Hopscotch

 

A couple weeks ago I was doing some research for a sermon, and for reasons that escape me now, I googled 'hopscotch'.  Practically every child in the world has played this game.  It's rather easy to play.  All you need is some chalk and a driveway or sidewalk and a rock and you're ready to go.  It is with great fondness that I remember playing this game as a young boy and making all the girls in my neighborhood mad because I was so good at it.  (Who knew that this was the only game I was ever going to be good at!)

Not having kept up on hopscotch that much in the last half-century I was surprised to learn that there is a world championship for it!  For hopscotch, really?  I guess I am out of the loop!  Every 4 years there is the International Hopscotch World Cup which is held in England.  It attracts athletes (is it fair to call them this?) from countries such as Australia, Canada, China, England, Romanian and the USA.  (I wonder if it is broadcast on one of the ESPN channels - say ESPN 43?)

But what really got my attention was the fact that apparently there has been something of a doping scandal in the sport that involves the use of performance enhancing drugs!  PED's?  For hopscotch?  For what?  Just exactly how big is the court, half a block?  I would think that as long as a person was sober, had some semblance of balance, and could see, that they could go a long way in this sport!  PED's - who'd have thought!

Once again this just points the exceeding sinfulness of our world.  It reminds me of Genesis 6:5, "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time."  Are we that far behind?  I don't think so.  Fortunately the Holy Spirit is still alive and active in our world through people such as you and me!  Let it shine, baby, let it shine!

Lord, only Your great patience and mercy keep Your wrath from being unleashed on this world.  May the way that I live demonstrate Your grace and mercy to those around me and may they respond in love.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

My Garden & The Gardener

I finally finished planting my garden on Saturday.  I started it last Monday but ran out of time.  Since I don’t think I can manage a large garden, mine is fairly small, 3' x 16'.  The staples of my garden are tomatoes & cucumbers.  I have planted peppers for a number of years but usually I get just 2 peppers (and then not even full-sized) between 6 plants!  So this year the peppers are out and I planted a strawberry plant, lettuce, some sweet onions and a few red potatoes.

Even though my garden is rather small it still takes a lot of time to get ready each season.  Each year I try to put some nutrients back into the soil so I added compost and some sulphur (since the soil here tends to be rather alkaline).  Then I added peat moss to the top to also help with the pH and for moisture retention before putting some black fabric on top of the garden for purposes of weed control.  Finally, I cut holes in the fabric, spacing the plants as best as I could before spraying everything with deer repellant.  Last, but not least, I watered it.

When I finished working on my garden, I was happy.  There is something about completing a job that always brings a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.  I even prayed a small blessing over my garden that God would cause it to be productive.  Now the watering, the weeding and the waiting begins.  Every couple of days I will check on the garden - eliminating suckers, staking the tomatoes, and pruning unwanted growth.  As the summer goes on, fruit will appear and get larger and larger until it is finally ready to pick.  Then Beth and I will enjoy some delicious, succulent vegetables which will greatly add to the overall delightfulness of our meals.

As I was working on my garden, my thoughts naturally turned to God.  In the same way that I am going to be constantly monitoring my garden over the summer, giving attention where it is needed, and rejoicing in every sign of growth - so does God!  As Christians, we are His plants, tenderly placed in the soil of His love, basking in the warmth of His Son and experiencing the refreshing rain of His Spirit.  Day after day God eagerly checks up on us, monitoring our progress, giving attention where it is needed, rejoicing in every sign of our spiritual growth. 

When I think of God as the eager, expectant Gardener, it gives me a whole new appreciation for Him.  God in very interested in us!  Every day He eagerly checks our progress, making sure that we have everything we need to grow and be fruitful.  He rejoices as He sees the Fruit Of The Spirit grow in our lives and He can barely wait for the harvest.  One day, our lives are going to be fully ripe and He will pick us - taking us to Heaven with Him where we will bring delight to Him for all eternity!

Philippians 1:6 - “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Lord, thank you that You care for me so much.  As my Heavenly Gardener, You are vitally interested in my growth and You provide everything I need to be fruitful.  May my life be full of fruit which will make You happy and bring glory to Your name.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Himself

A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, wrote a very special poem entitled, Himself.  It is a wonderful poem that speaks to an important distinction - that of loving Jesus because of what He does for us and loving Jesus for who He is.  Sadly, much of American Christianity is packaged as Jesus being nothing more that some sort of Heavenly Genie - rub the bottle through prayer every time we have a need and then put the bottle back on the shelf once that need has been met.  Where we need to go, where Jesus wants us to arrive at, is our relationship with Him.  It is out of our relationship with Him that needs are met and from which blessings flow.  Without Jesus, the provisions and blessings we receive would be hollow, sterile, devoid of any deep feelings of love and appreciation.  Enjoy!

HIMSELF - by A. B. Simpson

Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord,
Once it was the feeling, now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, now the Giver own,
Once I sought for healing, now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, now 'tis perfect trust,
Once a half salvation, now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, now He holds me fast,
Once 'twas constant drifting, now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, now 'tis trustful prayer,
Once 'twas anxious caring, now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, now what Jesus says,
Once 'twas constant asking, now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be,
Once I tried to use Him, now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, now the Mighty One,
Once for self I labored, now for Him alone.

Once I hoped in Jesus, now I know He's mine,
Once my lamps were dying, now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited, now His coming hail,
And my hopes are anchored, safe within the vale.

Coexist - Part II

 

As we saw yesterday, Coexist is a word that is used to promote religious tolerance.  In other words, we all have our own view on religion, so why can't we just accept each other and get along?  As Christians, how exactly should we feel about Coexist?  Let me give you my personal opinion.

First of all, can Christianity coexist with any other religion?  It depends upon what we mean by coexist.  Are we to start some sort of holy war or crusade and eliminate all those who are not Christians?  Of course not, so in this sense we coexist with those who have different spiritual beliefs.  On the other hand, coexistence does not mean that other religions or belief systems are equal to Christianity.  At its foundation, Christianity claims to be exclusive.  In other words, it claims to be the only way to God.  This is highlighted in Jesus' words in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  What Jesus is saying here is that the way to salvation is through Him alone, period.  In Acts 4:12,  referring to Jesus, Peter said “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven, given to men, by which they must be saved.”  In I Timothy 2:5 we are told, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  These, and dozens of other Scriptures like them, clearly teach that the only way to God is through Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Christianity is the only true religion, therefore all other religions are false.  Admittedly, in our world of tolerance, this sounds very intolerant, self-righteous and closed-minded.  And it would be, except for the fact that it is not we who claim Christianity to be exclusive but God!

Secondly, the Bible is clear that we need to confront error wherever we find it.  Isn’t this the whole idea behind churches and missions - to proclaim the truth so as to deliver people from the lies and deceit of Satan?  How are people going to know that they are spiritually lost unless we tell them?  Is it tough to challenge the closely-held spiritual beliefs of others, especially when they are widely-held?  Of course it is, but we don’t let that stop us.  Error and falsehoods, wherever they may be found, need to be exposed.  To avoid this is not helping others but hurting them instead.

Thirdly, we need to love others who have different spiritual views from ourselves.  Call this tolerance or coexistence, but we are called to love our enemies, to pray for them, to do good to them.  Bashing or belittling their spiritual beliefs is not going to bring them closer to God.  In Ephesians 4:15 we are encouraged to “speak the truth in love”.  While in context this applies to Christians speaking to fellow believers, I believe it should be a guiding principle for us as we present the claims of Christ to those who don’t know Him.  It is the God-like love for the sinner while they are still a sinner.  It is the same love that God has shown to each of us.

In conclusion, I think of the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:16 that we should be as “wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.”  We need to be careful not to allow our faith to be watered down in an attempt to be ‘inclusive’ while still maintaining a spirit of love and acceptance toward those who do not know or walk in the truth.

Lord, thank you for the light of Your Word that show us the truth about You and how to find You.  Help us to stand up for the words of Your Son, that He is the only way to You, but also let us have a heart of love and compassion for those who are lost.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Coexist - Part I

 

A week or so ago my eye caught the above bumper sticker on a car on Main Street.  I may have seen it once before but I don’t think I gave it much thought at the time.  This time, noticing all the religious symbols on it, I made a mental note to research it when I had the time.  Here is what I found.

Coexist, spelled with religious symbols, was created in 2001 by Polish designer Piotr Mlodozeniec who entered it in an international art competition run by the Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem.  The original Coexist consisted of a Crescent Moon (Islam), the Star of David (Jewish) and the Cross (Christianity).  Each of these religions had a common denominator in that they all had Abraham as an ancestor.  That simple design has been replaced by the more elaborate one above which features C (Crescent Moon - Islam), O (universal peace sign) E (combination of male/female signs - also for either evolution, science or homosexuality, take your pick), X (Star of David - Jewish), I (Wicca/Pagan symbol), S (Toasim/Confucianism), T (Cross - Christianity).  Over all, the design is very creative.  As you might guess in our pluralistic society, it has become very popular.  The band U2 used it on their Vertigo tour and it can now be found on practically any medium you want - from clothing to bumper stickers to sneakers.  There is even a conservative form of Coexist that says beneath it, “You can’t coexist with people who want to kill you.”

Interestingly (and does this say something about human nature or what?) there has been controversy over who owns the rights to Coexist.  A t-shirt company called, COEXIST, filed for the trademark in 2003 and officially registered it in 2005.  Of course U2, as I mentioned, was also using it during their shows and 3 or 4 companies were also selling merchandise with Coexist on it.  Long story short, there was a legal battle over who owned the rights to Coexist, who could use it and who couldn't, and who owed who for damages, etc.  That doesn’t sound like Coexistence to me!

A New Perspective

After Beth and I dropped our son Luke off at the airport in Missoula last Saturday we stopped at Michaels.  Since Beth was looking around I decided to check out some poster-sized prints.  As I was looking through them I came upon one with a nice landscape that had the following quote from Marcel Proust at the bottom - “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”  Immediately I liked that quote!

The fact is that many of us are the adventurous type.  We want to go see new places and have unique experiences.  The result is that some people will go half way across the country (or around the world, for that matter) searching for new sights to see.  While there is nothing wrong with this, and I enjoy travel myself, the tragedy is that we often don’t see the adventure and sights that are in our own backyard!

How many people feel that they are on the proverbial treadmill of life?  I see that hand!  Many times I feel the same way, too.  Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep.  Sometimes life can get pretty routine, if not downright boring.  Meanwhile there are unexplored and unappreciated things right in the everydayness of our lives that are awaiting our discovery - the sound of birds chirping in the trees, watching a butterfly flit across a field, seeing a new cloud formation, looking across the table at our spouse, watching an elderly couple walk down the street.  These are all moments to savor and appreciate.  It is all these momentary sights and sounds, taken together, that make a life.  Each of these moments is an opportunity for us to appreciate the creative power of God.

Lord, in our quest for ‘new’ experiences help us not to neglect the wonder that You set before us every day.  Help us to soak it in and savor it - to enjoy it as it unfolds.  As we do, may it cause a deep sense of thankfulness to well up within us for the opportunity we have to enjoy Your creation.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Experiencing Forgiveness

By nature I am a fast eater.  Maybe it was growing up in a household of 10 people or maybe it is my Type-A personality which does everything fast.  Regardless, over my lifetime I have looked at eating as mostly an interim kind of activity.  When I was a child I came in from playing, whoofed down my food, and ran back outside to resume my activities.  Now that I am an adult I eat my lunch at my desk while I’m working on my computer or, at home, I eat dinner while talking with the family.  The result is that I usually don’t notice what I’m eating nor do I take the time to savor it.  With all the wonderful meals my wife prepares for me this is a terrible loss on my part.

Yesterday, while reading The Search For Significance, by Robert S McGee, I read a sentence that leaped off the page to me.  In writing about our tendency to blame others for our problems and failures, McGee wrote, “If we have trusted Christ for our salvation, God has forgiven us, and wants us to experience His forgiveness on a daily basis.”  Wow, that statement really hit me!

As do most Christians (at least I hope they do!) I try to keep short accounts with God.  Most days I confess my sins and ask to be forgiven of them as per I John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  It suddenly dawned on me that I approach forgiveness the same way I approach food.  I go through the mechanics of it but never stop to savor it.  To put it another way, I often ask for forgiveness but seldom take the time to experience forgiveness.  I can’t believe this.  After all these years and I finally understand this?  Where was I all this time?

I don’t know if this is something that you struggle with but it may be, in which case I have some company.  So much of our walk with God is the same - certain things that we say or do every day - that after a while it becomes nothing more than routine.  When it becomes routine the feelings and appreciation usually end as well.  In thinking about this in relation to forgiveness, if we had been accused of a crime and then were acquitted, how would we feel?  Indifferent, unmoved, stoic?  I think not!  Instead we would feel relieved, grateful, happy.  Precisely.

From now on, each day when I confess my sins and ask God to forgive me for them, I want to pause and just breathe in, accept and appreciate that forgiveness!  I want it to wash over my soul, to lift my spirit and give me joy and thankfulness - especially in light of what that forgiveness cost my Savior!  If I can get into this habit I know that my spiritual life will be blessed.  Then I can work on appreciating my food a little more as well.

Lord, thank you for Your incredible gift of forgiveness which is available to me through Jesus.  Help me to take advantage of it at every opportunity and to also take the time to savor and appreciate it for what it is - a gift, from You, to me!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.