Advent

Ok, I have been preaching through the Psalms for Christmas and the big theme of weeks 1-3 in Psalm 80, 85 and 126 was "wait on God and he will come through. Wait on his goodness because he is faithful, wait for him to fulfill the promise. (Like he did at the Incarnation and will again at the second coming or as I preach all the time the second Christmas)  


Wait with hope, Wait with peace, wait with joy.  


Then we looked at Love in Psalm 89.  


And I didn't plan this, since I just used the lectionary readings for this year, but as I looked at it and read Psalm 89 It starts off like this


I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; 
   with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known 
   through all generations. 
² I will declare that your love stands firm forever, 
   that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself. 


And that hit me.  I've been telling our church to wait, to long for God and expect him to work and stick with him even when you are ready to give up...but the reality is that God is the faithful one.  He's the one who sticks with us, even after we give up.  His love is faithful forever, from generation to generation it stands firm.  This Psalm recognizes God's love in the past (v 1-37) but then asks God, "Where are you now?" from 38-51.  Kind of like us.  We see God's work, we know it in ways big and small. But there are times when we feel dissappointment and face defeat and we are ready to give up.  And sadly, sometimes we do.  


But in it all God is faithful.  


Faithfulness is the mark of God's love.  It's the mark of true love, right? Love never fails. That's why marriage and covenant are such essential elements of Biblical teaching and Theology.  These things teach us the nature of true love. 
  God's love, his promises are forever, and because of His character we should hope, not stress, and live with joy.  He asks us to be more like Him as he says wait, as he has us learn faithfulness, as he teaches us how to love.  And when we fail, he is there always ready to take us back, always ready to truly love.

The Anti Corruption God.

 I just read this article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2091395,00.html that I think reaffirms the truths we had been learning about in Micah.  It makes me long all the more for God's Gospel to keep going forth in this world, and ultimately for God's glory to be shown when he brings final justice to a world rife with injustice.  

Remember and reflect on these 2 verses from our study in Micah

 Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 
   And what does the LORD require of you? 
To act justly and to love mercy 
   and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, 
   I wait for God my Savior; 
   my God will hear me.

The first is how we are part of the solution here.  How we can work towards a world that reflects God's goodness.

The Second trusts that even tho we will never finally deal with all the corruption and Justice, we hope in the one who will set it all right.

Amos Lee

Cup of Sorrow by Amos Lee is especially meaningful right now in light of the tragedy of Japan and the little we can do from thousands of miles away. (As well as send cash)


The Line that hit home


I send a prayer out across the ocean,
To a man that's forced out of his home.
I send a prayer out across the ocean,
So that he may not suffer there alone. 


And the song in its entirety:


Cup Of Sorrow"

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come.

I send a prayer out across the ocean,
To a man that's forced out of his home.
I send a prayer out across the ocean,
So that he may not suffer there alone.

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come.

I want to sit at your table of wisdom,
So that not one crumb shall go to waste,
For if we keep down this pathway to destruction,
Oh will our children will suffer for our haste.

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come [x3] 




I am amazed by how many Christian artists there are in mainstream recording.  Christ and Culture is a classic book by Reinhold Neibuhr. It talks about the different ways Christians approach the world around them.  His point is we need to have lives that overlap with people who aren't Christians.  We shouldn't conform to the culture,we shouldn't hide from it and we shouldn't develop an us v. them attitude.  Instead we should be like Jesus himself who loved people from all backgrounds, but encouraged them to be renewed and transformed, to leave their lives of sin and come unto Him.  I think that the reality of Christians making music that isn't only intended for a Christian audience is a reminder that all of us need to step into the lives of the many people around us, and to live as Christ.

Law as Gift

This week I was reading Luke 6:1-11.  A few thoughts that really impressed me were related to the point of the Law.  Ultimately, the Sabbath and the entire law are not meant to be oppressive burdens.  That's the problem that results from legalism.  God's reason for giving the law is as gift. (As well as to show us our sinfulness when we reject it.) But I'm going to focus on the gift part.


In v. 5 Jesus says, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Now this can be read as Jesus saying, "Look here pharisees, I'm God I don't need to follow the law. I am the law!"  Kind of like a corrupt policeman.  But in the context He's talking about David and that David (and Jesus and the disciples) were doing what "some pharisees" (v. 2) considered work (and other pharisees didn't).  But David and his companions, to stay alive ate the consecrated bread. Jesus point is that people (sons of men) are Lord over the sabbath and that the sabbath is not Lord over them.  
The Sabbath is a gift designed to give life.  God mandates rest becuase we need a break, that we need rest,  we need to refocus, we need to trust in God and not in our own efforts to truly enjoy this life.  But if Sabbath becomes a burden if it ends up destroying life v. 9. thats a problem.  That's a corruption of the law.  That's a teaching that needs to be fixed.


We need to see all of the law as gift and not just a burdensome list of rules meant to weigh us down.  When we believe that God is good and trust his gift of law we see that.  Not stealing, coveting, hurting, lying, sleeping around, cheating on our spouses, lusting, boasting etc. is a gift.  When we don't do those things our lives and more joyful because they are less painful, and less oppressive for ourselves and for those around us. Instead we are supposed to be serving, loving, being patient and humble. If we praise God and give thanks, and follow the "do" commands we see our lives being filled with joy and meaning.  


God's commands are gift, and meant to give life.  When we see this it makes all the difference in how we see God. (Authoritarian taskmaster v. concerned and loving Father)


Basically it comes back to that first temptation of Satan...when he asks Eve to question if God is really good.  Can you really trust him?  Don't you think he's holding out on you?  I used to think of God as Iron fisted, and capricious like Zeus waiting to throw Lightning at me if I screwed up.  


Now that I've screwed up a lot, and rarely been hit by lightning I know he works a different way, a restoring and redeeming way.  I hope you see that too. 

New Playlist Arcade Fire

I'm including a new playlist by Arcade Fire.  A Pitchfork Review said this about their faith.


Lately, gospel-- not to mention fundamentalist Christianity-- has been experiencing something of a renaissance, so it's no shock that the same label that sometimes frowned upon Cash's religious recordings is eager to revisit them today. But times are different. Big music names from Bono to Mary J. Blige to Arcade Fire are believers of the highest order.


While I do think there are hints to their faith in many of their songs there is also a criticism of hypocrisy in the church.  The most explicit is in the last song on the playlist Antichrist Television Blues.  Basically about a guy praying for a child to make it big.  I think it may also be an indictment concerning Christian Music; saying that we can make music that mines the themes of faith for the masses or just grab the cash that comes more easily to Christian Artists.


Either Way enjoy the music, consider the lyrics.  I hope that we are willing to bring the love of God to all people through all means

Endings

As a church we voted to move and to change our church name.  We voted unanimously.  We voted because we want to be salt and light and provide ourselves with better opportunities to do that.  We'll be in a better location to reach Indians, we'll be in a better sized worship facility, we'll be in a more visible location. We'll be meeting on Sunday mornings, which makes sense for believers and is a bit easier on families with kids.  We have made all these choices in an effort to take a step forward as a church.


Shajan John our retreat speaker this year, talked about how to step forward you have to leave the ground you are on.  This is often the most difficult part. And in many ways, I'm sad about leaving the relationships and opportunities in Westchester behind. My eyes are opened anew to the opportunities here as I see chances to engage Gabe's kindergarten class and soccer team. We have neighbors who have been friends for the past couple of years. All of these things as well as the relationships with the people of Grace make this step forward difficult.  But, often it is the difficult things that are best.  There are still more difficult steps for us to take, things we need to change, ways we need to grow as a church.  This step is not the endpoint of the journey.  Only the very first step.  


Please pray for us. 

Beginnings

My kids Gabe and Simone just started school.  I just started coaching Gabe's soccer team and our church is going to be starting to minister in a new setting.  It's got me thinking about new beginnings and how just starting something new opens up tons of new opportunities.  I know new things can be tough to take on.  It's a lot easier and safer to do the same old same old, but sometimes the same old gets boring stagnant and in need of change.  

So we take on these new challenges with prayer, because new beginnings have a lot of risk to them. Fortunately we have a God who can help since was around in the (very) beginning.

Vows: With my Body I thee Worship

Since I re-read the vows that Dani and I said at our wedding I've been really thinking a lot about the phrase, "With my body I thee worship,  and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." This phrase while surprising to many of us as American Christians I think uncovers 2 of the areas of constant marital strife.  Our sexual relationships and our financial ones.  Today I'm going to deal a little bit with the sexual relationship side of things and later address finances.


The first thing we need to discuss is the idea of worship.  Fundamentally worship is giving appropriate worth to someone or something.  So when we worship God we ascribe to him the majesty and glory he deserves.  When we worship our spouses, we don't elevate them over and above God instead we give them appropriate value which places our spouse in a secondary position beneath God.  Of course, a spouse can become an idol, but in this context it speaks to honoring our spouses, and that we live out that appropriate honor, by giving our spouses what they deserve and desire through intimacy.


It has often been said that men desire respect in the husband/wife relationships more than anything.  That as the head, and leader of the family, a man desires his reasons and opinions and decisions to not be challenged and undermined.  Of course, constructive challenges and criticisms are often necessary, and the wise and loving husband will seek his wife's input and perspective on decisions in order to include her, understand her and care for her needs and well being.  In short to show her love. 


This same situation applies to the marriage bed.


³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent...


So here we see that both spouses should seek to fulfill each other sexually whenever the other is interested. I believe this supports the primary desires of husbands and wives.  


Husbands who desire respect experience a woman's acceptance of his advances as respect. Her willingness affirms that he is worthy and she wants to express and reward that. In the same way that he wants his wife to accept his decisions as wise and good he wants his wife to accept his advances. He wants his wife to submit to his will and choices both in life and in the bedroom. When she says yes, she is in essence saying you are good, I trust you and want to please you. However, when the advances are denied it undermines that respect.  Men don't want excuses, I'm too tired, I'm too busy, headache, whatever.  All those things communicate, you aren't good enough for me. I'd rather sleep, work, clean whatever than be with you. That is some pretty crappy stuff to rank beneath. All of those things communicate the opposite of respect and certainly don't give a husband the worth he is due. 


Women want to be given appropriate value and worth as well, and men need to remember that and realize how we can love our wives in a way they feel worthy. Women desire to FEEL loved, rather than respected.  For most of us men, if our wives will give it up at all times, (which is God's plan btw, and is  awesome) we'd likely stop doing all the loving, caring things that score us enough points to actually get us what we want. Its our sinful and selfish nature.  Honestly, If I wasn't regularly rejected I wouldn't try so hard to make SURE it happens "this time."  If I wasn't regularly rejected, my negligence would probably make my wife feel used, rather than honored.  It would make my wife feel unappreciated and not loved.  And I think this is the key for guys.  That is, make sure that we listen to and understand our wives preferences and needs and not simply expect that she be available.  Then we will seek to do the things for her, that make her feel loved. In response she'll want to be available. So give the massages, buy the flowers, just cuddle (I don't get it either!) all those things just because we want to honor our wives with our bodies, not because we want to get something out of it. We need to love through doing the things that she enjoys and that give her pleasure and not simply expect her to bend to your (my) preferences.  Because if we do that, women feel used and not like she is being given appropriate worth.  
So the command to both husband and wife, the promise Dani and I both made is that we will worship each other with our bodies. For me that means putting her first, loving, caring, serving, giving, all the time no stopping, no putting my self first. All her all the time.  


I just hope she is reading this, and is way better at her job than I am at mine. 

The Guilt Post

Are there things in your life that you know you should do, but you just can't bring yourself to do them? Either you are too busy, or too unmotivated or too bored with those things or you feel so bad for ignoring it for so long that it's hard to muster up the courage/motivation/effort to do it again?

Me too.

But then when you finally do it.  There is relief. There is comfort.  There is the joy that you had all those other times you exercised, did your devotions, went to church or Bible study, made dinner for your wife, gave her a massage, cleaned...anything.  Guilt can be a good thing.  It's just when we let it linger for too long it becomes bad.  When we still feel bad today about not exercising that one day last month.  God wants us to forget what is behind and strain toward what lies ahead.  Here's to another post.  Maybe even soon.

Following the Wrong Crowd

My mom always told me be careful who I associate with.  I needed to make sure that my friends were bringing me in the right direction. I always feel like I had good friends and bad friends.  Some friends I new who were more well behaved than myself and others who were trouble, at least relative to me.  I thought I was kind of the middle player in my group of friends. I asked the kids in the confirmation class who were their good friends and who were their bad friends.  The boys knew exactly what I was talking about, but one student said she didn't think she had any bad friends.  I took that either to mean she was the bad friend.  She said she had just distanced herself from those she felt had been pulling her down.

Either way I think there is something wrong with that. We need to surround ourselves with people who inspire us to walk closely with Christ. The people who influence us should be those who draw us toward Christ. But we also need to be deep enough into the lives of others that we don't simply avoid the "bad" people.  We need to engage and love and draw them toward Christ.  We can't do this if they don't know us or care what we say or think.  So let's try to find those people on both sides of us.  Those we can influence for the good, but also those that can help us stay grounded and pursuing our Lord and Savior.