Peace in the Valley

Yesterday I paused....

It was not like hitting the "pause" button on the CD player, or temporarily stopping the treadmill, only to get back on and resuming my run. This was different. What happened after the "pause" contrasted greatly with what had occurred before.

Let me back up and start from the beginning.

I wanted to get off work by 4:00, but one thing ran into the next, and it was nearly five o'clock before I locked my office door and headed to the car. For some reason, even though the week was essentially one day shorter because of Memorial Day, it seemed that the week had gone on forever. I had things that I wanted to do before the sun set, and I was already an hour behind.

The drive home was uneventful, even if it was a little on the high side of the speed limit most of the time. I felt anxious as I waited for supper, working on a few things that I could do without worrying about being interrupted. Perhaps I didn't help as much with cleaning up afterwards as I rushed to get to my "tasks." I hoped that my wife would understand....

While I was working on my computer I noticed through the window in the kitchen that it was getting darker and darker outside. I checked the clock - in fact, I checked several to make sure that it wasn't sundown already. I confirmed that it was over an hour away, then went back to my work on the laptop.

But the Internet gods were not cooperative. I tried several times - even shutting off the computer and rebooting it, but to no avail. I had lost all connectivity.

While I don't believe that I am cursed with a bad temper any more, I was bordering on being perturbed. That is, until I heard the wind blow.

There is just something about the power of the wind that puts me in a state of awe. I love to watch the trees sway and listen to the roar of a good wind. So I sat back in my easy chair and just listened. It didn't last long, for it was soon replaced by the sound of the rain pouring down.

This wasn't an ordinary rain. This was a serious rain! I made my wife stop what she was doing and we turned out all of the lights in the house. There we sat on the couch, looking out the front window as the rain poured down. It wasn't long before the rain was joined with lightning and thunder, and soon we were enjoying a surround sound experience that rivaled anything that Hollywood could produce.

We sat there, not talking much, just listening and watching as nature put on a show. As the rain subsided a faint light started to glow in the west. It began as a light golden hue that subtly grew in brightness, slowly expanding under the dark clouds. The colors changed into oranges and pinks and purples, with one spot of a perfectly blue, cloudless sky opening to show that above the darkness there still was a day that was slowly slipping away.

I sat and took in every bit of the beauty, the power, and the experience that I could. All of the rush that I had felt before had melted away. Those deadlines I had set for myself were now unimportant and forgotten. There would be time to deal with those things later. Right now I had an appointment with my God as I welcomed in His sanctified day for me.

And on this day I have experienced a peace in our little valley that I believe God had planned for me all along. He who said "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" also promised me a peace that passes all understanding. And that is what I experienced last night, and renewed it as I worshiped Him today.

I pray that you experienced that in your life as well.

God bless you abundantly!

Table for Two, Please

What's on your menu?

I'm not talking about those recipes that grace your dinner table, or those trips you take down to the local fast food joints. I don't need to know what you've got in your cupboard. What I'm asking about is even more important than what you put in your mouth - more life-sustaining than the groceries in your refrigerator. My question has eternal consequences.

I don't know if I've thought about this question before in just this way. It came from some agonizing over a sermon that I was scheduled to preach. Usually I have more topics wandering through my mind than I can handle, so grabbing one to create a sermon is not that much of a challenge. But this time it just wouldn't come.

I started thinking of things that had happened in my life, and since I have lost some weight and am involved in Weight Watchers, I thought maybe something about that could be modified into a sermon. I checked out what the Bible has to say about food, and somehow started thinking on the similarities between a healthy life and a healthy relationship with God.

The parallels are uncanny....

When you eat food that has little or no nutritional value, your body suffers. When you put things into your life that have little or no eternal value, your relationship with God suffers. These things don't even have to be "bad," but activities that take you away from your time with God. I'm sure you can think of enough things that fit into this category.

In some countries people don't have the luxury of a variety of foods to eat, and may have to try to sustain their lives on an occasional bowl of rice. They become what we call malnourished. You've all seen the pictures of the children with the distended bellies and felt sorry for their condition. Yet we have Christians that are just as spiritually malnourished. They feel that a visit to church every once in a while - as long as it doesn't interrupt their plans - is sufficient to maintain their relationship with God. Reading the Bible, engaging in regular prayer, fellowshipping with other believers on a frequent basis - those are things that they plan to do later in their lives. After all, they are good people, and God understands their hearts.

Then there are those people with eating disorders. There are some that may appear to be eating a lot of food, but when you are not looking they "get rid" of it. They never truly get the nutritional value taken into their lives. They are impostors - appearing to be something on the outside, but living a totally different life when no one is watching. The example in the Bible that comes to mind would be the way that Jacob and his mother deceived the blind and aging Isaac by making a savory dish from a couple lambs and covering Jacob's arms with lamb's wool to make him feel hairy like his brother Esau. It may have smelled the same and felt the same, but inside it was a totally different person. You can see the parallel in the lives of some TV evangelists. In front of the public they are amazing persons - such wonderful Christians - but off camera it is a different story.

We all need to grow in our relationship with God. And just like any living thing, if it stops growing, it starts dying.

So what is on your menu? What are you going to do this week that is specifically designed to enhance your relationship with God? What is going to make a real difference in your eternal destination? What tasty meal will you serve up just for you and God to enjoy?

I'm sure you have all of the ingredients in your house right now!

God bless you abundantly!

Busy Day...

Last night I was writing a letter to my son Josh. I specifically had set the evening aside for that task - I didn't have anything else scheduled to do. As I was writing I realized that my pen was going faster and faster. I would literally tell myself to "slow down," and as soon as I turned my back (so to speak!) my pen would be going a hundred miles an hour again!

Here's part of the conversation I had in my mind.

"Why are you doing this? You don't have to rush, and it's okay to relax a bit. You're writing like you are in a race. Just let it go - relax!"

I started thinking about my week. It had been crazy busy, and I still had lists of things that I needed to get done. It reminded me of a song I have on an old record (yes, the vinyl kind - circa 1980) by Chuck Girard. The chorus goes like this: "Busy day, busy day, busy busy busy day, busy busy busy busy day (and then it repeats the same line again, but I think you get the picture!). What has always amused me (and I am sure that it was intentional) was the fact that even the chorus, as "busy" as it is, doesn't say anything. Like perhaps the busyness of my life not saying or meaning anything...?

Does that describe your life? Do you feel that you are on a runaway train that is gaining speed and heading to certain destruction?

How did we get here? What happened? When you were growing up did you dream of rushing through life, never taking the time to experience the blessings that God has for you, not having a dynamic relationship with friends and family, nor developing an eternal friendship with our Savior? Do you think that this is God's wish for you?

I don't know what your life is like, but for me I believe that God has something better in mind. Here are a few things that He wants to share with me (and possibly you):

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 17:33

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28 - 30

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:7

And while on this earth I may not fully experience all of the rest that He has planned for me, I know that soon He will be coming to take me to a place where I can rest in His love eternally. Where all of my burdens will be gone forever. Where I will enjoy true peace.

I would love to spend that time with you....

God bless you abundantly!

Money, Money, Money!

This is not a subject that people like to talk about. Oh, we are fine talking about what new "toy" we just bought, or the extravagant trip we are planning, or maybe even how our stocks are doing in the market. As long as we are controlling the "dough," we are okay bringing it up in a conversation. We can even throw a bill or two into the offering plate without thinking about it. But what is truly responsible use of the financial resources that God has given us?

What I am talking about is giving. How do we determine how much we should give? Do we wait for the right "need" to arise before we open our wallets, or do we have a plan for giving that takes the heart out of it? Is it a calculation of percentages, or is there something more involved with the way we should give?

There are interesting stories in the Bible about giving. In fact, someone said that Jesus spoke about wealth and finances more than He spoke about other subjects (I need to research that one for myself before I am convinced!). But it is true - He did say a lot about the topic of giving and wealth.

Remember the story of the rich young ruler? He had so much going for him, but when it came to parting with his possessions, he couldn't give them up. For me, I don't think that would be a problem - not because I am better than this young man, but because I don't have anything that is that nice. If the house burned down I would miss some things, but most need to be replaced anyway.

But I don't think it was about how good or great his possessions were - I believe it had to do with the giving part. You see, maybe he didn't have a problem with love for his possessions. Perhaps his issue was with having all of that money when he sold them, then having to turn around and give that money to poor people who never did anything in their lives to deserve it (and probably are just lazy). There is a sense we all have of doing what is "right," and this doesn't feel "right." Maybe if Jesus had said, "Put all of these poor people to work on your estate and pay them for the work that they do, and then come and follow Me," the story would have ended differently. But that's not what Jesus said.

What do you do when you see the man standing on the street corner with his hand-lettered sign. You've seen him there many times before, so you know that he is not just "trying to get enough money to get a bus ticket back home," even though that is what the sign says. Do you make a judgement and find him guilty? In your heart do you say, "He's not going to take advantage of me!"

You may be right. This man does not deserve a portion of your hard-earned cash. (I know what I am talking about, because I have had this conversation in my head many times!). There are two questions that have recently arisen in my mind. First, if this person is not deserving of my charity, do I go out and immediately look for someone that does deserve to be helped? If I have a few dollars to share, do I actively search for someone to help, or do I usually pocket the money for a rainy day? Second - what difference does it make if this man is really needing my money or he is just trying to scam me? There is the whole thing about "casting pearls before swine," but even if I know that he doesn't deserve to be helped, does that give me the excuse not to help him?

This is what I have been thinking about: I am the least deserving when it comes to salvation. I have turned my back on God so many times, misrepresented Him, and lived a life outside of the relationship that He wants to have with me. Even though I have been the enemy of God, it was at that time that He sent His Son to die for me. Even though God knew that I didn't deserve to have His love and forgiveness, that is when He gave it to me.

Don't get me wrong - I am not saying that the love of money is not a root of evil. But what is it about money that affects people, and what is the effect that occurs? Could it be that the people who have money (the amount is really immaterial) place themselves in a position of judging others, and, using the power that money gives, determines who gets and who doesn't get?

Remember the parable that Jesus told about the people working in the vineyard? The owner paid each person the same, no matter how long they had worked. The ones that had been there all day said that it wasn't fair. But it wasn't a matter of being fair - it was an issue of the one group judging the others and determining that they didn't deserve to get what they got.

I'm still thinking about this concept. I have to ask myself - what will be my reaction when I see the next person that doesn't deserve to receive my help? What will I do?

What would you do?

God bless you abundantly!