Many Different Worlds

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever.  Has the Lord redeemed you?  Then speak out!  Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.  For he has gathered the exiles from many lands, from east and west, from north and south.  Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless.  Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.  “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress.  He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live.  Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.  For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  Psalm 107:1-9

I’m a Baby Boomer, a generation of those born within 18 years following the end of World War II.  Subsequent generations were Gen X (born 1965-1980), followed by Gen Y, or Millennials (born 1981-2000), and Z (1997-2012).  Those born after 2012 are called Gen A.  The “move” spiritually and religiously has been towards the church is irrelevant syndrome.  As never before (at least in my lifetime and experience) younger people are progressively moving towards the exit door of church, in favor of “community” a loosely-defined search for refreshing change from the deadness of their parent’s “wasted-time” in the four walls with three hymns, recited liturgies, creeds, and a sermon of three points and a poem.  About the only agreeable worth for this on a Sunday was coffee and donuts (if provided).

Those for whom this description fits (loosely or like a glove) asked themselves the question:  What are you doing here?  The answer was mainly unsatisfactory. 

In some ways I couldn’t agree more.  At times the preachers, or other leaders made the discipleship process of following Jesus so uninteresting you wonder how any young people’s faith survived the entry process.  Like the Psalmist said:  Hungry and thirsty they nearly died.

MANY DIFFERENT WORLDS is an aptly described gap between Boomers, Millennials and the other letters.  This is not to say there isn’t ample precedent for young people ditching the established institutions.  Along with half (or more) of my Boomer friends, I was a lapsed believer in my teens and early 20’s. 

In the 17^th century a teen boy told his father the church and its’ music was so boring he couldn’t stand it.  His Dad said:  If that’s so, go write some better stuff.  The young man did just that, and we still sing Isaac Watts’ hymns these days.

To say we have “lost” the next generation is a two-fold mistake:

1.    That generation is yet to mature, age-out, and die.  We should be careful to not prematurely judge the changing appearance of spirituality.

2.    No generation is beyond God’s hand.  Martin Luther rebelled against a vile, dark church of his day; that didn’t turn out too badly the last 500 years.

So, coach, what do we do now?  How shall we live to reclaim and revitalize the faith once delivered (and now, seemingly deserted)?  I believe the game plan is unchanged from the playbook of Jesus’ first-century team – scatter and share!

In the daily living we do, we must continually be sharing the Gospel as the first Christians did, spreading-out from Jerusalem as they lived their daily lives, telling the Good news one-on-one, with a positive message of hope, love, and joy.

For You Today

Whichever of the DIFFERENT WORLDS you live, God calls us to connect with others.  The game plan is always scatter and share!  As the coach said to his team:  That’s the game plan, now go, and play your heart out!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts in the Rocky Road Devotions library. 

To dig deeper on today’s topic read:    Good News   and   Patiently Patiently...O Lord How Long?

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Suddenly

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Monday, December 24, 2018

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home.  He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.  He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.  And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.  

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.  “Don’t be afraid!” he said.  “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign:  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  Luke 2:4-14(NLT)

Surprises come suddenly.  (Now there’s a news flash!)

I’ve never actually liked the idea of surprises.  But surprises don’t ask if they can happen; they just happen.  That is why they’re called surprises – they surprise you!  They’re autonomous – they decide when, where, how much, and with what purpose they happen.  All you have is your reaction to the surprise.

This is why surprises aren’t my favorite thing; I’d like to be able to pick and choose which things life has permission to throw at me.  That surprise 16^th birthday party was ok, but nearly severing my big toe back in 1987 was something I would have crossed-off the dance card if I’d known about how weak that aquarium glass was if you put your foot against it to scoot it across the carport.  Surprises sometimes include blood!

The shepherds understood surprises; you don’t care for flocks of sheep, notoriously dumb animals that wander around, falling into all kinds of troubling predicaments, without being familiar with surprises.  It’s just that the shepherds weren’t prepared for an angel and a choir the size of the New Year’s Eve Times Square crowd floating in the night air above.  Surprises can sometimes be terrifying.

But now, later that night, look at the faces of those shepherds, and tell me what happens when a surprise from heaven settles-in to do its work in your life:

Notice that all six faces in the picture (7 if you count the cow) are illuminated.  The artist wanted us to know something about these faces and the worth of this surprise.

We know Mary’s face, a young teen with her firstborn; how do you put into words the joy and overwhelming sense of fearful wonder that you won’t be good enough for all this? 

At Mary’s side, with his hands folded on the cow’s head, we see contented joy.  This shepherd is just taking-in the human moment…and why not?  It’s not often a common shepherd gets to participate in a world-class event…and in a front-row seat!

The Man in the lower left with hands clasped in a prayerful pose shows wonder, his face is an I-don’t-know-what-to-make-of-this prayerful plea of anxiety over what this will mean; will it all be alright?

The boy next to Mary is pure, excited joy.  “Do you believe this; man, this is great” is the expression of youthful naiveté, who cannot possibly see anything but the upside.  This is the Hallmark moment under the Christmas tree; all gift, no grief.

And lastly (besides the cow who may be looking more at the hay that was supposed to be her supper), at the far (upper) left is a man’s face that speaks the shadow of the cross to me.  His right hand is near his heart, and the left raised in something of a benedictory pose.  At first glance I saw just a bland, unfeeling look on that face.  But on deeper examination I see the pathos of future surprises for this child that transcends such a serene moment of a new baby’s untouched life.  This prayerful shepherd understands life will not be all picnics and walks in the park. 

There are indeed hard times ahead for the Christ child.  His willingness to accept all of it, so I can experience His joy, is present enough for me.

For You Today

My deepest prayer for you today is that whatever you’re preparing for, and whomever you will celebrate this Christmas eve, and the season with, that all these emotions and assurances will be yours, like the suddenly surprises the angels brought so long ago to the shepherds.  Contented joy, mixed with a little anxious anticipation, regained naiveté, and the wisdom of preparing for the cross.  Blessed Christmas…. good tidings!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com

Hope - Despair

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Monday, July 30, 2018

For we live by believing and not by seeing.   

2 Corinthians 5:7^(NLT)

I’ve still got the dog tags from my stint in the U.S. Army.  Every soldier wears these for identification in case you’re wounded or dead and need to be identified.  There is a line on the tag which is for religious information; mine read no preference.  After all, I was 19, and knew everything.  I was in ignorance…literally.  I identified as an agnostic, one who couldn’t be said to be an atheist, but rather chose to simply say nobody can actually know if there is a god or not.  The word’s etymology says it all.  In ancient Greek gnosis is knowledge; if you put an “a” in front it turns into a negative (a·gnosis), and it simply designates the opposite of knowledge.  An agnostic says you’re against knowing!  How appropriate for a 19-year-old know-it-all!

Scripture declares that our faith (everyone has at least a seed of faith) is what will produce hope (as opposed to despair).  Faith, nurtured and given a chance to grow, naturally moves towards He who IS hope, Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, resurrected on the third day, ascended to the Father in Heaven, and coming again to judge the quick and the dead.

Now, at 19, this slow learner wasn’t ready to understand that, or admit it.  It was “safer” (so I thought in my 19-year-old wisdom) to toddle off to Vietnam with agent orange, bullets and bombs, and anti-personnel mines everywhere you walk, with any faith-belief system placed on-hold. Because, in my chosen ignorance – agnosticism, knowledge that you KNOW you can’t know anyway…well, the reality is, I just didn’t want to think my parents might be right.  The government had issued me a flak jacket, helmet, and M-14 rifle; that seemed a whole lot more protection than a god I couldn’t see.  I had 19-year-old wisdom, after all, and anyone that wise understands, it’s all up to chance, and the strong are the ones who survive and get it done.

Fast forward a half-century.

I’m a lot older now…and just a little wiser than that kid getting on a plane for Vietnam.  What I discovered in the interim is two-fold:

1.      It is only by the grace of the God I put on-hold that I was not killed that year in my agnostic wisdom and woke-up in hell.

2.      Even if a person is struggling with faith in God, choosing to believe what you cannot seem to prove is smarter than just ignoring Him with a fancy-sounding name, like agnostic.

There are, after all, only two possibilities:

1.      There is no god…it’s all as Karl Marx phrased it, that religion is the opiate of the masses, just a pacifier to suck-on to get through life without going mad.

2.      There is God…and, as Creator and Sustainer of all life, He is personal and has a prior claim on our lives, so we’d better get our stuff together and honor Him.

But, even putting aside the agnostic’s chief rationale, that you really can’t know for sure that God exists, there is a firm footing to be gained in choosing to believe anyway.  That footing (believe it or not) is Karl Marx – the opiate, (drug, if you will) of faith does indeed produce hope.  And hope is a whole lot lovelier than despair to walk around with, even if there isn’t a God.

From one who has been on both sides of that equation – I choose hope; I choose faith in God. 

And, incidentally, when I chose to walk by faith, and not by my willful agnosticism, a wonderful thing happened; my faith grew into hope in the faith once-delivered to the saints.  And I understood agnosticism is just as empty-headed as it implies.  You can know He is real, and His love will keep you with assurance that you are His, and loved.

For You Today

By the way, did you know Karl Marx was right at this point:  without acting on our faith, trusting in the God we can’t see – life will not make any sense, and will lead you to despair, and the ultimate choice for the agnostic or atheist – opting out.  There is a long list[2] of well-known people living against-faith who have done that – Ernest Hemmingway, Robyn Williams, and Anthony Bourdain, just to name a few.  In the end their disposition is not much different than one of the most famous – Judas Iscariot.

So, here’s the advice on struggling with faith – do what John Wesley, founder of Methodism, was advised by Peter Boehler[3] a wise Moravian missionary.  Wesley was struggling to have faith; Boehler said:  Preach faith until you have faith. 

So, my friend, walk by faith until your need for sight disappears!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] 23 Lists (celebrities who have committed suicide)

[3] See Boehler on Wikipedia.com

Drinking the Pastor's New Wine

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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth?  For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.  “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.  For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.  New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”  Matthew 9:16-17^(NLT)

I grew up in an era that warned that the preacher was a stern, looking-over-your-shoulder, rain-on-anybody's-party, warden.  I didn't want to go to the Hell I'd heard about in countless, endless sermons.  Church was boring, the same songs over and over.  But, it was worth enduring it all, just not to go to Hell. 

Then P.A.K.O. came to be our Pastor.  Pastor A. Kenneth Olsen was no warden.  He played football and softball with the youth.  He sang, and even told a joke on himself from the pulpit.  He actually smiled often, and seemed to like kids.  I wasn't all that convinced though.  There could be a warden hidden beneath.  Most adults would rattle your cage if things got heated.

I didn't consciously mean to push for a peek inside P.A.K.O.  It just happened.  He took 12 or 15 teenage boys on a canoeing/camping trip.  A cardinal rule was that no canoe would strike out alone; always the buddy system!  A second rule seemed self evident, no standing up in a canoe!  Paul, Eddie and I broke both rules.  The three of us got bored with the conventional system and, while noone else was looking, rigged a sail with our tent and paddles, and set out across the lake late in the afternoon. 

The early evening found us in the middle of the lake, with rough winds kicking up the deep waters.  Having more fun than sense caused the canoe to capsize, dumping three poor-swimmer teenagers into unfriendly waters.  We were in the water for what seemed hours, unable to right the soggy canoe; we were clinging for dear life.

When we first saw the power boat coming our way it was still too far to see who was coming to our rescue.  As it approached, my stomach did ambivalent flips.  P.A.K.O. was in the bow of the boat.  I was relieved that I was going to live; I just wasn't sure how long.  P.A.K.O. didn't look happy! 

We were fished out of bone chilling waters, and surrounded by itchy (but warmly comforting) Army blankets.  P.A.K.O. said only five words, Are you boys all right?  Our nods satisfied him that we were going to make it, and he then hugged all three of us.  Then he laughed out loud.  Then we all did.  We laughed all the way back to the camp. 

The songs around the campfire that night were better than the way the same old songs used to sound.  The crackle of the fire was crisper, the air cleaner.  The hot dogs and dehydrated banana chips tasted like Prime Rib and heavenly manna.

That night was my first taste of new wine.  I had been a fearful sipper at first.  But that first taste was better than anything I'd ever known.  To my knowledge P.A.K.O. never even mentioned the incident to my parents.  He never said anything to me.  He just wanted us close; and we wanted to be close to him.  That is how I know it was new wine. 

Our heavenly Father wants us close.  There's no way to build a bridge up to him, or rig a sail on a canoe to get there.  All attempts like that leave you dumped and drowning in a raging lake.  The secret of powerful joy is like a powerboat coming to rescue.  In the bow of that boat stands the cross of Christ.  He comes to you.  You simply let Him!

For You Today

Don't spill the wine.  Surrender it all today and every day.  Only new wineskins can hold that kind of joy.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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[i] Title image: By Fresco Tours, via Wikimedia Commons

Loving Your Enemies

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

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"You have heard the law that says, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy'.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father which is in heaven.   Matthew 5:43-45^(NLT)

25 Years Ago

Our church youth choir was a girl's quintet.  They sang during every Sunday evening service.  Two of the girls, Jaimie and Kathy, tend to enjoy being in the center of things. They stood at the pulpit while the other girls used microphones on stands nearby. 

On this particular Sunday night the girls were in hyper-drive.  It had been a wild and wooly afternoon of youth activities; they were tired, but still going wide-open!  When it came time in the service for them to sing, Kathy and Jaimie came to the center microphone as usual. 

While our Youth Minister was attempting to get the girls ready to sing, Kathy reached up and adjusted the pulpit microphone downward, towards her and Jaimie.  When she let go, Jaimie reached up and pulled it in her direction.  With an exasperated, fiery glance in Jaimie's direction Kathy reached up and straightened it back towards the center. 

Meanwhile the congregation watched intently as the Youth Minister waved her hands to get the girl's attention, and Jaimie reached to pull the microphone back toward her.  In a stage whisper that measured about 9.6 on the Richter scale, Kathy ordered, quit it!  Jaimie quickly pulled her hand back, while Carrie (another youth quite related to me) rolled her eyes and lamented, oh Lord!

When the Youth Minister finally got their attention, the music started and the girls sang a wonderful arrangement of:  There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place. 

There is a vast difference between acting as children and acting as children of the Father in heaven!

Watching what transpired between our youth that night 25 years ago is a pretty hilarious memory of sad irony.  Those girls are grown with families of their own now.  I'm still in touch with several of them and I'm very happy to report that they act much better now!

But thinking about this reminds me (sadly) that some folks never seem to grow out of it.

For some, the command of Jesus to love our enemies falls on deaf ears; indeed they have a hard enough time loving those who are their friends.  And that makes for a lifetime of microphone-grabbing drama; it is anything but sweet-spirited!

For You Today

How "sweet" is your spirit?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image:   By NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, via Wikimedia Commons

The Consequences of Imbalance

Monday, June 16, 2014

You who are young, make the most of your youth.

Relish your youthful vigor.

Follow the impulses of your heart.

If something looks good to you, pursue it.

But know also that not just anything goes;

You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

Live footloose and fancy free—

You won’t be young forever.

Youth lasts about as long as smoke.

n  Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 (TMSG)

It’s been awhile, but I remember some stuff about youth (some foolish stuff I’d rather forget). 

Solomon, the wise preacher of Ecclesiastes, had much to regret about his youthful days of “vanity”.  As a king, he had nearly unlimited resources, wealth and power; his was the life of the rich and famous.  What Solomon saw (when young) as grabbing for the best experiences and living the best, most exciting, pleasure-filled life, turned out to be a wisp of smoke, a faded illusion. 

When the king was old the bills came due.  And what he wrote in his old age was that he had been a fresh-faced kid with a life of privilege and opportunity ahead – but he wasted it chasing the wind.  He had followed his youthful heart and impulses, and it led to a wild ride down the road of foolish, prideful and selfish decisions.  And that became the mud-hole of regret in old age.

Solomon’s life was a life of imbalance; he was wise but didn’t his wisdom wisely!  He failed to recognize that he what he was trying to do with his life was like nailing Jell-o to a wall; it just doesn’t work!  Even if you manage to get enough nails to support cold Jell-o, eventually it will melt, sag and disappear, cascading to an orange stain on the floor molding. 

A life of imbalance, living purely to please self, ends in vanity, emptiness, a void!  In the 1954 movie “Magnificent Obsession” Rock Hudson’s character is a spoiled playboy, who, like Solomon “had it all”.  His careless “try everything to make me happy” approach to life brings nothing but misery and calamity.  And in the wake of his irresponsibility and imbalance the people around him paid a great price.  The man’s life was a disaster.  In the end he learns that in the process of giving his life away in the service of others he receives the only true sense of happiness life offers.

Jesus put it this way: 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.   Matthew 16:24 - 25 (NLT)

For You, Today…

Is your life “on-balance”?  Have you discovered your “niche” of giving yourself away to others, so that their lives may be blessed and enriched?

Solomon learned that the dominoes fall in both directions – consequence or blessing; you do have a choice.