Over there is Joy?

Bishop Bill Lewis of the Dakotas tells of four bulls deciding what they want to do when they graduate from school. One bull said, I want to go to Rome and become a papal bull. The second bull said, I want to go to New York City and be a bull of Wall Street. The third bull said, I want to go to China and become a bull in a China shop. The fourth bull said: I can’t believe you guys. I don’t want to go to Rome, to New York City or to China. I want to stay right here and be a bull for heifer, and heifer and heifer.

Many people believe they can find joy and delight only if they go somewhere else — Rome, New York City, China — rather than discovering the secret of joy right where they are!

Names of Jesus II

Bright and Morning Star

“I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16

We can see the planet Venus shining in the Eastern sky because it is one planet nearest to the sun.  It both signals the end of evening and that the dawn of a new day is at hand.

So it is with Jesus.  He is the One who is present pushing back the darkness of a sinful world and heralding the coming of God’s new day.  Comfort and anticipation come with him. When we have been through a “dark night of the soul” as if all hope was lost, Jesus shines forth. He reminds us that hope is juts above the horizon of our shadowy experience.

Mariners were guided by this star.  In Christ we get our “bearings” and then know where we are in relation to God and to our safe harbor.  Fix your eyes on Him and everything becomes clearer in navigating our way in this world.  Nature holds countless sermons!

“All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.”

Longing

The eyes of the heart

squint seeking salvation’s horizon

looking for that appearance

who is bread divine

soul satisfying

warm afterglow of wine

like a rising sun

sweeping cold shadows

softening the edges

becoming all in all.

Keeping it Simple

The Christmas Lights for our front living room window

This year I went light (no pun intended) on the outdoor Christmas decorations.  Basically, my lights are hung on the inside windows. No pine or spruce tree gets a string of lights.  The trees grew too big to be useful from just a step ladder plus one string from last year remains up in the top of the tree – couldn’t get it down in the Spring.  The tree would not let it go. I guess it  loved that necklace of wire and white lights.  Must be a female tree…

Simple is better. Simple is frugal.  Simple is easier on the put up and take down.  But I could use a wreath and spot light for the front of the house. Hmmm, nothing is quite simple, is it?

Anybody seen an over-the-top National Lampoon Grizwold type Christmas lights in town?

Lutrin Airlines (Ya Sure)

TURN UP YOUR VOLUME – AND TANKS SO MUCH, YA…

God’s Sovereign Care

Every Friday, an old man walked from his house in the early evening down to the ocean, carrying a bucket of shrimp. And as the sun started its descent and the evening waves gently lapped the shore, he walked to the end of the pier and reached in his bucket of shrimp and began to feed the birds who were already there waiting for him. Slowly, intentionally, he distributed the contents of his bucket, as he did every Friday evening, with the sun slipping down over the horizon.

What was he doing there? He was saying thank you.

His name was Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Years before, in October, 1942, President Roosevelt dispatched Captain Rickenbacker with a special message to General MacArthur who was beginning to plan American strategy in the Pacific war. But the B-17 became lost, ran out of fuel and went down. The crew of eight made it into lifeboats and then began a harrowing, desperate fight to survive the sun, sharks, waves, and most of all, hunger.

When it seemed that the end had come and there was no hope, when they had prayed all they could pray, Captain      Rickenbaker, in the raft, was asleep with his cap over his eyes. He felt something. A bird had lit on his head. He knew if he could catch it, they would survive. He did. And they ate it. They used its entrails for bait. They survived.

And so the old captain, now hunched over, but still proud, every Friday of his life, took his bucket of shrimp and fed the birds and said, ‘Thank you.’

What was that sea gull doing there hundreds of miles from land anyway?

⁵ So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings 17:5-6

Chili con Carols

IMG_1798, originally uploaded by pastor_steve_p.

What are these people doing? Primping the branches of the Sanctuary Christmas Tree.

We all had fun eating chili and decorating the church on Wednesday night. Click on the photo and go see all the pictures!

The eyes of the heart…

Terry McInnes took her 5-year-old son Colin to his first funeral. It was for a boy a year younger than he who had died in a freak accident — he had choked to death after tripping and falling while chewing bubble gum.

During the service, Colin acted much as any 5-year-old would act during a worship service–fidgeting, wandering, whispering, etc.–except he seemed absolutely entranced by the little casket which was perched on top of a cart in the main aisle, draped with a white cloth and with a lit candle on top.

After the service, Colin watched as the ushers removed the cloth and candle and carried the casket down the steps. Colin’s mother explained how Cory’s body was in the box, which would be buried in the ground, but that Cory’s spirit was in heaven with God.

As we walked down the steps toward the car, Colin paused to lean on the railing, looked at me and said: ‘Mom, that wasn’t a box that Cory was in.’

I said, ‘You’re right, it wasn’t really a box, but I was just trying to explain it to you in the best way I could.’

Colin said, ‘I think it looks like a treasure chest.’

God’s Treasure, East Ohio Today, 5 November 1995, 8.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Outright, unapologetic  Christian songs, carols, and anthems were enjoyed last night.  Where?  No, sorry not in a church.  Not in the privacy of my iPod.  And of course, it would never be tolerated or politically correct in local grade school.  It was at the University of Wisconsin Sheboygan where the Lord’s name and Christ were lifted up in song!

I attended the concert of choirs from UW-Sheboygan and Manitowoc last night.  Kathy accompanied solos, ensembles and the choirs.  It was delightful.  It wasn’t top of the line but pretty good for a local college group of students who like music and love to sing.

Seasonal numbers also included a Ray Charles version of “Jingle Bells” and the hand clapping, swaying, toe tapping ending with a Spiritual, “Go Tell It On The Mountain.”

God is not dead.  He was scene roaming the halls of UW-Sheboygan, singing.

Titles of Jesus: SHEPHERD

 

“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, [even] my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.”  Ezekiel 34:23

“For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2: 25

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’” John 10:11

In the Old Testament, Kings and leaders were often described as Shepherds.  The shepherd’s task was to lead, feed and provide protection and safety for the flock.  Unfortunately, some of the kings of Israel and Judah were self-serving.  They used the people to provide for them.  Solomon, David’s son, turned his people into slaves in building his palace which took 13 years.  They grew to resent his leadership of oppression.

One thing about a shepherd – he had to stay with, be with, be present to his sheep.  He knew them and they knew his voice and were assured when they knew he was present.  But a sheep left to its own will follow its appetite and nose and when it looks up – its lost.

I remember seeing pastoral scenes riding through the country side of England.  Sheep sitings there was like Holsteins around every turn on a Wisconsin road.  I’m glad we humans were not labeled as being “like cows.” Yet, sometimes people are not just “dumb like sheep” but “Bullheaded” in their stubbornness.  I think God did call his people “stiff necked” referring to an animal you can’t lead by turning its head.

Jesus is the perfect Shepherd because he embodies true goodness – a leader, provider, and presence offering security in an anxious world.

No wonder the angels announce his birth to who?  “And there were shepherds abiding in their fields keep watch over their flocks by night.”

PRAYER: “Good Shepherd, thank you for knowing where there is a green pasture for the feeding of my soul.  Forgive me when I go out on my own, thinking I know best and then become lost and vulnerable. Help me to remember that wolves are the enemy and not you and not my fellow woolly friends.  I praise you for putting your life between me and destruction and overseeing my soul. Amen.

1. What can the image of the Shepherd teach us about Leadership?

2. What does it mean that your soul gets “hungry” and it can be “fed?”

3.  What is the different styles of leadership between a Shepherd, Farmer, and Rancher?