At my desk is a picture-postcard brought back by our social worker when he and his wife went to New Orleans. The picture features a horse-drawn carriage in front of the Chateau Le Moyne, a beautiful one hundred and sixty plus year hotel in the French Quarter. While they were there at Brennen's, they shared a $200 breakfast, walked the historic streets of New Orleans and listened to dueling piano music at Pat O'Brien's. There is much to be said for rest and relaxation. Within a short distance from this scene still rests devastation from Hurricane Katrina. This storm and the floods which followed made this storm not only the most expensive natural disaster, but also one of the deadliest. With over 1,800 dead and billions of dollars to rebuilt, it is no wonder why parts of New Orleans are still uninhabited.
The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:22
In American we fail to understand the reverential fear of coming face to face with a king or sovereign of a country. We see some of the pageantry of royal weddings or state funerals for presidents and can only begin to imagine the reverential fear due God. The awesomeness of God is also seen as a fear to those who do not pay him the respect and loyalty due the God of Creation. I can rest in contentment with the "fear of the Lord" if I understand his care and concern for me. Jesus tells us in Luke 12:7 God has the number of hairs counted. If he is so precisely interested in me and knows the smallest detail of my life, why should I be fearful when life's events come my way. I am content to accept the circumstances or the pattern for what is happening.
In hospice one of my duties for those who have a religious background is to remind them of their faith-tradition in accepting their body's decline and eventual death. If we accept God's sovereignty to save us, should we not accept his plan to lead us? We are willing to seek him out to escape the final judgement and may not be willing to accept his judicious decisions for the days leading up to the end. Today, I accept what God has for me and hopefully it will be pleasant. If I find later something happened which I may not like, I hope I can remember the "fear of the Lord" leads to life--wherever that may be.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Change of Direction
At Oak Ridge High School I took driver's education with Coach Driver. On the road he made us change lanes by signaling, look in the mirrors, a quick look over your left shoulder, and then move smoothly into the other lane. When he packed three or four students in the car there was a level of safety since he had a break in case we missed oncoming traffic. I cannot count the number of lane changes since I began driving and I may have forgotten to use my turn signal, but I have not forgotten looking over my shoulder so nothing is in my blind spot. Recently I have seen three people making decisions in their lives which now affect their futures. One was an outstanding, young athlete on the WVU football team involved or associated with an armed robbery in Morgantown.(At present he has not been arraigned.) The next day he was dropped from the team and his scholarship was revoked. The decisions he made now will affect him the rest of his life. It does not mean he will not be successful, but the increase struggles, circumstances, and troubles will make life more difficult because of a quick decision. The same goes for young people in the backs of cars becoming instant parents because of quick decisions. Many go in wrong directions and need a new change.
"Keep up your reputation, God; Forgive my bad life; It's been a very bad life. My question: What are God-worshipers like? Your answer: Arrows aimed at God's bull's-eye.They settle down in a promising place; Their kids inherit a prosperous farm." Psalm 25:11-13 The Message
All the bad choices in life can have a different direction if we follow Coach Driver's instructions. First, I must recognize the direction I have chosen is not one I wish to remain. The Holy Spirit warned me but until I decided, all those warnings, like flashing lights in a construction zone, were disregarded as I raced through life paying no attention to the hazards. When I came to God, I repented of my former direction knowing I needed to make a change. The idea of repentence is "to change direction or turn around" and means a new path than I one I was going. Once I was following Vicki to her mother's home place. As we were driving in the backwoods of West Virginia for the first time we came to a road with a 90 degree left turn. Like Coach Driver told me, I signaled left and followed her another six miles into the hollars of north central West Virginia to the town of Cedarville (population 25 including livestock). She asked me why I turned on my signal and told her I was making a turn. Her reply was, "You weren't making a turn; you were just staying on the hard top." As I signaled to God I was ready to make the change, I had to look to make sure I was ready. Jesus told us to determine the costs of following him and told the parables for our understanding. In going to war with a smaller army or in the construction of a tower there is a cost associated in your next step. In driving, if you don't look you may have a cost associated with an accident. Finally, once you have looked and are certain you want to follow in the path of Jesus Christ, you can move with confidence into the new direction.
There will be bumps in the road of Christianity but this does not mean it is not the right direction. If you stayed in the other direction, that lane only leads to death and eternal punishement. Like the character Christian in John Bunyon's book, Pilgrim's Progress, someday I will arrive at the Celestial City.
"Keep up your reputation, God; Forgive my bad life; It's been a very bad life. My question: What are God-worshipers like? Your answer: Arrows aimed at God's bull's-eye.They settle down in a promising place; Their kids inherit a prosperous farm." Psalm 25:11-13 The Message
All the bad choices in life can have a different direction if we follow Coach Driver's instructions. First, I must recognize the direction I have chosen is not one I wish to remain. The Holy Spirit warned me but until I decided, all those warnings, like flashing lights in a construction zone, were disregarded as I raced through life paying no attention to the hazards. When I came to God, I repented of my former direction knowing I needed to make a change. The idea of repentence is "to change direction or turn around" and means a new path than I one I was going. Once I was following Vicki to her mother's home place. As we were driving in the backwoods of West Virginia for the first time we came to a road with a 90 degree left turn. Like Coach Driver told me, I signaled left and followed her another six miles into the hollars of north central West Virginia to the town of Cedarville (population 25 including livestock). She asked me why I turned on my signal and told her I was making a turn. Her reply was, "You weren't making a turn; you were just staying on the hard top." As I signaled to God I was ready to make the change, I had to look to make sure I was ready. Jesus told us to determine the costs of following him and told the parables for our understanding. In going to war with a smaller army or in the construction of a tower there is a cost associated in your next step. In driving, if you don't look you may have a cost associated with an accident. Finally, once you have looked and are certain you want to follow in the path of Jesus Christ, you can move with confidence into the new direction.
There will be bumps in the road of Christianity but this does not mean it is not the right direction. If you stayed in the other direction, that lane only leads to death and eternal punishement. Like the character Christian in John Bunyon's book, Pilgrim's Progress, someday I will arrive at the Celestial City.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Gospel Tract For The Price of Dollar
Sunday we washed cars for the Vineyard of Wheeling as part of Servefest 2011. It was a very different kind of car wash as cost of the car wash was ours and not the owner. The owners would be given a one dollar bill with thanks from the Vineyard volunteers when we finished cleaning the car. I have done car washes for my high school club, Civitan, and for youth projects for churches, but never one in which I paid someone to wash their cars. Then I began to think of the American dollar and came across four simple words which have come to mean much to any Christian: "In God we trust." This motto has been used since I was born and has met challenges from those who have disagreed with its placement. President Theodore Roosevelt felt it was sacrilegious to put God's name on money while others have disagreed believing government is establishing a belief in God. Do four words constitute an establishment of God or a faith in God?
When Jesus taught the disciples to pray he showed the difference of Yahweh from other gods in that He was Holy. He alone is uniquely qualified to receive our prayers because of this holiness and he alone can be trusted. He cannot change his mind or act any other way than holy. He cannot do anything which is not right or for our best. So when we pray for our daily bread we are trusting in his provision and for our health. In the times of the Bible a person earned the money for the next day's purchase and needed to be healthy to work. When we ask Him to forgive we are first trusting that he alone has the ability to remove the stain of sin. We realize this forgiveness is in proportion to the way we forgive others and he alone can give us the ability to forgive.
So then, those four words define the trust a believer has in God. He is trust-worthy in a world were men and governments have fallen short of trust. When we gave them a dollar it was a simple gesture with a great message to others: In God you can trust for all your needs because in yourself you can do nothing.
When Jesus taught the disciples to pray he showed the difference of Yahweh from other gods in that He was Holy. He alone is uniquely qualified to receive our prayers because of this holiness and he alone can be trusted. He cannot change his mind or act any other way than holy. He cannot do anything which is not right or for our best. So when we pray for our daily bread we are trusting in his provision and for our health. In the times of the Bible a person earned the money for the next day's purchase and needed to be healthy to work. When we ask Him to forgive we are first trusting that he alone has the ability to remove the stain of sin. We realize this forgiveness is in proportion to the way we forgive others and he alone can give us the ability to forgive.
So then, those four words define the trust a believer has in God. He is trust-worthy in a world were men and governments have fallen short of trust. When we gave them a dollar it was a simple gesture with a great message to others: In God you can trust for all your needs because in yourself you can do nothing.
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