Promise

Whoa...I just read my post from last week and I've already failed at my challenge to pray twice a day. Good thing there is grace and forgiveness! I'm going to try again though so don't think you're off the hook. I've preached one or three sermons now in the season of Lent and I've decided to focus on our need to connect with God. We need to be intentional in seeking that connection and even more diligent in keeping outside distractions from breaking that connection. Without our daily intentional connection with the Spirit we can easily miss God's still small voice in our lives and the opportunity to bask in God's presence. I think I preach on our need to be in communion with God because it is something I know I need and don't always do a great job of getting. As I said before good thing there is grace and forgiveness!

Today I was thinking about a topic and I was reminded of the Old Testament verse from Genesis I'm going to preach on Sunday. (Don't worry Carroll it won't be an exact copy of my blog.) :-) The verses come from the 15th chapter and they are God's covenant with Abram. God promises Abram land and descendants. Some of the language and ritual around the sacrifice and covenant ceremony doesn't make much sense to us today, but safe to say the cutting of the animals in half was an ancient way to do a covenant. Today we'd have lawyers present and there would be a lot of signatures. The interesting part of this covenant between God and Abram is not the way in which it was sealed, but in who is making the promises. Read verses 1-12 and see who is doing the promising. God is saying that Abram and his descendants will inherit this land. God is the one doing all the talking. God's promises of descendants and land is not contingent on Abram at all. This covenant/promise is unconditional. Abram has done nothing to deserve this great blessing and he can do nothing to have this promise broken because God is doing all the promising.

It is important to note that unconditional promise here in Genesis because as the history of Israel unfolds the promise starts to have some conditions put on it. We could certainly enter into a lively discussion about what the addition of conditions means, but that would be for another post. Let's focus on the first promise of land and heirs made to Abram and how it was unconditional. That promise is still valid for us today. No, God isn't promising us the promised land, riches, and/or children. God is promising to be with us, to love us, to never leave us or forsake us and to always work for God's purpose in our lives. This promise to us is also unconditional. It isn't affected by how we act or don't act. God has promised us forgiveness and grace as long as we honestly repent and are sorry for our sins. I think that promise can't be overstated as we journey through Lent. As we are asked to work on bettering our connection with God and to take an honest look at our spiritual lives we need to keep in mind that even if we aren't satisfied with what we see God loves us just the way we are. God loves our imperfections and all.

As a parting word we can't take that unconditional love for granted and abuse it. Yes, we can't do anything to make God love us less, but that doesn't mean we have an excuse to live however we see fit and then go back and ask for forgiveness. Asking for and receiving forgiveness is only done when we are truly sorry for what we've done and we have an honest desire to not do it again and to try to live better. We should be living a life filled with gratitude for what God has done for us, and there is no better way to thank God for the unconditional love then to live a life that demonstrates that same unconditional love to all creation as best we can. Let the freedom and joy of knowing that God loves you, warts and all, allow you to honestly confess your sins and seek a better connection allowing you to live a more spirit filled life.

You've Got to Pray

"The proper way for man to pray," said Deacon Lemuel Keyes, "and the only proper attitude, is down upon his knees."
"No, I should say the way to pray," said Reverend Dr. Wise, "is standing straight with outstretched arms, and rapt and upturned eyes."
"Oh, no, no, no!" said Elder Slow, "Such posture is too proud; a man should pray with eyes fast closed, and head contritely bowed."
"It seems to me his hands should be austerely clasped in front. With both thumbs pointing toward the ground,"
Said Reverend Dr. Blunt. "Las' year I fell in Hodgkin's well head first," said Cyrus Brown."With both my heels a-stickin' up, my head a-pointin' down;"an' I made a prayer right then an' there...

"Cyrus Brown's Prayer" by Sam Walter Foss

"You've got to pray just to make it today" MC Hammer

Two good quotes. One about the "right" way to pray and the other about the importance of prayer in our lives. I've been thinking about a challenge for Lent. I'm not big on sacrifices so I like to come up with some sort of challenge to try for Lent. This year the challenge is going to be saying a prayer twice a day for the entire season of Lent. It doesn't matter when the prayer is, but it may be easier to pray just before you get up in the morning and then again right before you go to bed at night. It doesn't matter when you pray, just so that you do so.

I can hear some people resisting because they don't know the "right" way to pray. Well there is no right way to pray. It is just about your conversation with God. There is no right formula and no magic words that you can use. When I'm asked about praying all I say is to make sure that you thank God for your blessings (make sure your thanks outweigh your requests) and that you take time to listen for God's response. If all we do is talk then it is hard to hear the response. Don't let the thought of talking to God or Jesus intimidate you either. I had a chaplain supervisor tell me once to just pretend Jesus is sitting in a chair next to you and have a conversation with him just as you would a good friend there. Don't worry about doing it right...Just do it (as someone else says).

My challenge to myself will be to committ to pray twice a day during Lent, and hope that carries on past this season also. Will you accept the challenge and see how the power of prayer can change your life?

Amazing!!

I am amazed and proud of the way our church and community stepped up to the plate for the Wolfe Family. We held our Spaghetti Dinner/Benefit yesterday and let's just say the money raised was way beyond my expectations. Even with the snowy weather we raised approximately $4000!! We do not have the complete totals yet so don't quote me exactly, but we should be very close to that number. AWESOME is what comes to mind.

The out pouring of support shows us what a community can do when we come together to support one another. Beyond the monetary support I received numerous offers to help the Wolfe family in any way possible. What a tremendous example of the Body of Christ coming together to support one of its members. To me there is not better example of Christian love and support. People gave of their time, talent and money to help someone in need. This Spirit of giving and helping others is exactly what Jesus calls us to do. Let's pray that this generous Spirit does not end with this benefit. There are numerous ways we can continue to spread the same love and Spirit with our entire community. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

Going Grey

Well it is official I suppose. I have officially become old in my children's eyes. Isaac asked me this morning how old I was. I told him and he said geez dad that's old! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Then, he says something about the graying of my hair! Sometimes I think that little fart is too smart for his own good.

I don't know why that stung a little bit. I know full well that 32 isn't old and I also know that gray hair is better than no hair; at least for now! Also, age has never been a big deal for me. I had a couple friends that hit 30 and it was a big deal for them, but I guess I've never worried about it. I don't mind getting old, really I don't. Maybe I don't want to be old or old fashioned in my kids eyes. I suppose I want to be the cool dad, but I can't let that happen because I'm going to relish embarrassing my kids. I think that's why we don't have a girl...God is protecting her from me and all the issues she'd have to work through from the emotional scars she would acquire growing up with me as a dad!

Getting older means getting more mature right? Well, in some areas of our lives it should. As we experience more and more of life we get a better understanding of how the world works. We realize that we have more and more responsibilities and can't keep acting like we did 5, 10, 15 years ago. As we get older we should mature in our faith life too. Just as life experiences make us more mature those same experiences cause our faith to grow too. As we struggle through tough times and come out the other end we begin to understand that God will see us through. As we continue to study God's word and see how it can help us through life we begin to understand the importance it has in our lives. As we are generous with what has been given to us (talent, time, money, etc.) we see how God blesses our lives, and others, through our generosity. As we see how our attitude and how we treat others affects how we interact with the world and receive God's blessings.

What's that? You don't see this happening? Did you know that most adults have an elementary Sunday school understanding of the Bible? Has your faith grown? It doesn't happen automatically. Yes life experience can help us grow in our faith, but we need to be studying the Word and being in community with other believes to truly help our faith grow. If there is one thing we should know by being in a farming community it is that you need to water something to make it grow. Well "water" for your faith is Bible study, prayer, devotion, and worship. Without those how can you expect to learn more and grown? And if your faith doesn't grow then how can you expect it to continue to be a sense of strength for you? Does an 8th grade level of spiritual maturity help a 32+ year old make sense of life? I don't think so. Consider this a challenge to grow your faith. If you feel like your faith life has grown stagnant then it is a good possibility you've stopped watering it. There are many opportunities to feed and grow your faith. Will you take advantage of them?

I tried not too...

I didn't want to do it. I promise I tried my best not too, but I can't hold it back anymore...WHEN IS IT GOING TO BE SPRING! Geez! As I sit in my office this morning, during a blizzard warning mind you, I wonder how we're getting the kids home from school? We are the only school in Pott county I think in session. Someone in charge of that has some explaining to do.

Okay that's out of my system. I honestly don't have much on the mind today..save the jokes. I have a great idea for the Musings in our monthly newsletter The Cornerstone and I don't want to just repeat it here.

I suppose I could vent a little about the Vikings loss last night. Not only was it a loss, but it was a heart wrenching loss too. To be so close and then have it ripped away hurts a little. I do enjoy sports, but I don't get so involved that it ruins my day or even night. I slept good and Alex has begun to sleep through the night more and more so that makes me happy. Sports for me is a nice distraction, but I can't get too involved because other aspects of life are much more important and deserve my energy. And I have to relay that too my kids too. Quick story..

Last night we told Isaac that the Saints were ahead and he started getting all sad and began to cry. He was genuinely upset that the Vikes were losing. After I controlled my laughter because it was cute, we had a heart to heart talk. I did my best to explain to a 3 year old that we like the Vikings but it's just a game. Watching and cheering for them is fun, but it doesn't have a bearing on our lives. Not sure he understood, but when the Vikes eventually lost he wasn't so despondent. Not sure if we made any headway with him but it was a wonderful reminder to me that sports are just a nice distraction. I wanted to be angry and throw things, but I saw my 3 year old there and was immediately reminded that true happiness comes from family, faith and friends. I'll continue cheering for the MN sports teams. I'll continue being disappointed in their losses. I'll also continue to remember that there are better things in life. So, until next year GO VIKES AND GO TWINS!!

Wisdom of kids

Over Christmas break my son Isaac and Tracy's sister Darcy were watching the movie Apollo 13. When the capsule has some difficulty and there are scenes of family members crying Darcy looks over and Isaac is crying too. She asks, "what's the matter Isaac?" And he replies, "When are they going to see their family again?" He was concerned that the astronauts wouldn't be with their families again and he was sad. There have been a number of times when we're watching a movie or some television show and Isaac will get quiet and I will ask what's wrong and he'll be worried about the family. Already he knows the comfort and support that can be found inside of a family and he has a very empathetic side too. As for when he was watching Apollo 13 Darcy explained that everyone will be okay and he was comforted by that but he wouldn't stop watching until the families were reunited. Sometimes I wonder if kids are wiser than we are.

Of course us adults know that families aren't perfect, that all families don't get reunited, and that not all people find comfort in earthly families. But, we can take comfort in knowing that we are all part of a bigger family. We are all God's creation/children whether we want to acknowledge it or not. Unlike earthly families God loves us unconditionally. No matter what we do God's love for us never changes and God always desires that we turn to God for comfort, help and wisdom. We cannot drive ourselves too far from God. Nothing we do can separate us from God's desire for us to be part of the divine family. Do you get the picture? The relationship we have with God cannot be irreparably damaged. God always wants us as part of the family.

We can take great comfort in knowing that God is always there for us. No matter how far we feel from God, the Spirit is right next to us waiting for us to open ourselves to the power. Just as my 3 year old takes comfort in knowing that he has a family that loves and supports him, although we're far from perfect, and he knows that families help others, I believe that being part of God's family can help us through anything. We just need to believe and accept that God loves us just as we are. We need to be able to accept ourselves in order to allow God to use us. Maybe what we need is the childlike faith and belief that families are great support and vehicles of love. Maybe we need the innocence and optimism of a child to see past all the heartache and cynicism of this world and believe that God loves us and that power exists and wants to be in relation with us. Maybe we just think too much...

A Fresh Start

There is nothing quite like the start to a New Year. I don't really get into celebrating the coming of the New Year too much. Just a night out with some friends is really enough. I can do without the headache from too much champagne the night before! It's an accomplishment for me to make it too midnight. What I like about the turning of the calendar to the New Year is the sense that we get a chance to start anew. The sense that there is the whole year ahead of you and you can do things better this year. No matter what has happened the past year you get a chance to make some promises, or resolutions, that you'll do better this time around. What an awesome opportunity.

Of course about 2 to 4 weeks later reality sets in and the "new" year begins to look a lot like the past year only with you getting older. How many promises, or resolutions (I really dislike that word), have we kept? If you are like me....none. Oh, if I'm lucky I'll make it a month or two eating better and exercising regularly, but pretty soon old habits creep back in. Maybe we should be singing "old habits be forgot" instead of "old acquaintances be forgot." That to me would be a better New Year song. Just making a promise, or resolution, doesn't do any good of course. You need to make some concrete changes if you really want this year to be different. I am not about to offer any advice on how to do that since I'm no shining example myself, but what I do want to touch on is how God offers us a fresh start AND the power to change every day.

Just as the beginning of a new year can spark a sense of hope and renewal in us God offers that same hope and forgiveness for past misgivings no matter what time of year it is. God is always ready to listen to a repentant heart. God is always ready to forgive us. Maybe most importantly of all God is always ready to help us become a better person. God is always ready and willing...the trick is are we. It takes some guts to pour out our failings to God, and it takes even more faith to earnestly want God to work on us and change us. When we truly allow God to work in our lives then we are giving God control of what happens. We don't like giving up control. But, if we really want our lives to change then we need to let God work on us. We don't have the strength to do it, or at least I don't. We need the help of the Spirit, and we need to be willing to let the Spirit grind down the rough edges. If we truly let God work on us, then the changes will be concrete and everlasting. The hard part of course is letting go and letting God. Take the spirit and hope of this new year and open yourself up to the calling of the Spirit. You'll be amazed at what promises, or resolutions, you can keep!