In the Boat with You

The three-hour trip to the other side of the lake started out peacefully enough. The sun was shining and in the warm afternoon sun, several fell asleep including Jesus. Then the wind and waves came up, and the boat took on a lot of water. But Jesus was

Would You Like Peace with That?

Prophecy is very popular these days. Looking at Amazon.com, I see about 1200 entries -- even bible studies for children (really?). I stay completely away from prediction of the 'end times' (we've been there for 2,000 years, see Acts 2:16-17)  or speculation on when Christ will return (we can't know, see Matt. 24: 36).  But one of my favorite topics, since childhood, is what's

"Made in the USA"

Have you noticed how few consumer products are made in the USA? (For my non-US readers, how about for your country?) The Lovely Joanne's company works with a lot of manufacturers who are working to get more jobs back on American soil, in this modern global economy. And with the Fourth of July coming up, American pride is involved too. But for me, there's something

Don't Be Afraid, it's Good News!

If you saw a headline that said "Great News! Stock Market Crash Wipes Out Wealth of Millions!" you'd wonder about the writer's sanity. Good news is supposed to benefit people, so they jump up and down in delight. The night Jesus was born, an angel appeared to shepherds out in the field to bring them this good news. The angel explained, "I bring you good news of great

Search-and-Rescue

A routine flight from Malaysia to China has gone missing with no explanation since March 8. The search has involved a dozen nations and is featured in news all over the world every day.  Passengers and crew totaled 239, from 14 nations. Their relatives, and many of us with them, have been hoping, praying, and waiting for three weeks now in hope

Follow Jesus and Die (to Self)

Jesus told his followers something really shocking: "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me." (Luke (9:23). And in Luke 14:27, the saying is in reverse: "And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you

In Jesus, We See God

It's an axiom of theology that God is what's called "transcendent." That is, he is above and outside of his creation, and he is not part of it. Because of that, we can't see or touch him, we can't know his mind and we can't understand his true nature and glory, even

Explosions, Repairs and Replacements

Some of you know that recently, a house near ours was blown up due to a natural-gas leak. It was not the most fun experience Joanne and I have ever gone through, but we are grateful to God for surviving it and being able to move on. The engineers have been here, and they say that, although the house is sound, some areas will

Lent 101

Like me, you may have heard the practice of Lent criticized, either by calling it "lint" (there's
no connection) or rejecting it out of hand as a mistaken way of working one's way to God. We are rightly careful not to create requirements where the Bible doesn't have them, even as we are free to examine and accept practices that will help us in the process of being formed into the image of Christ. Lent can be one of those.


Lent is not based on superstition, nor is it a way to save ourselves. It arose soon after the first century, from a practice of teaching new converts the basics of the faith for 40 days, helping them reject the demonic roots of their former pagan practices, then baptizing them just before Easter. Then came the concept of fasting for 40 days, as Moses did before God at Sinai and as Jesus did in the wilderness before defeating Satan. Rather than fasting from all food and water for 40 days, the Lenten fast was conceived as a time of solemn repentance before God, including extra times of prayer, and the challenge to give up a physical practice we enjoy. The cravings that resulted from giving up those things are reminders to ourselves that we really do need rescue! (It's interesting that in my denomination's tradition from 20 years ago or more, many tried to "prepare for the Passover" with practices that were at least as intense as this.)

As Michael Horton writes in an article on Lent in Christianity Today (find the article here) the society in which we find ourselves today is at least as tempting, demonic, and destructive as that surrounding the early church. So, once in awhile -- perhaps once a year at the very least least -- it is good to remind ourselves of temptation and our need for rescue. At the same time, we can go overboard by putting too much emphasis on the tool -- in this case, Lent -- and not enough on the actuality of our connection with the Lord. So while I recommend the discipline of time set aside for reflection, self-examination and self-denial, let's recall that Jesus is with us at all times, and our disciplines are no more than tools to help us pay attention. 

Today is "Ash Wednesday" on the calendar of liturgical churches, and many congregants will attend a solemn service in which someone will put a dab of ash on their forehead symbolizing repentance, mourning and humility (see Gen. 18:27, Esther 4:1, Job 42:6, Daniel 9:3, or Matt. 11:21). Let's thank God that people are being reminded, in whatever practice we use, of who we are and what he has rescued us from.

Bilbo and the Fishermen

Gandalf interrupts Bilbo's quiet morning

The new Hobbit movie is a beautiful work of film-making.  This morning I saw a parallel
with the work of Jesus -- probably intentional, because Tolkien wrote Christian themes into his extended allegory about good and evil in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  This story involves Gandalf the Gray, whose character is the Christ figure in the trilogy, and Bilbo, a stay-at-home hobbit quite content with his life.  Gandalf shows up uninvited one day on Bilbo's doorstep, and turns his life upside down!

Gandalf's other guests -- a dozen dwarves -- show up soon, and while eating every bit of food in Bilbo's well-stocked pantry, debate the adventure they are beginning, to reclaim their lost homeland from a dragon.  Their lurid descriptions confirm Bilbo's determination not to be an adventurer.  Finally, though, his curiosity draws him into this crazy journey, where growing comradeship mixes equally with life-threatening surprises. (Disclaimer:  this is not an endorsement of the movie, nor your excuse to drag your unwilling friends or family members to see it "because the pastor said it was good."  It includes a lot of fantasy, fighting and conflict, and it's rated PG-13.  Just so you know.)

I've been reflecting recently on Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus invites some fishermen on an adventure that is just as different from their previous life as Bilbo's adventure was to his.  No nice, safe house to come home to at night, no certain meals or bed, await these travelers.  Rather, they are told they will "fish for people" -- whatever that is supposed to mean -- and to go on the adventure, they have to leave everything else behind.  And so, amazingly, they do!  Just like Bilbo. Their reward for helping Jesus reclaim their homeland -- the whole earth, terrorized by sin and the original dragon, Satan -- isn't gold and jewels, but eternal life beginning now, (1 John 2:24-25) and a "crown of righteousness" (2 Tim. 4:8) in the future. 

And, the same kind of adventure, discipleship with Jesus, exists for us as it did for the original 12, and for Bilbo and the dwarves, even though it might not mean going to a Roman prison, or fighting your way through a cave full of (I won't spoil the movie if you still want to go see it).  We still have to sacrifice, to learn as we go, and to have a great need for faith in our leader, as we journey.  There are times it won't be comfortable, and we won't know what's next; but Jesus is always with us, and HE knows what's next, so that will have to do.  Oh, and one more thing -- the same reward Jesus promised the 12 disciples is given to every single one of us, and is the destiny of all humanity!  Let's get started, together!

Jesus, the Good Samaritan

I'm preparing to speak this week from Luke 10.  The story there of the 'Good' Samaritan (the word 'good' is not in the text) keeps amazing me with its depth and breadth of meaning.  You'll find the exchange between Jesus and the lawyer, and the parable, in verses 25-37. 

One of many interesting points here is Jesus' description of the person who rescued the wounded traveler.  This man was a Samaritan, a member of a group hated by all Jews because of their history as foreigners imported by the Assyrians after the deportation of many of the northern Israelite tribes.  The Samaritans had more than likely intermarried with Israelites left in the land, and claimed to follow the true religion (see John 4:19-20 for a brief comment on this) which just made things worse of course.

But look at what the man, this half-breed who was rejected by the Jews, was like:

• He went out of his way to help another human being in trouble
• He risked his own safety due to the bandits in the area
• He used oil and wine to heal the man's wounds
• He paid for the man's care at the inn
• He promised to return and settle accounts

All these are just as well descriptions of Jesus himself.  He was of suspicious parentage, and was of mixed heritage, being both God and man; he greatly inconvenienced himself by becoming flesh (see Philippians 2:6-8) and was at risk throughout his ministry even before the Cross; he brought rescue and healing to humanity; he paid the price for our recovery; and promised to return for us.

So as a background to everything else going on in this parable, the true character of Jesus is brought out as the outstanding example of 'being a neighbor.'  Then he tells the lawyer, "go and do likewise."  What a challenge for all of us:  to selflessly give, going out of our way to serve others, including pointing them to the One who came to serve us rather than be served.  In what way can we "go and do likewise" today?  Who will we choose to serve as Jesus served us?