What does a kind life look like?

What does a kind life look like?

Friday, April 29, 2016
Mark Cirino 

What does a life of kindness look like? Being kind to one another is a really good thing. When someone does an act of kindness towards me, it makes me feel really good. My heart is warmed, When I do an act of kindness towards someone, it makes me feel really good. I am uplifted. As I pondered these life-giving acts of kindness, I wondered what does a life of kindness look like?

I thought of my mom who recently turned 82. She is quite the character. Despite her nuances. Despite her idiosyncrasies. Despite her preferences which is a nice way of saying her stubbornness. Despite all of these, I love her dearly. One of the many reasons why I love my mom dearly is because of her kindness. I admire her kindness. I use her kindness as a role model for my life. Now, it’s not that she is the one who is always making a meal for the neighbors, or running errands for other people. It’s not that she doesn’t do these kind acts. She does do them. These are kind and good things to do. But it’s much deeper. It’s who she is. It’s how she has lived her life – with kindness.

My mom grew up in Japan during World War 2. This was when she was around 10 years old. She remembers evenings when she, her 4 sisters, her mother and father would be eating dinner and the air raid sirens would go off. They would have to jump up from dinner and start running to the bomb shelters which were caves dug into the mountain side. As they were running they would hear the engines of the US bombers. They would see and hear the artillery being shot at the bombers by the Japanese military positioned at the tops of the mountains. Quiet a horrific experience for a 10 year old. As you can imagine, she has many other stories.  Including that her father was killed when an US submarine that had snuck into the Sea of Japan and torpedoed the ship that her father, who was a civilian at the time, was on.

Here’s the thing though, my mom loves the Unites States of America. She is very honored to be an US citizen. She admires and speaks highly of our US Government and what this countries stands for. The Unites States of America is her home. We can’t get her to go back to even visit Japan. Why should she. As far as she’s concerned, Casapula’s makes the best Italian hoagies in the world, and they are ten minutes from her house. Why leave?

How can this be when the country you love was once set out to kill you, your family, and your nation? My mom could have become hateful, sour, untrusting, and cynical. But instead forgiveness has given kindness a place deep in her heart which then has made her life a walk of love.

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Ephesians 4:32

BTW, about 10 years ago, my mom showed me a little silver cross that she has carried in her purse since she was in her early 20’s. She and my dad were in a small group. Someone in the small group gave that cross to her. That was a kind thing to do. She said that she always prays to Jesus for her children. So that’s over 50 years of praying for her children. That’s a kind thing to do. That also brought to life for me the power of prayer.

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Kindness

Kindness

April 27, 2016

by Megann Graf

I’ve gotta be honest.  I know that this is a common saying, but I’m not a fan.  Mostly I’m not a fan because I’m a cynic, and it’s hard for me to see or say something like that and mean it sincerely.  But, I don’t think I’m alone here. 

When you use or hear this saying, aren’t you still ultimately trying to “annoy” someone else?  I mean, yes, we are supposed to be kind.  Yes, it’s important to be kind.  But, we are called to be sincerely kind.  Sometimes, I find myself just “acting” kind.  Now, I suppose the acting is still better than letting unkindness take over, but I’m fairly certain that it’s not what God intended when He was talking about us bearing good fruit.  Who wants to eat something that looks real but is actually fake?  (One time, I mistakenly thought that I was putting chunks of chicken on my salad, and it turns out it was tofu.  Trust me, tofu does NOT taste like chicken.  And faking my way through kindness is not bearing me any good, lasting fruit, and is definitely not a compliment to my Spirit.)

We all struggle with being kind.  Some struggle a lot and some a little.   Sometimes, it’s easier to just “act” kind, but it really can take on a whole new meaning, to us and to others, when we learn to sincerely be kind.  Sometimes that means we have to wrestle with the fact that it’s hard.  Sometimes, it feels like it’s killing US to be kind.  But, please, let’s not try and “kill” others with kindness.  That’s not the love they deserve. 

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other,

just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Be kind, not to annoy someone, or to “kill” them with kindness, but because God in Christ was kind enough to leave His rightful place in heaven and come to earth.  He came to forgive us by giving up His own life as a sacrificing atonement for our sins.  He didn’t kill us with kindness, but instead, He was killed for our transgressions.  It was not a fake act, it was the most sincere act of love and kindness for mankind in human history.  Let’s not “kill” anyone with kindness.  Let’s love someone with kindness, forgive them with kindness, heal them with kindness, encourage them with kindness, and show them Christ by our kindness. 

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Tempers Were Boiling

Tempers Were Boiling

Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Mark Cirino

It was hot, humid, and dusty. Tempers were boiling and about to explode. I felt like I was in a pressure cooker. This was an experience my wife Kelly and I found ourselves in when we decided to take the local train. We were in Athens, Greece back in the summer of 1985. We went slightly off the beaten (tourist) path and found a local train to take us further down the road. Apparently, so did some other tourists. There was even a tourist family - dad and mom with a couple of small children.

As we were squeezing onto the train, both the tourists and the locals started to realize that the ticket office sold too many tickets. That meant not enough seats. Nobody was happy about that. Kelly and I doffed our backpacks and crunched down on the floor near the doorway. The doors then closed. I heard tempers raging. Even though I couldn’t understand some of the languages, I knew that a bunch of mad, bad words were flying around the train car. Then the shoving started. I felt like I was in a pressure cooker. The heat was turning up. The pressure was building. We were going to explode. Oh no, I thought, should I try my best to protect Kelly, or should I jump in the breach and try my best to stop this thing from exploding (like that was really going to happen).

As I was suspended in my analysis of my self-reactions, I looked up to check the status of the impending explosion. I then noticed one of the locals get up from her seat and offer it to one of the tourist children. She then started to share her food and drink with the child. In an amazing instant, this act of kindness was like the pressure relief valve going off, letting the pressure out. The environment went from unkind to kind in an instant. I was amazed (and relieved). Locals and tourists were shaking hands, hugging, and settling in for the hot, dusty ride.

This local lady had a tender heart. She responded with kindness. She demonstrated the ability to go beyond her wants and needs to see and meet the need of a child. What a great picture of the love of Christ. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Lue 23:34). Even though the train car did not explode, my understanding of forgiving love certainly exploded that day. I guess I could say that I tasted the Lord and saw that He was good that day.

Remind yourself often by marinating your heart in God’s Word:

John 3:16

“God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that
  whoever believes in him shall not parish but have eternal life.”

Luke 24:34

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

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I Can't Believe It

I Can’t Believe It

April 25, 2016
Mark Cirino

I can’t believe it. At 3:30 pm Sunday afternoon, I blew it. Unkindness snuck right back in, and I had just preached a sermon on kindness that morning.

I was driving down Chambers Rock road on the way to Kyoto Restaurant in Pike Creek. I was excited. We were celebrating my mother’s 82^nd birthday. And, it had been a while since my brother, my two sisters, myself, and my mother had all been together. My mind was racing with other thoughts as well. Like I was thinking that I was glad that I didn’t have a dog anymore (don’t worry, I love dogs) because I wouldn’t of been able to find it in our back yard. The grass has grown so tall because I haven’t gotten around to cutting it. And then there were all those things I didn’t get around to at work. And then, the list goes on (and on).

I was approaching the single lane bridge. May I remind you that the side I was approaching has the yield sign.  But, I was behind someone who was crossing the bridge. Ah ha, I thought, I can blow right through that yield sign. That person in front of me is paving the way for me. And besides, the person on the other side is already at a stop. Why stop my car, and have to start it up again, and waste gas and produce more pollution. That’s a kind thing to do, isn’t it?

My busy little mind swayed my focus on self. My busy little mind blurred my definition of “behind.” Was I really behind that person crossing the bridge, or did I think I would be behind by the time I crossed the bridge due to the fact that my foot was pressing on the gas a bit more. As I crossed the bridge, I was met with an angry driver slamming on his brakes, arms in the air, glaring at me, saying something (glad I didn’t hear it). As I squeezed by him, our eyes met. I tasted my own unkindness. Yuck!

Did I produce into this man’s life the Fruit of the Spirit that he could taste to see that the Lord is good? No! I gave him a bad tasting fruit of my flesh that has no life in it. As I rolled on down the road, in my own disgust, there was part of me that wanted to go back and apologize to the man. But then, I thought that my motivation to do this was so that I would feel better. I was then brought back to my own sermon. I need to marinate my tough heart. To me, this is kind like a form of repentance. To take the focus off of self, and to refocus on God. So, I marinated my heart for the rest of the drive to the restaurant.

I believe, help me with my unbelief (Mark 9:24). I believe that God you are changing me. You are changing my tough heart into a tender heart full of the love of Christ. Help me with my unbelief. I am being renewed day by day (1 Corinthians 4:16). The Holy Spirit is doing this to me day by day by day by day. Thank you God!

Marinate your heart in God’s Word a little more than necessary.

BTW, dinner was fabulous. Time with my mother, brother, and sisters was precious. I had the Dinner Bento Box with Salmon. My mom had this too. I learned that when you’re at a Japanese restaurant with someone who is Japanese (my mother is Japanese), order what they order.

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Kindness

Sunday, April 24, 2016
Mark Cirino

KINDNESS

Ephesians 4:31-5:2 (ESV)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

  

Take a moment to think about how you react when someone is unkind to you. And what about those time when you were unkind to someone? How did you feel after you committed those acts and thoughts of unkindness? Would you like to make some changes?

Let God through his Holy Spirit change you on the inside so that instead of reacting with unkindness you respond with kindness in a way that is tenderhearted and loving.

BELIEVE that God will change you

Remind yourself about God’s FORGIVENESS

Walk in LOVE like Christ

Now think about how you feel when someone does something kind to you? And think about how you feel when you do something kind to someone. This is life in God’s Kingdom. This life is available to all of you. Just let the Spirit lead you there. 

BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER

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Under Construction

Under Construction

Friday, April 22, 2014
Gary Arntessoni

Under construction! That's a good way to describe our new life in Christ. God is remaking us, renewing us, bringing about in us the new creation intended for the whole world. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I have heard it said before, "God loves you just the way you are, but loves you too much to leave you that way." God's goal for us is to become more and more like Jesus.

No one needs to tell me about my brokenness and sin. I'm very aware of it. I see how it sabotages my life. But the good news is that God is remaking my life so that my brokenness is not the focal point of my story.

It's the reason Jesus came. In fact, one day when Jesus was in the synagogue he stood up to read the Scriptures. They handed him the scroll of Isaiah and he read,

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

Then he rolled up the scroll, and said to them, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And, as always, they were amazed at his words.

When Jesus read this passage he was saying, "This is why I am here." This is what I have come to do in you and in every person who will follow me.  We are all poor, blind, prisoners, in need of God's grace to set us free! It is what we have in common, and that fact calls us to patiently care and minister to each other.

  

PBPGINFWMY - Please be patient God is not finished with me yet! 

I need grace and patience because I am under construction... and so do you, for the same reason. 

What does this construction look like? Is it a makeover, a coat of paint, or clear down to the foundation?

C.S. Lewis describes it this way, "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

God is making each of us into a living house in which God himself dwells... We are under construction, and the architect is God!  And as God takes up residence in us, we have the privilege of spreading God's love and grace to every person we meet.

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”      2 Corinthians 5:17

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Pickles and the Spiritual Life

Pickles and the Spiritual Life

Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Gary Arntessoni 

James Bryan Smith, in his book The Good and Beautiful God says, spiritual growth "is a lot like making pickles. To make a pickle we first need to get a cucumber. Then we need to create the brine and vinegar solution for soaking the cucumber. If we dip the cucumber in the solution and quickly pull it out, all we have is a baptized cucumber. In order for it to become a pickle, it needs to soak in the brine for six weeks or so. Slowly and imperceptibly, the solution works its way into the cucumber, changing it to a pickle."

He goes on to say . . . . "It takes six weeks to make a pickle but making a disciple of Jesus Christ takes longer."

Spiritual growth requires patience. I need to slow down in order to address and grow in my spiritual life.  God is in the process of changing us to be more like Jesus Christ, so that the life that we live becomes more of an expression of Jesus’ love and grace.

This process of spiritual transformation takes place from the inside out, as the Holy Spirit brings about a new way of life in us. This also means that we participate in growing from the outside in, through spiritual disciplines, and other activities that bring us into God's presence.

As the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Train yourself in godliness, for while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8)  Spiritual Disciplines are the activities that develop our spiritual lives. We engage in them regularly, daily, sometimes hourly. They are part of the rhythm of our lives.

“A spiritual discipline, therefore, is the concentrated effort to create some inner and outer space in our lives, where this obedience can be practiced. Through a spiritual discipline we prevent the world from filling our lives to such an extent that there is no place left to listen. A spiritual discipline sets us free to pray or, to say it better, allows the Spirit of God to pray in us.” [i]

Spiritual disciplines are regular activities, usually founded in Scripture, which are intended to facilitate Spiritual Growth.  As Richard Foster says, “Spiritual disciplines are a means of receiving God's grace. They allow us to place ourselves before God so God can transform us." [ii]

In order to grow spiritually we need to intentionally order our day to make room to connect with God.  It is through this kind of ordering that the "pickling effect" takes place.

So today, take time to be with God, and allow God’s transforming power to capture your heart.

Reflection Questions:

#1 How can I order my day so that I can meet with God?

#2 What spiritual practices do I feel really help me connect with God? (Are they practices of prayer, Bible reading, community, Bible study? Or others?)

#3 Is there a certain area of my life that I would like God to work on?

#4 Are there other people I could ask to join me in community as I work at spiritual growth?

Remember Paul's reminder to the Philippians, and to us . . . .

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6

God is with you! Be reassured of that fact!

---

[i]. Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds. Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups (San Francisco: Harper, 1993), 95.

[ii]. Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988), 7.    The word “Practice” is my addition.


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Patience!

Patience!

Monday, April 18, 2016
Gary Arntessoni

I am not a patient person! Yes, it's easier to preach about patience than to actually live it. I still find myself feeling impatient when I am driving to the office (long suffering) and I end up behind someone who is going 20 mph in a 45 mph zone.  “How long O Lord? Till I get to the church office?”  Yes, it's a different kind of waiting. In fact, such a superficial kind of waiting that I'm afraid to even mention it.

What about those who are waiting for a real crisis to pass. A devastating illness, the end of a relationship, trying to find a place of employment? These are the real life, tough situations we find ourselves in. “How long O Lord” until this passes?

I don't mean to be trite, because I know pain is real, but in the midst of our trials it's important to know that God's timing is different than ours. If you go back to the 2 Peter 3 passage I preached on yesterday, you'll find that verse 8 says, “ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

God's timing, and God's economy are very different than ours.

It reminds me of an old joke: A man was talking to God and he asked, "God what does 100 million years seem like to you?" God answered, "One hundred million years? That's like a second to me." Then the man asked, "God, what's 100 million dollars seem like to you?"  And God responded, “One hundred million dollars? It seems like a penny to me." The man’s eyes perked up and next he asked, "Hey God could I borrow a penny?" to which God answered, "Sure. Just a second."

This is a funny reminder that God is different than we are. Isaiah 55:8 says, “"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.”

God has promised to be with us. No matter where we are, no matter what we're going through. God is present in the midst of the pain and suffering with experience.  The Lord is faithful to keep his promises. Remember 2 Peter 3: 13, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

Patience results in a deep abiding trust in God. An ability, even in the midst of difficult times, to know that God is present, watching out for us. A knowledge God will see us through to the end. When we struggle it does not mean that God has abandoned us. In fact it is just the opposite, God is close, closer than we realize.

Are you feeling like God is absent today?  Wondering if God is still available to you?  If that's the case, take a moment and think back about your life. On a blank sheet of paper write down the ways that God has answered prayer for you during your lifetime. Take time to think back about how God has shown up in the past for you. What have you experienced, that as you think about it is a result of God's presence in your life and your family?

Take a moment to thank God for those moments… And as you do, be reminded that if God has been with you in the past, God is with you today, and will see you through whatever your present trial might be.

The pages of the Bible are full of people waiting on God, and God waiting on people.

“…but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.”

 Isaiah 40:31

Psalm 40 - Waiting

Psalm 40  Waiting

Sunday, April 17, 2016
Gary Arntessoni  

Think about the last time you saw a big line and thought, "I'm looking forward to standing in that line."  That's not how we think. Long lines are something to avoid. We try to arrive earlier than everyone else, we try to get there during nonpeak hours, we try to avoid long waits. 

In Psalm 40 the writer talks about waiting patiently for the Lord to help. This is not a casual waiting, he has been in the pit of despair, stuck in the mud and the mire. The language indicates all other Hope has been exhausted, "I hope intensely for God alone."

Yet, this is a song of thanksgiving because hope does not disappoint. God shows up, answers, rescues... And the long wait ends.  And now the psalmist wants to sing praise- to tell everyone... Look! God came to my rescue... Be patient, your time will come. 

Psalms come in different literary forms. Psalm 40 is unusual because it combines thanksgiving with lament.  Praise mixed with sorrow- from mountain top to valley, and back again. Long lines, waiting, patience, and slow answers.  

The reality of life is etched into the rhythm of this psalm. We bring God our concerns, and we wait. As we wait God is at work in ways we do not imagine. Suddenly, the answer comes. We have new freedom. There is a lightness to our step... until we find ourselves back in the valley.  

Each time we reach out to God, God hears, draws near, steadies our feet, and puts a new song in our mouths.  This has been Israel's story and it is our story today as well.

When we read this psalm we participate in the whole saving memory of Israel.  Life moves in and out. In life, the joy of deliverance is immediately confronted by the despair and fear of the pit.  

But there is hope because the reality we find ourselves facing is set in a deep trust in God... When we are in need, we can patiently wait- because our God will answer and act on our behalf. 

Be patient, the Lord is near! 

Psalm 40

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

4 Blessed is the one
    who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
    to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many to declare.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
    but my ears you have opened—
    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll,
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
    I do not seal my lips, Lord,
    as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
    from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
    may your love and faithfulnessalways protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
    and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

14 May all who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.

Is Faith This? Or . . . . .?

Is Faith This?  Or . . . . .?

Friday, April 15, 2016
Jeff Lampl

Because I was after a girl in college . . . . . 

I agreed to go to her Campus Pastor to “get saved” so that . . . .

I would be acceptable to her.    She knew I was not a believer so she wanted God to fix me.  Of course I agreed because the payoff was her.

Into the campus ministry headquarters we went, where a cool, hip Christian student leader met us.   It was really uncomfortable, kind of like going to a doctor who was going to do something bad and permanent to me.

He explained that God loved me, had a plan for my life, that Christ died for my sin and that if I believed and prayed the right prayer I would be a Christian and could go to heaven when I die.   I prayed the prayer.

He then explained faith to me.  He said it is one thing to believe that I can jump over a chasm, but faith is actually jumping.  

But that made things confusing.   What if I believe but don’t always act on what I believe?  What if I don’t always jump when I’m supposed to?   Does that mean that my faith isn’t real and that God is mad at me and that I might not go to heaven?   And then there was the prayer dilemma.   What about all those times I pray for someone and the person gets worse?   Is it my fault because my faith is too weak?   Am I then actually a detriment to God and to others?

Now, decades later, I ask myself, what if faith is more like confidence in God than striving harder to serve Him?  What if faith is realizing that God has bridged the chasm between him and us?  What if faith is not my leaping, but His bridging?

What if faith is  not about trusting God to make my life better, rather it’s trusting God no matter how heavy the cross, no matter how poorly I succeed in being the person I should be?   What if faith is not my striving to make bigger leaps, but about his carrying me over life’s chasms?   Maybe that’s what Hebrews 6:19 means.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

Hebrews 6:19 (NIV2011)

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Having doubt and having hope

Having doubt and having hope

Thursday, April 14, 2016
Megann Graf

How is it possible to not have doubts when we live in a world where so many things don’t make sense?  How is it possible to live without hope, when God’s power is so mightily displayed?   It’s quite a pickle we’re in when we think that these two things cannot exist at the same time.  We want to flip back and forth.  But, what if they are meant to coincide? 

In the book “Help my unbelief” by Barnabus Piper, he talks about two kinds of doubt, unbelieving doubt and believing doubt.  He says, “Unbelieving doubt is that which destroys fragile beliefs.  Believing doubt is that which strengthens our beliefs.  Instead of letting unbelief in, it ventures out in faith san seeks to waylay it.  Just as unbelieving doubt is against belief, this sort of doubt is the driving force behind belief.  It is the catalyst to find what we believe rather than the obstacle from keeping us from it.  It starts from the place of simple belief and becomes stronger as it encounters, engages and overcomes unbelief.  And it can do this because it is belief backed by a real, good God.  It is not merely intellectual sparring, but rather spiritual engagement through the Holy Spirit.” 

I love that thought- that when I have doubts WITH belief, that I am engaging with the Holy Spirit.  He doesn’t want me to follow along like some puppet, He wants me to have faith, yes, but not blind faith.  He is big enough to allow me to say “why God” not in anger and bitterness, but mixed with the acknowledgement that He is so much bigger than I am.  I KNOW he knows the why.  I KNOW he has the answers.  I know that my mind cannot comprehend the beauty of His sovereignty.  Any yet, I believe that it is through believing doubt that we have hope.  That’s the difference between unbelieving doubt and believing doubt to me.  Unbelieving doubt is hopelessness.  It keeps us captive in despair, it pulls us into cynicism and anger.  But believing doubt, that is hope.  It says, that even though I don’t understand, I believe that He does.  Even though I can’t see what’s coming or make sense of senselessness, He can.  My belief gives me faith and my faith gives me hope that He is good, all the time. 

“’Lord, I believe, help my unbelief’ is the best any of us can do really, but thank God it is enough.”  - Frederic Buechner

Is this how it is?

Is this how it is?

April 13, 2016
Jeff Lampl

“in this hope we were saved”

Romans 8:24 (NIV2011)

Whenever anyone has asked, “have you been saved?”, my thought has been . . . . . .

“saved from what?”.    The Picture above is of Liam Niesen in the movie, “The Grey”.   I saw it years ago, but I can’t get it out of my mind because it begs the question, “Is this how life really is?” 

Spoiler alert:   A plane crashes in Alaska and there are about a dozen survivors (alert: lots of gore and profanity)  Niesen’s character leads the survivors on a trek through the arctic wilderness hoping to find civilization and rescue, all the while being chased by a pack of wolves.   They were seeking salvation (the Bible’s word for rescue).   One by one, each of the survivors is picked off by the wolves or they die in some other way.  The movie ends with Niesen alone, hopelessly preparing to fight off the ravenous wolves who are about to devour him.   In this final scene he recites this poem.

Once more into the fray. 
Into the last good fight I'll ever know. 
Live or die on this day. 
Live or die on this day. 

Could it be that this is what life is really like?   We do our best to live, love, achieve, eat, find pleasures, but mostly struggle, until death picks us off one by one?   Is that it?   Could Shakespeare be right that life is a tale told by an idiot?   Could it be that there is no deeper meaning in anything?

Yet if the movie is intentionally nihilistic (depicting a meaningless world), it fails to achieve its goal.   It, like all other attempts at depicting a nihilistic world, contains within it signs of hope, of rescue, of salvation, of healing, of “something more” existing beyond this material world.

Each survivor changed.  Each softened.  Honesty and altruism grew.   Vulnerability replaced the masks.  Each had moments of introspection, moments of reflecting on what really mattered.   Some grew in moral character.   They became real.   They were getting saved from themselves and when they died, they died different people. 

It’s simply unavoidable.   A hope, a “something more” than what is, is built into the fabric of the world that can’t be squelched.   It appears at the most unlikely and hopeless of times, and it appears to the most cynical and hopeless souls among us.  

It is the message that there is indeed something more, that each of us is something more, and the something more is not just a place “out there” toward which we are being driven, but it is a “something more” which touches the soul of each of us and pulls us toward it.   Ultimately Christians conclude that this something more is God and that the something more that God starts in each of us is his transformation into Christlikeness.   Christians have also concluded that transformation in this life precedes life in the next.

Could it be that suffering, rather than proof of a cruel meaningless, nihilistic world, is instead God’s (coopted from evil) best tool to bring about the salvation of each of us and of world?   The most fundamental thing in all of Christianity is that Good Friday led to Easter Sunday.

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Faith

FAITH

April 11, 2016
Jeff Lampl

“faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.”   Hebrews 11:1-2 (NIV2011)

My college roommate was planning to . .  . 

enter seminary after graduation and become a Presbyterian minister.   I was not a believer at the time so one night I asked him something like, “why do you believe in God?  How do you know there is a God?”   His answer was immediate and straightforward.   He said, “it’s faith”.

I can’t remember if I said this to him or not, but I do remember thinking “that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

To me his answer sounded like nothing, like an answer without content, an answer that was completely meaningless.   How could anyone believe something simply because he decided to believe it?   I reasoned that I could do that with bigfoot, or space aliens or the tooth fairy.

As an aside my roommate did go on to become a Presbyterian Pastor.   I went on to marry a believer, who later divorced me at least in part because I wasn’t a believer.

All these years later, now as confident believer, I still struggle with the meaning of the word faith.

According to Hebrews 11:1 faith is confidence in God, assurance that my hope in God will be rewarded, even though I can’t see what will come of it.   But where does my confidence in God come from?   Here’s how it has happened for me.

Divorce caused me pain, which drove me to God.  So, yes I took a leap of faith without any rational basis for that faith other than the thought that if there is no God then life is simply idiotic, hopeless and meaningless.  That was first.  

Next I made a commitment to Christ.  I felt nothing emotionally, but I did have this sense that the decision was irrevocable.   I did not sense that it was irrevocable because of the strength of my commitment, rather it felt irrevocable because I sensed that even I couldn’t revoke it.

  

Over the next 8 years in a singles group I discovered a joy with other people I had never experienced before.  That provided some evidence that God might actually be doing something.

As the years passed something else really great happened.   It seemed as if the entire world opened up to me in a new way.  I could see everything as God’s world and from this perspective I could understand in a new way science, politics, history, theology, world religions, philosophy, psychology, nature, and more . . . it now all began to make sense.  It’s like the world had begun to become intelligible, as if I was beginning to see it as it is.

As these things began to take place it became patently obvious and logical to me that I must give myself over to the reality of God.

Then I began to get it, really get it.  I finally began to understand the Bible, the Big Story of the universe, who we human beings are, how we and all of nature are written into the story and how the story works.   I get it that God created a good world, that it went wrong, and that God is making all of it new and that each of us is written into this Big Story of God-making-all-things-right for a purpose.

There’s one more thing.   I’m not convinced that I have had anything to do with any of this.  I can’t prove this, but it feels like God has simply carried and directed me every step of the way from before conception to this moment, even and especially when I was and am a rebel.  I look back and nothing is clearer to me than that anything good was all God.  Alternatively, when I look ahead I know that freely choosing to align my will with God’s is my responsibility.

How would you describe “faith” in your life?


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