Tetellestai

At about this time of day (3 PM) on a Friday outside Jerusalem, a dying man uttered one of his last words. "Tetellestai" is a Greek word meaning, "it is finished" or "the debt is paid." The word was used in accounting, written at the bottom of a page to note that the lender had received full payment for a debt and the borrower was now free. My Lord, the

Grief and Grieving, Part 3: 'Stages' of Grief

For those of us who have lost a loved one or a relationship, we know the pain of loss. Someone from whom we had gained comfort, companionship and love is suddenly (or slowly then finally) gone. That loss hurts! We try to figure out what we might have done differently to not suffer the loss, or get angry that the person is no longer here, or we try to

OUCH! guest post

Fellow pastor Bill Winn graciously agreed to let me share his marvelous post in which he writes about our hurts and how discovering their roots is sometimes painful.  Highly-recommended reading! Here it is:
http://trinityandhumanity.com/2015/08/20/ouch/

Pain and Good

This morning I pinched my finger in a cabinet door and yelped at the pain. Then I remembered what today is. Today is Good Friday in the Christian calendar. "What's so good

It's Personal

"Okay, if God is love, then he loves me too, but only in the general sense, because he has to. After all, he knows me, he knows my sins and he knows all my problems, so he can't possibly love me - not me -- not really, even if it's in his

A New Childhood

God calls himself our Father, and he calls us his children. Jesus called little children to himself (Luke 18:15-17 for instance) to explain visually what it means to be God's kids (not just so he could explain humility -- he also took them in his arms and blessed them). The imagery that God accepts us "as his kids" should include our own memories of safety, love, warmth, comfort, care and security. That's how it should be.

But for some of us, childhood

Lay those Burdens Down!

I read today yet another story of a person finally finding freedom from his past. As a child, he was victimized by more powerful people, abused in terrible ways. He carried the secret for decades, feeling shame for what had been done to him, feeling

Storms

On Sunday, May 22, a tornado half a mile wide left a six-mile swath of destruction in Joplin, Missouri -- not far from my mother's home town.  So far, 116 people are known dead and several hundred were injured in that storm. We join Christians around the country in praying for the people who were affected, not only in this storm but the many that will surely follow this year.  

There are storms in life produced by the weather, and there are "storms" of another kind, difficult circumstances of life that teach us lessons we usually can't get anywhere else (or perhaps they won't sink into our minds in any other way).  The Bible often calls these situations "trials" and there are several important passages on trials in its pages.  Let's look at just a few:

1 Peter 4:12-19 reminds us not to be shocked "as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad..." The text tell us that trials are normal for the Christian life, and have two purposes:  first, they test us; second, they allow us to be "partners with Christ in his suffering."  Ouch, you mean we have to suffer as Jesus did?  Well, yes, that is part of Christian life -- it shows we identify with Jesus, just as he identified with us by becoming human.  "So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian" says verse 14. 

James 1:2-4 says much the same thing, more briefly:  "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."  That's a little like lifting weights, using the resistance of the weight to build muscle and strength.  We grow in our faith and endurance by facing problems we can't work through on our own, and relying on the strength God gives us to endure.  That growth is why James says "when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy." 

Hebrews 11 is a long list of faith-driven accomplishments of the saints of old.  And after all those stories of faithful heroes, we are told "none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us."  We get to join the list of the faithful, as our faith is made plain to others while we endure our trials; and one day, we will all see that "something better" God has waiting for us.  I have no doubt -- that is, I have faith, despite the troubles of today -- that the trials will be worth it.  Do you?

God - With - Us

One of the most outrageous prophecies of the Old Testament is in Isaiah 7:14 -- "All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).  Matthew claims in his gospel as he describes Mary, a young virgin, being made pregnant by the Holy Spirit, "All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet," then quotes Isaiah's words.  This amazing gift of God, that God would no longer be remote but would truly be with us humans, is something we celebrate (is that a good enough word?) every year during Advent. But it gets better!

What most people don't realize is that the Incarnation, as we call it -- the Word being made flesh (John 1:14) didn't end after Jesus was killed on the cross and then resurrected.  Jesus showed himself to the disciples, who thought he was some kind of spook, and said "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Luke 24:39).  And yes, the Greek says "flesh and bones."   Jesus still had his human body, just hyped up somehow (he still ate, Luke 24:41-43, but he could appear and disappear at will, verses 31 and 36).  

In Acts 1:1-9, he is shown ascending to heaven in the same body.  And in Acts 7:55-56, Stephen sees Jesus (note, Jesus, not "the Son of God" or "Christ") standing at the Father's right hand, and says "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man [showing Jesus' humanity] standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!"  The man, Jesus Christ, is still at the Father's right hand,  (1 Tim. 2:5) as our Mediator, and he prays for us as our High Priest: "Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf." (Heb 7:25).

Jesus himself -- Immanuel -- is right now at the right hand of God Almighty, perfectly representing you, speaking for you, praying for you.  He is, right now, still God in the flesh, God-With-Us, the only perfect mediator because he is both "us" and God.  Yes, still.  Yes, right now.  Yes, forever.

No matter what we are going through, he still knows just exactly how we feel -- fatigue and disappointment and worry and pain and betrayal and fear and every other human emotion -- because he went through it all.  He still has his scars.  He still knows our own personal pain.  And he has defeated all of it, forever!  He is our encourager through the presence of the Holy Spirit ("another Advocate like me" John 14:16).  And he will never leave us (Mat. 28:20) so we know we are never alone.

And it's not just "God-With-Us" -- it's God-with-you.  Yes, you.  He really loves you that much.  Really! And he always will.

Soul Amendment

The Lovely Joanne has been working in the soil lately, planting flowers and helping me in the vegetable garden.  The soil around our house is mostly clay, which is fine for some plants and not so fine for others.  We've decided that it needs "amending" which is a term for adding different components to the soil.  Soil amendments loosen the soil or make it hold water better, or make it more or less alkaline.  This is so the soil can be more balanced, have more nutrients available for the plants, and in general help the plants grow better -- that is, soil the way it's supposed to be.

I have a plan for soil amendment in our garden.  You may or may not have realized that God has a "soul amendment" plan going on in your life.  Why is that?  Well, all of us have grown up in a world that is far from what God intended.  In Romans 5, Paul describes the desolation that rejecting God has brought on the world:  "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned." So even if we had loving parents and a happy childhood, we've grown up in a broken world, and one way or another we ourselves are broken.  We need help--and God gives it!  It comes in the form of "soul amendment" -- not only forgiveness of our sins, but a whole new life in Christ, a life of growth and change.

Some of what my lawn and garden need can be simply spread on top, and it will soak in and do its work.  Other amendments need to be dug into the soil, so out come my shovel and spading fork to turn it all upside down. The worms aren't happy about being dug out of their home, but it has to be if I'm going to give then a new bunch of goodies to chew on. Sometimes 'soul amendment' has to be done that way too, even though it seems very painful at the time.  James writes in chapter 1: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."  Ouch!  Joy??  I'd rather be comfortable, and receive joy from getting a fat tax refund.  But being comfortable doesn't usually help us grow, and it won't break up the spiritual 'hard ground' we've all inherited as children of Adam and Eve.

We usually don't know how to handle the discomfort during a trial or difficult time.  James continues in verse 5, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." God doesn't leave us alone or without resources -- he remains a generous and loving Father who wants us to thrive, and will provide wisdom and encouragement.  Sometimes those come from his word, and sometimes from other people. 

Soil amendment can be hard work, and it takes time.  Same with soul amendment.  But in both cases, the eventual result is beautiful growth, showing the best of God's creation -- the way it is supposed to be -- in our gardens, and in our souls.