“I was there when he established the heavens and formed the great springs in the depths of the oceans. I was there when he set the limits of the seas and gave them his instructions not to spread beyond their boundaries. I was there when he made the blueprint for the earth and oceans.  I was the craftsman at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.                                                                 Proverbs 8:27-30

“Lady Wisdom”, the personification of truth about how the world operates, is the speaker in this excerpt from Proverbs 8. The truth spoken here is that God created the universe, but before he did that, he created Wisdom. Why did he do that? Because without a knowledge of God, there is no need of a universe. Seeing the world through God’s eyes is the definition of wisdom. Having a universe without a knowledge of its creator leads to a sense of meaninglessness. If we don’t know why we are here, we flounder. Sadly, so many people struggle with the sense of lack of purpose.

So, God created wisdom, so that we could have an understanding of his creation, and of him. If we do not understand all the intricacies of how the universe works (spoiler alert- we never will), that does not preclude us from having wisdom. Knowledge is fascinating, but wisdom is the ultimate attainment, that is- knowing the God who created that universe.

Wisdom is seeing the world through God’s eyes. That is what Lady Wisdom tells us in Proverbs.

Prayer: Lord, we seek wisdom about you. Help us to see you more clearly, Amen

I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls                                                      Jeremiah 31:25 (The Message)

Republishing an old blog today as I digest Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy!

Yes, what a ridiculous tile for a blog. However, it seems to fit the mood of the story. Today I talk about the “little oases” that we look forward to in order to deal with stresses in our life. Everyone has stress, and everyone needs to find those “little oases” to get a drink of “cool water” to refresh the mind, body and soul.

What are those little things that you do for yourself for refreshment?

OK, I’ll start- reading a Grisham novel; managing my fantasy baseball team; yard work; writing; following the Cincinnati Reds and baseball in general; walking while listening to a podcast; reading about history. There are others to be sure, but those come readily to mind for me.

I write this because I think we all need to be open and honest about the need for refreshment in our busy lives. It is not really optional. I also think that actually stating them out in the open somewhat validates them, and helps us to see the things that we really find refreshing- things we look forward to doing. They become a real and important part of our life.

For some very busy people, that list may be short and infrequently visited. Sometimes, of course, that is unavoidable for a season. However, I encourage you to think through your “mind candy” list and see if you are paying attention to it. If we keep ourselves refreshed, it helps body, mind and spirit.

I am hoping that you can make a nice and pleasant list for yourself!   

Prayer: Lord, you have created us to be productive and healthy, and you have also built into us a Sabbath principle. Help us to follow it, Amen

Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!                                                                              II Corinthians 9:12-15 (The Message)

I like this translation of Paul’s message to the church at Corinth. He is commending that group of believers for showing their thanks to God by living it out in charity toward other, poorer believers. He says that the best way to say thanks to God for his blessings is to share those blessings with those around us.

The same is true today. We can love and thank God by loving and thanking other people. Simple message. So, I say to my readers, Happy Thanksgiving, and make sure to share the joy and thankfulness with others.

Prayer: We thank you Lord for the blessings you give us in all things, Amen

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.                                                                                     Ephesians 3:8

This verse has always struck me. Paul a giant of the faith, one who had a deeply moving experience with God on the road to Damascus, calls himself “the least deserving” of all God’s people. Was this false humility? I don’t think so. Paul, who had also said that he had a “thorn in the flesh” from which he had not been delivered, was a man, I believe, deeply beset by a sense of shame.  

I am not a Bible scholar, and this is strictly an amateur opinion of mine. Paul was a man who lived a life deeply committed to Jesus, and was also deeply flawed. Sounds like a guy I would really like and could relate to.

Paul had persecuted Christians, and he had been present at the stoning of Stephen, an early martyr. Stephen’s last words were: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

If you are present, indeed complicit, in the murder of a person who is praying for your soul while you stand by assenting to that death, I have to believe that it leaves a deep impression. Was this really the moment that prepared Saul (before he became Paul) to see that those Christians were a different kind of people?

Maybe Paul, remembering those haunting words, saw himself, even after his redemption, as a man with scars. Maybe those scars were remnants of incomplete self-forgiveness. Who could blame him? Yes, he was forgiven by an amazing grace. Yet, he knew what he did. He knew that old Saul was still part of his story. 

I don’t know. This is complete speculation on my part. But I think there is something to it. We all know what we have done, better than anyone else ever can. Yes, we are forgiven, but maybe there is a part of us that always reminds ourselves of that past, however forgiven it might be.

My point? Don’t be too hard on yourself if you still harbor some lingering elements of self-unforgiveness. You are in good company. But remember also, that God is not the one remembering those faults. His plan is for us to have complete forgiveness, including forgiving ourselves.

 In the words of the old comic strip character Pogo- “we have met the enemy, and the enemy is us”

Prayer: Thank you for the truth that you have forgiven our sins “as far as the east is from the west”, Amen.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.                                                                 Philippians 2:5-8 (The Message)

Yes, I listened to Christmas music today while on a walk. I suppose I rush the season. My outdoor Christmas lights are up and lit- I might have been the first in the neighborhood to do that. I am wondering if I should feel guilty.

Well, no, I am not feeling too guilty. I love Christmas, and I like all the things that go with it. I know that the culture celebrates a season that worships merchandising and sales, not the reason for the season- the incarnation of God coming to earth bodily in the form of Jesus. So, I join in to the culture’s celebration, but knowing why I do it.

The season allows us a reason to display a spirit of good will toward one another. We have the example of Jesus, who came to earth, giving up untold ecstasy and peace to wander the earth as a human being, with all the suffering that comes with that. He came to lay down his life for us. His example of selfless sacrifice is played out in our tradition of giving Christmas gifts to those we love. It also inspires us to give to people we do not know. It inspires churches to generate giving campaigns to help people in their own community, and around the world. It’s a great season.

So, let the celebration begin!

 Early.

Prayer: Lord, how can we begin to thank you for the gift of your son- the reason for the season of Christmas, Amen

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters                                                                                                                                                              Psalm 23:1-2 (KJV)

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied…                                              Mark 6:39-42

I think we can all relate to eating. It is a basic need to stay alive, of course, but eating is something that we do with great relish (pardon the pun). Jesus recognized that we can readily relate to stories about food in order to get to know the nature and character of God.

In the 23^rd Psalm, we see that God makes provision for his people. When Jesus was walking the earth, he used that same analogy, but he brought it to life when he stopped to feed the 5000 who had followed him and were now hungry. Jesus directed the people to “sit down on the green grass” and prepare to be fed. He saved them from the “want” of hunger, and he “prepared a table for them” in the green grass.

I was struck by this beautiful analogy while listening to a sermon from pastor Adam Hamilton a few weeks ago. God gets our attention when he feeds us. Jesus made sure that those who followed him were well fed. What a wonderful metaphor of God’s provision for us.

Prayer: You feed us day-to-day with so many benefits. Thank you for that provision, Amen

^“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.                                                            Genesis 50:20-21

I call it The Redemptive Principle. The passage in Genesis 50:20 embodies the principle of redeeming something bad into something good. I use this often with couples to explain that, for example, a seemingly devastating problem in the relationship can actually become the start of a healing that never could have happened unless the traumatic problem had never occurred. The relationship can be better than it ever could have been had the problems not occurred. We see this time and again, not just in relationships, but in tragic life events. Life altering suffering can work toward long-term good.

In the story of Joseph, had his brothers not treated him so badly- selling him into slavery after planning to murder him- he would not have been in the position of later saving them, and much of the Middle East area from starvation. Joseph himself had the presence of mind, and the influence of the Holy Spirit, to see the events in a larger panoramic. He saw that the evil actions of his brothers had been used by God for the salvation of many, including his nefarious brothers.

At the time of our trauma or tragedy we, of course, are unable to see the long-range arc of God’s redemption of those events. Much later, we can often look back and see God’s hand clearly in the process. Faith dictates that we anticipate that God has his hand on the process for his glory, and our good. This is hard to do. I tell my clients that I do not expect them to see this now. It would be unfair to burden them with this at the time of their pain and suffering. But I ask them to trust that there CAN be a greater outcome than ever could have been if the trauma had never happened. The relationship can be stronger than it ever could have been had the problems never occurred.

Naïve? Pie in the sky? No. I have seen this so many times that I am convinced of the truth of this principle. Yes, it takes time and perspective to see this principle come to fruition. Is it possible?

Yes!  If we allow such thinking, and we work in anticipation of that possibility.

Prayer: Your hand is at work in ways that we cannot understand, but we trust your provision for our ultimate good, Amen.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

As we enter Thanksgiving week, I thought it would be a good time to re-run this blog from last November. I hope it reaffirms our faith in the goodness of simple everyday kindness all around us…

The police officer who pays for groceries for a vagrant instead of arresting him. The minimum wage clerk at McDonalds who pays the bill for a customer who forgot her wallet. The first person in line at a Starbucks drive-thru who pays for the person’s order behind him, setting off a chain of events of people paying for the person behind them. The teacher who buys school supplies for her students who cannot afford them. The truck driver who stops to change a flat tire for a stranded motorist. The line of people at the blood bank giving life-saving plasma. The volunteers who go to California to help fight forest fires. The outpouring of support after a natural disaster.

Should I go on? Not enough room in the blog. These events happen EVERY DAY. There are actually too many instances of giving and sacrifice to be documented here. These events typically do not make headlines. Maybe because they are too commonplace and we take them for granted. Maybe they do not fit the narrative of sensationalism that our news cycle craves. Whatever the reason, we must not lose sight of this aspect of our human character.

It is important to celebrate these little daily exercises of goodwill and humanity. Take heart my dear readers, goodwill and kindness abound, it just gets shut out of the headlines. Keep up your silent and important everyday deeds that help your fellow traveler on this earth.

That is what we need to keep in mind to stay focused on what our country, indeed every country needs. These things are what makes America great. Let’s not let that knowledge slip into the background too far.

Prayer: Lord, you have created us to live in community and to bear one another’s burdens. Help us to remember that wonderful aspect of your creation, Amen

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.                                                  Matthew 5:48

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”                               Vince Lombardi

So, you want to be perfect. Great goal. Even Jesus said that we should be perfect, as his Father in heaven was perfect. So, let’s do this thing. Let’s be perfect.

Perfectionism can make us very anxious because we get frustrated in not having it all just right and under control. Anxiety tells us that we SHOULD be perfect, and anything less is inadequate. We are just not built that way. Less than perfect is OK. Giving up on the pursuit is not.

I tell my clients that the road to perfection is like a hyperbola. Remember algebra and the x and y axis? Parabolas and hyperbolas?

Neither do I.

But those concepts can be instructive for this discussion. I understand that from the mathematical equations in algebra, that the formulas for a hyperbola cannot generate a figure which actually touches the x or y axis. The figure can get closer and closer to the axis, but it does not reach it until infinity. Our quest is like that. We are to do the things that get us closer and closer to the goal.

So, we are on the road to perfection. We will never get there this side of heaven, but we are told to strive for it. We can get closer and closer, and that is our striving. But do not expect perfect. Don’t get weary in pursuit of it, but don’t expect to get it- at least not in this life.

Our fallen nature simply cannot allow for perfect. We can get very close in so many ways, but there are too many things that can get in the way of perfect in this world.

So, we pursue perfection, knowing that we cannot get there. The striving is the key. We keep working at doing better, working toward the ultimate goal. The striving IS the goal. Not the perfection, but the working toward it.   

So, when Jesus told us to be perfect, I think he meant, “Be on the road to perfection- be on the right road. As long as we are on the right road, we will ultimately reach his perfect place at the end.

Prayer: Thank you Father for the right directions toward you in Jesus.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)

A gentle response defuses anger,
    but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. Proverbs 15:1 (The Message)

I had opportunity the other day to cite this verse to clients in a marriage counseling setting. The truth of this passage from the book of Proverbs has been proven time and again in so many human encounters over the ages. A soft answer defuses anger.

I remember the nuns in grade school who lowered their voice when the class got a little loud. I was amazed that this technique actually was quite effective back then. Kids settled down to hear the teacher. Schools being vastly different these days, I’m not sure that the technique would work quite as well today. Maybe it would in some cases, but I digress. Soft answers can defuse volatile situations.

When tensions rise in a situation, the question becomes, who are the adults in the room? Who will be the responsible leader who first lowers the temperature in a pressure packed room by lowering his/her voice in that tense time? In times of high tension, people may naturally have their voices raised. But is that helpful? I suggest that it generally is not. Raised volume does not make an argument more cogent or persuasive. It has the effect of bringing, as Shakespeare said in Hamlet “more heat to the situation than light”.

In these days of political and social dysfunction. Soft answers may just be the thing that brings clarity and peace to discussions.

Prayer: Lord, give us the patience and insight to be light bearers in discussions, not heat bearers, Amen