bloganovel

Dan Edelen at Cerulean Sanctum has a very thoughtful post on the rat race. When did our culture drive us to such an insane pace of life, and why did we let it? Do we really like being stressed and stretched way out of shape?

On the other hand, I have to ask if there are still people in America that take a slower pace. I'm not just talking about the Amish, but about plain, simple folk. If we step out of our suburban, corporate world, who will we meet? Will we run across people who still do one thing at a time and do it well? Or has this disease spread through the whole of society and infected us all?

For those who feel like they just can't handle any more, Jesus has some good words. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." There is so much more grace available than most of us make use of. Is it time for you to find rest in Jesus?

Buddy Matt Zimmer has a good post on real love. Quote:

...in a world where sticks and stones may not break bones but name calling really hurts, in a world where some come to Sunday worship and sing "it's all about You Jesus" but inside it's really all about them, these words from Jesus really press in on a person.

Preach it, brother!

Herein is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us...

1 John 4:10

Update: The link was broke, but it ain't no more.

Brad Mercer of Dallas was one of those who went to the aid of the hurricane victims. Taking a Duck (amphibious vehicle) all the way to New Orleans, he and an old college roomate set out to do what they could. His tale is broken into three parts: What We Did; What We Saw; What I Felt.

From What We Did:

Each person was allowed to bring one bag with them. Men in the group handed bags and toddlers to me from the side of the duck. I sat them all down, lowered the ladder on the back of the boat, and then helped the people up, some of whom were old or sick. Then we received a report of an old lady trapped in an attic 18 blocks away. We apologized to the 25 people we had, knowing they were tired, some of them sick, all of them eager to get back to the freeway where big helicopters would take them to the New Orleans airport, from where busses would take them to refugee centers in other cities and states. They emphatically agreed, though, that we had to go look for the old lady in the attic.

From What We Saw:

I’ve seen giant cargo or tanker ships in the Mississippi River pushed up at a 45 degree angle against the shore. I’ve seen big, fancy yachts tossed completely out of the marina and set down, apparently undamaged, in parking lots and out on the shoulder of the nearby freeway. I’ve seen a marina where boats were tossed together like a child’s toy box. Growing up in tornado alley, I’m used to seeing the relatively narrow swath of utter destruction that a tornado can cause. But this week, I rode through that kind of destruction for hours. Between New Orleans and Biloxi is a forest that now looks like a game of Pickup Sticks. The limbs are stripped bare, and big, strong, healthy trees are snapped near the base like dry twigs.

From What I Felt:

One of the most remarkable emotional experiences was just the spirit of the workers. We must have seen agencies from 20 states represented. We saw every possible law enforcement and military agency from every possible level of government, as well as countless private organizations like us. It could have been a bureaucratic nightmare, but every leader we encountered, no matter how harried and overworked, was kind and willing to help and be helped. Every one of them offered to share their food and drink (but not their gasoline), and looked for ways to keep structure and coordination intact while still incorporating unexpected offers of help. Every one of them was working as hard as they could to make it work and get the job done. One Louisiana Parks & Wildlife leader snapped dismissively at us when we pulled up and tried to ask a question, but I spoke to him affirmingly and encouragingly and sympathetically for no more than two minutes before he was nearly in tears, talking about the challenges that he faced, offering us food and drink and a place to park our duck. That was probably the first moment in our adventure when I actually felt useful and valuable. I couldn’t captain the boat and I wasn’t a mechanic, but I could reflect to people their own value in a way that made it possible for them to work with us.

Read all three. They're worth the time.

From time to time, I like to go into my sitemeter and see what brings people to my little corner of the blogosphere. This morning, I found this phrase in a google search string: what do you do when you are unworthy to live?

The search took the seeker to my post Something to live for; something to die for. From the data the sitemeter collected, it looks like they didn't stick around long or read much. I do hope they come back. If I could talk to them, I would ask them why they think they don't deserve to live. I would try to understand what despair they are in. If necessary, I would help them get help.

I am not a counselor. I don't have professional credentials and I can't pretend to offer professional advice. But I can say "Don't give up hope! Whatever you have done, however you have failed, no matter what harm you have caused, there is One who loves you with an undying love.

His name is Jesus, and He has been seeking you since before you were born. He knows your name, your heart, your mind, and He loves you just as you are. He identified so completely with you that He took your unworth on himself and died in your place. But it didn't end there. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. He's there right now, cheering you on, calling you home, and offering hope! There is always hope, because He is alive today.

If you want to know more about Him, post a comment on this blog.

I'll be praying for you.

"I don't want to go to church! I need time to just sit still and talk to God!" my consciousness thundered inside me as I scanned the intersection ahead for errant or aberrant vehicle behaviors. I quickly considered my options: three blocks from church, two kids in the car with me, looking forward to Wednesday night activities. Guess I was locked in.

So I did my duty. I escorted the girls to their classroom, then meandered across the hall to the prayer and praise service, minutes from making its grand start. Getting comfortable in a chair, I tried to calm my mind, but I had too much going on, too many decisions to make. I needed answers and a quiet place to think, I thought.

Then the song leader got up and welcomed us. "Turn in your hymnal (yes, we still use hymnals - at least on Wednesday night) to hymn number 560 - 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus'.

As the piano played and we sang the familiar words "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him; How I've proved Him o'er and o'er", I realized - this is where I need to be.

Did I get all my questions answered? Not by a long shot. Did I solve my problems? Give me a break. What I did do was re-connect with the One who would be with me through the unanswered questions, who would give me strength to live life one problem at a time. And that was enough.

Simplistic religion? Maybe. If so, that's what I need. I rather see it as a personal relationship with a living Lord who knows me and loves me as I am. That is enough.

Update:

I am posting an answer to Stephanie's question in the body of the message so I can include some links.

Stephanie:
I guess some of the things I'd look for would be:

Am I accepted as I am, yet encouraged to become more like Christ?
Do they "get it" - do they know the Living God in a vital way and believe that He wants more than anything to be personally involved in the lives of His creation?
Does the church major on the majors (evangelism, prayer, compassionate ministries)?
Are they biblical and conservative in teaching?
Do they have a passion for what they believe?
Do they provide deep biblical teaching?
Are they clear in their doctrinal teachings?
Do they provide an inquirers/new members' class?
What is their purpose?
Do they encourage lay involvement, or do they expect the leadership to do all the work?

Other factors you might consider, depending on your situation and preference, might include children's and/or youth ministries, (do they have them? do they provide adequate safeguards? opportunity for ministry involvement?) and worship style (very much an issue of preference). Are they contemporary or traditional? Do you like a liturgical church or more casual atmosphere?

These are just some suggestions. I hope they help. I would encourage Dan or Scott or Ron or Barbara to chime in with any comments.

The Accident

When I was three, I was hit by a car that backed over me. My head was trapped between the tire and wheel well as I was dragged some distance. I spent a week or more in intensive care and ten days in the hospital. I don’t remember this event, but it was very much a part of my childhood, of who I was. It gave me a sense that God had a purpose for my life.

Childhood
I attended Catholic school for eight years. We had daily Religion classes. During one lesson, when I was in fifth grade, the nun was teaching from John chapter three. When she came to verse 3 where Jesus said, “…no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." She told us “We believe you are born again when you are baptized. Don’t ever talk to a Protestant about this. They’ll lead you straight to Hell.” Something inside me said “That’s not right.” So I prayed for God to show me the truth.

In junior high, I was extremely shy and self-conscious. Perhaps because of those traits, I became involved in drugs and alcohol. Much of high school is a blur for me. It would not be an exaggeration to say I was high all day every day for at least 3 or 4 years, and for most of an 8-year period. I would go to school high and get high in school, then get high when I got home again.

Grief and Loss
When I was about 15, I came home from school one day and knew something was wrong. My mom had had a stroke and had been taken to the hospital. For the next two years, she was in and out of the hospital. A month before the end of my junior year of high school, she had another stroke. This time she never recovered. After the funeral, my dad, who owned his own business, began to take longer and longer trips away from home. Sometimes he would be gone for two weeks or more.

Over the next several months, my dad made plans to move to Florida. One week, he just didn’t come home. It was a bit of a relief. Now I didn’t have to wonder when it would happen. It was the fall of my senior year of high school. My older sister quit her job in a hospital in Philadelphia, and took a job managing a kennel because it was closer to home. In addition to being paid, she received room and board. The family also gave me a place to live and a job cleaning the kennel on Saturdays.

During this time, I was very angry with God. I challenged Him to a fight. “If you’re such a man, why don’t you come down here and fight!” I yelled at the night sky. The sky remained silent, but God did not. He began to send people to talk to me. Sandy, the gardener at the estate where I worked, was a recovering alcoholic who had found God through AA and the church. The housekeeper was a Presbyterian woman, a single mother with a 10 year-old son. Both spoke to me about God’s grace. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very gracious to them.

Other Influences
Time moved on, and so did I. But I never forgot those lessons from Sandy and Florence. They had planted seeds. Others watered them. Still immersed in the drug culture, God began to teach me. I took another job and eventually rented a room from two brothers who were friends of mine, Steve and Lucky. Both were druggies. Lucky had taken so much LSD he could barely talk at times. However, he had something I needed. Lucky had found Jesus. Although he still struggled with drugs, he was faithful in reading his Bible and prayer, in church attendance and in witnessing. I was watching and I was listening.

But I wasn’t ready ready. Not yet. After a short while, I moved into my own apartment. I met a girl. Like me, she had grown up Catholic. Her father had become a Christian. The daughter at one point had professed faith in Christ. But she didn’t live it. Instead, she played at being a Christian to get what she wanted. But God used her. She was the one that gave me my first Bible. She also told me that if I asked Jesus into my heart, I should never ask Him to leave.

Forgiveness
Late one night, I began to read the opening chapters of Genesis. What I read sent chills down my spine. For the first time, I really began to deal with my own sinfulness. And I couldn’t see a way out. As I laid down to sleep that night, I prayed “O God, I know I am a sinner. I don’t want to be a sinner any more. I know the punishment for my sin is death – separation from You. I believe You sent Your Son to die for my sins, and I trust You to forgive me.” And I did. And He did.

In the days, weeks, and months that followed, I began to try to live for Jesus. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t know where to go to church, so I attended once or twice the Catholic church I had grown up in. But something was missing. During this time, drugs and alcohol were still very much a part of my life. But so was God’s grace. I would fail, and I would ask for forgiveness. And I would try again.

July 8, 1984
This went on for about 18 months. After about a year, I began to read the Bible in earnest. I had a series of challenges that took me to the point where I told my girlfriend “We’re going to church and we’re going to get saved, and we’re going to do this God’s way.” Since her dad was a Nazarene, we decided to attend the nearest Nazarene church. That morning, July 8, 1984, we went to church. After church, we went to the mall, where I bought a King James’ Bible. That evening, I watched Southern Baptist pastor Dr. Charles Stanley’s “In Touch” TV program. He preached on Romans 12:1-2:

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

Dr. Stanley talked about how God could give us power to live without sin even though we were in a world that tried to conform us. After the program, I put out my joint, closed the Bible and went to bed. Lying there that night, I considered my life – where I had been and where I was going. I didn't like what I saw. I began to talk to God. I told Him I would follow Him wherever he lead me, do whatever He wanted. I didn’t care if I felt anything. I didn’t care if it was hard. I trusted His strength. That was when He filled me with the Holy Spirit.

I awoke the next morning to a new life. God had changed me from the inside out. No longer did I struggle with the temptation to take drugs or drink alcohol. No longer did I have a foul mouth. I became involved in the church I had attended. The pastor took me under his wing. God made it clear that the relationship with my girlfriend had to end.

My friends gave this new life six months. As I write this, it has been over 21 years. God is faithful.

My story really isn’t about me. It is about God and the unlikely people He used to reach me – an alcoholic gardener; a single mother; a girlfriend I couldn’t trust; a drug addict I could; and a TV preacher.

To God be the glory.

Update: Do you have a story of God's transforming grace? Please share it. One of the wonderful things about the blogosphere is that it crosses ethnic, cultural, and geographic boundaries. It's a great place to tell the world what God has done!

My post about the importance of July 8th is written. The problem is that it's over 3,000 words and 60 paragraphs long. That's not a post - that's a book!

I'll take another look and see if I can edit it. I've left a lot out, but maybe I should cut more.

Blogging dad Dan Edelen has completed his series on business. I really need to read it all, and to make it easy, Dan has compiled a page of links to help us find it.

He also has a thoughtful post that echoes something I've pondered, namely:

Maybe we've done it all wrong. The amount of money I pay in insurance alone is criminal, but I'm probably underinsured compared with most people. I spend money to make sure nothing happens to my stuff, to my wife, to my child, or to me. Almost every insurance man I know is a backbone in his church. We talk about wise stewardship of the things God has given us, for sure, but what if our insurance was meant to come from the community of Christ instead? Should my house burned down, what if it was that community--a community that lived directly around me comprised of the saints of God--that shouldered that burden with me. And what if I shouldered theirs? Doesn't that make so much more sense than what we have now? [emphasis mine]

I think he's on to something here. He keeps thinking out loud, and comes up with this:

Sales of iPods continue unabated and people risk being oddballs if they don't have one. But what if we stopped working so hard to buy the massive overload of gadgetry we are told we must have in order to define ourselves or to keep us from being seen as out-of-step? Is out-of-step the worst label we could bear? Could we recover some portion of a life without these things, a life that has more of God in it and less Nokia or Sony or Dell?

Dan is a deep thinker and challenging. Read the whole thing.

He's got more going on, but I'll give you time to finish the first assignment. Back later.

If you're a regular reader, you know we recently attended the General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene in Indianapolis, IN. While time doesn't permit me to tell you everything about GA, I do want to mention a couple of things.

1) This GA was historic for at least 2 reasons. At General Assembly, delegates elect General Superintendents for the Church of the Nazarene. There are six Generals at any given time (currently). For the first time since 1915, someone who was elected to the General Superintendancy turned down the election. This was Dr. John Bowling, president of Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, IL. Dr. Bowling indicated that he did not feel that God had released him from his current position. Secondly, a woman General Superintendent was elected for the first time ever. Dr. Nina G. Gunter, formerly General Director of Nazarene Missions International, was elected to the General Superintendancy. Dr. Gunter is a wonderful Christian leader and I'm excited with her election.

2) At each GA, a service project is undertaken to give back to the host city. The Indy Star published a nice article that appeared on June 26. Unfortunately, the only way to get it online now is to pay for it, which I am loathe to do. A teaser is available here.

Quote from the Wonderful Wife: You know you're a Nazarene when you measure time in quaddrenniums (a four-year period, which is how often we have GA).

Do you have something in your life bigger than you are? Is there something you live for day-to-day? Do you have one overall purpose, goal, or aim?

Perhaps you live to educate others. You may live to heal as a medical professional. Your purpose may be the defense of the defenseless - as a policeman, fireman, or soldier. You may live to see justice done as a community activist. You may live for your children, your spouse, your family. All of these are good things. Some are even worth dying for.

You may live to make a living (they call that circular logic); to be a "success"; or to "win at life's game".

But maybe you've wondered if there is something bigger than that, something more important, something earth-shatteringly meaningful. You may be longing for a passion to consume you, a vision to drive you, a cause to make your life worthwhile.

You may be looking in the well of self, where the deeper you go, the darker it gets. You don't even know how to talk about it. You probably haven't even tried. In the clammy darkness, slime-covered walls pressing in all around, you scratch and scramble to find something, anything, that will light your way. The well of self is dark, empty, and cold, and always will be.

You may be seeking on the mountain of good works, self-sacrifice, and service. You're thinking that the higher you climb, the more you do, the "better" you are, the greater your chance of finding meaning. But the mountain is hard, and you're so tired, and you seem to slide ten feet back for every foot you claw forward. You need to realize, really know, that good works won't save you.

My prayer for you is that the Light of the world, who stepped down into darkness, will open your eyes. See His glory and His greatness. Let His light, love and grace consume you, His purpose enfold you.

In the church, we say that "God loves you, and has a plan for your life." To some, this may sound trite and empty. Others may have never heard of or even considered that possibility. But I, and millions like me, are living witnesses to the reality of that phrase.

I'm no better than you, or anyone else. I'm a begger telling another where to find food. All I can do is offer what I have first received, the grace of God.

You may have a thousand questions, doubts, and concerns. What will my friends think if I become some kind of religious nut? Will people laugh at me? Could I lose my job?

I can tell you that the friends that matter will applaud your courage in taking a stand. You don't have to be a nut to follow Jesus - but to some, it may look as if you are, because there will be a radical change in your lifestyle and priorities.

Some people may laugh at you, but should you let that stop you from doing what is right? From following the Truth? I don't think so.

You could lose your job, but in doing so, find a greater purpose. The late missionary Jim Elliott once said "He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep for what he cannot lose."

In the church of my youth, we prayed the following weekly: "O Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed." The path is simple - confess your sin, because everyone has sinned; decide now to stop sinning with God's help; trust Jesus to forgive you. He will because He has given His word. Receive Him knowing that as unworthy as you are, He accepts you.

If you've done this, you can have confidence that God, who never lies and never fails, has forgiven your sins. He has made you a new creation in Christ. The old has gone, new life has come.

You may have felt something in your heart - a cleanness or peace or joy that you've never felt before. You may have been moved to tears with an indescribable glory. Or you may not have felt anything more than a simple trust. Regardless of how or what you feel, know that God is faithful. He who freely gave His own Son for you wants more than anything in the world to know you and to reveal himself to you.

He's given us a way to do that. Through prayer, we talk to God, just telling Him what is on our minds. Through Bible reading, He reveals the riches of His truth and purpose. By spending time with others who share our faith, we strengthen our faith and theirs - the Bible calls it "iron sharpening iron". These things are important - essential really - to helping you grow spiritually.

If you have asked Jesus into your life, please let me know. It is important that you tell others what God has done for you. It is, in fact, your new purpose in life. I'm glad you've found it.