Transformative

Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

Paul writes about how we are now under grace and not the law.  He is making it clear that we have done nothing for this grace, and also making it clear that we cannot simply except the grace once and then  go sin.  Paul makes it clear that we are to be obedient.  As Paul writes in Romans 6:17, “But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”  It is clear that Paul believes that being under grace means we will act righteously.  We will spread the Gospel as Matthew writes in this scripture.

This made me think about how I learned to ride a bicycle.  My father, an engineer, made me read the manual, learn all the physical science, learn all the laws, and learn the history and tradition of bicycling (which was not too bad since it only started in the early 19th century) before I got on a bicycle.  Well that is not true, but I wrote this to demonstrate how crazy it would be to require all that learning before climbing on a bike.  When in fact we put a child on the bike with training wheels with only very basic instruction.  I remember the first time I rode my bike without training wheels.  I remember some basic instruction, but most of all the encouragement from my parents and the number of neighborhood children.  It was wonderful.

Grace is to me like riding a bicycle.  You are not required to learn all the church doctrines, tradition, know the Bible like a scholar, no you are simply are to go out practicing being Christian.  Now I am a person that can ride a bicycle (I would say a bicyclist, but that has connotations of having the outfit), and so is Lance Armstrong.  Now Lance practices riding a bike much more than I, and has even studied other parts to the art, and thus is a much better bicyclist, especially for races.  While Christians are not practicing to compete and one someone is a Christian they are equally saved with all other Christians (no matter how well versed or practiced another is), it is true that we mature in our relationship with Jesus if we practice more and more. 

The major point is that grace is a free gift and we have done nothing to deserve it.  For most there was a transformative time when Grace turned us to God for the first time.  We respond to that moment with baptism.  It is like riding a bike for the first time, and we remember that moment dearly.  The fact is grace is transformative always.  If you are pedaling along as a Christian you need to realize that every day, every minute the free gift of grace is there and is constantly a transformative force.  You are moving along in your faith and thus you are being transformed just as you were at your baptism.  And for those that have stopped pedaling, and/or have gotten off “the way.”  They need to simply remember the idiom “it is like riding a bicycle” for all you need to do is except the free gift of grace and head toward God as your teacher and practice Christianity.

God’s Mirror

Psalm 8; Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission is one of the most essential scripture of our faith, and today I want to explore Jesus’ triune statement.  It is one of the clearest places in the Bible where the Trinity is clear.  “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit…”  Jesus is clearly stating that they are one and yet unique.  The Trinity is not clearly defined by our Bible, but it is an important tradition of the church.  It allows us to know God by three “faces” and know God as one.  While it is not defined directly it is certainly Biblical.  There are a few verses in the Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, that point to the meaning of the mystery of the Trinity.  I share them below:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. (1)

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (12-17)

 

‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. (26)

Each of these scriptures show that there are distinct manifestations of the Divine, yet what is clear is they work together in relationship.  We understand God as unified as One, yet demonstrates that God is in relationship with Godself.  It is not clear cut as it is a great mystery, but I will explore why this is an important tradition.

While I prayed about these scriptures in preparation, and realizing this Sunday was also Father’s day, I thought about my own father.  I had a great childhood, and I have a great relationship with my father today.  However, he was not as present as I would have liked, but when I reflected on the times I remembered my father as dad, that is positively and with parental love, there were a number of memories to pick from, but the three that kept coming to mind were three that happened in front of the bathroom sink.

I remember my father shaving in the hall bathroom and I created my own “razor” out of Legos.  I recall how he demonstrated the art of shaving and put some shaving cream on my hairless face so I could attempt to shave. 

I remember that my mom would tie my ties from standing in front of me, but one day she asked my dad to do it.  He attempted to the first time as she would have, but realized that he needed to do it from behind me and looking into a mirror.  Not only did he succeed in tying the tie, he also taught me how to do it myself. 

I remember cutting my finger in the woods and realizing it needed attention.  My dad was home and he carefully attended to it at the sink.  I recall seeing him in the mirror carefully and lovingly stopping the bleeding.

These three memories are understood greater by my recent time with my son in a mirror.  AJ is a child that we are trying to encourage more eye contact (and he continues to improve), so when we look into a mirror and he looks into my eyes in the mirror and then turns to look at me, I realized that what we see in the mirror is not simply the physical image, but rather the relationship.  It is why we treasure pictures of us with people, even if it is not the most flattering.  We see the relationship.

Psalm 8 reminds us that we are different from all other animals we are as it says in Genesis, made in God’s image.  We are set a little lower than God, so we can be a mirror of God.  We reflect the God, the Divine Light, which is itself a relationship.  Thus we are to reflect relationship through relationships. 

Breathe Spirit

John 20: 19-23

When we think of Pentecost, we first think of Luke’s account of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For Luke writes it was on the Jewish holiday of Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover.  There was a loud wind and tongues of fire on the believers heads.  Peter starts preaching and we celebrate this day as the birthday of the church.

Tradition does connect this gift of the Holy Spirit with Easter as we have kept the celebration of Pentecost 7 weeks from our Christian Passover, Resurrection Sunday.  John however connects the gift of the Holy Spirit directly with that day, as He gives them the Spirit on that very day.  Luke uses the term wind which in the Hebrew (ruach) means both Spirit and wind reflecting the wind of Genesis 1 that God used to create. John uses the word breathed, which would harken back to Genesis as well, chapter 2:7:

then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

Or in Ezekiel 37 when God breathed on the dry bones to bring them back to life.  John is emphasizing with the gift of the Spirit that those received New Life in the Sprit. 

Peter and the disciples in Luke’s account knew exactly what to do with the gift of the Spirit; they evangelized.  In John even seeing the resurrected Jesus, it is not long before they take that gift and go fishing.  Jesus meats them at the lake and cooks them breakfast and reminds them, why He gave them the Holy Spirit, via his discourse with Peter:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. (John 21: 15-17)

Jesus is saying as He said in the locked room, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  We are commissioned to share that gift.

Jesus breathed the Spirit to His believers.  They breathed it in, but to live one must also exhale.  We must breath the Spirit in and out.  This gift of the Spirit it not a gift we keep, it is a gift we must share.

 

Sovereign Grace

John 17:1-26

Today’s scripture is part of Jesus’ farewell dialogue.  It is however, not to us, it is a pray to His Father.  We are privy to this very personal prayer on behalf of the disciples, and for those that would believe because of their witness, thus ourselves.  There is a great intimacy evident by this prayer.  It is also very pastoral for us as there is a petition to the Father God that we see His glory, we make it to heaven.  This is to happen because Jesus asks the Father God to protect the believers who are no longer of the world and to keep them united. 

This reminded me of a wonderful illustration.  There was an Admiral who decided to take the control room from the Captain of the USS Oklahoma.  The sailors in the control room all had their respective jobs.  One was on the helm, radio, radar, maps, etc.  They knew their jobs and even knew the way to their safe harbor. 

The night was foggy and dark, but the sea was not too choppy.  The ship headed their normal direction.  The admiral saw a light in the distance, and commanded the radio man to send a message that the ship change course.  The report back was that we are requested to change course.  This went back and forth a few times, when the admiral got up and grabbed the radio and barked into it, “This is the admiral of the fleet, I command you to move.”  A second later, the response was, “Sir, I humbly ask you again to change your course, as the lighthouse keeper for two months and I have not figured out how to move.”  The men and women in the control room held back their laughter as best they could.

See the ship represents the church, and it is important for everyone to be in the proper position.  Just as Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

It is true that the admiral did not depend on the people that knew the way, but neither did they speak up when they knew what the light was.  It is important for the church to be together and to have us working together as our gifts are given.  It is certainly much easier to navigate the sea of the world together then alone in a small dingy.

The lighthouse is the grace of God that shines out on everyone, but it is important we recognize it as Grace.  The ship could have ran aground if the reality that the lighthouse was warning them was not realized.  Grace directs us and protects us from the “evil one.”  The lighthouse keeps us from hitting the rocky coast, it is the answer to Jesus’ pray to His father, that we be protected and unified.  The lighthouse and the ship.

The ship may move with our help, but it is truly the lighthouse that should direct its every move.  God is truly in charge, God’s Grace is Sovereign.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Paul sums it up well here.  It is Grace that saves us and directs us, and we respond by good work of the church.

ALL ABOARD

As printed in Durant Daily Democrat June 3, 2011

Have you been stuck at a railroad crossing? If you run your errands around Durant, it is likely for that to happen a time or two. Have you heard the train whistles? If you live in Durant I am sure you have. I write this to emphasize how important these locomotives and rail companies are to our town and county. For many of the new industries that have come and those that will come to the Durant Area, rail is a key ingredient for receiving and shipping, as well as the trucks on 69/75. There is currently nothing as efficient and connected to the rest of the country as our rail system.

Many communities such as ours are lucky to have a class one carrier, yet we have been serviced by three. These are names we should know, but do not worry—I also had to find out the names. Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Sante Fe, and Kansas City Southern are the three class one carriers, reaching across our whole nation. To receive cars from these three lines requires the important work of the short-line carrier, Kiamichi-Rail America. These four rail companies are an essential ingredient to our community’s growth. So when I hear the train whistles or need to wait for a train, I think about how important it is to our community.

Now you may be asking why a minister is so interested in our local trains. The answer has two parts which I believe are related. The first is very simple and that is that our local churches are part of the same community and the reality is that churches need the community to be healthy on many levels, including economically. While some of our citizens have fallen on bad economic times, we are able to provide services in the community, such as (but not limited to) Loaves & Fishes and Families Feeding Families because many are able to give their time, talent, and money.

The second is how the train symbolizes our interconnection with the rest of the nation and even the world. What makes trains so important are how they provide efficient transportation from sea to shining sea. When you see or hear the trains in town, you know that the cars are filled with many different raw materials and finished goods, going throughout the land. This is a wonderful fact. Just as we have different churches in town, we have only one Gospel, one track. Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” All Christians are baptized into one body, yet there is a diversity of gifts among the body, with Christ as the head.

Therefore when I see or hear the trains I think about how Christians from all walks of life and of all denominations may be different but are united by the tracks set by the Father God, the train that Jesus is at the control, and the Holy Spirit that powers the train. I believe today as the popular slogan in many frontier churches of the nineteenth century stated, “In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; and in all things, Charity.”

So when you now get stuck waiting to cross the tracks, or simply hear one of those impressive locomotives, I hope you will think about how blessed we are. We are blessed to have a town that has industry and jobs in part because of these railroads. We are also all blessed to be part of the wonderful Body of Christ, the church, which expands over the world like the rails, connecting Christendom, for “…God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12: 18-20).

So I leave you with the words of the 1965 hit single by The Impressions:

People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

We can all get on board. Be it for our community, but even greater for Christ.

June Newsletter

June 2011

Summer is here. It is an important time of the year. Vacations, festivals, and the lake take precedent over high production. All the seasons of the year are also important and I embrace each of them as they come. I know that summer can also be a lot of work just to relax, both at home and away, but part of the goal is to find those times for your family and yourself to relax and “re-create.” Recreation is an important part of the summer season. One of the many ways we can participate in this season as we try to stay cool, find activities for children and grandchildren is to not worry. I know that is easier said than done. Jesus makes it quite clear, in Luke 12 and Matthew 6 that worrying about this life will not add an hour to our lives, and we should consider the birds that neither sow nor reap and the flowers that do not toil nor spin, “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.” (Luke 12:23) This is the season when we can most practice the discipline of not worrying.

Jesus’ message is not to worry about the worldly things. “For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12: 30-31) How can we practice relaxing and strive for the kingdom? I believe Paul sums it up best in Galatians 5:22-23, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” If we strive for these fruits we are striving for God’s Kingdom. Summer is a great time to strive for these fruits and shelve the worries of our world.

This year Pentecost falls on June 12, when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that works with us to help us and guide us toward the Spiritual Fruit. The Holy Spirit will help us to not worry, but to strive for God’s Kingdom. Jesus sends us out into the world to be that message as the church, according to John 20:21-22 “…‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” So when you find yourself worrying and fretting this summer call upon the Holy Spirit, call upon the church, call upon Jesus and you will find yourself striving for the Spiritual Fruit, for the Kingdom of God, and thus have a summer of relaxation and reCreation.