We are blessed to bless...

"We are blessed to bless a world in pieces,
We are loved to love where love is not,
We are changed to be the change you promised,
We are freed to be your hands, oh God."


"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.  For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"   -Galatians 5:13-14


"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross."  -Philippians 2:3-8


Do you serve?  How do you serve?  Why do you serve?
I asked some 5th-8th graders this last question and I got responses like, "because it's fun", "to help people", "because it makes me feel good", "because I care about the issue"....
When I was their age, I probably would've said similar things.  Now that I'm a little older and have experienced more involved service projects, and volunteer opportunities, I find I'm pondering the same question and coming up with different answers.
I have experienced some game changers.  You see, sometimes, service is not fun.  Sometimes it is scary and painful and exhausting.  Sometimes service does not make me feel good.  Sometimes it makes me feel sad and angry that there is such wanting in our world.  Sometimes I feel guilty for what I have.
And as a Christian striving to understand and live by the ideals communicated in the rich histories and examples found in the Bible, I find myself wondering, "Why would His answer be?".  Of course, I don't know for sure, but I think we find hints in the scriptures.  I think the freedom expressed in Galatians suggests an answer along the lines of, "because I can".  Because my God enables me to serve.  Simple, but I do not believe the call to serve is overly complicated.
I love the lines from "We are Blessed" quoted above.  They center around a similar idea.  I do not believe that God blesses us for the fun of it.  Or that He loves us more than we could ever fathom to have our hearts overflow onto themselves.  Or that He constantly labors to guide our souls to a place of greater joy so we can pat ourselves on the back.  Or that He removes the shackles of sin so we can twiddle our thumbs.
Perhaps, He even intends for the injustices of the world to break our hearts.  That we would be left with a deep ache that would fuel our hands, hearts, and minds to reach out and embrace a life of humility.  That we would know that something isn't right when we go home to a soft bed, comfortable home, a stocked fridge and pantry, while others are cold, hungry, and lonely.  That we would not be satisfied with doing no more than expressing our gratitude to our God for His blessings, so that we would be moved to become one another's servants, emptying ourselves of our own selfish ambitions and making room for God's perfect plans, obedient to our loving Father.  That we would come to see that very little separates us from the people and the despair around us.


Prayer:  Loving Father God, We thank You for Your goodness.  All that we have is from You.  Give us the courage and the drive to open our arms and hearts to those who are hurting around us and our own hurts, so that we might use what You have given us to bless a world in need, to love where love is not, to sow seeds of kindness and justice.  Amen!

Grace: The "Common" are Called

I love this skit (by the skit guys) about grace!  It refers to this scripture...

“Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’  He said to him, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’  A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’  He said to him, ‘Yes Lord; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’  He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’  Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’  And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep...’”  -John 21:15-17


(I don’t know what the “more than these” is all about.  But as a sidenote:  That’s one of the cool things about the Bible, I think.  It captures conversations...so you don’t always get it, it’s one of those, you had to be there moments, but it reminds you that the stories are real.  They were lived by real people, like you and me!)
Anyway, this conversation went down after Jesus was raised from the dead.  Some point to it as the moment Jesus appoints Simon Peter as leader of the church.  Asking him to dedicate his life to loving His children, sharing the Good News, leading the newly formed Christian church...kinda a big deal.  It’s definitely clear that Jesus is calling Simon Peter to make some things happen.  He says it three times for Pete’s sake!  I would’ve felt like Simon Peter, I think, after answering the same question twice already, to the Lord of All.  He already knows.  He didn’t even have to ask the first time.  And here He is asking three times?  Hello?  Jesus?  Are you listening?
Do you remember this Simon Peter guy?  He was the one that denied Jesus three times.  Hmmm...maybe three times makes some sense now.  It’s true- God knows everything.  He also rarely does anything for Himself; at least, that's my impression.  His reasoning for things often find their roots in caring for us, His children.  Leading, guiding, loving, holding, reprimanding, prodding... us.  So I don’t believe Jesus asked three times for His sake.  Rather, I think He wanted Simon Peter to really think about what Jesus was asking him.  And to think about his three denials.  To feel that with each statement of love, he was being forgiven.
I love this story, along with so many others, because we see how God calls the common.  The people who aren’t anything all that special according to society- fisherman, tax collectors, shepherds.  Who make big, messy mistakes (all of them), who aren’t great at public speaking (Moses), who are young (Jeremiah), who are small (David), who have been led astray (Paul, formerly Saul), the list goes on and on.  But they all loved the Lord with all their heart and soul and mind as well as they could (which still included mistakes and sin).  Just like us!  God uses the common to make the ridiculous and amazingly uncommon happen! God uses us, regardless or maybe even because of our imperfections and mistakes, to do His good works.
"My grace is enough; it's all you need.  My strength comes into its own in your weakness."  -2 Corinthians 12:9 (MSG)

Prayer:  Thank you Father God for choosing us!  Thank you for forgiving our sins and our mistakes.  Thank you for calling the common.  For loving the outcasts.  Help us to do the same.  Amen!

Jesus is Alive!!! Tell the World!!!

“When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.  As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’  So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

- Mark 16:1-8

Christ has Risen!!!  He is Risen indeed!!!  Hope you were able to make a church service to CELEBRATE!!!  Our Savior God who loves us, died on the cross for us, DEFEATED death!  SO MANY CAPS BUT I CAN’T HELP IT!  IT’S SO EXCITING AND AMAZING!!!
What would you do if you were the ones to discover the empty tomb?  Can you imagine?  The text in Mark tells us that the women were terrified.  Understandable, I think.  After all the heartache and anger of watching your dear friend and the one that you expected to save the world, breathe His last on the cross, you come to the empty tomb to have an angel tell you that Jesus is not here.  He was dead, but not anymore.  In fact, He’s already out and about in the world.  Go tell the world.  Would you believe it?  It’s a pretty crazy idea, right?  This whole resurrection business...  Would you say anything?  Who is going to believe that Jesus was dead, but is now alive?  What if you didn’t say anything out of fear?  The story would be lost?!?!  THAT’S TERRIBLE!!!  The very best ending to an episode- a to be continued... Jesus' story wraps up for now with His victory over death, but it's just the beginning of our new life in Him!! And we, as Jesus’ dear friends, as God’s beloved children, are called to tell this story just like the women and disciples.  Share the Good News!  It’s a miracle and it’s worth SHOUTING it out!!!!

Prayer:  Father God, WOW!  You are amazing.  Amen!

Good Friday

“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  At three o’clock, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’  When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’  And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’  Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’”  -Mark 15:33-39

Jesus was forsaken by God?!?  That doesn’t seem right...  Don’t we believe that God is always with us?  That we are never alone?  So much so that as kids we were creeped out to think of God hangin around while we were in the bathroom?  Right?!  So what gives?
We are never alone.  Jesus promises this in the last part of the gospel of Matthew.  God is always with us.  And yet Jesus felt forsaken by God...
What is sin to you?  Bad stuff that we do or say?  Everyone sins right?  Except Jesus, of course, He was without sin.  Which was why He was the perfect sacrifice.  Out of love, Jesus died for our sins.  And because He took on the sin of the world He felt far from God.  Far enough to feel forsaken.  Sin to me is anything that does just that- takes us further from God, from following His will in our lives.  So if Jesus took on the sin of the world, that’s an awful lot of stuff to take Him far from God.  I think this agonizing question that Jesus cries out while on the cross is here to show us that our sin does turn us away from God.  But, Jesus can turn us around.  If we ask for forgiveness, we will never feel forsaken because we will never, ever be forsaken.  Praise Him for this act of love!!!  I think it also is meant to connect us to God.  To know that Jesus, though He Himself did not sin, felt the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness that comes from sin.  Does knowing He has felt that way make you feel closer to God, more understood by Him?

Prayer:  Gracious Father God, thank You for Your outstanding sacrifice.  We pray today for those who are persecuted for their faith and even accept death over betrayal.  As we mourn Your son today, may the feeling of hopelessness and sadness, make the Easter celebration all the more hope-inspiring and joyful.  Amen.

Fully Human

“They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’  He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated.  And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’  And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.  He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’”  -Mark 14:32-36

This is one of those moments in the Christ story that we see just how human He is.  Jesus is filled with emotion.  Overwhelmed and anxious.  Considering He knew where this night was leading, it’s no wonder.  But how often do we think about this part of the story.  The part that made Jesus fully human.  He needed His friends close-by and He needed to talk to His Father.  Did you know that Abba is the Aramaic term for “Dad”?  He is dramatic about it.  He throws himself to the ground.  Have you ever had to sit down or lie down because of how you felt?  You were so tired, or sad, or depressed, or at a loss that you just couldn’t bring yourself to do anything else.  Or to express your anger or despair, you screamed into a pillow, pounded your fist down on the table or crumpled to the ground in a heap.  Here Jesus is having a similar emotional response.  He throws Himself to the ground to come before His Father with an honest prayer.  After being honest with Himself and God, and acting on what He was feeling, He was able to then accept His purpose.  The “cup” that is talked about is Jesus’ destiny to be Savior of the world.  Through this prayer He comes to terms with His destiny, with what God wants from Him and can move forward, entrusting His life to His Father God.  The point?  Well one of the take homes I get from this story is that it is ok to come before God having an emotional breakdown and making outrageous requests.  In the end though, peace will come to those who trust.
Prayer:  Father God, help us to throw ourselves completely into your love’s promise and plan for our lives.  Grant us peace and fearlessness.  Thank you for listening to us and accepting us as we are.  Thank you for not giving up on us and always asking us to follow you.  Amen!