A Cause For Pause…

Salvation, like life it is a journey. It is fast and it is slow, with often our greatest gains during our deepest sorrows as we wait for God who so often seems slow to respond. Yet it is in this seemingly quite period that God’s grace is often already at work in our lives. In the darkness we are drawn toward the light of Christ and grow stronger in our faith as we maintain our hope in God. “Those who wait for the lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

Unfortunately, so many Christians take only half of the journey, then quit. This seems to wrap up most of humanities view of living with God. We live with little thought of a renewed relationship with our Creator. We are willing to take the refreshing drink of life from the Lord so long as it doesn’t interfere with our living arrangements, so long as it does not cost too much. No job, no corporation, would take such a half hearted effort as the one most Christians give our Lord. It would be like showing up only on pay day for a week’s wage, time after time.

Salvation is a long and beautiful journey with pain and joy interwoven to make our own distinct pattern; a quilt of our life with God and Creation. To think we should only give the Creator one moment of life as we confess with our mouth our devotion to the Lord misses most of the grace of God that has been offered. Can we imagine the life God has in store for us? Only if our eyes are open and the desire of our heart is in tune with the Holy Spirit of God. We must read, we must pray, we must journey to grow and prosper in the greatest of all relationships. How unfortunate to live a life with God on our lips but not on our heart. How unfortunate to stumble through the shadows of existence avoiding the light of Christ because we fear we may lose control or be changed. The writer Henry James once wrote “It’s time to start living the life you’ve imagined.” It is time to start living the greater and deeper life God has offered.

God Bless You

Pastor Rick

May you see the glory of God in sun and sky; may you hear the Creator’s song in bird and breeze, and may the grace of Christ’s Spirit course through you, body and soul. (author unknown)

If people were like earthworms, then maybe they could grasp some of the greatness of Christ.

They take the garbage and manure of life, the discarded waste of humanity and turn it into some of the richest, healthiest dirt designed by God.  That enriched soil then gives nutrients to the plants of creation which within the food chain gives life to all land mammals.

People on the other hand….Create garbage, and waste, then try and bury it somewhere so they don’t have to see it or deal with the trash they produce and then wonder why life smells so bad.   In short we are better at destroying life than we are at enriching the world and those around us.

The worm knows its place in the world, in the universe, more importantly in life, and performs its’ Divine assignment, reaching its’ potential; how many people do?

In times of difficulty there seems to be great volume of wisdom to which we can turn.  In the 1960’s Paul McCartney of the Beatles wrote that in times of trouble we should “Let it Be.”  It made a great song and letting some things be is certainly wise.  As they say “let sleeping dogs lie.”  But most of life has to be dealt with even if it is unpleasant.  So in times of trouble I prefer the wisdom of three men who have faced and suffered greater trials than I ever hope to endure.  The first is the 20th century Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the second is St. Paul the apostle and first century Christian martyr, and the third is no less than our Lord Jesus the Christ.

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By looking at the Christ we have our best opportunity to understand life, love, tragedy, and redemption.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
- Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest human minds at unlocking the mysteries of creation understood the power and beauty of that which is beyond our grasp of understanding.  Maybe it was the beauty of it that kept him thinking and dreaming about the unknown and the keys that unlock the doors of understanding, one at a time.

God is the greatest of all mysteries.  This is why faith is so difficult to understand for those without its comfort.  They cannot own it, or create it with their rules;  it is Grace and this is one blessing we cannot control or enforce.  It must be accepted then set free to bless all others.  The minute we tie it down, it is dead, ceases to exist within the borders of our laws.  If we deny others are worthy then we have killed it within our breast.  For Grace comes from the very breath of God, and as Jesus said “we cannot tell which way it will blow.”  Nor is it for us to decide.  Thank God, otherwise we would all be damned by someone!

Seriously, thank God and enjoy the mysterious Grace given to us by our Lord, the Christ.

Well it is fast approaching.  Or according to the retail stores it has arrived!  Yes, it blew by Halloween, is making a quick flyby of Thanksgiving and all the while the tinsel is hung and the trees are up throughout retail land.  Welcome once again to the extended version of the Christmas Season.   So let us go straight to the buying and selling at the Temple gates and oh by the way how about some pumpkin pie with that purchase?  I’m tired already and what’s this all about anyway?

Maybe we should start with Advent, the ancient Christian practice of waiting on Christ.  The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The Season is focused on celebrating the first arrival of Jesus the Christ and the continued anticipation of the Lords’ second arrival in power.  It is a time which will renew and restore Creation to its’ rightful place in the Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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It can be a Rocky trip to get to the cross.   While recently staying in a Colorado cabin, I and a large friendly dog belonging to the camp managers decided to take a hike up the mountain trail where a cross was planted at the edge of one of the cliffs.  The dogs’ name is Rocky and he was both good at finding the trail and wondering off  to check out the sights and smells.  I trusted the local mountain dog and to some degree my own ability to maintain a sense of direction.

The result is that we ventured further and further from our destination and deeper into the mountains.   The scenery was beautiful and inspirational.  The hike and climb also made for a good work out.   I say climb because following Rocky lead to some rather difficult routes through strenuous terrain.  The journey was beautiful, inspirational, and healthy; could a person ask for a better way to spend their limited time on earth?
But let’s not forget about my original destination, the cross.

As we wandered back and forth, first east then west with some north and south thrown in we were what I would call searching but not lost.  This is because I knew basically where I was, I just could not get to where I wanted to be, which now was back home.

One thing about a mountain is that not only is it beautiful, and good to hike or climb, but it should be respected with great care; because you can’t whip creation; mountain, desert, jungle, or ocean.   Often you survive the journey, enjoy it and learn from the experience.

As the thirty minute hike turned into one hour, then two going on three, we traveled over ridges, down ravines through Aspen stands, meadows, and almost continuous rows of Ponderosa Pines.  I began to think this is a lot like life.  As I followed Rocky along a six inch wide trail with a rough ten to twenty foot express to the bottom, depending on which way you tumbled; I noticed the route seemed more suitable for the dog than a person.  On the other hand he did tuck his tail, not a good sign; sometimes those we follow don’t really know what’s best for us or them!

At this point I knew it was time to stop just talking to the Lord and start giving up control to God to get me and Rocky back, preferable in one piece.   Often I began an adventure, or just the day, knowing what I want and what I think is best, yet the good and exciting things often side track me to the point that I only think I’m in control and know just exactly where I am.  My focus often ceases to be the Christ as I attempt to seize the day, Carpe Diem!  Of course “seizing the day” and focusing on Christ are not opposites.  In reality it is experiencing each day and moment with God that truly gives us the day and plenty of adventure to boot.

It’s beautiful, healthy, and fun, yet the majesty of the mountain, the trees and ridges, kept me from finding what I had set out for, the cross.  Just because something meets our understanding of good and pleasurable does not mean it is best for us, others, or in the proper prospective in regards to what we consider most important.  I have found what we say is not nearly as important as what we do.

I eventually turned it over to God, deciding to head down the mountain based on some far away landmarks forsaking the beauty around me and concentrating on getting home.  It was only then that I found both Cross and home.  Do we listen to God or do we insist we know the way or follow someone else?