ALL THINGS, part 6: God gives Life and Breath and ALL THINGS

"Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything,

since He gives to all life, breath, and all things."

The Apostle Paul--Acts 17:25, NKJV

 

The Athenians were always interested in something new, especially when it came to religion and philosophy.  They loved to hear about it, talk about it, learn everything there was to know about it, so that they could then build a shrine to it, perfect their practice of it, and experience it to the fullest extent of their abilities.  So when Paul came along preaching Jesus Christ and the resurrection, they were intrigued.

 

"What is this new doctrine?"

 

"This is strange--we've never heard this before."

 

"Tell us more!  We want to know all about it."

 

So Paul indulges them.  Referencing their own spirituality and their desire not to leave any god out of their tolerant and all-accepting pantheon of worship, he points out the altar dedicated TO THE UNKNOWN GOD and declares, "The One whom  you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you."

 

He made the world and everything in it.

 

He is Lord of heaven and earth, and does not dwell in temples made with hands.

 

He doesn't need us to give Him anything, because He is the giver of all things, including our life and our breath.

 

He has made from one man all the nations and inhabitants of the earth, AND He has determined their histories, destinies, and the boundaries of their territories.

 

He has put it in us to seek Him until we find Him, and He is not hard to find.

 

He is the source of our existence.

 

He cannot be contained in an image devised and made by man.

 

He overlooks our ignorance, but still calls us all to turn away from sin--including our worship of false gods--and turn to Him.

 

He has an appointed day of judgment for all mankind, and He will judge us by the One He ordained as the great judge of all--Jesus Christ whom He raised from the dead.

 

That's when the Athenians said, "Hmmm....we will hear you again, another time, on this matter."  And some laughed and walked away.  But some believed.

 

And the God who gives to every one of us life and breath and ALL THINGS, gave salvation and eternal life to them that believed.  And He still does the same today.

ALL THINGS, part 5: God knows

And there is no creature hidden from His sight,

but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him

to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:13, NKJV

 

Jesus asked Simon Peter the same question three times:  Do you love me?  And twice Peter answered, You know I do.  But by the third time he was asked, Peter was disturbed and perhaps a little exasperated.  What was the Lord getting at?  Was this a preamble to Peter's punishment for denying he knew the Lord, or for doubting the resurrection?  Was this how Jesus was going to make an example of Him in front of the rest of the disciples?  In desperation, he explodes out the mouth (as he was often prone to do):  "Lord, you know all things!  You know that I love you!"

 

Lord, you know all things.

 

You know what is in my heart, and what is going to come out of my mouth.  You know my thoughts even before I think them.  You know when I get up and lie down.  You know when I come in and go out.  You know my wanderings and my wonderings.  You know everything about me past, present and future.  Not just that, you know everything about everybody else, too.  You know what's going on the world, how it's all working out according to Your plan, how it will all end.  You've got it all right there in your hands before Your very eyes, and You know all things.  You know everything there is to know about everything there is to know anything about.

 

Lord, you know all things.

 

Nothing is hidden from you, nor can it be, though I wish sometimes you didn't see so much.  And sometimes, because I think I know myself too, my own heart speaks judgment and condemnation over me for my failings.  Just like I'm sure Simon Peter's was doing that day on the beach.  I know what I've done, where I've been, the mistakes I've made.  I know how bad I am sometimes.  But so do you.  And I'm thankful that even though we both know how bad I am--you probably having a better understanding of it than even me--you won't allow me to be destroyed in my badness.  Your goodness and faithfulness holds me up and keeps me together until I can get to where You know I'm going, to become what You know I'm going to be.

 

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart

and knows all things.

1 John 3:20, NKJV

 



ALL THINGS are mine...and yours

"All things that the Father has are Mine.

Therefore I said that the Holy Spirit will take of Mine and declare it to you."

--Jesus, John 16:15

 

All things belong to God, and because He is God, all things belong to Jesus Christ.  Each and every thing, visible and invisible, imaginable and unimaginable, tangible and intangible--all things belong to Him, and are His to distribute.  Jesus returned to Heaven and received from the Father the gift of the Holy Spirit, which He then bestowed liberally and without measure upon His church.  And through the living, breathing, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have access to all things that are God's in Christ Jesus!

 

Anything you need, the Holy Spirit declares it.

 

Anything you need, the Holy Spirit reveals it.

 

Anything you need, the Holy Spirit gives it.

 

Through Jesus Christ, we have become the adopted sons and daughters of God.  We are part of His family, grafted into the vine, bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.  We have a benevolent Father who gives good gifts to His children, starting with the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the empowering grace of the Holy Spirit.  And having not withheld His only Son from us, will He not also freely give us all things?

 

I love being a believer in Jesus Christ, because all things that are God's belong to Him, and He has given it all to me, everything I need for life and for godliness.  All things are mine!

 

For all things are yours...and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

1 Corinthians 3:21, 23, NKJV

Dog Fight

Dogs fight over the silliest things, at least from a human perspective.

 

They fight over the square footage on which they can pee.

 

They fight over who has the biggest bone, the meatiest bone, or the most bones.

 

They fight over who gets to sit next to Mama.

 

They fight over rubber chew toys.

 

They fight over who has the right to run with the big dogs, and who has to stay on the porch.

 

They fight over the food bowl (although I have to admit I understand that one more).

 

They fight when they feel threatened.

 

They fight when they feel unwanted.

 

They fight when they feel bullied and pushed around.

 

They fight when a stranger walks within running distance.

 

I've seen a few dog fights in my time.  I've even waded into them myself to break it up, though not without consequences.  I've suffered a few dog bites, even from my own beloved pet.

 

People fight over some pretty silly things too.

 

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty;

only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh,

but through love serve one another.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

But if you bite and devour one another,

beware lest you be consumed by one another.

Galatians 5:13-15, NKJV

You Can Always Tell a Pharisee...but You Can't Tell 'em Much

"But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

--Jesus, Matthew 23:11-12

 

Do you know how to identify a religious hypocrite?

 

• They are usually prominent in the church community
• They dole out religious advice to anyone who will listen to them
• They make themselves the standard of holiness in the church community
• They set the standards...and continually move the bar so that no one can measure up
• They make Christianity difficult to do, and are almost always unavailable to help others in any meaningful way.
• They always look the part of spiritual authority and prominence
• They love being recognized for their own importance and contributions to the kingdom
• They also love titles.

 

In response to the religious hypocrites of His day, Jesus had a few warnings for them.

 

"Woe to you..." for making salvation an impossibility.  (Matthew 23:13)

 

"Woe to you..." for masking injustice with false piety.  (Matthew 23:14)

 

"Woe to you..." for making your converts just like you.  (Matthew 23:15)

 

"Woe to you..." for not understanding that Christ is the true standard of holiness and source of power.  (Matthew 23:16-22)

 

"Woe to you..." for focusing on the insignificant and ignoring the eternal.  (Matthew 23:23-24)

 

"Woe to you..." for making the outward appearance the priority, while ignoring the inner condition.  (Matthew 23:25-26)

 

"Woe to you..." for covering up your own deadness with outward imitations of life.  (Matthew 23:27-28)

 

"Woe to you..." for celebrating the sins of the past and disguising them with honor.  (Matthew 23:29-30)

 

Religious hypocrisy starts when we make the traditions and commandments of men standards of faith, and when salvation is about works rather than grace.

 

Religious hypocrisy progresses when we focus on works, and it becomes about us--see how holy I am?  Then when we are focused on ourselves and our works, we ignore the needs of others, often using and abusing them.  We begin to think we are the example, and insist that everyone become like us.  We make up rules to explain ourselves, coming up with creative ways to bypass the Word of God.  Holiness becomes an exact science of works, while true holiness in Christ and through Christ-likeness is forgotten.  We allow inner impurity while presenting a false front of righteousness.  We cover up our spiritual deadness and decay with a show of religiosity.  And finally, we reach the point that evil becomes good, and good, evil.

 

And in the end, religious hypocrisy produces death and damnation for all who follow it.

 

Woe be unto us when we can point a finger and say, "That believer in Jesus Christ is just not as holy as me."  That's when we need to be pointing in the mirror.

 

 

ALL THINGS, part 3: The Holy Spirit will tell you

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,

He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things

that I have said to you."

--Jesus, John 14:26

 

There is so much that we don't know, so much that we don't understand.  But Jesus said, "That's okay.  I'm going to give you help!"  This He did by sending the Holy Spirit, God's promise to all believers, the indwelling presence of God whom Jesus said would teach us all things, bring all things we have learned to our remembrance, and guide us into all truth.  Meaning God will continue to talk to us through His Holy Spirit, if we have ears to hear.

 

Do you read the Scriptures and come across passages that baffle you?  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you the meaning, and He will.



 

Are you afraid of talking about Jesus because you don't have a good memory about chapters and verses and quotations?  Rely on the Holy Spirit in those times, and He will dredge your memory banks for the right things to say.  Of course, that means you have to have put it in your mind to begin with.  So ready, your Bible, pray for understanding, and depend upon the Holy Spirit to bring it out at the right time.

 

Do you encounter circumstances and situations in which you are confused and wishful of the truth?  The Holy Spirit will guide you into truth, if you will let Him.

 

The Holy Spirit is our helper in all things.  He is God's personal representative in our lives, ever present, all knowing, completely God living and moving and breathing in me.  He is the source of life and liberty and knowledge and help.  He is God's special gift to every believer, the guarantee of future glory, the one who convicts and convinces, the one who changes lives.

 

And not only that, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:10 that the Spirit reveals to us all the wonders that God has in store for us, because He searches out the deepest things of God so He can show them to us!

 



ALL THINGS He created

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:

For Thou hast created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

Revelation 4:11, KJV

 

For Thy pleasure, the elders sang.  According the will, plan, purpose, desire, and design of God, everything that is now, ever has been, or forever shall be was created by Him, through Him, and for Him.  From nothing, God spoke everything into existence.  That spoken Word was Christ, who was from the beginning with God.  Who was from the beginning God.  And through Him everything was made.

 

In the beginning, there was God.  Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  It started with Him.  It started through Him.  It started by the power of His will.  He spoke and it all began.  He originated everything that is and set it all in place.  He knows every speck of the cosmos personally, because He made them.  He made the earth and all its fullness.  He made me, fearfully and wonderfully, in the womb of my mother.  Covered there in the hidden parts, God put me together.

 

And for His pleasure was I created.  To do His will.  To look like Him, to be like Him.  That is my purpose, to please the one who made me and fulfill His plan for my life.  How much easier things would be, how much simpler, if we all just realized we were made by God with that reason in mind. He made me, and He has given me an instruction manual to help me understand His will and my purpose.  He wants to and will and does communicate further instructions to me if I am listening.  He wants me to please Him, and He's not going to leave it up to my imagination to figure out how.  That is the lunacy of religion, trying to figure God out when He has already given us everything we need, right there in His Word.

 

This is not my world, not my body, not my possessions, not my life.  All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe totally and completely to God.  He is my Creator, and I will worship and serve Him all of my days.



ALL THINGS are possible

"If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

--Jesus, Mark 9:23, NKJV

 

A young man was in great need.  Unable to communicate, seized by violent convulsions, given to self-destructive behavior, he had been tormented by an evil spirit since his childhood.  We are given no reason for his condition, no indication of how it started or why, no explanation for why this one had been targeted by the working of Satan.  But word had reached his loving father that Jesus the miracle worker was in town.  Perhaps this Jesus could do something for his son.

 

Bringing the boy to where Jesus was said to be, the father found not the healer but nine of his disciples.  These were seasoned members of the ministry team, witnesses to the wonder working power of their teacher and active participants themselves.  These had preached sermons and performed miracles and exorcised demons.  Surely they could help.  As a crowd gathered, the disciples attempted to do what they had done and seen done many times before.  Only this time, it didn't work.  Soon they were engaged in a public debate that turned a victim into a spectacle, still helpless in his affliction while others discussed the theological implications of his pitiful condition.

 

But as they were speaking, Jesus showed up.

 

He heard the desperate cry of the father, saw the devastation in the life of the son, and as the young man convulsed, Jesus spoke.  "Only believe.  All things are possible.  Only believe."

 

To which the father replied, "Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!"

 

Then Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and rendered the young man delivered and completely whole!

 

People were always saying to Jesus, "If you can..."  And Jesus reply, and His response, was always, "Of course I can.  If you can believe for it, I can certainly do it."  He healed the blind, the lame, the deaf, the mute.  He cast out demons and raised the dead back to life.  He fed 5000 with 5 fish sandwiches.  He walked on water and turned it into wine.  There was nothing He could not do.  There is nothing He will not do, for those who believe.

 

And still today, people ask, "If you can..."

 

He can.  Nothing is impossible with God.  When One has all power and all authority, He can do absolutely anything.  Not just that, He can do everything!  Whatever you need from Him today, believe.  I mean REALLY BELIEVE!  And see what God will do for you.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

When I look back over my last few blogs and realize how long it's been since I actually wrote anything, I immediately think, "You should have been writing all this time.  There's so much happening!"  Then I remember that the reason I haven't been writing is because there's so much happening.  Life in 2013 started off on the downhill slope.  Then it gained both size and momentum.  And it hasn't really slowed down.  Want me to catch you up?

 

First was becoming the new pastor at Lovelady Assembly of God in Lovelady, Texas, 80 miles from where I was living (in Bryan).

 

Then Mom & Jim came for a visit.

 

Then I started a new relationship, that went from Zero to Married in four months & ten days.

 

Then I quit my old job as the custodial engineer for Parkway Baptist Church.

 

Then I moved.

 

Then I flew to Colorado and moved Mom & Jim...here with me.

 

And I was courting...

 

Then my Granny died.

 

And I was courting...

 

Then it was wedding announcements, wedding registries, wedding showers, wedding planning...

 

And I was courting...

 

Then I moved Mom & Jim to their new home 14 miles away.

 

And I was courting...

 

Then it was packing and moving and rearranging the house to prepare for the new arrivals.

 

Then it was a broke down truck that needed fixing.

 

...wedding practice...

 

Then the wedding.

 

Then a short honeymoon (the real, longer one to come later) and a week at home alone.

 

Then it was loading up the new family and moving them to Lovelady.

 

Then it was more packing, unpacking, repacking, moving and removing.

 

Then it was a leaky washer and a burnt up dryer...and new ones.

 

Then it was more packing, unpacking, repacking, moving and removing, plus sorting and storing both in the attic and the new store room.

 

Most importantly, I am now sharing my life with the woman I love, our two-year-old adventurer, plus Rosie the Beagle and two black dogs that adopted us.  Plus pastoring this wonderful church in Lovelady, Texas.

 

And now here we are, five months since my last post, and I wonder where the time has gone.

 

It's not that I haven't had anything to say.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  I have blogs and book chapters and poetry and journal entries out the wazoo!  I just haven't had the time to get it all out of my head and onto the page.  And I suspect that if I want to find the time, it's going to have to be early in the morning before everyone else is up, when the world is still quiet and calm, and no one is calling my phone or my name.

 

Welcome, Brave New World!  It's a joy.

Here's the Story

So here's the story...

Her name is April Lanae Paschen.

She was born April 19th, 1988, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, grew up in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, and Moab, Utah, and is now living back in Ardmore.

She's five-foot-six (and a quarter) inches tall, which means she's taller than me if she wears any shoes at all.  She has dark, wavy brown hair and big, beautiful hazel green eyes that change colors from brown to golden-green to blue.  She brightens my world when she smiles, inspires joy when she laughs, and fills my heart with song, particularly when she sings.  She moves with the grace of a woman who knows who she is in Jesus.  She is gorgeous on the outside, but truly beautiful on the inside in the way only a woman in love with Jesus can be.  She talks like a southern girl should, and whether she whispers in my ear or raises her voice to be heard from another room, the sound of her voice makes my heart happy.

She's a preacher's daughter.  She's an amazing Mom to a wonderful little boy.  And she's been a great friend to me for a long time.

We met on April 12th, 2008, when I went to Moab, Utah, to preach a week-long revival.  Our first outing was a walk in the park.  For her birthday, she made pizza, took me bowling, and ended the day with cake and ice cream.  I went back to Moab several times, and over the last five years we've built a great friendship.  I liked her from the start, watched her, laughed with her, talked to her, and knew that I wanted to love her.  But she said she just didn't feel the same way.

So our lives followed separate paths, ups and downs for both of us.  Experiences had, lessons learned, personal crises and triumphs, life's ever-changing journey.  And then last spring, God moved her family from Utah back to Oklahoma...to a convenient spot by which I traveled often, and not too far out of my way.  I started dropping by to see her, hoping to strengthen our friendship.  We periodically exchanged texts and Facebook messages.  And then one day in early February, after my world had been turned upside down in a whirlwind of sudden changes, I realized I wanted so much more with her and decided to try one more time to move beyond simple friendship.

I asked to take her to dinner, and she said yes.  We texted almost constantly, all day every day for two weeks, playing that old game of 20 questions (only it was more like 1000) to extend and expand our knowledge of each other.  Someone might ask why we didn't talk on the phone, and I have the answer.  When I get on the phone, I tend to say too much too soon.  That voice, that beautiful wonderful sing-song voice melts my heart and always makes me want more.  So we stuck with texting up to, and even a little after our first date.  Only she told me it wasn't going to be a date...just two friends having dinner.  But hey, I'll take whatever I can get!

I went to Ardmore on Monday, February 18--President's Day.  (What is it about me and weird holidays, anyway?  But that's a whole 'nother story)  She cooked a delicious spaghetti lunch, and then we went out on the town to find activities to fill our day.  To our dismay, every single thing we wanted to do was closed during the day--skating, pool, movies, bowling, and laser tag.  We walked in the mall trying to start a conversation, and I have to admit, I thought then the whole day was going to be a disaster.  So I suggested the one thing I knew we could do that we've always enjoyed.  We went to the church, sat at the piano to sing, and started to talk.

The talking lasted the rest of the afternoon, through a movie, dinner, and a long evening drive.  Her parents invited me to spend the night on the couch, and I did so with the request that she let me take her to lunch the following day.  She said yes.  I asked her if I could come back in two weeks to see her, and she said yes.  An unplanned roadtrip gave us the opportunity to see each other the very next week, and I spent another night and day with her and the family.  Then I went back for our planned date...which lasted four days.  And suddenly we discovered that this wonderful friendship we had shared was becoming so much more.  I asked her, in the venacular of my growing up years, if she would "go" with me.  And without even asking where, she said yes.

It was going to be three weeks or longer until I saw her again--until I was able to go to Ardmore again.  And I was already dreading the separation.  We started talking on the phone, and video Skyping, which eased the pain of not seeing her pretty face.  Then came Saturday.

I was sitting at the breakfast table with my Mom, eating cold bacon and drinking milk, when there came a knock at my door.  Not certain who to expect, I walked slowly across the living room and opened the door.  And there she stood.  She could not have given me a better surprise at that moment than just showing up to see me.  And for the next 32 hours, we were together every waking moment.  We walked and talked and drove and cooked and relaxed together.  She met my folks for the first time, and was an instant hit.  She was a big hit at church too.  We led worship together on Sunday morning (which was another day full of surprises), had lunch which a group from church, and on the way home started having a very serious conversation.

Which led to a very important question.  We had talked ourselves to the point that we realized there was no sense in waiting another day, another hour, not even another moment.  That's when I asked her if she'd marry me.  And she said yes.

So after five years of waiting and looking and trying the handle of every door of opportunity I found, God has finally opened this door for both of us.  April and I now have holidays to celebrate with new enthusiasm--President's Day to commemorate when it all started, St. Patrick's Day to commemorate the proposal, and if everything goes right, Columbus Day to commemorate the culmination of all things good in our lives!

And now you know the story.

This Foggy Road

 

I've been thinking alot about roads, lately.  The road I'm on, the road less traveled, the road not taken, the road ahead.  A week ago, I thought I knew where my road was going.  Everything seemed fine.  And then a bump, and my path diverged from the road I thought I was on.

Two months ago, I didn't even know that my road was going to take me over the river (actually, both the Navasota and the Trinity, along with several other creeks) and through the woods (the southern Piney Woods, to be exact), to a little town much like the one I grew up in.  It wasn't on my radar as anything but a temporary assignment to provide a church some assistance until they could find their permanent solution.  Turns out, the permanent solution was for me to quit being temporary.

As I pondered the possibilities, considered my options, weighed the pros and the cons, I also kept my ears attuned to the still small voice of the Lord.  It's a voice with which I am not unfamiliar; I have heard it often in my heart.  I've spent a lifetime training my ears to be attentive to the voice of the Lord, the leading of the Spirit of God.  My life depends on being directed by the God I serve.  He has a plan for me, a path already laid out.  All I need to do is get in the way and walk in it.

All along my path, there have been bumps in the road, twists and nauseating turns, washed out roads and what I assumed were detours.  But looking back now I can see that the road I took was the road He kept me on.  He didn't let me get lost, or spin out of control on some invisible patch of ice.  He kept me from turning this way or that to avoid a treacherous stretch of highway.  In all my life, I can't say that I have turned either to the right or the left, but rather I have kept myself on the road ahead.  Regardless of the cost, regardless of the consequences, regardless of the challenges, I am determined to stay on the road He has set before me.

A few years ago, I was driving a route (literally, now, not figuratively) I had only driven a handful of times.  I was coming home late in the night, with a dense fog lying low over the road.  I was listening to something good on the radio, and caught up in what I was hearing, I missed a turn because I missed a sign.  It's a pretty big one too, a fact I have confirmed on a number of subsequent occasions.  On that particular night, it might have been obscured by the fog, or perhaps I just blinked and missed it.  Regardless of which, I didn't even realize my mistake until I was far enough along to have reached my destination...and discovered that my destination was not where I was headed.  I was far off course, 100 miles from home, 2 hours delayed, and almost out of gas in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere.  Fortunately, there is more than one way to get to where I was going, and there are also 24-hour gas pumps if you have a credit card.  I did eventually get home.  And I never missed my turn again.

I have been on a certain road for a while now, an interstate highway so to speak, and I was in the fast lane.  I knew where I was going, and I had the pedal all the way to the floor.  My destination was marked with a great big X.  I knew my ETA.  My speed was set, my gaze was fixed on the far end of the road.  There was no fog, and I clearly saw the sign that God had set for me, directing me off the four-lane onto this curving Farm-to-Market.  Only, the FM wasn't going to take me where I thought I was going.  I had a choice; stay with the road I was on, or follow God's direction.  So I chose to follow the Lord, just as I hope I've always done.

And everything changed.

This is not an easy road I have taken, and my destination is not as clear as it was before.  Like the picture I posted above, where I'm at is beautiful and bright and clear.  The grass is green, the weather is wonderful.  But the road ahead disappears beyond a hill and into the trees, with a low lying fog across my path.  I can't see the end now, not even the next stop along the way.  I just know I'm here now, and the Lord is right here with me.  I may not know where I'm going, but I trust the one who has guided me this far, and I know He won't let me down.

Centennial

Ask me what my favorite book is, and I'll say the Bible.  It truly is the best thing anyone could ever read, and I have read it over and over and over again since 1979--the year I learned to read.  Ask me who my favorite author is, and at any given time I might tell you Solomon, Paul or Moses, and it's true.

 

But of all the other books out there, this just might be my other favorite.  And of all earthly writers, James Michener (1907-1997) is certainly my favorite.  Maybe you've never heard of Michener or Centennial, but they have been old familiar friends of mine for a very long time.

 

The novel itself was published in 1974, an historical novel of Colorado that was representative of the Western United States.  It was a monster of a book, 909 pages in the hardback, 1086 in the paperback, about 440,000 words.  It started with geology and geography, a story that spanned from the creatures of pre-history to the citizens of today  (well, 1973). 

 

In 1978-1979, back in the day when we only had 3 channels--ABC, NBC, and CBS--one of the networks developed Centennial into a 26 hour mini-series with an all-star cast.  Most names you wouldn't recognize today, but 35 years ago they had top billing in Hollywood.  And the first year it ran on TV, it was a community event.  My parents and grandparents and some of the neighbors got together every week to watch the new 2-hour episode.  I was only 6, but I remember everyone's excitement at watching this epic story unfold on the small screen.  Through the 1980s, Centennial reappeared on TV multiple times.  In 1985, I bought our family's first VCR with my paper-route money, and we recorded the entire thing on VHS so we could watch it over and over again.  When the entire series was released on video in the 90s, we bought a set.  And in 2008, it was released on DVD--Mom and I each have one.  It really is one of our favorite entertainments ever.

 

I have always been an avid reader, and I've always been a bit precocious.  I always said and did things that were intended to set me apart from my own generation, because I wanted to be older than I was.  Now that I really am older, I find myself doing things to identify with younger people, because now I want to be younger than I really am.  Go figure...  But in 1984, when I was 12 and in the sixth grade, I finally convinced my mother to let me read Centennial.  I went down to the library and checked it out, and for six weeks I plodded through that tome.  I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to read everything else he wrote.  Mom said I could read anything except Hawaii.  So I followed Centennial with Chesapeake, and I followed that with The Covenant, and Space, and Poland.  The biggest literary thrill of my life was the long-awaited publication of Texas.  I ordered it through inter-library loan, and might have been the first person in Skellytown to read it.

 

Now ask me, did I understand what I was reading?  Did I really "get" Michener at 12?  The answer to that is, Of Course Not.  I mean, I comprehended the words on the page.  I could follow the basic storyline.  But these were works of art produced by a master, with deep, rich themes underlying the narratives.  And even when I read Centennial again, and again, and again as a teenager, I still didn't get it.  But I read.  In fact, I would estimate I have read Centennial close to a dozen times in the last 30 years.  It really is one of my favorite stories.

 

A few months ago, I dug out all my Michener paperbacks and stacked them on my bedside table.  Michener wrote 10 epic historical novels--Hawaii, The Source, Centennial, Chesapeake, The Covenant, Space, Poland, Texas, Alaska, Caribbean--several of which I have in 1st Edition Hardback, in addition to 37 other works of fiction and non-fiction.  I've read 9 of the 10 historical novels at least once; I'm still struggling to read Caribbean for the first time.  But every few years I go through a Michener phase and I read until I am absolutely sick of historical fiction.  I started with Poland six months ago--one I've read less than a handful of times.  And simultaneously, I started Centennial again. 

 

I took it slow, reading it usually at night right before bedtime, savoring each page, each character, each story as if for the first time.  I found myself enthralled with certain passages, laughing at times, crying at others, thinking, really thinking, throughout.  I didn't get it at 12.  I'm not sure I really get it at 40, but there is a great underlying theme of real conservation and environmentalism there.  Not the nutty tree-hugging kind, but the practical aspects of humanity having been given a job by our Creator to fill the earth and subdue it, to care for it and use it for its intended purposes.  And the truth is, if we don't take care of it as God intended, we will reap bitter consequences from the earth itself.  I'm sure no one is going to go to hell for chopping down too many trees, or shooting all the buffalo, or overgrazing the grass, or plowing the fields so finely that the wind blows them away.  But abusing God's creation does indeed introduce us to a kind of hell-on-earth.  I'm not becoming an activist, I'm just saying.

 

On Wednesday night, I finally finished Centennial again.  I put it down, satisfied that I had read every page and gained a better understanding of the message behind it.  Then I picked up Chesapeake for another read-through, which is a book about endless cycles...and pirates.  After that, I'm eyeing The Covenant, because of my new South African friend.  And The Source, which is about Israel.  And Hawaii, which my mother finally did let me read.  Maybe after that I'll try my hand at Texas again, or maybe Caribbean.  And there are nearly 40 books of Michener's I haven't read yet.  But as I was finishing Centennial, I happened across a page of reviews, written by current readers.  And I was surprised to find such harsh criticism of my old, dog-eared friend.  And then I realized, they only read it once.  They just don't get it.

But Willingly

So, my life took a surprising turn over the last two weeks, in a direction I wasn't intentionally heading, to a destination I didn't know I was going.  But that's okay, because I've been down this road before.  In fact, it's the story of my life.

 

How many times did Mom and Dad step out in faith, not really knowing the why and wherefore, not needing a because or therefore?  Dad moved us to Albuquerque twice on what seemed to be a whim.  From that came one of our family's longest held friendships, not to mention the deep spiritual impact those two short sojourns had on our lives.

 

With nine weeks to go in my Sophomore year of High School, Dad resigned his church in White Deer, Texas, and relocated us to Roaring Springs.  Five months later, we were bound for Deming, New Mexico.  How did that happen?  A man Dad had led to the Lord--on a job site in Borger, Texas--was from Deming and wanted my Dad to come for a visit.  Dad had no money, no job, and no prospects for either.  That man tracked my family down, extended the invitation, and forwarded the financial means to get us to Deming, where he offered both of my parents jobs and loaned them the down payment for a house.  I didn't cotton to the desert at first, and spent several years trying to get away.  Yet ten years there and seven more in Las Cruces endeared Southern New Mexico to our hearts forever.  Again, the friendships, and the ministry, and the spiritual experience we had there!

 

I think about Dad and Mom going to Bernalillo...a church building with a mortgage and no people.  And how Dad defended that property, literally, with fist and gun to reclaim and restore a church body.  They lived in a 16-foot travel trailer and two Sunday school rooms at the back of the sanctuary, working hard and making many personal sacrifices in service to the Lord and His people.

 

My own life has had no end of surprising twists and turns.  I was happy with my church and ministry in Deming, but when I heard of the church in Las Cruces that needed a pastor, I felt the still small voice of God saying, "Go."  In the dark and difficult days in Las Cruces when I begged God to let me go--somewhere else--I felt the still small voice of God saying, "Stay.  And when the situation was restored to normal, I felt His urging again to "Go."  I came to College Station, Texas, with no intention of making it my home, but home it became.  When I wanted to sell out and flee, He said, "Stay."  I pastored again at His bidding, and stayed until He said, "Go."

 

For the last twelve months, I have been slowly learning an important lesson.  Always before, God kept me enough in the light to see about a half-step ahead.  But 2012 was a complete walk of faith--in the dark.  I resigned my church in Bryan and watched as God opened door after door of opportunity for me.  But when I tried to open other doors on my own, God slammed them in my face and said, "That's not where I'm sending you."  When I thought I had it figured out where I would go and what I would do, the Lord said, "You better not go that direction, because that's not where I'm leading."  And then he started opening doors where I wasn't even knocking, taking me in directions I hadn't been walking.  And He kept telling me, "If you'll trust me, I will take you where I want you to go."

 

For the last five months, I have been preaching intermittently at a church in a little East Texas town, and telling them "No" every time they asked me to be their pastor.  I was happy to fill in, but God had not told me to go out there.  But in December, things started to change.  Because you can't preach to people on a regular basis, and pray for their needs, and listen to their stories, without them getting into your heart.  But I was waiting for God to say, "go".

 

After I had consulted a multiplicity of counselors and weighed my options and looked at the situation from every angle, I had pretty much made up my mind that the answer was no.  And then I stood up to preach from Ephesians 5:15-17--

 

See then that you walk circumspectly,

not as fools but as wise,

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise,

but understand what the will of the Lord is.

 

And in that moment, as I read my text before that congregation, I heard the still small voice of the Lord.  And he wasn't saying, "go." Or "stay."  Or "no."  Instead He used my own words against me, words I have tossed out at people trying to discern the will of the Lord.  He said, "What are you waiting for?  A seven-foot angel with a telegram on the end of a flaming sword?  Moses coming down off the mountain glowing with the glory of God and My will inscribed in stone?  What more do you want me to say?"  It was all I could do to tell them right then and there that I wanted to be their pastor.

 

Today, the congregation at Lovelady Assembly of God voted 24 - 0 to have me as their pastor.  And though it wasn't a door I was knocking on, it is the one God has opened for me.  And I'm going.

 

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you,

serving as overseers, not by compulsion

but willingly...

1 Peter 5:2, NKJV

Two Turtledoves

Now when the days of her purification

according to the law of Moses

were completed,

they brought Him to Jerusalem

to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the law of the Lord,

"Every male who opens the womb

shall be called holy to the Lord"),

and to offer a sacrifice

according to what is said in the law of the Lord,

"A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Luke 2:22-24, NKJV

 

What do two turtledoves tell us about Jesus, Joseph and Mary?

 

Fifteen-hundred years before Jesus was born, God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt's bondage and started them on their way to the Promised Land.  Along the way, He gave them the rules to follow by which they would honor Him and keep themselves separate from their pagan neighbors.  Those rules seem strange to us, thirty-five centuries removed from Sinai, for they are not part of our culture (speaking on behalf of Americans of Western European descent), and neither are they part of our religion (speaking on behalf of Christians everywhere).  Jesus gave His life to set us free from the bondage of the law, and we are instructed to honor him and keep ourselves separate from the world by being transformed into His image and likeness.  The rules don't apply here.

 

For Joseph and Mary, those were the deeply held beliefs that defined them as Israelites.  They followed the law.

 

In Exodus 13:13, the Lord said, "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

 

In Exodus 22:29, the Lord said, "The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me."

 

In Exodus 34:20, the Lord said, "All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem."

 

And in Leviticus 12:1-8, the Lord said that on the eighth day after birth, a male child was to be circumcised, and that the mother would be considered ceremonially unclean for the next thirty-three days, until her purification was complete.  And "when the days of her purification are fulfilled...she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering.  And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons--one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering."

 

It was these laws that Joseph and Mary were obeying when they brought their offerings to the temple.

 

Before the institution of the priesthood, it was God's plan that firstborn sons would have a role of ministry to their families.  But once He designated the Levites as priests, he substituted every Levite born for the firstborn of every Israelite household.  In return, He required that the family redeem their firstborn son with the sacrificial offering of a year-old lamb.  While there is no mention of this particular ritual in the gospel narrative of Jesus' birth, we can be sure that Joseph and Mary followed the law and redeemed their firstborn son Jesus.  Whether this took place at his circumcision, or later at Mary's purification, it was certainly done.

 

In the nomadic wanderings of God's people in the desert, there were several regulations ordered by the Lord to maintain a clean camp and a clean people.  It wasn't like these folks could take a shower every day, and the issue of bodily fluids of any kind could be a health hazard if not properly taken care of.  So while a woman's body was restoring itself and recovering after childbirth, both for her benefit and everyone else's, she was to remain separated from the community.  After the prescribed period of time, she could present herself to a priest with an offering for ritual cleansing.

 

Forty days after Jesus was born, while Mary and Joseph were still living in Bethlehem, they made the short trip into Jerusalem for the celebration of Mary's purification rites.  Jesus had been circumcised on the eighth day according to the law, and named according to God's command.  Now they came to present him to the Lord as their firstborn son, and they likely redeemed him with the offering of a lamb.  But if what we have considered about their situation is correct, they were likely in a rather meager financial situation.  That the offering for Mary's purification was two turtledoves (or two pigeons) instead of a lamb and a turtledove indicates they may have spent what they had on the lamb for Jesus, resorting to the poorer offering for Mary.

 

But whatever the substance of, and whatever the reason for, the offerings, Mary and Joseph brought them to the temple.  As faithful Jews obeying the commands of their Lord, they continued to do as their law dictated.  In doing so, they continued to build a family and a home on the foundations of God's truth.

 

And though we are no longer under the commands of the law and its sacrifices, we should endeavor to do the same.  From the time our children are born, we should surround them with a godly atmosphere in a Christ-centered home, raising them in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Friends

I hate this song. I really do. And yet it's one of those songs that is stuck in my head for the rest of my life now, because in the late 80s and early 90s it was performed so often at practically every event that included singing and memory making. Church camps, for instance. Invariably, some talented preacher's daughter would just happen to have her cassette tape soundtrack with her, and during the final Friday service when we were all packed and ready to go home, she would sing it in hopes that we would always be friends, and that we would stay in touch until we could come to camp next year and sing it all over again.

Don't get me wrong. I loved church camp. I loved making new friends. I loved the weeks I spent doing the church camp thing. Even as an adult, I loved working at church camp, something I miss terribly (although it wouldn't be the same now without all the people I worked with and got so close to). And I guess I probably loved (or thought I had fallen in love) with every preacher's daughter who came to camp. But I still hated that song.

To me, that song was less about "let's stay in touch" and "we'll be friends forever", and more about parting to meet no more.

That was the song chosen for my high school graduation, by the powers that were. I have to admit here and now that my last year of high school was a complete waste of my time. Out of seven hours of class time, I spent two in choir, two as a teacher's aide, one in Creative Writing, plus my AP English/Literature and my AP Biology classes. I think I may also have been in a Southwest Literature class at some point that year, but I'm not really sure. Though I loved them all, I think the Biology class was the only one that challenged me.

Sure, I guess I could have taken harder classes like our valedictorian and salutatorian, things like physics and calculus and chemistry and trigonometry. But I didn't really see the sense in busting my tail in classes whose concepts I was never going to use (and I haven't to this day used many math skills beyond the basics, or needed much scientific knowledge that I couldn't find on wikipedia). I wasn't going to be an engineer or a scientist, an accountant, a mathematical theoritician, or an astronaut. I was going to spend my life talking; though admittedly, I thought I was going to be arguing the law or running for public office. At the very least I thought I might be teaching. And of course, in the back of my mind there was always the path that I actually and finally pursued.

Frankly, I think the whole educational system needs to be reformed to better prepare the next generation for life, work, and adulthood. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms. I was talking about a song.

My senior year of high school was almost as bad as second grade (long story in and of itself, and no disrespect or offense intended toward the wonderful 2nd grade teacher I had, the late Glenda Bell Steed, may she rest in peace). Playground politics had not changed at all in the intervening decade. I became public enemy number one among some select groups of my peers. I lost my best friend (got him back though). I made some of the dumbest decisions and biggest mistakes of my life the year I turned 18. I was not thinking clearly, and not listening to God. Graduation was the event that could not get here quick enough, and then it finally arrived.

In addition to my diploma (which someone actually hid from me as a practical joke) and honors tassels, I got a cool porcelain mug with all the names of my graduating class. And my mother turned my gown into a stuffed bear. Those three items are the things I cherish most from that year. And one single memory...

We needed to "walk" with somebody during the Pomp and Circumstance processional.

Some people walked with their significant other. I think it was a big joke to some that two of our mentally challenged classmates ended up walking together. Some tall people just wanted to walk with another tall person. Some smart people wanted to walk with another smart person. I just wanted to walk with a friend. To this day, I don't honestly know what got into me, but on impulse I made my choice. A girl from choir and drama who I knew to be very sweet and generous in spirit, in whom I had no romantic interest, but whom I considered a close friend. I asked her to walk with me, she said yes. Only later did I learn that I had interjected myself into a situation between two of my other friends who had wanted to walk with her too, but because of their own rivalry for her affections they had hesitated.

And I got to walk with her.

Susie McIntyre Luchsinger, sister to Reba, sang at my graduation. And you guessed it. She sang, "friends are friends forever." Then her husband Paul, a cowboy preacher of note, gave the commencement address. I've always thought it was funny that a certain teacher gave a very secular, humanistic speech at the Baccalaureate, which is supposed to be a religious service for the graduating class. And a preacher gave a message about Jesus at the graduation, which is supposed to be a secular event. Paul talked about friendship, and about his best and closest friend, Jesus Christ. It was great!

Through the years, I've had a lot of friends come into and pass out of my life in various ways. There were some friendships that didn't stand the test of time, but there were lots of others that proved they were real when they picked up right where we'd left off the next time we saw each other, no matter how long it had been. I do believe friends can be friends forever.

But I still hate that song.

The Sign of the Covenant

 

 

And when eight days were completed

for the circumcision of the Child,

His name was called JESUS,

the name given by the angel

before He was conceived

in the womb.

Luke 2:21, NKJV

 

 

 

2000 years before Jesus was born, God called Abram from among his idol-worshiping relatives, led him to the land of Canaan, chose him to be the father of a new nation, and promised that his descendants would inherit all the land that he could see.  When Abram asked how he would know that God would do all that He promised, God used an ancient covenant ceremony that Abram would understand.

 

A sacrifice was prepared--a cow, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon.  The cow, goat, and ram were divided in half, with the haves placed opposite of each other.  The dove and pigeon were left whole and placed opposite each other.  The ritual required that the two covenant parties join hands and walk in a circular pattern through the blood together, taking oaths, and swearing to uphold their part of the covenant.  In the case of Genesis 15, God put Abram to sleep and passed between the sacrifices Himself, swearing by Himself that He would uphold both parts of the covenant Himself.

 

It was customary in a covenant ritual for the two parties to slice their palms and join hands as they walked through the sacrifice, letting their blood commingle.  Afterward, they would exchange cloaks, belts, swords, and names, with the scar in their palm forever reminding them of their covenant.  This didn't happen between Abram and God, for the covenant was God's to uphold alone.  However, Abram also needed to enter into the covenant with something.  So thirteen years after the initial ceremony, God comes back to Abram, changes his name to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, and asks Abraham for a sign of the covenant in his own flesh--circumcision.

 

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that you, the reader, understand the meaning of circumcision.  If you're not sure what it is, GOOGLE is a good way to find out.  Suffice it to say, it is a minor medical procedure performed on men that results in the separation of flesh and the shedding of blood.  That being said, God told Abraham that the sign of the covenant among his descendants would be the circumcision of every male born in the household, and every male who joined by purchase or by choice.  Later it became an ordinance under the law.  And at ninety-nine years of age, Abraham circumcised himself and every male member of his household.  Every boy born after that was to be circumcised on the eighth day.

 

Why the eighth day? one might ask.  Because God created our bodies and He understood perfectly how they worked, even in the ancient world when medical science was unknown.  Modern research has proven that babies are susceptible to hemorrhages and in danger of bleeding to death in the first days after birth.  From days five through seven, a bacteria in the intestines causes the production of Vitamin K, which interacts with the liver in the production of prothrombin, the body's natural coagulant.  On the eighth day, prothrombin is elevated above one-hundred percent of normal, the only day in a person's life when this will be the case under normal conditions.  Therefore, the eighth day is the perfect day for a child to undergo ritual circumcision.

 

For 2000 years, the descendants of Abraham practiced this rite as the sign of their covenant with God.  He had passed through the blood for them; in Jesus, He would shed His own blood for them, bearing the scars in his hands and feet, on his head, his back, and in his side.  But as a man, a son of Adam and of the seed of Abraham, Jesus would also bear the mark of the covenant of His people with God, the mark of circumcision.

 

Perhaps by the eighth day, Joseph and Mary had been reconciled to their family and relatives in Bethlehem.  If not, they were likely still in the temporary shelter of woven palm branches against the mouth of a cave.  But as was the custom of their people, celebrated for over forty generations since Abraham, Joseph took the knife to his newborn son, cut away the foreskin and drew blood from the wound, thus signifying their ongoing covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.  And in obedience to the command of the angel given both to Joseph and to Mary, the earthly father held his chosen son toward heaven and named Him Jesus...for He would be the savior of His people and the world!

So as a Jew, Jesus bore in His flesh the sign of the covenant, the circumcision that marked His body as dedicated and consecrated to God.  Thrity years later, Jesus would wade into the Jordan River to be baptized, another sign of dedication and consecration which God would honor with His very presence and proclamation.  And for us, the Bible is clear that it is not our bodies, but our hearts that must be circumcised, and that though our bodies should be lowered into the watery grave of baptism and raised to walk in newness of life, the cleansing of the flesh merely illustrates the spiritual reality of a soul cleansed and made new through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It is a life lived for Christ, dedicated and consecrated completely to him, that is the mark of our covenant with Him.

For All They had Heard and Seen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things

that they had heard and seen,

as it was told them.

Luke 2:20, NKJV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They saw the angels in a field outside Bethlehem.  They heard the announcement of the Christ's birth and the mighty chorus of heaven's hosts singing, "Glory to God!"  The followed the instructions of God's personal messenger and found the Messiah in the manger, the Christ in the crib, the baby in the bread basket, Deity in diapers if you please.  They saw it all, just as they had been told.

 

And they returned to their place, glorifying and praising God for it all.

 

I think about those first evangelists, the original bearers of good tidings of great joy, as they ran through the streets and over the hills of Bethlehem telling the story  Because they had heard and seen for themselves.

 

Do we do the same?

 

For some, when God touches their lives, they cannot help but exclaim about the goodness of God.  They are quick to tell family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, strangers, and even enemies about what God has done for them.  They are thrilled to relate how Christ has changed their lives, restored their marriages, healed their bodies, delivered them from addictions.  They are excited when they have experienced first hand the transformational power of a living God.

 

But there are others who, no matter how powerfully God moves in their lives, no matter what they see, no matter what they hear, remain unimpressed.  They shrug as others shout and mutter, "What's the big deal?"  The presence of the Lord has become familiar, and their hearts have grown cold to it.  There is not more enthusiasm for the things of God.  They leave church looking sad and mad, and they tell no one about the goodness of God or the joy they have in Jesus.  And sadly enough, no one can tell that these have been saved, redeemed, born afresh and anew, or touched by the Divine in any way.

 

Let us learn the lesson of the shepherds, and I can't say it emphatically enough.  Let us worship in the presence of the Lord, then go back to our place rejoicing with praise and giving God great honor before all.  For that is why we are here!