Are You Blooming Yet?

Sometimes I get discouraged with my spiritual growth. Why can I not change into a spiritual giant like the great Christian leaders and disciples?

Already, Lent has come and gone, and Easter is past, and I am not perfect! Strange, isn't it, that we think our lives should improve so quickly when it takes the mighty oak tree years and years.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, believed that Christians should "go on to perfection". By this, he did not mean that we would ever be perfect as Jesus was perfect, but that life should be a process of moving from one new victory to another.

Have you had any victories lately? Conquered any sins? Overcome any bad habits? Moved on to any new discoveries or truths? Don't be discouraged...it takes time. And just like the tulips and growing things of the good earth, it takes a day here and a day there...here a little...there a little...and finally the bloom appears...the leaves emerge.

Nature takes her time...and so it is with life. Be patient! God isn't finished with us yet...but He's working on us.

Someone Touched Me!

When the President comes to town, or a movie personality, or a rock‑artist of fame, the crowds throng the guest, reaching hands out to touch. They want to shake hands, get an autograph, or even touch the person's clothing. Why?

The New Testament tells a similar story of crowds, thronging our Lord, and especially of a woman, who reached forward to "touch" him.

Again and again, we read of Jesus touching someone: the blind man, the lame, the leper. The touch of the Savior brought healing, wholeness, the woman who reached out to touch was healed!

His touch was like a miracle! How many times Christians have rejoiced in their newness of life with the simple statement of faith, "He touched me!" Touching is life's best communication. It is better than a thousand words. What can you say in those hundreds of instances when words just don't come, or when words are simply inadequate? The warm handshake, the friendly hug, the touch of someone's hand is often the only thing that will do the job!

Please touch! Life is lonely when people walk around in a wilderness of words. It is easy to feel rejected, left out, "out‑of‑touch" in today's world.

Many churches take a moment for folks to "give the peace"...a handshake, a greeting, or the words: "the peace of God be with you."

John said in his epistle, concerning Jesus: "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have looked upon, and touched with our hands." (I John 1:1)

Whenever we take the Last Supper, or the sacrament of Holy Communion, we are allowed to take the bread, to hold it between our fingers, and to receive the grape juice (the Wine), and it touches our tongues. The Word does become flesh, and in the act of sacrament, we have touched Him, and He touches us, to make us whole!

Don't Turn Off The Clouds!

Years ago, my nature photography lacked character. But I have discovered a secret: when you take pictures...if possible, get some clouds in the sky!

Most of the time, we think we don't want clouds. Clear blue skies seem nicer. But out west in the mountains, the majestic peaks seem to draw the clouds to them at least once a day. The lightning flashes, the thunder rolls, and the rain descends. The mountains have learned that the clouds are necessary to keep life fresh and alive.

There is a kind of daily classroom for all of us, and the Teacher of life requires discipline, growth, and study. Business isn't always that great, and day after day needs sacrifice, hard work, and faith from our business‑people. Farmers watch their crops grow with bated breath. Will they survive? Profits are never guaranteed.

God put us in this world with no absolute assurance of clear skies. Life is difficult, but storms and problems appear to be necessary to build character. Jesus said, "If you are not willing to take up a cross and follow me, you are not worthy of me." (Matthew 10.38) There is a toughness that our Lord requires of all who would follow Him.

Today, He invites you to come to Him. He promises no life of ease, but He does promise an abundant life, and an eternal life for all who take up the disciplines of the Cross and walk with Him.

It is not easy to be a Christian in today's world; but we are the people of God, who are pledged to be loyal and faithful to Him. Accept these disciplines, and you will find that even the clouds make life more interesting, and troubles have a way of turning into opportunities.

Clouds are not that bad. Indeed they may even be good. In the book of Romans, we read that we are to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts. (Ro. 5:3‑5)

Noah Was Listening!

In the story of Noah and the ark, we ask ourselves, "Didn't God care enough to speak to anyone else but Noah?" "Wasn't there enough wood for a thousand arks?" "Why couldn't thousands have been saved, rather than just one family?"

And the truth is that God probably did speak to every man, woman and child...but the sad fact remains that only Noah listened, only Noah heard, and obeyed!

God is trying to say something to us! In the beautiful message of Easter, and in the power of the resurrection, God is telling us something...there is HOPE, and there is LIFE...life everlasting!

Economic recession and taxes may engulf me, but I am not afraid! I may lose my job, I may lose my health, I may lose my friends, but I have not lost my HOPE! When I am on the side of Christ, I am on the side of victory! When I have been raised with Him, the world cannot harm me! Nuclear warfare may destroy me, but though I die, yet shall I live!

This is a message clearly written for all to see. This is the story of a great stone rolled away from the tomb, and an empty grave. This is God's answer to all the gloomy predictions and the dismal miseries mankind has brought upon his fellow‑man.

God is not dead! God is alive! And that makes my future bright...if I listen, that is, and if I obey!

I'm Attached To Life

The message of the early Church was that "Christ is Life", and we are attached to His life through the Church, and through Baptism, and Confirmation, and Communion, and worship and a thousand other things.

In Paul's wonderful letter to the Philippian church, he said, "For me to live is Christ." My own youth was captured by this thought as have millions of others as Paul said: "It is my eager expectation and hope that, with full courage, now as always Christ will be honored in my body, by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:20,21)

What a faith. If we only believed it, and lived it. Years ago when I had surgery, I awoke with the strange realization that a tube was protruding from my abdomen. It felt strange, but my body needed it. During the surgery, life had come to a rather slow beat, but the doctors and nurses were watching my pulse, my heart, and my breathing, and back in my room were members of my family caring and praying. And I realized that I was attached to life, by many kinds of cords. And I thought, "How good it is to be attached!"

Life has a way of "plugging us in", in a variety of ways. And through the years, we have been reminded that these attachments to life are important. We are not designed just for "some future heavenly planet". This world is needed too. The Mississippi River is a life‑line to which many of us are attached. The farmers are in a business to which most of us are attached. The car dealers, the schools, the hopes and fears of our teen‑agers...we all have much at stake in these things. And through the years, the Christian faith has said: "Every part of life is sacramental. It is holy and sacred, and I cannot separate my religion from my work, and my family, or from my community. These life‑lines are all important to us."

And so, I am grateful that my work as a clergyman is not just to give aspirins and sedatives to take away the pain, but to plug folks into a job so big that the pain doesn't matter. Ours is not just a Sunday‑message. It is not just for speaking in hushed and holy tones. But the faith of the Christian has legs on it, has a tube running to it. It plugs into our jobs, into our Mondays and our Tuesdays. There are times when like Peter, I become afraid and deny the saving power of my Lord. Like Judas, I betray what has become in me a weak Christ, an insipid and meaningless faith. But there are also times, thank God, when I can arise out of my bed, and look out on the world, and say, "Hallelujah, Christ is alive, and I am attached to his Life, and don't anybody un‑plug me."

Got The Blues?

Today, I had a bad day. It is easy to get the blues! Every day, our newscasters seem to be peddlers of pessimism. There are a seething mass of prophets of doom out there, bawling out their funeral wares.

Are we living "in the worst of times"? Or, is it "the best of times?" Does our answer to this depend upon the kind of faith that sustains and guides us?

In the 2nd century of the Christian Era, the bishop named Polycarp wrote: "Oh God! What an awful age you have caused me to live in!" He had a point, and he was burned at the stake soon thereafter. And yet, that was also the beginning of one of the greatest times of expansion in the Christian world.

Ours is a kind of open‑ended world, and we have the gift of an open future. It is not doomed to be a dead‑end. Sometimes we wonder about the future of the Church. Is there hope? If figures of the last few years were fed into a computer, it might predict that the Church would be dead in 40 years.

But by that same reasoning, if computers had existed back in the 1800's when horse‑drawn carriages were on the increase, and the facts poured in, they would certainly have predicted that the whole world would be covered by 7 feet of horse manure by the end of the century.

As Christians, we celebrate our Lord Jesus. Beyond the darkness of his tomb, there was light, and we are the Community of the Third Day.

The resurrection is our theme...forgiveness is our bag...hope is our thing...for we worship a God of the incredible!

And when the lights start going out all over the world, and you and I get blue and discouraged, we come to the altar of our Church. And there we remember that "God has chosen what is foolish to shame the wise...that God has chosen what is weak to shame the strong...that God has chosen what is low and despised, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are." (I Cor. 1:27)

We stand in a good world. It may be marred and scarred, and torn, and warped, but still it is a good world. And to us, has been given the choice of taking it or leaving it. The Biblical writer in Deuteronomy (Deut. 30:19) said that God has set before us: "life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life that you may live."

Although we may live in a "scarred" world,
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It Is A Strange Sign

If a person with three eyes and four arms flew in on a space vehicle, and came to observe Holy Communion in our church, there would be one puzzled alien! But maybe you are confused too. Does it really mean something? Why in the world, has the Church from century one, observed this phenomenon? Let's take a look.

l‑‑It is drama: the gospel is acted out here. "God so loved that He gave." Everlasting life is given through the sacrifice of Jesus. That's drama and powerful stuff!

2-- Sins are forgiven here as well: ours, and all who ask for it from the Giver of forgiveness. Good news, if we just believe and accept it.

3. There is atonement in this observance. Jesus brings at‑one‑ment. The wall that sin made is broken down. Through confession and forgiveness of sins, I am no longer separated from my neighbor or from my God.

4. And here is magic! As we lift up in memory the one who is more precious than silver, and worth more than all the treasures that earth can produce, we count the coins of our spiritual bank account, and remember Jesus, and what he did for us, and said to us. And that remembrance is magic.

5. In a terribly divided world, this sign tells us boldly that there is no exclusiveness. We must be of one accord. We may not go into rapture at the thought of loving all races and all cultures, or even of loving some of our immediate brethren, but we either learn to do just that, or find ourselves consigned to the Pit! "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity!" (Lk. 13:27) Jesus said. It's a bit scary, this food and drink given to us.

6. But finally in this sign, we find ourselves living between two worlds. We look back into the world in which Jesus was crucified and then we look forward to the world in which he is to be crowned Lord of all.

Fortunately, if we have grasped its meaning, we end up taking the "bread" and the "wine" as we should. We may even find ourselves standing next to that three‑eyed, four‑legged creature from outer space, or that two‑legged hard‑to‑love neighbor from down the street, and discover that we can get used to it. You see, our God is the Father of all, and Jesus Christ is the Savior of all, and we who go by His name, must be the friend of all.

There's no doubt about it. It is a strange sign. But I hope we stay in the ranks of those who find life‑transforming power in taking "the bread" and drinking "the cup" as new citizens of that brave new world of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Company Of "The Third Day"

The invention of the wheel was a major break‑through. The use of a written language, the printing press, the first step into space on another celestial body...these were major turning points in our world culture.

But when a tomb on Calvary's hill broke open to release the risen body of a crucified Jesus, we entered a brand new world. It was as unlike the former one as day and night. Before this time, the world of mankind was about three score years and then blackness. Now, suddenly, his world opened up to infinity with no limits! Before this mankind knew a physical world. Now, suddenly, he was introduced to a spiritual one. Paul says, "if there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body"..."this perishable nature must put on the imperishable." (I Cor. 15:53)

This dramatic revolution of life style, became the burden of the new Church that came into existence fifty days later. It was the birth of another kind of power that was to set the world on fire.

And although we so often seem to ignore it, we as Christians are not alien to power. Indeed, it is part of our clothing, our uniforms as witnesses in God's world.

Although we live in a world of tremendous powers, so many of us feel frustrated by its lack. But after evil persons had done their best to destroy Jesus, "on the third day" he arose. And we are partners in power. We are a part of that Company of the 3rd Day. It is a power that broke open the gravestones, and opened the door to life everlasting.

Happy Easter to all!

Can You Believe it?

Some people are like Thomas...they have to see to believe! If you are like that, consider these 5 questions:

1‑‑Do you believe there ever was a man on this planet named Jesus? Considering history, we probably would have to say "Yes".

2‑‑Do you believe that he was crucified and buried? Considering the old Roman way of execution, we probably could say "Yes".

3‑‑Do you believe that he arose from the grave? (But before we answer that question, let us go on to questions 4 and 5.)

4‑‑Some say his enemies carried him away from the tomb. If this had been so, don't you think they would have revealed this, and shown where they had taken him and said, "Look, your Christ is dead?" That makes sense, and so our answer probably would be "Yes".

5‑‑Some say his disciples took him away and buried him in a hidden spot. If this had been so, would they have gone out to preach his gospel and given their lives for a dead Christ? Since it doesn't seem likely, we would probably answer "No".

Suddenly then we are confronted with question 3, "Do we believe that he arose from the grave?" And the answer must force us to our knees in humble surrender as we say, "Lord, we believe...help thou our unbelief!"

The Moment Of Glory

This is Christ's moment of terrible tragedy! He is crucified on a Roman cross. But, this is Christianity's moment of Glory! The cross has become a scepter, and Easter, with its message of the resurrection has become the crown of glory!

How many years have you experienced this Good Friday agony, and the Easter message of hope? Has it ever occurred to you that you are the judge and jury, and from you must come a verdict?

It is as important for us as Christians to do something about this moment, as it is for grains buried in the ground to grow and bear fruit!

A young girl, who had gone into a religious cult, wrote her mother an accusing letter in which she said: "You never showed me your faith! You never cared whether you went to church or not! You never acted as though your life was different!"

Our lives must be different because of the cross! If we the jury, do not show by our response that Christ has changed our tempers, our compassion, our love for one another, our decency, our fair play, our honesty, then Christ died in vain! If we do not bear fruit, then the sowing of the seed has been an exercise in futility!

After the resurrection, the risen Lord appeared to Peter, and asked him the question, "Peter, do you love me?" And Peter's quick response was, "Why Lord, of course I love you." But again, our Lord asked, "Peter, do you love me?" And once again, Peter answered in an almost offended tone, "Lord, I do love you." And again a third time, the question was asked, and finally Peter grasped the meaning. Jesus said, "Go, tend my lambs." Love means almost nothing, unless we are willing to do something about it!

Peter did! Will you?

Take A Look At The Cross!

Once again we are under the shadow of the cross. In Handel's famous oratorio, "The Messiah", there are to be found these questioning words: "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me."

Day after day, we pass by the doors of the church, and the uplifted cross, and hardly notice it. Person after person wears a silver or gold cross about their necks and think of it only as a piece of jewelry. Upon the steeples, and upon the altars of our churches are to be found crosses high and lifted up. Does it mean anything to us? "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?"

The mystery of that cross quite overwhelms us. How could something so ugly, so much a symbol of oppression and hatred and bloodshed become so sacred an emblem to us as Christians?

It is not because of the cross, but because of One who hung upon that cross that we treasure it. Jesus represented the little people, the powerless people, the oppressed people. And there upon that cross, he destroyed the power of his enemies by forgiving them...yes, even loving them! There is great power represented by the might of ancient Rome, and the power of modern armies and warfare. But there is another kind of power represented by the Man of Galilee as he died for us upon the cross.

Let us as Christians never forget which side we are on, in that eternal battle between good and evil. And "God forbid that we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

No Dead End!

We have a fear of "dead ends"...of being trapped, of having to turn around, of losing time! It is like trying to stick a chicken in a gunny sack. It almost just won't go in! Or it is like trying to drive pigs into a gate, or a small pen. They always turn the other way. But give them an opening at the far end, and it is a different matter.

And so, death, for many people is like that. We get panicky. We have the feeling of being boxed in, of being trapped. It is the closed gunny sack concept. But let a person catch a glimpse of an opening on the other end...and then it is not a "dead end", but rather a passage‑way through!

The death of Jesus Christ upon a cross was so final, so agonizingly real! And death is real. It is real today. It stalks us all along the journey of life. And so if you were to seek that event of earth‑shaking significance, spin the wheel of everything that has happened and where do you finally stop?...on the invention of the wheel?...on the discovery that the earth is round?...on the theory of evolution, or relativity? Perhaps some would pick one of these.

But if you want to be truly perceptive, you would have to pick out the resurrection as that one bright light upon the horizon. For if gravity gave the scientists a basis for knowledge...and if atomic power gave a certain potential for driving motors and industry...and if the computer promised a certain refinement to the whole process of automation, then though they each promise some bright ray of hope, none of them speak to the haunting fear, that universal uncertainty of mankind, so poignantly questioned by Job of the Old Testament drama, "If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14)

Give us something that speaks to man's fear of death, and you will speak to the most universal need...more important to him than money, than sex, than power.

And so today, Christians around the world stop the spinning wheel, and herald that one major event that does this. Here was the break‑through, we affirm. We know a man who conquered death...Who went into the valley of the shadow of death...that "dead‑end" of the centuries. And Jesus walked right through! "Death could not hold its prey, Jesus my Savior. He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord."

And so, for those who have learned the higher laws of life, death is no "dead end", but only an open door into the future. Praise God!

There Is A Man On The Cross!

When the enemies of Jesus crucified our Lord, they thought they had won, but they hadn't! The cross became his staff, and with that staff, He pushed a hole right through the grave! A little boy next to the bed of his dying mother, said: "Mother, you don't need to be afraid of the grave, for Jesus went through it, and left a light behind him."

That's right...the cross became his torch! He was in charge, not his enemies. He could have run away, but he didn't. They took him in the Garden. He had friends there...he had swords, but to Peter, he said, "Put up your sword". They were taking our Savior to the cross, but he had already planned the journey! Pilate tried to conduct a trial, but it was a mockery. Pilate was on trial, not Jesus. Pilate ran here, he ran there. "Say something", he said. "Defend yourself". But Jesus said nothing. Pilate's wife had a dream. "Have nothing to do with this just man," she said. "Who would you like?...Jesus or Barabbas?" he suggested.

Pilate was the disturbed man. Jesus was composed. "Crucify him" shouted the mob. And they did! But even on the cross, Jesus took charge. He forgave those who had crucified him. He gave directions to his disciples. He died that we might have life, and have it eternally. He rose again. The cross was replaced by an empty tomb, and has become the sign of millions around the world.

But again, today, our Lord is being crucified. He is suffering there along with the suffering millions of our world. I helped to drive the nails this time. Because I am a part of a world that is filled with the hates and hurts of mankind, I can no longer blame "someone else." Elizabeth Cheney has stated it well.

Whenever there is silence around me
By day or by night,
I am startled by a cry.
It came down from the cross,
The first time I heard it.
I went out and searched,
And found a man in the throes of crucifixion,
And I said, "I will take you down."
And I tried to take the nails out of his feet.
But he said, "Let them be.
For I cannot be taken down
Until every man, every woman, and every child
Come together to take me down."
And I said, "But I cannot bear to hear you cry.
What can I do?"
And he said, "Go about the world,
Tell everyone that you meet,
There is a man on the cross."

Why Did Jesus Die?

For years, we have tried to come up with all kinds of theological, and symbolical explanations for why Jesus had to die.

There is the "Ransom Theory" which suggests that mankind had been taken captive by the devil, and God gave His Son as a ransom to save us.

Or again, there is the "Sacrificial theory". In the Old Testament, it was believed that a lamb slain upon the altar would remove the worshiper's sins. When Jesus Christ came, He was the "Lamb of God" slain to cleanse us all from our sins. His blood "cleansed" us.

On and on, the theories have been added: The "Satisfaction Theory", the "Moral Influence" theory, the "Governmental theory", etc.

But when all is said and done, Jesus died, because some people are cowards...some people are greedy...some have been on an emotional binge, and are not accountable...and some have gotten a twisted understanding of right and wrong...and others just don't care to get involved.

The reasons go running in and out of our newspapers every day. The sins of Bible days, are the sins of our day. They are the sins of the Church, and the sins of the laity and the clergy.

Then, it was the sin of an apathetic, fun‑seeking crowd, and the sins of fanatic zealots, and the sins of cowardly friends and disciples, and the sins of twisted Judases.

And Jesus died to expose those sins...which are also my sins. And that's why I don't like to look at the cross, because when I do so, I see my own guilt. I discover that I helped in the crucifixion. I had something to do with driving in the nails. I helped to build the system that could not accept His way of life.

And when the chance came for me to proclaim Him Lord and King, there was so much selfishness and pride, that I too said, "His way won't work...its not practical...it is more expedient to let him die."

I've seen myself at the cross. Perhaps you are there too, with all the rest of us. I suppose we all helped to crucify our Lord. The least of all I can do now, is confess my sin, and love Him, and seek to be faithful.

From Palm Sunday To Good Friday

What a contrast between these two days: Palm Sunday and Good Friday. The first was a day of marching and palm‑waving. The second, was a day of mourning and sorrow. Jesus was betrayed. His body was hung upon a rough cross on the hillside. Frankly, many of the same people were involved in both days.

How can people be so fickle? Treat Jesus like a king on Sunday, and then hang Him on a cross like a criminal on Friday? And yet, we do that, don't we? We do it to others, and they do it to us as well.

Life is like that in many ways. Sometimes we are on the top of the mountain, and all has gone well, and then just as suddenly, we get hurt, or we hurt others, and we feel the bottom has dropped out. Great victories come our way on some days, and then sin rears its ugly head, and suddenly the whole world comes toppling down about us! Why is it so?

This is part of our sinful condition. Jesus knew this and prayed for us on the cross that we might be forgiven because so often, we don't realize what we are doing.

Up and down, up and down...that is the yo‑yo that is ours. And this same pattern would go on and on, if there was not something to change the balance. That something is the resurrection and Easter morning. "He is Risen" we declare. And thank God for Easters that keep coming to us every day of our life if we desire it. We may still have our "highs" and our "lows", but the "lows" will never be quite so low, because the resurrection has made the difference. "Death has no sting. Grave has no victory". And neither do our daily problems have a final triumph over us, if we remember to give thanks unto God who gave us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Is It A Fooler?

We are told that the Department of the Interior once banded a lot of crows, and set them loose. They wanted to identify them with metal tags. So rather than putting the entire long name, they abbreviated it to "Wash." (for Washington) "Biol." (for Biological) and "Serv." (for Service). Somewhat later, they received a letter which said, "I caught one of your tame crows. I followed your directions. I washed it. I boiled it, and served it, and it tasted awful. Why don't you quit trying to fool people?"

When Jesus came into the world, the Scribes and Pharisees knew that this quiet, unassuming Man of Galilee was not their King, not their Messiah. He didn't look the part at all. The Messiah would be a ruler over Israel. He would wear a crown, and have a throne, and he would rule over the whole world. And so, it was not strange, that the religious leaders of Jerusalem did not accept this rabble throng, and this lowly person.

So significant was the coming of Jesus, however, that the early Christians thought of it as "an event in Eternity"...something as broad in scope as creation itself. "Everything is new!" they affirmed. One of the early versions of the New Testament began it with the title, "The Book of the Genesis"...the Gospel according to St. Matthew (the LXX...Septuagint)

Christians are not deceived into believing that the One to Whom they sing Alleluias is like any earthly king. They know that the Palm Sunday King, moved on in only a few days to hang upon a common cross, with his blood poured out as he died on a black Friday. But Christians do not concede that this was the end of their King. Indeed, Paul concludes that not only is He the "1st born of all creation," but that he is also the "first‑born from the dead." Yes, this risen Christ is now a factor in today's world. We're not foolin' anybody! He is here and with us now. Edwin Booth once gave this crisp bit of advice to a group of young actors: "The king sits in every audience; play to the king." And so He does, and so we must do. Sometimes the abbreviated directions of the Scriptures have confused us. We have read strange provisions into the great words of Scripture, and divided the Church sadly.

But the King is with us. Will we "play to the king?" Will we faithfully live as his followers?

Catch The Vision

This morning, I had another vision! This is not to say that I have them often, like daily, or monthly, or every so many years. Indeed, I am really not inclined to have such things. In fact, I have sometimes been a bit critical of others who made such claims.

But I have discovered that my problem was not the lack of visions, but my lack of eyes! I just had not been seeing what was there to see. Having eyes, I saw not!

My vision this morning was a beautiful flock of geese...an arrow pointing due north...one of those awe‑inspiring sights that thrills the soul. "But that's no vision," you say..."that was simply a beautiful sight...a herald of spring!"

That's right...but the "vision" was still there...because my vision was of something within the tiny brain of each flying bird that was drawing him like an arrow to his destination!...and each bird responded to that inner instinct.

God is tugging at our hearts. He is calling us to come up higher...to live more perfectly...to love more completely. Here then was my vision: when we come to God to worship, or to pray, or to grow...when we follow the way of the cross...when we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...and when we respond to this inner "tug," we too become a beautiful sign in the sky.

Here is the way! Walk in it! Here is the Savior! Follow Him! Here is Life! Live it to the best of your ability! Like an arrow...moves the Church of God...a sign, a promise, a hope to all who behold!

Fairly Honest Joe

The story is told about a man who died in Los Angeles who was a pretty decent fellow. He had been a bartender, and helped many people with a small loan or meal. His friends began calling him "Honest Joe". He objected because he said that the name put too much of a strain upon him. He insisted that he was only fairly honest.

And so, they called him, "Fairly honest Joe". But when a person is only "fairly honest", he is not really honest at all! How can we be sure when that honesty will run out?

We have gotten the idea that we can be fairly Christian in our living. We have no intention of going too far, or going all the way. No one else knows, nor neither do they, whether they will behave like Christians or not. They may end up acting like pagans. In one moment, they give generously, but on other occasions, they may shock their friends with meanness and selfishness.

They have acquired just enough religion to be miserable, and not enough to be triumphantly generous. What a refreshing breeze was this man Zacchaeus, who when confronted by the Lord said, "Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and I'll restore any injustice four‑fold." (Luke 19:8)

8aul, in speaking to the Church at Corinth said, "First they gave themselves to the Lord"...and then "their abundance of joy...overflowed in a wealth of liberality...for they gave according to their means." (II Cor. 8:5,2,3)

Anything less than this, it would seem, is really segmentalized Christianity. The story is told about a man who saw a blind beggar, and said to his Quaker friend, "I really feel for him." The man asked, "Friend, hast thou felt for him in thy purse?" We can't really be just "fairly" Christian. It is a contradiction in terms. Our Lord calls us to go all the way.

It Is As You Will

Someone has said that literally nothing is impossible to us, if we will as a people to do it. I believe that, and I think God believes that too.

Again and again we have asked, "What is God's will?" And it would seem that it is God's will that we move ahead...that we strive onward to love His Kingdom and to help bring it to pass. But it is always "our will" that needs priming. If we really said "yes" to God's work, then no goal would be too high.

Our giving and use of our finances has always been an indicator of what we think is important. And if we looked at our finances, we would discover that 85% of all we earn is used for necessities, i.e. food, housing, clothing, medical bills, etc. The balance of 15%, however becomes the give‑away to the question, "where is our heart's commitment?"

Of that 15%, 5% goes for recreation, 4% for alcoholic beverages, 2% for tobacco, 1 1/2% for cosmetics, 1% for T.V. and 1/2 of 1% for religion. This means that we are twice as receptive to "Avon calling" as we are to Christ's call in the Church. And it is easy to see that our bad habits are grossly more demanding of us than our stewardship for the Lord.

H.J. Heinz who is famous for his 57 varieties, was a Christian steward of large proportions. He was a S.S. teacher, president of his County S.S. association and an executive of the International Council of Religious Education. In his will, the opening words were: "I desire to set forth at the very beginning of this will as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith in Jesus Christ as my Saviour..." And then, in that will, he left a third of a million dollars to the church.

What is in your will and my will, as symbol of our love and tribute to Jesus Christ? Do we show it through our giving, and through our commitments?

Many years ago, in a western community, there was a very wise, old Indian. Stories had made the rounds of his wisdom, but a group of townsmen did not like the wise old man and wanted to ridicule and discredit him. They devised a scheme, at a public gathering to do so. One man, the leader took a tiny bird in his closed hand, and asked the old Indian, "Is the bird alive or dead?" If he said, "Dead", the man would release the bird. If he said, "Alive", he would simply crush the bird and reveal him dead, thus discrediting the old man. As they taunted him, the old Indian understood the trickery behind their questions, and when they asked him, "Is the bird alive, or dead?", he replied, "It is as you will!"

And so goes the cause of justice, and freedom, and Christianity, and the work of the Church in this world of ours. "Is it alive or is it dead?" The answer of course is: "It is as you will!"

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Selfishness Is Dangerous

Sometimes I get scared when I think of the dangers of selfishness. What does it do to my personality? What does it do to my family? How can I teach them to give, and to give gladly and generously...to learn to trust in something other than materialistic things?

This is one of the tasks of the Christian Faith. I must learn "FAITH" for myself, before I can teach it to my children. I must learn to give to God without penny‑pinching in the assurance that when I give up my "hoarding" and give up my faith in "material things", I begin to launch out in faith with a God who has assured me that He will "open the windows of heaven, and pour down an overflowing blessing." (Malachi 3:10b) An old rhyme goes as follows:

If I get mine,
And God gets His
Then everything will be just fine
But if I get mine
And keep His too
What do you think God will do?

And someone has added the answer, "We believe God will collect!" I'm not sure I know how God "collects," but I do believe I understand the spiritual law of giving. A lake that receives but does not give out is a stagnant lake. By that same token, a life that receives without giving back just as generously, becomes a dead soul!

I do not want to make the mistake of not giving! I believe God has given me the privilege of giving to keep me from becoming absolutely selfish. Here then, is a law of my being..."giving is living". Have I really understood the "health‑cure" my church offers me when it asks me to give?

As a Christian, I have never felt strange about asking people to give. Not to do so, would be an act of unconcern on my part!

How To Deal With Failure

Everyone who reads this article is probably a failure...in one way or another. At one time or another, we were ready to call it quits. We "lost our cool." Many people have become fed up with life, and they are ready to call it quits. They are so discouraged, they don't want to go on. Failure has always plagued us. We all have our troubles.

We have failed to live and let live. We have failed to live and help live. The insanity of our wars, and of our hostilities causes us to wonder whether mankind will ever learn. H. G. Wells one time said, "What would a world of human beings gone sane, be like?" And then he went on to comment that over 3/4 of the world's income goes to paying for past and future wars. What a failure, civilization has been.

And so here we are. Society seems to be pointing the finger at us and saying, "That person is a failure!" And we are left out, we are put out, we are counted out, and we become down, and out! Of course, there is another side to the coin. Without failure, we would hardly know the joy of success. Our Christian faith keeps reminding us: "you can't have the crown without going through the cross!"

The Christian Church started with failure, with people who had sinned, with people who knew that they were not good enough. Just look at the Bible. Here is a record of one failure after another. The failure of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The failure of Abraham in Egypt, who talked glibly out of both sides of his mouth, regarding whether the woman he was with was his sister or his wife. Then there was Moses' failure to get the Children of Israel out of Egypt, trying first one thing and then another. Then their failure to become an obedient people, and Moses slams the Ten Commandments to the ground. We see the failure of King David, the man who could do no evil, and yet who did evil, with another man's wife. We see the failure of Israel to trust in God rather than in pagan idolatries.

Is not the Bible the record of how God deals with our failures? Even the life of Jesus Christ became a "failure". He failed to win the world, to convince them, to change them. He who was the Messiah was crucified upon a common, ordinary cross. His friends deserted him. The treasurer of his own organization betrayed him. They all left.

And what did God do with this great "X" mark upon a hill? He did not cancel Christ, He canceled sin. The cross became the central symbol of the Christian Church.

And so your neighbors may forget you; your boss may never re‑instate you, the friends you thought you had, may never associate with you, but God will not forsake you. If you have sinned, he will cleanse you. If you have broken your promise, He will not break His.

At the foot of the cross, we are all failures in a way. We have all sinned and come short of the mark. But God takes failure and redeems it. God takes death and resurrects it. That's a "hallelujah" in my book.

I'm Attached To Life

The message of the early Church was that "Christ is Life", and we are attached to His life through the Church, and through Baptism, and Confirmation, and Communion, and worship and a thousand other things.

In Paul's wonderful letter to the Philippian church, he said, "For me to live is Christ." My own youth was captured by this thought as have millions of others as Paul said: "It is my eager expectation and hope that, with full courage, now as always Christ will be honored in my body, by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:20,21)

What a faith. If we only believed it, and lived it. Years ago when I had surgery, I awoke with the strange realization that a tube was protruding from my abdomen. It felt strange, but my body needed it. During the surgery, life had come to a rather slow beat, but the doctors and nurses were watching my pulse, my heart, and my breathing, and back in my room were members of my family caring and praying. And I realized that I was attached to life, by many kinds of cords. And I thought, "How good it is to be attached!"

Life has a way of "plugging us in", in a variety of ways. And through the years, we have been reminded that these attachments to life are important. We are not designed just for "some future heavenly planet". This world is needed too. The Mississippi River is a life‑line to which many of us are attached. The farmers are in a business to which most of us are attached. The car dealers, the schools, the hopes and fears of our teen‑agers...we all have much at stake in these things. And through the years, the Christian faith has said: "Every part of life is sacramental. It is holy and sacred, and I cannot separate my religion from my work, and my family, or from my community. These life‑lines are all important to us."

And so, I am grateful that my work as a clergyman is not just to give aspirins and sedatives to take away the pain, but to plug folks into a job so big that the pain doesn't matter. Ours is not just a Sunday‑message. It is not just for speaking in hushed and holy tones. But the faith of the Christian has legs on it, has a tube running to it. It plugs into our jobs, into our Mondays and our Tuesdays. There are times when like Peter, I become afraid and deny the saving power of my Lord. Like Judas, I betray what has become in me a weak Christ, an insipid and meaningless faith. But there are also times, thank God, when I can arise out of my bed, and look out on the world, and say, "Hallelujah, Christ is alive, and I am attached to his Life, and don't anybody un‑plug me."

Sin, Sand, And Salvation

Do you remember the story in John's gospel of the Pharisees dragging a woman caught in adultery before Jesus, and telling him to judge her. According to the law of Moses, she should be stoned.

You can see the gleam in their eyes. They thought they had trapped Jesus. He had no way out. He had to condemn the woman. It was the law. But Jesus simply said, "Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone", (John 8:3‑11) and then he knelt down and wrote in the sand. Under fire from their own consciences, one by one, the men left.

"Is no one left to condemn you?" Jesus asked the woman. "No, Lord." she responded. "Then neither do I condemn you, but go and sin no more."

In today's world, people don't like to talk about sin. And yet, it is life's most universal factor. "All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God." One little girl said, "I'm not always good, but when I'm not good, I'm miserable!"

Sin makes us miserable. It requires special handling. Normally, we can deal with ourselves fairly well. We do it with logic, with reasoning. We can pull ourselves up with our own boot straps. We think we should be able to get ourselves out of the mess we're in. But we cannot do it by ourselves. It takes "special handling" and that is the work of the Savior. Someone...some wonderful Someone has redeemed us, and set us free from the bondage of sin.

I don't know about you...but that really "makes my day!"

"Couching" At The Door

When Cain got very angry at his brother Abel in the Genesis account (4:6,7), we are told that God said to him: "Why are you angry...If you do well, shall it not be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door. It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

Cain didn't take God seriously, and ended up killing his brother...and took the consequences of his sin.

I have often wondered about that "couching" at the door business. And yet I think I get the point. Just when I believe all is well, suddenly I am confronted by decisions, and by situations that test my ability to know right from wrong.

That rather indefinable thing called moral choice, sin, wrong‑doing is always there. It seems to haunt my life. I'd like to believe I am above doing evil...that I would never do those terrible things other people do...but that's not so. I do them, and I must forever do battle with the power of evil in my life.

Whether I call it the devil, or sin, or Satan, I have to be accountable for my choices, and for my life. If good is there, so also is the flip‑side of evil. God gave me those choices, and I cannot expect to coast down hill making the right ones all the time.

The only way I know how to deal with that something that "couches" at my door, is to purposefully put on the vestments of righteousness and faith, before I go out that door. I must determine to be God's child, rather than the child of evil. You can argue doctrine until you are blue in the face, but there is little doubt about it...you and I have a daily struggle. We must try to win it, God being our helper. Sin is "couching at the door"...but we don't have to let him in!

Tank And Tummy

Have you ever had someone explain something to you and after they were finished, you were just as confused as you had been before? Sound familiar? Ever listened to speakers who were so eloquent, you wondered whether their professional time was spent browsing through a dictionary? Sometimes has morning worship been punctured by preachers who knew it all so well, and told it all in such big sounding words, that you were left clutching at a remote straw?

Christian theology has its roots in deep centuries of struggle and controversy. To the student, every word must be honed and spelled out carefully, lest it lead people astray.

And yet, must we always deal with "redemption" and "salvation", and being "born again" and "washed in the blood", and seek for the "propitiation of our sins"? Are terms like "remission" and "contrition" and "sanctification" and "expiation" and "regeneration" so significant that we must confuse the simple of heart?

And do we not sometimes "cast our pearls before the swine", (as suggested in the Scriptures), by taking something so sacred, and making it a thing to be scoffed at by those who have no acquaintance with the terms?

Don't get me wrong! Every word just suggested has a history of meaning and significance in the world of Christian theology. These words have been a light in the darkness for many searching souls.

But wouldn't it be wonderful if we could proclaim the wonderful Gospel we hold in such simple terms, that even a child might understand?

Last year, while traveling in the South, I saw a road‑sign reading, "TANK AND TUMMY" along the expressway. Then came the directions: 2 miles ahead, turn left.

To the weary traveler, that sign left no question. Gas for the car and food for the body. And this is really the simple message of the Christian faith as well...there is spiritual fuel and nourishment for all who turn to the Lord.

Maybe it is time to leave the legal wrangling to the Seminaries and the court rooms, and listen to the silent plea of the millions about us who are saying: "give us the bread of life, because our hearts are hungry and thirsty for the love of God."

The Road Of Last Opportunities

A group of men were amusing themselves by telling stories of robbers. One of these men was Voltaire. After listening to many such stories, he said he could tell a story to top them all. And so he began: "Once upon a time...there was a tax‑collector." And then he stopped! At first there was silence, and then they all joined in laughter. Yes, surely this was the biggest robber‑story of all.

In the days of Zacchaeus, people would surely have agreed. Jesus came along one day, and Zacchaeus heard the commotion. How lonely can you be when you are the richest man in town. He was curious and he went out to watch. But he was short, and could not see. He climbed a tree...and they all laughed at him and jeered.

But Jesus saw him, and said, "Zacchaeus, come down." And he even went to dine with him, while the critics watched and condemned.

How do you deal with evil people? There is an old fable about the sun and the wind. Each claimed to be stronger than the other. They saw a man walking along, with a heavy cloak. The challenge was made to see who could get him to take off his cloak. The wind blew and stormed and raged, but the man only wrapped his coat about himself more tightly. And then the sun shone kindly and warmly upon the man, until he voluntarily removed the cloak.

The hymn‑writer has said it well:

Down in the human heart,
Crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
Touched by a loving heart,
Wakened by kindness,
Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.

Zacchaeus found joy that day. And whatever else we may miss in life, let us not miss this highest and purest of all joys, the joy of knowing the Savior.

The Sycamore Pulpit preaches many truths, but one especially reminds us that we must not wait for a later time. "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down." He could have waited until he had more information. He could have reasoned that he ought to wait until Jesus came through Jericho on his next rounds. But this would never have happened, because he was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified!

On a trip up a mountain‑side, a traveler was confronted with a cold, fresh stream of water, gushing forth from the rock. And next to it was a sign, "Last water, before reaching the top!"

We are always on that road of last opportunities. Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Would you like to see him? Would you like to express your love for Him? Would you like to make sure your life is hid with God in Christ? Would you like to have the joy that Zacchaeus found on that special day when tax‑collector and robber that he was, he decided to let Jesus into his home and his heart forever?

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I Don't Like To Suffer

One day Jesus and his disciples saw a man who had been blind from his birth, and being in a thoughtful mood, they asked,"Why is this man blind?" "Is it because of his sin...or did his parents sin?"

Suffering...a big subject isn't it? We all wonder about that...Why? Why do these things come upon us? What kind of a God do we have?

If God is omnipotent (which means that He can do anything)...then He apparently is not a good God...because He permits evil things to happen.

On the other hand, if God is truly good, and wants to prevent evil, then apparently He is not omnipotent! He seems to be helpless in keeping these things from happening.

How do we deal with this? Well, we insist that God is good, and omnipotent, but that He is also omniscient (all‑wise). And because God is all wise, He has made a world that works with a cause and effect relationship. God seems to limit Himself by allowing the good laws He has already made to sometimes have negative or harmful effects.

An example: He made ice to be slippery...and as a result, a lot of people take bad tumbles. But if ice was not to be slippery, Olympic skaters could not skate with such beauty and grace.

But still you insist, that if God can do anything, why doesn't God reach down, and change the nature of ice to stop those people from falling? But we see the problem here also. If God suddenly made ice not to be slippery, ice skaters all over the world would be falling and getting skull fractures from their sudden stops.

Or, if God stopped every single fall (just because He is such a good God, and like we wish He would do), then sooner or later, we'd take advantage of His loving concern and start going around corners at 100 miles an hour, in the assurance that He would not allow us any injury.

And skiers on the Colorado and Switzerland slopes, jumping from those great ski slides, would complain that God wasn't letting them really jump, because God was setting them down nice and easy. But they wanted to jump hard, and far, and take their chances on a broken leg. So...God would be in trouble for that.

God made the laws of cause and effect, and sometimes we suffer because of it. But that's because we live in a world, where God has given us the freedom to be ourselves, and to do our thing, and to get the benefits or the breaks from whatever we do. We are not puppets, nor machines, working with no mind or will of our own.

God is good, and God is omnipotent. God's will for us is good, but because He has made our world in wisdom to work in obedience to law and order, sometimes the innocent suffer along with the guilty. His omnipotence is frightening, we cannot break His laws. We get broken by them.

Here is a man blind from his birth. Something about the genes or chromosomes went wrong. Who knows? Who sinned? Maybe nobody! We don't believe that suffering necessarily comes upon us as punishment from God. Oh yes, there is punishment for sins. There are irrevocable consequences of some things for which we are punished. But like Job, we wonder about it. Why? Why do these things happen?

But because God made us as a great family, sometimes I suffer for the family. Sometimes I suffer because I am a part of society. Sometimes I suffer because of what you did. You drink and drive, and I'm in the way. You are careless about your sickness, and I get exposed to it. I sometimes suffer because of others' sins, but I also get the benefit of their presence, their talents, and their gifts and graces.

I don't like to suffer for somebody else's failures. But if I want to enjoy the benefits of the rest of society, then sometimes I will suffer because of the evils of people around me. Confusing, isn't it? But I'll take my share, because I have a God in whom I can trust.

Begone Satan

Have you ever met the devil? No? Oh, yes you have! Not only have we met the devil, but he has "taken us in". We don't come away victorious very often like Jesus did. We are suckers for the devil's wiles.

It is easy for us to dismiss evil in our world as not being real. We would like to pretend that there is no such thing...no Satan, or the Ruler of Darkness. We put the red devil, with horns and tail in the category of imagination...of folk‑lore...of legend!

But just as "up" has a "down", and "in" has an"out", and just as "light" has its "darkness", so "good" has its "evil".

Jesus, in his parable of the weeds that got sown in with the wheat, said, "an enemy has done this." (Matthew 13:39)

There is an "enemy" out there, and we must deal with it. This is not to say that there is a kind of "evil" god working on us. "There is only one God!" And this God is to be loved and trusted. He is merciful and forgiving. And I am so glad, because I've got "weeds"...lots of them!

But "there is an enemy out there", and we must deal with it. Sometimes we are the enemy. And sometimes it simply means that choices and decisions made in this complex world of ours are way "off target".

Jesus, after his baptism, went into the wilderness and was confronted by the devil. It often happens, after a moment of high exhilaration, that we are most in danger.

And although Jesus was really human enough to be tempted, he told the devil to "go fly a kite!" Jesus said in the first place that material things must not have priority ("Man does not live by bread alone, but we live by the words that proceed from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)

In the second place, Jesus told the devil "Don't expect magical interference from God for this physical body, but do expect the mystery of God's comforting presence, sustaining us in times of need. ("He will give his angels charge of you."Matthew 4:6)

And then Jesus gave the "last word" to the old Tempter, when evil tried to get him to become a political hero, and rule the whole world. And he said, "Begone Satan...you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." (Matthew 4:10)

I've never been absolutely certain that I have talked with the devil, but I do know that I've been tempted to do wrong, and have had to lean on the Lord again and again. I hope I will always have the courage to say, "Begone Satan". Jesus did it, and I'd like to follow his example.

When Jesus Comes, Inner Storms Disappear

We have heard the story again and again of how Jesus and his disciples, riding upon the Sea of Galilee, encountered a terrible storm. Jesus was sleeping and the disciples, fearful for their lives, awakened him. His wonderful words to the winds, "Peace be still" have echoed throughout history. (Mark 4:39)

"Jesus, don't you care if we perish?" they cried. And of course, Jesus cared. It was a foolish question, but again and again today, we ask God the same question. We frantically try to communicate to God our panic and our fears. "What a terrible world we live in!"

We think God ought to be more concerned than He is. But instead of rushing to communicate our fears to Him, we ought to allow Him to communicate His calm to us!

Mark tells us, "And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." What a beautiful miracle on the Sea of Galilee, and how descriptive of what does take place when God enters our distraught lives. In Noel Coward's play "Design for Living", he tells the story of sordid and trivial lives, and one character has a lucid moment when he complains that with all the inventions and advances of our present age, nothing had been invented to"create quiet and calm."

And with pills and drugs, and alcohol, there are many who try to simulate that kind of invention, but with distressing results.

There are resources available. When Christ is in your ship, great peace can come. Paul said, "I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want." (Phil. 4:12)

Why are we afraid? The knowledge that the world is in the hands of God, and that my life is lived with the Almighty, whose will for it is totally good, is the most liberating thought I can have.

Today's world is filled with plenty of storms and tragic moments, but there is a "Peace be still" that flows through my world, like a beautiful anthem. I'm going to try to listen for it. How about you?