what goodbye looks like

I saw what a 70 year goodbye looks like yesterday.

After the mourners paid their respects and made their exit, it was just the family.

and after the nieces and nephews and cousins and son and daughter said their farewell, it was Jimmy's turn.

'til death do us part.

it takes on a new meaning when you watch a broken man say goodbye to the only love he ever knew.

The music had long since stopped playing...

and finally it was just this frail old beautiful man... touching the face and hands of his beloved best friend. Sobbing openly and loudly... pouring out the contents of his heart. Bidding farewell to his bride of almost 70 years.

It was a very sobering and lovely moment.

And if I live to be 120 years old, I will never forget it.

compromised immune system

When I was a boy, mom and dad smoked. A lot. When you walked from room to room, you could actually see the 'clouds' part as you cut through them... sorta like a jet airplane leaving those cool swirly contrails as it knifes through fog...

Most everyone's parents smoked. It was the thing to do... I mean, think of how popular a gift the ashtray was... How would you like to own an ashtray company today?

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, my family was passing around a winter headcold... they're very thoughtful that way. and, of course, I caught it.

But because my momma and daddy smoked for all 18 of my years at home, a simple head cold descended into my compromised lungs and became bronchitis, heading toward pneumonia. And I did what I have done at least once a year for most of my adult life: I went to the doctor, got a steroid shot, started on a high-powered antibiotic and a codeine-laced cough syrup and laid in bed for a couple days while God and the medicine did their work.

It's miserable. It's not end-of-the-world miserable (though my wife will tell you I am the BIGGEST BABY on the planet... and she's right!), but it is very very unpleasant.

and it got me to thinking... how many of my peers and fellow adults are smoking around their kids and grand kids. I think I will start preaching my message to every idiot who lights up in a confined space - like a car - with a child inside... yeah, I think I will...

but it also got me to thinking something else... when we are 'surrounded' and daily bombarded with spiritual pollution, what long-term affects might that have?

I mean, if my lungs are indeed unable to defend themselves against a common head cold - like most peoples' lungs can easily do - how bout my soul? How is THAT affected by all the 'smoke' I have inhaled (wittingly or not) over the years?

That's the thing with sin. You may think you are maintaining a perfectly healthy defense system... but all the while you are letting junk into your mind that erodes and corrupts your spiritual immune system.

'minor' temptations then become not so minor. and falling into habitual sin becomes much more possible...

what antibiotic do you take then? what shot do you get? How do you undo the damage from all the garbage you have allowed to enter your soul?

here's the deal with my lungs... I asked the doc if there was anything I could do to repair whatever damage has been done. I was a little bit scared to learn that there is not. I will always have a compromised respiratory system because of what I was exposed to when I was a boy. Period.

thankfully, God does give us a salve that can heal. I pray daily that God will remove the bad things from my 'soulmemory' that I have exposed my heart to over the years... and His Word is a healing balm that WILL undo what damage we have done.

Thank God!

From Eternity to Here

My First Frank Viola book was Pagan Christianity, and it gave me a voracious appetite to read whatever else Mr Viola had to say on the subject of 'church'.

and I have not been disappointed! His books speak to my heart in a way that no other writings on the subject ever have... and I suspect I am not alone. I am 47 years old and, like most of my friends, woke up a decade or so ago to ask "is this it?"

I was 'raised in the church' like most of my peer group... but always felt like what I was 'doing' - which consisted of spending an inordinate amount of time deciding and executing what was done at a building 2 hours a week - was empty and relatively meaningless.

Mr Viola hits me right between the eyes with each of the books I have read... and 'from eternity to here' (like his other books) does not simply sit back and take potshots at organized religion, it gives terrific, real, relevant, Biblical insight to the burning question of my day: "what IS church?"

I highly recommend this book to any serious seeker of the Way!

Blessings!

the Message

So my friend Doyne introduced me to a new (to me) version of the Word... it is called the Message... many of you have heard of it.... I had.

But I hadn't read it until a few weeks ago... and I gotta admit I am hooked!

Some will argue that it is a watered down version... others, no doubt, will call it a per-version (instead of a 'version'... cute play on words, don't you think?) The latter group are the same ilk who once stated that 'NIV' would be more aptly titled the 'HIV' because it is a virus... (yeah, I know... sorta blasphemous, huh?)

anyhow, it occurred to me yesterday - during a sermon which culminated with the 'fruit of the spirit' in Galatians 5 - why this version may be so good. It certainly speaks to the heart of most seekers.... it is in plain language and is very easy to read and simple to understand (sorta like the Gospel, right?)

but the one piece of it which I believe makes 'the Message' very important is this:

it speaks about concepts instead of lists

which drives the anal retentive (like me) absolutely nuts!

I like lists! I crave them!

and my old KJV (and even, to a lesser extent, my NIV) really does an incredible job of satisfying my 'list hunger'...

but yesterday, while I was listening to the preacher - who read from the NIV while I followed in my 'message' - it hit me! Here is the difference:

NIV:
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage; selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

now there are some GREAT LISTS! and pretty easy to understand, no doubt.... but we like lists SO MUCH that we memorize the list... we write tunes to go with them so we can sing them in Children's Church! (and there is nothing wrong with that....) but...

I believe with all that is in me that Paul is NOT trying to provide us with an exhaustive list of 'bad things' that we must avoid... he is drawing a character sketch, describing for us the types of things unGodly people habitually DO which makes them WHO they ARE! (obviously we want to avoid becoming THAT way, so we will run away from everything on the 'list'...)

nor is he trying to give us a complete list of all good things... he is painting a masterpiece of what a Godly person looks like by listing a sampling of what Godly people DO which makes them WHO they ARE!

here is the Message's "take" on Galatians 5:19-23:
"It is obvious what kind of life develops from trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods, magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness, cut-throat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied-wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits, the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community; I could go on. This isn't the first time I've warned you, you know... If you use your freedom in this way, you will not inherit God's Kingdom.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about."

Harder to make a song out of that, I know.... but I believe it paints an accurate picture of a Godly person versus an unGodly one.

I am certain that Bible Scholars will not agree with my assessment of 'the Message'. I wouldn't expect them to.... they are paid to make lists and test students on those lists...

I am no longer certain that any of THAT matters.

I am fearful that we have replaced the Bible command to 'engraft' the word in our hearts (James 1:21) with the rote memorization of lists from a particular Bible translation... we have become those Pharisees Jesus talks about in harsh tones who 'pray to be seen by men' and 'wear their phylacteries (scripture boxes) on their heads for all to see....'

I don't know that 'the Message' will change any of that.... but this version speaks to my heart... it reads like a novel, and I cannot put it down!

Blessings!

grace growers

we've all got em'.

grace growers... you may not know it, but you've got 'em...

don't believe me?

take this test:

• Is there someone in my life that make my life more difficult?
• Does it seem like no matter where I go or what I do, THAT person is there, testing my patience?

yeah, me too....

and until last week, I looked at that person with.... well.... let's say my attitude toward that person was less than great. (OK, I wished they would move away from here and that I would NEVER have to see them again!) sorry. that's how I felt.

but last week a friend was describing a person in her life that was an absolute thorn in her side... consistently and continually.

but she did not describe this person as her nemesis or as an enemy or as the devil (all descriptions which I have used for MY thorn)... she described HER thorn as a grace grower.

yep, a grace grower.... someone who God places (and keeps) in your life to teach you grace.

wow. grace growers...

we've all got 'em... and God is using them to teach us. He's using mine to teach me... to be merciful and gracious and forgiving. and less judgemental and less harsh...

James says we should count it as pure joy when we are tried. I never made the connection between THAT and my grace grower..... til now.

it doesn't make it any more pleasant for me.... but maybe pleasant is not exactly what God has for me... perhaps pleasant is not what I need.

(you see 'em differently now, don't you? maybe you see them a little more like God does....)

blessings!

your problems may not be that big

So... while I travel along my selfish path, I become convinced that I am the center of my world.

and that everyone else is somehow orbiting me, the center... the sun.

Before long, I am certain that anyone who is not completely in tune with my vibe and in agreement with my idea is my enemy... or at the very least, ignorant and unenlightened.

how can I be so self-absorbed?

If I will look up from my arrogance for a second, it may be that I discover that people have their own lives. and their own tragedies... and their own stuff do deal with.

is it possible that when someone walks past me without saying hello, they are not being hateful, they are just burdened with their own set of circumstances?

is it possible that my ideas are not the only ideas worth considering?

Could it be that the reason some folks don't place the same importance on my important junk is that they have more important important junk of their own?

Maybe they have more on their plate than me. and maybe my important stuff just isn't.

yep, i'm pretty sure of it.

may God bless us as we elevate others above ourselves and listen... for the chance to help.


Blessings!

clouds of doubt

For the Believer, faith is vital.

"being sure of our hope and certain of the unseen"... that's what the Spirit breathed into the Hebrew writer's pen...

and here's the piece of it I am finally beginning to learn: faith not only improves our 'future vision', it brings into 20/20 focus the things that happened before! as a matter of fact, the latter is necessary to the former!

After opening the chapter with faith's definition, the writer spends a LOT of time giving examples from the past... so we can believe. So we don't forget..

But more and more, doubt clouds our faith vision. and we become less sure of anything, and suspicious of His leading. We explain away God's daily miracles... we sanitize His present activeness and rationalize His awesome power.

We use words like fate and coincidence to explain away the things God does for us every minute of every day...

and here's the devil's insidious tactic: he convinces us that what we saw - what we lived through - wasn't REALLY a miracle. he whispers to us that what we read about is a fairy tale... he leads us to find scientific explanations for the divine...

"that parting of the Sea" says the Israelite who JUST LIVED THROUGH THE MOST HARROWING CLOSE CALL IN HUMAN HISTORY!, "that was just a freakish wind pattern that caused the waters to part and allow us to walk across dry land...."

"That pillar of fire..." says the one who has been miraculously led by said pillar for months!, "really just a low-hanging constellation..."

and we have big fun at the Israelite's expense.... "oh those silly Jews... how could they NOT see something so obvious" says us...

"now if God only did THAT sorta stuff TODAY, well, THEN I would be able to really get into this faith and belief business..." says me, as I sit in the church pew beside Dawson, a perfectly beautiful and smart 6 year old little boy who I held - literally - in the palm of my hand at Children's Hospital when he was first born. 18 weeks early. the miracle. the surviving twin of an extremely premature birth.

satan is a filthy liar spewing clouds of doubt... and we - if we are not extremely careful - buy it! Hook, line and sinker! We cannot be sure of anything...

no wonder we can't trust the future..... we refuse to see the past clearly...

and the worst part, perhaps? The doubt that clouds our vision? doesn't come from CNN or Fox or MSNBC (I mean, they are the worst enemies of faith and belief, but I have long since tuned out that white noise)... MY clouds of doubt come from folks who purport to be believers!

Let's remember. Let us remember God. let's resolve not to make mundane the divine... and let's decide to believe... and to surround ourselves with believers.... and to encourage belief and faith in all those we touch every day.

I know He is in control because I have lived it. So I trust that He will continue to do His miracles in my life.

All I gotta do is clear away the clouds of doubt.