'Tis the Season to be Thankful

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
A verse that seems challenging at times. However, when one considers the environment from which these words were penned, we are reminded that there are no circumstances that should keep us from being truly thankful.

I type these words as I think of the individual who has PTSD and trying to manage life. Who still has a smile on his face even though relationships have been extremely strained.
I think of the widow and widower who are learning how to navigate the holidays without that special someone. Who still gathers with family and continue to discover many reasons to be grateful.
I think of the person who has been rejected, left alone, and is trying to make sense of love and forgiveness. Who still opens his/her heart to people, understanding the risk they are taking.
I could continue to list people in much more difficult circumstances. All whom have learned that Thanksgiving is more than a holiday stuck on a Thursday towards the end of November. Men and women who have discovered that being thankful has to be a way of life.

Thankful - Adjective
1) Pleased and Relieved
2) Expressing Gratitude and Relief

I honestly don't know how the world does it without the assurance of Christ. I'm sure that there is something deep inside the human spirit that finds a place of thankfulness. However, for those of us who know Jesus personally, thankfulness should come naturally. In Christ we should be pleased and relieved. We should be able to express gratitude and relief. All one has to do is consider all that the Father has done to give us eternal and abundant life. To consider how gracious our Creator has been to us. To dwell on the fact that He chose to come into our darkness, to take our sin and shame upon Himself, and be willing to go through the agony and pain of redemption should create a swell of gratitude in each of our hearts. Maybe even more amazing is that He chose to speak to our hearts when He did; to awaken us to the reality of life in Christ.

There is so much that we take for granted:
Family, friends, relationships, and health.
Security, provision, jobs, and a roof over our heads.
Love, grace, and mercy that knows no end.
When you consider all of the things that we are willing to risk, willing to walk away from, and the things which we allow to create division; can we not stop for a moment and think of all that we have to be grateful for?

This is a season to be thankful. Regardless of what your season looks like. Regardless of how it feels. Regardless of what you have had to endure. Learn to give thanks. Learn to be pleased in all that the Lord has done in your life. Discover what it means to be pleased in Him. Express your gratitude and relief. Watch how thankfulness releases a joy and a peace that you can never explain.

Once again I'm reminded of the hymn written by Horatio G. Spafford - "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL" - and how the Lord was able to minister peace and gratefulness to his heart during on of the most difficult times of life. A song that would stand the test of time and continue to bring others to a place of peace and rest. If he can sing, if he can be reminded of the goodness of the Lord, then surely we can find a thread of thankfulness in our own hearts.

I want to encourage you this Thanksgiving (and every other day of life) to draw your friends and family close to your heart. Capture every moment of joy. Feel the warmth of hugs and kisses. Be grateful for the time that you have and cherish the looks of contentment on every face. Be Thankful. Very Very Thankful for these moments. Feast on them. Drink from them. Life is too short to miss out on these opportunities. Then allow thankfulness to be a part of your journey. And while you are at it, be sure to give thanks to the Lord. Remembering that EVERY good and perfect gift flows down from Him.

May this Thanksgiving be the greatest thanksgiving you can remember. Blessings to you and your family during this season.

What Unites Us Is Greater Than What Divides Us

I am a thinker. Does this surprise you? I think that most people believe that I'm a talker since I'm a pastor, but the reality is that I am often content to keep my thoughts to myself. Some would argue that since I like to blog that I must be a writer. However, I don't always write what I'm thinking about. The reason is quite simple: If my thoughts are not well formulated I don't like to share them. I am quite content to allow those thoughts to stir for days and weeks on end. This is especially true when it comes to matters of faith. I like to think through things that most people don't want to think through. I like to ask questions about long held beliefs. I don't mind wrestling with things that the church doesn't want to wrestle with anymore. At times this has created disagreements. At other times it has allowed others to feel safe to join me in such a journey. The thing that I'm thinking about this morning is: WHY ARE WE CHRISTIANS SO DIVISIVE?

Psalm 133 gives us beautiful insight into what it looks like when God's people dwell together in unity and yet we continue to struggle. We seem to be more concerned with our group identity rather than being able to appreciate the whole of the church. Denominational pride, fear of losing members to other churches, and disagreements over various doctrinal positions seems to dominate among us. When did our unity become so fixed upon dogma or agreement in all matters? Is there not a unity that transcends this type of thinking?

I came across a statement this morning that quite possibly points to the root of our problem. One writer said this, "The Christian faith, more than any other, is based on doctrine." A statement that I find mind-boggling. Doctrine? That is the basis of our faith? I thought the basis of what we believe was found in a person NOT is some theological argument. I thought it was the very person of Jesus Christ that was the foundation of all that we believed. Doctrine is important, but to say that the Christian faith is based upon doctrine proves how far we have removed ourselves from the very prayer of Jesus. That we would be one as He and His Father are one. The problem with making doctrine the basis of the Christian faith is that it is way too easy to become divided. All you have to do is disagree in one point or another and the brethren no longer dwell in unity.

Please hear me out. I know that the Early Church Fathers took great pride in defending the doctrines of the Early Church. The Nicene Creed continues to be such a powerful statement of what we believe. However, what they agreed upon back then is often considered too simplistic. In other words, they did not go far enough in their statement of faith. Just take the Creed and place it along side of most churches statements of faith and you will understand what I am saying. The Creed was a response to attacks on what was considered foundational understanding for the church, but there were things that they chose not to address. Why? Probably because there wasn't a consensus in some areas or they felt that these areas could remain unverified. For whatever reason, the one thing the council did choose to put into the Creed was the belief in One Holy Catholic Church. Catholic meaning Universal. A belief that many of us need to revisit.

Paul made a statement to the Church at Rome that I think we need to understand. He encouraged the Body to "Be of the same mind toward one another..." Live in harmony together. Think of, regard, or seek after the same thing for each other. That is, whatever we regard or seek for ourselves we should seek for the brethren. He encouraged the Body of Christ to this place of unity. Where we see one another for who we are and that we contend for harmony. Recognizing this vital truth: the world will know that we belong to Christ because of our love for one another.

This is a practical side of our faith that we rarely explore. We often fail to emphasize this need in the world. That a United Church could bring so much healing, so much understanding, and so much genuineness to our faith. That we would have to do less convincing of people if they were to see the unity that we are meant to live in. Rather than having to convince someone of why we are right and others are wrong, we could simply invite them to know Jesus as we do and to join the community of faith. Does it sound too simple? Then it must be God.

The point of all of this is that WHAT UNITES US IS GREATER THAN WHAT DIVIDES US. I get it. You and I may have different views on soteriology. We may not agree on eschatology. Our beliefs about atonement, the nature of man, the finished work of Jesus, and many other things may not be in agreement. But can we not all agree on the fact that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of all? Can we not accept the fact that Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren and that we are brothers? Can we not appreciate our distinctive groups and trust that God is working in each and everyone of us to reach out to a hurting world? Jesus Christ is the Great Unifier. He alone stands as the Mediator between God and man. He is the source of our salvation, our faith, and our unity. For us to place emphasis upon anything else is to set ourselves up for failure.

How beautiful and pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity. In Christ this is possible. Consider this an invitation. By all means have your beliefs. Be willing to hold fast to your convictions. But somewhere along the way we have to see that our family is much bigger than our denomination, our proclamation of doctrinal purity, and our particular brand of Christianity. In the same way that our Father has chosen to bring together every tribe, tongue, and nation in Christ; He will also bring every denomination, every doctrinal difference, and every division together in Christ. At least...that's what I think.

Enjoy the journey!

For the Journey Ahead

Good morning my friends. A lot has happened since I last shared my thoughts with you. America has elected a new president, Tom Brady threw his first interception of the season, and the temperature outside finally feels like Fall. And none of these things have to do with what I want to share with you today.

I was thinking this morning about Abram and God's call upon his life, how he emerged out of a polytheistic religion, and what that means for us today. I mean...doesn't everyone think about these things? Honestly, have you ever considered just how difficult it must have been for Abram. Imagine that you are the one walking away from family, from your home land, and all because the One True God has asked you to go to a country that He would show you. This takes guts. But what is even more revealing in this whole scenario is how gentle the Lord was in revealing His true nature. We owe so much to the man whose name was later changed to Abraham. The father of nations. The one in whom all of the nations of the world would be blessed. This one man risked everything because he heard a voice.

In my opinion, the greatest revelation that Abraham received came during a literal mountain top experience. It was there where he took his firstborn son, a length of rope, some firewood, and a knife. Why? Because the Lord had instructed him to do so. A difficult journey to say the least. A burden that he seemed all too comfortable to carry. Has anyone ever asked why? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in Abraham's shoes? Most of us did not grow up in this kind of environment. The thought of sacrificing our firstborn and only child seems so inhumane. But in Abraham's defense this was common to his culture. What is uncommon is what would transpire on the mountain top.

Abraham was dutiful. He carried out the instructions down to every last detail. With knife in hand and both arms stretched above his head the Lord intervened. And it's here where we discover one of the greatest attributes of God's nature. Another second and we would call this mountain the place where Isaac died. Instead it became known as the Lord will provide. Too often we miss the significance of this revelation. 9 times out of 10 our focus has been on the God of Provision. We talk about the God who meets our needs. And while this is true of His nature it misses out of the full scope of what the Lord was teaching Abraham. In this moment we discover a God who does not need sacrifice. A God who provides for Himself.

So often I believe we have held to a belief about God that is more BC than AD. We see Him as one in need of sacrifices and burnt offerings. Even our worship has been described as a sacrifice of praise. Choosing to believe that our offerings of prayers, fasting, self-debasement, and the like will somehow gain His favor. Completely missing out on the reality of what we already possess in Christ. Please hear me in all of this. I'm not saying that we should not pray. I'm not calling for an end of fasting. I don't believe in self-debasement simply because there is a difference between humility and humiliation. What I am saying is that we should be fully enveloped in what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. To fully recognize what He has done in providing Himself for us. That all of our worship, our service, and all the details of our lives flow from this place.

Jesus told us to go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
Have you ever considered the shift in thinking that this creates in a religion that was bound up in blood sacrifices? Can you imagine the anger and confusion that a statement like this would incite? Jesus stepped up the game just a little bit. He moved from a ram being caught in a thicket to being the one caught in the crossfire. God would provide Himself. As He always had. Not only that, but Jesus proves once and for all that how we treat one another matters. That mercy far outweighs any sacrifices that we could bring. That God is more concerned with how we treat others than how we approach Him.

Before we think this is something new, we have to see that this is actually an Old Testament reference. Hosea 6:6 puts it this way: "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." (NLT)
What a statement! Imagine what this must have done to the priests. What would happen to them if we removed a sacrificial system? More importantly, what would happen in the hearts of the people if they learned this all important lesson? Imagine a world where we actually were more concerned with showing love to one another. Handling mercy so graciously. Wanting to know God above our service towards Him. Think it would make a difference?

The God Who Provides needs nothing from us. What He invites us to enjoy is a relationship with Himself and our fellow man. He asks us to delight in the things that He delights in. The God who delights in mercy invites us to join in the same. Micah said it so wonderfully:
Do Justly
Love Mercy
Walk Humbly with your God.

Somewhere along the way we have been so consumed with the afterlife that we have forgotten to make much out of this one. We didn't do the math when Jesus said the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God...and the second was like it, to love you neighbor as yourself. He placed them on an equal playing field. Where we would see them side by side not one on top of the other. So we would understand that to love God with all that we have is to love our neighbor as ourselves and vice versa. And that all of the Law and the Prophets are summed up in these two things. The very same God who led Abraham so patiently has continued to be patient with us. He continues to love while we are trying to pull ourselves out of our wrong thinking. Mercifully bringing us to a place where our altars aren't so significant. Where maybe we will stop trying to kill everything and rest in the provision that He is in Himself, i.e. the Lord our Righteousness, the Lord our Salvation, the Lord our Peace, and the like.

The best that we can do is to do what is right, to love the mercy of our Lord so much that we readily give it, and to walk humbly with our Heavenly Father. For the journey ahead I ask that you consider that this is a life well lived. That these things actually matter. And that your life, along with the lives of others, can be dramatically changed. I think it's time that we learned what the Lord meant when He said "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

Enjoy the Journey!

The Voters are Coming...

I went out early this morning with my daughter to vote in the presidential election. This was her first time voting. A special occasion that we were able to share together.

Turnout this morning looked to be poised for a record breaking day. I saw people that I normally don't see heading to the ballot box. A reminder of how fortunate we are to live in a country where "We The People" get to decide who governs us. WE get to decide the direction of our nation. WE choose who represents us. WE - in order to form a more perfect union - MATTER. I never like to think of an election as one group cancelling out the voice of another group. I choose to view every election as an opportunity for each individual to voice their opinion. To vote their conscience. To take part in a representative republic.

In such a divisive political climate I choose to believe that what I saw this morning was a group of people who are fed up with the direction of this nation. Even if our little dot on the map is just a small percentage of this nation's population. Every vote matters...Right? I don't care which side of aisle you choose to stand on or if you are more of a middle of the aisle person, this election has allowed us to see the corruption in each party. It has shown us that the powers that be don't like the idea of losing that power. I can honestly say that since I have been able to be a part of this process that this election season has proven to be the most chaotic. The most divisive. The most shocking. And in many ways it has shown that there is much work still needed to be done for us to be the UNITED States of America.

The voters are coming! Those who have voted for decades and those who are voting for the first time. Hopefully, by the end of this day we will have an answer to what the voice of the American people has spoken. And in the end, regardless of how this election goes, the real work begins.

Personally...I voted for three things that I believe are needed for the security and prosperity of any nation.
BORDERS
LANGUAGE
CULTURE
We The People need secure and definite borders.
We The People have the right to a common language.
We The People have the right to a culture that reflects American Values and Ideals.

In closing, allow me to say this to each and every person who will hear. This election will not hinder the Kingdom of God. He is still at work among us and will continue to be. Each and every time His children respond to His voice we see more and more of this Kingdom manifesting itself. May God continue to bless America - Continue to shed His Grace upon us - Continue to grant peace and protection to her people.

Do You See What I See?

Acts 10:15, "But the voice spoke again: "Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean." NLT
Do you ever read something in Scripture and say: "We are going to have some explaining to do."?

The story of Peter's vision on the roof is one that is told to countless children in Sunday School, children sermons, and the like. For the most part, we have raised a generation to view others through a different lens. A lens that does not discriminate by color of skin, national origin, culture, etc. With all of that being said, the Church should be the most anti-discriminatory group in the whole world. We should have overcome all prejudice with the realization that Father has made us all ONE in Christ. A truth that is found all throughout the Bible. However, I believe we have failed miserably to apply this same revelation in other areas of life. An issue that I will gladly tackle this morning.

Before I jump into the meat of this argument, I must acknowledge the fact that there are plenty of racist people who call themselves Christians and are members of some of our churches. That may go without saying, but I felt that it needed to be said. We still tend to fellowship with those who are like us. At least this is true in our rural areas that are full of smaller congregations. We still gather with our own race, our own culture, and sometimes even our own kin. I'm not saying that this is wrong. It's just a culture fact. But what I'm talking about goes much deeper than our comfort zones. We have discovered a way to divide that goes deeper to the heart. A division that is more of a choice than an ignorant bias.

The division that I'm referring to has to do with whom we choose to exclude. Which rarely, if ever, has to do with genetics. Instead, it has to do with belonging to a particular way of thinking. Believing the same thing on every issue. Where our churches are full of the same political leanings, agreements on every social issues, and could even come down to sharing the same family values. Where is the intellectual diversity in our churches? How often do we hear of varying opinions on theology? When did we become so scared of those who think differently, or have a different interpretation of certain biblical passages? And God forbid that there may actually be a democrat among us! We have lost the ability to be challenged in a healthy manner. We have excluded so many people who think differently than we do. To the point that we sound like Peter when he first received the vision on the rooftop. We have believed that we are more righteous because we will not accept that which is unclean.

The unclean could be anything. It could be those who do not hold to our views. It could be those who don't approach Christianity the same way. The unclean may be those who just sin differently than we do. I mean...we don't want to admit it but our churches have chosen to overlook some things over others. Don't believe me? Just dare to have a different stance on marriage. Dare to think differently about homosexuality. Dare to voice an opinion that differs on people living together before marriage, having children out of wedlock, drinking, or using profanity. I'm always amazed by what causes us to turn our backs on brothers and sisters in Christ. Or how we come down so hard on the alcoholic but not the glutton. How we openly criticize the one who doesn't tithe but don't say anything about the one who brings in money from an underhanded deal in the business world. We pick and choose our battles based upon our own ideals. The things that we believe are important.

Let me give you a few scenarios. You have a choice. You have to choose who regularly attends you church.
*The heterosexual couple who lives together as if they are married OR the homosexual couple that is abstinent but dating?
*The single mom who has 3 children from 3 different fathers OR the married couple who has been divorced and remarried 3 times?
*Would you rather have a drunk addict, a drug addict, OR a porn addict?
*The person who has a prior conviction of rape, indecent liberties with a minor, OR murder?
*A gang member, a member of KKK, OR a member of an LGBT group?
We could do this all day. In fact, we do. There are certain people that we have labeled UNCLEAN without ever seeing them through the eyes of revelation. We have forgotten that God doesn't see us differently because we sin differently.

Let's take the discussion to a different level. Same scenario. You have to choose.
*The one who believes it is God's will to heal everyone OR the one who believes all disease/sickness is from God?
*The one who believes that God loves everyone OR the one who believes that God hates everyone?
*The one who believes everyone is going to Heaven OR the one who believes everyone is going to hell?
*The one who believes everything in the Bible is literal OR the one who believes that everything is metaphorical?
*The one who believes in a literal heaven/metaphorical hell OR the one who believes in a literal hell/metaphorical heaven?
Did you make your choice? Was it difficult? Which one would you include in your group? Or better yet, which one would you exclude?

I am not here to tell you what to think. I'm not here to lift up one group over the other. To be honest with you, when I look at these choices what I see so clearly is my own prejudice. I see my own convictions being brought to the forefront of my thinking. And in some cases I don't like it. But we make these choices every day. We choose which "sinner" we are most comfortable with and we choose which person thinks more like we think. Even more important to our discussion is whether or not we could choose one and still love the other? Could we choose one and still call the other clean? Who are the unclean among us? Who are we choosing not to receive because we dare not associate ourselves with such people? Ever wonder why Paul felt that he needed to say that he was not ashamed of the Gospel? Personally I believe it's because the Gospel is very offensive. It's not offensive because of who it excludes. The Gospel is offensive because of who it INCLUDES!

Hear the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:11, "In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." I think it's high time we stopped calling unclean what the Father has called clean. There is nothing and no one common in the Lord's economy. If we will step our of our Pharisaical ways of thinking, we still stop calling out the unclean among us. We will stop dividing over so many issues. We can enlarge our family. We can begin to walk in love with one another. Something that the world desperately needs to see from us.

Enjoy the journey!