We Love You Elianna

We have a new grandchild, Elianna Joy Marcum, born October 24th in Cochabamba, Bolivia. You can read the Marcum blog to get more details about the birth and how the family is doing. We will be visiting the Marcum in January and are looking forward to meeting Elianna and seeing the rest of the family. This is a picture of Elianna and her family. May God bless your life and may you grow to become God's servant. We love you.

Why We Give: Love

Why We Give:
Love
2 Corinthians: 8:8-9, 24; 1 John 3:17-18

Sweetest Day is coming up this next Saturday. You may or may not be aware of Sweetest Day as if we needed another day to buy candy but it evidently is popular in the Detroit area. It has become sort of fall Valentine’s Day.

Giving gifts to people we love has a long history and most of us enjoy the gift giving if not necessarily the gift shopping (I am speaking as a guy). In a sense it is a test of our love for another. Extravagance and expense say one thing but most of the time it is thought and concern behind the gift that speak the loudest.

I. Testing Love
The passage from Paul is rather blunt. The Corinthian gift that they agreed to is a test of their sincerity of love. We talked a few weeks ago about giving as a test of our faith, that is what we believe about God and his promises concerning giving. It is probably easier to think about testing our faith. Usually we think that trials are the test of our faith. How will we respond in a crisis? What will I say if someone attacks what I believe? There are many different ways that our faith is tested.

But I believe testing love is different. For sure love is tested in crisis. Can I forgive when a loved one betrays me? Can I continue to love someone who isn’t very lovable? Those are tests. But I believe love is tested in a more positive way by our desire to do or to give to the object of our love and affection. We smile at the rather sometimes silly and extravagant ways people demonstrate love when they are building a relationship. Giving gifts is part of this. It is not necessarily the cost of the gift but the thought and sentiment behind it that is important.
Love is also tested in our giving of time and attention to the one we love. This is probably one area where couples that have been together for many years slip. It is easy to slip into patterns of only giving partial attention when we really should give total attention to the one we love. I learned, long ago, that I needed to put down the book, turn off the TV, pause the game and really listen to Diane. Multi-tasking may work at work or in some areas of life but it doesn’t work in relationships.

Love is also tested in character. Who and what we love changes us. This is something that people often overlook as they consider friends and even marriage. It is true about hobbies and passions that we love and enjoy. All these things change us for good and bad. If you are around cynical people you will become cynical. This is part of the reason I rarely watch things like the “Daily Show”. If you are around angry and abusive people you will probably become angry and abusive. In the same way if you are around friendly people, loving people, or devoted people that association will change you.

II. Whom Do We Love?
Paul describes giving as a test of love but the question is love of whom? I believe there are two answers. First, it is love of others. For the Corinthians it was love for Christians living in Jerusalem, in other words Jewish Christians. How do you love someone you have never met? After all, in Paul’s day there were no pictures to show of needy Jews. The pictures of suffering weren’t on the TV to be caught as you channel surf.

It sometimes takes people a while to understand what becoming a Christian does to us. We often focus on salvation, forgiveness of sins, and a new relationship to God but becoming a Christian connects us to a body and every other member in that body. How many Christians do you know? We might know a few hundred Christians if we have traveled or lived in other parts of the country. Many of those Christians are probably a lot like you in terms of ethnicity and background. But Christ connects us to millions of Christians of every color and culture imaginable. Of course it is humanly impossible to do this but we are no longer simply human, we are children of God. The result is that we give. John makes this point when he writes, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18) The test of our love is our generosity towards people around us and people we will never see. Most of you will never meet people who are reached by the team in Cochabamba, Bolivia. You have never met people you provided food for in Kenya during floods and famine. Generosity was a test of love for the Corinthians; it is a test of love for us too.

There is another aspect of this test. Our giving is a reflection of our character. There is a story about a man who came to his minister with a problem. “When I was young and only making $20,000 a year I committed to giving a tithe which was $2000. But now I’m making $500,000 and my tithe is $50,000. I just can’t afford to give that much.” So the minister prayed, “Lord, help this man make less so he can afford to give his tithe.” Over and over it has been shown that the more people make, the less they give in terms of percentage of their income. As Jesus said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Mark 10:23) This, of course, is possible with God. There are many who are rich and extremely generous but it is because the Spirit of God is working to change their hearts.

We are called to reflect God’s character and God is generous. The psalmist writes, “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” (Psalms 145:9) If you want to grow spiritually then you must learn to be generous like God. We grow this way when we walk with God. It is easy to trust him when you have tested God and found him faithful.

We began this series several weeks ago as we talked about the budget problems facing the church. As a leader in this congregation I want to see our church do more, not less. But I think it is more critical than just doing more. It is about becoming like our Father in heaven. It is about loving others more than I love the convenience and ease that my prosperity can give me. This is the challenge we all face as God tries to form us into a people who reflect his glory.

Livonia Church of Christ: October 15, 2006

Why We Give: Hope

Why We Give: Hope
2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Luke 6:38

I know a lot of people who love the fall season; it is one of my favorite times of year. One of the reasons is it is a time of harvest. Here in Michigan it is a time for fresh apples, cider, and pumpkins. We enjoy the fruit of our world’s bounty. It is one of the basics of the creation, planting, cultivation, and harvest. The bounty of the harvest depends on the first two.

I. Jesus and the Harvest
Jesus had a lot to say about life in our world and our relationship to it. He makes some rather extravagant promises to those who follow him. He tells his disciples, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38) Jesus brought spiritual blessing to those who believe in him but also promises physical blessing. Another statement is, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29) The last statement is made in the context of the road to Jerusalem and the cross.

This principle is related the concept of ‘shalom’, which is often, translated ‘peace’. No one word in English captures the sense of the word. It means peace or the absence of conflict but it also means prosperity, fruitfulness, and joyful contentment. While we tend to emphasize the spiritual blessing we sometimes forget that God created a good earth for his children to enjoy and prosper in.

Jesus teaching reflects something that is common in the Old Testament; God blesses his people with physical blessings. This is a general truth, one that probably plays out over generations rather than years. It has often been observed in missions but is true of our own experience here in the United States. Three or four generations ago most members of the Church of Christ were “other-side-of-the-tracks” people. There are many in our church today who were the first in their families to earn a college degree. In missions this is called “lift”; the almost inevitable improvement of people who become faithful Christians. Of course the downside is that as people become more prosperous they often forget the Lord. It is one of the sad things about doing funerals for some of our elderly members where few of their descendents are Christians of any church. They are reaping the benefits of their ancestor’s faithfulness but the same road that goes up can also go down.

II. Joyful Planting
The principle that Paul articulates in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously,” is one that is true in many areas of life. Paul applies it to financial giving but it is true in every important arena of life. God blesses the life that is given to him. As a parent this does not mean investing everything in your children. It means giving our children to God and serving our children in God’s name. As a marriage partner it means giving your marriage to God and loving each other, as God desires. Marriage and children are vitally important relationships that God blesses us with, but when God is forgotten then they can never become what God intended, a blessing to the world.

While we enjoy the harvest there is tremendous joy and satisfaction in planting and cultivation. God created us for work in his world, to join him in his purposes, his mission. I have great joy in the harvest God is bringing in Africa but those years of work, hardship, and discouragement are precious experiences that I treasure.

Imbedded in this principle is the concept that there is waiting between planting and harvest. Some things we do will not directly benefit us because there is always a wait between planting and harvest. Our society is caught up in the urgent and immediate, the need for instant results. It is like the instructions for microwaving pop tarts because we are too much in a hurry to wait for the toaster. We want what we want and we want it now. Not only is such an attitude infantile, it is of the devil.

III. Abundant Harvest
We give because we hope to see a reward. Of course for many that is only seen in material possessions and physical blessings. Our world measures success in such terms and many Christians do also. If we don’t have the physical blessings then God must not love us as much as the guy with the new car and the bigger house.

The promise of Jesus is to give ‘abundant life’ (John 10:10). The New Testament has two different words for life. One is “bios”, a word we see in our language as in biology, the study of life. It refers to the physical life that every living creature has. But the other word that is used here is ‘zoe’ refers to something beyond the biological life. A drug addict can have ‘bios’ but very little ‘zoe’. A person can be rich in material things and have little ‘zoe’ as Jesus said, “a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) God does care for and bless his people physically but that can mean different things in different contexts.
So if life is not about possessions and wealth what is the harvest that we can expect from God as we give not only our money but also our lives in his service? First and foremost is what Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) Eternal life begins when you become a Christian. How much we experience in this life depends on how much we pursue God and knowledge of him.
But that is only part of it. We gain a wealth of relationships. Jesus promised his followers, “I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30) This is true wealth, the love and relationships we experience as we live for Christ.

The question is what are we giving? What do we hope for as we give? As a church we depend on each member’s fiscal faithfulness. We also depend on your willingness to give time and effort to reach out to our community. But as you faithful give know that God is a generous God who blesses far more than we can think or imagine, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Livonia Church of Christ: October 1, 2006

Why We Give: Faith

Why Do We Give? Faith
Hebrews 11:6,17-19; Malachi 3:8-10

Introduction: There are things people don’t like to talk about and most of them need discussion. We tend to avoid topics like sexuality as embarrassing or too personal. Things associated with death like funeral arrangements or wills are another area. And finally money and finances are often off limits for openness and discussion. As a preacher I have hesitated to preach on money for the simple reason people accuses churches of only being interested in money. If you have been here any length of time you know that is not the case. If you are a visitor or an occasional attendee you may draw that conclusion but again it is a wrong conclusion. Jesus never apologized for talking about money or finances. He knew how we view and spend our money is a reflection of our spiritual heart.

I. The Importance of Faith
We all know about faith. We all have to have some faith to become a Christian. There are several different understandings of what faith is. Most people understand faith to have something to do with what a person believes to be true. Of course we believe many different things, some of them true, some of them not true. But the main test of any belief or faith is what one does with that belief. If I believe it is more dangerous to fly than it is to drive then I won’t fly, even though it has been shown over and over that flying is one of the safest forms of travel.
So what do we believe about God? The Hebrew writer gives us some basics, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) First God is looking for faith. Do you think God could provide irrefutable proof of his existence if he so desired? He could without a doubt. So why doesn’t he? Because God desires to be with people who seek him and people who have faith. Faith is always based on evidence but must inevitably go beyond the evidence. That is why true faith is hard to come by. It is rare or at least Jesus found it rare in his day and time. I don’t imagine he would find it that different today.

II. The Test
I believe that this is why we have tests. A lot of people have jitters about tests. We often see them as obstacles to overcome or barriers that keep us from what we want to do. The pressure from tests like the ACT or SAT are high stress events in our children’s lives. It can be devastating to fail a test.

But another purpose of tests is to help us see where we are, how well we are doing. Of course we may fail more often than we pass but we often learn more in our failures. I believe this is why Paul had such a unique philosophy, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

There are many kinds of tests. Many of those tests are found in marriage or other close relationships with people. We are tested when things don’t go our way or when we have power over people and then how we treat them. In a sense almost every thing is a test.
But one of the big tests for us as Christians is our money. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot or a little, but how we relate to money and how we use it. (This type of test is not always about money, some things are more valuable like a child.) That is what the Hebrew writer brings to mind as he writes about faith. He mentions Abraham and the test of offering Isaac as a sacrifice to God. God was testing Abraham’s faith in him and he passed the test.

The Israelites in Malachi’s day were also being tested and they weren’t doing well. The law clearly stated what offering should be made and they were not fulfilling their covenant promise to God. Why? They didn’t trust God to provide for them, to fulfill his covenant promises to them.

We face the same test when it comes to our finances. We do not find in the New Testament a percentage as we see in the Old Testament. The tithe was a tenth of what they received though many have concluded it was higher. The question is how is our faith?

The New Testament takes giving out of the realm of law and puts it in the realm of grace; that it is a gift of free will that comes from the heart of gratitude. It would be so much easier if we had a percentage to say, “Do this and you are okay.” But this is a faith test and part of the test is how you decide to give as well as how much. It is time for us to take this test with some seriousness. We develop our faith by exercising that faith therefore I would encourage you to do several things.
1. Look at your finances.
2. Decide how much you want to give.
3. Make giving to God a priority.
4. Be faithful.
Will God take care of you? God responds to faith, he rewards those who seek him. Our finances are one area where we need to seek God.

Livonia Church of Christ: September 24, 2006

A Friend for the Journey

A Friend for the Journey
Eccl. 4:9-12

Introduction: I hate to travel alone. I know those of you with small children are thinking, “Is he kidding?” Or maybe you had a rather tense road trip with you kids this past summer and dreamed about a nice, peaceful vacation without that tension. There are times when we just want to get away from people. But in the end we know we need others. Kids may drive parents crazy and parents do the same thing to their kids. But take them away for a while, let one get lost on a camp out and suddenly all that irritation drops off the map.

I. We Need People
The reading this morning comes from a book of wisdom in the Old Testament called Ecclesiastes. The writer makes the observation that being alone is tough, “But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:10) I don’t know if you have ever observed trees when we get a heavy snow. The lone tree has a big problem because heavy snow can topple it over. Trees in a group tend to support each other and it is more difficult for that to happen. Most of us realize it is that way with people also. We are like that; we can go along quite okay on our own but when the pressure of a crisis happens then we realize we need others.

That is why one trend in our society is so troubling. A recent study showed a steep decline in close personal relationships here in the US. Ten years ago 10% said they had no close friend or confidante. Today 25% said they had no close confidante. Another 19% said they had only one close friend they could confide in. We have a lot of lone trees in our society. Some years ago Robert Putnam wrote a book called "Bowling Alone" in which he observed the collapse of the sense of community in our country.

No matter how smooth things may be going in your life right now you will face a crisis, all of us will. You will lose someone close to you. You will face a health crisis of some kind. There could be a crisis of employment or money problems. In Michigan the number of foreclosures have doubled in the past two years. Quite a number of them are in this area. There will probably be some national crisis that will take our breath away just as 9/11 did five years ago.
We are aware of the problem. The question is what will we do about?

II. Looking for Answers
There are many ways people try to answer this problem. Women are probably better suited to building friendships than are men though the decline in relationship is across the board for men and women. We may find friends in areas of common interest. There are clubs and organizations that we can join or serve in. Some find a sense of community on-line. A church is another place where people come looking for an answer to loneliness.

Of course a church might be the last place some would choose. As one person once remarked, “Why would I go there? I already feel bad enough about myself.” I suppose as long as people are in churches you will find imperfection. The church has never been all that Jesus wanted it to be. Yet I think he knew this even while he was here. He knew how messy friendships could be and how disappointing. He knew the pain of betrayal and the joy of fellowship that comes through friendship. In spite of the imperfections he called his people into communities called churches.

There are all kinds of churches with a variety of shapes and sizes. Some churches are alive and active and others seem asleep or even dead. And, unfortunately some churches are toxic and poisonous to the soul. You might find levels of all the above in every church to some extent. Churches are imperfect just as people are imperfect.

But the church Jesus wants will try to reflect certain things however imperfectly. The apostle Paul described the church with these words, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) There are many organizations in the world that are doing good works but there is only one body of Christ. To be the body of Christ is to commit to being the hands, feet and voice of Jesus in our world today. That means several things.
First, it means we are to reflect the grace of Jesus towards people. This is a concept that is easily misunderstood. Grace is expressed in acceptance of others where they are. Jesus reflected this constantly in his ministry. He welcomed a common fisherman like Peter. He welcomed a rich corrupt tax collector like Zacchaeus. He welcomed a woman divorced and remarried several times at a well in Samaria. He welcomed people with leprosy. The reason Jesus did this is that he could see the image of God in each and every person no matter how clouded or marred with sin or disease. Becoming a Christian means starting to see people in this way. Paul wrote, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

This brings us to another aspect of grace as Jesus displayed it; grace is there to change people. Jesus never left people where they were. Jesus would forgive people but then call on them, in the light of that forgiveness, to live differently. He wanted people to live their lives pleasing God. So Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery when others were condemning her. The Jesus said these words, "Go now and leave your life of sin." Sin deforms people’s hearts and minds and it is only by Jesus’ grace that people can be healed and changed.

Another characteristic where churches try to reflect Jesus is in love. Jesus told his followers, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) Jesus was the ultimate friend. He was someone who would give everything for his friends, even his own life. Admittedly Christians fail here more often than they succeed. But we hold love as a goal because we need friends. We need people to walk beside us and help us when we fall. We need the warmth of friendship in the harsh realities of this life. We need the strength that comes from standing with others in a dangerous and unpredictable world.

The lone tree is vulnerable to wind and elements. But scientists have discovered something remarkable in forest with diverse trees. When the roots begin to contact the roots of other trees a fierce competition begins for resources. But where a certain fungus is present instead of competing the trees share resources of sunlight, water, and minerals among the group. It is an amazing example of interdependence. Churches are like that. We have people from all kinds of different backgrounds. It would be easy to get into conflict much like we see in our world. But there is one different element, our Lord Jesus. With him in our midst things change, we change. We become the kind of people God intended us to be, a community of Christ. If you want to know more about us and become a follower of Christ then just ask. We love to talk about Jesus.

Livonia Church of Christ: September 10, 2006

Being a Friend Like Jesus

Being a Friend Like Jesus
John 15:9-17

Introduction: Next Sunday is Friend Day and our annual picnic so I hope you are planning to invite someone to join us that Sunday. Friendship is a glorious thing. It is something that brings sweetness to life that we all want more of. I especially treasure friendship that I made in Kenya with both my American and Kenyan brothers. Part of it grew out of the common goals we had there as well as sharing the victories and adversity of that time. I think there is that sense of friendship found in today’s passage. It tells us something of what it means to be Jesus’ friend but also it tells us something of how Jesus wants us to be friends.

I. Acceptance
These words of Jesus were spoken at the end of his ministry with and to his disciples. Jesus used the word ‘friend’ in casual ways but this time it is different. It is after three years of his constant presence and the hardships of ministry that Jesus calls them friends. How did Jesus form these friendships?

The first step in friendship is acceptance. One of the outstanding things about Jesus was his ability to accept people where they were. This was certainly true of the disciples. They were men of various backgrounds, learning, abilities and prejudices. Jesus was constantly calling people to follow him and yet there were other callings and levels to the relationship Jesus had with people. At one point in his ministry Jesus went out and prayed all night before choosing twelve men to be in a special relationship with him. Why these twelve? Anything we say is speculation but they were men Jesus could teach and would accept his teaching. But more than that, I think Jesus chose them because they would be his friends.

Of course Jesus accepted more than just these few men. Jesus accepted the unacceptable, at least unacceptable to the standards of the day. Many churches might not accept such people today. Jesus accepted prostitutes, the greedy; he even ate with religious people. He accepted people with socially isolating diseases. It was this acceptance that marked the early church. It shaped the church’s evangelism to the point where slaves and women found such acceptance. The early church was criticized and scorned for its acceptance of such people. Paul put in it this way; “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7) To be a friend like Jesus is to accept others no matter what. Our human tendency is to reject those we don’t approve of; those not like us, or those that don’t agree with us. It is interesting that such a heart of acceptance of others will lead some people to exclude us. Why did some accept Jesus and others reject him? Why did some follow and some walk away in sadness? There is a price to be paid for friendship, especially friendship with God.

II. Expectation
While Jesus accepted people where they were, he also has expectations if people were to walk with him, if they were to become his friends. Jesus put it plainly; “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14) That at first glance seems an extreme condition for friendship. Yet every friendship has expectations and commitments. My closest friendship is with Diane and there are mutual expectations and commitments that are very exclusive to that relationship. This may be another factor in the decline of close friendships in the United States, the fear of commitment. Friendship demands time. We commit to honesty with each other. It means doing things together. The depth of the friendship is measured in the depth of commitment to these things.

Who were these men whom Jesus called friends? They were the ones who went with Jesus to the next town when they could have stayed at home. They were the ones who went into dangerous unfriendly places like Samaria when Jesus said, “I’m going there.” They stayed with him when others got angry with Jesus and walked away. They were the ones who committed to doing what Jesus taught and Jesus called them his friends.

We are here today as friends because our main desire is to be Jesus’ friend. Would Diane and I be here among you this morning without our friendship to Jesus? It is unlikely that we would have ever come to Livonia let alone met or become friends with any of you. That is probably true for all of us. That is why Jesus’ command makes sense, “This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17) Jesus wants all of his friends, those who love him and keep his commands to love all those who have made the same commitment to Jesus’ friendship. As we consider what that means to our invitation to those we invite to our church this means we want them to meet the one who is the reason for our being here, Jesus the Son of God. The Livonia church has a lot to offer people but it is this relationship, this commitment that is primary.

III. Friend of God
We become like our friends. It is natural that we do that. We become like people we admire and are with on a consistent basis. That is why being a friend of God is such an incredible invitation, opportunity, and responsibility. It was that way for Abraham who is referred in scripture as “friend of God”. Now we are invited to be friends of Jesus, friends of God.
Do you ever become jealous of your friends especially if you have a close friendship? I suppose this is a natural reaction because we have such a limited capacity for relationships. But God is not that way. The infinite God has an infinite capacity for friendship and he has invited each one us to be his friend. How close a friend we become depends to a certain extent on our love for him and our obedience to him.

That is why we invite people to join us, a fellowship of Jesus’ friends. Being a friend like Jesus means we learn to accept others as he did. It means we call people to follow Jesus, to walk a different direction from where they have been going. Following Jesus is an adventure that can lead you to places you never dreamed of being. If you don’t think this is true then talk to Paula, Jill, and Karen about their trip to Nigeria. Talk to Diane and me about Kenya or about coming back to Livonia. Jesus is willing to become as close a friend, as we will allow him to become.
Being a friend like Jesus means loving like Jesus also. That means loving people into the image of God and not anything less. It means loving to point of laying ourselves out on behalf of our friends. Being a friend is not some light commitment but a willingness to give everything for our friend Jesus, and all of Jesus friends.

If you are not Jesus friend why don’t you join us in the adventure of a lifetime, of an eternity.


Livonia Church of Christ: September 3, 2006

Being a Friend

Being a Friend
Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 27:6-9

In the next few weeks we will have two events that are important for our church. First, on September 10th we will be having our Friend Day and annual picnic. This is a great time to invite our family and friends, especially those who don’t know Jesus or have a church home. Second, on the next Sunday the 17th we will begin our home groups again. There will be sign up sheets and I want to encourage you to sign up or at least visit a few of the groups. This is a vital part of our church and important to your individual growth as a Christian.

I. Loneliness
The reason our groups are important is evident in the increasing loneliness that is plaguing our society. Recently studies have shown a decline in close friends for both men and women in the last ten years. One fourth of our nation’s households consist of just one person. Ten years ago 10% said they had no close friend or confidante. Today 25% said they had no close confidante. Another 19% said they had only one close friend they could confide in. These are amazing statistics and point to an underlying dysfunction in our society.

There are many reasons given for this but I want to focus on a couple that I think are overlooked. Sometimes people make choices that isolate themselves. A friend of mine in California works with people struggling with drug problems. One woman came to him for help and he talked with her for a short period of time. Several weeks later the police called him. She had been arrested and needed someone to take her child and he was the only person she could think of. Her drug habit had cut her off from family and friends to the point where Jon, almost a complete stranger who had shown her kindness, was the only person she could think to turn to. Sin does that to people. Addictive behavior isolates people. Other types of sin isolate people also. Pride can do it to the point where people will not ask for help or reach out to others. Fear is another isolating factor.

However, one factor that I don’t see mentioned is our desire for privacy. It has become so mandated by government we hesitate to put details of why a person is on the prayer list in the bulletin. In a sense this is a western idol related to the idol of individualism. It is what causes a person to keep others at a distance and keeps a person alone and often lonely. It is a barrier to committing to a community because commitment requires us to lower some of our barriers and our masks and allow others to know us.

II. A Church of Friends
That is the setting for our church today. We have people who come to our church looking for something and they are not sure what it is. I believe they are looking for a connection to other people and even more a connection to God.

I know that we as a church view ourselves as ‘friendly’ and we are. We work hard at greeting guests who walk through our doors and try to make them feel welcome. Yet friendliness is not enough. People can get a friendly greeting at Walmart. We are not inviting people into our fellowship to sell a product but to meet our savior, Jesus Christ. We don’t just want to be friendly but to offer friendship. How can we do that?

The first step on our part is to be open to new relationships and new people. It is wonderful that we have such great relationships with people in our congregation. There is a lot of joy in seeing a friend we have not seen in a few days. But it is very easy to see a friend and ignore the person who is not. We may feel like we have enough friends and therefore do not need to reach out to someone new. Sometimes we may feel like it isn’t worth the effort to get to know a new person. All of these attitudes keep us closed to new people in our midst. I want to encourage you to meet new people who come through our doors. This doesn’t mean they will become a close friend but then again they might. This does not mean we won’t be disappointed or even hurt by others we offer friendship to. But the Christian life is not about avoiding pain but in risking our selves for others.

The book of Proverbs gives us some wisdom when it comes to being a friend. One verse is, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17) Friendship can be formed in all kinds of circumstances but true friendship will last through difficult and trying times. The key here is that friendship shares both good times and bad. I have had people who came into my life when they had problems and wanted me to help but then disappeared after the crisis was over. I have also had people who disappeared when I had a need. We all desire relationships that can share everything. This is why our home groups are so important. You cannot form a friendship just seeing people here on Sunday morning. Our home groups are where we pray together, talk about our joys and sorrows, and join hands to help others. If we want others to connect to our church and become a part of us then we need to invite them to our home group. If we want to connect and grow then becoming a part of a home group is necessary.

Another point from Proverbs is,
Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.
(Proverbs 27:6, 9)

Sometimes people think friendship is just ignoring things that are wrong in a person’s life. The writer of Proverbs doesn’t see it that way. Instead true friendship makes a person better. We see that in a good marriage. Diane has made me a better person because she has helped me recognize and deal with weaknesses in my life. There are things she overlooks because she is my friend and she does love me but her gentle rebukes and insights have helped me for over 35 years. I hope that I have done the same thing for her. The friendship we offer people is acceptance and love but also a desire to see them become what God desires them to be.

This is not an easy thing to do. Not everyone wants that kind of friendship. People rejected Jesus’ friendship and they will reject ours also. But there are many people who are looking not just for a connection to other people but a connection to God. We need to remember we are not a social club or a service club or a self-help club. We are people of God whose desire and task is to introduce people to our Lord Jesus Christ and to know God. That task is well defined by Jesus in his commission to Saul,
“’I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’”
THE MESSAGE)

This week look around you. Who can you invite to Friend Day? Take several invitations on the way out this morning, pray over those invitations and give them out. Let’s pray for our neighbors and friends so that we can introduce them to the greatest friend we have, Jesus.

Livonia Church of Christ: August 27, 2006

A Break from Preaching

The previous two Sundays we have had guest speakers at Livonia. On August 13th Drew Fralick preached and gave a report about a mission survey trip he took to Peru and Bolivia. On August 20th I prevailed on Matthew to preach. He is pictured here with his grandparents Dean and Ruth Clutter of Coldwater, Michigan. Dean is approaching 60 years as a gospel preacher. I believe this is the second time Matt has preached at Livonia and he did an excellent job both times. While he is on a different career path than full time ministry I know that he will be blessing the Lord's church through his talents no matter what vocation he chooses. He is returning to Abilene Christian University August 25th for his second year as a political science major. We are proud of the man he is becoming.

The Journey: Blessing

The Journey
Blessing
Psalm 134

Introduction: I like to travel and visit new places. You may have had an experience like mine where you read about a place, it looks so attractive and interesting so you plan and save to go. But when you get there you’ve been fooled. The glowing description doesn’t measure up. You’re disappointed and a little angry at falling for their tricks. Sometimes people wonder about that with our spiritual journey. Is it worth the hardship of the journey? What awaits us? Will we be disappointed?

I. The Invitation
The journey through the psalms of ascent has reached its destination. It began with repentance, a turning from something so we could travel and reach a place where God can be worshipped. Along the way there has been trial, suffering, joy, fellowship, all the good and bad that life can throw at us. Now we are invited to “bless the Lord”.

The word “bless” is central to this short closing psalm. We use the word in various ways from what we say when someone sneezes to a way to say good-bye. I often close my letters with “God bless.” But for people on the journey toward God the psalmist invites them, invites us to bless the Lord. The question is how do you bless God?

Blessing, at least in biblical terms, is an act of giving. In scripture we see parents giving a blessing to their children by laying their hands on them and then saying words that in one sense predict or declare their future. Blessing is given in many ways by action but also by our words. Paul is clear that what we say has tremendous impact on those around us, Eph. 4:29. As parents we either bless our children or curse them. Too many parents do not realize the power of their words on their children. Their words become in some ways self-fulfilling prophecies. Tell a child that they are bad long enough and they will become what you tell them.

But the invitation in the psalm is to bless the Lord. How do you do that? After all God is supposed to bless us. God is the one with all the power. How can a weak creature like me bless God? The word in the NIV translation is “praise” but that is not very good way to translate this word. The word is used of what God does for us. But God does not just bless us with things, however good they may be. God ultimately wants to share himself with us, share his grace and generosity. As one person observed blessing is a sharing of what is in the soul.

The picture of parent and child is one we may be able to best relate. How does a parent bless a child? Providing food, clothing and shelter is part of it but a child wants and needs more. The child needs the parent to come down to their level, to stoop down and be interested in toy cars and dolls, to forget about jobs, sports, and house keeping and to enter their world and share ourselves with them. God does that, has done that in Jesus and even now continues to enter our world in order to be with us.

Then we are invited to bless God. How do children bless their parents? They give back to us what we have shared with them. If we have shared love and patience then, most of the time, that is what we will receive. Children bless their parents in the lives they live, or at times they do not bless us, Prov. 15:20; 19:26.

We have made the journey toward God and now we are called to bless the Lord. What is in our soul? What have we learned from his discipline? How has God blessed us? The answer is in how we live, the choices we make, the love we share with others. It comes in how we speak about God to others.

II. The Command
The psalmist and other pilgrims had traveled days or even months to reach Jerusalem to worship. For many the experience must have been overwhelming with tens of thousands of pilgrims and the magnificent temple. They must have had countless stories to share about the journey and its hardships and blessings. But this was not the reason they had made the journey. They may have been tired and not wanted to bless the Lord but that is why they had come.

There is probably no more difficult time to praise God than the middle of the night. There were priests on duty around the clock but those with the midnight shift must have found it difficult. The command is to lift your hands and bless the Lord, a physical act that helped the worshipper to worship. We can find all kinds of reasons not to bless the Lord. We are tired. We had a fight with our spouse or the kids or the parents. We want to talk to our friends because the journey is hard. But worship does not depend on our emotions. They are a part of worship to be sure but if we only worshipped when we felt like it then we would rarely do so. Some think it is hypocritical to come to worship when we don’t feel like it but that is not hypocrisy. God does not demand that we come with our smiley face in place; he only asks that we come with what we have. If blessing another is a sharing what is in our soul then we bless the Lord when we share our sorrows as wells as our joys, our defeats as well as our victories. When we share with God it is not that the sorrow or joy is taken away but that God shares in it with us. God wants us to share what is in our souls and he will share what is in his soul.

III. God’s Blessing
The psalm begins calling us to bless the Lord and ends with, “May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” The Lord desires to bless people. As Maker of heaven and earth we often place blessing in the categories of physical and spiritual blessings. While we recognize the value of the spiritual it is usually the physical that we are most concerned about. God is concerned also about the physical, after all he created it and he created us with the physical needs that we have. God created the spirit in us also and he answers those needs primarily through Jesus. God’s heart is filled with love that is expressed in grace and generosity.

But God’s blessing is more than these things that we are often focused on. God wants to share himself with us. This is beyond our comprehension. Why would the maker of heaven and earth desire to share himself with me when I am so small and so insignificant? The fact is God creates us so he can share himself with us and we with him. Jesus said it this way, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) When God shares his soul with us then we are changed, transformed by that sharing. What is in God’s soul? We often think of love, grace, and mercy as being the soul of God. But there is also sorrow in God’s soul. If we shared in God’s sorrow then maybe our vision would be more like God’s.

The Journey of the Psalms of Ascent is a journey to God. It is a journey that God invites all to join. You won’t be disappointed when you arrive because it will be beyond all that you can express or imagine. God invites you to begin; we invite you to join us in the way.

Livonia Church of Christ: August 6, 2006

No More Teenagers!

Matt with Laura and Julie at his high school graduation in 2005.


August 1st was a momentous day for Diane and me, Matthew celebrated his 20th birthday and this meant that our time as parents to teens, which began in 1990, was over. I must admit that we had great fun with our teens and it was much more a blessing than it was a problem. Our kids continue to make us proud. We have had a great summer with Matt at home and he will be leaving August 25th to start his second year at Abilene Christian University. He is a political science major and is doing great with his studies. Our prayer is that God will continue to lead him in the way he should go.

The Journey: Obedience

The Journey:
Obedience
Psalm 132

Introduction: Have you ever prayed intensely to God in the midst of a crisis? Did you promise God something in return for his help? Did you keep the promise? Such times are filled with fervor for God but more frequently our obedience and our fervor are more like background music to our daily activities. This psalm reminds us of both kinds of obedience because both are part of the journey.

I. The Ark
The psalm is built around the coming of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. The Ark was built under Moses’ direction during the time at Sinai. It was a symbol of God’s presence in Israel and was referred to as the footstool of God’s throne. The priests carried it during the wilderness wandering and during the time of the conquest of Canaan. After years of wandering the tabernacle was set up in Shilo.

The story of the ark flows throughout the history of Israel. Israel tried to use it as a magic charm to assure victory and found out that God could not be manipulated when the ark was captured. Of course the Philistines who captured the ark found out that God didn’t like their idols and quickly sent it back. The psalm refers to the time when David brought the ark to Jerusalem and place where the temple would be built.

David had finally been made king and his kingdom was stable. The first time David attempted to bring the Ark to Jerusalem was a disaster. (2 Sam. 6:1-11) David had not consulted the law and as a result God struck down a man named Uzzah for touching the Ark. This scared David and the Ark was left in the care of a family along the way. Several months later, after consulting the Law and probably the Levites David had the Ark brought into Jerusalem with great rejoicing. (2 Sam. 6:12-19) Scripture recorded that David danced before the Lord with all his might as he had sacrifices made every few feet.

In a sense this was the pinnacle of David’s spiritual life. David had endured years of abuse and hardship waiting on God to fulfill his promise to him and God did do as he promised. Now David as king was going to have the Ark, the symbol of God’s presence with his people close at hand. David could go up to the tabernacle and pray and worship at any hour. His obedience brought him close to God and it was filled with excitement and fervor. His fervor touched an entire nation as people came to Jerusalem to celebrate with David. His obedience set an example that must have caused people to take seriously their covenant with God and to live in faithfulness. And David desired to do more, to build a house for the Ark that was glorious and worth of God. God refused David that honor but even though we refer to the temple that was built as the Temple of Solomon, David’s son, David made extensive preparations in planning and materials so that the young Solomon simply had to give the word for the work to begin.
So the temple was built and Israel began the trips to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice. This psalm was sung as part of the journey to the temple. People could imagine what it must have been like that day as the Ark made the journey, what the celebration must have been like and now they were making the journey, they were rejoicing as they entered Jerusalem.

It strikes me that sometimes our remembrance, our worship, is more solemn that it is celebratory. Certainly, solemnity is one aspect of our worship as we come to the table but there is so much more that we seem to overlook. For the early church the Lord’s supper was more about Sunday than Friday, the glory of the resurrection than the darkness of the crucifixion. Celebration is more about community. Celebration is done with others, it is shared, and you can’t keep it in or to yourself. It is like welcoming the Ark into Jerusalem with feasting, songs, and dance. This psalm is about the joy that comes from faithful obedience.

II. The Covenant
Because of David’s tremendous heart God made a covenant with him that he would have a descendent on the throne forever. Many of us know how the story continued with David. From the pinnacle of joy that comes from obedience came the pit of death and despair from disobedience. It wasn’t just David who fell, invariably all who followed him fell. Eventual the kingdom was sent into exile. But verse 10 is an appeal to God to remember his covenant even in the face of Israel’s unfaithfulness.

God remembers. We often think of this in negative terms, “How could God forgive, not remember my sin?” But the positive side of this is God remembers. He remembers your faith, your baptism, your stumbling progress, the times you tried to help someone or share your faith with a friend. God remembers the covenant he made with you whether it was fifty years ago or yesterday. We have a history with God and he remembers and so should we. When a couple marries they have started a history together and that is part of their love. As the years pass good and bad happens, they share joy and sorrow, victory and loss. Every anniversary is a remembrance of the covenant and the history. Couples that grow apart often begin building a history separate from each other. They forget their history and their covenant and why they had such love for each other in the beginning.

We need to remember our history with God and what that means. We journey toward God each day that we live. Others have gone before us on the journey, David, Peter, Paul, maybe parents or a friend, even Jesus. This psalm was one to help the pilgrim remember and to be filled with joy.

“The Lord has chosen Zion.” The Lord has also chosen you to be his dwelling place. You didn’t just choose to follow God, he chose you. You are the place where God sits enthroned. The words of Jesus are astounding in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Paul describes us as God’s temple where God’s spirit dwells, 1 Cor. 3:16.

The last part of the psalm is, “I will bless.” God will give physical blessing, clothe his people with salvation, and give strength and victory. That is what God did for David because of his obedience. Discipline came because of David’s disobedience. Discipline came when Israel failed to keep the covenant, when they failed to remember God. But discipline is not what God desires to give us, he wants to bless but his blessing is tied in many ways to our faithfulness. This is one lesson of David’s life. David did not have perfect obedience, in fact he was a long way from that, but David was faithful. His heart was turned toward God so that when his sin was revealed he turned back toward the God he loved so much. God did bless David and he blesses all who journey toward him.

Livonia Church of Christ: July 30, 2006

The Journey: Security

The Journey
Security
Psalm 125

Introduction: How much do you spend on security? We have locks on our houses, firewalls and virus protection on our computers, alarms and security companies, the police, the military, and probably more that we are not aware of. The budget for Homeland Security was over $40 billion in 2005 and is undoubtedly more for this year. Security seems to be something we lack as enter the journey we have been talking about these past few weeks. Sometimes it seems like our journey is more like walking a tightrope rather than a path. Is our journey really that uncertain?

I. Like Mt. Zion
We do so much to be secure in our world and yet that security often fails us. But what is the basis of our security on our journey? The psalmist compares us to Mt. Zion, Jerusalem. In ancient times Jerusalem was in an ideal location surrounded by mountains that provided a natural barrier to enemies. The walls of Jerusalem were strong and needed in a time when there were powerful enemies and great lawlessness. Within Jerusalem there was a sense of safety and protection. The world was a dangerous place but inside the city, people could relax a bit.

But what men worked so hard to obtain the psalmist sees as something God gives to those who trust him. The Lord surrounds his people providing protection to those who trust in him. It is not something we do or create but something we receive as his people. Those who abide in God will not be shaken or moved.

II. The Problem
All of that sounds great but reality is a bit different. We are shaken; we are moved by the anxiety and uncertainty of our time. Some days we are full of faith and confidence but the next day something may happen that fills us with fear and dread. Recently I was talking with a former missionary friend who shared something I had forgotten. It was in August 1982 when an attempted coup occurred in Kenya. We were several hundred kilometers from Nairobi where most of the trouble took place but what we heard was not good. I had come down with malaria and had gone into downtown Kisumu to see the doctor when suddenly everyone started running away from the downtown area. It was scary and I got home as quickly as I could. Steve said when I came in to tell everyone what had happened I was extremely pale, probably due to the malaria as much as the experience. We are never as unmoved as we think we are.

That is always true of God’s people. We can experience great victory and then be plunged into sin and despair. Israel experienced what one person described as the saw-tooth of history. One day they marched through the Red Sea to victory and a week later they are full of doubts and complaints about Moses and his God. One day they are marching around Jericho in obedience to God’s command and days later are defeated because of their disobedience. This history of Israel is a constant up and down. It is our history also. There is one constant however, it is God who never wavers in his commitment to his people. Whatever our feelings, whatever our fears, God does not change in his heart toward us. If we have a loved one who is sick or depressed we don’t abandon them or love them less. How much more so with our God. As Paul wrote,
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
We need to live in the reality of God’s promises not out emotions and feelings. Our security is in God who loves us and has made sacred promises to us.

There is another area that causes us to waver, and that is when pain, sickness and death touch the lives of those we love and ourselves. As we grow older it is so easy to fall prey to worry over health and security. The psalmist knew this also. He lived in a world without hospitals, anesthesia, aspirin, and all the things we take for granted. It is difficult when the pain of life grabs us and doesn’t seem to want to let us go. The phrase the psalmist uses is, “The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous,” Psalms 125:3. There is no doubt that there is evil in our world but this is not how it will always be. Evil is a temporary thing even if it seems things never change. God is moving toward a time when evil will be forgotten and tears and sorrow will be no more. God surrounds us. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35-36) Paul’s answer is, “Nothing.” Nothing can separate us from God’s love.

But there is one more area that unsettles us as we think about the journey and our security in it--backsliding. I didn’t do much mountain climbing when I was in Kenya. All three of my children climbed Mt. Kenya to Pt. Lenana but I never attempted it. We did as a family climb a volcano about an hour drive out of Nairobi, Mt. Longonot. Lots of people climbed it and then would hike around the rim of the crater. It wasn’t a terribly difficult climb except for one thing, the loose rock and shale that you had to go over to get to the top. If you weren’t careful you would slide back down the mountain.

We know people who have backslidden and maybe there have been times in your life when you that word would fit you. The psalmist describes them as, “those who turn to crooked ways,” Psalm 125:5. A lot of Christians worry about this and live lives of doubt and insecurity because they are so afraid of falling. But the Christian life is not like walking a tightrope. It is not possible to unknowingly wander away from God. God is relentless in his desire for you and for me. I do believe it is possible to reject the way of faith if that person so chooses. But we are all sinners. We are all lost sheep who have gone astray. We have times of weakness and doubt. We break our promises to God. We never quite live up to our potential. We may break our covenant with God but he does not break it with us.

The last phrase of the psalm tells us, “Peace be upon Israel,” Psalms 125:5. In other words, “Relax,” you are secure in God. All kinds of things may threaten us on the journey. We may stumble and fall innumerable times. But our security doesn’t rest in our performance. It doesn’t rest in the fact that things always go our way. It rests in our mighty God in whom we have put our trust. We are secure.

Livonia Church of Christ: July 23, 2006

The Journey: Psalm 130

The Journey
Hope
Psalm 130

Introduction: What do you hope for? ‘Hope’ is a word that has come to mean various things. We hope something happens, sort of like wishful thinking, “I hope the Lions win.” We hope for things that don’t seem likely to happen though we wish they would. ‘Hope’ seems like a rather weak word in our day and yet it is a powerful word in our faith. Paul writes, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) While we often focus on love, the greatest, it is good to remember how much hope is valued.

I. The Good News of Sin
It seems that for many people hope is a rather weak thing. Hope is about the future not the present. As Paul writes, “Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24) The problem is that many people are very content with life. That is not to say they don’t hope for things like a new car or a bigger house but materially they are quite comfortable. Hope is weak because if they don’t get what they hope or wish for they may be disappointed but life will continue.
But the psalmist is not there. The psalmist is in the depths. That image is one that most of us can relate to in some fashion. I’ve been lost deep in a jungle. I’ve been stuck in the mud. I’ve also been buried in problems that seemed unsolvable. Most of us have had situations like that in our lives.

But the psalmist is in a deep more hopeless than that. He is in a pit of sin. There is probably no more helpless feeling than when we are caught in sin. You would think when we make the decision to follow Jesus, to make the journey to God that somehow sin would not be so great a problem. Do you remember when you were baptized? You placed your faith in Jesus, stood before other Christians and confessed him as Lord and Savior and then went down into the water to be buried with him. I don’t know about you but when I came up out of the water I felt wonderful, freed, forgiven. The journey began for me many years ago in Spokane, Washington. But on my journey there have been times when I’ve been trapped again by sin. How could I have fallen so far when I was saved so wonderfully? How could Jesus forgive me again, and again, again? I think that is how the psalmist must have felt.

Sin is amazing in its power. It is not just missing the mark or breaking the law; it is a power that binds and entraps us and robs us of hope. Our society has tried to help us with sin by saying that there isn’t any sin. We are messed up by society, by our parents, by repressive religious belief. We are confused, mixed up and we just need to accept ourselves. The problem with all of this is that there is no mercy, no grace, no forgiveness, and no hope.
In one sense sin is good news and the psalmist tell us why,
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared. Psalms 130:3-4

God is a forgiving God and that is the good news of scripture. It amazing how often that fact becomes obscured. God wanted to forgive us so much that he was willing to become human and die to redeem us. The scripture uses many metaphors to help us understand the death and resurrection of Jesus. We ask, “Why did Jesus have to die?” Jesus gives one answer in John 12:24, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Jesus had to die in order for a new kind of life to come into the world, a life a spiritually dead humanity could share in. With God there is forgiveness and so we fear, revere the one who blesses us in this wonderful way.

Sin is good news in that you can repent, you can turn, and you can continue on your journey. The forgiving God will give you another chance. There is no “three strikes” law that limits the number of times you can fall. Do you need another chance? Then repent and turn to God and he will give you that chance. In a world without God there is no forgiveness, no way to start over and begin a new life because there is no ‘new life’. A story goes that a leading British humanist was being interviewed on a religious program and said, "What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have nobody to forgive me." Because we have a forgiving God it does not matter how deep we are stuck, how dark things may seem, we always have hope because of our God.

II. Waiting and Hoping
While hope is a blessing it is always tied to waiting and waiting is never easy. Just ask a watchman who is waiting for the sun to come up so that he can go home. People who do shift work know what I am talking about. The hours can seem to drag and last forever. I think it must have been worse for a watchman, however. There were no watches to tell him how long till the dawn, how long darkness will endure. What is true for the watchman is true for people in the depths. How long will the darkness, the oppression endure? How long must I wait for relief?

The psalmist writes, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (Psalms 130:5) In his word I put my hope. Our hope is in the promises of God. The psalmist knew what God had done in the past. He knew what God had promised his people and so he could wait, maybe not always patiently but he would wait and hope. Part of our difficulty in waiting is our ignorance. If we don’t know what God has done, if we don’t know what God has promised then it is difficult to wait and hope.

“Put your hope in the Lord” the psalmist writes because his love will not fail. We look at scripture and know that this is true. It did not fail Abraham who waited and hoped for a son. It did not fail David who endured hardship and oppression waiting for God to fulfill his promise to make David king. God’s love did not fail Israel who endured 70 years of enslavement in Babylon before God restored them to their land. God’s love did not fail Jesus who went to a cross and died only to rise to life. All of these could have sung this psalm on their journey. We need to sing it also because we have hope in God whose promises, whose love, whose forgiveness will not fail.

Livonia Church of Christ: July 16, 2006

The Journey: Psalm 129

The Journey
Perseverance
Psalm 129

Introduction: Do you ever have a problem finishing a project? I do. Now Diane gets great satisfaction when she is able to check something off her “to do” list. I never have gotten much satisfaction from that kind of thing. It is so easy to start something, difficult to finish it and yet no one remembers a good beginning if the finish doesn’t happen. No one remembers who is fastest at 95 meters, it is the last five meters that make a difference in who wins or not. That’s true not just with races but half finished quilts, or anything else we start but have trouble finishing. The Christian life is like that also. It is easy to start with a burst of enthusiasm and dedication but the way is difficult; the gate is narrow.

I. Oppression
The psalmist had found the way difficult, filled with oppression. And not just himself, the whole nation had faced tremendous periods of opposition. Israel’s history was marked with long periods of slavery and captivity so that the metaphor of a plowman leaving furrows on their backs was almost literally true.

Sometimes people have seen the way of Christ as something weak and fragile, a way that can only be lived when things are good, when the blessing are rolling in. Somehow I don’t think Jesus saw it that way. What appears weak can have great strength. Isaiah described Jesus in these words, “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2) It is difficult to think of something less significant than a little plant growing up through cracked, dry soil and yet that is how Jesus is described. Some years ago we visited Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. You may remember in 1980 the volcano exploded and devastated a beautiful part of the Northwest. In the aftermath of the eruption it looked like a barren lunar landscape. Scientist weren’t sure how long it would take the area to recover but thought it would be decades. Today the devastation is still evident but within months life began to recover. Jesus was like that. That Friday night after the crucifixion the world was buried in ash, death reigned. But Sunday morning life appeared where all hope was lost.

We have all heard the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” For a lot of us when the going gets tough we start asking questions. Is this really what the Lord wants me to do? If this is the right path why is it so hard? Maybe I’m on the wrong path. If people ridicule my faith then maybe something is wrong with what I believe? It almost seems that Jesus struggled with these all too human questions in Gethsemane as he faced the cross. His back was plowed on the way to the cross. It looked like he was crushed and destroyed, ground into the earth only for the earth to break open to allow new life to appear.

Paul is another whose back was plowed. His list of trials in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 staggers me and yet more trials were in front of Paul. Our list could go on and on. Not every Christian has faced the kinds of trials Paul faced. Instead we each face trials that test our faithfulness to God.

II. But . . .
Oppression and trial are terrible times. The key to this psalm is found in one small word, “but”. “But they have not gained the victory over me.” (Psalms 129:2) Again, the psalmist writes, “But the LORD is righteous.” (Psalms 129:4). Why in the midst of adversity does the pilgrim survive? Why doesn’t the adversary gain victory when he has such great strength and power and the pilgrim is so weak and powerless? It is because God is righteous. We often slide over the statement “God is righteous” because it seems self-evident. God is always right isn’t He? But that is not what is being stated here. God’s righteousness has to do with his relationship to his people. God will not abandon his covenant, his relationship with his people, with you and me. God is committed to us no matter what happens. It is in this sense I am “righteous” in my relationship to Diane when I faithfully keep my marriage promises to her. Those promises are for “better or worse, in sickness and in health.” God is like that for us; he is righteous.

It is hard to believe God is with us when times are bad. We feel abandoned, that God has some how disappeared from our lives. It would be easy to look at Jesus’ life, at Paul’s life and say, “If God is with them then why did they face such trials?” But the righteousness of God is seen in the fact the Jesus was not abandoned to the grave but rose to life. Paul was martyred for his faith in Jesus and he believed he would share in Jesus’ resurrection just as he shared in his sufferings. (Philippians 3:10) God is righteous; therefore, we are not overcome.

III. Anger
The last part of this psalm makes some Christians uncomfortable. After all we are to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. But the psalmist doesn’t want God to bless his persecutors. This makes us uncomfortable because we understand his feelings, we have felt this way about people who have done wrong to us and we know as Christians that these feelings are not what God wants us to act on. The thing about anger is that it is real and everyone has felt it. The psalmist had reason to feel anger towards those who had persecuted him because it was wrong. Those people were enemies of God. The psalms are very genuine in that they express the emotions we feel, whether it is anger or grief.

Jesus could express strong emotions about things. He displayed anger (Mark 3:5) and expressed some harsh judgments on the most stubborn unrepentant hearts of people who opposed him. Paul also could express strong emotions when he saw things were not right.
While I am not recommending anger as a response to persecution there is one thing about the psalmist we need to emulate, his passion. What arouses your emotions? What do you feel passionate about? What are you willing to lay your life on the line for? I’m not talking about getting angry and doing something to someone but what moves you to action? Injustice? Poverty? Lostness? Children? The elderly? Racial prejudice? Abortion? Marriage breakup? World missions? The problem is that often we aren’t very passionate about anything that matters. It is not that cars, sports, gardening and crafting are bad hobbies but our faith is about people and helping people find God. If you are not passionate about something that is close to the heart of God then do some self-examination and ask why aren’t you? We need to stoke and encourage the fires of passion in each other for the things of God.

This psalm points to one quality that is important if we are to complete the journey, perseverance. The journey is not always easy but in the end the Lord is righteous and we will win through if we don’t give up.


Livonia Church of Christ: July 2, 2006

Psalm 133: Community

The Journey
Community
Psalm 133

Introduction: This is the time of year most of us take vacations. As parents we plan vacations for our kids. We may take them to some place fun. We may go camping or to some educational historic sight. And I think as we plan we have sort of an ideal in mind. Everyone is going to have fun and enjoy what we plan. Everyone is going to get along and we are going to be that happy family that really enjoys each other. Then the vacation happens and reality sets in. There are complaints of boredom. There are fights and arguments and disagreements over every little nit-picky thing. Vacations may be memorable but they are not always pleasant.

I. Children? Unity?
We read these psalms and we think, “That’s a nice picture.” But then we really think about it. Brothers? Siblings? Living in unity? Does the psalmist know what families are like? Since he was knowledgeable in the Scripture then I have to believe he does. Fratricide has a long history beginning with the story of Cain and Able. That wasn’t just a fight between siblings; it was a religious fight. It sometimes seems the closer people are to each other the more likely they are to fight.

I have often wondered at describing the church as a family. I know it is biblical because we are part of God’s family, Ephesians 3:15. God has made us his children, John 1:12-13. But too often we fight like family also and family fights can be terrible.

But in spite of the difficulty of living with others we are commanded to do so. The Bible knows nothing of the solitary Christian, those who love Jesus but hate the church, who worships God on their boats or golf carts. The journey we are on is communal, not solitary, and we will not make it alone. So much of scripture is about living with each other. The Hebrew writer warns those Christians, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Each of the gospels emphasizes what Jesus calls the second great command of scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) John tells us that Jesus put it in even stronger terms to his disciples, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) The context for love is the church, the community and the family gathering is Sunday morning at 11 AM when we gather around the table. It is good when brothers dwell together in unity. When the peace of God is truly present God's Spirit is in charge.

II. Avoiding Community
The problem that we encounter, however, is that we are good at avoiding community. When we fight we fight to win, since we are right. We fight like siblings. The story of Cain and Abel happens early in Genesis because it doesn’t take sin long to infect our closest relationships.
Church fights often devolve into contests of will that have little to do with God’s will. It is easy to find something over which to make a stand, something that is worth fratricide. I don’t mean physically, though that has happened, but spiritually we kill our brothers and sisters in our hearts (Matthew 5:21-22).

We also get in modes of avoidance by only coming to those required family gatherings. People may move away from the area. They may quit talking to a family member, ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. We know all about these creative ways of dealing with family. In the end though, we are still part of the family. It even seems to work in some fashion. It keeps people from fighting which for many passes for peace but it doesn’t build relationship or bring about true peace, the true shalom of God.

There are many examples of this but one of the most disturbing to me is the relationship between Black and White churches in our area. As I have been meeting with leaders from other churches in our area in planning for the Unity event in August we have all become aware that we are like two separate church bodies. This needs to change and to do so our attitudes need to change. Most of us say we don’t have a problem with people of other races and ethnic background. So why do we have two churches so disconnected, so separate, so divided? We know our Bibles well enough to know this is not what Jesus wanted of his people. Jesus died to break down the barriers that separate people (Ephesians 2:14). It is time for us to become faithful to Jesus’ vision for us as his people. That means we can’t just sit back and say we don’t have a problem. It doesn’t matter where the problem came from, what caused it or why. The way things are now is wrong, sinful, and ungodly and we must begin to act. It does matter what we do about it. We need to find ways to work with and learn from others who are different from us. No matter what we think, we need each other just like the left hand needs the right. We need to quit avoiding each other and calling it peace. That is why this unity event in August is important for us to attend and participate in. It won’t solve the problem but it may begin to bring us together as God desires.

III. Unity Because of Christ
The psalmist uses two images to express the beauty of God’s people united. The first is oil being poured on Aaron’s head. The reference is to the time Aaron was chosen as priest and the oil was a sign of his calling to be priest to his brothers (Exodus 29:7).

One of the most radical teachings of the New Testament is that we are all priests to each other (1 Peter 2:9). When you become a Christian you become a priest but not a priest like Aaron or a priest as in some Christian denominations but a priest like Jesus. Jesus is a priest different from any priest in history. To become like him does not mean putting on special robes and acting spiritual but to minister to others in God’s name. Do I need a priest? You bet I do! I need every person in this church to be my priest. This is not an option; it is who we are. It also means that we need all our brothers and sisters, no matter what color or background, to be priests to us. That is the basis of unity. We all have the oil pouring down our heads; we are all chosen as priests and need the ministry of others.

The second image is of dew on Mt. Hermon. This is the highest mountain in the region. In a dry desert region heavy wet dew must have been seen as an almost magical gift of moisture. I believe that kind of blessing is what we experience when God’s children are united. The blessings that others bring into our lives are amazing and unexpected. People we have been alienated from add things to our lives we didn’t even know we were missing. Every culture I have ever visited has blessed me in unexpected ways. This is what God desires and why we will be blessed if we are faithful to God’s vision of unity for his people.

Livonia Church of Christ: June 25, 2006

The Journey: Psalm 127

Work
Psalm 127

Introduction: Today is Fathers Day and a day to honor people who have influenced us in countless ways. The psalm we are looking at today is one that speaks to fathers because it is about work. Work, in many ways, defines and shapes us.

I. God the Worker
The psalm states something we often forget, God is a worker. Genesis 1 tells us a lot about our world and ourselves but it also tells us something about God, he is creative and he is a worker. The establishment of the Sabbath rest after the six days of creation is for people a day to rest from physical work and to regain our strength. But God didn’t need to rest on the seventh day. Instead the idea is that God created the day to enjoy what he had made. You might think of it as a gardener who has labored to landscape a beautiful garden but then takes a day, not to work but instead to just enjoy the garden. God enjoyed the world he had made and especially the people he had created in his image.

It is before sinful disobedience that God gave people their work, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Genesis 1:28. God created people so that we could work with him. Everything God wanted to do was not complete but now he had partners to work with him.

Jesus makes a similar point in his ministry when he said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (John 5:17) A bit later he said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) Jesus knew something that we either don’t know or forget; work without God is futile. Jesus is what Adam was supposed to be, a coworker with God.

II. Working With God, or Not
The psalmist knew this secret to work; unless the Lord is involved then work will never accomplish what we desire. One example is a story we don’t often look at is found in Genesis 11, the story of Babel. The language used by the writer of Genesis is revealing, “They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:3-4) The language reflects Genesis 1 where God ‘makes’. There is an arrogance that is part of work without God.

The word the psalmist uses for ‘vain’ is used also of the vanity of idolatry. Work without God becomes an idol that somehow by our effort, our sweat, we can create something that will last, that by our effort we can make our name ‘great’.

This stands in contrast to what happens next in Genesis 12 when God calls Abram and promises, “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2) There are many things about these promises of God but how well was Abram known during his lifetime? He was a wealthy nomad but not that significant a figure. Yet today billions of people know his name. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all acknowledge him as a great friend of God. What made the difference is that Abram worked with God.

How many people today want to be ‘great’, to have a name that is known and recognized? Maybe our desire is just to be known in our field of work. We want to be recognized by our coworkers. Preachers are hardly immune from such thoughts and desires.

Security is the second aspect of this psalm, “the watchman stands guard in vain.” This is another great idol of our day. We work hard at being secure. Security was a big thing in Kenya. We had metal grates over the outside doors and windows. We had watchdogs and a night watchman. Yet we had things stolen by people in our own home that we trusted. Our nation spends incredible amounts on national security and before 9/11 an American carried out the worst terrorist attack in American history. Idols cannot make us great. Idols cannot make us secure. They won’t give us a good night sleep. Idols cannot love and give us sleep. God does love those who trust him and grants sleep, rest to his people.

As pilgrims sang this psalm on the journey to Jerusalem they were reminded of where greatness and security come from, God. A journey requires that we travel light. We cannot travel with the same security we have when we stay in one place. The journey takes us to places where we are unknown, where we are strangers traveling through and thus seen as insignificant and possibly as people to be taken advantage of.

III. Labor of Love
The second half of the psalm seems to jump in a totally different direction. Some scholars think that these were once two different psalms. But I don’t think so. We need to go back to Abram and ask, “How did Abram become ‘great’?” He was a wealthy and prosperous man of his day but we don’t remember that. The things he did were not that outstanding or memorable. What we remember about Abram is that he had a son and from that son God worked to cause Abram’s name to be remembered and honored for all eternity.

There is a difference between productivity and fruitfulness. Productivity is about what we do, how efficient we are in the tasks given. I believe God wants us to be productive and useful to our world no matter what role we have whether engineer or short order cook. When we work with God even the most mundane of jobs are used by him to bless others and accomplish his will in the world. But that is not fruitfulness.

Fruitfulness grows out of who we are not just what we do. It is seen in what Paul describes as the fruit of the spirit, Galatians 5:22-24. But the psalmist is talking about the fruit of our bodies and spirits, bringing children into the world, becoming parents. This is a gift of God to us. It is one of those blessings God gives to the just and unjust, to the person of God and to the atheist. As God’s people we see this as a gift but not just a gift to us but also a gift to the world.
More than any other role we have, work we do, being a father, being a parent, is a partnership between men and women and the God who works, the God who gives life. The more we join God in our work and in the lives of our children the more God blesses us, the more fruitful lives we will live.

Livonia Church of Christ: June 19, 2006

Sixty Amazing Years!

On May 27th my wife Diane's parents, Dean and Ruth Clutter, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They married just after WWII and then moved to Abilene TX where Dean trained to be a preacher. They have been in ministry nearly their entire married life. It has had its ups and downs for them but they continue to serve the Coldwater, MI Church of Christ. We are so thankful for their example and the encouragement they have been to us as we entered ministry and went to Kenya. God has blessed many people through them over the years and I am sure will continue to bless in the future.

Psalm 126: Reaping Joy

The Journey
Reaping Joy
Psalm 126

Introduction: Christianity has often been depicted as grim and joyless much like this famous painting “American Gothic”. While me might think that is unfair it is often how Christians are perceived.

I. Looking for Joy
People look for joy in many different places. We like to have fun so we go to Cedar Point and enjoy the thrill of the rides there. There are lots of places we find enjoyment that are good and wholesome. As we move into the summer season many of us will travel, camp, fish, swim, ride our bikes, the list goes on and on. One thing we sometimes forget is that God created this world for us to enjoy and so we should do that, enjoy good food, beautiful scenery, and all that God has made. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes put it this way; “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil — this is the gift of God,” Ecclesiastes 3:12-13.

Of course there are many ways people seek joy that are not good. Often it is in the over indulgence in food and drink. Looking for thrills in drugs and alcohol is another way people seek joy. There are many who are experience addicts, adrenaline addicts who look for ways to get that rush. We have an entertainment industry that tries to give people joy and laughter, often at the expense of others.

Some Christians think that instead of a frown we should have a smile, no matter what. For some sadness becomes a sin. It is as if we must live life denying that there are times when joy is sucked from our lives by illness, accident and death. That kind of denial of life (because these experiences are part of life) is not found in scripture. We see people weeping and sad at personal loss. Even our lord wept over many things to the point that he was compared with Jeremiah the weeping prophet (Matthew 16:14). Denial of life’s bitter experiences is not joy but deception. Joy is not a requirement of discipleship, of following Jesus, but a result. Even though the psalmist wrote from his perspective he knew that joy was the journey that took people to God.

II. Joy: Past and Present
The hinge of the psalm is found in the second half of verse three, “We are filled with joy.” Before those words the psalmist is looking back and shouts, “The Lord has done great things for us.” The psalm appears to be written after the return from exile. Israel had been destroyed and Judah carried into exile in Babylon. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed. Those who survived lived as slaves and servants to the empire. Their nation was only a memory and their faith, well how could their faith in God survive? They remembered the God who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Was that God real? Could he rescue them again? Yet after seventy years thousands of them returned to the land of their fathers to rebuild a city and a nation. The Lord had fulfilled his promise and they were filled with joy.

For most of us the past is filled with triumph and defeat. Life can crush us at times and yet we are here this morning. You may not be filled with joy this morning but one answer to that is to look back. What has God done for you? How has he rescued you? If you cannot answer then look further back. What has our God done in the past for his people? Think about Israel rescued twice from slavery. Think about Peter rescued from a death sentence in Herod’s prison. Think about Jesus who died but did not stay in the tomb but defeated death.
“The Lord has done great things for us!”
“And we are filled with joy!”

III. Joy: Future
But joy is not just about the past or even the present, it’s about the future. “Restore our fortunes, O Lord.” The image is of a desert, the Negev. Most people don’t like deserts. I prefer the forest or the ocean. Deserts are dry and hot. The desert impacts people who live there. I remember meeting some Turkana people in northern Kenya. We had to carry logs about half a mile to a shaded area for our church meeting. The people were dark skinned not just because of pigment but also because of the sun. Their skin was like leather. Water was scarce. Deserts are not pleasant places.

One of the great lies that often comes through in religious talk is that there is no desert for the Christian. The psalmist knew the desert and we will also. If you are not in a desert now you will be. You may feel like you are in a desert now struggling to survive. Tears may be the only seed you are sowing but God’s promise is that you will reap something different.

Imagine what it was like for the psalmist to be one of those who left their homes in captivity to make the long journey back to Israel. They must have been filled with excitement and hope, straining to get the first glimpse of Mt. Zion where the temple had sat. But when they arrived all they found was a ruin covered in fifty years worth of over growth. The land had become a wilderness and all that excitement and enthusiasm was quenched. Tears must have been shed. Some probably complained, “We left our comfortable homes for this?”

There is something in us that knows there should be something more. God did not create people for suffering but for eternity, for a life filled with joy in His presence. This is why the early Christians could rejoice in the face of tears and suffering, why Paul could write, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” (Philippians 4:4)

As Christians we live in a strange in between time that began when Jesus began his ministry. At times it is like we experience a taste of heaven, a time of worship that makes us feel close to God and each other, a time of fellowship with other Christians that is easily described as sweet fellowship, a time when a friend or loved one comes to the Lord and joins us in the journey. When I experience times like that I don’t want them to end. I cherish the memory of those times and want more of them. Those are times when heaven breaks into our world just a little bit, just for brief period. The prayer, “Restore our fortunes Lord,” is a prayer for heaven when the tears are dried and the joy will last forever. The psalmist longed for that and so do we. So what do we do? We remember. We pray. We wait on God because the harvest of joy is coming if we are faithful.

Livonia Church of Christ: May 11, 2006

Psalm 131: Quieting the Soul

The Journey
Quieting the Soul
Psalm 131

Introduction: The image of mother and child in this psalm is a powerful one and especially appropriate on Mother’s day. It is a picture of a relationship where contentment, peace and rest are primary. While most of the time we think about God as Father scripture does not shy from using pictures of women to express something about God’s nature and God’s desire. On our journey to God we need to realize what God ultimately desires for us; that is to be with Him. Along with that we need to realize what can frustrate God’s purposes for us.

Spring is such a wonderful time of year. People get out in their yards and the gardens begin to bloom. We have two rose bushes on the south side of our house and every spring Diane cuts them way back from all the growth the previous year. You don’t have to cut them back if you prefer thorny branches rather than beautiful flowers. But pruning is essential if you want healthy blooms through the summer. If a rose bush gets too large the quality of the blooms decreases. This psalm is about the same type of thing in our lives. The journey we are on is about growth but sometimes grow is in the wrong direction, sometimes we need to decrease in one area in order to bloom in another.

I. Living Large
We travel with a purpose and yet there are things on the path that hinder and can even stop us in our tracks. The imagery of this psalm suggests two opposite problems. One source is the infantile dependence that we see in a child before it is weaned. The child is interested in the mother as a source of food.

The psalmist is not interested in mothers and infants but about our relationship to God. Everyone starts out as an infant; we know that even if we don’t remember that time of our lives. Infants are the most selfish creatures on earth, they are helpless and everything revolves around them. Fortunately we don’t stay at that point. We grow, develop, learn, and move from infantile dependence to a measure of independence and self-sufficiency. Children who at one time depended on parents for everything begin to relate to those parents not as dependents but as equals. I think most parents look forward to the day when they can relate to their children as adults.

Our spiritual lives move in a similar trajectory. We are born as spiritual infants into God’s family. In the beginning people serve and minister to us but we learn and grow and begin to serve and minister to others. But sometimes our relationship to God remains stuck. Many people see God as the one provides, the one they turn to in trouble. Their relationship with God is about what they get from the relationship. When things are good then God doesn’t receive much attention but when something is needed then God comes back into the picture.
Somehow, I think God wants more from his relationship with us. The spiritual journey we are on is about growth and change. God wants to become more than just a source of blessing, help in times of trouble. The picture of a weaned child sitting contentedly with her mother, not demanding anything but simply happy to be with the mother is a picture of what God desires in our relationship with Him.

But it is the other side of this picture that is the real focus for the psalmist. This is the picture of the haughty and proud person who refuses to come to God. This is the more serious affliction and one that is epidemic in our society. Unbridled ambition is the way many people live their lives. The heroes, the people held up as successful, are praised for their ambition and unwillingness to take a back seat to anyone or anything.

In sports the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs is seen as a way to greatness. Athletes will give years off their lives to achieve momentary sports greatness, to be an Olympic champion or to win a championship. Even when people are caught cheating for many there is still admiration because they were willing to take a chance for greatness.

The phrase, “living large” has come to characterize what many people desire, to live like royalty, or like a movie star, or like the super wealthy. It drives everything from “American Idol” to the lottery. I mean, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” What a no brainer, everyone is that answer. To live large is to be large, or so we think. It is easy to point a finger at the sports and entertainment industries but we are all susceptible. We have goals in our careers. Preachers gravitate to bigger churches; business people strive to make more money, be more profitable. Parents want their children to be successful and liked by their peers. Of course not all ambition is deadly to our spiritual journey but how do we know when we have gone too far down that road?

This is, of course, the original problem according to Genesis. The hook that gets both Adam and Eve is, “you will be like God,” Genesis 3:5. The key in this passage is knowledge and we know how important that is in the Information Age. Later in Genesis at Babel people unite so that as a group they can become like God. “Living large” characterizes both stories.

II. The Quieted Soul
“My heart is not proud,” the psalmist writes. How troublesome pride is to the spiritual journey. There are plenty of warnings about pride and arrogance in scripture. James quotes Proverbs when he writes,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
Why does God oppose the proud? It is not that God is somehow threatened by our success, beauty or excellence. It is that the proud person fails to give God what he desires, a relationship with us. Pride in some ways is an insurmountable barrier because it keeps us from the quiet soul that finds contentment in God.

I love reading and learning. I see myself as an intelligent person but I know there are a lot of things I don’t get and will never get. But God doesn’t love me because I am intelligent or because I understand the Bible or theology. He doesn’t love me because I am good enough. He loves me because I am his child. The thing that allows me to get close to God is a humble heart, a quiet soul that has ceased to strive but finds contentment in God. In a sense this psalm is like pruning shears. Gardeners trim back bushes like roses because what they desire is not a big bush but beautiful flowers. If you soul is not quiet then ask your self, “Why?”

Luke provides us a commentary on this psalm in one story. Jesus is at the home of Mary and Martha. Listen to the story in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus said it to Martha but he also says it to us, “Only one thing is needed.” A quiet soul that is content to be with God.


Livonia Church of Christ: May 14, 2006