on Jesus to provide all we need. Then, as we cross the finish line, we can claim as Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Keep your fork!

Sonblock

Recently I was blessed to be able to relax at a beach in South Carolina for a week. I've heard that God lives in the mountains, but vacations at the beach. Rob Bell says that our world is "drenched with God." Nowhere is this more evident than in the awesomeness of oceans and beaches. I love the beach, but while there I recognized that I had graduated to the "grandparent tagalong class." In watching all the young families I realized that, like the Gospel, the beach is new to every generation.

The fact that "God has no grandchildren" has never been more evident than it is today. The American Religious Identification Survey 2008 published in March 2009 revealed that the American population continues to self-identify itself as predominantly Christian, but Americans are slowly becoming less Christian. 86% of Americans identified themselves as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008. The historic mainline churches and denominations have experienced the steepest declines, while the numbers of non-denominational Christians have been trending upward, particularly since 2001. Membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA) fell by 69,381 in 2008, continuing a trend that began in the mid-1960's. The 2008 decline was the largest numerical and percentage net membership loss since Presbyterian reunion in 1983. The challenge to Christianity in the US does not come from other religions, but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion. One out of every five Americans failed to indicate a religious identity in 2008. The "Nones" have grown from 8.2% in 1990 to 15.0% in 2008. One sign of the lack of attachment to religion is that 27% of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death.

Why do we now have generations of folks who have never tasted abundant living through Jesus? I submit that it is because we "grandparents" have abdicated our responsibility to make the Gospel relevant to our children and therefore our grandchildren as well. So what can we do? As General Assembly Stated Clerk Grady Parsons says, "Presbyterians can be evangelists." Mother Teresa taught us to bring people to Jesus "one by one." The Great Banquet teaches us to "make a friend, be a friend, and then bring your friend to Christ, remembering to talk to Jesus about your friend before you talk to your friend about Jesus." Jesus died for all of us. There are no "throw away" people or generations. It's time to remove our "Sonblock" and to allow the Holy Spirit to empower our evangelism.  Remember what happened on the day of Pentecost?  Since the devil loves pew sitters, it's time to leave the comfort of our sanctuaries on Sundays and Wednesdays and to take the Gospel and the love of Jesus back to the streets. Can you feel that wind blowing in from the ocean?

Anyone for fishin'?