Further down the road

The journey has continued... I know it has been a while since my last post.  I have not only accepted a new job, but I am in the process of transitioning my life down to Virginia.

For my first post back, I thought the best way to break myself back into the swing of things would be with a book.  The World That Was, is a small book about a boy.  It doesn't explain how he grew up or who he became, it only gives us a few snapshots of his early life.  It helps us see some of the things he cared about and how much his father cared for him.  The family and ultimately, the culture valued industry and ingenuity.  Idleness was looked down upon and this small boy did not want to be thought of as idle.  He was in reality a very thoughtful boy.  He said he could type trees by the taste of the end of the leaf.  He would spend hours observing, reading and pursuing the life he thought he was made for.  One of the passages that stuck out to me was, "There was so much to think about that it was hard to get started".  In a time when driving still meant using a horse, I was struck by this sentence.  The thinking he was talking about was meaningful contemplation.  He wasn't filling his life with fiction or waste.  I wonder what keeps us from getting started today.  I find it difficult to imagine we are held back because of the worth wild opportunity we have been filling our life with.

It is good to be back... until next time.  Perhaps I will have to read another book and find something else to talk about.  Or perhaps I will share something about Virginia.  It is hot.

Wow!

One of the great things about being a parent is when your children do something you didn't know they could and it makes you think or say, wow!! Sometimes these are very positive or at least non-life threatening moments. First words, folding themselves like they are folded in half twice, when they actually say please and thank you, or even when they jump off of the couch head first and some how don't kill themselves. Today was a good day for a wow moment. Michelle was taking Hannah and Nathaniel to the doctor so I had Emma and Samuel. Two kids, no problem, easy after having four for over a year. I put Samuel down for a nap and come back up the hallway and turn the corner past the living room and into the kitchen, then I see Emma standing in the middle of the kitchen with an empty egg carton. This isn't entirely odd. We compost egg cartons and occasionally have one sitting on the counter waiting to be taken out. There weren't any eggs on the kitchen floor and the refrigerator was closed, however, there was also an egg carton on the counter waiting to be taken out. It is very unusual for us to have more than one egg carton waiting to the thrown on the compost at a time. This made me wonder were it came from and more importantly, where were the eggs? Fortunately, Emma didn't think see had done anything wrong so she was more than happy to show me were they were. In fact, I had walked right past them on my way into the kitchen. They were each individually cracked open on to the living room carpet. What was once a nice throw rug now looked like a large griddle. She looked up at me with a big smile and I just had to say, wow. Followed by, I wonder how I am going to clean that up.

Daniel: kingdom to kingdom, meeting God in exile

It has been my practice to post a summary or short thought about my current Sunday school lesson. We are currently going through the book of Daniel and I have decided this would be worth the time to write some thoughts.

Daniel is one of those books I usually neglect because of familiarity and difficulty. I decided to go through it at church because of class interest and because of its practical nature. There are some aspects of this book that can be difficult and I will address some of those sections. Some I will deal with on Sunday morning and not here. Others I may mention and then sidestep because I am not sure how to deal with them.

This is a place I want to welcome questions and discussion about all sections. I have often found we get to a much fuller understanding of the scripture when it is studied in community. Even if there is something I have skipped over here, you are more than welcome to present it and we can discuss.

I will sight the chapter and verse of the section in question. I will also use the page and line number for those of you who are using a manuscript. If you are not using a manuscript and would like to just let me know. I now invite you to look with me at the first section we studied in Daniel.

Section 1: Page 1.1-1.10 or Chapter 1:1-1:4 Introduction

One of the dominant themes in the first half of the book of Daniel has to do with the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar (Neb.). Neb. had some reason to be so arrogant and this first passage lets us know why.

Daniel opens with a brief description of the victory Babylon had over the king of Judah, the God of the Hebrews and the people of the land. When we talk here about Judah we are speaking about the southern kingdom and really the only kingdom left at this point in history. The northern kingdom, Israel, whose capital was Samaria, fell to the Assyrians earlier in history. Now, Judah, whose capital is Jerusalem, is being conquered by the the next great empire, the Babylonians. These first 10 lines or 4 verses talk about the king, the vessels and those carried away. I would summarize this section by saying the king was rendered impotent, God was seemingly shown to be powerless, the people were left at the mercy of a pagan king and Neb. was the conquering king. This is why the arrogance may have been warranted. He was well on his way to ruling one of the most powerful empires of the day. What he didn't plan and what would later cause him great headaches, fear and frustration was that the God of the Hebrews had planned this time to make his people a blessing to the nations. The vessels may have been taken and God may have looked powerless but, in fact, his purposes and care for all nations was about to be lived out in the lives of four companions, who feared God more than the powerful king Neb.

Hair Cut

I know there are only a few people who actually follow this blog and I am not very good about keeping it up to date, but I was wondering if I should get my hair cut. Michelle seems to think it would be helpful if I want people to take me seriously as I get older. I have had long hair since I was about 12 and have grown quite attached to it. I am not sure how thick it is anymore or what types of styles are current. I am not even sure were I would go to get my hair cut. I haven't had someone else cut in about 20 years ago. At the time my hair was quite short. I nearly could have used a bar of soap to wash it. Well, if there are any thought out there let me know.

Basements

When Michelle and I moved up here, we had an apartment with a wet dungeon for a basement. There was no reason to ever go down there, there was no reason you would want to go down there. If it wasn't for a washer and dryer at the bottom of the steps we never would have. It would snow in the winter and we would get water down there. It would rain in the spring and we would get water down there. It could be a hot summer day and there would still be water pooling in the basement. We didn't mind, we didn't care, after all it was down there were we hardly ever went. The only creature who cared even a little were the spiders I think. There were plenty of those. They stayed down there for the most part and caught what ever came in through the cracks and openings in the mortar.

It has been several years since we left that old apartment for our house. The basement of which could not be more different. Mostly finished, with wood paneling and rainbow shag carpeting. I get the feeling I am in "that 70s show". It is also a place we put a fair amount of our stuff. Most of which either has to do with my office or is neatly boxed up children's clothing. The one constant is water. I was so happy to see it raining this morning and the snow melting that I almost forgot the basement leaks. Nothing a good old wet dry vac can't handle, but not what I had planned for the day.

As I told my mother about my wet basement she remembered how her mothers house would get so much water pooling in the back yard that the ducks from the nearby lakes got confused and would hang out in the backyard until the water all filtered into the ground or evaporated back into the air. I am quite glad I do not have ducks and especially geese congregating in my basement enjoying the cool water. Hannah, on the other hand, would love to pet a duck or two.

The pool is my friend

Yesterday, I got back into the pool. It has been years since I have tried to swim 500 yards and I felt it. It took me almost 20 minutes to accomplish, what used to serve as an eight minute or less, warm up. I used to think the pool was my friend, but yesterday it felt like my enemy. I felt good the first few laps, but that feeling quickly fell away and I felt very tight and sore. What is it about taking 10 or so years off of exercise that destroys you muscles so thoroughly? Perhaps it is the taking off part. I think it will be a miracle if I can get back into shape, but I am going to give it a shot. Today should feel just as bad if not worse than yesterday and I am ready for it. After all, the pool is my friend.

When Life Gives You Pumpkins...make pie!!

I am not sure how long I have seen pumpkins go to waste. They seem to be good for one night and then simply discarded. One of the joys of having little children is they are more than happy with a little pumpkin. The kind you don't actually carve. We used markers and created faces on our little pumpkins and then all of a sudden they disappeared from the front porch and we were making pumpkin pie. No one ever suspected a thing. And we had what felt like hours of fun making crust and pumpkin goo. It was a night to remember and probably will as we find pumpkin around the kitchen for the next few weeks.

Have you ever seen a fairy?

I am always amazed when I pull children's books off of my shelf and begin to read some of the stories. One such book is a collection of short stories and poems for children. Michelle must have brought it with her when we were married because I don't remember it. Today i read 'The Fairy Who Didn't Believe in Children' by: Margaret J. Baker. I wonder how many other people have read this old story. It was a charming little story full of spirit and wonder. Tinders, the fairy seeks out those mythological creatures called children and at first is disappointed by what she finds. She grows to enjoy children however and even discovers the wonders of long division in the process. I think i will read this story to Hannah tonight. I am sure she will enjoy it, and who knows, perhaps one day she will find a fairy in our garden.

Citizenship

Were are you a citizen and what does that mean? Do you ever think of how your citizenship effects your every day life? How it allows you to experience certain rights or binds you to particular laws? Who made the decision for you to be a citizen? I just remember saying the pledge in elementary school.

Citizenship is an important part of life and Paul reminds the Philippians in chapter 3:12-21 what it looks like to be a citizen of the heavenly kingdom.

There were those who didn't believe they were bound by any law, be it scriptural, moral or civil because of they had freedom in Christ. Today we call these folk antinomian. It might sound a little extreme or far fetched but this is an increasing problem in the church today. It has in part produced a sizable section of the church who don't look anything like Christ. They are described as enemies. Paul hopes they will not be the example for the church, and says, "their god is in their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." They seek what will satisfy in the short term, boasting of their meaningless conquests, and all the while looking to themselves for wisdom.

Paul's encouragement is to keep straining forward, to keep pressing in, to continue to advance. His call to them is costly but is not without reward. Don't look at the perishable but the perennial. They are citizens who are saved by Christ and will be gloriously transformed by God who has power over all things. Live a life reflective of the God we know and worship. Who is pleased to call us sons and daughters. The freedom we have in Christ is not liberty to do what ever we want because we have been saved, it is meant to give us life to live not as a person who is dead but alive.

We must imitate those who are mature and therefore learn from an imperfect person what it means to strain, press into, reach out and long for what is ahead. This is why Paul asks the Philippians to imitate him. It is why he is sending Timothy to be with them and why he hopes to make it back to them.

We must live as responsible citizens in relationship with a big God.

A Warning

Continuing in the book of Philippians, Chapter 3:1-13. Paul presents the Philippian church with a difficult issue in this passage. A group called Judaizers were telling them they must follow the law and therefore must be circumcised to follow Jesus.

His warning against this group is for their safety and to clarify how they are made right before God. As a Jew, Paul, had it all. He was a super Jew. There wasn't anyone who was better, his list of accomplishments here and in other letters, reads like an experts resume. Yet, it is all rubbish. If his righteousness depended on those things then they would be gold, but his righteousness came from God who isn't impressed with our accomplishments. Righteousness from God depends on faith.

The judaizers derived a sense of confidence in following the law. Paul argued confidence can't be found in our flesh, but in Christ alone. The question we must ask ourselves is where do we find our confidence? Some have said if we want to answer this question we should look at our checkbook. Some have said we should look around at how we insulate ourselves from harm. I think these are helpful. We place our confidence in money, things, jobs, people. Perhaps it is time to realize were we have piles of rubbish in our lives, and were we have life.

Crooked and Twisted

It has been a little while since I last posted an update on the book of Philippians. I hope to catch up a little now. I will begin with 2:11 and end with 2:30.

I am struck by Paul's words about the "crooked and twisted generation". I know I have often heard this type of language and have even used it, but I still find it difficult language. There isn't any good reason I find it tough, there is evidence of the crooked and twisted all around. I couldn't run from the reality of this generation if I tried. The truth is, my work has done nothing but show me more of the hurt, pain, destruction, and yes the crooked and twisted in the lives of people around me.

It is Paul's desire for the Philippians to see this as well. But to not just observe the perversion and darkness in the world, but to engage it. "...shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life,..." This was the behavior Paul longed for from this beloved people. This is a dangerous life to live, a life all to familiar to Paul, one of sacrifice and service. Yet, these are the attributes of a follower of Christ. We are called to look different, to live different. To engage the world differently. This is what it means to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." To live not as you were, but as you are being made and have been made. New, by the power of the Holy Spirit, saved by the sacrifice and service of the Son and adopted into the family of our Father in heaven.

Our world is twisted and crooked, and it is our responsibility to care and to seek life for all those around us.

Eating Sand

No Emma, don't eat the sand... Gosh that's so cute I need to take a picture. Stop eating the sand... Would you just pay attention I need to get one more for mommy. Don't chew on the rocks... Just tip your cup a little, that's it, got it.

I am often reminded of my childhood when eating sand and dirt was just part of playing outside. Do you remember the thrill of sliding through the mud and the freshly planted grass seed after a good hard rain. There was just nothing like it. What about jumping in every puddle you could find as your parents were trying to find a good spot for a summer picture. I even remember helping my younger brother ignore our parents when we were supposed to be "staying clean". Especially before church, it was a weekly ritual to see how much dirt, mud and grass we could get on our pants. The best was when we got in the car without my mother seeing we had trashed our clothes until we got out at the church. It was also fun to bring bugs and small animals in the car with us. I even remember helping my brother get a snake in the trunk once.

Now it would seem, with four little children, I am going to have to experience all of these events over again. I can't decide if it is a good thing or not. Until I can answer for sure I will just keep taking pictures so I can prove later to my children that they preferred eating sand to just about anything else. I will also remember the many times a little dirt added so much to a summer day.

Green Tomatoes

Is it fair the leaves are changing color already? My eggplant is only the size of golf balls and my tomatoes may never get to be ripe and red. I do enjoy the fall, but to see the green go out of my yard and from all around me is just depressing. I know it will soon be replaced by a thick white blanket of frozen water, but it just doesn't seem right. Where will my flowers go and will they come back next year? Sure, I could have house plants, but it just isn't the same. The green can be nice but it is the orange, red, blues and purples I long for in the dead of the winter. I suppose for now I will have to be content with what little time I have left before I have to hibernate with the rest of the town. Perhaps I should get my furnace checked and put the glass back into my doors and windows. Or maybe I will wait just a little longer. The sun is out today you know.

Complete my joy

In the second chapter of Philippians, Paul begins with an encouragement, perhaps a caution, to be united. "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."

In our world today it is not fashionable to be united like this. We seek belonging and community, but we also seek to distinguish ourselves from others so we might get ahead and in doing so, display rivalry and conceit. Even when it looks like we are united because of some uniformity we find it isn't the case. Uniformity isn't what Paul is speaking about. In fact, Paul champions the necessity of the diversity of the body or the church and describes it as being of God's own design. This multi-ethnic, multi-gifted, multi-generational, multi-era church should be united and working together guided by Christ to be performing works of good will which edify not just the church but the world of lost people as well.

Perhaps, it is this understanding of unity Paul finds so joyful. Paul's appeal is forceful and tender. He longs for them to identify even the smallest amount of encouragement, love, fellowship and affectionate sympathy from the work of the gospel in their lives. For a man who has labored as hard and as long as Paul has, seeing the fruit of his labor brings joy into his heart. This fruit isn't produced by him, but happens were God produces it. What joy it must be and how encouraging it must be not just to Paul but for everyone who has worked so hard for the proclamation of the good news to see God changing and transforming the lives of people. Taking pagans and making a community of authentic believers in the living God.

Unified people do not all look the same, talk the same, enjoy the same things. Unified people are like minded in the mission, have the same love in them because they all believe in the giver and maker of love, and are of one spirit and one purpose. Paul continues to describe how we should live humbly and not look only at our own interest, but at the interests of others. It is this interdependent life Paul hopes to see. The type of life that hurts because we act intentionally and sacrificially. The type of life which reflects our confidence in the world to come and our place in it because of God's intentional sacrifice. The type of life which brings glory to our father in heaven. Let us not act out of 'rivalry and conceit, but in humility count others more significant than [ourselves]'.

Labor and Fruitfulness

As promised, the second installment of the book of Philippians. Chapter 1:12-30. Here we see Paul reporting news of his imprisonment, his hope for the gospel to be communicated and his feelings about some of the people preaching. This is also the section of Philippians were Paul tells them 'to live is Christ, and to die is gain'. This seems to be a difficult issue to Paul. He longs to be with Christ and yet his pastoral duties to the church at Philippi continue to fill his mind. Paul goes on to say, 'if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me'.

It is this labor I am particularly interested in, not just because Paul did continue to live, but because of his ongoing theme attached to it of fruitfulness. He was so certain his labor would be fruitful, he considered it the alternative to dying and being with Christ. I am not sure I always think my labor is fruitful. At the same time I know the answer isn't to try to produce fruit. Fruit is the natural manifestation of Christ in us. Paul's response of certainty no doubt, came from his having Christ in him, and the assurances and promises this relationship bring with it. Therefore, it doesn't surprise me when Paul encourages the Philippian believers to, 'let [their] manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ'. To let the way they live, the 'manner', be evidence of the gospel transforming and renewing their lives at all times. Whether the way they live is out in the open or not. There is no concern for the private and the public, because there should be no difference. This manner should be a sign of the salvation they have is Christ. It should be this way with us. In a world were the manner of the believer reflects the lives of the pagan and not the God who is in us. Let the Spirit develop in us courage for times of ease and of suffering to stand up for the gospel. To stand next to our brothers and sisters in the faith and be the body of Christ in the face of our opponents and circumstance. Let us engage the conflict and not shy away from evil, in our own bodies, in the body of Christ and in the world.

Love and the righteousness of Christ

Beginning this week I am going to be adding a post a week about some piece of content I teach on Sunday mornings at First Alliance Church in Erie, Pa, during Sunday School or our community life group as it is called here. Today will be the beginning of the book of Philippians Chapter 1:1-11.

Paul’s prayer in chapter one is of particular interest to me.

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless on the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

The word ‘love’ pops out at me. Here love is very active and informed. Not mushy love; a communal, uniting, familiar kind of love. Laden with meaning, it caries with it this knowledge of spiritual truth and the ability to make good moral decisions. So that, the people of God would look more and more like Jesus and less and less like the pagan. An issue we struggle with even today. They would live transparently in the midst of an opaque world. Overflowing or filled with the evidence, fruit, that Christ has taken their sins and substituted them for his righteousness, ‘to the praise and glory of God’. To unite these people to each other and to Christ. To be the good work begun in each of them which is being completed in them by the God who created them and made them new.

It is a rich prayer for their day and for ours.

Pepper anyone

One of the activities I enjoy is gardening. Living in Erie has taught me to enjoy the sun, grass and even bugs while they are around because the winter will be long and very cold. I enjoy the process of growth and production. Seeing a tiny seed grow into a mature plant able to produce fruit or vegetable. This year I planted a few pepper plants. They were all supposed to be different colors and shapes and sizes. At first, they were all green and I thought I had been taken by the seed distributor, but I soon found out green meant it wasn't ripe. I also found out I had planted half a dozen orange pepper plants. So, today I pulled in the ripe peppers. I showed Michelle the dozen or so orange peppers I had grown and she suggested we can them. Ordinarily we would eat them, but my plants are not showing any sign of slowing down and I still have many more turning ripe. The canning process is very interesting to me having grown up in a house were we bought things canned but never canned our own. I always thought it was something for someone else to do and that it was so complex only skilled professionals could get vegetables in a can. I am very grateful for my wife who just looks at me as though I am the one who grew up in the middle of no where and then shows me how to put pepper slices into little glass jars so we can have orange peppers in the winter. It reminds me of the seasons we all have in life. The times of plenty and the times of very little. I am very grateful for the people who have walked with me in the hard times and reminded me of the changing of the seasons as we await another harvest.

the journey begins

It is hard to say the journey begins when you are in the middle of living life with 4 small children and a wonderful wife. Even so, the ground feels fresh and expectant. Twin baby boys have a way of making the days feel longer and two small energetic daughters have a way of brining the sunshine inside. Emma has started saying "hi" to everything she can... the dog, her dolls, the door, her blanket, people we pass when we are out. Ordinarily it isn't anything to smile about but when it is your daughter and you are observing her emergence into a speaking world... it's wonderful.

This is why I am beginning my blog. There are so many wonderful stories in life we allow to go untold. Can a few minutes and a blog make this world beautiful? I hope so. I am certain this blog will be full of me and I hope a lot of you. I invite you to share you journey with me as I share mine with you.