Month: April 2017

I startled myself today.  As I started to type my eyes went from the screen down to the keyboard and my father’s hands were sticking out from my shirtsleeves.Those were the hands that toiled to care for our family.  Those were the hands that played marbles with me by digging holes in the ground.  Those were the hands that wiped away the blood from my knees while I was learning to ride a bicycle.  Someone might add those were the hands that spanked you.  But, no.  He never did.  My mom did that!
 
Some of my favorite texts are about hands.  Psalm 19:1 is great. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”   And then there is Psalm 119:73, “Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.”
 
My favorite hand text is John 10:28.  It is about a hand much better than any ordinary hand. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”  This must gall Satan.  He had eternal life and threw it away.  The idea that you and I have it has to fill him with disgust because he knows what awaits us.  He knows what wonders we will receive.  And there is nothing he can do about it because Jesus’ hand is so powerful and so loving.  The only way to get out of Jesus’ hand is to ask and surely we are not that stupid. 
 
I loved my human father’s hands because they made me feel safe.  Jesus’ hands do that a hundred times over.  If it isn’t cloudy tonight, step outside, look up and see the work of our heavenly Father’s hands.

One of the things we discussed this morning in psychology class was pattern recognition.  We looked out the classroom window when a student, a good 85 yards away, was walking on the other side of the quad.  The person was walking away from us so we could not see his face.  I asked if anyone of my students recognized him and 75% of my students immediately told me who it was.  They explained it was the way the person walked, the way he carried his head and his basic body profile.
 
It set me to wondering if people ever see Jesus in us because of pattern recognition. Do we deport ourselves with a caring demeanor?  Do we walk with dignity?  Do we speak supportively toward others?  Are we more interested in promoting others instead of me me me?  It really can happen.  We are not slaves to our environment or heredity. There is no question that those two factors can make it more difficult for some than for others.  But the promises are real.  “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4.  And just how can we do this?  Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
 
A grandmaster chess player can easily memorize the placement of the pieces during a game.  It is very difficult for them if the pieces are randomly placed.  The patterns are wrong. They don’t fit expectations.  It is the pattern of our lives that enable people to trust us and want to be like us because the pattern of Jesus radiates in our speech and behavior.  

I heard something today that was so outrageous I backed up the television program to listen again to make sure I had not imagined what I heard.  I had not imaged it.  On a “Christian?” program the speaker inferred that we should be rejoicing that certain environmental programs are being reversed or not funded.  His logic was the sooner we destroy our planet the sooner Jesus will have to come to rescue us from our manmade mess. Whatever happened to the idea that God made Adam and Eve stewards of their garden?  How could this man ever again sing, “This is My Father’s World”?  How could he ever again pray for or raise money to help the victims of violent storms or rising oceans?  I was flabbergasted!  If I thought this was mainstream Christianity I would be so embarrassed I should have to call myself something other than a Christian.
 
Jesus told a very interesting parable about a man who left on a journey and gave funds to three of his servants to attend to while he was gone.  Two of them did fine.  But the third did nothing with his.  Upon return the master said to the steward who did nothing, “Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter?”  It gets worse.  Next the master said, “Throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 15
 
Somehow I have the feeling that the proper way to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus is to fulfill the great gospel commission and spread the Good News.  Trashing our Father’s world is not only wrong, it is sick.

Twice a day from Monday to Friday from first grade to eighth grade I rode school buses and I heard a lot of nonsense. One remark that still stands out in my mind came from a nerdy little kid proclaiming that his father knew everything. Even as a child I knew how impossible that was so I said so. I said, “No he doesn’t. That’s impossible.” You can be sure what came next.  “Yes, he does.”  After a few minutes of “No, he doesn’t” and “Yes, he does” we came to his stop and he got off.  
 
Strange how things reverse when we get older because my Father knows everything. Yes He does. I quote from Romans 8, “For those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God. . . the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” . . . Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” 
 
There it is.  Paul says it again in Galatians. And where did Paul get this marvelous truth?  From Jesus Himself who taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, which art in heaven.” 
 
Now it gets even better.  My Father can also beat up your father.  I also heard that on the school bus.  My Father is not only all-knowing He is all-powerful. I just love being a part of this family. If I were back on that school bus I would be a real braggart. 

When I was a little guy I often found sermons to be tedious and very long.  Occasionally I would fill the time by paging through the hymnal which contains almost 700 songs.  I wondered how long it would take to sing all of them and discovered if it took five minutes for each song with a one minute break between songs it would take 2.9 days if we did not sleep or eat.  I realize that is very meaningless data but when you are 8 years old it makes the time go a bit faster.
 
Time moved so slowly then.  When I sent off for a Dick Tracy decoder ring offered on a cereal box it took six weeks for the mailman to deliver it.  That was a lifetime.  When I was that little I understood what eternity was.  It was getting from 8 to 75.  Now I no longer understand eternity but I am most anxious to give it a try.  I would absolutely love having you try it with me.  It sounds so beyond comprehension you might think I am crazy.  But quoting the great philosopher Sheldon Cooper, “I’m not crazy. My mother had me tested.”
 
It is a matter of faith and trusting Jesus.  His promises are so vivid.  He said in John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”  That is just a sample.  I once had a pastor really go after me for saying we can skip judgment.  How dare I make heaven so easy to obtain.  Well, sorry about that, I was only quoting Jesus.  And guess what.   He never lies.

On April first we had a substantial snowstorm.  (Not an April Fool’s joke.) It was very wet and heavy; great for making a snowman.  I have to get the snow off the roof of our SUV before I can drive it.  If I don’t remove that snow I will see some blue lights and have to make a contribution to our city budget. Actually it isn’t that difficult.  We live on the top of a hill and if I go 35 mph going down the hill and slam on the brakes the snow keeps moving forward and slides right down the windshield and over the front of the car.  It’s called inertia.  A moving object wants to keep moving and a resting object wants to stay resting.
 
I believe we have psychological inertia. Once I am in my chair and my eyelids start to droop, all I want to do is stay put. When I go for a walk the first 100 yards demand determination, after that I can walk and walk and walk.  It’s the same with our Christian walk.  We get busy and the daily demands of life crowd out our walk with Jesus.  To get it started again requires thought, planning and determination. Once we are back in the habit it becomes easy.
 
I do recommend planning.  Just picking up your Bible and reading randomly isn’t really the best plan. If you’re fortunate you will open to a meaningful passage, but you are just as likely to open to an obscure passage in Leviticus or a chapter of begets.  Treat yourself and read the Gospel of Mark completely in one sitting.  You will find it to be absolutely delightful and it doesn’t take long. It is only sixteen chapters.