A Better Way In 2022

The media looked back on the top stories of 2021. While the top story of my life or yours’ in 2021 didn’t make the national or local news we know what it was. Perhaps it was an event, an encouraging word, a memory, a celebration, a disappointing loss, or a lesson learned?  Maybe you learned more about your limitations and in the midst of it, you became more aware of God’s gracious provision.

The New Year provides an opportunity for pause
This time of year many look back by getting out their mental calculators keeping scores of their victories and losses. Most of us hope this year will be better than last. Others approach the New Year with mixed emotions hesitant to let go of the past. Others make overly optimistic and unrealistic plans of how their New Year will look.

Some believe that a good intention means a new beginning, that on their own they can make a new start whenever they want. That would be nice if it was that easy.

What treadmill are you on?
Change is inevitable, but what kind of change? Maybe we need to look at the treadmills we’ve been on? Do we need to change our perspective from ‘this is the way things ought to be according to me?’ Or, look at how we measure success, or maybe it’s living for the approval of others.

These treadmills don’t just distract us from a satisfying life they can consume us
These perspectives can unknowingly trap and rule us. They can suck the energy right out of us and leave us utterly empty. It’s not easy to let go of all the mental stuff we insist we need for our tomorrow along with all the stuff we continue to haul with us from our yesterdays.

One thing that we can all count on this New Year is change
Some changes we gladly choose and others we don’t. Yet, more often than not, despite our high hopes and best efforts we fail to change in the ways God desires. We can’t just grit our teeth and force ourselves to act with compassion. It’s not about trying harder on our own.

Yet, many of us have become far too passive in our pursuit of change and wholeness, and peace. Could in our therapeutic age we have fallen into the passive mindset of “talking through our problems” or “dealing with our issues” or “discovering the roots of our brokenness in our family of origin?”

But I see a more non-passive approach to change in the New Testament. Namely, set your mind.
“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2

Jesus isn’t interested in us being changed into people who only become nicer and more agreeable. God does not ask us to accommodate Him but to live for Him. He has something far more different in mind for us this New Year. God can change your life story this New Year. There is a better way.

Live for what matters to God
All of us who have attempted change and failed to know if this year is going to be any different, we need a new approach. Becoming what God desires of us is not a quick-fix formula. It’s a heart change.

There are certain things and people we cannot change, but there are changes we can make that can leave a lasting impact on other people’s lives if we choose to live for what matters to God. God has been changing the hearts and minds of people and nations for thousands of years and He desires to change yours’ and mine too.

Here’s the deal: God significantly changes our lives when we live out a heart's cry of, “Not my will, but thy will be done. What do you want me to do for You Lord?”  And that will be enough.

The God that changes not, changes everything!
Be grateful that His love for you will never change! That’s one thing you can count on today and forever!

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness. Psalm 26:3; 33:22

The Shepherd Is In Your Valley

There is a swinging pendulum of opinions about safety, opening back up or shutting back down, COVID testing, PPE, equality, social justice and, a lot more. It’s no surprise that worry and fear is a reasonable response to what’s happening in our world. 

Recently, I’ve talked with several pastors and they say that the common thread among their churches is anxiety and fear. They’re not worried about their health and safety, so much as they are about job security and this month’s bills, rent or mortgage? Will their kids go to school in the fall? Are my savings at risk? Should we cancel vacations and business trips and not visit older loves ones.

The non-stop angry divisiveness and violence in our country fosters even more anxiety. The list of anxieties is long, but they’re not new. All of us have experienced anxiety, disappointment, and grief. If we're honest we’ve also felt lost before for a variety of reasons, in not knowing what to do or where to go or who to talk to.

Being lost is not just a GPS malfunction
Too many know what it means to be disconnected, discounted, diminished, or demeaned. Life has many dark valleys through which we must walk. When we do feel lost, we need someone to show us the way back home. A good shepherd will leave the ninety-nine sheep to find the lost one.  

In the winter shepherds in mountainous areas usually keep their sheep at home. There's usually a fenced area where they can graze and where they are fed grain. But when the snows subside in the mountains, it is then that the shepherds take their flocks and move with the snowmelt up the mountain, there finding fresh pasture land, eventually moving up to the timberline. Above the timberline, there are all types of pastures that are green and fresh. The air is clean. The water is clear.

In the summer shepherds usually won't even go home. They'll just sleep out with their sheep at night. It’s shepherd's responsibility to care for them, to know the canyons and the valleys, to scout them out, to know where the dangers are, and to pick the path that, while still dangerous is the safest path of all.

The shepherd protects the sheep from predators and provides their nourishment
If a lamb deliberately walks away, the shepherd searches near and far to get that lamb back. He’ll use his staff to redirect the sheep who get off course. A shepherd notches the ear of a lamb born to his flock because he has rightful ownership of it. They are His.

To the shepherd, the sheep are not just a number, but a face, a name and, a story. The Good Shepherd knows your name, your life and He knows what’s best for you. He’s proven Himself and is worthy of your trust.

We all have deep, dark valleys of our own experiences and we don't all call them by the same name. Make your own list. What are those things that you fear? It doesn't take any of us long to come up with a list of what could happen.

Here’s the deal: What I need to do is what we all need to do: trust the shepherd.
The Lord is God, he is in charge, and he is in control. He knows things that we would never be able to know. He's close. He understands. He has it all figured out. He is greater than the greatest difficulty. He is more powerful than the deepest and the darkest of your valleys.

He's there with you even when it’s so dark you can’t see. The Lord will do the job that a shepherd is supposed to do. He will do what he is capable of doing and he promises that he will be with you and never leave you. He will find you and take you home with Him. If you’ve been wounded or sick, He’ll pick you up and carry you all the way home.

In Psalms 23, notice the personal pronouns of "I" walk through the valley…"My" shepherd. "You" are there. It is one-on-one with God. The Good Shepherd is always there with you. He sticks closer than the best of friends.

When you walk through that dark deep valley, be sure to be the Lord's sheep, to claim him as your shepherd, to trust him alone to get you through. When he is so trusted, he who is always there will be with you even until the ends of the earth.

The Angel's Song

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke says this good news is for the ‘all the people.’ The angel did not appear to the wealthy, the political or the religious, but to shepherds. In our day we think of shepherds in sentimental terms, humble guys that everybody would want to be around, but Jesus' day they were at the very bottom of the social structure. You've heard people say, "She cusses like a sailor." In those days there was a saying, "He lies like a shepherd." 

Fairly or unfairly, the character of a shepherd was not highly regarded. Shepherds tended to be socially inept, hygienically-challenged, and culturally reviled. The work was dirty and dangerous and typically they had few other work options. If you were a good Jew you didn’t want your daughter to marry a shepherd.  

They were not even allowed to testify in court. If you were accused of a crime and the only alibi was that you’re playing cards with a few shepherds you were hosed and there was nothing you could do. They didn’t even own the sheep. So, when angel came to bring good news to all people, he demonstrated it by starting at the bottom. It had nothing to do with who they were.

Luke tells us that, a great company of angels appeared with the angel praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13-14

Peace means a lot of things to a lot of people. What does peace mean to you? It usually means the end of something—the end of a war; the end of non-stop crying; the end of a heart-wrenching dispute.

What kind of peace are the angels referring to?

Is there a promise here of any of the above? No, not really. All those are at best temporary forms of peace. Wars will break out again. Babies will cry again. Relationships will go sideways. The peace that only the Messiah can bring is a personal, permanent kind of peace.

Those on whom His favors rest are those who understand and embrace this truth. God is offering us peace in our relationships. I'd like to promise you that this Christmas and beyond you can have peace in all your relationships. But I can't promise that. The Bible doesn't promise it either

We all know people that seem to thrive on conflict. If they don't have any, they can create some on the spot. People and groups of people who are so filled with selfish interests and hate that they think nothing of taking for themselves what belongs to another. It is wishful thinking to believe that we will never experience interpersonal conflict or be free from conflict.

We have the capability to not being that kind of person or that kind of group. If we are at peace with God and at peace with ourselves; it’s amazing how much that will improve our ability to be at peace with others. In other words, our level of internal peace affects our ability to experience relational peace.

We are bombarded with messages that promise we'll know peace if we buy the right products, attend the right course, get the right job, the right relationship. Others convince us peace is found only in independence, never being committed to anyone or anything. The peace that the world offers is temporary at best and fatal at worst—that we fail to believe the peace proclaimed by the angels and promised by Jesus himself.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

We often think of peace as a being without trials and troubles—the absence of pain and suffering and heartache. That kind of peace, while nice, cannot be sustained. Not in this world. So, we need a peace that transcends circumstance; that allows us to rise above the urgency of the immediate, having a clear head and a peaceful heart in the midst of the chaos that defines daily life. That's part of what the angels' song is about and why Jesus said.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.   John 16:33

May you embrace and share God’s Shalom!

Don't Miss the Moment

German theologian Martin Buber said, “There is something that can only be found in one place. It is a great treasure, which may be called the fulfillment of existence. The place where this treasure can be found is the place on which one stands.”

Yes, the treasure of being present and alive today.
And yet, why do so many of us feel there is some kind of deficiency in us? Like, we’re not where we should be, or even wish to be or we’re not achieving or doing enough.  We’re not successful enough. We’re not smart enough. We’ve haven’t done or gone to ________yet.

Blaise Pascal wrote, "By means of a diversion we can avoid our own company 24 hours a day." But it's not just diversion. It's a kind of relentless pursuit of something elusive as if life is always just around the corner from where we are NOW. Many don't know what they want in life, but they’re sure they haven't got it, at least not yet. Maybe it's a new location, a new job, a new relationship?

Jackson Browne talked about this "empty pursuit" in a song "The first time I went on my own, when the roads were as many as the places I had dreamed of and my friends and I we’re one."  Yet in a later song called "Running on Empty," he says, "I look around for the friends that I used to turn to, to pull me through; looking into their eyes, I see them running, too."

If we can just find ‘IT’ or that relationship then we’ll be happy. It is as if we live with an expectation that life should be a certain way or we should… I'm all for living in the present moment, just not this one.  And yet, as Buber said "The great treasure of a fulfilled life is in the ground where we stand."

Martin Buber asked,“Where is the dwelling of God?" Then he answered his own question,“God dwells wherever man lets Him in.” This is the ultimate purpose: to let God in. We can let Him in not only as our God, maker, savior and friend, but in where we stand today in the moment.

Have we lost the ability to savor the ordinary moments? A few days ago due to a temporary handicap (crutches) I was riding an electric shopping cart in the grocery store with my son who suffers every day with chronic pain from Crohn's Disease. That seemingly insignificant experience brought a joyful and grateful heart for the simpler things in life that we take for granted every day, like good health.

You can be in the present moment when you let God in. For millions the hope for better health and healing can mean a whole lot more than several trips to your favorite vacation place.

We can easily miss divine opportunities that come our way.
They can be in the most unexpected places and times. Those great ‘treasure moments’ can be in the simplest encounters. In a conversation with the grocery store checker or the person you’re sitting next to in the doctor’s office or with a stranger at the DMV.

This world is a pretty messed up place and it can mess with our expectations we have of life. We all know that. We need to slow down and appreciate the people right in front of us.   

Today, more than ever we need sanctuaries of care, places where we can feel safe and loved. But, we also need to be that place of refuge for friends, families and strangers. That treasured place is YOU where God can dwell and be seen by others.

               

My Way or God's Way?

In the previous blog we looked at how the word ‘submission’ has been radically misinterpreted. Unfortunately, history is full of women and other people groups that have been marginalized by unbiblical ‘under my thumb’ interpretations of submission.

So, it’s understandable this reality has impacted the how people view submission. Some think that submission means being used and abused by letting someone walk all over you to make them happy. That's not at all what it means. For some submission is all about getting their way.

My Way
Being exhausted of earning other’s approval for far too long can turn into my way This can look like ‘my way or the Highway.’ ‘This is the way things ought to be. If I ran everything, everything would be great!’

Women have come a long way since the Apostle Peter wrote about submission. The point of what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:3-4 was not meant to be a legalistic banning of beauty products or that women cannot improve their appearance. More importantly Peter empathizes the vastly superior value of the inner beauty of a woman in contrast to the danger of extravagant enslavement to fashion.

I think a little boy said it best when he asked his mom why she put so much stuff on her face? Her response, “Honey, if the barn needs painting, then I better paint it.” So, relax Mary Kay fans. But there is   a much better way to live.

God’s Way
A better way to see submission is being unselfishness. We need to learn to be unselfish in all of our relationships. But here’s the problem - we don’t think we are.  “I’m just fine, I’m getting what I want so why do I need to be unselfish.” I’m not selfish I just know what I want when I want and how and where I want it!”

James tells us that selfishness is a source of constant conflict

 
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice… What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
                                                                                                                              James 3:16; 4:1

When you boil down many conflicts someone in the conversation is being selfish and it’s always the other person!  God’s way of submission is seen in Christ’s submission to His Father’s will.

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, but rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8

 

Under intense pressure and deep anxiety in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus submitted to His Father’s will, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” The result of that ultimate act of surrender revealed the heart of Jesus for His Father. Aren’t you glad Jesus’ submission to His Father brought you forgiveness and new life? 

When we bow our heart towards “Not my will, but thy will be done” we will not only experience true life-giving freedom, but it will also benefit others.

What Is Submission Anyway?

An important quality that is deeply needed in relationships is submission. Does that sound odd to you? In today’s culture the concept of submission has a negative connotation. Unfortunately, history is full of women and other people groups that have been marginalized by an unbiblical ‘under my thumb’ interpretations of submission. 

So, it’s understandable this reality has impacted the how people view submission. Yes, the word submission has an image problem, but what does scripture say?

Jesus himself was obedient and submissive to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). In the scriptures Christ followers are to have a submissive attitude towards God, authorities, bosses, spouses and elders. The life of God in us looks like a life of submission. Submission impacts all our relationships.

The Greek word for submission has a military meaning and a non-military meaning. Many have only heard about the military use of getting in line, duty, etc., but the non-military use of submission is a voluntary attitude of cooperating, yielding, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden.

Doesn’t that sound like the life of God in us? Cooperation. Yielding. Assuming responsibility. Carrying a burden. This is what we do for each other in the body of believers and it is what we do for those who we live closely with and those who do not yet believe. We submit in such a way that the life of God might be seen in us and help others see Him through our actions.

A better way to understand biblical submission is being unselfish in our relationships and having the courage to give up my rights to meet another person’s needs.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

One main ingredient in living a satisfying life is the ability to be unselfish. We’ve all have choices with the way we choose to live and here are the most common.

Other’s Way – Living to make other people happy

What do you want me to be and do for you? This may include compromising my deepest values. It’s sad to see what people will do to earn other’s acceptance and approval.

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. If I seek to please man, I am no longer pleasing God. Galatians 1:10 

You can exhaust yourself and lose your identity in trying to please people and eventually resent it and go underground. We might think that living for others’ ways is submission, but that’s not at all what it means. It’s not being used and abused by letting someone walk all over you to make them happy. There is another way.

My Way
Being exhausted of earning other’s approval for too long can turn into my way. For more on My way and the God’s Way join us for the next blog.

Is That All There Is To Thanksgiving?

Is Thanksgiving more than a day off, a parade, football and a meal that takes hours to prepare and few minutes to eat? Can it be more than that?

In the fall of 1621 just over 50 colonists attended the meal that became Thanksgiving including 22 men, four married women and more than 25 children and teenagers. These were the fortunate ones who had made it through the rough voyage across the Atlantic into the New World. They made it through the extreme harsh winter during which disease took the lives of nearly half the original group.

The majority of the women who had arrived on the Mayflower had died during the first winter. For the English the first Thanksgiving was celebrating that they had survived their first year in New England. The Plymouth colonists were likely outnumbered more than two-to-one at the event by their Native American guests.

While the 1621 event may not have been called Thanksgiving, thanksgiving was certainly present in that historic celebration, just as it would play a defining role in how the tradition developed over the centuries.  

Like the original colonist few have understood the power of giving thanks as thoroughly as Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and novelist. Here’s what Wiesel said on the Oprah Winfrey show:

OPRAH: “There may be no better person than you to speak about living with gratitude. Despite all the tragedy you've witnessed, do you still have a place inside you for gratefulness?”

ELIE: “Absolutely. Right after the war, I went around telling people, "Thank you just for living, for being human." And to this day, the words that come most frequently from my lips are, "Thank you." When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.”

We hear a lot about being thankful, but living a life of gratitude isn’t easy. It requires time, effort and faithful practice.

“Without effort, feelings of gratitude are often fleeting, passing as quickly as they come. For example, I’m grateful to have a clean bill of health but gripe as soon as a cold interferes with my busy life. I have a kitchen filled with food but complain about cooking and closet filled with clothes but, “nothing to wear.”                                                                                                                                 Tiffany Musik Matthews 

Gratitude takes a conscious effort. In order to be grateful, we must first take the time to recognize that something has been done for our benefit. The culture’s prevalent attitude, ‘of what have you done for me lately,’ reflects expectation not gratitude.

Gratitude is reflected in acts of kindness and generosity and is an indicator that something good has taken place. Is there a difference between experiencing a warm, fuzzy feeling from time to time and living a life of gratitude? Dr. Robert Emmons, Professor of psychology at UC Davis says,

“Feeling grateful is not the same as being a grateful person, a grateful person is one who regularly affirms the goodness in his or her life and recognizes that the sources of this goodness lie at least partially outside of themselves.” Notice that Emmons says outside ourselves, not from us or because of us.

Those with a grateful heart feel more intensely grateful, on a regular basis, for multiple things, toward multiple people. While being grateful for positive events or moments of good fortune seems simple, but having a disposition toward gratitude suggests something more. For a Christ follower a grateful heart is being thankful for salvation and for God’s blessings, but it is also able to be grateful in difficult circumstances.

Being truly grateful extends beyond convenience. As receivers of salvation and divine grace, we should strive to be grateful in all seasons of our lives. Titus 3:4-5. The evidence is clear that cultivating gratitude in our lives makes us happier and healthier people, but practicing gratitude is easier said than done. 

We can all find reasons to be grateful, but unfortunately it’s more difficult to be appreciative of others. Kelsy Richardson, who is currently conducting graduate research on gratitude at Fuller Seminary, named pride as a major deterrent to gratitude said, “You would think that the opposite of being grateful is being ungrateful, but it’s actually selfishness or self-conceit. When you believe you deserve the good things you receive, you don’t feel the need to be grateful to others.”

In today’s age of entitlement many are mistaken to think that all social problems, economic insecurity, poverty, racism and even their own discomfort will end today or tomorrow. Many have come to expect that their lives should have less discomfort, but we are not God and cannot guarantee what we desire. Gratitude also goes against our need to feel in control of our environment. “Sometimes with gratitude you just have to accept life as it is and be grateful for what you have,” says Emmons.

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast

When No Is The Way

Most of us don’t’ want to hear a no, especially if it’s something that we really wanted or was for a good cause. Yet, could you imagine if God said yes to everyone’s request? When God has said no to your heartfelt plans what was your response?

We so desperately want our reasoning to be God’s reasoning. When God says no some are tempted to wonder if God loves them. In reality it’s because he loves us He sometimes says no.

When God says no we can experience contentment by understanding and responding in two ways
Realize God has a better way!
On the Apostle Paul’s second missionary journey, the Spirit forbade Paul to speak in the province of Asia and kept them out of Bithynia near the Black Sea and led them directly to Troas, on the coast of the Aegean Sea. While in Troas, Paul received a vision of a man in Macedonia (in northern Greece) asking Paul to come and help them. This change of course became an open door for the gospel to Europe.

A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Our lives can a take a turn we didn’t expect or plan on. The lord has said NO for some unknown reason, but he does have a better way.  Fretting over that from which we have been removed or which has been taken away from us, will not make things better, but it will prevent us from improving those which remain.

Respond with acceptance and humility
After tragically losing everything dear to him, Job fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job 1:20 -22

When God has said no to you, you are in good company. Over the millennia God said no to King David, the Apostle Paul and countless others because He had a better way that they were not able to see. God’s answers are never wrong, although they may be surprising.

Sometimes He says no and other times he says yes, but in either case His answer is always the best!  Even though David was kept from building the temple God promised Him that his son Solomon would construct and finish the temple and from his lineage would be a kingdom that would have no end. From the tribe of David inevitably came the promised Messiah.

He has a promise for you too!  “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  When you know Him one day you’ll hear Him graciously say to you, “Welcome home, I’ve been waiting for you.”  May we look forward to that day!

Begin Where You Are Today

Countless people are on an endless quest for meaning. Their search takes them to places they never thought they would be and do things they never thought they would do. This might describe some of our lives in the past or maybe even today. While some of our experiences can bring temporal satisfaction they never seem to last.

Without a deep sense of purpose our lives can be like experiments searching for that elusive thing, experience or person. Unknowingly, we can get so easily absorbed into today’s cultural definitions of success and personal realization that we just might find we’re living lives that could be described as…

The Lonely life

Unprecedented access to social networking has not taken loneliness away. Loneliness is no stranger to socially connected people.

Feeling alone has never been more epidemic. 

We long to know and be known, but our fears and habits make it difficult to give or we feel vulnerable to injury in relationships and we often keep our stories of struggle or confusion to ourselves.  

We’re afraid of getting close. We choose proximity without intimacy. Our hearts are heavy and alone.

The Imposter’s life

Appearance is more important than substance. What matters most is what we appear to be. Sadly, we doubt that much beyond appearance can be found anyway. It’s “all good,” I don’t need to know about your problems, distractions or complications. It’s Margarita-ville, don’t you get it?

As Mark Labberton said, “The imposter’s life is simply not full of pretense; it allows someone to think about us the way they want without actually disclosing who we really are. Since “it’s all good” there’s nothing to worry about.”

The Consumer’s Life

Life isn’t about who you are but about what you have, because what you have tells you who you are. Google knows that what we pursue as consumers, of culture, of goods, of experience, and taste and the things that feed our consumption increases our desire for still more.

The Fearful Life

Real and imagined dangers exist all around is. We can be paranoid or obsessive. Fear can be tamed, but is readily accessed with the right triggers of getting it wrong, not being seen, being hurt, experiencing violence, losing control, failing, getting over- looked, doing damage, causing pain, misspeaking…

Begin Where You Are 

We may be privileged or deprived, but living with these kinds of patterns sets the trajectory for our lives. We can live much better lives. How can things be different? As Bob Dylan, said, “it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but no matter who you are, you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Jesus says to all His followers, “Follow me.” If we want to truly follow Him we need to start where we are, not where we’d like to be, whether it’s at work, home or in our neighborhoods.

Following Jesus starts here. It starts with learning to see the people that we regularly see in a different light, as made and loved by God, that because they matter to God they matter to you and me.

When we truly see others as God sees them we can love our neighbors as ourselves. And when we do we will whine less about the world. Do you want your life to be more of an adventure rather than the mundane lives most people live? Are you ready to dive in? Are you ready for some fun and sacrifice?  You won’t regret it and God will be pleased.

Shelter From the Storm

We started out backpacking on a beautiful cool sunny August day in the gorgeous Grand Tetons. About five miles in the sun gave way to a light nonstop rain which turned into a very heavy snowfall. The puddles on the trail were beginning to freeze. Slipping on the icy trail, we were wet and our toes were going numb.

It would be getting dark soon and too late to turn back. We looked to pitch our tent anywhere possible, but the terrain was way steep and rocky. We had heard there was a big cave along the trail and hoped it was just ahead.

While quickly hiking and almost sprinting up the trail we came to an abrupt stop by encountering a huge adult moose right near the trail. We quietly sat behind a rock whispering, freezing and waiting for the moose to leave hoping that the cave would be just be around the bend. We were asking, “Are we there yet?”

We all need shelter from the storm. We all need someone. We all need some place we can go when life takes a turn we didn't ask or plan for. 

We all inevitably come to place where we ask the same kind of question. How long will this ache of disappointment last? How long will I have to go through this? How long do I endure this relationship? Will this sickness ever go away? How many resumes do I need to send out before I’m offered a job? How long until we get to the cave for shelter from the storm?

Within a few weeks after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt the Israelites began to complain about their condition. It was very dry in the desert, but very fertile for complaining. They had had enough. They were done. They made it very clear that they were sick of their situation and the manna protests broke out, cars were overturned and people were arrested. It wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t the best of Israeli history, but there are two truths we can learn from their wilderness journey. When we’re struggling it’s easy to play the blame game, so the Hebrews blamed Moses.

Breakdown Happens
Have you known someone who had a breakdown when they’ve been discarded or treated like thrash? It seems all of us will inevitably come to this place. Moses was deeply exasperated with the incessant complaining of his fellow Jews. He didn’t ask for this. After all, it wasn’t his fault. It was intolerable. He just couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe you can’t either?

He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors?

Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”  Numbers 11:11-15

Can you relate to Moses’ heavy heart? How am I going to make it through this? While it’s dry in the desert it’s also fertile ground for God to provide.

God’s Provision Happens
By the way, when we finally found refuge in the cave we discovered there was already twenty people keeping each other warm around a huge fire. Gods knows what we need and when we need it and He does provide.

The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.”  Numbers 11:16-17

How will you provide Lord? Sometimes God provides financially through our diligence at work or by telling us to scale back. Some of us need to grasp that certain luxuries that use to be normal are now out of the question. Sometimes God’s provisions come from a place we least expect, but God can provide you contentment.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  Philippians 4:11-12

Are You Happy?

The article’s title in the in-flight magazine caught my eye, ‘What does it mean to be happy? Experts Disagree. ‘After a list of several definitions, the summary was - my-happiness-is-better-than-your-happiness… Like everything else, our culture has turned happiness into some sort of an achievement, a contest, like a beauty pageant. Be bigger, smarter, faster, and better looking.

In today’s age of entitlement many are mistaken to think that all social problems, economic insecurity, poverty, racism and even their own discomfort will end today or tomorrow. Many have come to expect that their lives should have less discomfort. We’ve bought into the conventional wisdom that happiness comes from something we do. 

We do this, we do that, we go here, we go there, and we just “do it.” Maybe happiness comes from having more or having ‘the’ vacation in that special place? Or being in the right place with the right person at just the right time? Yet, millions of Americans confess that in the midst of their pursuit of happiness they have not experienced it. Are we chasing something unattainable?

While I was in Uganda the locals told me,’ you Americans measure your happiness by what you do and have, we measure our happiness by the friends we have. Sharing a meal or taking a walk is enough for us.’  In contrast many don’t know how much enough is.  Charles Dickens said, “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

What if we had nothing to prove or no score to settle and no one to impress?  What if our happiness did not come from power, or the need to dominate or defeat, but from mutual respect grounded in God’s love?  

Could happiness be found in the simpler things in life that we might take for granted? 
Like a breathtaking sunrise or sunset, a song, a conversation or the smell after a spring rain or a tear from a good movie, or a smile from a stranger.

Are we able to say with the apostle Paul, “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:11
  
This all begs a question. How can we train our eye to see and appreciate the simpler things in life and thereby discover joy and contentment? Is there is a spiritual discipline to practice or another book to read?

Maybe it’s as simple as asking yourself each day, what am I grateful for today? How did I enjoy today or what surprised me today? Perhaps ask someone else those questions rather than the typical how are you? We can all say thank you to God for ____________ far more often. Try it you might like it.

Sometimes with gratitude you just have to accept life as it is and are grateful for what you have. “He is a wise man who does not grieve over the things he has not, but rejoices for those which He has” Epictetus

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast

We Were Made for So Much More

If you haven’t noticed Tom Brady has problems. We all do.

In 2007 after having won three Super Bowl rings Tom Brady told interviewer Steve Kroft, “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me?...I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.”

When Kroft asked him, “What’s the answer?” Brady responded, “I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football, but at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.” 

                        

                        “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Bono

                              “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Mick Jagger

This constant theme of ‘there’s got to be something more’ is not just for highly visible celebrities, but for all of us. The band Switchfoot said it well,

               We we’re made to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?
                      Somewhere we live inside dreaming about Providence
                                And whether mice or men have second tries
                           Maybe we've been living with our eyes half open
                                 Maybe we're bent and broken, broken
                                 We want more than this world's got to offer
                              And everything inside screams for second life

There is more to life than our achievements, goals, reputation, agreement, doing good and being a nice person. There is more to life than our comfort and avoiding conflict. Life is more than duty and obligation. More than others’ expectations and approval. It is more than our outward appearance and intelligence. More than…

As Solomon well said there is more to life than chasing the winds of hoarding affluence and pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11; 5:8-12). While God can give us wealth and possessions to enjoy He wants something so much more for us than what we’ve been told. The culture and well-meaning friends have duped us in believing that a satisfying life is to be lived on our own terms and definitions. In other words, I’ll do it my way. God’s way is far better.

As Jesus said, “I have come so you may have life and have it in abundance.”
Jesus was not talking about how the culture defined abundance. He was saying despite life’s hardships we could experience life how it was truly meant to be, a life full of contentment, meaning and joy found only in a relationship with Him.

Without God who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. Ecclesiastes 2:25-26

God wants more for you than you might expect.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20

Find out what can happen when we grasp how we were made for so much more in the next blog.

What does it mean to be happy? Experts disagree

The article’s title in the in - flight magazine caught my eye, ‘What does it mean to be happy? Experts Disagree. ‘After a list of several definitions, the summary was - my-happiness-is-better-than-your-happiness… Like everything else, our culture has turned happiness into some sort of an achievement, a contest, like a beauty pageant. Be bigger, smarter, faster, and better looking.

In today’s age of entitlement many are mistaken to think that all social problems, economic insecurity, poverty, racism and even their own discomfort will end today or tomorrow. Many have come to expect that their lives should have less discomfort. We’ve bought into the conventional wisdom that happiness comes from something we do. We do this, we do that, we go here, we go there, and we just “do it.”

Maybe happiness comes from having more or having ‘the’ vacation in that special place? Or being in the right place with the right person at just the right time?

Yet, millions of Americans confess that in the midst of their pursuit of happiness they have not experienced it. Are we chasing something unattainable?

While I was in Uganda the locals told me,'you Americans measure your happiness by what you do and have, we measure our happiness by the friends we have. Sharing a meal or taking a walk is enough for us'  In contrast many don’t know how much enough is. Charles Dickens said, “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

What if we had nothing to prove or no score to settle and no one to impress?  What if our happiness did not come from power, or the need to dominate or defeat, but from mutual respect grounded in God’s love?

Could happiness be found in the simpler things in life that we might take for granted? Like a breathtaking sunrise or sunset, a song, a conversation or the smell after a spring rain or a tear from a good movie, or a smile from a stranger.

Are we able to say with the apostle Paul, “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:11  

This all begs a question. How can we train our eye to see and appreciate the simpler things in life and thereby discover joy and contentment? Is there is a spiritual discipline to practice or another book to read?

Maybe it’s as simple as asking yourself each day, what am I grateful for today? How did I enjoy today or what surprised me today? Perhaps ask someone else those questions rather than the typical how are you? We can all say thank you to God for ____________ far more often. Try it you might like it.

Sometimes with gratitude you just have to accept life as it is and are grateful for what you have. “He is a wise man who does not grieve over the things he has not, but rejoices for those which He has” Epictetus

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. Brother David Steindl-Rast

Mark